An Ultra Past Forgotten (Pokemon Sun & Moon)

Chapter 1

Chloe smiled brightly, laughing as water splashed across her face. The salty sea breeze filled her nose, and she gazed down at Mantine. Her feet were in the proper positions for her to easily balance and shift her weight for whenever the water type tilted or turned. She absolutely loved Mantine surfing, and after a lot of practice, she'd gotten pretty good.

"What do you think, Mantine? Wanna try the Starmie 720 on that big wave coming in?"

"Tine mantine!" it cried happily.

Mantine turned slightly, heading straight into the big wave approaching. Chloe reached down, gripping the handles of the board on the pokemon's back, preparing herself. As soon as they reached the wave, Mantine flew up into the air, spinning rapidly like a Starmie. The redhead laughed and cheered, and before she knew it, they were back on the water again, riding the wave.

"That was awesome! Way to go, Mantine!"

Mantine swam out of the wave and back toward the shore where Chloe's pokemon were. The girl could see her team enjoying themselves. Her partner, Salazzle, was lounging in a beach chair, and Espeon was curled up in the other one, both pokemon soaking in the sun's rays. Ninetales laid in the shade under an umbrella, her tails folded over her body to keep cool. Tyrantrum had dug out a spot on the beach where he laid half-buried in sand. And Braviary was, of course, gliding through the sky, riding the air currents.

As soon as they reached the shallows, Chloe hopped off of Mantine, smiling as she rubbed its head. "Thanks for the ride, Mantine. It was super fun."

"Man mantine!"

The pokemon playfully splashed her, soaking her. "Hey, cut that out, you rascal!" Despite her protest, she was laughing, clearly enjoying its playful behavior.

Chloe left the Mantine to go back over to her team. Most of them perked up when she arrived, and she took a moment to dry herself off with a towel and wring out the excess water from her red hair.

Salazzle got up from her chair, approaching Chloe. "Lazzle sa salazzle."

"What is it, Salazzle?" the girl asked, watching as her partner pointed toward the city behind them. "Oh, you want to go do some shopping in Hau'oli City?" Salazzle nodded. "Sure, I was kinda hoping to find some new accessories anyway."

Espeon jumped to her feet when she heard the word 'shopping'. "Espe espeon."

Chloe giggled, reaching down to stroke her head. "I know, Espeon. You've been wanting to get a new accessory ever since your ribbon got torn up in that last battle. I'll buy you something new, okay?" Espeon nodded, purring happily. The redhead looked to her other pokemon. "Any of you interested in shopping too?"

Tyrantrum simply turned his head away in an uncaring manner, and Braviary perched on his back and remained silent, as if siding with him. But Ninetales timidly tilted her head down, gazing up at Chloe.

"Nine...ninetales?"

Chloe gave her a reassuring pat, smiling. "Of course you can get something too, Ninetales. For now, all of you return."

She returned all of them to their pokeballs, except for her partner. Salazzle often stayed out of her pokeball, walking everywhere with her trainer. Chloe was quick to go over to the nearby Pokemon Center to get changed back into her usual clothes. Then with her Salazzle by her side, she walked down the street toward the Apparel Shop.

"Let's see, this'll be the first time in a while we get a little something for you, Salazzle. Maybe we'll find something cool to fit your style, like a bandana. Or maybe some kind of ribbon or oof-" Rounding a corner, the girl bumped into someone. She stumbled back, but kept herself from falling. She glared at the person and shouted, "Hey! Watch where you're..."

She froze, her angry expression turning to one of shock. There was a boy standing there in front of her, dressed all in black, ripped clothes. He had blond hair shaved along the sides with messy bangs that hung down over his right eye. His visible eye was bright green, and while he looked around the same age as her, his face reminded her of someone she never wanted to meet again. With the way she was staring, Gladion assumed he had something on him. He rubbed his cheek with his hand, looking at it and not seeing anything. He frowned, meeting the redhead's gaze.

"What's your problem?" he questioned. "Is there something on my face or what?"

Chloe quickly shook off the uncomfortable feeling. "No, sorry...you just looked familiar to me. My mistake."

She gestured to Salazzle to follow, going around the boy and continuing their walk to the Apparel Shop. She didn't look back in case he was still there, but once she knew they were out of earshot, she decided to get her partner's opinion.

"That's wasn't just me, right? He looked so much like her."

"Salazz..." the pokemon hissed.

"Whatever. I'm sure it was just a coincidence. That woman's not even in Alola anymore. Let's just get on with our shopping trip and forget about it."

~~~~~

Gladion watched the redhead and her Salazzle walk away down the street. Something about her struck him as odd. He shook his head and started walking. I look familiar? Maybe a friend of Lillie's... No, can't be. Lillie told me about the friends she'd made during her travels, and that girl wasn't one of them. Did she know my mother then? That's impossible though. Before Mother went crazy about Ultra Beasts, I was at Aether, and I'd never seen that girl before. He sighed at himself. I'm overthinking this. I need to focus. If wormholes are popping up again, I need to get back to Aether and see if Faba has an explanation as to why.