Right. I ran out of excuses not to talk to you. Time for us to see your deal.
Because Faba is the kind of man who likes to hear himself talk, he restarts the conversation here when you click on him.
He also has this really sinister grin when you accept his offer. This is characteristic of him to the point that even his official art depicts it.
I reserve the right to judge for myself.
We've taken so long to do our business that Hau has also finished up and caught up. A miracle, considering the time it can take for the player to make this journey, and Hau presumably being stuck taking the same trip.
Olivia takes the "maintaining the Island Challenge and the children who partake in it" seriously. Hala seemed to be more into the "pillar of the community" part, as a person.
At your age, I don't think that's the tense you should be worried about. You always still have the time to get married in the future.
...Considering I think Mallow's the one trying to court you, I haven't decided whether or not that'll fix your "childlessness" problem.
That is... one of the pieces of advice of all time. She is saying something reasonable, but I do not think this is the way I would have chosen to phrase that thought.
Hau, just letting that thought brush over his coat like water off a duck's back. Even if Olivia was probably addressing him moreso than Bethany...
"Also, Aether Paradise has declared me a persona non grata after the last time I visited nearly sunk the whole island."
Well, at least the tech they tell the public about.
Once we're done at Aether, they drop us off at Ula'ula, and Kukui tells us where to pick up where we left off.
Thanks, Charizard Glide! Too much good stuff here to never come back.
Way to toot your own horn, Faba. So do we have a horn or a guy on the crow's nest yelling at the top of his lungs?
We are led downstairs to this particular vessel, which bears the Aether Foundation's signature logo on its roof and its signature colour scheme (pale white with gold trim) in its design. The fact the boat next to it is pretty white as well, as well as the fact that the Aether symbol is such a bright gold on white making it hard to distinguish in the brief time its in shot, makes this boat look really nondescript...
Yeah... it's called buoyancy. The impressive part is buying all the iron.
...
At no point in the rest of the lore does it imply that Aether Paradise is floating on the backs of Pokemon. This also sounds counter to Aether's stated aims, but to be honest, plonking an artificial island down also seems pretty counter to Aether's aims in general. You might be thinking of Pacifidlog Town, boy.
His responses do kinda suggest he thinks he's being truthful, but I maintain my dissenting opinion. And also wonder why you find so much value in the idea of "having one up on me".
Hau then excitedly charges into the boat. And here comes one of the more intriguing moments across the two games, for me...
Bethany has this lingering shot before following him. Because of Alola's signature blankface, we don't really have insight into what she's thinking.
Ailey does not have this moment.
Many players, when shown Aether in the pre-release footage, were instantly suspicious of Aether's intentions on concept alone. This introduction, where they usher us onto their home turf for the flimsiest of reasons, as well as Lillie being rather blatant about not wanting to follow us, have done an excellent job validating those concerns, as well as establishing them in vigilant new players who don't have those initial impressions. If anything, it is Ailey lacking those suspicions that makes me more concerned- otherwise, nothing about Faba's introduction has changed.
Aether is even enough of an island that they show us doing this dotted route, like they did for us going from Melemele to Akala! No coloured Island Challenge symbols- this Island is not a mandatory part of the Island Challenge, nor does it have aspirations of such.
That is... very Aether. So sterile...
For most of this update, we're going to be playing Aether's theme, finding its true home as an area theme and not as a dialogue theme. Although there'll be plenty of dialogue here.
It opens with this panning shot showing a few Aether members at work on this outside area.
Before cutting to our entry in the docks on B1F. This part of the island's structure is so weird to me. 1F is designed so well as a visitor's entrance, and it is our landing point with Charizard Glide, but sea-level, and where we alight from the docks from, is on this dull place that reminds me more of a worker-only storage area than something the public should be going through. Perhaps a sign of early deployment, although I feel like an issue like this should've been caught well before the island was constructed.
There's a camera shot over here, to show this Sudowoodo and Yungoos being loaded onto this triangle-shaped platform...
Which turns out to be an elevator.
Hau is suitably impressed, although one might be reminded of the last time we saw this...
Yes... I'll take your word for it...
Because quite frankly, that is not what you think it sounds like.
This is only in regards to the catching function. We can send out our own Pokemon from their Poke Balls, recall them, and do everything we need, but we can't throw Poke Balls at the wild Pokemon being taken care of around here.
They continue to animate Bethany lagging behind a bit more than can be explained by "just Hau being Hau."
As we approach the elevator, we are interrupted by the arrival of another uniquely designed Aether character.
So yeah, remember how surprised I was to not have Faba's name earlier? He's... a real stickler for this sort of thing.
You can bleat it until the cows come home. I don't care.
The best part about this line is, she gets it wrong- Faba is the Branch Chief. Chief or Manager, though, he's still hardly important enough to justify this petty one-upmanship, and it kinda makes him more hilarious.
This line is kinda confusing, taken all together. It sounds like he's dismissing himself to go do private (and presumably) evil business, but then tells the other lady to send us right after him. Obviously, he intends to be done by the time we follow, but Aether Paradise isn't big enough to get away with this.
Fortunately, we can now have a conversation with a character that is much more reasonable and makes Aether come off as slightly less suspicious.
For... some reason, this scene, and only this scene, switches the music from Aether Paradise to this one, presumably to help convey the difference in tone between Faba and the new lady. This isn't even a unique theme to her, we heard it earlier with Hapu.
Wicke is... actually, I'm not sure what Wicke's role in the organisation is. She seems pretty high up, and while she's probably lower ranked than Faba, she's probably higher ranked than all the generics.
If you choose to respond with "Alola", Bethany actually does the Alola wave. If you just say "Nice to meet you", you do no animation.
Hau also returns the wave, before mentally backspacing and realising "uh... why does this lady who just showed up know our name?" Our arrival was a personal reward from Faba presented as being on behalf of the Foundation, not... actually on behalf of the Foundation that everyone involved was preparing for.
...Right?
...
Wicke mentions Hau helping Pokemon in front of Aether, which would be the first I'm hearing of it, although like I said earlier, I am willing to blame this on Hau refusing to mention important things because of his eternal attention wanderings.
Maybe Aether noticed us dealing with Team Skull in Diglett's Tunnel?
Again, hard to have a main entrance on an island that is not at sea level.
Weird as hell bit here- the line she uses changes between games. I prefer the original one here- mainly because "let's push this button" is reckless behaviour, but also does not really work well in the context of a tour in the first place.
Now approaching: The first floor.
Ignoring the fact that is not what "main entrance" typically means, this is the part of the facility that has all the important features- a healing desk and a logon to the Pokemon Storage System.
Not that we'll have much use for either, but you know.
Another weird change they did was changing the Pokemon here in this intro from Pikachu and Rockruff to Bellossom and Dewpider.
Once again, Oddish isn't in the Alola Pokedex...
Hau had a moment where he runs off the elevator to look around at the main entrance, and runs back.
As moments go, this one's leaning more on the classic route, even though the Island Challenge does have something called "champion" for completing it. "Champion" is more of a term for Gym Challenges than it is for the rite of passage that is the Island Challenge.
It's very common for non-Pokemon fans to be "aware" the protagonists are all 10 year olds. As far as I'm aware, this is either the first time that the games have ever given a definitive age for the protagonist, or the first time they've done so since RBY.
You cannot understate how many long-time Pokemon fans were taken aback to actually have an age for Elio and Selene.
Hau signed up immediately, while we just happened to be in the area at the time. As a result, we don't, strictly speaking, know the protagonist is 11, but do know that they happen to be eligible for this.
...Which makes one wonder if maybe that's the reason we're a prodigy here...
Wicke is taken aback by that answer.
What an odd thing to say. But yeah, if that's how society is set up, then kids are going to want to be the best they can be within that society. That's just common sense.
Although this is a heck of a line to drop on 11 year olds. At least let the puberty have a chance to settle in first!
No waiting for an answer on that one. We're going right on up.
To a frighteningly familiar web of criss-crossing pathways.
I presume this broadcast is tied to uses of the elevator, or else this would be a horrible environment for Pokemon. Would you want to live in a place that broadcasts this message repeatedly?
It's definitely an impressive-looking place, even if it has a few too many walkways for my tastes...
And your criteria for judging what belongs in this area is...
"Overhunted by their natural predator". That's a new one on me.
You know, it might actually get me ahead on that myself.
Toxapex (Ultra Moon): With its 12 legs, it creates a dome to shelter within. The flow of the tides doesn't affect Toxapex in there, so it's very comfortable.
The entry Wicke quotes is found in Pokemon Sun, and it accurately describes the manner in which Corsola is preyed upon by Mareanie and its evolution Toxapex. It fails, however, to describe Toxapex's predation as a problem.
In USUM, she instead reads Ultra Moon's Pokedex entry on Corsola. I think the fact it's the same entry as the game I'm playing in both cases is coincidence- the entries for Moon and Ultra Sun do not support Wicke's argument, nor do they even mention the existence of the other.
Hau points out, albeit rather uncritically, that hey, this is just nature at work here. Toxapex prey on Corsola, but we hardly begrudge Pyroar for preying on Stantler.
In real life, crown-of-thorns starfish predating on coral is a problem because the former is having outbreaks of overpopulation, but this is likely a human-caused problem (caused by overfishing and climate change making life more hostile for their predators, the usual). Nowhere in-game is the presence or lack thereof of a Toxapex predator commented on.
Hau then asks this question. I like to think he is challenging the Aether Foundation's premise. I know full well he expects them to try their hardest to accomplish this.
Wicke shakes her head and admits Hau has a point.
And Hau accepts Wicke's non-answer and allows the conversation to slide neatly along this train of thought.
I... don't really know if the writers agree with me about how little this makes Aether look good. They're definitely going somewhere that supports this interpretation, though.
You mean aside from the fact that Alola is a haven of natural biodiversity and has fragile protections over its environment owing to its status as a semi-conquered nation?
Not a matter of public record.
The president has declared Wicke is not on the need-to-know basis for this question, and even if she were, we sure as hell aren't.
She should be here... somewhere. And we are implicitly tasked with finding her.
This is the only point in the update in which we have control over our character, for the most part. And this is a moment I've never actually paid much mind to actually doing much with- I just followed the path to go and find the president.
You're allowed to visit the rest of Aether Paradise right now!
There's not much to find exploring, although we'll pick up a few bits here and there. Mostly lore, though.
Including these trainers, who either make the suspicious activities of Aether look more or less so, depending on what it is you're worried about here.
In my case, I'm leaning less, although I'm sure she has her reasons for this that are concerning for other reasons.
Kinda. You're stretching both definitions and making me question myself, kinda.
There are some Aether staffers walking around as random NPCs, including one of these guys. These are the R&D guys, and helmets like those hardly look like the sorts of headgear one typically associates with do-gooders.
Ailey found this one contemplating her life choices, which is somehow less encouraging.
Which is... pretty accurate. The Safari Zone of Fuchsia City is a place that encourages you to catch all the rare Pokemon on offer. If anything, I could see Aether railing against exactly this sort of thing... were it not for the fact that's kinda just how Trainers are outside such facilities.
Farfetch'd is a Normal/Flying type that carries around a green onion to use as a battering weapon. As an idea, it's based on a common Japanese saying "鴨が葱を背負って来る"- literally meaning "a duck comes bearing green onions", and having two connotative meanings that Farfetch'd manages to embody at once. Duck and green onions are two ingredients of a good duck stew, so finding a duck carrying some around is described as a golden opportunity for the human... and makes the duck come off as literal easy pickings.
Farfetch'd is often over-hunted for its role as a delicacy. It seems that "carry around the ingredients to make yourself taste as good as possible" was not a particularly great evolutionary strategy.
As soon as items were added, Farfetch'd got a unique hold item like Marowak, the Leek (as it was renamed in SwSh)- the very green onion that gives it its culinary reputation. In battle, this gives it +2 crit stages, making it a dangerous opponent if it happens to exist at a point in the game where its BST is considered impressive. Farfetch'd is not available for being caught in this game, making this NPC giving us a freebie the only instance where you can find a Leek not on a Farfetch'd to begin with in the whole series.
I'd like to see your sources on that subject. Although maybe they are biologically considered Ducklett if they don't have the leek, I dunno.
...Weird objection, but OK. I can understand why you say that.
I believe the lady on the left heals you, but my Pokemon are perfectly healthy, and I don't think there's anything I can do to change that fact on this island.
This computer allows me to log on to the Storage System. Unfortunately, I don't show the team off at a more appropriate time, so now seems like a good moment to remember I'm packing Razzly, Murphy, Oatchi, Dottie, Sam and Woodstock.
Uh...
Lady, this is the visitor's entrance, isn't it...
Why... why can't I go out there...
Let's try somewhere even less public-appropriate, then: The docks!
I won't deny you need those, but I'm definitely feeling you shouldn't be putting these ports in the same place.
I can confirm: This is SM, Noah grabbed it too. I just didn't think to check with Bethany. Oh well, she can live without it.
Oh hey, cute continuity joke. At the climax of BW, Team Plasma comes close to succeeding, and gives out an order that all Pokemon be separated from Trainers. Some Trainers chose to comply with this request, mostly because they fell for Plasma's propaganda and/or thought they had the authority to enforce this request, and even with Plasma's defeat, many of these Pokemon didn't find their way home. There's also plenty of Pokemon whose Trainers didn't need the urging. In B2W2, which takes place two years later, you can find a faction of former Team Plasma Grunts caring for such Pokemon in order to atone for their actions.
Which either means this guy is also former Team Plasma, or he's one of the middlemen they needed to contact to teach them how to do their new job.
While I do partake in this philosophy perhaps a bit more than is healthy, I can't help but wonder what, exactly, it is you've done that you're happier not remembering.
They do have a habit of it. They also have a complete and total failure rate regardless of intervention. Good to keep an eye on, but it'll take more than that to be a problem.
Yes, this is the technical term for real aquatic superstructures. I suspect the main reason it's in place is that we don't have the budget to do more with it than build extra runways.
The whole "floating" thing minimises the disruption it causes to wildlife, but it's still plopping a great big hunk of metal in the ocean because you can.
Hm. I didn't try, but I don't see any reason we're forced to stick around. Probably can't make it to Ula'ula, though.
And yet we're feeding the Grimer. Surprised you didn't go for the Rattata and Yungoos thing, those are actually unwelcome.
Can't even go down there. There's literally nothing special down there except one pickup.
This is something I have observed on console: The visual effects of two of these three crates is buggy, and much like the waterfall feature in Hano Grand Resort, standing behind them disables the outlines on Bethany's model. Not sure why the third one works, though- or, come to think of it, what causes the bug.
I tried all the crates with Ailey and they looked fine to me, for what it's worth.
Yes, the fact we can go down to B2F at all is very strange. This feels like the sort of floor that should require password access. Even the music has taken on the sinister tone.
They do have a guy down here to keep us out. The bare minimum, I suppose.
Guard's not the most sociable, although I would be too if my facility didn't even have proper password protection despite having "artificial island" budgets.
Back up to the public area, then.
Looks at the Sudowoodo-shaped tree in USUM.
I think it's real problem is that it has never looked like a tree you find in the wild.
Bill, the original inventor of the Storage System. With each new region, they've added more helpers that log on more regions to the system, and Alola has followed suit. They've also improved the system since Bill's day.
Considering Bill's claim to fame is accidentally fusing himself with a Pokemon, one finds it a mite tricky to be impressed with him.
After this game, Pokemon would make the real-life Pokemon Storage System acutely vulnerable to the sorts of wear and tear likely for this plan to result in tragedy. Bad timing, I guess.
He's going somewhere with this, but as introductions go, this is not much of one.
Unlike evolutions, which are permanent changes and usually wholly positive, and form changes, which are reversible and usually sidegrades, regional forms are almost completely different. Aside from sharing the same name, type and statline, my Grimer may as well be a completely different Pokemon from a Kantonian Grimer. It is possible to breed either Grimer and produce Eggs of the other variety, which is more than one could say about your ability to make, say, Trubbish Eggs out of Grimer, but Darwinian evolution has otherwise separated the two pretty thoroughly.
Presumably, because the Psychic type has something to do with it.
...Compared to the stuff Litten can get up to? Count your blessings it doesn't do anything else.
Nothing but a good view from this deck, although USUM added a Starmie to play with.
In SM, this Aether girl says this, which is somewhere between "absolutely stupidest thing she could've said" and "actually kinda logical". Regional forms work because Pokemon change in nature in response to environmental stimuli, and those changes stick in the species as it breeds and evolves. Calling Alolan Grimer "Grimer with a tan" is a bit like calling a black person a white person with a tan, but at the same time... biologically speaking, the difference between black and white people is related to the amount of sun that was healthiest to absorb in their respective home environments.
The logic is sound, but please never say that again.
In USUM, she is given a longer line that actually highlights she understands the topic, and highlights that part of their duties is figuring out what evolutionary purposes Grimer's adaptations serve. Understanding how to help a traditional Grimer is of no help to understanding an Alolan one, and if you want to actually be helpful, you have to know what the differences are and why.
At which point she tries to use the same metaphor she had in SM, this time trying to help us understand the topic. Trust me, no, you have only confused the issue further, if anything at all.
And also I admire the guts you've got saying it to a black girl's face.
I forgot to show it in Sun, but in order to approach the president, you have to travel up and along this curved path. To be fair, it didn't translate well in images, but this really does look like the curve Lillie had run along before getting ambushed...
At the end of the path is a connection, with the president having some time with some wild Pokemon.
Things that do not sound as encouraging as she thinks they do.
Hi, lady. We're the tour group.
The music cuts out here, but that's mostly because they want to start the music they want on the formal introduction.
Of course, it's a foot-first introduction. In the president's case, I do suspect fetish was at least somewhat involved, although that's mostly because those heels are way too exotic to be anything but. Look at those feet, how does she keep them in the shoe?
Say hello to Lusamine, and her very disquietening theme. It's trying and somehow failing to make the Aether loop sound peaceful.
I understand Wicke knowing our names. I don't particularly like it, but it's not the weirdest thing ever.
Why does the president know about some random kids who helped Faba?
Those are the words of someone who hopes to form a long and deep connection. With 11 year olds she doesn't know.
That's the good ol' Island Challenge for ya. Don't forget the importance of that, it's not like we're doing this for no reason.
Can't argue with that.
...That's not nearly as admirable as you think it is. You're a conservationist, those Pokemon belong in the wild. With their own mothers.
What an odd thing to specify. Burnet's research is purely theoretical for now, you know that, right?
You really flatter a girl, Hau. I know she looks young, but she definitely looks like she's all done with her puberty, which puts her at a good three to five years older than us at minimum.
Try three decades older. Plus and/or minus change, depending on how far over 40 she is.
Does this look like a face trying to slip us dishonesty?
And you were doing so well, too, Hau. This is why you're not supposed to comment on a lady's age.
Meh, I like long hair as much as the next girl, but there's an upper limit before it goes from "more of it to run your fingers through" to "more of it to style into place".
I'm not sure where that limit is, but you have well and truly past it.
Lusamine then engages in the almost equally unflattering idea of telling someone your opinions on their outfit are better than their own. Mostly phrased in a way that sounds passable, but she's definitely smarting a little more from Hau's own comment than she appears.
Hau, once again, cannot resist shoving his foot directly into his mouth and chewing confidently. Mate, Lillie was very adamant about her refusal to come along. You do not mention her to the creepy lady.
Among the changes they made to this scene for USUM was, of all things, Hau's expression when making this comment.
Lusamine will remember that.
Great, that makes perfect sense!
Makes mental note to take page out of Lillie's book next time.
Lusamine's own insistence on being the boss of everything is interrupted by something shaking. On its own, bad news, but part of the point of VLFSes is that they're immune to tectonics.
Then again, we are near volcanoes...
The game fades to black and then starts a scene of everyone looking around worriedly, but we're not yet in a proper cutscene. You can tell because Bethany looks excited to see this island go down and for her to have an excuse to leave.
What are you doing down there that this is a reasonable concern? And should you really be inviting tourists if this concern exists?
There's a real cutscene here, and would you believe my luck with blink frames, neither Bethany nor Ailey managed to look appropriately wowed.
Here's Noah to demonstrate how this emoting business is done.
That is... definitely not supposed to be there.
It glows brightly, and from it emerges... a jellyfish.
One that bears more than the uncanniest resemblance to Lillie, come to think of it...
...Probably...
The creature has this animation and sounds... kinda scared, sorta? Possibly cold? This is something that changes so heavily with USUM I'm actually going to stop showing Ailey intermittently and wait until afterwards for.
That thing may not be right, Hau... but all the more reason for us to do something about it.
Shudders.
...
...
Well, now that you mention it...
Something I hope you've got people hard at work attempting to figure out.
I think Lusamine will put up more of a fight with this objective than the creature will.
It's worth mentioning that we do have free reign to move anywhere in the facility from this point, including back to the Pokemon Storage System.
It sure would be nice to know that.
Awkwardly, unlike many bosses of her like, the creature's fight trigger is a proximity trigger. Usually, you fight things by clicking on them.
This creature is not named and does not appear in our Pokedex after the battle is completed. I don't know if this name is ever used in-game, but pre-release, this creature was known as UB01-Symbiont. And it challenges us to battle with this high-energy, alien theme.
...And it totally has Z-Power.
Well, it looks like it obeys traditional battling mechanics. As such, it has stats. Annoyingly, I don't have any numbers, whatsoever, on what its numbers are in SM. Its USUM numbers are 104 HP, 29 Atk, 38 Def (before the Aura), 73 Sp. Atk, 92 Sp. Def, and 60 Speed.
Well then... if it fights like a Pokemon, then it obeys all the normal rules.
It takes turns, it can be afflicted with status ailments, and basically anything we can use that can take a Totem, we can use to take this.
Good to know. It has a Poison-type move.
Let's get Razzly out of this situation.
There we go, that's loads better.
And hey, freebie Defence boost!
Not too much help, but if it's spamming Venoshock, then we're probably not in the worst of positions.
95 BP STAB, go!
In addition to obeying the rules of Pokemon battling stat-wise, Symbiont does have a typing: It is Rock/Poison. x4 weak to Ground.
...So, uh, whose job is cleaning up after this?
Symbiont starts flashing in and out of view, before disappearing in a flash of light that leaves the field of view upside-down. That answers one question. And raises five more.
...That is a reaction and a half.
Even Hau looks at her like "uh, did you want to rephrase that while in public?"
Not even trying to hide it.
Fortunately, she names the creatures on the other side of the wormhole for the player's benefit. Ultra Beasts, or UBs, are creatures that may obey the rules of Pocket Monsters, or Pokemon, but they sure as hell aren't Pokemon themselves.
And Lusamine does what Lusamine loves best: Describe its existence in this world as painful, and declare it to be a species protected by Aether and swear to do everything in her power to bring it under her control.
Eeyup, she knows exactly what she's doing.
"..."
"...So, Miss Lusamine..."
"Hau, until we leave the island, you didn't hear anything just now."
She then turns around and acts like nothing strange just happened, despite Hau clearly having acknowledged her speaking.
Did you know this encounter was literally directly north of the elevator? Yeah, Symbiont also causes the two roadblocks to disappear.
I was about to say, I want to go to Ula'ula now.
Those would be the Pokemon in the conservatory itself, naturally.
...So you were doing secret experiments in the basement while there was an active tour group going on?
She... does know having her hand like that isn't keeping her from telling us that to our faces, right?
And finally, we get to go away from Lusamine.
For now, and if there's any good luck in this Island Challenge, for ever.
Right, yeah, I was talking about Ailey, too...
The opening is more or less the same, although instead of making "Brr-rrr" noises, Symbiont instead makes "Venomenon!" noises. This isn't actually its name, by the way.
I think it comes in in sihouette in SM, too, I just got a better frame of it here. But anyway, Symbiont's moves, for what it's worth, are Venoshock, Psywave, Headbutt and Clear Smog. I mostly see Venoshock, but it can try Psywave if it thinks it's a good idea.
Ailey's going to have some fun with this guy.
Eurgh... still, I only needed one move from Callie.
That +2 Def is now -2. Symbiont is about to break like glass.
Which is good, because Ailey doesn't have a Ground type. Now would be a good time to have Gorg in rotation, honestly...
(At this point, I have sent Gorg off to Poke Pelago to evolve it to final stage- it's still technically on the team, but it won't help us until postgame.)
Headbutt won't save you now!
...Headbutt didn't save you before, but details.
Shade is immune to Venoshock. This will cause Symbiont to target it with weaker moves just to do damage at all.
Headbutt may be running on all the maluses, but it does, in fact, do damage.
That was a non-STAB, non-SE attack. The only reason this didn't go even harder is that Symbiont has high-ish HP as part of its Specially Defensive role, and its Defence is already so relatively low that halving it doesn't make it that much weaker. But still, half HP from something as weak as Mawile hitting a boss...
Right, that's Symbiont resolved.
Lusamine has this response again, and looking at it a second time (and with a different look), I think it means something differently suspicious now. Still, though, worried.
...Hi, Ultra Recon Squad! Also in strangely alarming news, they've taken off their visors, and their eyes... something is not right about those eyes.
Since it caught me by surprise, the way the camera works in this cutscene is they have a slow moment where it only shows the lower-half of the male character's face, a rear-cut to show the Alolans turning to face the Recons (with Hau having this terrified look on his face), and then a dramatic pan to reveal the Ultra Recons and their lack of visors. This is distinct from your progress in the dialogue, which is unusual for Pokemon.
Both Phyco and Dulse are here to explain Ultra Beasts to USUM players- they come from Ultra Space through Ultra Wormholes. They are, bluntly, ultra.
In JP, what we know as "Ultra Balls" are instead known as "Hyper Balls", like the Potions. I wonder if this 20-year-old translation is dulling the impact of this or it would've been just as goofy otherwise.
Did you notice Hau has never met the Ultra Recon Squad? As timings for introductions go, this is one of them.
Remember, way back before Verdant Cavern, where the Recons talked about "talking to the president"? The Ultra Recon Squad and the Aether Foundation established the first connection, and Aether is investing their resources into helping the Ultra Recons solve their problems.
Slight spoilers, Dulse and Zossie follow Lusamine's direction. Phyco and Soliera take their sweet time telling Hau what's going on here.
Thankfully, they don't spend nearly as long as it took to introduce themselves to us.
...Ideally, can I ask both?
The Ultra Recon Squad are not just foreign to Alola as in, having moved from another region. They are like UBs in that they have come from another world.
The reason they are looking into UBs is because they are trying, and failing, to track down something called Necrozma. They do not categorise the creature as Pokemon or UB, and there is a legitimate question on the subject, in-universe and across canon.
As such, I'll wait until later to mention which one it is.
This does not sound like something you respect. That sounds like something you fear.
Keep in mind, we're terrified of our sun. Our sun lacks sentience and cannot randomly decide to terrorise us. But we are acutely vulnerable to the possibility of the sun just kinda stretching its arms and deep-frying our entire tech tree.
Lusamine steps forward and goes into full PR-Mode.
Aether is throwing everything it has at this. And if they actually commit to the follow-through, they're probably the best people to put on this job.
But at the same time, this is not a phrase I can believe when it comes out of Lusamine's mouth.
Dulse (Ultra Wormholes?): We came to the Alola region from another world by passing through an Ultra Wormhole. We came from a world of darkness, whose light was stolen by the one called Necrozma...
Dulse (Ultra Beasts?): Our world is a world without light... The light was stolen by a creature known to us as Necrozma. A creature almost like an Ultra Beast. And someday it will come to steal the light of Alola as well... like an eclipse that never passes.
Zossie: See, this Necrozma is, like, unbelievably strong! It can wield light however it likes, and sure, it does run wild sometimes, but it also shares this mysterious light it has with others, too!
Dulse and Zossie mention someting that Phyco and Soliera left out, something that justifies the fear it is treated with- Necrozma is so powerful that there is nobody in the Ultra Recon Squad's world that can stand up to it. This, presumably, is why the Squad is looking at us...
In USUM, this line is changed to mention that they actually are working on opening Ultra Wormholes- Gotta take a pre-emptive approach to Necrozma that is less necessary when your stated goal is protecting any UBs that happen to land here.
Anyway, back to leaving this place.
She'll be over the moon.
Probably as long as it took to realise "they're here and they're dangerous." Hope Kukui doesn't go full "run towards the danger" mode. He will.
Wicke suggests he do so, and I'm fully on board with this plan. I was just hoping we could do it without it resulting in Burnet doing Aether's work.
USUM changes Hau's line to include the Ultra Recons (and much of the rest of his lines for the next stretch of "having Hau" will follow the same note), while Wicke no longer recommends onboarding Burnet. Probably because they already have the Ultra Recons.
And now we get to one of the more famous moments, this is something that makes this entire journey stand out.
Wicke gives Hau his favourite food, and much like everything else they've given him, he swallows it whole.
That sounds like a quote to frame, except I'm not entirely sure she is hinting at anything in particular. Maybe a general plot point, but I wouldn't rate the possibility highly.
And then immediately following, she hands us, someone canonically from Kanto, the most powerful TM in all of Kanto. You know how they suspiciously knew our names? There's something extra suspicious about them giving what comes off as the most calculated bribes possible as we leave. I know some people laugh at how they gave us something far more valuable than they gave Hau, but knowing where Hau's at on his Island Challenge emotionally, I think he'd far, far prefer the Malasadas to something that helps him in battle.
As an actual move, Psychic is an endgame-quality move. It has 90 BP and a 10% chance of lowering the target's Sp. Def stat by one stage. No questions asked here, just hit them and hit them hard. In RBY, this move was obscenely powerful because the bonus effect was 33%, Special Attack and Defence were the same stat, and also the Psychic type ran rampant over the type chart because they forgot to properly design its weaknesses. They have done almost too good a job curtailing that in the years since, and it's hard to say this move is a particularly valuable TM in its own merits, but it's an endgame-quality move with a wide distribution on things that want it. Melia, especially, has just turned into a one-woman KO machine.
And I get the sneaking suspicion that you're going to be involved.
And we get a proper cutscene heading to Ula'ula. This one's still in USUM, and as such, it is the only place in that game On The Ship plays.
Hau's excitedly exclaiming about all this stuff in a public boat. We can't take you anywhere, can we?
(Yes, Ultra Recon mention here.)
I suggested it earlier, but Hau actually hasn't eaten his gift Malasadas yet. He was saving them for the boat ride.
But he does eat them right out of the pack. That grin.
...Not that one, Hau. But if you're offering...
From this camera angle, it's hard to tell if Bethany actually got one, but she does kinda nod her head enough that you could buy it. Hau's line doesn't help the suggestion he's already finished before we could take some.
I wouldn't normally highlight it, but there is something worth commenting on from the boys. Bethany and Ailey don't have too special a pose for sitting on these seats, but Noah and Ray set their backpacks on their laps, as one would expect. Since the girls wear shoulder bags, they can wear them while sitting just as they would standing. Neat touch.
Next time: Hau finds a new and unique way to get on my nerves.
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