I collapsed next to Rich on the streets of Route 17, legs going numb. "Why the fuck didn't we just take the boat!?", I spat. "Shut up.", Rich moaned. My hand reached into one of the few pockets that had been full since the start of the trip, grabbing the phone Will had helped me set up, and calling them.

"Will! You gotta come get us! We walked to Tapu Village, and we have a buncha shit, and we can't walk anymore!", I whined into the phone. Will stammered over the line, "What?" "Bring Eva! We're at the end of Route 17.", I grumbled incoherently, then ended the call. "Thanks Kau'i.", Rich said at my side.

A few minutes passed as we sat waiting for Will and Eva, leaning against eachother. Kawami was still full of energy, but she was the only one. Toma had only been made to drag some extra things along behind us with webbing, but he was small enough to still be exhausted. The Spinarak sat in my lap, his pattern showing a sleeping face. Howie leaned against his trainer, the Drowzee living up to his species' name.

Finally, Eva's Croagunk came running towards us. It suddenly lifted me out of the pile of people and pokémon, causing them to fall over, and carried me across the street, to Eva. "Hello Kau'i.", she said, amused. "Hey!", Will waved from behind her.

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I was riding tepiggyback on Croagunk and Rich was being held up at the shoulders by Eva and Will when we entered Po Town. The atmosphere was strange, conspiratorial even, as we walked towards the house. Grunts whispered and scurried away to their various hideouts to talk more openly about what was happening. I poked Eva's free shoulder.

"Do you know what this is about?", I asked. "No, but I can call someone who will.", she assured me. "Huh? Did you say something?", Will asked, hearing their name. Eva just rolled her eyes. "Who?", I asked. "Hah! Back to Kau'i's question game!", Rich joked tiredly. "She watches the gate; If everyone around the gate is talking about it, she'll know too.", Eva said, pointedly ignoring Will and Rich.

Sloppily, she wrapped her free arm around her back to reach into her back pocket on the opposite side. Pinching her phone out, she shifted it in her palm before quickly thumbing through the menus to call her contact. "Myrna, hello.", she said. A short pause followed and she continued, "Oh come on, why else do I call you?", she said slyly, "It's about what happened at the gate, tell me all you know." A long moment stretched out as we continued our walk to the house, Eva listening intently to Myrna. As the sound from the speaker quieted, Eva stood up a bit straighter, a scheming grin joining her. "Change of plans, we're going to the Skull House.", she said.

When we got there the Skull House was surrounded in chattering. Gossips flooded the yard like some sort of mass picnicking event. A few groups of grunts climbed on top of eachother to try and see inside big bro Guzma's room, but they were pulled back down by other grunts with more respect for privacy. The inside, however, was hushed and still.

Our group approached slowly, me and Rich having had enough time on the way to regain some strength in our legs. The voices shifted with our approach to the door of Skull House, incorporating us into their rumors. The same grunt who'd guarded the door to Guzma's room on my first day guarded the front door now. "Evander, let us in.", Eva ordered like the grunt was one of her pokémon in a battle. Evander rolled his eyes, "Eva, you of all people know you don't get special treatment. Fuck off and let the boss talk to the guy."

Eva tried to stand her ground, but I dragged her away around the corner. Will and Rich followed, unimpressed with Eva's attempt to listen in. Before an argument could erupt, I interrupted, "I've got an idea to listen in, you don't need to harass that guy Eva." I released Toma to communicate my plan, "Sneak in under the floorboards and report back what big bro's saying. Simple right?"

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Tommy the Rotom stood guard in the wires of the Skull House to prevent any eavesdroppers from hearing Guzma's conversation. Of course, that didn't mean they couldn't eavesdrop themselves. Just in time for Tommy to get comfortable, the teenage boy entered the boss of Team Skull's throne room, a mix of emotions vying for control of his face.

"My grunts tell me you know about Lusamine. Did the League send you? If they did, thank 'em for me, not every day I don't have to bring the beating myself.", Guzma taunted the boy, getting straight to the point. At that the teen's feelings focused into one emotion, anger. "I'm not with the League!", he shouted back at the playful jab, his hand reaching up to simultaneously clench his fist and cover his face. Guzma laughed, "Oh do enlighten me, why're ya here kid?" "I'm Lusamine's son.", Gladion stated, still angry.

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Guzma looked contemplative for a moment, then said, "Ya know, that only kinda answers my question. Why're you here?" "We both have a bone to pick with the League for what they did to her…", Gladion said, interrupted by Guzma chuckling. "Bone to pick, hah! You catch on quick!", he choked out. Gladion cleared his throat, continuing the sentence. "And, I'm the one who knows how to get back at them for it. My mother was very invested in what keeps the balance of nature in Alola, and by extension I know how to disrupt that balance."

"What are we, Team Aqua? I don't need to destroy the environment just to get back at the League. I'm the strongest in the region, I can do it myself.", the boss said, seemingly uninterested. "We don't need anything like that. We just need to remove the League's safety net, the guardian deities and the trainers.", Gladion assured. At the quirk of Guzma's brow, both leaned forward, fully invested in the coming conversation.

At that moment, Tommy the Rotom's attention was infuriatingly dragged away by the presence of another pokémon making their way to the throne room. Zipping along the wiring of the house, they appeared in front of the Spinarak and chittered as they tied the spider in an Electroweb. The irony was masterful, and Tommy made sure to explain the brilliance of the joke to the restrained Spinarak, who happily agreed.

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Big bro unexpectedly appeared behind Evander, stirring the crowd of onlookers. A teen boy in a black and red ripped hoodie and shoulder length blonde hair exited behind him. As the two seemed to conspire for a moment, a Sableye and Rotom came out from the shadows carrying almost a dozen pokémon. Among them was Toma, bundled in a glowing web. Alongside several other grunts, I rushed to retrieve my little spy.

Toma clicked joyously, attempting to tell me about his visit with Evander's Rotom as Howie psychically unwrapped him from the conductive webbing. As we were occupied with that, an imposing voice sounded behind me. "Kau'i, right? Get over here! Gladion's gotta show his stuff!", my boss called out. I turned to see the entire crowd looking at me and Gladion, the teen who had drawn the attention of all of Team Skull when he appeared out of the blue wanting to talk to big bro Guzma about "your missing benefactor" as the rumors put it, the same young man measuring me up right at that moment.

Having been in his position before, I knew where this was going. I had Howie bring Toma around to the back of Skull House while I released Kawami. Immediately I was strategizing, "Toma, you're in first. Whatever he's got will be tough and you've got to set 'em up for Kawami to knock 'em down. Kawami, you know how this goes, in and out. Make them sick and dazed and hit with an Absorb every now and again to keep yourself going. Both of you watch for my signals when you can, but don't focus on me, focus on the battle. That means you, Toma!"

The Electroweb finally loosened, Toma dropped to the ground and nodded his affirmation while Kawami circled us in excitement. The crowd of gossips and sneaks followed us to the dirt field, Gladion arriving fashionably late. Guzma climbed into the lifeguard chair above the field, stood up on it, and addressed us. "NOW YOU NUMBSKULLS! FIGHT!"

Toma rushed the field, but once Gladion's pokémon hit the ground they were off like a shot. The strange chimeric creature's mostly black fur was matted and rife with scars. They had a weighty solid stone mask enclosing their head, an axe-like crest, dark gray half-fur half-feather plumage, talons on their forelimbs and paws on their hind limbs, and a fin in the place of a tail. The audience muttered and stammered at the mysterious pokémon.

Toma fruitlessly attempted to prepare the field with a Spider Web, but was interrupted as the enigmatic opponent ushered forth a cacophonous sound. A shriek, howl, song, and wail clattered together, whistling out of their helmet to form one clear intent, victory. Gladion just pointed at Toma. Before I could get out a word, they were on top of him lashing out in a Rage.

Toma skid back across the ground, not of his own volition. Already he looked hurt. "Just Poison Sting!", I screamed. The thin needle shaped Poison Stings spat from his mouth, seeming to add defensive pins to the amalgamate thing. They were already on their way, Rage doubling. I bit my lip, not as a signal but because the battle was not going in any direction I could account for. Another attack crashed into Toma, bringing him down to his last. Toma would faint from the next attack.

Frantic and showing a rare moment of seriousness, Toma darted around the dirt patch while peppering his enemy with Poison Sting. He drew the pokémon into a straight charge then shifted away before a strike could connect. Despite his efforts, the chimera made its approach, and when Toma was struck down by their Rage, his efforts didn't seem to have injured them in the slightest.

I returned my friend to his net ball in silence. "Full Poison-Type Kawami.", I ordered, announcing her move from around my head to the field. Gladion issued his first command of the match in turn, "Go on, Type: Null." Although this Type: Null's true face was covered, they seemed to grow menacingly at Gladion's call.

Kawami retreated upwards, letting loose a wide Supersonic below herself that failed to effect the frightening unknown below it, before Type: Null leaped up. It angrily swam up through the air and gripped Kawami, letting loose its Rage as the two collided with the ground. Kawami was already ready to faint when her eyes glazed over, attempting to Hypnotize the pokémon that, for all we knew, had no eyes. Type: Null's talon squeezed, and the battle was over.

Another red glow shrouded my second fainted pokémon. Then, I walked forward as Gladion came to Type: Null's side. "Good match Gladion. That was my first proper loss. Welcome to Team Skull." I stiltedly shook his hand, realizing mine was clammy with sweat. "Thanks.", he responded despondently. The grunt who ran the Po Town pokémon center ran up to me from the sidelines, "Let's get your pokémon healed, okay honey?" At those words, my brain snapped back into the focus I'd lost at the end of my battle with Gladion. 'I'll beat him.'