A New Dream

Ill-conceived Rescue: Paul's POV

There were a few times that I thought an ultrabeast was going to take us out, but either Olivia or the blonde guy saved us with a well-aimed attack from one of their pokemon. I gritted my teeth as the wormhole got closer and gripped Metang's metal arms tightly so that we wouldn't be separated once we entered. Once we slipped through my body instantly began to feel like a million magnets were trying to tear me apart. My stomach rolled and my vision shivered crazily so I shut my eyes and did my best not to throw up.

When I researched about the Aether Foundation I had come across many articles explaining the incident with the former president and her misuse of research on the ultra wormholes that sometimes appeared in Alola. I had researched extensively about the Ultrabeasts that slipped through the wormholes and wreaked havoc across the islands until they had all been rounded up and dealt with. The thought of a beast even more powerful than a pokemon had been intriguing and I naively thought it would be incredible if I could catch one of the creatures and train it to battle for me. However, seeing them like this had changed my mind completely.

Suddenly Metang and I were falling and I landed onto grass-covered ground with a loud groan. My body felt like it had gone through a compressor and I had to concentrate to not expel the contents of my stomach all over myself. Wheezing with effort I forced myself into a standing position and tried to open my eyes, but everything was spinning and multiplying so I quickly shut them and fumbled for my Pokeballs. Hoping that I had chosen the correct one I pushed the button to enlarge the Pokeball and then tossed it. A wet nose snuffled over my face nervously and I heard Lycanroc whine quietly in obvious concern.

"I'm okay, Lycanroc. I just need a second. Stand guard and make sure no one sees us, okay?" I asked through gritted teeth. 

Lycanroc whoofed quietly and her warm breath left my face as I assumed she went to walk around the perimeter of where we were. I purposefully blinked my eyes until my vision returned back to normal and I frowned when I saw that Metang hadn't moved from where he had crashed onto the ground. Moving was difficult, my entire body felt like it had pins and needles prickling through me, but I managed to crawl over to Metang and check to make sure there weren't any obvious signs of injury. Metang's eyes slowly changed so that he was looking at me and I rubbed his head fondly.

"Thank you, Metang," I whispered and he let out a garbled metallic sound. Everything in me wanted to run after Dawn right away, but I knew I needed to be smart about this.

As I looked around I realized that we were in the grassy area of the Aether Paradise where Dawn had performed in the Luau Showdown Tournament. Bile rose up in my throat at the thought of Dawn being here alone with that creep Faba. Quickly I released all of my pokemon and I rummaged through my backpack as the feeling in my fingers began to come back. I gave everyone a super potion and several oran berries to help them recover their strength before returning them to their Pokeballs, except for Lycanroc.

"Can you smell Dawn, Lycanroc?" I asked softly. 

She barked quietly and began jogging towards the main building of the Aether Foundation. Without hesitation I followed after her, trying to keep low and quiet. Lycanroc and I crept through the building stealthily and I had to hold myself back whenever we passed an aether foundation employee who was walking through the halls. I wanted to lash out at everyone I saw, asking them what possessed them to go along with Faba's idiotic idea, but Lycanroc paid them no mind and continued to travel through the building confidently.

She finally stopped outside of a huge circular doorway that was sealed tight. She whined quietly and scratched at the metal door, then looked up at me with a concerned expression. I rubbed her head soothingly and then glanced around. A keypad was off to the side of the door and I walked over, looking at the 9 digit keypad and wondering what a psychopathic pedophile would choose for his passcode. Lycanroc suddenly barked menacingly and I whirled around just in time to see a gigantic Buzzwole stepping from the shadows.