Interlude: Aether Paradise

A giant explosion jolted the man-made island. It was a sudden impact. No one was expecting it. Why would anyone expect an attack? The island was a research centre, meant to protect endangered Pokémon. No advanced weaponry was being made there, which people knew about. The place was the last location anyone would expect for an attack.

The explosion caused everyone to come to attention. With their Herdier, the men searched the facility for any causes of the explosion. Outside, a giant wormhole appeared. Testicles crawled out of the black hole, grabbing hold of anyone that got in its paths. The guardsman took aim at the thing, attacking it with all their might. The sound of gunfire could be heard from all around Aether Paradise scaring anyone that was unaware of what was going on. Throughout the chaos, a lonely girl made her desperate escape.

Lillie, a bright younger researcher working her internship on the man-made island, dashed down the corridor. Her heart was pounding as she hugged her backpack. She had never gotten into a Pokémon battle before, so she hoped she wouldn’t come across any trainers. She didn’t even have a Pokémon ready for battle. She prayed to Arceus it wouldn’t come to that. She kept sprinting, not paying attention to where she was going. She needed to find an escape route and fast.

“Come back,” one of the guards yelled. His voice shrieked with much anger. He pointed out his gun, aiming at the girl. He took aim and fired. The girl was able to dodge the bullet. She was not sure how more she could avoid. “How dare you steal that research,” the guard continued yelling. “It cost us a lot of money you know to develop that thing. We don’t forgive thieves.”

“Come and get it,” Lillie smirked. She turned around and continued running now into the forest area of Aether Paradise. Plenty of Pokémon spent their days there, swinging from trees or building nests to lay eggs and raise a family. Lillie knew she could hide in one of the bushes. The guards wouldn’t find her there. She hid behind a tree. The guard ran past her not realising she was there. She giggled at her success. “That serves them right for doing experiments,” she remarked. “No one has the right to be mean to Pokémon.”

The avian was full of all types of different trees and plants of many shapes and sizes for Pokémon to hide behind. There was a large palm tree with a thick body. Lillie mistook it for an Exeggutor, but in the Alola region, only the tall version was available. That was a silly mistake. The palm tree would make a perfect place for a bird-type Pokémon to make a nest, Lillie thought. It would surely make a really comfy home, safe from any predator.

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Lillie remembered her brother. He was pretty good at battling. He had a special Pokémon which he already brought out. That Pokémon had also been experimented on as well. Both children were like-minded as neither wanted to see Pokémon get hurt. She decided it was her mission to rescue Pokémon whenever it needed. It was her sworn oath. Nothing would be getting in her way.

As she hid behind the tree another guard passed. Unlike the first guard, he noticed the girl hiding behind the tree. He pointed his Taser gun right at her face. He was ready to unleash his gun when something fell out of the girl’s bag. Cosmos flew about and opened what seemed to be a portal. Without thinking the girl jumped in.

She travelled through a stream of light. Colours of all kinds glimmered back and forward. Suddenly she was dropped out of the portal and fell onto a beach. The sun was beginning, to set with its golden red blaze of the sky. Wingulls were flying in the sky, shrieking to tell everyone about the prey they had just caught. There was plenty of fish in the ocean for Pokémon to catch. Alola was the perfect region for Pokémon to live. There was a Psyduck prodding along the beach with much of a care in the world. The thing was friendly, coming up to Lillie to greet her. The Psyduck must be owned by someone, Lillie decided. No wild Pokémon would be like that. Out in the wild Pokémon would attack without discrimination which is why trainers always had Pokémon with them. Those without Pokémon had to rely on other trainers for protection. This was the situation Lillie was in.

Lillie turned around to find a house. The beachside shack was mostly made of wooden planks, cream-coloured ones for the walls, and greed tiling for the roof. On top were solar panels which harnessed the sun’s energy. In Alola it was the law that all houses had to have solar panels. They had copied this from California which had the same policy. A lot of the people complained saying it was intrusive. Lillie hated how the government intruded into other people’s lives. Patches of wood filled in the holes in the house’s roof.

She approaches the building still heavily breathing. The sun was beginning to set. The night was arriving, so it was best she found somewhere safe. She had no idea where she was but decided it was safer than where she had been before. She opened the door and found a bare-chested man. He was wearing a lab coat and had clear framed sunglasses.

“Are you the professor?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Professor, I have come to aid you,” Lillie told the professor. “I think I can be of help with your research.”

“You’ve come at the right time,” the professor said. “Wormholes are appearing around Alola causing chaos. But don’t fret, help is coming.”

“Who’s that?” she asked.

“Two trainers from Unova,” he explained. “Their names are Harper and Brandon.