Lately, Kukui hadn't been sleeping all that well. At first, Selene's sudden "meteoric rise" had actually put him in a great mood.
A talent like Selene—a straight-up "monster"—was proof that the Alola Region was on the rise.
He'd planned to head back to the Kanto Region again after a while to apply for the establishment of the Alola League. He had no idea if it would work out, but he had to try.
But some subtle developments lately had made him realize there was a storm brewing beneath Alola's calm surface.
Team Skull had suddenly disbanded. Guzma had opened an entertainment complex. Those two things alone had left Kukui utterly baffled.
Something was very wrong. Now, though, he understood.
"So it's confirmed? It really is Team Rocket from the Kanto Region?"
Kukui's brows were tightly knit. He was on a video call—one with multiple participants.
The other three were Melemele Island's Island Kahuna Hala, Ula'ula Island's Island Kahuna Nanu, and Akala Island's Island Queen Olivia.
You could say these were the people with the most real power in the Alola Region right now.
"Yeah. I questioned them myself. Black uniforms with a big red 'R' on the front. That's Team Rocket, no mistake."
Hala's tone was deep and heavy.
One of his subordinates had, by chance, captured several bedraggled Pokémon hunters. Under interrogation, they'd confessed that their stronghold had been wiped out and they themselves were being hunted down and driven into hiding.
And the ones who'd cleared out the hunters' stronghold were, incredibly, the evil team Team Rocket.
Hala had been stunned. He wasn't exactly familiar with Team Rocket, but he'd at least heard of them. The problem was…
"Wasn't Team Rocket only active in the Kanto Region? What are they doing all the way out here?" Olivia asked, confused.
The distance between the Kanto and Alola Regions was pretty huge.
"Sigh… troubled times." Nanu rubbed his forehead and couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Territory expansion, probably. For an evil organization like Team Rocket, they don't really need any other reason." Kukui said helplessly.
"In that case, Team Skull's disbanding is probably tied to Team Rocket too. Team Rocket's cleaning up the last of the dark forces on Melemele Island right now."
It was a reasonable guess. If Team Rocket had come to the Alola Region, the first thing they'd do was go after Team Skull.
And the results were already clear: Team Skull was gone, and Guzma… had probably joined Team Rocket.
"They're not here for a picnic. This is a man-eating tiger we're dealing with." Hala said in a low voice.
Nanu sighed again.
"Is it really that serious?" Olivia felt like the three of them were blowing this out of proportion.
"Even if Team Rocket's a pain, this is still our Alola." Olivia folded her arms and spoke with cool confidence.
Team Rocket's roots were in Kanto. Even if they were expanding outward, there was no way they were sending all their manpower here.
And Alola and Kanto were separated by an entire ocean. Just traveling back and forth took time, let alone sending reinforcements.
"Instead of sitting here worrying ourselves in circles, we should just send people to track down Team Rocket's base, then move together and take them out."
Olivia brushed a hand through her hair, her smile brimming with charismatic confidence.
"Let Team Rocket see what Alola's made of. Seriously, of all the Regions they could've picked, they chose us? What's that supposed to mean—that they think we're easy prey?"
As the youngest current Island Queen, Olivia had every right to be proud. And she honestly didn't think the Alola branch of Team Rocket would be that hard to deal with.
What a joke. Sure, the Alola Region didn't have a League, or an Elite Four, or a Champion—but did that make Alola weak?
All three Island Kahuna were powerful Elite Four-level Trainers, and Kukui himself was Champion-tier.
Add in Kukui's good friend Molayne, Nanu's chosen heir Acerola, and the Island Challenge Champion from a few years back, Kahili—now traveling the world—and they had several more Elite Four-level Trainers in play.
(Molayne and Kahili are the Alola Elite Four in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.)
Did people really think the Alola Region was that easy to bully, damn it?
Olivia honestly believed she could handle the Alola Team Rocket branch herself. She was Akala Island's Island Queen, after all.
"Olivia's right. Let's send people to investigate first. Either way, we can't allow Team Rocket to expand unchecked in Alola." As the oldest Island Kahuna, Hala spoke in a grave tone.
Team Rocket was an evil organization. You didn't need to think hard to know they weren't here with good intentions.
"If anyone spots signs of Team Rocket, don't act rashly."
"Mm. Let's leave it there for now."
"And keep a close eye on Guzma. I'm almost certain he's already joined Team Rocket." Kukui added. His instincts were usually on point.
After a bit more discussion, they ended the video call. Kukui stared out at the ocean beyond the research lab, his expression dark and thoughtful.
Any organization that could grow right under the Indigo League's nose was no simple foe—especially for a Region that didn't even have a League yet.
The only silver lining was that Team Rocket definitely hadn't deployed their entire force. No one knew how many strong Trainers they'd actually brought to Alola this time.
...
Inside the villa on Melemele Island—
"Young master, it looks like Hala's already picked up on our presence."
Proton stood with his head lowered, speaking respectfully to Damian, who had an arm wrapped around Domino.
"According to our reports, some of the fleeing Pokémon hunters have been captured by Hala's men."
"It's fine. That was only a matter of time."
Damian's arm tightened lazily around Domino's soft waist as he replied, completely unconcerned.
Honestly, the fact that the Island Kahuna were only noticing Team Rocket now was a little slow.
Still, it wasn't surprising. Aside from clearing out the hunters' strongholds, Team Rocket's other operations had been very low-key so far.
"Keep the purge going. Have Guzma and Caitlin move together and wipe out every last underground force on Melemele Island." Damian ordered.
"Yes, I'll notify Caitlin and Guzma."
Proton nodded. The Melemele Island clean-up had been under Caitlin's command from the start.
"Young master, if we keep moving this aggressively, Hala's side is bound to get even more suspicious, aren't they?" Domino asked, puzzled.
"We've got to say hi at some point. We're all going to be 'friends' developing in the same Region from now on, after all."
Damian's smile slowly spread. He'd wanted to have a proper meeting with Hala and the others for a while now.
"You're going to show up in person, young master? What about the boss?"
Proton couldn't help worrying. Damian being Giovanni's son wasn't exactly a secret.
Now that Damian was a Team Rocket executive, once people from the Indigo League and Hala's group started matching faces and intel, wouldn't Giovanni, as his father, get dragged in for questioning?
"Don't worry. I've had a plan for that for a while now. When the time comes, the old man can just publicly cut ties with me."
"Huh?" Proton froze.
"A man's only got one life under heaven—how can he spend it rotting under someone else? When the time's right, the old man should hand the seat over to me and focus on being a Gym Leader."
"I, Damian, am the one who can lead Team Rocket to rise. I'm going to sit in that boss chair too."
Damian's grin stretched high and wide, his arrogance practically overflowing.
Proton: (⊙.⊙)
Domino: (°—°)