"We're almost there, okay? You won't have to sit in there for much longer."

Under Ula'Ula Island's night sky, Molly walked down the street of a small neighborhood. She was slightly hunched over, wearing a backpack that looked too large and heavy for her tiny body to carry. A pair of eyes peeked out from within. Poipole was full of wonder, admiring the stars glimmering above its head. It wanted to fly up into the air and explore, but for a reason it didn't understand, Molly insisted it stayed hidden.

The girl stopped in front of a modest multi-family duplex, or more specifically, the left side of the split house. She placed her hand on the front door knob, but hesitated. She looked back to see Poipole's baby doll-like eyes staring back at her.

"Poi?"

"Awe, you're a cute little thing. But you've gotta be super quiet for one more minute. I dunno how my brother would react to seeing you since, you know, you're kinda an alien. If he found out about the whole interdimensional travel thing, he'd make me quit for sure..."

Molly sighed. Poipole didn't quite grasp the situation she was describing, but it nodded its head regardless. It lowered itself further into the backpack, concealing itself from view. It froze in place, refusing to move a muscle for its new friend's sake.

"Thanks a million, Pippie!"

Molly grinned, before turning the knob and pushing the door wide open. She stepped inside, throwing her shoes carelessly onto the shoe rack. She dashed through the short hallway and straight into the kitchen, the place where her brother always waited for her.

The small, old-fashioned kitchen was dimly lit, the only true light source being a burning candle on the center of the dinner table. A young man was slumped over in a chair, his eyes tightly shut. He silently snoozed, until a pair of hands grabbed his cheeks and lifted his head.

"Ray! Ray! Raaaay! Wake up!"

"Hm...? Molly?"

The man opened his eyes and clumsily muttered his sister's name. Molly puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms.

"I didn't expect that you'd still be waiting for me! You gotta go to bed! It's past your bedtime, Ray!"

"What... time is it?" Ray raised his arm to glance at his watch. The time he saw shocked him awake.

"Holy crap! You're telling me it's past my bedtime!? Molly, you should be asleep right now! It's two in the morning!"

"I have an excuse and you know it! I was working!"

"...Why?"

Ray leaned back into his chair with a somber gleam in his dark eyes. "That's some ridiculous overtime if you ask me. You're still a kid, it isn't right."

"We go over this sorta thing all the time! It may not be right, but it's good for us! Just think about how much more rest you've been getting since I took this job! Do you really want to go back to exhausting yourself working, like, four different jobs?"

"It shouldn't be your responsibility to take care of me... or even worry about my well-being. A-and it was only three!"

"Oh c'mon, don't be such a doofus." Molly poked her brother's nose. "We're taking care of each other now, okay? It's a combined effort, you know!"

"That... shouldn't be how things are."

"Why not? I'm fine, Ray! Now please, get some real sleep."

There was no real arguing with Molly, and Ray knew that. He stood up and patted the top of Molly's head.

"I will," Ray said. "But please, don't stay at work so late into the night again. And don't take so many hours, you need time to be a regular kid. If you want, I'll start taking more hours myself—"   

"That's a complete and utter no. You need time for yourself too! Now, let's go upstairs and sleep."

"Hold on, aren't you hungry? I could make you a quick dinner—"

"Sorry, but that's another no. I'm not hungry, so just get some good rest! Goodnight! Love ya and sweet dreams!"  

Molly nodded to her own statement. Ray did not have much of a chance to object, as she turned around and shot straight up the stairs like an arrow. She went into her room and shut the door behind her, locking it for good measure. She took off her backpack and set it onto the carpet. She hopped up and down a couple times, barely able to contain her energy.

"You can come out now, Pippie! Take a look at my room! But we can't be super loud, okay? I don't want Ray to get suspicious."

"Pi pi?"

Poipole poked its head out of the bag and took a glimpse at the girl's room. It wasn't large, but it was very comfy. The room was painted a calming violet, having a blue carpet as its complement. Small toys such as dolls, plushies, cheap model kits and science kits were scattered chaotically across the floor. On top of the unmade bed was a broken down laptop, held together by an endless amount of tape.

"Ya hungry? I got a little secret stash."

With a mischievous grin, Molly bent onto her knees and reached under her bed. She pulled out a plastic bag full of candy and snack bags. She reached inside and pulled out a Milk Chocolate Hershey's bar, quickly tearing open the wrapper. She held it out towards Poipole.

"Please! Give it a try!"

"Po...?"

Poipole tilted its head, before grasping the chocolate bar and taking a small bite. Its face immediately lit up with joy and satisfaction.

"Poi! Poi poi!"

"I knew you would like it!" Molly giggled. "You could have the whole thing, I'll grab a snack of my own."

As Poipole nibbled away at its chocolate, Molly reached into her snack stash and grabbed a bag of chips. They ate side by side, leaning against the foot of her bed as they enjoyed each other's company. It was mostly quiet, though Molly could hear her brother's footsteps walking past her door.

"Ah... Ray Ray Ray," she muttered.

"Poi pi?"

"Ray, Ray, Ray, what am I to do about you?"

Molly lowered her head in a trance. Poipole pulled at her sleeve, it's curious eyes both wide and lively.

"Pi?"

Molly snapped right back into the present. "Oh! Sorry, Pippie. I was just lost in thought, that's all."

Poipole narrowed its eyes and frowned. It dropped the remains of its chocolate to the ground and floated up into the air. It latched onto Molly's shoulder, staring at the side of her face. It tilted its head once again as it became quiet, as if it were preparing to listen intently.

Molly couldn't help but crack a smile at the creature's behavior. "You're quite nosey, aren't you?"

"Poi!"

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you what's on my mind. We're friends, so it's totally fine if I share some secrets with you!"

Molly took a deep breath as she rubbed the top of Poipole's head. The creature had a grin on its face, as did Molly. However, the girl's smile quickly faded.

"I'm really worried about my brother. He always worries about everything, he thinks he has to carry all his burdens all by himself, and I can't just let him do that. And I can't seem to get him to just relax, even after all the things I've done. I even got a job to help pay the bills, and he's still all stressed!"

Molly huffed. Poipole remained silent as the girl paused.

"... You know the building we were at earlier, when you first came to this world? That was the Cosmos Corporation, the place I work now. Before I got a job there, I bet I was just a huge burden to Ray. He had to raise me all by myself, and he couldn't handle it all. He would work countless hours, he would pass out before he could even reach his bed, and he still jumped through hoops to try and spend time with me. It was nuts, and it wasn't healthy."

Molly shook her head, growing more and more upset with each word she spoke.

"I had to help him, so I made up my mind! I had to get a job! Unfortunately... not too many people like hiring ten year olds. I got lucky with Cosmos, I sorta just broke into the building and managed to impress the boss enough with my intelligence. Guess it's not a huge surprise, Ray always said I got the mind of an einstein wrapped up in the body of a small noodle."

Despite her frustration, Molly took a moment to brag as she tapped her forehead with her finger.

"He says I must have a huge brain too." Molly proudly puffed out her chest before taking a long sigh. "But that's beside the point. Even after I become helpful, all he does is worry, worry, worry! I guess he just wants to take care of me, he's always talking about my 'childhood' or whatever. Well, I don't care what he wants! I'm going to continue doing things my way!"

Molly had a strong resolve, and Poipole was able to sense it. The small creature beamed with admiration, silently lending its ear.

"It's not like I'm unhappy," Molly said. "I mean, there is this one mean old guy I work with, but besides that everyone's pretty nice. I made some friends, so Ray has nothing to worry about. Besides, I got a chance to meet you, Pippie. That would have never happened if I didn't start working at Cosmos."

Molly gently brushed the side of Poipole's face. It nuzzled against her, content.

"I really am happy. So, I'll keep this up for as long as I need to. I want to support Ray. He'll have to deal with it no matter how much he worries about me!  I made up my mind already, I dunno why I'm even bothering to rant 'bout it."

Molly laughs at herself. She pats her lap with her palm, gesturing for Poipole to sit. Poipole leaps from her shoulder onto her lap, looking up at her with a smile.

"Thanks for listening to me, Pippie. You're such an awesome friend!"

"Poi!"

"Say, why don't we play now? I got a lot of stuff I want to show you!"

"Pii! Poi!"

Time flew by. Molly exposed Poipole to her own little world, filled with a strange mixture of dress-up and chemical concoctions. Poipole embraced it, both enthusiastic and adventurous as it dived into new territories such as playing "pretend" or mixing unknown chemicals within a glass container.  Hours upon hours passed, and soon enough both Molly and Poipole felt their eyelids grow heavy.

Molly climbed into her bed without bothering to change. Poipole went in after her, squirming its way into the bedsheets. Poipole snuggled into Molly's arms as the girl held it close. They both closed their eyes, drifting off into slumber.

Fifteen minutes later, Molly's alarm went off, telling her to get ready for work.

"Aw, crap! Pippie! We gotta go!"

"Poi?"

Later that day, a sudden urgent meeting was to be held at the Cosmos Corporation. OZone waited in the meeting room patiently, his ten admins soon to arrive. He sat at the long table while staring into his laptop, watching security footage from the previous night.

It was the fourth time the man has watched that footage from the laboratory. He watched the ID3I spontaneously activate and open a portal. He watched Molly get sucked in, only to return with a strange little creature. No matter how many times he watched the security footage, he still couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was crazy to think something so incredible would happen out of nowhere, without warning. The fact that he wasn't informed immediately of these events irritated him.

One by one, the admins came into the meeting room and took their seats. OZone was unusually quiet, which led to the room itself becoming engulfed in awkward silence. No one dared to speak, as everyone noticed a grave seriousness written across OZone's face.

Ten minutes passed, and nine of the admins have taken their seats. The one exception was Molly, who has yet to arrive or make an appearance.

OZone slammed his laptop shut. He looked to the admins and finally opened his mouth. "Do any of you know where Molly is?"

"Dammit. Of course she's late." Arc hunched over in his chair and grumbled.

"I haven't seen her today," Buzz said. He didn't even look up, as he focused on sketching bug Pokémon in his research notebook. 

"Me either," Cypher said.

"I hope she's alright," Serenity said. "She does tend to get herself into trouble, I can't help but worry. Maybe I should go look for her."

"Don't bother, it's Molly. She's fine. She's probably just goofing off somewhere." Belle shrugged. "You called us for an 'urgent' meeting, right sir? If the subject is truly urgent, then we shouldn't waste time waiting for one person. I suggest we get on with things."

"I agree," Arc said. "It's not like the little brat will add much to the conversation, anyway. Let's get down to business."

OZone sighed. "No. Molly is the reason for this meeting. I need her here, now."

There was a short pause in the room, OZone's words slowly sinking in.

"Wait, what? Oh brother, this meeting is gonna be a doozie," Tony said with a wince. "I should've brought myself a drink."

Belle looked at Tony and grimaced. "Don't you think you drink a little too much?"

Tony shrugged with a chuckle. "Is there such a thing?"

"What the hell did she do now?!" Arc stood up. "If you need me to handle this for you, sir, I'll—"

"Calm down, Arc. Thank you, but that will not be necessary at all."

OZone cut the man off and gestured for him to sit back down. Arc nodded his head with a look of restrained anger, sitting back down without argument.

Meanwhile, Daichi was growing more and more nervous with each word he heard OZone say. He stared at the ground, trying to avoid any sort of eye contact with anyone. He felt his heart pound against his chest as he pressed his lips tightly together, keeping himself quiet while he panicked internally. He knew that OZone had to know what had taken place the previous day, which meant he had to know about the small role he ended up playing.

Daichi flinched when he felt someone nudge at his arm.

"Hey. Hey. Earth to Daichi, earth to Daichi." Rōzu persistently nudged at Daichi's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"..." Daichi slowly raised his head, and whispered. "...Do you think we've seen the boss at his angriest?"

Rōzu's eyebrows raised. "Huh?"

"I mean, OZone gets kinda scary when he's mad, right?" Daichi asked. "Do you think we've already seen the worst of it? The angriest he could get at us?"

"We've managed to get him pretty pissed off before, so I dunno. I could see him getting even angrier, but that would still be nothing compared to Arc and his endless, undying rage. Ugh." Rōzu rolled his eyes at the thought of Arc.

"I guess you're right. Maybe I have nothing to worry about," Daichi said. "Or maybe I'm totally dead, who knows. Heh heh..."

"What's up with you? Did something happen?"

Daichi swallowed a lump in his throat. "Well, last night—"

"What are you two chatting about back there?"

OZone's deep voice echoed through the room. The two boys stopped their murmuring and looked at the man. He took a long, exacerbated breath as he folded his hands on top of the table.

"Let me be straight forward. I have a question for you, Daichi," OZone said. "Why didn't you immediately inform me that—"

The door squeaked open.

Molly stepped inside, carrying her large backpack. She looked half-asleep, yawning as her droopy eyes struggled to stay open. Everyone instantly looked at her, which she took quick note of regardless of her tired state.

"Welp, this is awkward. Uh, sorry I'm late?"  

She froze in place as everyone kept their eyes locked on her. Naturally, she became uncomfortable.

"Uh, don't you all know it's rude to stare at people?"

Molly shuffled towards her seat, sitting down while placing her backpack on the floor. As soon as she sat down, OZone opened his laptop back up. He spun it around to showcase the screen to everyone, and pressed the play button.

The admins watched the laboratory's security footage, most of their jaws dropping and several of them gasping. Molly's heart dropped, watching her actions get replayed in front of everyone. She looked down at her backpack, Poipole napping inside. She worried it wouldn't get to sleep peacefully for much longer.

The video ended with her dashing out of the room with Poipole, leaving Daichi behind with an unconscious Arc. OZone shuts the laptop once again, drawing everyone's attention back to his cold bearing.

"Well," OZone said. "Now that we all know the topic of this meeting—"

"I've got something to say!"

Molly sprouted up from her chair and slammed her hands on the table.

"Molly! Please!" Serenity shook with worry.

"...Is there anything to say?!" Arc stood up as well. "Who do you think you are, cutting off the boss like that?!"

"Arc, sit down."

OZone had little patience, shutting the man down before he could scream at the child. Arc hesitantly sank back into his seat. OZone glared at Molly, who seemed to have a small flame burning in her eyes.

"What is it?" OZone asked. "What do you need to say?" 

"I did it for Pippie's sake!" Molly cried out at the top of her lungs.

There was a moment of silence.

"... Um." Mitsuki shyly raised her hand while keeping her gaze on the floor. "What's... a Pippie?"

"...That creature I brought back," Molly said.  "I was going to tell you about this whole incident eventually, Ozzy. But if I told you right away... you would probably take Pippie away from me for research or something! I just want it to adjust to this world without a bunch of people poking and prodding at it! I just want to keep it by my side!"

OZone's demeanor did not waver. "That's no excuse."

"B-but—!"

"Listen to me carefully, Molly. In all technicality, I should fire you for this. The fact that the machine activated by itself, and the fact that you've brought back a beast from space, is imperative information. Immensely imperative, potentially hazardous. It's foolish of you to try and keep this a secret. This could be a massive game changer for all we know, something that could drive this company forward. Are you trying to stop me from reaching my goal?"

"No!" Molly shook her head vigorously. "That's not what I was trying to do at all!"

OZone lowered his head and put his hand on his chin, shutting his eyes as he dived into thought. "I understand. I don't mean to incriminate you. I will let you off with a warning this time. But, I must ask you to ever hold information like this from me again, especially when it concerns my tech and company. That goes for you too, Daichi. I never want to have to say anything like this again, to any of you."

The admins all collectively nodded, the tension in the air eased slightly. Daichi finally took a sigh of relief while Molly felt like she somehow dodged a bullet. However, things were not over for Molly as the spotlight was still locked on her. There was also the fact that Arc continued to scowl at her from across the table.

"Tell me, Molly. Where is 'Pippie' right now?" OZone asked. 

Molly bit her lip, doubting if answering honestly was the right choice. Yet, she didn't have much of a choice. Ignoring her hesitation, she lifted her backpack off the ground and placed it on the table.

"Pippie, it's time to wake up. C'mon out."

"Poi?"

Poipole poked its head out of the backpack, and scanned its surroundings.

"Ah! That's gotta be another Ultra Beast! My god! It's gorgeous!" Buzz was ecstatic, nearly jumping out of his seat to get a closer look.

"...No... no way." Mitsuki jumped up as well, but slowly backed away from the table. She looked almost like a cornered animal as she stared at little Poipole.

"Mitsuki..." Molly whimpered as Poipole flew into her arms.

"Come now, Mitsuki. We won't let anything happen to you here."

"Right! You're gonna be okay..."

Both Belle and Tony stood up and approached Mitsuki. They attempted to calm her down, as she found it difficult to breathe due to fear overwhelming her. At the same time, Serenity approached Molly while remaining cautious of the tiny Ultra Beast. She was rather protective of Molly, making her wary of the child's close contact with Poipole.

"Are you certain that it's safe to... handle this thing, Molly?" Serenity asked. "It hasn't hurt you, right? It's not dangerous?"

"Its name is Pippie, first of all. And no, Pippie's not dangerous at all!"

Molly nodded her head with confidence, which eased Serenity's worries a bit. Arc, on the other hand, wasn't accepting her answer.

"Do you honestly think your word is trustworthy?" Arc said. "For all we know that thing is a killing machine. I wouldn't even be surprised if you managed to miss such an obvious fact."

"Her word on the subject is more trustworthy than yours, idiot. She's the one who actually spent time with the thing."  Rōzu looked off to the side as if he didn't utter a word.

Arc was caught by surprise. "Excuse me? What did you just say to me?"

"You heard what I said." Rōzu shrugged.

Arc grew furious. "...Listen here you little punk—"

"Could we get through this meeting without a screaming match?" Cypher said. "I already got a headache."

Needless to say, things became a bit chaotic with the admins talking amongst each other. To bring back order, OZone clapped his hands twice. The loud sound was enough to bring everyone's attention back to him.

"I feel like we are losing focus. Molly—"

"Sorry to interject, sir." Belle suddenly spoke. "I feel like I should take Mitsuki out for some fresh air. Will you excuse us?"

OZone turned to see Belle standing at Mitsuki's side with her hand on her shoulder. Mitsuki was extremely pale, the color drained from her face as cold sweat ran down her cheeks. He knew Poipole had really spooked her because of her previous experience with the golden Ultra Beast. Guilt immediately struck him aside the head.

"...Yes." OZone said. "I'll fill you in on anything else you need to know at a later time."

Belle nodded. "Thank you."

The two women left while an uncomfortable silence returned to the room. OZone suppressed the heavy guilt that still weighed on his mind, and continued forward with the meeting.

"Anyways, Molly. I have another question for you."

"Huh? Uh, sure Ozzy!"

"Where did you go? Where did you get 'Pippie?'"

Molly perked up at the question, jamming her hand into her pocket to grab her phone. She raised her phone up in the air. "Oh! I prepared for this! I prepared for this! Everyone! I got something to show you! Gather 'round me!"

Everyone was still, until OZone stood up from his seat. "You heard her, let's gather around her."

Everyone gathered around Molly, ready to watch her video. It looked like something out of a group hangout rather than a business meeting, as the admins were all squished together in an attempt to see the small screen.

Molly played the video, showing everyone the strange world Ultra Megalopolis and its inhabitants, the Ultra Recon Squad. The massive amount of information was a lot to take in, but still, OZone's eyes began to glimmer. All doubt left his mind, replaced with hope. His heart began to burn with intense ambition. Necrozma, that was it! Necrozma was his answer!

Once the video was over, most of the admins weren't sure what to make of it.

"That was... stunning," Buzz said.

"Molly, you discovered something incredible." Serenity was caught in disbelief.

"That was too much... I think I'm getting dizzy." Daichi was absolutely lost, his head was spinning.

"Man, it's not that complicated." Cypher shook his head at him.

"...Boss. What do you think?" Tony asked.

OZone did not answer. He was lost in thought, until he turned to Molly.

"...Molly." OZone grabbed the girl's shoulders and spoke firmly. "I will not take that creature away from you. I want you to study it. Record its behaviors, its abilities, everything. I need you to be serious about it, or else I won't hesitate to give that responsibility to someone else."

Molly smiled brightly. "Okay! You can trust me!"

"I need one more thing from you. I want you to begin development on a new brand of Pokéball."

Molly tilted her head. "What?"

"I need you to develop a Pokéball specifically designed to catch these Ultra Beasts. Do you think you could do that for me?"

"...Sure. But why?"

"Thank you."

OZone didn't bother to explain himself. He released the girl's shoulders before heading straight towards the door, ignoring the other admins. He gestured for Arc, and only Arc, to follow him.

"Arc, I need you."

"Yes sir."

With that, OZone threw the meeting room's doors open. He walked with a confident gate, his heart still burning with conviction and his eyes with determination. With his closest worker behind him, nothing was going to stop him.

The rest of the admins were left confused in the middle of the meeting room.

Late into the evening, Arc walked into OZone's office. He carried a file full of papers, and the results of his multiple tests on the ID3I.

OZone looked up and grinned. "Arc! What did you find?"

"...You seem to be in high spirits," Arc said.

"I know. That's because I have a plan."

"Ah."

Arc was curious, but he wasn't about to press his boss. He laid the files on top of OZone's desk, and explained his findings.

"The ID3I... seems to have responded to an extraordinary power surge. I don't know what caused such a power surge... but whatever it was spread a huge amount of energy across the region. This allowed a connection to the dimension Molly traveled to. Unfortunately, under normal circumstances, the ID3I  wouldn't be able to travel that far into ultra space. Unless... we were to invent a way to artificially recreate the power surge."

"So be it." OZone said.

"I'll get the scientists working on inventing a method right away, although I'm not sure if we'll have enough resources."

"Then we'll get those resources, no matter what."

"...I love that determination of yours, it's admirable. But I want to ask, why? What are you planning?"

Arc finally gave into his curiosity. OZone smiled. He chuckled, the sound being a mixture of cockiness and mischievousness.

"Arc. I will capture the Ultra Beasts. I will put them in the hands of my admins. I will make sure they train them to their maximum potential. Once we find a way to reach that dimension, we'll defeat and capture Necrozma. Then Necrozma will be our dimension traveling puppet, and we will use its far-reaching power to find Cyrus."