Aether Paradise was an artificial island built in the center of the Alola Region, and it served as the Aether Foundation's base.
Many injured Pokémon could take refuge there. Besides protecting Pokémon, the Aether Foundation also carried out researching work on the island.
And what were they researching? What else could the Aether Foundation be researching?
Naturally, it was Lusamine's lifelong obsession, the thing that haunted her dreams: Ultra Beasts.
Today, Damian set foot on Aether Paradise, and Lusamine personally came out to receive him.
Lusamine's manor was located at the back of Aether Paradise. The fastest way there was by car or helicopter.
"Mr. Damian, what brings you to Aether Paradise all of a sudden today?" In the car, Lusamine asked Damian in a cool, even tone.
She didn't think much of Damian. His gaze was far too rude—that unrestrained, predatory look of his made her deeply uncomfortable.
It felt like she'd been stripped bare under that stare. It had been a very, very long time since anyone had dared look at her like that.
But she couldn't just lash out, because this was Damian—the man in charge of Alola's Team Rocket.
"Obviously, I'm here to talk business. Chairman Lusamine, aren't you going to show me around Aether Paradise a bit?"
Wearing a baseball cap, Damian answered lazily, eyes roaming over the buildings outside the window.
He'd actually been curious whether, by coming to Aether Paradise this time, he might run into a Nihilego popping out of nowhere like in the games.
He hadn't expected Lusamine not to show him around at all.
"Mr. Damian, do you really have no self-awareness?" Lusamine replied icily.
"Oh?" Damian shot her a sidelong glance.
"Professor Kukui and Hala both called me specifically. They asked the Aether Foundation to keep an eye on your location."
Lusamine's tone was cold. If she didn't genuinely need something from Team Rocket, she never would've gotten involved with them at all.
Especially not with a dangerous element like Damian. If Kukui and the others ever found out she'd been in contact and making deals with Team Rocket, the Aether Foundation's reputation would nosedive overnight.
"If I took you on a tour of Aether Paradise, what do you think would happen to your identity?"
Even though she'd built Aether Paradise with her own hands, not every employee there was her loyal subordinate.
A lot of them had joined the Aether Foundation for its reputation and for Lusamine's image as a benevolent philanthropist.
"So that's how it is." Damian didn't look particularly surprised.
With Aether Foundation's traces spread all over Alola, it was only natural for Kukui and the others to ask Lusamine for help.
"Those guys really went all out, huh." Damian chuckled, completely unconcerned.
Lusamine studied him out of the corner of her eye. That careless, relaxed attitude wasn't an act. He truly didn't take Kukui's group seriously at all.
Was he really that confident?
Her gaze flickered, her thoughts impossible to read.
Soon, the car rolled up to Lusamine's manor: a spacious, luxurious home. She lived very well.
The two of them stepped inside.
"Then let's get to the point, Mr. Damian. What brings you here today?" On the sofa in the living room, Lusamine sat down with perfect elegance, cutting straight to the chase.
She had no desire to interact with Damian more than necessary. Her instincts told her this boy was extremely dangerous.
In every sense of the word.
"So cold. We're partners, aren't we, Chairman Lusamine?"
Damian sprawled onto the sofa, casually eyeing the living room. Calling it lavish was no exaggeration.
"As expected of Chairman Lusamine. The Foundation must be doing very well. I've got to say, I really admire anyone who can build something like this alone."
Aether Foundation had been founded by Lusamine's father, but the one who'd expanded it to its current size was Lusamine herself.
Her capability was undeniable. Even Damian had to admit: Lusamine was a very competent woman.
"Thank you for the compliment. You're quite young and promising yourself, Mr. Damian." Lusamine's tone didn't so much as ripple. She took a sip of tea and spoke lightly.
She'd heard praise like this too many times. It didn't move her in the slightest.
"Then let's talk real business. I've heard your Aether Foundation's been working with Ultra Beasts, right, Chairman Lusamine?"
Damian smoothly changed the topic.
Lusamine's hand paused mid-sip, then resumed as if nothing had happened.
"Yes. That's correct." She admitted it openly.
The Aether Foundation had long been researching Ultra Beasts and Ultra Wormholes. Ordinary people might not know that—most of them didn't even know what an Ultra Beast was.
But the upper echelon of Alola did. People like Professor Kukui. It wasn't exactly a deep secret.
"Ultra Beasts pose a serious threat to Alola. The sooner we unravel their mysteries, the better it'll be for this region's future." Lusamine said calmly.
"Tsk. Chairman Lusamine, you really are something."
Damian clicked his tongue.
The sarcasm dripping between his words made Lusamine's face darken.
"If you understood what Ultra Beasts have done to Alola in the past, you—"
"Spare me the sanctimonious speech, Lusamine. You think I don't know what you're really after?"
He tilted his head slightly, cutting her off. He had zero interest in watching her "perform" for him.
For Alola's sake? Her skin was thick enough to be bulletproof.
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Her expression went glacial. The light vanished from her pupils, leaving them flat and empty in a way that was disturbingly eerie.
It was a reflex—whenever Lusamine's obsessive streak surfaced, her eyes always went like that.
"Do I really have to spell it out, Lusamine?" Damian regarded the mature Aether Foundation chairman at his leisure, voice as lazy as ever.
Lusamine stared him down in silence.
"You only hired us to track down Lillie and Gladion because of Cosmog and Type: Null, didn't you? Not because they're your children."
Damian smiled, utterly unconcerned by her dead-eyed stare or frosty expression.
"You found them?!" Understanding finally dawned across her face.
"That's right. I doubt anyone would've guessed it—that the woman who publicly acts like she loves Pokémon so much, Chairman Lusamine herself, is privately a mother her own children fear. A woman who's all but lost her humanity."
The corners of Damian's mouth curled up as he watched her expression twist.
"Utter nonsense!" She shot to her feet, shouting. She "loved" Lillie and Gladion so much.
"Don't get worked up, Lusamine. I know all about the 'treasures' you've got stashed in your basement, you know?"
Damian rolled his neck with a quiet crack, his tone gentle—but the words made Lusamine's blood run cold.
Her pupils went flat again, that deep chill racing from the soles of her feet straight up her spine.
The 'treasures' in the basement… No way. How could he possibly know about that??
His voice slipped into her ears like a devil's whisper.
"Madam, you wouldn't want the Pokémon League to find out about that little secret… would you?"
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.