Even though they had only just arrived about half an hour ago, our heroes retraced their steps back through the route they took to get to Koni'koni City, and made their way to the dreary, depressing Memorial Hill Cemetery, "This looks to be the right path," Will commented, as they hiked through.
"I feel so at home here," Lucy commented, as they saw some Ghost Pokémon lurking about. Among them, was a small, ghostly tree stump. Instead of a typical brown colored stump with green leaves, this one was white with red leaves.
"Oh, cool, a Shiny Phantump!" Will commented, as he engaged the Pokémon.
"Phantump, the Stump Pokémon, a Ghost and Grass Type. By imitating the voice of a child, it causes people to get hopelessly lost in the forest. It does so to make friends with them. The leaves on it's branches can be used to cure any ailment," Rotom said, as Will sent out Marowak.
"Marowak, let's try to catch that Phantump! Use, Flame Wheel!" Will instructed. Marowak then became engulfed in a wheel of fire, which then rocketed at Phantump, who tried desperately to get away, but was struck. Phantump then used Shadow Ball, which made direct contact with Marowak.
"That's right. Alolan Marowak are Ghost Types, so Shadow Ball did a great deal of damage," Fluttershy commented.
"What are normal Marowak like?" Lola asked.
"They're sort of a tan color, and are Ground Types," Toby replied, as Marowak used Shadow Bone on Phantump, leaving it weakened.
"Alright, here's my chance!" Will said, chucking a Nest Ball at Phantump, encapsulating it. The Nest Ball rocked three times, before clicking. It then teleported away.
"You guys seem very insistent on catching these 'shiny' Pokémon. Are they really that rare?" Lori asked.
"Oh yeah. It's almost impossible to encounter a shiny Pokémon. That's why trainers want to catch any shiny Pokémon they can find," Will replied.
"The chances of encountering any Shiny Pokémon is less than 10%, making them valuable catches indeed!" Rotom stated.
"We've already caught a few 'shiny' Pokémon already, right?" Lola asked.
"Yes. From Toby's Tsareena, to Flora's Zorua, Sylvia's Butterfree and Goodra, and Serenity's Eevee and Chubbykins," Lisa calculated. They were heading down the far end of the cemetery, when they saw some Aether Employees, including a man wearing noticeably large green glasses, confronting Team Skull, including the Butt Grunt.
"Team Skull! Release that Pokémon!" the Aether employee demanded.
"No way! We're gonna market this thing off, and make a bundle!" the Butt Grunt rejected. The Pokémon in question was a Slowpoke, who just yawned.
"Stand your ground!" the glasses employee said.
"Oh, like you're one to talk, Mr. Branch Chief Executive! You haven't done anything to help out!" the other employee argued.
"But, I, Faba, am the Aether Foundation's last line of defense. I can't risk anything happening to me! What would become of our glorious organization if I were to fall?" Faba asked.
"It'd be less of a headache for the rest of us, that's for sure," the other employee muttered quietly. Just then, our heroes arrived on the scene. The Butt Grunt immediately recognized them.
"Hey! You scrubs have been messin' up all our plans, yo!" the Butt Grunt declared.
"We just took down a bunch of meaningless obstacles that were in the way," Will stated.
"Big talk, old dude! But this time, we're not going down without a fight!" the Butt Grunt said, as he and the others released their Pokémon, which included Zubat, Scraggy, Fomantis, Alolan Raticate, and Trubbish.
"What a complete bother. You don't mind if we take care of things here, do you?" Will asked the Aether employees.
"Not at all. Be our guest!" Faba insisted. With that, Will sent out Hariyama, Fluttershy sent in Primarina and Hawlucha, Silver Spoon sent in Magneton, and Toby sent out Prinplup, but with a little too much 'oomph'.
"I ain't getting hit directly with a Pokémon! Time for my SECRET TECHNIQUE!" the Butt Grunt exclaimed, as Japanese Kanji spelling out those words appeared in front of him. Even his fellow grunts were anxious about what he'd do, "BUTT BUMP!" he said, smacking Prinplup away with his butt. Everyone else, including the Pokémon, did anime style trip ups.
"YOU MORON! DON'T CALL SOMETHING THAT STUPID A 'SECRET TECHNIQUE'!" a girl grunt yelled, hitting the Butt Grunt with a Piko Hammer.
"Our bro's stupidity aside, we ain't giving up without a fight!" another grunt said.
"Go on! Attack!" the Butt Grunt commanded the Pokémon, as they all went on to attack.
"Hariyama, push Scraggy back with Arm Thrust!" Will instructed. Hariyama then gave Scraggy two powerful shoves, back in the wall, knocking it out.
Primarina, use Sparkling Aria on Zubat, and Hawlucha, you use Flying Press on Raticate," Fluttershy instructed. Primarina then summoned a ball of water, and flung it at Zubat. The ball exploded on impact, knocking out Zubat. Hawlucha then leapt high into the air, and like a wrestler, going for a slam, it smashed into Raticate, knocking it out as well.
"Magneton, use Thunderbolt on Trubbish!" Silver Spoon instructed. Magneton then fired the electric attack, knocking Trubbish out too.
"Now Prinplup, use Bubblebeam!" Toby instructed. Prinplup then fired Bubblebeam at Fomantis. It was about to make contact, when, an Alolan Grimer leapt out, and used Protect to defend Fomantis.
"Will, why are you defending them?!" Lynn accused.
"Now hold on. That's not my Grimer," Will replied defensively.
"What is going on here?" a woman's voice asked. From behind the grunts, a girl about the same age as either Lori or Leni walked up. She had hot pink hair with pink and yellow pigtails, done up with skull shaped berets.
"BIG SIS!" the grunts exclaimed happily, going in to hug the new girl, only for her to bonk them on the heads.
"Now, I'll ask again: What is going on here? And why are you people bullying these dummy little brothers and sisters of mine?" the new girl asked.
"Well, they are doing some pretty illegal things. We're trying to stop them!" Will countered.
"You must have rich parents if you have this many siblings," Leni commented.
"Uh, Leni, I think this chick is just a Big Sister figure for the grunts," Luna whispered.
"Then name's Plumeria, and it's my job to keep these dummies in line. But, wouldn't you agree that they're adorable in their dumb antics? Either way, I made it a personal vow to punish anyone who bullies these dummies!" Plumeria said, as she released a Golbat, a larger looking Salandit, a Mareanie, and an Ekans.
"Looks like she favors Poison Types like Busujima," Lisa observed.
"Can you blame me though? Poison Types are just SOOOOOO cute!" Plumeria gushed over her Pokémon.
'Yep, she's a fan girl,' our heroes all thought simultaneously.
"Ahem, but they're more than just adorable. They pack a real punch too!" Plumeria said, as her Pokémon went on the attack. Golbat went on to attack Hariyama, while Ekans and Grimer went to battle Primarina and Hawlucha. Mareanie went on to fight Prinplup, and the larger Salandit began a battle against Magneton.
"She must be good if she's letting her Pokémon do all the battling themselves," Lincoln commented.
"Most likely she's the Team Skull Admin," Will replied, as Hariyama was defending against Golbat's attacks, "Hariyama, use Knock Off!" Will instructed. Hariyama then slapped Golbat to the ground very hard, which resulted in a knock out.
"Primarina, use Bubblebeam, and Hawlucha, use Wing Attack!" Fluttershy instructed. Primarina and Hawlucha launched their respective attacks, and were able to knock out both Grimer and Ekans.
"Magneton, use Thunderbolt on Mareanie!" Silver Spoon instructed. Magneton then fired off it's electric attack at Mareanie, knocking it out, making way from Prinplup to fight against the larger Salandit.
"Salazzle, use Venoshock on that Prinplup!" Plumeria commanded. Salazzle then fired Venoshock at Prinplup.
"Prinplup, use Aqua Jet and dodge it!" Toy instructed. Prinplup rocketed out of the way just in time, while also striking Salazzle.
"Not a bad move, but not good enough!" Plumeria yelled, as Salazzle slammed Prinplup away with it's tail, leaving a nasty mark.
"Agh, Prinplup, no!" Toby exclaimed.
"Now do you see what happens to those who bully my dummy brothers and sisters?" Plumeria snarled. The other Pokémon were ready to take on Salazzle, as Prinplup struggled to get back up.
"Don't push yourself, Prinplup! You don't need to keep battling!" Toby said. Prinplup, however, didn't listen, as it stood back up on it's two feet, and began to evolve. Prinplup now became a large, emperor penguin, with three large horns growing from it's beak.
"Prinplup just evolved! It's an Empoleon now!" Will exclaimed.
"Empoleon, the Emperor Pokémon, a Water and Steel Type. The three large horns that extend from it's beak attest to it's power. The one with the largest horns is the leader of a colony," Rotom said. Empoleon then summoned a tidal wave, that swamped the battlefield, and knocked out Salazzle. The other Pokémon got out of the way.
"That was Surf, one of the more powerful Water Type moves!" Will commented, as Plumeria recalled her Pokémon.
"Hmm, looks like there is some fight in you after all. I'll let you off the hook THIS time. But make no mistake, get in my way again, and you will be sorry," Plumeria warned, as she and the grunts took off.
"That was exceptional battling you folks displayed!" Faba said, applauding them, as the employee took to looking over Slowpoke.
"You're very welcome, mister....?" Will asked.
"Faba, my name is Faba. And I represent an organization that is dedicated to Pokémon preservation. That organization is known as the Aether Foundation!" Faba declared.
"Oh yeah, we met some employees in Diglett Tunnel, and at the northern most part of the island," Lori commented.
"I can see you're all currently in your island challenge. Tell you what, after you clear the Grand Trial, meet me at the Hano Grand Resort. From there, I will take you all to a place that may spark some kind of interest," Faba offered. The others contemplated. While some of them looked rather skeptical about Faba, they were interested in what he wanted to show them. They all then gave their consent, "Splendid! Good luck in your Grand Trial," Faba said, as he and the employee took their leave.
"Well guys, we should keep going. The Ruins should be close by," Will said, as they pressed onward.