The young red-haired girl hugged her stuffed Lapras doll, staring absentmindedly out the window. She watched the droplets of rain sliding down the glass, and listened to the wind howling outside. The door to her room suddenly squeaked open, and she turned her head to see who it was. It was the man she'd become most familiar with. She smiled brightly and jumped off the bed, running over to hug his leg.

"Daddy Guzma! You're back!"

Guzma laughed, ruffling her hair. "How many times do I have to tell you, just call me Guzma, or boss. I'm not actually your dad."

Chloe looked up at him innocently. "But you're like a dad, therefore, you're my Daddy Guzma!"

Despite how annoyed he was when she first started calling him that, he grew rather fond of the title. After he took the little girl in, he'd quickly grown attached to her, often treating her like his own daughter. Even the grunts all considered her to be Guzma's little princess, and as such, they treated her very well, spoiling her and playing with her.

Guzma crouched down, grinning at the redhead. "Guess what, Chloe? I've got a surprise for you. Today, you get to pick out your very first pokemon."

Chloe gasped and smiled, balling her fists and bouncing with excitement. "Really?! Yaaayyy! I've always wanted my own pokemon!"

"Come with me." Guzma took her small hand, leading her out of her room and down to the foyer. There were grunts all over the place, and even Plumeria stood by with a hand on her hip. There were three pokemon lined up for her to pick from---a Wimpod, a Salandit, and a Stufful. "Now I believe you get to choose from three different pokemon. Go ahead and pick out whichever one you want, princess."

With a friendly smile, the girl got down to look at each of the pokemon. She could feel their emotions and observed their reactions. The Wimpod shrunk back, nervous and fearful. The Stufful turned its head away stubbornly, caring more about the food one of the nearby grunts was munching on. But the Salandit, she sat there calmly, her focus on Chloe. She gave off a confident yet caring nature that Chloe could sense. The redhead locked eyes with the lizard pokemon, smiling as she reached over, giving her a hug. The Salandit, in return, snuggled against her happily.

"I choose Salandit!" Chloe said, glancing back at Guzma.

With his arms crossed, he smiled proudly. "I personally would've gone with the Wimpod, but this is your decision, not mine."

Plumeria walked over to the redhead, bending down to place a hand on her shoulder. A very faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Nice choice, Chloe. Salandit is my favorite too. And this one's a female, so if you train with her enough, she'll evolve into a Salazzle. Follow me and I'll teach you everything you need to know about your new partner."

With Salandit now clinging to Chloe's back, the girl trailed behind the young woman. "Okay, Big Sis!"

~~~~~

With a quiet groan, Chloe slowly opened her eyes. She felt a soft bed under her and saw a white ceiling above her. What a dream... Can't believe I still remember that so clearly. Of course it was my first meeting with Salazzle. As her blurred vision cleared, she recognized the room she was in. Everything looked pristine and elegant, but it gave Chloe a terrible feeling of déjà vu.

She abruptly sat up. "No... This room... This can't be happening again... Why am I here...?"

She thought back on the events at Melemele Meadow. Nihilego, Aether, the Sleep Powder---it all flashed through her mind. Slight movement caught her eye and interrupted her thoughts. Turning her head, she locked eyes with a pokemon she'd never seen before. It had mismatched body parts that looked like from a variety of types, and parts of its head even looked a bit mechanical. Its silver eyes pierced right through her as it sat quietly on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"Hi there..." Chloe greeted with a small smile. She carefully scooted closer, inspecting the odd creature. "My name's Chloe. I've never seen a pokemon like you. Just what are you?"

The pokemon tilted its head to the side, then looked over its shoulder as the door opened. The girl blinked in surprise as the blond boy she'd bumped into earlier walked into the room.

Gladion fixed his gaze on her as he closed the door behind him. "Ah, you're awake." He approached the large pokemon, stopping by its side to rub its neck. "I hope Silvally didn't frighten you. I told it to watch you until you woke up."

Chloe raised a brow skeptically at him. "I don't get scared of pokemon." Her tone lacked emotion when directed toward him. She spied the Z-Ring on his wrist, which meant he could use Z-Moves.

The boy sighed quietly, already able to tell she was going to be difficult to talk to. "I apologize for the unorthodox method of bringing you here, but with your knowledge on Ultra Beasts, I had to meet with you. The Aether employees said you weren't willing to come."

Chloe crossed her arms. "Because I don't like or trust Aether, and I never wanted to see this place again."

"You've been here before?"

"It was a long time ago," she replied. "But that's not important. Who are you? What is this pokemon here?"

"My name is Gladion, I'm the president here at Aether. And this is Silvally, one of the foundation's creations."

Chloe gasped, her red eyes widening. "President?! But I thought that madwoman Lusamine was the president!"

Gladion shook his head. "My mother is no longer in charge here, I am."

Chloe froze. "M-mother? You're Lusamine's son?! I knew your resemblance to her was uncanny!"

"So that's why you looked at me like that before," he muttered in realization. "That explains it. What's your name?"

"Chloe."

"Well then, Chloe, would you be willing to work with me to figure out what's going on with the Ultra Beasts?" he asked, giving a slight smile. "I'd also like to know how you calmed that Nihilego."

Chloe frowned, hopping to her feet. "I don't need your help. I don't need to tell you anything. I can do this on my own." She started to head for the door, but Gladion was quick to block her path. "Get out of my way." She glared at him.

Gladion stood firmly, staring her down. "I can't let you leave until you tell me what you know." She huffed and turned her head away stubbornly, causing him to sigh. "Look, I'm not my mother. I've changed Aether into a place to truly help pokemon, and that means Ultra Beasts too. But in order to do that, I need your help. Just tell me how you calmed Nihilego."

Chloe debated on that. Silvally suddenly moved closer, leaning against the blond as it stared at her. The girl's expression softened when she felt the pokemon's admiration for Gladion. "Silvally really trusts you..." she stated, finally sighing in defeat. "Okay, I'll explain. I was born with this weird ability to connect with pokemon."

Gladion hummed, trying to wrap his head around that. "So you can understand pokemon?"

"No...it's kinda hard to explain." She tried to figure out a way to elaborate. Even she could hardly put it into words. "I can just read a pokemon's emotions, it's like waves of feelings radiating from them. It gives me a better understanding of them, and as such, I can react in a way that appeases them. That's what I did with that Nihilego."

Gladion slowly nodded, processing that new information. "I see. That makes sense in a strange way." Now that he understood that, he had something else to ask her. "Do you remember the events of a few months ago when Ultra Beasts were appearing all over Alola?" Chloe nodded. She hadn't been a part of all that, but Plumeria had filled her in on what happened with Guzma and Lusamine going into a wormhole. "Well, the Ultra Wormholes are popping up again, and beasts are emerging once more. So far it's only been Nihilego, but more could appear at any time. That's why I'm asking you to help me. With your abilities and Silvally's strength, we can send the beasts back to their own worlds and maybe even find a way to close up the wormholes for good. What do you think? Will you help?"

Chloe took a moment to think. It was originally her goal to help Nihilego get back to its own world. But did she really want to be stuck traveling around with this guy? He looked like an edgy teen skipping classes at the pokemon school. But Silvally seemed to really trust and care about him.

Chloe finally nodded. "Okay, I'm in. But only because I want to help Nihilego. It's not that I like traveling with others or anything."

Gladion shrugged. "Fair enough. I usually travel alone myself."

"Speaking of which..." Chloe reached for her bag, only just now realizing that it was gone. She looked accusingly at Gladion. "Hey, where's my bag? And where are my pokemon?"

Gladion chuckled. "Don't worry, they're fine. I had Wicke take care of them. They should all be out in the gardens having the time of their lives."

Chloe froze. "Wait... They're not in their pokeballs?" She immediately remembered Tyrantrum's rampage the last time he was separated from her. "You can't go letting someone else's pokemon run freely on an island facility! You never know when-"

A sudden quake shook the entirety of Aether. Chloe was cut off as she stumbled. Gladion was quick to grab onto Silvally, keeping his footing. "What is that?"

Chloe growled lightly. "You have no idea what you've caused!"

She ran past him and out of the room, leaving him to run after her. Outside, they could see pokemon scattering and Aether employees running toward the source of the commotion. Chloe caught sight of her Tyrantrum running amok within the gardens, destroying everything and fighting off whatever pokemon opposed him. Wicke came sprinting over to them, out of breath as she looked at Gladion.

"Master Gladion, that Tyrantrum won't settle down! I've tried everything, and the girl's other pokemon are trying to calm it, but nothing is working!"

Gladion clenched his fists. "Then we might have to fight it. We can't let it continue rampaging or it'll sink this entire foundation into the sea."

"No!" Chloe interrupted. "If you attack him, it'll make things worse! He's just scared and confused, you can't hurt him!"

"Then what would you rather I do?" the boy snapped.

"Get me in close. I can calm him. My team is busy slowing him down and keeping others out of his way. Trust me and let me handle this, he's my friend."

Gladion debated on letting her do it alone, but a roar from the prehistoric pokemon interrupted his thoughts. "Tyraaaa!"

Tyrantrum stomped his foot down, using Earthquake a second time. The violent tremor shook all of Aether, and Gladion finally nodded. "Okay. I'm leaving this to you, Chloe." He climbed onto Silvally's back, holding a hand out to her. "Get on, Silvally can get you in close." With a nod, Chloe took his hand, letting him help pull her on behind him. "Wicke, make sure no other people or pokemon get in the way or get hurt."

"You got it!" she replied, holding out a familiar Mimikyu bag to the redhead. "Here's your bag and pokeballs back, miss."

"Thanks." Chloe slid her bag onto her shoulder, giving a slight smile of gratitude.

The girl was quick to grab onto Gladion as Silvally took off running. She blushed lightly as she wrapped her arms around his abdomen to hold on. The blond didn't seem to mind though, his focus solely on the Tyrantrum. Silvally sped through the gardens, easily jumping over fallen debris and avoiding any fleeing pokemon. They quickly made it ahead of the the prehistoric pokemon, and Silvally stopped, letting Chloe hop off.

"Tyrantrum!" she yelled, earning his attention. Chloe stood firmly as Tyrantrum loomed over her, stepping closer. "It's time to calm down! Everything's okay!" She could feel the large pokemon's fear and anger dying down, causing her to smile. "Look at me, Tyrantrum. You're okay. I'm here now." The pokemon leaned his head down, letting her engulf his snout in a comforting hug. "Everything is fine, my friend."

"Tyran...trum..."

Chloe carefully took out his pokeball, pressing it against his nose. "Take it easy now. I'm not leaving you again."

Tyrantrum glowed, going into his pokeball without a fuss. The girl hugged the ball to her chest, comforting the pokemon within. Gladion was in awe, his eyes wide with amazement.

"That was...incredible." The blond hopped off Silvally and approached the girl. "I've never seen anyone do anything like that. But why was Tyrantrum rampaging like that in the first place?"

Chloe smiled sadly. "He always gets that way when I'm not around. You see, Tyrantrum was restored from a fossil, brought back to life in a lab. He was confused and afraid of the strange world around him, so he became violent, lashing out at everything around him. But then I confronted him, and after I managed to calm him, he didn't want to leave my side. And now, if we're ever apart for long, he wreaks havoc. I hope...you won't be angry at him."

Gladion gave a small smile and shook his head. He could tell by her tone and expression that she truly cared about her pokemon. "No, I understand. These things happen. I had similar issues with Silvally in the past. Having a pokemon created or restored in a lab isn't easy."

Silvally walked over to its trainer's side, affectionately nuzzling against his arm. "Silv."

Chloe smiled when she looked at Silvally, sensing just how happy and loyal it was to Gladion. Their bond was strong, she could tell. There were suddenly several joyful cries, and the three of them looked to see a group of pokemon rushing over. Chloe was relieved to see the four familiar faces.

"There you all are!" she cried, holding her arms out.

Salazzle was the first to jump into her awaiting arms, hugging her tightly. Espeon and Ninetales both started nuzzling and rubbing against her legs. Braviary hovered above them, his beak turned up in a grin.

"So this is the rest of your team," the boy said, looking over each pokemon. "You even have an unusually-colored Braviary. That's quite impressive."

One by one, Chloe pet and returned her pokemon until Salazzle was the only one still out. "I guess so. Now that that's over with, you want to get going? We can start our search for Nihilego."

Gladion nodded. "Right."