Prologue
Congregation on the Summit ~ A New Family
“Lillie! Lillie!” a woman shouts as she calls her daughter, hastily packing her belongings. Anyone would think that she is getting ready for a vacation, with all the luxurious travel items she had haphazardly stuffed in her exotic-looking suitcase. Maybe this woman is on her way to Kalos, Snowbelle City in particular. After all, she lives in Alola and may want to experience the cold for just a while. Perhaps she is going to visit Galar instead, where she could enjoy a different biome that contrasts her current place of residence. But what could a single mother be doing with all those scientific gear and equipment? In fact, she is not really traveling per se, although she’s going somewhere cold.
Conveniently and inconveniently, she has to go to Mt. Lanakila due to an emergency that needs her immediate attention. Convenient because she had already packed everything she needed for this event, besides the equipment and gear needed to properly assess the situation. Inconvenient because she has to postpone the vacation she had been intricately planning for so long. Additionally, her daughter’s overflowing excitement transformed into sheer disappointment in a finger snap, which is somewhat unsettling for the mother. They were originally going to Galar and then to Kanto to visit Gladion, Lillie’s older brother. The thing is, Lillie doesn’t know about the Kanto part. It was supposed to be a surprise for both of the siblings.
Out of nowhere, a bag starts vibrating rather violently, which makes Lillie think about her friend and Nebby. She giggles at the memories. “Mother? What’s in your bag?” she asks offhandedly, failing to stifle a rather inelegant laugh.
“It’s just my phone. Someone’s calling.” The woman swiftly digs through her expensive purse and answers the call. “What is it, Wicke?”
“Miss Lusamine!” the other end replies. “We’re in a helicopter and we’re about to arrive at your house, the Aether Mansion. Please be ready.” Lusamine is the president of an organization called Aether Foundation. It focuses on aiding hurt Pokémon and preserving the fauna and flora of Alola. Employees restore the health of Pokémon, but not in the way Pokémon Centers do. The scope of Aether Foundation is much larger and it recently branched out to different regions across the world. They shelter hurt Pokémon in an intricately designed ecosystem that they constructed themselves within their main base of operations, the Aether Paradise. It’s an artificial island! Pokémon in need are placed in specialized habitats optimized for their growth and well-being. Once the Pokémon are healed, they are released to thrive in the natural environment and other hurt Pokémon replace them in the Aether Paradise.
The global expansion of Aether Foundation is progressing quickly and smoothly. Lusamine plans to help other universes one day by travelling through passages of space-time called Ultra Wormholes. It’s her greatest ambition yet. However, Aether Foundation is still seeking for more members in order to put this project into action. Moreover, they have yet to completely understand Ultra Wormholes. Tests are being run everyday to ensure the success of this plan. The first step of this plan is to gather the different Aether Foundations across different universes and get them to cooperate. Lusamine is delighted by the idea of meeting other Lusamines and how different or similar they’d be.
As Lusamine clumsily exits her room, an epiphany strikes her, pausing her incomplete stride midway. Her perfect balance keeps her in that position for a while as she takes her time to process the idea, until she takes out five Ultra Balls. A tail of light emerges from each of the now-open Ultra Balls as they are hurled into the air, morphing into the shape of Lusamine’s Pokémon. “Clefable, Lilligant, Lopunny, Bewear, and Milotic.” After completing her role call, Lusamine’s expression becomes serious. “Security here is pretty tight, but I’m leaving you all here as an extra layer of defense. Whatever happens, protect Lillie.” The Pokémon nod to Lusamine, and-
“Mother! What did you just say?” Lillie bursts out. “I am no longer weak and you should be able to sense that! Ninetales and I can protect ourselves! I’m becoming a trial captain soon so I know how to do that! I’m strong now!” Proudly, Lillie flaunts a brown flower-shaped emblem signifying her status as a trial captain. It has a baby blue jewel on one of the four petals.
“Now that’s my baby girl. You’re growing up and becoming independent. I knew I raised you well.” Lusamine’s serious expression changes into a bittersweet smile. Lillie does the same and both of them give each other a heartwarming goodbye hug.
Some time passes as Lusamine and Wicke arrive at the peak of Mt. Lanakila. The sky is a dark blue canvas dotted with stars. A fading streak of lavender creates a gradient at the bottom of the view. A full moon radiantly shines upon the mountain and the people therein. “Fantastic! Just how overwhelmingly fantastic! The moon, the sky, the stars! The snowy peak beautifully juxtaposes the tropical environment of Alola! Purely fantastic!” squeals Viola, a famous photographer and Kalosian gym leader. She is staying in Alola for a while to volunteer for Aether Foundation, only because she thought there would be plenty of good photo ops. Also, her sister Alexa is a journalist and wants Viola to get details about the soon-to-be Kalos branch of Aether Foundation.
“Focus here, not your camera!” an employee tries to communicate, but Viola is too frantic with joy taking scenic pictures. The employee sighs, then notices Lusamine’s arrival. “Ah, president! An Ultra Wormhole appeared here and we thought a serious threat could be coming to Alola again.”
“An Ultra Wormhole? That’s impossible. We have learned how to stabilize them a long time ago. This one might be due to a slight malfunction in our systems.” Lusamine attempts to reassure everyone.
“Yes, that is true. But something, or rather, someone came out of it. We thought it would be in your best interest to see who it is!”
“Oh?” Lusamine expresses, shocked not at the employee’s words, but at the glaring rip of light in the sky. The rip flares up, revealing a portal to somewhere else. Once again, Viola takes out her camera and uncontrollably takes pictures in the name of “research.” Lusamine surveys the gap. “This hole seems to function exactly like an Ultra Wormhole but it looks quite different. Wait, what’s coming out of that hole!?”
Pink blob-shaped creatures adorned with manic expressions and angel wings leak out of the gap like running water. They look edible and there are too many of them too count. “Now that’s a scene I’d title ‘Infestation!’ Like the Bug-type move! Fantastic!” comments Viola, receiving only a giggle from Guzma who is now part of Aether Foundation.
Reacting quickly, Lusamine sends out Clefable. “Clefable, use Flamethrower!” A beam of fire extends instantly from Clefable’s mouth, knocking out the unknown creatures. A sweet aroma floods the atmosphere and it is now raining candy. “How about you title that ‘Extermination’ instead?” Lusamine and Clefable strike a pose as the gap seals itself. Lusamine approaches an employee, instructing him to grab a sample to send to the lab for examination. She also sneakily eats one of the fallen sentient candies.
“President, you should see who the person that fell from the hole is!” suggests the employee. “This is the sole reason why we sent you here. We would have dealt with the wormhole situation ourselves after all. Also, this thing came with the boy.” The employee hands Lusamine a shiny gold coin, then guides Lusamine to the fallen human. The coin resembles a pixelated sun.
Lusamine is shaking and it is not because of the cold. Who could this person be? As Lusamine approaches the boy, his features gradually reveal themselves behind the handful of people involved in the commotion. When she sees the figure, she is greeted with comfort. Not the type of comfort that is relaxing and securing, but more like a pleasant surprise.
“Gladion?”
