[Mr. Game & Watch]

Those wandering into the Rainbow Square district would quickly find the streets crowded all the way to the main plaza, where a stage has been set up. With Toadsworth taking center stage, there were certainly Mr. Game & Watch statue fiasco vibes, but fortunately since then these public outings have grown the security has been buffed up quite a bit. It would be quite embarrassing for the Police Force to put on such an event without backing it with some of their men.

Speaking of the event, it was still a secret amongst the crowd. All the citizens had been told before hand was that it was a joint venture between the Police Headquarters and a mystery entrepreneur. The details of this business venture were to be publicly announced in the Rainbow Square, hence the hustle and bustle. What information had been leaked was that a new facility was under construction for the purposes of this partnership, but nothing else had been revealed yet.

Toadsworth occupied his time adjusting the tarp that had been draped over a large rectangular object on stage. Considering that the cover couldn’t have looked any neater if it was perfectly positioned by a team of robots, Toadsworth had to occupy his efforts elsewhere as his cohorts remained unseen. He waddled over to the mic on stage an gave it a few taps with his stumpy finger. “Erm, good evening everyone! While I may not be the Mayor of the Rainbow Square district, I’m merely filling in for the job. The Police Chief should be on his way shortly. He should be here in 10 min-”

Before the mayor could complete his sentence, both he and the crowd took notice of a heavy metal theme screeching in from the distance. In a blur of blue, the Blue Falcon wisped into view, swerving and spinning as it got closer to stage until it came to a blissful stop directly behind its destination. The hood popped open, Captain Falcon flipping out of his seat as it did. The bombastic man landed a perfect ten, inhaling the fumes radiating from his machine and releasing a satisfied sigh. “-Seconds. Ladies and gentlemen, your Police Chief Captain Falcon” Toadsworth continued.

The Captain lingered at the side of his vehicle though, placing his hand forward in a gentlemanly manner. His hand was gently met with another and from the cabin of the F-Zero racer arose Lusamine, her cleanly stark white dress being quite the contrast to Falcon’s dirty racing attire. With the aid of the Police Chief, her heels softly clacked against the ground as she exited the vehicle. “And Aether President Lusamine!” Toadsworth added.

Lusamine’s ears perked at the sound of her name, though she rewarded the Captain with a soft peck on the cheek before turning about and walking up stage. The Captain kept his composure, though as the woman walked away, he gave himself a short fist pump and quietly announced “YES!” to himself. He followed Lusamine onstage shortly after.

“Smashing! Now that we’re all here, we can go ahead with the reveal! I believe madame president had a few words to say?” Toadsworth concluded as he adjusted the mic stand to better accommodate for Lusamine’s superior height.

“The pleasure’s all mine, mister mayor” Lusamine commented as she unhooked the mic from the stand and began to pace herself next to the tarped plaque. “My, the citizens of Li are looking lovely today! A lovely city full of lovely people! We all need to do our job keeping it that way now don’t we?” she quizzed softly as she posed her other hand underneath her chin. “Mine is to protect and nurture Pokemon, save them from the cruel streets of the Life Sphere. The Pokemon of this city are lost, confused, and even killed. It pains my heart to hear this. What they need is a safe environment where they can thrive and work with us to fight off the Starvia. My solution is Aether Paradise” she announced as she pulled the sheet and revealed the plaque underneath. It was the sign that would reside in front of her facility.

“While Aether Paradise might leave a sour taste in my fellow Alolans’ mouths, I’ve recovered from my brief episode. I’ve set up a program with the Life Sphere’s Police Department to rehabilitate any Pokemon that currently resides in their prison to make them functional citizens. Like the Pokemon we will redeem, we seek to redeem Aether’s good name. With enough love and care, we can turn them around and believe me my heart has more than enough love to spare. I’d love nothing more than to open Aether Paradise to creatures from across the many universes, but my team’s expertise is Pokemon, so until we expand our facility further, Pokemon will be our main goal.”

At the mention of their team up, Captain Falcon stealthily crept across the stage, trying not to interrupt Lusamine’s speech. As he could tell it was winding down, he thrust up beside the woman and threw his arm around her shoulder line and pulling her close all buddy-buddy style. With a shimmering smile, he threw up a thumbs up. Lusamine was initially caught off guard by this, though as the slow realization dawned on her she mirrored a thumbs up, though with much less confidence.

The audience applauded this display, camera flashes littering the stage. As the moment passed though, Captain Falcon took hold of the mic and stepped forth. “Yes! We’re entering the answering questions zone now! If you got’em show’em!”

[Maverick Hunter Zero]

"The only major question I have... I shall reserve for when you meet me in person in my Manor. But that will be for another time... My question to you for now will be this, what are your plans for dealing with the possibility of Starvia infected Pokemon?" a voice said from near the center of the possible crowd of people, it was none other than Oda Nobunaga, and he was atop The head of his big Ebony Basilisk; the Shiny Rayquaza, His eyes looking at Lusamine with such sharpness that they were piercing through to her soul: it was the kind of look that made anyone feel like they were being X-rayed by a very stern principal who was looking for the truth.

His Black Rayquaza would give a calm growl of peaceful nature, not wanting to unleash a roar to scare all the people in the vicinity.

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Captain Falcon enthusiastically pointed to Nobunaga as he spoke up, giving him the floor to pose his questions uninterrupted. As the police chief realised that the question wasn’t directed toward him though his demeanor transitioned to one of disappointment. He tossed the microphone over his shoulder and shuffled down the stage, allowing Lusamine to catch the mic and take center stage once more.

She was quite surprised that she didn’t take notice of the Rayquaza in the audience before now. It was a rare spectacle, especially one with its skin tone. Regardless of that though, Lusamine didn’t recognize who was atop the beast, but just by looking at him she had some eerie high school vibes. Her eyes probed, though there was very little she could make out considering the distance. Her brow quirked. “I’m sure you have a lovely estate. Unfortunately, I’m a busy woman. If you’re looking to schedule a meeting, it’ll have to be on Aether Paradise grounds” she answered with ease. “Much too much work to be done” she added as she combed her hand through her hair and flipped it back.

Lusamine didn’t need to process Nobunaga’s need question for too long either, though she did take the time to admire the dragon he stood atop of. “While it pains me to see such poor sick Pokemon suffer, my team is not equipped to deal with infected Pokemon. The Starvia is beyond our field of expertise and housing them within the Life Sphere is out of the question. Should one somehow end up in our care, we would notify the Life Sphere government and have them handle the situation or release it into the outskirts of Li ourselves if they’re not available. When a Starvia cure is created though, we will stop at nothing until every Pokemon on this planet is cured of that wretched disease.”

“An excellent question though” Lusamine praised as she placed her hand underneath her chin once more. “And you have a beautiful Pokemon, by the way. Very well disciplined. You must be quite the trainer” she further complimented. She broke eye contact for moment to investigate the crowd, as there were bound to be someone else with a question about her presentation. “If that’s all though, I can take another question.”

[Maverick Hunter Zero]

"On that subject, It might be worth the time for both the Aether Foundation and the Police to look into instances of Pokemon being butchered and their meat being used as what appears to be food for the humans. That way the Pokemon owners who lost their pets to whoever turned them into meat byproducts can get some form of Justice." Said a calm voice up front, it was none other than Death, in his human guise so as to not terrify the people, his question was something of an oddball case, since his job also meant that the souls of the Pokemon that were killed were also on his list of beings to send to the next life in peace, in fact this very question was directed at both Lusamine and Captain Falcon.

[Deleted]

Not having a more front row view of the announcement was unfortunate, but that was the will of being an impressive mass of sheer muscle. This whole deal was a spectacle anyways. Maneuvering through a crowd of people was easy to get caught up in, and Benedikt found difficulties and swimming out from the crowd. Complaining was not going to get him anywhere. In fact, aside from the speech on these Pokemon creatures having a potential sanctuary of their own, the lion having taken a liking to those things, the police chief seemed like a spry sort of fellow. Just the kind of guy Benny enjoyed! Even more so now that the question of captured souls being used for future consumption was brought to the lion's attention. He was far from happy with that.

"Kinda want to follow up on what that guy said. We got any idea on who's doin' that? Ticks me off that someone's gonna butcher the poor guys when they belong ta someone else," he said. Much as he enjoyed the apparent nature of the good Captain, the feline's eyes wandered towards Lusamine for a moment. The way she spoke was reminiscent of the rulers of his home world, taking a pronounce voice and a dash of charisma to gain the support of followers. A bit suspicious, in a way, but he did not have any form of evidence to do anything but trust the human's professionalism.

---

Hands clasped behind her back, Paula leaned forward to get a better look at the man who asked the question regarding the butchered creatures. She knew there were animals for, well, consumption back home, but this was far too cruel to do to anyone's friends. Whoever was taking away Pokemon was just mean. Dealing with stolen pets was not quite something the young girl knew about, as nobody in her hometown had done anything so treacherous. Yet, it was not her turn to ask questions, though the other man who followed up sparked a few ideas in her mind.

Also, was that a lion?

However, that was a question for another time. She waited for the adults to finish up, as was respectful, and raised her hand to be called on. Once she did, the girl said, "Back home we had a neighborhood watch program to help look out for everyone, especially the kids. Maybe we can start something like that in order to see whose Pokemon belongs to whom. I know there's a really large amount of species from what I've seen, but I think it's prudent if we all learned about them so nobody else's friends get hurt or taken away."

[Mr. Game & Watch]

Lusamine took the next person’s question, quelling the rest of the audience with a simple finger on her lips. The man had a strange vibe to him, though out of everyone else in the audience he was easily the most normal looking. Regardless of that, she offered a pleasant and inviting complexion, like she enjoyed and processed every word he uttered. She visibly winced at the mention of the Pokemon butcher. “Sorry, force of habit. Any time I’m reminded of that disgusting human being, I die a little inside. Horrendous that the Life Sphere hasn’t been turned upside to find such a vile-” she answered within increasing passion before cutting herself short to release a sigh of composure to calm her own nerves. “Pardon me, I could rant about that man for days” she continued with a jovial laugh. “That criminal is why our facility prioritizes our need to save Pokemon from the streets of Li. Aether Paradise is not by any means a small army with the capabilities to hunt him, but we can do our part by keeping Pokemon out of his reach.”

Before she continued, Lusamine’s gaze fell to the man behind her. “Although, I know someone who can make better comment on the justice part” she added before holding out the microphone. As the Captain made eye contact, she wiggled the device at him like a dog treat and tossed it into the air. The man’s triangular eye twinkled. Captain Falcon leapt from his resting position, gliding through the air until he snatched the mic. With it comfortably in his grip, he rocketed back down onto the stage with a Falcon Kick, his foot smashing through the floorboard. Lusamine proudly golf clapped in the background.

Captain Falcon stood tall and proud despite his foot being firmly snagged in the stage. “We’re quite aware of the Pokemon Butcher! Major problem is that there’s very few leads and even less eye witness accounts. We’ve theorized that he’s gone into hiding after word of mouth was spread of his operations. The Police Force has been prioritizing on cases of Trophy Locking since its more widespread and there’s more info to go off of. As soon as we have a lead though, you can bet we’ll be Falcon Knocking on some doors!” he explained ecstatically as he raised his hand crumpled it into a fist.

The Captain’s attention quickly switched to the lion man as he spoke up. “Most excellent question! We don’t! Very few have seen him in person and only a small portion of them would ever come forward with any info! Like I said, his operation has been slowing down, so there’s not a lot to work with until he surfaces again” he explained with confidence.

Taking notice of a little girl in the crowd, Captain Falcon mightily pointed in her direction. As the girl spoke up, Lusamine wandered closer to the Police Chief, feeling she could also make comment on what she was saying. Captain Falcon nodded along with her idea. “Yes! The Life Sphere was founded with the ideals of everyone looking out for each other! That is definitely a good way to go!”

Lusamine leaned in close to the mic. “But we should also factor in that most Pokemon that live on the streets either don’t have owners or trying to escape from abusive trainers. While it is a commendable effort for citizens to take on such responsibilities for themselves, it is potentially dangerous for both you and the Pokemon depending on who it belongs to. My faculty and I are better equipped to handle such a situation and can house a Pokemon until their owner comes to retrieve it, assuming their owner can be trusted with custody. Being vigilant and notifying the Aether Foundation about any stray Pokemon is always appreciated though. And educating the populace about species of Pokemon is smart idea. With Ballyhoo’s show being one of the most popular on the air, I could always ask for a segment about Pokemon education.”

With the mention of Ballyhoo’s show, Captain Falcon looked to Lusamine with an expression of both confusion and concern. “They’re not exactly known for spreading credible information.”

“They have the best reach in the Life Sphere though. Even if they get some information wrong, they’re at least informing people who’d otherwise be in the dark. At the very least, they could hire an expert for the segment, I heard they have ties with Lt Surge.”

[Therider]

"Hey, uh, Miss Lusamine! I have a question!"

Hau pushed his way towards the front of the crowd by virtue of riding the Tauros. Holding onto the Ride Gear, Hau sat back and waved at the mother of some of his closest friends. Last time he saw Miss Lusamine, she... kinda went nuts and tried to merge with an Ultra Beast. But now she seemed super sane! Plus, if she was here, then maybe Lillie.... Nah, Hau figured he could worry about her later. Right now, there was a much more pressing matter to take are of.

"Heya, it's good to see you again, Miss Lusamine! I'm Hau. I, uh, traveled with Lillie for a while while we were helpin' out Nebby. Quick question: Do you think we could get a dedicated Malasada shop for Pokemon? Like... I know there's a lot of scary stuff going on, like a famine, or this Pokemon Butcher guy, or the evil dudes who live outside. But, like, I don't wanna think about that, cuz that gives me bad chicken-skin, y'know? I just wanna place where Pokemon and Trainers, and heck, even the stray Pokemon could go and enjoy a Malasada with a buddy. Because there's no better feeling than sharing a Malasada with another buddy."

Hau laughed a bit and rubbed Taur-Hala's head. "I dunno, could the Aether Foundation help with that?"

[Mr. Game & Watch]

A familiar looking boy soon came bustling through the crowd. Lusamine’s face remained blank as he approached, her eyes reading the boy as he spoke. Captain Falcon was picking up the slack in terms of her lack of reaction though, his eyes taking on full circles as Hau made his proposition. He had no idea what a malasada was, but by Hau’s conviction toward them they sound mighty tasty. Hopefully they were low in fat and didn’t add too many carbs to his regimen. The police chief pointed mightily to the boy “this one’s asking the real questions!”

Lusamine’s face refreshed into an expression of blissful mirth as Hau concluded his statement. She politely held her hand out for the mic, to which the Captain obliged with only slight hesitation. “Oh my dear sweet Hau, how could I ever forget you?” she spoke with a sweet smile. “I believe that would be a better question for our mayor over here” she trailed off as she stepped aside to reveal the mushroom man who was pleasantly napping in his chair.

Like a sudden jolt entered her brain, Lusamine quickly thought up an idea and stood confidently once more. “Oh! But you know what, I think our facility could use a Malasada café. I’m certain the Pokemon would love that! It would also add a distinctive Alolan feel, we should always be proud of our roots. What a brilliant little idea, Hau! If we’re going to do it though, we’re going to have to do it right. Since you’re the Malasada expert, you’re the only one I would trust to know when we have our recipe perfected. Consider yourself our chief taste-tester when we have our first sample batch ready.”

“Oh! And you can bring your friends along if you’d like.”