On leaving the main building of Aether Paradise, we are confronted with the sight of Hau and Gladion with a bunch of Skull Grunts. In the short time it took me to experiment to see if the front door was open, Gladion has knocked out two Skull Grunts. Impressive, considering Gladion has not yet formally defected from Team Skull.
He then barrels down this long path to get to the guy at the other end to his own theme. The Skull Grunt closest to the other end, that guy on the left, shrugs as he goes by, the only one to be on screen long enough to emote.
Yeah, I don't think that formal resignation is going to be required.
Hau makes this announcement on our behalf, because he's had more than long enough to notice this.
I'm not 100% certain whether "uku billion" is Hawaiian slang for "a number too large to bother counting" or just general slang for it.
This is intended literally, and covers a lot of the story of the game. And, to some extent, actually kind of explains the peculiar recurring narrative nugget "Team Skull steals Pokemon for profit". The Aether Paradise is a gigantic exercise in claiming Pokemon that do not belong to them in the name of conservation, and makes a big deal out of the Pokemon in their collection being the former "victims" of Team Skull.
That whole plot point reads a lot differently if Aether is the one directing what Pokemon Team Skull chooses to terrorise, don't it?
Hau elects not to ask quite so many questions as I am, for his own sanity, and decides he's going to make things easy for himself by just getting rid of Skull Grunts until we can get Lillie out of this situation.
USUM: I hope Lusamine hasn't gone all weird like the rest of Aether Paradise... She seemed so nice lazzzt time we met her!
Rotom, please listen when you are told things.
In SM, I couldn't figure out how to talk to these guys.
In USUM, they do have dialogue. Although they're clearly out of it. Poor kid.
There are two places either side that we can go visit for goodies. Not great goodies, but...
There is a Zygarde Cell here, so...
Oh, hey, neat! Could've got 50% sooner had Bethany gone and found all the Cells that appear only at Night, but we're not really in the market for them. Even Noah, who technically could enhance Squishy's stats with the more powerful 50% Forme, would rather to continue to use the cute dog.
When USUM sees Zygarde, they will first see it in 50% Forme, so we can hold off introductions until then.
How about I go help Lillie instead?
In USUM, there's a bit here that sounds like payoff to an earlier bit, except for the fact that this is the first time we've had access to this area of the map
The Pelipper they've been helping remains around here as a Pokemon you can play with, while a Full Heal exists in the corner.
The other side also has a Full Heal. This is not the same one that was in USUM- they're both Full Heals there.
And yes, these doors are just painted on.
Meanwhile, Hau has been moralising at the Skull Grunt he has challenged to a battle. The Skull Grunt is having none of it.
Anyway, we interrupt your regularly scheduled Aether Paradise invasion to bring you: More Skull Grunts!
They have one Pokemon as a rule, but at least they're halfway decent ones this time? Still no special investment, these guys are just your bog-standard Skull guys.
I think you're my least favourite Skull Grunt, and I hope you get everything that's coming to you.
This line offers the indication that Aether's also been giving Team Skull material support. Team Skull is probably not nearly as big a deal as they are without Aether.
Well, that's relatively unambiguous about the nature of the sponsor relationship as being financial. Although perhaps other material benefits are available.
...No. I want you to go home and rethink your life.
The third Skull Grunt, whose reaction to Gladion was to shrug his hands and let him get on with it, tells us a similar story. He's seen the writing on the wall, and he knows challenging us to a fight is going to end badly. So he's not gonna. Smart bloke. Anyway, Gladion might need some help.
Guzma fight means Sturm. Don't worry, Sturm's not gonna sweep this one. The fact I'm even looking at my team could tell you that there are good odds I'm going to need more than Sturm.
K9's job is to be a better, if physical, Sturm once Sturm goes down. I'm actually moderately impressed Sturm has managed to get more credit out of this arrangement.
Guzma has more Pokemon weak to Fire this time, so Flambebe's stocks have gone up. She's an alternate take on K9, who can't take Golisopod, but is better equipped to handle anyone with good physical bulk.
Jigsaw is the Fire-type take on Sturm. Shell Smash even serves as a budget Shields Down! Or perhaps Shields Down is a budget Shell Smash.
Dottie is helping! The funny thing is that Bug has a powerful buffing move that Dottie would like to copy, but Guzma never uses it. Perhaps it's a bit too strong for Guzma, but still.
Kasplashle is just here to finish the job on Golisopod, if necessary. It could probably do a not bad job of cleanup on anything else, either.
Getting close enough to Guzma cues his theme, as well as the realisation that Gladion is not actually strong enough to take him.
Well... I can't argue that point for long. I'm sorry, kid, your time was not well spent.
Guzma takes his moment to stand there and bask in his victory.
I think he's got it a little too good...
Must feel big to say that and actually mean it for once, don't it?
You're calling it a favour? Well, it sure is a wakeup call, but I don't know if I would go as far to say "favour".
If you remember back when Gladion was first introduced as a Skull character, the minions described him as being a favourite of the boss. Guzma goes into those reasons now.
Guzma found a bit of a kindred spirit in Gladion, and approves of Gladion's lifestyle choices. There's even an element of wish fulfillment in it- Guzma comes off as the sort of person who's either done the same thing, or wishes he had the guts to.
Gladion, who has since learned that hanging around Team Skull was not a great position either in terms of getting stronger or in terms of "good lifestyle decisions", gets a pretty good dose of "your approval fills me with shame".
Guzma's gotten drunk on power and seems to think challenging me to a fight is a reasonable strategy. He seems to have forgotten I'm 2-0 and I've humiliated him with Sturm.
We'll see how that goes for you when it comes to putting out actual fires.
By the way, yes, Guzma's still using the standard Skull wipe, not the new Aether one.
SM Guzma has seem a sharp increase in quantity, and a modest amount of quality. With that said, you should not find this team to be too unfamiliar if you've been following along with me.
Stop me if you've heard this one. Golisopod has gained four levels and nothing new since we fought it in Po Town- it's still all in on First Impression, Razor Shell and Swords Dance, with 252 Atk EVs, Adamant and 31/31/15/15/15/31 IVs. Sometimes you just can't improve.
And we know what we do to this exact Golisopod. Prepare to meteor doom!
...Well, uh, after this bit.
Sometimes I wish he's Razor Shell me, and then he actually does roll those odds and it turns out he can oneshot. You don't realise how close Sturm actually has it until it happens.
Well, that's irritating.
Case in point. All Sturm needed was to fail the 50% and it's already down and out for the count. Shields Down only helps if it takes the hit.
Well, it's been a while since Dottie's had her chance.
Still kicking.
Kasplashle is now preparing to try out a career as a physical attacker. Probably not where I want her going- I've got Jaws for Physical Water. Then again, all Kasplashle is really good for is Water and being really powerful.
The Ariados is the same as ever, with Fell Stinger, Shadow Sneak, Sucker Punch, and a competitively optimal stat spread, and remains as useless as ever.
With Golisopod out for the count and nothing else in this party fire-resistant, I figure this is the perfect opportunity to make use of Jigsaw's new toy.
Don't underestimate the Speed score of Jigsaw after one or two of these.
And the best part is, the -Def isn't backfiring, because he's trying Sucker Punch. Sucker Punch doesn't work if the opponent is Shell Smashing.
Unfortunately, it did do a number on Jigsaw once I was done Shell Smashing. More fortunately, there isn't much priority to continue worrying about.
You are now on fire.
Not sure whether Leftovers or Shell Bell was the way to go. I went with Leftovers in case I was actually taking hits during the Shell Smash phase, but that turned out to be a nonissue.
Masquerain has gotten confused and put itself on the SM team, for some reason. Flat 31 IVs, 252 EVs in Sp. Atk/Spd, a Modest Nature, and the moves Air Slash and Bug Buzz. No Icy Wind, but otherwise, this is the same Masquerain Ailey and Ray have been running scared of since Malie Garden.
Yeah, it remains not that scary in Stealth Rock.
Also, thanks to Shell Smash, I outspeed.
Another visitor from USUM, Pinsir has flat 31 IVs, 252 EVs in Atk, an Adamant Nature, and the moves X-Scissor, Brick Break, and Double Hit. Once again, a terrifying opponent in USUM, but without the teeth it had there.
All that that means is that it's possible for Pinsir to land critical hits. Which might have mattered if it knew Storm Throw.
It is just on fire as the Masquerain was.
I think it's because I smashed myself.
...I'm not sure that was a sentence I wanted to stand behind.
You're a Type Expert. You are so, so vulnerable to being whacked by the type you're weak to when you specialise.
He may be a sore loser, but that's almost exclusively a personal thing. We've proven ourselves his match, and there's nothing more he can do to stop us.
Wow, Rotom. No faith in Wicke's information.
He's just gotta heal up his team. He's going to miss most of the initial exposition, but he'll be here in time to contribute.
I'd like to see you put some real effort in. You've done well against Ailey, you've just gotta be more prepared for me.
Zygarde Cell on the west side of the mansion here.
As we go into the mansion, a word ahead of time: The events of USUM diverge so greatly from SM here that Ailey gets her own update. We're at that point in the story.
Also, it turns out Bethany completely missed this Zygarde Cell. Whoops. Oh well, we've got a fight to prepare for, although this won't be the last chance we have to set up our team.
Flambebe is here for her power this time- specifically, she is here for her Poison STAB. A rare advantage, but it turns out Bethany has fewer Fairy coverage options than I would like.
Razzly, likewise, is using a Bug move. Although that's more likely to be the reason I'm bringing her over someone else.
...Your moveset needs help, Bernie-Bear. Pity Play Rough is so far into her future. To be fair, it's not like she's challenged running this sort of kit.
Oatchi is also playing an interesting strategy this time- he's here for his Grass move. Wish he had Leaf Blade, but Decidueye won't get that until 44. Rowlet gets it at 36, but that would involve passing up on Spirit Shackle. And also being a Rowlet for that long.
Dottie can't surprise us for why she's here. Her Electric coverage is at 40.
Cranky... I brought her for EXP and coverage on an opponent, but I think the time is coming when it is time to retire her. Her Slow EXP group and lack of a strong spot on the team is biting her hard. Still, though, a Normal Pokemon is a good general use problem solver.
Entering the big doors behind the foyer will get you into a bedroom (strange place to put one structurally), where Lusamine and Lillie can be found. There's also another soundtrack for this setup now: Unsettling Atmosphere. We sure have that.
Lusamine's staredown is interrupted by our arrival, and she actually seems kinda shocked we got this far.
Lusamine plays it off, but also her addressing us by name is how Lillie knows we entered the room. Quiet doors, that.
I couldn't be stopped for anything but, Lils. And don't you forget it.
The whole "Lusamine baits us into the Paradise on false pretenses" thing gets real weird here- Lusamine is actually surprised we know Lillie. So much for her being shocked Hau drops her name earlier. You'd think that'd come up.
Whatever use Lusamine had in mind for us, it seems she's far less partial to the idea now that she knows we've taken Lillie's side. Gonna be very difficult for her to construct a persuasive argument with that in mind.
...It's been hinted at, throughout the Aether invasion, if you know where to look. However, the ambiguity of many of the clues, as well as the parallels between Gladion and Lillie, do help to obfuscate things somewhat. But yes- this is the formal reveal that Lillie and Lusamine are mother and daughter. The things we've heard Lillie talking about when it comes to mothers make a lot of sense when you transpose them onto Lusamine's control freak nature.
This isn't meant to be a statement of fact, but Lusamine rejecting Lillie because of her actions.
If this is the response you have to someone leaving you, you probably weren't expressing any love. You may have possessed it, you may even have meant it, but the sentiment is almost certainly not returned.
Lillie, since she's never taken on the path of a Trainer (and whose fault is that?), is unable to offer anything that could stop Lusamine. She obviously tried oration, but she's got nothing persuasive to offer a woman who probably couldn't be persuaded by anything.
...
Poor Lillie. That's gotta do wonders on her self-esteem. What little she had left after escaping this woman the first time.
Lusamine's pursuit of a perfect ideal manifests in the form of beauty, and specifically in the aesthetic sense. A fairly cliche choice for a female antagonist (of which Lusamine is actually Pokemon's first), but one that gets highlighted in some particularly twisted ways this time around.
Especially when you remember things like Lusamine's mother controlling Lillie's wardrobe.
Also, her "standards" of beauty aren't quite the same as yours or mine. Really, I'd say she's less of a "I want to make the world prettier" villain (that would more accurately describe XY's Lysandre), and more of a "I want to have a collection of pretty things" kind of villain.
Selfish? Probably not. But foolish? I think Lusamine's already mentally discarded that Cosmog.
...Come to think of it, despite B2W2 having Ghetsis attempt to pierce Rosa with icicles directly and Lysandre actively subverting the power of life and death in XY, this might actually be one of, if not the first, textual use of the word "die" in the main story of a Pokemon game. Even the backstory of AZ, which involves the death of a Floette, avoids the use of those words to describe its fate, instead revealing it with the words "he was given a tiny box".
Lusamine's decided that killing Cosmog is collateral damage already. The most persuasive argument we probably have is "wouldn't you rather have Cosmog able to repeat the feat so you can get more Ultra Beasts?".
It's a disgusting argument, but it's one Lusamine might actually be open to.
Lusamine goes up to the mirror, revealing a teleportal behind it. This is probably more of a revelation to Lillie, who might've spent time in her childhood in this room, than to us, who hasn't even had the chance to run around this room outside a cutscene yet.
I would not be entirely surprised if Lillie had never spoken a word to you before she ran away, for all the good her wants and desires might have had on you.
The teleporting effect is just a quick noise and then the disappearance/appearance of whatever gets teleported. A far cry from the old games and the "spinning into the top of the screen".
Don't worry, Lils. You deserve it, and don't let her convince you otherwise.
I think that was a matter of course.
Considering she teleported, I don't think I have any idea where, in physical space, the room she is currently occupying is in the Foundation.
By the way, when was the last time we could sleep in somebody's bed? Sophocles, Acerola, and Team Skull were running at a bit of a deficit there.
Anyway, enough fooling around. Let's go show Lusamine what's what.
Lillie follows us into the room, and we get the same eerie, quiet track from the basement labs. Considering the water, we probably are on a Basement level.
Lillie's clearly never been here under any circumstances.
Oh great. Now she's taunting us.
...Rotom, what kind of question is that? You've spent all game around humans far less insane than this.
Incidentally, now is your last chance to reorganise your team. The next cutscene is the one that triggers the fight.
We get a lot of interesting angles of this room, showing off its contents before Lusamine does the formal reveal.
Welcome to the collection Lusamine has acquired thus far.
A collection of perfectly preserved specimens. Turns out Type: Null isn't the only thing Aether's cryogenically freezing.
In USUM, one of the stories you can find in the newly added books is a story about a Pikachu, a Pyukumuku and a Slowpoke setting out on an adventure. You can find that party of three as a background event in Pikachu Valley, too. What a sight for its conclusion.
I'm not sure what Lillie thought of Lusamine before now, but that is the expression of someone whose assessment of her mother is going down.
...You... acknowledge the fact that you're going to be removing an Ultra Beast from its natural habitat, and its resulting mood is going to be influenced by that fact?
And... and you're OK with that?
Ma'am, you need to reread the definition of "conservationism" a hundred more times.
...Hau? This is an occasion for you to drop by.
He cheerfully waves to us, as if we haven't just heard the most powerful woman in the region express the desire to unleash a cataclysm on the whole archipelago.
Gladion follows right behind him, much less ceremoniously.
Count on Hau to have absolutely no setting for this situation. You'd think he'd notice the Pokemon icicles?
I think Lusamine might actually still think she can get Hau to do something to her liking. It'd be real easy if she got him alone. Thank goodness me and the blondies are here.
She's familiar with Gladion, and has the contempt one might expect for him. Especially considering the fact he's changed his look- or at least slashed his clothes- since last they met.
Gladion seems to suspect Lillie's already tried talking her down and failed. Gladion can back up his rhetoric with competence, but he's also a much less persuasive person.
Have either of you two considered "reasons"?
They have a moment to let you look at the two kids' respective reactions to Lusamine's darkness- Gladion's contempt and Lillie's fear- to particularly remind you of their similarities.
Yup. Formal reveal these two are siblings. "My boss's kid stole our research material" happened twice in the past two years for Faba. I'm impressed he managed not to say "again" the second time.
The dramatic switch to shouting changes the ambient music to There's Trouble, at the point of the story where it's intended to first play.
They don't want your attention now any more than they did when you had custody of them. That's why they're yelling at you.
Gladion has absolutely no patience for this argument. It may not be the first time he's heard it.
Hau takes a moment to pause and fully sink in the casual reveal, just to make sure it's sunk in for the kids. You can tell the developers don't think much of the attention span of the modern youth.
He really has to let it sink in. To be fair, these are probably the three people least likely to be related from a sense of their personalities- Lillie the shy close friend, Gladion the edgy teenager who refuses to explain anything, and Lusamine the motherly protector of the region.
Lillie was probably hoping she could keep Hau in ignorance, because it is real hard to keep that kid on topic.
Lusamine might, if she plays her cards right, be able to persuade Hau that Gladion and Lillie are bad people for this. Calling them wretches might not be the way to go, but you know, there is a chance.
But probably not while they're in the room and able to offer persuasive counterarguments. Really, it was for the best we kept Hau and Lusamine apart.
The facial animator got a lot of mileage to make Lusamine creepy. Those eyes.
...
Opening the wormhole to attract UB01 was intentional? I guess this is what they went with before they added the Ultra Recon lore in USUM implying Lillie's own escape was responsible.
Nebby cries out at this point, which is what Lillie's reacting to. It probably wasn't entirely obvious that's where Nebby is until right now.
...You're going for multiple? Just say you hate the Alola region outright by this point.
This is a weird bit, because they didn't even fix this one for USUM- this scene seems to be going for an impact, but they kinda ruined it with the conversation in the bedroom.
We've already had the "if you keep going, Cosmog will die" moment. Complete with the "die" drop.
This scene specifically makes me think the earlier mention was a mistake, rather than Lillie supposed to come off as being foolish and repeating herself. It is a much better way of expressing the "I don't care" bit.
Well then...
I guess there's no stopping her.
The cutscene plays A Crisis in Alola.
And they certainly mean it.
Lusamine successfully opens her wormhole to invite a UB-01 Symbiont, and her grin looks terrifying at this angle.
Her actions invite clouds of darkness to cover not just the Paradise, but elsewhere in Alola, too. This still happens in Moon- it's a different kind of darkness around here.
The Wormhole over Iki Town drops in a UB-02 Absorption.
This is actually a version-exclusive Ultra Beast. Moon players see UB-02 Beauty. And yes, for some reason, the version-exclusive Ultra Beasts share their numbers.
They rapidly jump-cut to different parts of Alola, showing what I assume are separate wormholes- knowing how the region fits together, I'm not sure one could really justify it by implying some of these are the same ones, although I feel like you probably should be able to see some of them from different vantage points.
In order, we have Hau'oli City (you should really be able to see the Iki wormhole from here), Paniola Ranch, Konikoni City, Malie City, and what looks like Poni Island. Poni Island is short at such a distance that it's hard to make out, although the distinguishing features are sufficiently distinguishing that I can make it out.
Right, so for the Wormhole in front of us.
Apparently she can see the Wormholes on her monitors. Nothing but made up characters to me.
Dang, Nebby run out of steam in there. The audio doesn't really reflect it, but Pokemon's kind of bad at giving emotional pitches to the actual Pokemon cry clips.
Then get better soundproofing. That sounds like a you problem.
...I'm starting to see why you solve your problems with ice.
Now comes the hard part: Convincing them not to kill you.
I think that last bit is supposed to be aimed at us/Hau, who started on Melemele. Although good luck convincing Hau to join you after that.
There's a camera pan across everyone's respective reactions to that. Lillie and Hau, of course, are terrified, Gladion is frustrated, and Bethany's fairly sure she called exactly this last time she was here.
We then take another moment to interrupt this dramatic reveal by checking in on what Hala's up to. Why Hala? Well, he's the one near the UB that dropped!
(The music is out, and but there's a lot of thunder sound effects going on.)
Probably why Hala didn't notice anything strange until it was right on top of him.
Time for him to get confronted with the sight of a UB!
(This reboots the music, which is just There's Trouble again and not a unique song).
Some of Hala's reaction is a bit subdued because of the fact he can be confronted with two completely different looking UBs, although typewise, they were smart enough to give both Absorption and Beauty the same types.
Not that Hala's matchup with them on the type chart influences his reaction.
He manages to make it sound like it's a moderately interesting Pokemon. Hardly the sort of reaction one would expect out of seeing the extra-dimensional kind of alien.
I wanted to show the Moon version of this shot, mostly because I'm not 100% certain what that appendage of Beauty even is, let alone what it's doing. This scene was almost certainly shot for Sun.
Hala prepares to take it on- whether it be by battling or by sumo- before he is interrupted.
Tapu Koko decided he's planning on doing his job!
Even Hala's not entirely sure whether Tapu Koko has leapt into action altruistically or just because it would be a really cool fight.
Hala offers this line and looks to the skies to see this shot (which only contains two lights). This implies that the other guardians are offering their own support to Olivia, Nanu, and potentially the Poni Island Kahuna, although we don't see that (probably to hide the designs of the other Tapu).
Also, this "my comrades" bit kinda sounds weird from Hala, but the alternative is that Tapu Koko is the one saying it, which raises all kinds of questions about the world.
Hala pledges his support to Tapu Koko, although mechanically, I'm sure Koko is just fine on his own. Perhaps Hala is necessary to perform a Z-Move, although I'm sure Hala's orders would only be confusing and ignored in a proper fight.
They charge in for the dramatic fight shot, although we need to get back to our character.
This was also probably shot exclusively for the trailers, and likely took up a good chunk of both the time and money budgets alone.
One of us is going to have to deal with fighting UB01. And here I am caught without a Ground type. Unless... Cranky?
I'd tell you not to touch it, but I'm more curious what parts of it are actually tangible. Jellyfish are kinda weird about that sort of thing, even if Tentacool is less so.
Guzma bursts into the room, as if we didn't have enough problems.
He's probably healed his team. Although, as an adult, he probably isn't too shabby without.
I'd like to see you two try.
I'm not sure what kind of quiet she means, and I don't think she cares. I think she's just sick of us being in the room.
Although those smiles should not be paired with characters of our respective ages.
Guzma steps up to Gladion-
Only for Gladion to charge forward and shatter the momentum Lusamine's been building up.
Complete with changing the song to his encounter theme. It always did feel a bit too heroic for a villain theme...
He challenges UB01 himself, reasoning that Type: Null was designed to do this, and whether or not the RKS System broke, Null is obedient enough to his own commands that the rest of it is probably worth plenty in a fight.
Hau taking Guzma is mostly a case of pairing the spares, and an expression of Gladion's contempt for Guzma that he sends the least competent of the three friendly Trainers his way. Hau had to take on one of the three threats in this room, and Guzma is definitely the easiest.
We, of course, landed the job of stopping Lusamine. I don't think either of the other two could've taken that job.
That sounds like a more reasonable aim. Although defeating Lusamine in a battle sounds like the way to bring that about.
I'm sorry I don't see why I should let some extra-dimensional invasive species run rampant over a flourishing ecosystem. We tried that with Yungoos, did you see how well it worked and thought "what if I did it again"?
Yeah, I think Gladion knows that. I wish him luck, I'm not sure how well his team is equipped to deal with a Rock/Poison type.
Gladly.
Lusamine's intro animation comes with her stomping her heel into the ground, complete with sound effect. Yeah, someone on the team definitely had a fetish. Lusamine herself is not a type specialist, using a collection of five Pokemon with completely different types. In USUM, Malie Hau was kind of a similar fight, but if you want to beat Lusamine, you really have to be on top of your game.
Lusamine, of course, has a unique battle theme, and while the song is played with the key of her beauty, the mood of the piece definitely conveys her insanity and the high pressure of the situation. As an aside, the particular melody that plays at around 0:47 sounds rather similar to a recurring riff found in the Genius-Sonority spin-offs Colosseum (Cipher Admin theme) and Battle Revolution (Colosseum Leader theme). I think the Sonority devs got rolled into the main series' dev team at some point, so I imagine it's intentional, although I've got nothing but my ear pointing at it.
Clefable (Moon): According to tradition, people who see a pair of Clefable skipping by can look forward to a happy marriage.
Considering its role in the anime and Aether-family-at-large, I suspect that Clefable is actually supposed to be Lusamine's ace. Most people, myself included, think it's the new-to-Alola mon that's in her fifth team slot (which are qualities that usually apply to a character's ace), but all of her Pokemon are the same level. It could go either way.
Anyway, Clefable herself a pure Fairy type, is 31/15/31/15/31/15, has 252 EVs in HP and Sp. Def, has a Calm (+Sp. Def/-Atk) Nature, and knows the moves Moonblast, Cosmic Power and Metronome. Clefable is well-known as a specially defensive powerhouse, and Lusamine is able and willing to lean on that. Metronome is a Normal Status move that calls any move (with a few exceptions, mostly things like Sketch) at random, but otherwise, she doesn't have much offensively threatening. Still, though, you can literally expect anything. Her Ability is Magic Guard, too, so don't expect Sandstorm or Toxic to work out in your favour.
Bethany's Fairy coverage is Flambebe or Woodstock. I stand by Flambebe (I think Woodstock's fallen behind on its Poison STAB's BP), but this is gonna be like pulling teeth.
Fortunately, Flambebe has a plan for that.
Cosmic Power is a Psychic Status move that grants +1 Def/Sp. Def. Let Clefable rack up too many of these and even a strong Iron Head won't shift it as much as you need it to.
Look at this. I'm +2 Sp. Atk and was nowhere close to the oneshot.
Yeah, that's not doing anything. Corrosion allows Flambebe to apply Poison to things that are immune, and you can poison a Magic Guard Pokemon just fine.
Another reason to go with Flambebe over Woodstock- Woodstock is neutral to Moonblast. Not 100% sure how much of a problem that is, but it is an existent one.
...Well, that was a surprise. Probably shouldn't have been much of one, but the AI switches so rarely that you're always caught off guard when they do.
I don't have a good shot of Lusamine's Mismagius in either run, although to be fair, and slight spoilers for Noah's run, but Lusamine switched it in for him, too. Mismagius is pure Ghost, 31/15/15/31/15/31 IVs, 252 Sp. Atk/Spd EVs, Modest Nature, and the moves Shadow Ball, Mystical Fire and Power Gem. We've seen Mismagius on our side, with Eunie, but here's our chance to see one on the other side.
It's got decent Special bulk, but +2 Sludge Bomb did wonders even despite being resisted. Flambebe could probably do the other hit!
Well, now I definitely have an incentive to just have Flambebe finish her off!
The only real reason I don't is because Bernie-Bear has the Amulet Coin. I need her to participate sometime.
As it happens, Mismagius's power is enough that this would have oneshot Flambebe from full health, and also Mismagius happens to outspeed Flambebe by 2 points (129 vs 127). It was a good thing I switched!
Bernie-Bear has Shadow Sneak, she was in no danger from Shadow Ball. Losing the Disguise kinda sucks, but that's why I brought it.
...This would be OK for Clefable, since it is Poisoned, but I want the extra power of Sludge Bomb. I have Venoshock as a TM anyway, I think.
It's kinda funny how Noah has two of Lusamine's Pokemon. Of her five Pokemon, two are on Noah's team, the two I'm not using were both planned but failed to make the cut, and one of them is on Beth's team. I think me and Lusamine have similar taste. And that kinda scares me.
The Lilligant itself, incidentally, is 31/15/15/31/15/31, 252 EVs in Sp. Atk/Spd, Modest Nature, and has the moves Petal Dance, Teeter Dance and Stun Spore. It has the Own Tempo Ability, allowing it to block the Confusion from both Petal Dance and Teeter Dance, and it's good at shutting you down. Fortunately, it doesn't have Quiver Dance for the full "Grass type magic cannon" that Nimue's angling to be.
Razzly also outsped. The Lum Berry was for safety.
Milotic (Ultra Moon): Its dwelling place is the bottom of big lakes. Those who behold its loveliness are said to have their hearts purified.
Any time to use that power would be great. Milotic is a pure Water type defensive behemoth, with the spread 95/79/125 as her base stats, and the Marvel Scale Ability to give it an extra 50% Def if you inflict a status ailment on it. It's not really possible to shut down a Milotic fast unless you have a really good physical Grass/Electric move, and those types don't really have those. 31/15/15/31/15/31 IVs, 252 EVs in Sp. Atk and Speed, a Modest Nature, and the moves Hydro Pump, Flail and Safeguard. I'm kinda surprised it's not leaning in to that bulk- if I had a Milotic, I'd invest in HP/Sp. Atk.
Hydro Pump has 110 BP and 80% accuracy, and I find it rolls that 20% miss too often for my tastes. Probably confirmation bias, but there's a reason Water types stick with Surf and Scald.
Really wish I had Leaf Blade about now... at least Razor Leaf isn't too much worse.
She tried. But then again, Oatchi's immune to Flail.
Right, finishing the Clefable...
Let's let Cranky have a try. Probably beats Flambebe, what with the Sp. Def. Fortunately, her switching out got rid of the Cosmic Power.
That's a relief. It always did have a bit of a weaker Defence.
There's something kind of fitting about the fact that Lusamine, who believes her toxic stranglehold on her children is her expression of love, finds her Alolan Pokemon to be the deadly hugger Bewear. Probably why people like the idea of it being her ace so much. 31/31/31/15/15/15 IVs, 252 EVs in HP and Atk, an Adamant Nature, the moves Baby-Doll Eyes, Hammer Arm and Take Down, and the Ability Fluffy. This is a Pokemon that knows it's hard to beat physically defensively, and will drag the fight out as long as it can despite both of its offensive moves having direct drawbacks.
I'm not playing that game. I'm going for the Special offense.
That could've been worrisome. If necessary, it's walled by Ghost types, although I'm not sure how well Bernie-Bear and Oatchi are going to do whittling at its physical defence.
Not dealing with that.
...Apparently I am dealing with that. Ow.
So much for that recoil.
Right, Razzly is also a powerful Special attacker who can hit Bewear's weaknesses.
HP investment's paying off, clearly.
Ow, so is that Atk investment. -2 Atk didn't do nearly enough...
...Although that's a bright side to the problem.
Lusamine looks so offended we won. Good.
Lusamine's payout of x240 is tied for the highest in SM, alongside Faba's and the final boss's. While I'm sure Lusamine is worth that much, it feels comical considering that defeat quote. Then again, when you consider that villainous team bosses usually have a high payout, we're either robbing her or Pokemon villains are more noble than their mad delusions suggest.
The music continues on with There's Trouble after the fight. As it happens, defeating Lusamine here is not mandatory- if you're not up to the task, you can take the defeat and continue on. With that said, however, failing to defeat Lusamine here ought to be a bit of a wakeup call, since there's only tougher fights waiting on Poni.
Whatever Gladion did to UB01, it worked. It's fading out, and that wormhole is closing.
Lusamine notices that her plan is about to end horribly, and discards what's been going on to focus on stopping that.
They're going all in on that "get their hands on that Ultra Beast" plan.
As an aside, the name of the Beast Ball in JP is "Ultra Ball", since what we know as Ultra Balls are instead "Hyper Balls" there. Seems a shame that a twenty-year old translation screwed them out of a genuinely good name.
...Not sure what you're gonna do to help, but...
As UB01 fades in and out with a kind of glass-shattering sound, Lusamine begins to do the same.
She's following it into the wormhole, in her own way.
They linger on this shot, before going in for the zoom-in.
On Lusamine's smirking, waving face. Pity about the fade-in effect ruining it.
Guzma runs after her, with the same flashing effect, before the wormhole closes up again.
There they go. Out of our hair, and into some much more worrisome places. All that remains... is a small object, barely visible in this screenshot, but it is present, in front of the monitors.
(I think we're meant to assume the other wormholes shut closed, although there is no indication of what, if anything, happened to the UBs.)
Lillie notices the small object, which only makes sense.
There's Trouble has shut off, but we've only gone back to the Aether Basement theme.
Nebby escaped the box Lusamine was using for it.
That's about all one can say, though.
Because it's sure not the same anymore.
Not encouraging. Potentially OK, but not encouraging.
Gladion gives us the entirely reasonable suggestion to leave, and continue this conversation in a room at a more reasonable temperature. I can stand behind that one.
We leave the cube behind. Probably should have that just in case, but like hell any of us are keeping it.
As we leave, we see Wicke waiting for us with everyone else. She'll hopefully be able to help with this whole "explaining what next" step.
That is an amazing response. And not even entirely an inaccurate one. We came out of that physically unharmed, but the less tangible harms have both made their mark and have yet to make themselves fully apparent.
We have a long recovery period awaiting us. And probably more to deal with before we're done.
Both questions that require answering before we can put this behind us. And both questions that do not strike me as having fun answers.
Ugh... A lot of stories like the idea of "but they're family", and Pokemon Alola is firmly in this camp. It's not the worst here, although it is a core reason why USUM is the way it is.
As a children's game, Pokemon reserves the right to be apprehensive about touching the rather sensitive topic of "some people aren't fit to be parents". Pokemon doesn't seem to realise that's the territory they've wandered into, and a great deal of their problems with writing the Aether family is their refusal to treat it that way.
Gladion mentions the power of the Legendary Pokemon to travel through dimensions. That sounds like a power mentioned as belonging to Solgaleo and Lunala, all right.
And if it is real, we've got nothing to go on on how to get it to appear, let alone how to get it to listen to us.
Hau, of course, has nothing but unbridled optimism. Bethany apparently doesn't have the heart to remind him otherwise.
Don't worry about it. I'd hug you, but that's also something that doesn't belong in Pokemon's general target audience.
We never actually find out where this is.
But yeah, nap time sounds amazing right about now.
Lillie turns down the offer, but because she wants to experience the feeling of the maternal love she remembered and yet never experienced with older eyes. Or that's what I would be saying if the story had any plans on treating the subject with such dignity.
Next time: Cut and paste plot point.
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