44-45

Leo patted Diana as she settled down from her training, the great Tyranitar shuffling her feet and pressing her forehead into his hand like an overgrown puppy as she ended her martial forms. An overgrown puppy that could shoot lasers and levitate, if only for a few seconds and a few inches at a time. Still, in the past few days since the Ultra Beast attack – of whom they had seen neither hide nor hair from – she had steadily increased the duration she could levitate and the height she could reach. Leo wasn't sure why that was the case, but he had his theories. It could in part be because of her early evolution. It could be because the Tapu Koko feather in his backpack had given her that last sliver of energy she needed for evolution. It could even be because of her desire to fly and touch the clouds – he vaguely remembered a pokedex entry for Salamence saying that the reason they grew wings was due to their intense desire to fly in their pre-evolutions, so maybe Diana had a similar influence on her own evolution? Who knew. As far as Leo was aware, that was the question pokemon scientists had been asking themselves since the dawn of time.

Everyone had their theories. Everyone knew the basics. But the outliers were what threw even the true professors off, and made them question the pre-determined "rules."

What he did know was that because she did have a unique evolution; he was almost positive she was thinner and more aerodynamic than the average Tyranitar, despite being taller, he had to make observations and compare them to the data he had in the pokedex. Not only would Professor Oak kill him if he didn't, but he also wanted to make sure Diana was ok and that her early evolution didn't have any bad side-effects. So far he hadn't picked up on anything, but she was still getting reacquainted with her limbs and that was taking longer than was typical for the species. He, once again, chalked that up to her early evolution though. Tyranitar could move their limbs while in the Pupitar phase, once said limbs were formed within the cocoon, and Diana didn't really have that time. Still, Leo thought as Diana pushed her head into his chest, nearly knocking him over, she seemed to be doing absolutely fine.

"That's enough girl," Leo said with a chuckle, gently pushing the giant rock-monster away. "You've been incorrigible ever since your evolution. No more pats for you, I need to give the others some love too. Zuko and Xena are feeling jealous," he gently chided. Diana pulled her head away, a guilty rumble reverberating in her throat as she looked over to where Zuko was napping and Xena was very pointedly not looking at them, instead watching Aerith as the little Happiny polished her white stone.

"I need to finish my thoughts on Spiritomb, too," Leo muttered, rubbing the stone in his pocket. The ghost had been dormant ever since Froslass had split from it – she had refused a name, even the name of the woman she had once been, and thus Leo would continue to call her Froslass – and while that didn't overtly concern him, it did bring up a few questions.

For example; he'd repeatedly tried to enter the mindscape again, with Froslass' help even, and failed every time. Currently his working theory was that the mindscape had been unique to Spiritomb itself, as a sort of way for his mind to rationalize and visualize the ghost's hive-mind, as well as the esoteric concept that was the soul. Either way, it seemed to him that the mindscape was something tied to Spiritomb specifically, rather than a unique ability that he had access to. Not that the mindscape was really useful for anything other than things involving Spiritomb…or in visualizing his soul. But that didn't feel as…important to him. It was hard to describe.

But Spiritomb and Diana weren't the only ones who had grown since their time in this world, and since he hadn't seen any evidence of the ultra beasts around since the night Diana evolved, he finally felt like he had enough room to really start to catalogue everything that was going on. Well, not just that, but since he was feeling back up to a hundred percent now he felt up to actually trying to see it.

Link was working on his connection to fairy energy, and had grown by leaps and bounds. Leo was fairly certain they were close to inventing a new move, one that involved swords and the fairy type, but as for now dazzling gleam was all but mastered and he was close to creating a fully Fairy Blade, without using leaf blade as a base to channel the energy through. Santiago was sharpening his mind – his psychic power, while vast, was slowly being honed to a finer degree so he could use it as both spear and hammer. Most impressive, however, were his improvements with his water abilities. From where Leo stood beneath the shade of the jungle, Diana by his side, he could see Santiago on the beach practicing hydro pump.

It was a solid upgrade from water pulse, and was giving him a bit more power behind his water attacks that water pulse wasn't giving him. Right now he could score great lines in the sand with his attack, but he could only use it a few times and it wasn't as powerful as it could be. Meanwhile, Zuko had been working on his electric attacks, and Xena was…well, she was working on a lot of things; from close-combat to the ranged dragon breath. The only one who wasn't actively expanding her repertoire was Froslass, and that's because she was still getting used to being her own pokemon again.

"I'm tired of waiting, girl," Leo said finally, patting Diana's side. She rumbled out an agreement, eyeing the large jungle tree next to her as if she was considering eating it. She had the same curiosity as when she'd been a Larvitar, after all. She had to taste everything. "We just need a final check on the boat, and then we're crossing the ocean. We've tested the engine, we've triple-checked the motor – what little I remember about engines, anyway – and it all looks good. We haven't seen the ultra beasts in days. We won't gain anything by waiting around too long," he said decisively. A crunching sound was his answer, Diana leaning forward and biting through a tree-branch, only to spit out the wooden shards and whine, looking at Leo plaintively. He sighed.

"I can't even count how many times he has told you that wood won't taste good," Santiago said, his training finished as he ambled up to them, breathing heavily. Diana whined and ran a hand along her tongue, brushing off more splinters before bending down and eating a mouthful of soil to wash away the taste. Judging by her expression she did not enjoy the texture, but she swallowed anyway. Leo shook his head in amusement. "When will we leave?"

"I was thinking tomorrow at the latest." Leo said with finality.

"That soon?" he asked.

"Yes. We've done everything we could, and there is nothing more to prepare for," Leo said.

"…you're sure?" Santiago asked, slowly, and Leo nodded. "You are far more…decisive than before,"

"Yes, I think I am," Leo agreed, touching his chest. He could feel his aura there – though it wasn't a foreign feeling. It was like becoming aware of his own breathing, something he did naturally, but now thought of consciously. It was weird, and more in-depth than that, but that was the closest feeling he could prescribe to it. Being aware of it now meant he could start to understand what it did in more detail. And he was only scratching the surface. "We've wasted enough time. Can you imagine what Victoria will do when we come back, if we tell her how much time we wasted?"

Santiago seemed to ponder that for a moment, then shuddered. Leo nodded in agreement; just thinking about what Prince, Victoria's Persian, would do to him was enough to send a shiver down his spine.

So they got to work. The rest of the day was spent in quiet preparation, checking and re-checking that everything was in order. And that the boat, a white thing with blue stripes down the side, cleaned of moss and muck by Leo and his team, was pushed into the water by Diana. Everything was ready.

But in the early morning light of the next day, when Leo slid out of the little shelter he had made along the beach and stood up, looking towards the ocean, he found that his plans for the day were entirely derailed. The fact that a Nihilego was peacefully floating over the boat had everything to do with it – though not for the reasons one might expect. For one it was just sitting there peacefully, facing his direction – despite the massive jellyfish not having an actual face – with its two foremost tentacles wrapped around its back almost as if it was clasping its hands together.

Of course, Leo felt no fear towards a single Nihilego. They were not as powerful as he had feared – much like most of the other ultra-beasts he'd fought for that matter. They were not legendaries. Extra-dimensional beings with foreign abilities, yes. But they were not legendaries.

They paled in the face of something like Articuno, whose power did not so much as radiate from it as simply exist, letting all know that it was Winter, for all that entailed – even Celebi had more of a presence than the ultra beasts; that of something ancient and timeless. Ultra beasts were just…foreign. Strange. Unknown, not unknowable.

But what really caught his attention about this creature was that it was wearing a hat. A battered, once-white Aether Foundation hat, with the trident-like golden logo stitched onto the front.

"Uh," he said, eloquently stating his surprise. The Nihilego seemed to spot him and casually waved one tentacle in greeting. And then his team took notice of the threat.

Diana roared, startling Pikipek from the trees, her deep boom joined by the rattling warcry of Xena as she leapt to her feet, claws bared and teeth pulled back into a snarl. Link leapt in front of Leo, a leaf-blade half drawn as Santiago took up position behind him, crown gem flashing with pink light. Aerith put a little hand on Leo's pants leg and gripped a small rock in her other, eyeing the beast warily. Only Froslass was missing, and Leo felt her absence sharply.

He squinted and spotted a flash of white just behind the Nihilego – too soft to be the ultra-beast's weird skin – and he knew where his ghost was.

"Stand down!" Leo barked, squaring his shoulders and clasping his hands behind his back. Santiago turned to look at him in confusion, but his team made no further movement to attack. With a grunt Leo bent and scooped up Aerith, who chattered at him softly while keeping an eye on the Nihilego. Absently he bounced her on his hip, trying to soothe the worried normal-type, and stared at the ultra-beast unsure of what to say next. Thankfully the Nihilego solved that issue for him by letting out a long, low cry that sounded like a pitiful attempt at imitating a Pidgeotto's cry.

Collectively his team blinked in surprise, shock ripping through them. Leo felt lost as he looked at Santiago and raised an eyebrow.

"Um. He said 'Greetings and salutations, human! My name is Mohn. I apologize for the way my associates treated you before, but I assure you it is a misunderstanding. May we have a little chat? I promise I will explain everything,'" Santiago said. Ok, what? Leo thought, not missing the name-drop. Mohn was Lusamine's husband – the one who had fallen through an ultra-wormhole. And now his curiosity was well and truly piqued. He worried his lip a bit and looked up at Diana before shrugging. Aw, what the hell. Call me arrogant, but I've got a Tyranitar on my side now. Let's see what it has to say. Besides, I'm tired of fighting these guys.

Leo rubbed his hands together as the Nihilego told its story, Santiago translating as he lounged in the sand beside him. It may have looked like he was relaxed, but Leo knew he was anything but – laying sidewise in the sand as he was, head propped up on one paw with half-lidded eyes, Leo knew the Slowking was keeping a psychic eye on their surroundings all while translating the conversation. A perk of being a psychic type, that multi-tasking ability.

Which was great, because Leo was positively enthralled.

He'd always wondered what happened to this world.

In Alola, at least, a land abandoned by humanity – whose scattered remnants still held out in pockets in other regions – it started with the Sundering. By the time the ultra-beasts had arrived, much of the region had been destroyed so all this information was what Mohn-Nihilego had learned from the local pokemon or from magazines it had found. Prior to this event, humanity had been as it always had been. Pokemon worked together with people to become stronger, they forged bonds, people fought and played – and of course there were those who did ill. No one was quite sure what caused the Sundering. One day everything was fine. The next, many people just…stopped, having lost the will to carry on. People laid down in the streets and refused to move. Some perished outright. Others milled about seemingly lost. Only the strongest of heart and mind survived unchanged, though they described the event as something akin to having a hammer strike against their soul.

Their pokemon described it as someone taking a knife and raking it across the bond between them and their trainer, as if trying to sever it.

The skies darkened on that day, radiating outward from the north-west like a wall of shadow. Sensing a disturbance, the Legendary Tapus raced across the ocean towards the source of the darkness, never to be seen again. All they left behind were feathers and Z-crystals as tokens to remember them by; vestiges of their power.

For three long months the skies remained dark, but that was not the worst of it. For then came the distortions. Fractures in space and time, holes cleaved in the fabric of the universe leaving paths to foreign worlds, ran rampant. And thus came the ultra-beast hordes. Dazed and confused they flooded into Alola unchecked, lashing out against all who crossed their paths out of fear for the foreign world. That is when Mohn-Nihilego first arrived. And in their panic, they fought against the leaders of Alola and those humans who remained. It was a time of war and bloodshed, in which people perished in droves and humanity teetered on the brink of collapse.

Then the sun returned, in a flash of brilliant golden light, and with it the space-time fractures began to heal. The ultra-beasts eventually calmed, growing used to the foreign world. The remaining humans gladly accepted the ultra-beasts newfound peace, for fear of their race's extinction, but the damage had been done. Very few people remained, and those that did were scarred from all the fighting. It had been a true apocalypse; and the survivors, led by the Alolan Kahuhas who lived, left this land in search of survivors and their guardian deities. They had not been seen since, and it had been twenty years since that day.

Leo nodded along with the story as the Mohn-Nihilego launched into the next part of the tale, and the part he was most confused about – why this Nihilego called itself Mohn, Lusamine's long-lost husband. It was actually pretty simple, in some respects. One of the things Nihilego fed off of were memories, and this particular Nihilego had absorbed the memories of Mohn.

"It's actually a fascinating subject. I – or, well, the original Mohn – had so many theories after I absorbed the memories," Santiago translated, his tone of voice lacking any of the enthusiasm the Nihilego seemed to have as it waved its tentacles in the air, floating back and forth as if pacing. "We devour memories of humans who pass by our section of ultra-space, where we lived originally. Why is that? I theorize it's a sort of defense mechanism. Something about the nature of ultra space makes it hard on the human mind – so long as you are not travelling with one of the great Legendaries to protect you – and we eat those memories. Obviously that is not the only function Nihilego have, but considering we inhabit those strange spaces between worlds that are most dangerous for humans and pokemon alike, I cannot imagine it is an accident."

"He's rambling," Leo noted as Santiago fell silent, watching Nihilego pace back and forth while letting out those low, keening cries with relative consistency. Eventually Santiago picked up the conversation again, though, though Leo kind of wished he'd heard the rambling.

"This is where the man named Mohn comes in. He fell through a hole in the sky a few years ago, and I happened to be the one who ended up tasting his memories. Through him I learned about other worlds, and became aware of myself as a being, not just a thing. He only stayed for a short time – a few months at most before falling back to his world – but that time was very educational for us. After all, that is how we discovered ultra-wormholes and a method to escape back to our own worlds. This is not our home, and we desire to return. Unfortunately we did not know how to communicate with you. That combined with the fact that many of the ultra beasts have few good experiences with humans, caused me to send a few of my much tamer brethren after you. I do apologize for the miscommunication. I am entirely at fault and, in hindsight, it was not the most human-like gesture," Santiago translated.

"But that does sound like a Pokemon solution to problems. Everything can be solved with a good fistfight." Leo reasoned, scratching his chin. Mohn-Nihilego bobbed up and down in agreement while Leo eyed the pokemon. He had a decent understanding of the situation now. Somewhat. "So do you have a way to get me back to my world?" he asked. Mohn-Nihilego warbled, and Santiago cocked his head to the side.

"Not without losing your memories." Santiago translated. "Leo, I think the rule is that you have to travel with a legendary in order to not lose your memories."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Are you the ones who keep attacking Alola in the other world? Why are you so fixated on Lusamine – is it because of your memories?" Leo asked, keeping his tone civil and expression neutral. Mohn-Nihilego bobbed its head again, and Zuko let out an uncharacteristic growl.

"I do not have a lot of pull with the other ultra-beasts outside of a select few of my own species. We accidentally incited the Buzzwole and Pheromosa into attacking you a few days ago which, again, I apologize for. Try not to use Z-moves by the way, they incense us. Regardless, what we all agree on is that we wish to return to our respective homeworlds; Lusamine is the leading researcher on ultra wormholes and mapping out ultra-space. Thus, she is the most likely beyond the unreachable legendaries to be able to help is. Mohn's memories do push me in that direction as well, though. Your world is the one world we are consistently able to connect to, that is close enough to this one we know what to expect. It is almost a…mirror of your world. My best guess, anyway," Mohn-Nihilego reasoned, and Leo rubbed his face.

This was getting complicated.

"So let me sum this up. You've been attacking my world because you're trying to get home, and think Lusamine has figured out how. You've been attacking me because I came through a portal, though you haven't really told me your interest in me yet. You ate Lusamine's husband's memories, and that's how you know all this and act more human than pokemon. And now…?" He asked, trailing off leadingly. Nothing about this situation made him happy, but Nihilego was potentially extending a hand – tentacle? – of peace, and he didn't want to turn it away. Not fearing an attack around every corner would be nice.

"Ah, yes, I do prattle on sometimes. Sorry, we require your aid," Mohn-Nihilego said, and didn't elaborate. Santiago narrowed his eyes, glanced at Leo, then looked back at Nihilego.

"Who's we?" Leo asked, his eyes wandering up to where Froslass had reappeared above Nihilego, giggling to herself and freezing the top of the ultra-beast's hat.

"My comrades, and the remaining Totems," Nihilego said simply, and Leo paused. He tilted his head to the side and scratched his cheek in confusion. Santiago blinked in surprise, then furrowed his own brows, lifting himself up into a sitting position and turning to properly face Mohn-Nihilego.

"The remaining Totems?" Santiago questioned. Leo just frowned as the Nihilego engaged in a quick conversation with Santiago through a series of quick, quiet chirps and warbles. Leo himself just frowned and ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. He didn't trust this pokemon. Like, at all. But his team hadn't noticed any foul play yet, and no one had noticed any other ultra beasts coming to attack either. So he would at least hear out the request.

"He says there are three remaining Totem pokemon, not including the Blissey you promoted. In fact, he says Blissey is the one who turned him onto your trail," Santiago said, and Leo jerked in surprise. "And that they need your help in anointing other Totems…wait, that's not right," Santiago muttered to himself a bit and talked to Mohn-Nihilego once more before scratching his chin and shaking his head. "I can't make sense of what's being said here. It's not translating to human right." He grumbled. A thought occurred to Leo then and he turned around, reaching inside of his pack and rummaging about for a second before finding what he was looking for.

"Does it have something to do with this?" Leo asked suddenly, turning and pulling out the feather of Tapu Koko and showing it to Mohn-Nihilego. He had himself fully prepared for a hostile reaction from the ultra-beast, but instead all he received was an excited wiggle of the pokemon's head.

"Yes," Santiago translated. "That. We need your help with two things, the second of which is in regards to that feather. Or in regards to the other Totem pokemon. We need you to travel to each of their shrines, gather what they left, and take them to…the Throne? In order to call them back. A few years back they got a visitor from another region – a travelling pokemon, something called an Eon? – that said they were gathering mementos of the legendaries. This world is hurt, but not dead, and they need all the help they can get to get it back on its feet." He explained, cocking his head to the side. Leo did the same, scratching his chin. Wait…the Throne? And legendaries? Was that Mount Coronet? That's the…arguable throne of Arceus, right?

"Mount Coronet?" Leo asked, and Nihilego bobbed its head in affirmation. Leo narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin. He was going there anyways…and they just want him to take the feathers of Tapus there? What in the world was going on here? "What's in it for you? Why go to all this effort? I'm very confused, if I'm being bluntly honest," he said.

"That brings it back to the first task. Our greatest desire, to return to our homes, can only be granted by the return of the legendary pokemon. The only way to do that is to take their treasures to the Throne and physically call them back – something about it acting as a homing beacon or something? I'm not fully understanding it. I'm not even sure they know where the Tapus actually went – ah! The first task is also in regards to a legendary pokemon. Well, in regards to the only true legendary among the ultra-beasts; Guzzlord." Santiago said, and Leo frowned. The only true legendary? Weren't all ultra beasts legendary pokemon…?

Or, wait, that was just based on stats. And based on stats alone, weren't Tyranitar stronger than Articuno? Yet back in the silver mountains, Diana's dad Tyrus had been constantly fighting Articuno and never once won. Seems like I was right, then. Ultra beasts may be powerful, but they're not "legendary" pokemon. Based on what I remember from the games, in their home planets ultra beasts are relatively common. I'm certain that it's their alien nature that makes it difficult for us to handle them, as well as these ones having been veterans of a war against all of Alola. If Guzzlord is legendary, then, and is truly the endless glutton the games and anime made it out to be, what is it's purpose?

All legendary pokemon have a purpose, even if it's not expressly clear. Articuno seems to be winter. Celebi time travel, the Tapu pokémon are guardians against extra-dimensional incursion, and Lunala has something to do with inter-dimensional travel. So what is Guzzlord? There was one frozen in a block of nevermeltice in the Silver Mountains and it was powerful enough to harm Articuno – still not sure if it was a flock of Articuno or just one, I've heard too many conflicting reports on that – so clearly it's legendary level.

"What is it you need me to do?" Leo asked.

"Capture it or send it home?" Santiago repeated, cocking his head to the side. "…you want us to fight a legendary pokemon? Well, it wouldn't be the first time," he said with a shrug. Diana and Xena, both of whom had been sitting on the beach a few yards away and listening intently, perked up at the idea. Xena in particular flexed her claws and grinned ferally.

"I'm sorry, what?" Leo asked, the only one who was reasonably concerned about the idea. Fighting a legendary? Really?

"What are you surprised about? It's nothing we haven't done before," Santiago said, completely relaxed. "Besides, he said he and the other Totem pokemon will be helping. Even Blissey." Leo blinked and opened his mouth to protest, but Santiago interrupted him. "I want you to stop and think about what you've done. Not just us, your teammates, but you. Who have you personally picked a fight with?"

Leo spluttered, face turning red at the accusation and eyes narrowing, but unable to counter Santiago's point. Off the top of his head he had, alone, and with no chance of winning; wrestled with a literal wrestle dragon multiple times, gotten into fights with fighting types, fought a bunch of smugglers and won, and even battled Tapu Koko without a second's hesitation. He frowned, scrunching his nose and glaring at Santiago in annoyance.

"I hate that you're right," he grumbled.

"I know I'm right. Also, he says that Guzzlord is eating everything, even the atmosphere, and if we don't stop him the world will truly fall to ruin," Santiago said, and Leo blanched. Wasn't it a theme to find Guzzlord in a ruined world? He's pretty sure there's an episode in the anime about Ash fighting a Guzzlord with a ranger or something in a ruined world…

"Well shit. Where is Guzzlord now?" Leo asked. Santiago listened for a minute, then nodded.

"Ula'ula island. The Totem there is keeping it contained in a blizzard, slowing the dragon's intake of, well, everything, but he can only do so much. We have maybe eight months before the dragon can move freely again." Santiago said, then nodded. "I believe him. His mind is alien, but truth and lies are similar no matter the species. Some of what he said isn't entirely true to what he believes, but what he just said is truth."

"You believe him?" Leo asked, and Santiago nodded. "Guys?" he asked, turning to the rest of his team. Xena flexed her claws and bared her teeth, Diana yawned while staring at the sky, Zuko seemed to sigh as he laid next to Xena on the beach, Froslass continued to mess with Mohn-Nihilego's head, building a snowcastle atop the hat now, Link idly played with his leafy kilt, determination shining in his eyes, and Aerith…Aerith was busy digging holes in the sand with a little plastic shovel. Leo stared at her a moment, a smile crawling its way to his face, and couldn't help but sigh.

Blissey gave Aerith to him in hopes he could guide her to a better world. How could he leave this one without doing something to make a difference? But first…

"What do you expect me to be able to do that you could not?" he asked. "Why don't you just capture it in a pokeball?" Nihilego buzzed, and Santiago translated.

"It won't stay in for us. Not even ultra-balls? Nor do we truly have the power to defeat it – wild pokemon are not like trained pokemon. Trained pokemon will all fight to the very end. Us ultra beasts may flee, and I cannot command them. If the Old One has taught me anything, it is that we need a human's help. All pokemon know is fight until it is defeated – but even if we defeat Guzzlord, we cannot do anything about it. It will wake up, and continue to consume. Even with Kartana's help we cannot get it to go through an ultra wormhole, though the sword's aid is spotty at best," it said. Leo rubbed his chin and stood.

Does it not know about beast balls? That would make things much simpler. Considering Mohn disappeared before the creation of beast balls it makes sense though. I wonder if Aether Paradise is still standing…

With a jerk Leo realized something. He wasn't even considering not helping out – he wanted to give aid to these creatures. Even if they had been antagonizing him since before coming here, Santiago's word was good enough to give tentative trust to the beast. It wasn't smart. It wasn't wise. In fact it could very well be considered stupid.

He just didn't care.

"Well damn, seems I already made my decision. Fine, I'll trust you tentatively. We'll check out the situation, but if we sense any kind of foul play you will be the first one to die, got it?" Leo said, not a hint of a threatening tone reaching his voice. It was a simple statement of fact that hid the seriousness of his statement. His fists clenched unconsciously as he turned to face the Nihilego, who had stilled. "Do you understand?" he demanded, freezing the 'mon in place. It was silent for but a moment before bobbing up and down in acknowledgement.

Carefully and quietly the Nihilego rose into the air, motioning for Leo to follow and clasping its tentacles behind its back. It drifted slowly to the ocean, hovering over the waves lapping gently against the beach. Off on the horizon a flock of Pelipper and Wingull flew, cawing loudly as they sought fish as nothing but flashes of white against the clear blue sky.

The sea began to tremble, water roiling as from the depths of the ocean came a truly massive creature. A flat, rounded, brown carapace covered head the size of a bus emerged first, water spilling from the edges as the beast lifted itself out of the water, the massive, scythe-like arms native to the water-dwelling species rising out of the ocean with it. By the time the Kabutobs had risen to its full height, carapace glinting in the sunlight as it shook itself off, it easily stood over twenty feet tall. Power radiated from the beast unlike anything Leo had seen before – this was a Totem Pokemon, of that there was no doubt.

It warbled out a cry, its voice booming over the beach and rumbling through Leo's chest, scraping its scythes against each other as it rolled its neck and cast an unimpressed gaze over Leo's team.

Xena roared out a warcry in response, not in challenge, but just to let it know that she was here, too. Link stepped forward and immediately levelled a leaf blade at the totem, eager for a fight against a fellow swordsman, while Diana rose up to her full height and said nothing – though that was partly because she was chewing on a boulder the size of Leo, greatly enjoying crunching through the hard stone. Though judging by the rumbling of her vents she was not wholly relaxed.

Santiago just sighed and shook his head, looking at Leo helplessly while Froslass appeared over his shoulder, staring at the Kabutops curiously.

For a moment nothing moved, and Leo cocked his head to the side, then bowed to the great beast formally as a sign of respect. Kabutops screeched in response, the sound leaving no doubt in Leo's mind as to its anger. He angled his head up to stare at the pokemon unimpressed as it marched across the sand towards him. Link leapt in the way, a substitute shield already summoned and a battlecry halfway out of his mouth before Leo cut him off.

"I do not care about your rage. I am doing this out of the kindness of my heart," he announced, straightening up. Kabutops hesitated. Honestly Leo didn't understand what Kabutops was angry about. He didn't understand a lot of things, and he was, quite frankly, pissed the hell off about this entire situation. All he wanted was to go home. "And in the hope that once this is done, you all will help me get across the ocean and to Mount Coronet, where I can return home. I am not of this world, and thus I truly have nothing to do with its problems and its collapse. Yet here I am. And damn my bleeding heart, I don't think I can abandon you after Blissey helped me. But try me again and see what I do," he snapped, curling his lips in a snarl and stepping forward as if to fight Kabutops himself.

"I am Leo Angelico. Foreigner to this world and the one I came from; traveler of dimensions. I have stood before Articuno, been saved by Lunala twice, and received the wisdom of Celebi. Trainer of legacies; legacies of champions down to the hope of a simple Slowpoke herd. I am not of this world nor any you know. Yet I am here, listening to you, offering you aid, so you had better damn well treat me with the same respect I offer to you," he snapped, tilting his head up to stare Kabutops in the eyes. The beast stared at him for a moment, then let out a low crooning sound that sounded suspiciously amused before turning and rumbling at the Nihilego.

"He says 'Seems we were sent a spark of moonfire, not a guiding light.'" Santiago translated. Leo frowned, not sure whether or not to count that as an insult. In fact, he wasn't sure what the hell that meant in the first place. Moon might be a reference to Lunala? He filed that thought away for later and simply raised an eyebrow, watching the Totem Kabutops as it turned back to the sea. It waved one clawed hand to the boat Leo had been preparing to travel in, then jerked its head in a motion to follow it out to sea.

He only hesitated for a few seconds before recalling half of his team. Only Aerith, Santiago, Link, and Froslass remained outside of their pokeballs, the rest either too big to fit on the boat or ineffective at sea. It was a simple command and Leo was half tempted to ask it to say please; but that was petty, and he was not petty. Besides, pokemon did not abide by the rules of man; pokemon were creatures who fought each other for fun, almost universally so. Combat was not so much a decision as a way of life. Almost as necessary as breathing, for some pokemon.

Leo chuckled to himself, a thought occurring to him. Maybe that was why he liked the pokemon world so much. It was a world of warriors. Or, more specifically, it was a world that truly nurtured the warrior spirit inside of him. Something that his old world, his first world, never had. Maybe it was only just occurring to him. Maybe he had been blind to it. But the pokemon world – or worlds, in this case – were worlds of heroes. Of people who were more than willing to toss their lives aside for the greater good. That was what the Nihilego's story had told him; even Alola was full of people willing to toss aside their lives to combat the greater evil. Whatever had caused the collapse of this world could not be allowed to fester, and as such, the warriors had promptly packed up their things and gone in search of it.

How could he do anything less?

How could Leo spit in the face of such bravery?

He wouldn't. He couldn't.

As he took his first step towards the boat he felt his aura flare, rising up within him like a roaring flame that burst from his skin and filled his limbs with heat. It was almost as if he could feel the fallen heroes of Alola pushing him along – it was not a weight on his shoulders, but an encouraging shove that said to him "go. Show them your mettle." And it occurred to him that this was not a broken world, like he had been told and believed.

Whatever great evil, whatever great destructive force had driven this world to the brink had been defeated. It was not a dying world, but a redeemed one. A world that shouted "we will not go quietly into that good night!" It was a world to be rebuilt. A surge of excited pride lanced through Leo's veins as he approached the boat, tied up to the shore against a rotten log as it was.

He was not a hero of this world, but damn it if he wouldn't help it get back on its feet. Maybe being sent here was an accident. But, while he was here…

He would leave his mark, for himself and his team, even if it was a mark only he would see. It wasn't a matter of personal pride. It was a matter of soul.

It was time to go kick the ass of a legendary pokemon. After some preparation, of course.

45

A salty breeze whipped through Leo's hair, the boat's engine roaring as he piloted it across the ocean. It was actually a beautiful day – the sun was shining, there were a few fluffy clouds in the sky, and a Celesteela flying above glinted in the sunlight.

Leo yanked the wheel to the side, nearly throwing Santiago off the side as he swerved to avoid the beam of energy that shot down from the sky, carving a line in the blue ocean and spraying Leo with water. Santiago spluttered and responded by hurling a water pulse skyward – it was still far more accurate than his hydro pump – that the Celesteela casually avoided.

"I thought you said the ultra beasts would be allies!" Leo yelled while Link climbed up onto the seat next to him, charging a solar beam. Mohn-Nihilego waved its tentacles at him, flying alongside the boat but very carefully not getting too close. After all, Leo seemed to be the only target. Link popped up and fired the solarbeam, the ray of green light smiting Celesteela in the side and knocking one of its rocket-arms off course, sending it careening through the air. It managed to right itself after a few seconds and hovered, seeming to lock on to Leo with malicious intent.

Then the Totem Kabutops popped out of the water and hit it with a hydro pump for the ages. A pillar of water easily as wide as the boat was long erupted from the ocean, directly hitting Celesteela. A sharp whine echoed out from the ultra beast, the space-rocket like pokemon blasting off through the air dripping water. Leo watched it go – glancing between driving the boat and where it disappeared into the skyline – and only slowed down when he was certain it was gone. The boat's engine slowed to a dull rumble, the wind not quite so harsh on his face, as he took a breath and steadied himself.

When he tried to take his hands away from the steering wheel, he found they were shaking.

Fighting ultra-beasts on land was one thing, and scary enough at that. Fighting them in the middle of the ocean was entirely another.

"I thought you said the ultra-beasts were allies," Leo ground out, turning to face Mohn-Nihilego as it approach, carefully putting its beat-up and now soggy hat back on its head. It waved its tentacles and warbled as Link waved a leaf at it threateningly, saying something that was decidedly not nice, even if Leo couldn't exactly understand what he said.

"Where did you ever say they were allies?" Santiago questioned, breathing heavily and still steadying himself against the side of the boat. It really wasn't a big vessel – just a small fishing boat with two seats, a cracked windscreen, and a once-white coloration – but it was enough for their purposes. "What was that entire speech you did on the beach? About you all just wanting to go home?" Nihilego warbled again, and Santiago scowled.

"He says he never meant to imply they were allies. You're still a human, and they spent years fighting humans. There will be conflict, even if he can reason with a few of them. That's part of the reason why they're having trouble with Guzzlord, the ultra-beasts aren't unified; every time they start to battle it attracts more rogue ultra-beasts, and it descends into a free-for-all." Santiago translated. Leo scowled and glared at Mohn-Nihilego.

He wouldn't have let Celesteela get so close had he known that.

"So who are our allies then?" Leo asked, frowning. Nihilego waved its tentacles around.

"He says that he can reliably control three others of his own kind, there's a good chance we can direct Buzzwole towards Guzzlord because the bug loves to fight, a Kartana, and there are one or two others. Plus the Totem Pokemon, and whoever we manage to convince in the next eight months, before Guzzlord breaks free again." Santiago translated. The Slowking frowned, scratching his belly and giving Leo a look. "That's not a lot to fight a legendary. Diana's dad fought Articuno with an entire champion-level team and still lost." Leo nodded in agreement, narrowing his eyes at Nihilego.

"We need to work on our communication," Leo said, shaking his head. Mohn-Nihilego warbled, and he sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose and going over his plans. On the other side of the boat a splashing sound heralded the arrival of Totem Kabutops, the massive undersea fossil poking his head out of the water and staring at Leo. "We're making a detour." he finally decided, flicking open his pokedex and pulling up the map. Hopefully it was in the same place as his world…

"Where?" Santiago asked, and Leo shot him a look.

"Aether Paradise," he responded dryly. "If we're going to keep getting attacked by ultra-beasts we can't put it off."

"We both agreed that was a bad idea." Santiago said, and Leo nodded. Heading into the Aether Paradise after the building had suffered years of neglect – that was assuming it was still standing, but it was built to be able to withstand pokemon to a degree, so it was possible – was a universally bad idea. What he wanted from it were beast balls though, unique pokeballs designed to capture ultra beasts, and he wasn't sure where else to find them. He had figured that there might be hidden stashes in old ranger bases or important defensive sites, but if they were going to be continually attacked by ultra beasts he wanted a way to neutralize them.

Even if he couldn't actually train the ultra beasts, catching them in beast balls meant they were out of the way.

Mohn-Nihilego warbled, and Santiago nodded.

"See, he agrees. He's been there before, and it's crumbling and unstable. You'd be dead before you can get to the lower levels." Santiago argued.

"That's why I won't be the one delving. So long as she agrees, anyways, Froslass will be," the last part he muttered to himself, thumbing a pokeball at his side. It was perfect. Froslass could phase through walls, was weightless and thus wouldn't cause the building to collapse unless she did something stupid, had hands to grab things, and had no issue doing spooky things. Therefore, there was an easy way for him to search the building without putting anyone at risk. Even if the building collapsed on her she should be fine – ghosts were terribly difficult to truly kill.

"That's…actually not a bad idea. Spiritomb wouldn't have been able to do that," Santiago muttered, rubbing his chin. Spiritomb was limited by it being bound to its keystone. That was something physical that could be lost or trapped in the potentially crumbling structure.

"Either way, we should probably swing by and see what it looks like. I'd be astonished if there wasn't a whole bunch of damage done to it, considering what kind of research went on in there, but I do want to see. If nothing else I may have you and Kabutops swim around on the ocean floor, looking for anything to scavenge." Leo amended, turning the wheel of the boat and glancing towards Mohn-Nihilego. "Can you guide us to Aether Paradise? I have a general idea of where it should be from my old world, but who knows if this one is different," he said, and Mohn-Nihilego bobbed up and down, not bothering to warble out a reply before floating off in a south-easterly direction.

Leo spun the wheel and revved up the engine on the boat, driving it forward.

Though this time, he kept a closer eye on the skies to watch for any other hostile pokemon. Even now, the thought of the boat sinking made his knuckles tighten on the steering wheel and another shot of adrenaline to shoot into his veins.

He had to admit it, the ocean scared him a little. More than a little, the idea of being shipwrecked in the middle of such a massive expanse of water, nothing beneath him and no land around for miles and miles justifieably terrified him. Even if he did have pokemon to help him, the idea sent shudders down his spine.

He was just glad he wouldn't be sailing all the way to Sinnoh.

Link clambered up onto the dash as he drove the boat, being very careful about it because it was old and he didn't exactly know what he was doing, as Leo drove the boat. It took a good three hours before Aether Paradise came into view – a mountain of metal in the middle of the ocean, half-collapsed but somehow still standing. Leo was already pulling back on the throttle by the time Kabutops poked his massive head out of the water, making a "follow me" motion with one scythe-like claw.

"He says to be careful. There's debris all throughout the shallows here, so follow him." Santiago translated. Leo nodded, further slowing the boat until they were gently pushing through the waves, weaving back and forth in the waters around unseen – and rarely, seen, obstacles. Large struts of metal stuck just barely out of the water in some areas, and Leo sometimes heard the hull of the boat hit something beneath the waves. Never hard, just a gentle thud, but it gave Leo a fright more times than once. He was way out of his depth here, out on the ocean.

Kabutops led them to a sandbar along the southern side of the structure, a flock of Wingull and Pelipper squawking in irritation as the great big fossil pokemon hauled himself out of the water and onto the sandbar, the flying types fluttering off with a few weak water guns splashing against Kabutop's carapace. He just shook off the water, and turned his gaze back to Leo as he slowed the boat, the prow digging into the sand.

"I don't remember there being a sandbar near the Aether Paradise," Leo muttered.

"I think this version was built on the remains of an old island; one that sunk below the waves long ago. That's what I'm gathering from the snippets of conversation I can hear from the local pokemon, at least," Santiago reasoned, scratching his head.

"So like Hawaii?" Leo murmured, pulling off his socks and shoes and jumping into the water, sinking up to his ankles in the soft sand, the water reaching mid-calf. He grunted and grabbed a rope tied to the side, tying the boat off on a rather large piece of metal sticking out of the water. That should keep the boat from floating away…

Shaking his head, Leo turned to face the crumbling Aether Paradise. Gaping holes riddled the sides of the massive structure, flying types nesting on the sides and plants hanging down from them as well. Pokemon moved inside the dark structure, visible only as flitting shadows in the dark, while waves lapped at the support structures keeping the building from completely sinking. Trees grew atop the structure, thick and dense, and Leo spotted what looked like a Passimian poking its head out of the foliage to look at them.

Kabutops said nothing as Leo stared quietly, absently reaching a hand up to the boat and letting Link climb down his arm and onto his shoulder. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to feel when he got here and saw the Paradise; maybe quiet melancholy, maybe sadness at seeing someplace he knew destroyed, even if it wasn't technically his Paradise. But instead he felt…very little beyond the eyes he knew were upon him.

Mohn-Nihilego floated by, a loud slap-splash indicating Santiago had belly-flopped off the back of the boat, but Leo raised a hand to stop the ultra-beast. The floating parasitic jellyfish waved its tentacles at him, but he ignored it even as Link told it off, shushing the beast and clinging to Leo's shoulder. He glanced over at the little grass type on his shoulder, Link's expression firm but not hostile as he looked out over the water.

"You feel it too, bud?" he whispered, slowly moving forward. There was a….presence watching them from somewhere, gauging them and their actions. Before he awoke himself to his aura it would have been an instinctual thing – he wouldn't have known why he was cautious, or stopped in a specific spot to wait for something, but he would. Now, however, he could feel and somewhat understand it. A powerful pokemon was judging them. So he walked forward, the ocean waves lapping at his calves and toes digging into the sand and gravel beneath his feet, until he was a good distance away from the Totem, the boat, and the ultra-beast.

There was no loud trumpeting noise heralding the arrival of the great creature. No churning of the sea or massive eruption of water as it rose from the depths. It wasn't even that big of a pokemon, if he was being honest. Not like the Totem Kabutops, or even the Gyarados Link had battled in the tournament. The, dare he say, little Milotic simply poked its head out of the water a few feet and stared at him.

She was clearly very old. Her scales were not as lustrous, the beautiful red of her scales faded into dull pink. Her eyes were milky and clouded, not clear – yet Leo felt she could still see him fine. Her movements were slow and precise, and the tip of her nose wiggled as she shook, presumably from age. This was no guardian of the Paradise, Leo knew, but she was an elder. Like the Dragonite and Kommo-o whose scales were white, back in the caves on Poni Island; a pokemon to be respected, whose presence held weight not just through the strength they once held but the wisdom and grace of their existence.

Leo bowed to her. She inclined her head and sunk back beneath the waves, the faintest echo of a song chasing her.

And then the sea churned, and Leo caught sight of the pokemon that had followed Milotic – thousands of glowing blue eyes illuminating the sea as the schooling Wishiwashi split and swam off. The massive school had been all but invisible until that moment, the small white fish's scales shimmering and transforming from ocean blue back to their natural white as they swam off. The ocean churned, scales glittering in the light and hundreds of the tiny fish rubbing past Leo's legs. And it just. Never. Stopped. For at least ten minutes the Wishiwashi turned the seas white with their scales. The activity prompted Wingull and other flying types to launch from their perches and swoop down on the raging waters, scooping up dozens of the smaller fish.

From below even more water types appeared – Leo was certain he saw a Sharpedo, but it was only a blur that quickly vanished. But even with all that, the Wishiwashi never decreased in size or numbers. They were without end. And by the time they vanished beneath the waves, Leo got the message. That was really not an opponent he could fight. An endless horde? Nah.

"Right then. Be careful, I guess?" he muttered, shaking his head and pulling Froslass' pokeball off of his belt. The metal was cool to the touch, almost chilly, which told him the ghost had been paying attention the entire time. "You up for this, girl?" he asked in a half whisper, thumbing the release. Froslass appeared in his shadow, avoiding the direct sunlight and staring at him with her red eyes. He cocked and eyebrow at her, and she giggled, blowing a burst of snow at him that quickly vanished in the intense heat.

"The building looks more stable than I imagined, but I still don't want to take any chances. Can you scope the place out? Maybe see if you can find anything useful?" He asked, fishing his pokedex out of one of the many pockets of his cargo shorts. She cocked her head to the side, then giggled, nodding. "Thanks. Here's what I want you to look for; but remember, your safety comes first. If there are any hostile pokemon or ghosts that might endanger you, come right back," he said, and opened a tab on his 'dex that let him make sketches.

For the next ten minutes Leo spent some time going over what he wanted Froslass to look for – pokeballs, ultra balls, beast balls, new pokedex models that could replace his current one as the main – and how to get to the lower levels, plus what the lab looked like, before she abruptly sunk into his shadow and vanished from sight. Link spent that entire time on his shoulder, peering around curiously and enjoying the sunlight, harsh as it was.

Clapping his hands he turned to the rest of the pokemon assembled. Kabutops now lay on his belly, scythes digging into the sand and water lapping at his carapace, while Santiago lay on his back beside him. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, shielding his face from the sun and grimacing.

Now came the hard part on his end. Searching through the debris. He had no clue if anything could even be found in the surrounding waters, but it didn't hurt to look either. Maybe they could find something useful. Maybe not. It sure beat waiting around for Froslass to come back though. Running a hand through his hair and sighing, Leo got ready to get to work.

Froslass returned only a few hours later, while Leo was diving. It was an…interesting experience, trying to reach any of the bits of metal or containers he found along the sandbar – most were too deep for him to reach and thus he asked Santiago to fetch them for him. Kabutops could, but not only was the big fossil stubborn as all hell and not Leo's pokemon, the few times he had actually deigned to help he'd mangled whatever he was trying to get with his scythes. Leo would swear it was done on purpose, if the way he casually tossed the massive, twenty-foot-long steel beam he'd shredded aside was any indication.

Leo popped his head out of the water, gasping for breath, and pulled himself back up onto the sandbar, shaking himself off and tossing the length of chain he'd pulled out of the water into the pile of junk they'd salvaged so far. Mostly it was just boxes and metal barrels that had sunk to the sea floor – he'd cracked open one or two of them and most of the internals were either soaked with saltwater, or useless. The best he'd found was a fresh bag of Aether Paradise issue clothes, wrapped tightly in plastic bagging.

He'd had to shoo a particularly stubborn Tentacool away from the small metal container that it had been in, which had been…an experience, but otherwise there'd been remarkably little trouble. Most of the water-types seemed content to leave him be or simply watched him curiously as he dove and swam about, searching for treasure.

"Lass," Froslass called, hiding in the shadow of the small pile of supplies Leo and Santiago had drug from the depths of the ocean floor. Leo glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow, her snow-white head poking out of the side of one of the barrels Santiago had telekinetically lifted, just above the water. She looked absolutely miserable.

"Are you ok?" Leo asked, suddenly concerned, splashing through the water towards her. She nodded slowly and turned her red eyes towards the sun, glaring hatefully at it. And, suddenly, Leo understood. She was pissed because of the heat. "Shit, do you want to go back to your ball?" He asked immediately, half-turning back to the boat. She just shook her head though, and pointed to the top of the barrel she was hiding in.

There, sitting on the rusting metal top, was a beast ball, broken in two. The blue coloration hadn't faded, and the golden "wings" that lined the sides were polished and gleaming in the sunlight. But its hinges were broken, exposing the internals, and it lay in two in the sunlight.

"Is that what you found?" Leo asked, wading over to the barrel and plucking up the two pieces. Froslass bobbed her head as Leo examined them. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to piece them together. He understood the basics of Pokeball technology but lacked the technological knowhow of how to piece one back together – let alone one as technologically advanced as the beast ball; specifically designed to capture interdimensional beings. "Well crap. Were there others?"

Froslass nodded, then gestured to the ball. Leo cursed again, rubbing his face. They needed those balls if what Mohn-Nihilego said was true. That was another thing – if what Mohn-Nihilego said was true. Leo couldn't just trust him, not after having tried to escape capture for the past month and a half, and fighting ultra-beasts all this time. He needed some kind of confirmation, and deep down, he knew that the Aether Paradise held the answers to those questions. If not deep in the heart of Paradise, then at its top, in Lusamine's mansion. A heavy sigh escaped him as he shook his head, running a hand through his dripping wet hair.

"How was the inside? Was there a lot of damage?" he asked, wiping salt water off of his chest absently. He'd need a good bath after this to cleanse himself of all the salt; he couldn't imagine having it on his body for extended periods of time would be good for him. Not that he was certain, but still.

Froslass shook then bobbed her head in a "yes, but no," kind of action. He frowned.

"Is it stable enough for me to look around?" he pressed, and she hesitated. Quietly she sunk back into the barrel until only the top of her head and her eyes were poking out, looking at Leo suspiciously. "Look, I know I said that I didn't want to enter the building myself, but it looks far more stable than I initially thought it would. Plus, can you see all those pokemon in there? How many did you see, how big were they? Me sized? Bigger?" he asked, gesturing towards one of the holes in the side, where he could see a few Pikachu napping in the sun.

Those land-based pokemon were likely left in the Paradise after the collapse – either having been abandoned, been unable to board whatever escape boats, or escaped from pokeballs and other containments during the fall of civilization. That was just a theory though.

Froslass shook her head at him and pulled herself out of the shadows enough to mime an explosion.

"What, I'll cause the building to collapse? Do you think I'll get into a fight?" he asked, and she nodded. Leo frowned and rubbed his chin, guessing at what Froslass was trying to tell him. "The structure's compromised, if I go in there and a fight breaks out the whole building will collapse? Is that what you're saying?" he asked, and she slowly nodded.

That wasn't everything, but that was the gist.

"Well, damn." He cursed, rubbing the back of his neck. It was a legitimate concern, too, considering how he seemed to attract ultra beasts. "We'll keep this place in mind as a last resort, then. We should have a few months at least to try and find supplies elsewhere; no need to risk the building collapsing. At least now we have confirmation that beast balls do exist in this world." He said wistfully. He'd love to have gone in there and tried to gain access to the building's computers and information, but he was fairly certain his Aether ID wouldn't work in this world.

After thanking Froslass for her hard work he recalled her, then began sorting through the rest of the junk they'd tried to salvage. What would be useful, he tossed onto the boat. What wasn't he'd have to leave.

When Santiago got back from his dive, hauling a metal crate behind him with his psychic powers, Leo told him that they were going to wrap things up and head to Ula'Ula. He just quietly nodded, ripped the lid off of the crate, and shook his head. It had once been filled with the pokemon equivalent of MRE's, but saltwater had gotten in, and the packages had long since decayed. Aether was all about the environment, so even the MRE packages were biodegradable…though it took years for them to actually degrade without halfway decent storage. It was kind of silly in Leo's opinion, as the whole point of MRE's were long-term storage, but whatever.

It didn't take much longer after that to pack things up and head out – in fact it took longer to rouse the Totem Kabutops and find Mohn-Nihilego, who had floated off to investigate a passing pod of Wailord, than it did to pack up all the "good" items they'd found. Rusty chains, that one packet of good clothes, and a few pokeballs that still seemed serviceable.

But eventually they did get everyone rounded up and then they were off, speeding across the ocean back towards dry land. They were blessed with good weather, thankfully, but a lot of time had been spent at Aether. By the time they reached Ula'Ula the boat was spluttering unhappily and the sun had long since set, the ocean lit up occasionally by the odd Tentacool floating by. Very rarely did the red gel sacs on their heads glow, usually only when they were distressed, but Totem Kabutops seemed to be very good at getting them stressed.

He seemed to relish in it, actually, if the way he casually tossed a few dozens of feet into the air was any indication.

Mean and grumpy. Leo thought, an eyebrow raised. Who exactly did I agree to help? He wondered as he slowly guided the boat towards the beach. He'd shone a spotlight at the port they'd passed by to get a better look at it and immediately vetoed the idea. Too many ships had sunk in that port to make it comfortable for him.

The fact that mass amounts of seaweed had grown over almost all the wreckage only made things more uncomfortable for him. Seaweed didn't grow like moss, and it certainly didn't wrap around boats. And, very dimly, he recalled a certain ghost pokemon that was made of seaweed debuting in Alola…one that had to do with shipwrecks. He braved ghosts all the time, but that port he wanted nothing to do with. Something about it screamed danger. So he went around, ignoring Kabutop's groans of protest, and parked the dying boat on the beach a good few miles from the main city of Ula'Ula island.

It was right in front of a whole bunch of fancy looking but dilapidated condos, but still. Away from the city.

"Santi, take Link and Froslass with you to go check out those condos. See if any of the rooms are habitable. Preferably on the ground or second floor. I'm going to stay here and tie up the boat, see what the hell's making the engine whine." Leo commanded, releasing his entire team on the beach while he held the boat's lead rope. The engine had been making a truly terrible whining sound there at the end. He hoped he wouldn't have to go find another one. Turning to his Tyranitar, who had scooped Aerith up in one hand so she could nuzzle the tiny pink blob, he waved said lead rope at her. "Diana, see if you can find me something to tie this rope to, would you sweetie?" he asked.

Before he could start asking the other two to help out Diana simply stomped one foot, the sand rumbling as a spire of stone pushed its way out of the sand right in front of Leo. He blinked at it, then glanced over at her as she continued to nuzzle Aerith.

"Uh, thanks," he said. That was a new trick. Or could she always use stone edge like that, and he'd never noticed? Questions for later. Mohn-Nihilego came floating down beside him and waved his tentacles around. "No, we're resting now. We've been going all day, I'm covered in salt water and would like at least something of a chance to rinse off, and resting is the key to health. Everyone has to rest." He said, not even looking up. Mohn-Nihilego flinched backward in surprise at his sudden statement, and Leo smirked at him as he tied the rope to the spire, testing it to make sure it wouldn't unwind in the middle of the night.

He was getting better at understanding pokemon. It was strange, knowing what they were saying without hearing words. It felt like a lot of guesswork.

After that, setting up camp was relatively quick. Leo had Zuko flash-boil some water to clean it up, then used a towel to wipe himself down. Xena helped unload the essential gear from the boat – which honestly wasn't much, he was travelling pretty light – and by that time the others had come back.

Santiago guided him to a small office on the ground floor with boarded up windows – thus the interior was relatively safe from the elements. It was still a little worse for wear, with dust everywhere, but it was halfway decent. Clean enough, at least. Without giving it much thought Leo lay out his blankets, lay down on them, and promptly fell asleep while Link was settling Aerith in beside him, the little normal type snuggling into his side.

He woke to the sound of roaring, and immediately sat bolt upright. Aerith tumbled away from his side with a startled cry while Zuko, who had at some point fallen asleep with his head on Leo's legs, leapt to his feet with a snarl. Hardly sparing any time to think Leo immediately scooped up Aerith, whispering apologies to the baby even while he snagged his belt of empty pokeballs and darted out of his temporary shelter. He was outside in seconds, Zuko leading the way, and emerged to the sounds of rocks bashing against each other.

Diana roared in fury, tail thrashing as she stomped her feet, glaring at Totem Kabutops. The fossil roared back, waves churning in the ocean behind him as he shook himself of sand. Leo could only guess what had happened – the fossil had tried to pick a fight with Diana, and she took exception to that.

"What's going on here?!" Leo bellowed, Aerith making scared cooing noises and clutching at his shirt while Zuko growled at his side. Dimly he was aware of Santiago lumbering out of the condo building behind him, while off to his left Xena and Link were standing off to the side, just on the cracked asphalt that separated the condo buildings from the sandy beach, attacks ready but not stepping in to intervene.

Leo's yell went largely ignored as Totem Kabutops darted forward and slashed at the smaller Tyranitar, his stone scythes sparking against her armor uselessly. Diana shielded herself for a moment, then abruptly burst forward with a sharp explosion of air from her vents, shoulder-checking Kabutops and once again sending him stumbling back. She roared at him again, stomping her feet but making no move to continue attacking – while Kabutops snarled and spat, swiping his scythes against the sand and digging deep furrows.

It was behavior Leo was at least somewhat familiar with, having raised a fair number of dogs in his old life and seen these kinds of disputes at Oak's ranch. Kabutops was trying to tell Diana who the king was around here. He scowled; he'd probably gone uncontested this entire time as a Totem in a broken land, and now Diana's presence was making him feel threatened.

But Leo was really not in the mood to watch this go down, and Diana clearly did not want to fight the fossil by the way she was acting purely defensively.

"Go with Santi, girl." Leo said, tone firm but not unkind as he passed Aerith off to Santiago. Then he squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and spoke. "I said, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" This time it was a little different. He could feel his aura react to his words, surging up and lacing his voice with raw power. It wasn't a challenge by any means, but it did have the desired effect. Kabutops stopped his slashing and snapped his head up to Leo, eyes narrowing and a dangerous hiss echoing out.

"That is enough." Leo said simply, eyes narrowed and arms crossed as he took a few steps closer. He was stupid at times, but he wasn't stupid enough to try and approach a clearly agitated fossil with literal scythes for hands. "What is this? Trying to figure out who's alpha? Is this really the time and place for this?" he questioned, hoping the Totem would see a bit of reason.

Judging by the way he tossed his head and turned his attention back to Diana, the answer to that was no. Leo scowled. He honestly had no idea if Diana could take the Totem or not; with the rest of his team it might be possible as they'd come a long way since their battle against the Kommo-o tribe, but he just didn't know. What he didn't want was for the battle to attract any hostile ultra-beasts.

Kabutops snorted again and rubbed his scythes together, stabbing the tips into the sand and roaring to the early morning sky. A flock of Wingull squawked back as they winged through the sky, banking towards the ocean and leaving the soon-to-be battleground far behind. Diana stomped her feet and snorted angrily, her vents flaring and kicking up even more sand, but made no move to respond to Kabutop's challenge. She was acting incredibly defensive…he didn't know why that was, but he wasn't going to force her to fight if she didn't want to.

"Stand down, Diana," Leo said, glancing over his shoulder at his team. Xena was growling, a deep and low sound that rumbled through her chest and set her scales to rattling gently, but made no move to advance against Kabutop's challenge. Leo narrowed his eyes at her, detecting a hint of…bitterness, in her expression? And watching her eyes, she didn't seem to just be glaring at Kabutops, but also looking over at Diana from time to time. Jealousy, maybe? That was something he'd have to address. But later.

Zuko was standing protectively over Aerith, back fires sparking, while Santiago moved up to stand next to Leo in case a fight really did break out. Froslass was nowhere to be seen, as was typical for the ghost. Link, on the other hand, was staring right at Leo, one small hand on his leafy skirt and his other hand held just off to the side as if ready to summon a substitute shield.

"Link, take Diana's place," Leo commanded, palming his Tyranitar's pokeball.

Kabutops, sensing that his sparring partner was about the change, roared in protest and swiped his scythes across the sand, his back scales rattling dangerously. Diana growled back but snapped her mouth shut with the sound of stones smashing together, backing away from Kabutops and slowly lumbering towards Leo – though never taking her eyes off of the Totem. Kabutops twitched, eyes narrowing, and Leo and Link reacted without a second's thought.

"Defend!" he barked and Link burst into motion. Kabutops roared and spat a truly massive hydro pump at Diana, intent on fighting the original target of his challenge, but it was intercepted by a beam of pure white light. The solar beam seared through the hydro pump and impacted the ground directly in front of Kabutops, sending up a cloud of steam and sand the obscured the 'mon from view. Link blurred forward, stepping in front of Diana even as Leo recalled her, glancing down at the worn pokeball and frowning slightly.

"Bell!" Link called sharply, whipping out a leaf blade and readying his stance, Kabutops still obscured.

"Next time he does something like that kick his ass, girl." Leo whispered to the ball, clipping it to his belt. "Come to think of it, Link, you haven't really had a chance to shine recently have you? It's been all 'ultra-beast' this and 'ultra-beast' that, each being a perfect type counter to you. What say we see how much you've grown since the Gyarados, huh?" he asked, recalling his battle with the massive serpent back into the Alolan Tournament.

Kabutops came roaring out of the steam and met Link's leaf blade with his own claws, a sharp ringing sound echoing out as the two clashed in a flurry of blows. The much larger Kabutops slashed at Link with surprising speed and ferocity while he danced around the fossil, darting between his legs, parrying scythe blows with sword and shield, and leaping into the air to slash at his underbelly.

"Flashbang, dance!" Leo commanded, and Link twisted about in a circle, tossing a seed bomb directly into Kabutop's face. That was not the end of it, however, the moment the seed detonated Link leapt as high into the air as he could and fired off a point-blank dazzling gleam, the bright, sparkling flash of energy burning Kabutops' eyes even through his eyelids. Kabutops roared and slammed his scythes against the ground, a wave of sand rolling out in a circle around him that tossed Link back as soon as he hit the ground. It was followed by a hydro pump Link desperately dodged, tossing out another series of seed bombs and magical leaves that seemed to bounce harmlessly against Kabutops' carapace.

Instead of cursing at the lack of effect, however, Leo felt a thrill of excitement run up his spine. His aura surged on his own, reaching out and connecting with Link in a way that felt familiar, yet far stronger than it ever had before. Link darted to the side as Kabutops fired an ancient power – and Leo grinned.

"Tank and sun!" Leo ordered, spotting a sudden opportunity as the hydro pump puttered to a close. Link stilled and flung a ball of golden light into the sky, the last dredges of the hydro pump knocking him off his feet as Kabutops swept it to the side. Link's speed instantly doubled and he darted forward, a solar beam smiting Kabutops in the leg and knocking him to one knee. His leaf blade glowed with power as he crashed against the fossil's hurried counter, the green leaf extending to the point where it was no shorter than Kabutops own natural weapons.

Solar blade met slash and night slash as the two danced in a storm of blades, Leo only occasionally calling out commands or warnings when Link started getting pushed on the defensive or an opening appeared. And he smiled as he slowly started to move through the grass dance, Link mimicking him even as he fought.

Leo's aura surged forward, though the power he touched on wasn't comparable to when he helped Diana evolve it was still enough to finish the fight. Only this time he truly felt what he was touching on – the brightness of spring, the strength to survive the winter. The warmth of the sun transformed into power, a small blade of grass to the greatest of trees. That essence surged outward and connected to Link, the little Bellossom darting back a few ways and soaking up the last of the energy from the sunny day, his leaf blade glowing as bright as any sun. Kabutops roared in defiance, stomping his feet and summoning a wall of stone in front of himself.

It didn't help. Link swung his sword, the pure grass energy searing out in a beam of light that cut straight through the stone and impacted against Kabutops with a detonation of force. Leo shielded his eyes until the light faded and he dared to look again.

What was left of the wall of stone was now covered in vibrant green moss. Kabutops himself had thick green algae and seaweed covering his carapace, the pure life energy that the attack was composed of causing whatever seeds or specks of plant matter was on his shell to grow at astonishing rates. The Totem had fallen to one knee, glaring at Link with one eye open and breathing hard while said Bellossom fell to one knee as well, obviously worn out. He'd taken his fair share of hits too, so it wasn't like he wasn't uninjured.

For a moment the two combatants stared at each other, then Kabutops grumbled and stood, limping off into the ocean. He watched the fossil disappear and shook his head, glancing at the skies half expecting to see a group of ultra-beasts on their way. All he saw was Mohn-Nihilego floating above them, watching curiously.

"Great job, Link. I think that's the fastest we've ever used a z-move," he praised his Bellossom, recalling the little grass type. "You take a rest. We need to move fast now, just in case the fighting attracted any ultra-beasts. Mohn, would you lead the way? We're heading where, the observatory or Mount Lanakila first?" Leo asked, recalling the ultra-beast wanting to visit both places.

Mohn-Nihilego waved its tentacles, descending a bit, and Santiago translated. "He says the frozen mountain to meet the guardian of Guzzlord, then the observatory to try and gather more allies. Perhaps with a human's help, the local pokemon will be more willing to aid us." Santiago translated. Leo nodded, already heading back into the abandoned condo building to go fetch the rest of his stuff.

Along the way, maybe we'll be able to stop by the burning desert or whatever it's called. That's where Tapu Bulu's shrine is, after all. Visiting there will probably give me more insight into the situation of the legendaries. He figured, rubbing his chin. If not, at the very least I might get another feather and the chance to promote another Totem pokemon. Maybe. Hopefully. Gods above, this is going to be a long eight months.