Outside the villa.
Gladion took a deep breath and released two Pokémon first.
"Come out, Moonlight Umbreon with Red Eyes, and Midnight Lycanroc!"
A striking flash of red glowed in the dark night—Gladion's uniquely "cool" way of speaking hinted at his budding personal style, even at a young age.
Standing nearby, Lucas didn't correct Gladion. First, he didn't exactly have the standing to do so, and second—Gladion's whole family is full of dramatic antics, hardly something one person could change.
Lillie, so well-mannered, so ladylike, a proper young lady of a wealthy family, right? Yet when it came to being dramatic, even she could outdo her brother.
It must be a genetic thing, Lucas thought, not really something he could "fix."
On the open ground, one Pokémon stood on all fours, the other walked bipedally.
On the left was a black-furred Pokémon, slightly bigger than a small dog, sporting golden rings across its body that gleamed softly in the moonlight.
Umbreon, the Moonlight Pokémon—one of Eevee's eight possible evolutions.
This particular Moonlight Umbreon had evolved from a severely injured Eevee Gladion met by chance as a child. It became his very first Pokémon, and only the closeness between trainer and Pokémon could have triggered this evolutionary path.
Everyone was familiar with Moonlight Umbreon by now. Gladion had released it from its Poké Ball several times during his stay at the villa.
Eevee Big Sis and Little Sis, in particular, took a real shine to this fellow member of their species. They immediately went over to greet it, nose to nose, sharing their own unique way of saying hello.
Big Sis was fine, looking at the Umbreon with just a tinge of envy over its earlier evolution.
But Little Sis was practically glowing at the sight—her eyes sparkled brightly, almost like the golden patterns on Umbreon's body.
So cool! So handsome!
Standing next to Moonlight Umbreon was a Lycanroc, tall and imposing like a werewolf. Its gaze burned with a fiery red, and its fur was stark white with red highlights. Forepaws tipped with powerful claws hung at its sides, and it walked upright in a hunched, intimidating pose.
Despite its fierce appearance, this Lycanroc was actually incredibly kindhearted.
Both Pokémon got along well with Luxray and the others—their presence was no secret at all.
But the real reason Lucas called for the demonstration was for another Pokémon altogether.
This time, Gladion hesitated no longer—he held the special commemorative Poké Ball tightly and resolutely tossed it.
With a "bang," the ball opened.
A heavy thud sounded as a deep, beastlike breath echoed through the still night.
A Pokémon "never seen before" appeared at Gladion's side.
Its body combined elements of beast, bird, and fish; its hind legs were covered in scale-like armor, and its head was encased in a heavy brass mask—its ragged breathing issuing from deep within.
It looked almost as if someone had tried to combine the traits and strengths of many Pokémon all into one creature, for maximum effect.
"Raauu!"
Appearing for the first time before so many unfamiliar Pokémon, this Pokémon was agitated. But under Gladion's practiced calming touch, it slowly settled down.
"What is it?" Lucas asked, feigning ignorance.
"Faba calls it 'Type: Null', but its true name is Silvally," Gladion replied. "You could say Faba created it—a man-made Pokémon, modeled after a certain legend."
Having cleared the air, Gladion felt much lighter. He hadn't figured out how to explain Silvally's existence to his mother Lusamine or his sister Lillie.
But Lucas was different—aside from his own father and Hobbes, Lucas was the first one Gladion truly trusted and felt safe with. He felt he could confide in him.
And indeed, Lucas's reaction was calm and unalarming; he simply listened patiently to Gladion's tale.
What Gladion described matched what Lucas already knew: Silvally had once saved him and Lillie as children. Afterwards, Faba, afraid of losing his job if the matter came to light, went to extremes—locking Silvally up and keeping it under strict watch.
Discovering his own sense of helplessness, Gladion's yearning to grow stronger peaked after that event. Due to a series of misunderstandings, he grew distant from Lusamine. Then, four days ago, he finally executed his plan and successfully stole back the imprisoned Silvally.
That's when Lucas arrived in Alola, setting the stage for everything that happened since.
"I want to free Silvally from its mask... I want to be strong enough to protect Mom and Lillie," Gladion said.
Now that the air was cleared with Lusamine, and since realizing she did care about Lillie, Gladion's main goal was to grow strong—strong enough to protect his mother on their journey to Crown Tundra to find his father, Mohn.
He looked at Lucas, hoping for advice or ideas.
Lucas gazed at Silvally, whose determined eyes shone through the hollow eye-slits of its brass mask, deep in thought.
In the games, there's a relationship of "evolution" or "form change" between Type: Null and Silvally.
But in reality, the only thing binding Silvally now is Faba's restraint mask—its agility and speed are held back by the heavy mask, and nothing more.
There's no actual evolution or form change here. Silvally is Silvally from the start.
"The only one that can break those chains... is Silvally itself," Lucas said gravely.
In the anime, Silvally breaks its mask through its own willpower and strength in order to save Lillie, gaining enough speed and jumping power—it's also then that Lillie recalls the "truth" behind her fear of touching Pokémon.
On this point, Lucas felt it was best for Gladion and the others to find out on their own, rather than spoiling it early.
Once Mohn returns to Alola with another Ultra Beast version of Lillie, this problem will eventually be solved anyway.
So Lucas's answer to Gladion was:
Keep up regular training discipline. When the time is right, no mask or chain will ever hold Silvally again.
Gladion nodded thoughtfully. After asking Lucas for some training tips for Moonlight Umbreon, Midnight Lycanroc, and Silvally, he finally headed back inside.
He needed his sleep to make tomorrow's training even more productive. Gladion also considered how to workout according to Lucas's plan and how to gain cooperation from Luxray and the others.
…
The next morning.
Fifth day of vacation in Alola for Lucas. He chose to sleep in as late as he wanted. Even as sunlight poured in, he was still comfortably in bed.
Gladion, after enjoying a breakfast prepared by Oranguru, grabbed a pile of well-wrapped gifts Hobbes (their butler) had sent over early that morning—gifts prepared after their late-night call.
First, he blocked Ogerpon, who was about to go borrow Oranguru's tablet.
"Boni?"
Ogerpon tilted its head in confusion, looking at Gladion with puppy-dog sparkling eyes.
"Ahem." Gladion cleared his throat and, recalling Hobbes's morning advice, blushingly held out the gift to Ogerpon.
"Could you help my Lycanroc boost its endurance, please?"
Based on what Gladion had learned after he gifted Oranguru, aside from the Swampert who could probably flatten Lycanroc in one hit, Ogerpon was the Pokémon among Lucas's team with the greatest strength brought for vacation. It certainly wouldn't be too much for Lycanroc's endurance training.
Ogerpon originally wasn't going to agree—it had phone calls to make with its bestie, Tinkatuff!
But as soon as Ogerpon saw the brand new, top-of-the-line tablet among the gifts, its face lit up, and it thumped its chest in promise.
"Boni boni!"
From now on, I've got you covered!
As for phone calls with Tinkatuff? Hey, it's just a few days—surely that can wait.
With Ogerpon having capitulated, and with Gladion's unrelenting "gift offensive," he soon had all the sparring partners needed for his training.
He focused on endurance battles for Midnight Lycanroc with Ogerpon using Counter.
Spectrier, which had been fished up as a "big radish" on Poni Island, helped Moonlight Umbreon learn new moves.
Milotic, meanwhile, offered healing to everyone and sparred with Silvally.
Following Oranguru's suggestions, Gladion decided these three would be the core partners of his early training routines.
By about 10am, Lucas finally woke up. Outside, training was still in full swing.
Pulling back the curtains, Lucas saw Lycanroc getting sent flying by a swipe from Ogerpon, only to stand right up again and gasp for breath. Silvally was trying (and failing) to break through Milotic's calm defense. Off to the side, Spectrier and Moonlight Umbreon huddled together, studying some trickier Ghost-type techniques.
Lucas could only sigh: "Young people really are full of energy."
Swampert had gone out to sea to play, Dragonite was with its mom visiting the ocean, and Lucas—who wasn't in the mood to cook—decided to eat out for lunch.
He told Oranguru he would bring a meal back later.
Grabbing Luxray and the Eevee siblings, Lucas headed for the restaurant he'd been recommended on his first day in Alola, but hadn't had the chance to visit yet: "Aina's Kitchen," just north of the villa near the jungle.
The restaurant wasn't far. Before long, Lucas spotted the sign.
For some reason, Little Sis Eevee was all fired up along the way, even more active than Big Sis. Hard to believe this energetic little thing had once been so frail as a baby.
Lucas guessed that, after seeing and interacting with an evolved kin, Little Sis had developed her own dream of evolving too.
By her look, she seemed very interested in Umbreon's evolutionary path. If she managed to evolve into a shiny, blue-ringed Umbreon, that'd be quite something!
Big Sis, meanwhile, hadn't shown much preference for any evolutionary branch but was certainly intrigued by the idea of evolution.
Calling the Eevee sisters back from sniffing flowers off the path, Lucas opened the door to Aina's Kitchen.
The charming sound of a door chime rang out. In a pink apron, a green-haired girl about Ash's age hurried over.
"Welcome to Aina's Kitchen! What would you like today—"
"Eh—eh—eh?!"
When she saw Lucas, Mallow's face lit up in shock, as if seeing a ghost.
"Mallow, don't be rude to the guests," called a voice from the kitchen—a gentle reminder before ducking back inside.
"I got it, Dad," Mallow sighed, and apologized to Lucas:
"Sorry, I was just startled to see you all of a sudden."
For Mallow, Lucas beating Guzma so easily a few days ago had left a big impression. She wasn't prepared to see him, so of course she was startled.
"No worries. Why don't you recommend me some of your specialties?"
Lucas didn't mind at all. Cheerily, he picked a spot to sit, then made sure Luxray and the Eevee sisters settled into the special Pokémon seats.
"Oh, sure!"
Mallow set the menu down lightly before Lucas, casting a glance at Luxray from her peripheral vision.
So, that's Luxray, like Professor Kukui said. So majestic!
Her mind was spinning, but her professionalism—honed from working in Aina's Kitchen since childhood—shone through. Mallow confidently recommended several house specialties, which Lucas accepted in full.
He was here for the flavor, after all. Any specialty dish—he had to try it! If anything stood out, he'd order a second helping to take home to Oranguru and the others.
As Mallow turned to leave for the kitchen, Lucas suddenly called her back.
"The flowers around your restaurant—did you plant those?"
"Ah, yes. My mom started them, now I take care of them."
Although puzzled why Lucas was asking, Mallow still answered dutifully.
"They're beautiful, and it's obvious how much care you put into raising them," Lucas praised.
Mallow blinked in surprise. "Thank you for the compliment."
"I think if you planted some Gracidea flowers in there, they'd look even better."
Lucas offered the suggestion in passing, as if it was of no consequence.
Even if she didn't quite understand, Mallow accepted the advice, making a mental note to check out Gracidea flowers at the library and ask classmates from florist families about seed sources.
It didn't take long before the table was piled high with steaming hot dishes—impressive both in aroma and appearance.
Even before taking the first bite, Lucas was sure this meal would be a treat!
Just as he and the Pokémon were about to dig in—
Once again, a gentle jingle sounded at the entrance.
Lucas didn't pay much mind—he just wanted to enjoy his meal.
But as the newcomer chatted with Mallow at the door, Lucas couldn't help but think the voice sounded familiar. He turned to look.
And there, making eye contact, was a vacationing Brother Larry—dressed in beach shorts, floral shirt, and looking a decade younger and far more relaxed.
Stunned, Lucas: "!"
Well, if it isn't Brother Larry! Even President Geeta really gave him a vacation this time?
Stunned, Larry: "..."
Just as Lucas was about to greet him, Larry swore under his breath and immediately turned to leave.
"The hell! Even on vacation, I have to run into this guy?!"
He was all but storming out the door in his hurry.
…