Pokemon: Bounty Hunter Alex

The airship arrived at Aether Paradise by the morning of the next day. It had already been quite late in the afternoon when the battle started and promptly ended, so they managed to reach the location after a night of travel.

From above, Aether Paradise looked like a floating city rising from the sea, its central white structure surrounded by cool blue pools and connected to countless smaller facilities and artificial habitats built across expanded sections of land. Elevated walkways, transit rails, and docking platforms linked the sprawling complex together far beyond the original island.

Ever since Gladion had taken control, Aether Paradise had continued expanding in every direction, adding new laboratories, habitats, and residential sectors. Tour groups moved through the open plazas while powerful trainers and security teams patrolled the grounds. Transport craft constantly arrived and departed from the docks carrying researchers, officials, wealthy visitors, and trainers alike. Despite the almost theme park-like atmosphere, the entire facility still operated with the efficiency and seriousness of a massive technological institution.

When they arrived riding atop Mantine, with Guzzlord following alongside them, they were greeted at the public docks by a group of excited scientists, a manager, and several staff members wearing stylish white bodysuits and hats.

"Welcome to Aether Paradise, Mr. Wattson and company. I am one of the many managers of this facility. You can call me Evelyn," said a mature woman with a professional demeanor and a practiced smile.

"Alex Wattson, the new trainer for this Guzzlord you seem to have misplaced," Alex replied. "That won’t become a problem, will it?"

"Of course not," Evelyn replied. "As a matter of fact, we were quite delighted with this unexpected result from an otherwise unfortunate situation. Guzzlord tend to be the most enigmatic when it comes to their disposition, second only to Buzzwole, whose peculiarities have been more thoroughly studied, making them easier to work with."

"Can we cut to the chase already?" one of the older-looking scientists interrupted. "We haven’t got all day."

"Forgive our rather eager scientists, Mr. Wattson, but they have been trying to find out how to bond with Guzzlord or establish any meaningful relationship for decades now. Which brings us to our request, in exchange for certain compensation."

"Before that," Alex said. "Would you mind selling me one of your Beast Balls? Guzzlord is currently very tempted to eat everyone here while it is being forced to stand and wait."

"Right, of course—here," Evelyn said, handing over a Beast Ball. "It’s on the house as part of the negotiations."

Alex tossed the ball over, with Guzzlord attempting to eat it, but it was captured before it entered its mouth. He then picked up the struggling ball and fed it a good chunk of his Dark type energy, quelling Guzzlord’s resistance and locking it inside.

As much as Alex was able to come to an understanding with Guzzlord, it still had a rebellious mind of its own. The bond between them was functional, but far from the fully aligned understanding he expected from his team. It was the kind of complicated relationship that would normally result in Guzzlord’s death if it were just any average Pokémon.

However, given its unusual circumstances and potential as an "immortal tank," it was granted far more leeway than he typically allowed, so much so that he didn’t even complain when it devoured the entirety of the Azure Voyager while it sat in the airship’s docking bay. It was about time for a larger vessel to accommodate Alex’s growing family anyway.

"That’s Dark type energy he’s feeding it," one of the scientists said, prompting a discussion among the others.

"We’ve done that before without much success, often resulting in the trainer almost being eaten alive."

"How did he manage to convince it to work for him instead of being eaten?"

"Perhaps it has something to do with the potency of the energy?"

"How can we even quantify that?"

"We’ll need plenty of samples, an entire database worth for comparison."

As the scientists began their discussion, Evelyn stepped forward and stated her purpose.

"As you can tell from our rather eager team, we would like your cooperation in shedding some light on Guzzlord’s mysteries. In exchange, we are willing to feed it to satisfaction for no less than a decade as compensation. This will involve your direct assistance in ensuring we have all the information on Guzzlord as possible and will likely include your exact information as a trainer."

"A decade, huh. I didn’t know a Guzzlord could be satiated at all," Alex said.

"One of the many discoveries we have made regarding their species is that, although they do not hesitate to consume everything within reach of their mouths, they do have a soft cap for satiety. Once that limit is reached, they can still consume more if they want, but they are no longer driven by their ever-growing hunger, allowing them to become much more docile and open to negotiation. We suspect that its consumption of a large portion of the sea just outside the Poni Plains is what allowed you to negotiate with it in the first place."

"I see. That’s fine, then. I don’t mind being your guinea pig, but I ask that you limit it to no more than a few days at most. We’re on vacation and would like to continue with it as soon as possible."

"Of course. As a matter of fact, why don’t you leave your family with my staff? They’ll be given the best tour Aether Paradise has to offer while they wait for you. All associated costs for their accommodations will, of course, be covered."

"Excellent."

With their deal in place, Alex was led toward the main facility, where he would report the specifics of his interaction with Guzzlord and what he had experienced inside its stomach. In addition, he would undergo a physical examination and a full analysis of his Dark type energy to better understand what Guzzlord defined as "delicious," and what would cause it to go so far as to spit something it had already eaten back out.

Meanwhile, everyone else was given a tour of Aether Paradise as it was presented to the public to those with Champion ranked access. Before that, however, they were taken to a luxury hotel suite where they would be staying for the duration of their visit. Once they had familiarized themselves with their accommodations, their tour began after noon.

They rode on a hover tram similar to the one they had used at the Fossil Restoration Center as it carried them across the island on a guided tour.

"Ever since we were able to better control spatial anomalies in the region, we here at Aether Foundation have done our best to study the mysterious dimension known as Ultra Space, as well as the method of travel to it known as Ultra Wormholes. We have also worked to defend against any possible invasions by Ultra Beasts," the tour guide began.

"As our efforts bore fruit, we slowly came to understand that we weren’t being invaded maliciously at all, but rather that the space between the Alola region and their dimension was simply that thin, leading to Ultra Beasts being displaced rather than invading with harmful intentions. Although it cannot be refuted that some truly had that intention in mind."

"Now, we have managed to establish a base in Ultra Megalopolis, a city in their dimension that is currently off-limits to the public. Through this forward operations base, we have gained access to multiple natural habitats where these Ultra Beasts reside, allowing us to gain a better understanding of them and their nature. Eventually, we were able to convince a number of them to reside here in Aether Paradise and partner with powerful trainers to gain strength in exchange for any resources they need."

"Here on Aether Paradise itself, we have created artificial habitats tailored to each species, providing their ideal forms of sustenance as well as environmental stimulation to keep them appropriately engaged. If you turn to your left, you will see the first habitat on our tour inside that aquarium."

The tram moved through a series of reinforced observation corridors as the guide continued. The interior lighting shifted subtly as they approached the first enclosure, transitioning into a dim, aquatic glow designed to replicate deep-sea conditions while maintaining full visibility for observation.

"Nihilego," she said as multiple drifting, jellyfish-like Ultra Beasts floated within a sealed containment tank. "Native to Ultra Deep Sea environments, with Rock and Poison typing, they sustain themselves by inhabiting living organisms and absorbing their toxins and excess energy. They are a symbiotic species, so they also contribute their power to enhance their host’s strength, with the side effect of reduced inhibition. They make for good partners for trainers with naturally peaceful personalities and, in fact, require such a disposition to be allowed to bond with them."

"Dad would probably go on a rampage, huh?" Alvera said with a chuckle.

"I’d be more concerned about what Nyx would do, if I’m being honest," Rhea commented, receiving a smack on the head from Nyx.

"As if you wouldn’t use that noggin of yours to make a bomb that could destroy the world," Nyx shot back.

"Who said I wasn’t already doing that?" Rhea said with a chuckle.

"I bet Clarissa would be a great host for one," Kaia commented. "Or Iris."

"I agree with Clarissa, but I wouldn’t bet on Iris. She has Vera’s scary intensity when she gets annoyed," Lyra replied.

They passed into the next habitat, where several large, heavily muscular red Ultra Beasts stood within a reinforced biome enclosure. The moment the tram came into view, every one of them turned their attention toward it and began flexing their muscles, prompting the tour guide to panic.

"Everyone, stay calm," she said as she pressed a large red button on her console with a worried expression.