Chapter Text
EXT. YACHT (TOP DECK) - AFTERNOON
The ocean parts. A massive, multi-level luxury yacht shaped like a Mega Carracosta cuts through the waves.
It isn't running on engines. It is being hauled by a half-dozen LAPRAS harnessed to the bow. Goldeen, Seaking, and Magikarp leap playfully in the massive wake.
Emblazoned on the hull in shining gold lettering: THE GOLDEN ISLES.
On the sun-drenched top deck, four armored KNIGHTS stand in a perfect square. In unison, they wave massive, feathered fans over a velvet lounge chair.
Occupying the chair is BARNABY—a remarkably chill Slowpoke. Visible, pale scar marks ring his tail from previously having been a Slowbro.
Beneath the chair, completely covered in black grease and wearing a pair of filthy mechanic's overalls, is QUEEN ESMERELDA. She is waist-deep in the access panel of the yacht's pool filtration pump, violently wrenching a pipe into place.
At the starboard rail, GUS watches a tropical island slowly drift into view on the horizon. He is casually snacking on a roasted, teriyaki-glazed Slowpoke Tail.
Below in the water, a pod of wild Slowpokes lazily drifts toward the boat. A Pelipper abruptly dive-bombs them, scattering the pod.
GUS
Damn, Big E. You weren't kidding. You found the perfect island.
ESMERELDA
(muffled, head inside the pump)
Y'all ain't seen nothing yet, hon.
Down at the bow, one of the towing Lapras breaks formation. It veers hard toward the yacht, disappearing into a recessed docking cubby.
A moment later, it shoots back out. LUCKY is riding on its shell, peeling away from the yacht and surging ahead toward the island.
KNIGHT CAPTAIN
Queen Esmerelda. We are approaching the island. Please retire to your secured throne.
ESMERELDA
Almost done! Give me a sec.
Esmerelda bangs a wrench against the housing three times. She flips a heavy breaker switch.
THUNK. A plume of black smoke erupts from the vent, followed instantly by the deep, soothing hum of a perfectly tuned engine.
Gus turns, giving her a big, greasy thumbs-up.
ESMERELDA
Perfect.
She checks a pressure gauge, seals the pump housing, and wipes her hands on her ruined overalls. She walks over to her Knights, who immediately snap to rigid, clanking attention.
Esmerelda drops her tough-mechanic persona instantly. She coos, giving Barnaby a vigorous, two-handed head scratch.
ESMERELDA
How's my widdle big boy doing? Whosa coochy coo~
The Knights surround the velvet chair. In one swift, perfectly practiced motion, they lift the entire apparatus—Queen, Slowpoke, and all—to waist height. They begin marching forward in perfect, terrifying unison.
Gus follows a beat behind, taking another bite of his tail.
SMASH CUT TO:
TITLE CARD: THE VAULT
EXT. HIDDEN BAY - AFTERNOON
At first glance, it appears a colossal, metallic Carracosta has run aground in a hidden, shallow bay.
A closer look reveals the yacht nestled perfectly inside a custom-built, brutalist concrete dry-dock. Stamped into the concrete are a series of union symbols: *Rhyhorn. Rhydon. Rhyperior. Rhyperior. Rhyperior.*
Beyond the dock, the Alolan jungle splits into two paths:
To the left, a vibrant, sunlit OASIS. Crystal-pure water flows into a pond. A singular Magikarp, having somehow flopped its way up the beach, SPLASHES helplessly in a puddle, trying to reach the pond.
To the right, a massive, jagged fissure in the earth. A pitch-black cave entrance that seems to swallow the sunlight.
Queen Esmerelda is already off the boat. She kicks off her designer shoes at the bottom of the ramp. She tosses three Pokéballs into the air.
*FLASH.* A tiny horde of shiny TANGELA, a shiny MINCCINO, and a CLOYSTER materialize.
The Tangela instantly swarm Esmerelda. She falls backward with a laugh, landing on a writhing bed of blue vines that happily crowd-surf her toward the cave entrance.
On the yacht ramp, the KNIGHT CAPTAIN checks an ornate, clockwork device on his wrist. He pulls a brass whistle from under his armor and blows a sharp, engaging little ditty.
The Knights carrying Barnaby immediately begin quick-stepping in place, waiting for the relief shift.
Down by the water, LUCKY, wearing a sleek, modular wetsuit, stands next to his Lapras ("LADY"). Lady is outfitted in a tactical, camouflage riding-harness. She shakes her head vigorously, groaning in protest.
LUCKY
I'm tellin' ya, Lady, you're worried about nothing.
A tiny DRATINI burrows out of a sealed, six-inch tactical pouch on Lucky's waist. It wriggles up his chest, settling comfortably into a shoulder harness.
ESMERELDA (O.S.)
LUCKY! Stop flirting and get up here! It's shift change and I don't want to wait!
LUCKY
(calling back)
Let's at least wait for—
*THUD.* A massive, red-armored SCIZOR leaps completely over the railing of the yacht, landing in the sand next to Lucky. GUS is riding casually on its shoulders.
GUS
You look over-prepared.
LUCKY
(yelling to the cave)
Go ahead, E! The entry is safe!
A line of replacement Knights floods down the ship's ramp. With military precision, they interweave, transferring Barnaby’s velvet chair without the Slowpoke ever waking up.
LUCKY
Where's the monkeys?
GUS
They had other plans. Hungryboy’s doing some stretches. He’ll follow in his own time.
Lucky laughs, shaking his head. He tosses two standard Pokéballs.
*FLASH.* An AMBIPOM and a DITTO appear. The Ditto immediately shapeshifts into an identical Ambipom. They do a complex, mirrored handshake and sprint up the beach after Esmerelda.
LUCKY
Come on, Gus. Those Tangela move surprisingly fast. There's a caldera deep in the caves that looks like it would be sick as hell to ride a board on. I think you two will like the rest of it.
Lucky takes off at a jog. The Scizor easily keeps pace.
They catch up to Esmerelda at the jagged mouth of the fissure. The jungle sounds immediately die away here. The air is cold.
Esmerelda is standing on her Tangela mat, waving a massive, high-powered LED flashlight.
ESMERELDA
C'mon guys, I have a torch this time and everything!
The Tangela make a collective, anxious *squelching* noise. They lean hard to the left, trying to pull her toward the sunny oasis.
Gus is confused for a second, and then bursts out laughing.
Lucky doubles over, wheezing. He reaches to his belt and tosses a Pokéball.
*FLASH.* A MAGNETON appears, floating silently.
LUCKY
You know the drill. Her Highness's Tangela have yet to forgive her for the last time she led them into a dark cave.
Lucky points up. Magneton floats high into the cavern entrance.
LUCKY
Hit the lights.
Magneton erupts with blinding, sustained *FLASH* of white light.
The darkness peels back. The cave doesn't just go back—it drops *down*. A massive, plunging throat of volcanic glass and basalt, so large it has its own weather system. A thick, humid fog hangs over an impossibly deep drop-off.
The Tangela, seeing the light, finally settle down, though they still shiver. Esmerelda sighs.
ESMERELDA
I would have convinced them eventually.
LUCKY
(deadpan)
No.
GUS
(laughing)
I gotta side with Lucky on this one, E. By the time you found the way out last time, you were all looking a touch paler than usual.
LUCKY
Lead the way, Pathfinder. Let's go see the basement.
INT. DEEP CAVERN TUNNEL - LATER
The group is clustered tightly together in a suffocatingly narrow, winding hallway of black volcanic rock. The air is thick.
Under Esmerelda, the Tangela mat is completely cloistered together, shivering despite the heat.
Lucky’s AMBIPOM takes the point position, leading the way. But LUCKY himself is nowhere to be seen.
ESMERELDA
(echoing down the tunnel)
I'm telling you, you're fired, Lucky! Especially if there's not something actually cool enough to be worth this tunnel!
Behind her, Gus is laying flat on his stomach across the back of a very cautiously moving SCIZOR.
GUS
It's also starting to get kinda toasty. And sulfurous.
ESMERELDA
That's what that smell is!
At the front of the pack, the lead Ambipom suddenly halts. It holds up its twin tails.
The Tangela mat and Scizor gently bleed off their momentum, coming to a dead stop.
LUCKY (O.S.)
(a hushed whisper from the walls)
We're good!
The Ambipom ambles forward a few steps, peering around a blind corner. It waves the group along.
As Gus and Esmerelda round the bend, they see a recessed compartment in the cavern wall. Three massive PARASECT lie completely unconscious, twitching slightly.
Lucky's voice seems to emanate directly from the rock wall beside them.
LUCKY (O.S.)
Just a couple hungry bugs. They like the heat. We're there, though. Finally.
Suddenly, the cavern wall shimmers. The rock face melts, detaching itself from Lucky’s wetsuit.
The DITTO drops to the ground, oozing over to the Ambipom. In a flash of light, it transforms back into a second Ambipom. They execute their mirrored handshake, and the Dittopom takes up the rear guard.
Up ahead, the real Ambipom and Lucky step forward—and appear to vanish completely into a solid wall of rock.
ESMERELDA
Lucky?
Scizor inches closer. Gus lets out a sudden bark of laughter, and then both Scizor and Gus disappear into the rock as well.
ESMERELDA
Not funny, guys.
The Tangela mat wanders forward. Esmerelda squints. It looks like a dead end.
But as the Tangela take one final step, the optical illusion of the rock-fold breaks.
The sterile white glow of the Magneton is instantly overpowered by a blinding, violent ORANGE. A wave of oppressive, dry heat washes over them.
Esmerelda jumps off her Tangela mat in sheer awe. Gus shimmies off his Scizor, walking slowly toward the edge of a massive cliff.
They are standing on a massive viewing shelf overlooking a two-hundred-foot void in the earth.
Cracks along the cavern ceiling let slow, heavy droplets of molten magma fall like glowing rain, splashing into a churning, half-solidified reservoir of lava far below. The scale is monumental.
Lucky stands near the center of the platform. He tosses a Pokéball.
Lady (the Lapras) materializes. She immediately begins spraying CHILLING WATER like a misting fountain, cooling the ambient temperature of the shelf to a comfortable, tropical warmth.
LUCKY
(patting her shell)
Thanks, girl.
The tiny Dratini takes the opportunity to shimmy out of Lucky's harness and slide onto the Lapras's back, bathing blissfully in the misty spray.
Esmerelda and Gus don't even look at the lava. They are already pointing at the walls, deep in an architectural frenzy.
ESMERELDA
Tellin' you right now, we need Torkoals and Blastoises. Torkoals go there, spray lava there, Blastoises on the far ridge. Hydro-pump in a cross-stream, and boom. We capture the steam up near the ceiling and redirect it for heating and power generation for the whole facility.
GUS
(rubbing his chin)
We can do it way cheaper if we use Camerupts and Starmies with the same basic idea. Starmie’s rapid-spin generates a cleaner centrifugal pump.
At the edge of the cliff, Scizor and the Tangela mat peer cautiously down into the churning lava below.
Behind them, safely in the misting zone, Lucky unfolds a portable lawn chair that he had hidden somewhere inside Lady's harness. He sits down, cracking a beer.
INT. THE CALDERA OVERLOOK - LATER
Hours have passed.
Lucky is snoozing in his lawn chair. Lady is snoozing. The tiny Dratini is snoozing. Scizor is snoozing. Even the Tangela mat appears to have gone completely dormant.
Gus and Esmerelda are still standing near the cliff edge, pacing back and forth. They have clearly not stopped talking for three straight hours.
ESMERELDA
...We could always just drill a hole directly into the ocean and set up a locking system for the intake.
GUS
It'll build a layer of salt over time. It might change the geothermal properties of the rock with enough pressure.
Suddenly, a device on Lucky's hip begins to vibrate softly. He wakes up instantly, disables the alarm, and stretches. He walks over to Lady, gives her a good head-scratch, and wanders toward the ledge.
He spends a few minutes doing a full, rigorous stretching routine: deep lunges, the splits, touching his toes. As he bends over to stretch his calves, his eyes lock onto the magma pool hundreds of feet below.
He freezes, entirely enraptured.
LUCKY
Hey guys. What's that down there?
Gus and Esmerelda don't even hear him. They are too busy arguing about valve pressure. Lucky stops stretching, lies flat on his stomach, and peers over the edge.
LUCKY
(louder)
HEY GUYS!
Gus and Esmerelda finally look over, annoyed to be interrupted.
ESMERELDA
Time to go already?
Gus checks a waterproof chronometer on his wrist.
GUS
No. It was time to go about two hours ago.
Lucky chuckles, not taking his eyes off the lava.
LUCKY
Yeah, I told E that, but I planned ahead for the buffer time anyway. Seriously, you two should come look at this.
Gus and Esmerelda walk to the edge and look down.
Down in the massive magma pool, the geothermal tide is shifting. Molten rock pours in from the side vents, filling the basin with violently hot, angry lava. Then, a massive drain opens at the bottom, sucking the magma down several hundred feet deeper than it was when they arrived.
As the magma recedes, a colossal, roughly spherical rock is left exposed at the bottom of the basin.
As the glowing lava drips off it, the sphere appears to be rolling slightly. The exterior of the rock looks almost like wet mud, but the moment a drop of dripping lava makes contact with it, the wet surface instantly flash-dries, hardening into an impenetrable shell. The sphere goes dead still.
GUS
(eyes wide)
Did you see that?! That was insane!
ESMERELDA
Did you see all the water at the end there? It must be, like, a super-saturated salt ball. The outer layer dries into a water-impermeable shell from the heat!
GUS
And the thermal gradients caused the sphere to be pushed away from the dripping lava! Incredible fluid dynamics!
LUCKY
(quietly)
Felt almost alive.
Gus and Esmerelda both laugh.
GUS / ESMERELDA
(in unison)
As if anything could survive down there.
Behind them, Lady and Lucky exchange a highly meaningful, deeply skeptical glance. Lucky just sighs and stands up.
LUCKY
Right. Well, whatever it is, we should get going. Even if we're just staying on the yacht tonight. Last time I was on this island, a bunch of big, blue, chompy things swarmed the beach at night looking for something to eat.
GUS
Feraligatr? On such a remote island?
ESMERELDA
Haven't they, like, been unchanged since time immemorial? They hit peak perfection thousands of years ago and have just spread across the world since.
GUS
Yes. And their bite strength is no laughing matter.
LUCKY
Well, whatever they are, they hunt on the beaches here at night. So it's time to go.
Lucky whistles. Scizor, the Tangela, and the Ambipoms begin to pack up.
The humans turn their backs on the caldera and begin the long walk up the dark tunnel, their voices echoing and fading into the distance.
Down in the basin, hundreds of feet below the viewing shelf, the magma begins to rise again.
The massive, ancient rock sphere sits completely still.
And then, ever so slightly... it twitches.
EXT. THE HIDDEN BAY (BEACH) - DUSK
Our crew stumbles out of the jagged fissure and into the fresh evening air.
Esmerelda rolls off the Tangela mat, collapsing onto the sand with a dramatic groan. Lucky is nowhere to be seen. Gus is completely relaxed, sitting cross-legged on top of Scizor’s shoulders.
Ambipom and Dittopom immediately start moonwalking and dancing together on the shoreline. Scizor hovers a few feet off the beach, kicking up a sand cloud. It crosses its massive steel claws, totally just aura-farming (Swords Dance). Gus is raving out to an unheard beat on its shoulders.
A beat of pure, idyllic normality.
And then it all goes to hell.
The water ERUPTS.
A massive pair of prehistoric jaws snaps shut exactly where Scizor was hovering. Scizor casually backflips higher into the air, bouncing lightly off the snout of a hulking, eight-foot-tall FERALIGATR.
Before the beast can roar, a colossal blur of blue and white drops from the sky.
CRUNCH.
SNORLAX ("HUNGRYBOY") slams directly onto the Feraligatr’s back, burying it in the sand.
GUS
Yo, HUNGRYBOY! Perfect timing!
Gus rifles through his satchel. He chucks a glazed Slowpoke Tail and a glass bottle of Lemonade through the air.
Hungryboy stands up. It beats its massive fists against its stomach—BELLY DRUM.
A deep, echoing BOOM shakes the beach. Hungryboy visibly pales, burning half its life force for absolute power. In a single, fluid motion, it catches the Tail and the Lemonade, devouring both instantly. The color rushes back to its face.
Two more Feraligatrs burst from the surf, blasting high-pressure HYDRO PUMPS at Scizor.
Scizor effortlessly weaves through the water jets, bouncing from Feraligatr head to Feraligatr head like it’s playing Frogger, carrying Gus safely toward the yacht.
From the treeline, a calm voice.
LUCKY
Time to shine, Dangernoodle.
Lucky steps onto the beach and drops to one knee. The tiny Dratini is wrapped tightly around his armpit and neck to brace itself against the recoil.
The Dratini opens its tiny mouth. A terrifying, bass-heavy whine fills the air. The sound drops out.
HYPER BEAM.
A blinding pillar of pure, localized destruction erupts from the tiny dragon. Lucky turns his torso in a slow, sweeping arc, carving a trench of vaporized sand across the beach directly into the charging Feraligatrs.
GUS
(yelling from above)
Hey Magneton, can you light things up again?!
Magneton hovers ominously. It turns its three eyes toward Lucky. Lucky flashes a quick thumbs-up.
Magneton uses FLASH.
The beach is instantly bathed in the harsh, sustained light of a stadium floodlight. Several Feraligatrs hiss, throwing their claws over their eyes and diving back into the surf.
GUS
Three on the left, two on the right! Hungryboy, take care of that one on the rock!
Dangernoodle’s Hyper Beam flickers out. The tiny dragon gasps for air. Lucky sprints toward the yacht, taking up a firing position behind a palm tree.
Hungryboy tanks two vicious Bites to its massive arms from the flanking Feraligatrs. It doesn't even flinch. It smiles.
It grabs both crocodiles by the throats. HARD PRESS.
With terrifying, mechanical force, it crushes the two Feraligatrs directly into the rock face. The stone shatters.
Meanwhile, Esmerelda is suddenly boxed in. Eight Knights, completely unseen until now, materialize from the shadows. They lock their heavy shields together, forming a perfect square barricade around the Queen, moving toward the yacht ramp in a steady, impenetrable phalanx.
A Feraligatr attempts to Bite the rear guard, chips its tooth on the steel armor, and ROARS in pain. The Tangela mat wisely abandons ship, scurrying frantically up the ramp to safety.
Dangernoodle recovers its breath. The whine starts again. A second Hyper Beam charges.
Lucky pivots, blasting the Feraligatr closest to the yacht directly in the chest, sending it skipping backward across the water like a stone.
On the beach, the remaining three Feraligatrs furiously SCREECH at Snorlax.
Hungryboy drops into a sprinter's stance. The ground violently shakes.
GIGA IMPACT.
Hungryboy hits the trio like a freight train. The sheer kinetic force sends all three Feraligatrs flying completely off the beach, splashing helplessly down next to the one Lucky just blasted.
Having expended every ounce of energy, Hungryboy instantly collapses face-first into the sand, completely paralyzed by the recharge turn.
Gus and Scizor land on the top deck of the yacht with a gentle thud. Magneton drifts toward the ramp, keeping the floodlights pinned on the water.
Lucky sprints out of cover, grabs the paralyzed Snorlax by the scruff of its neck, and physically drags the massive beast up the ramp with the help of the Ambipoms.
They hit the deck. Lucky slams the emergency bulkhead button. The heavy steel ramp seals shut just as a final, desperate pair of jaws snaps at the metal.
Silence returns to the yacht.
GUS
(furiously scribbling on a clipboard)
Did you get readings, E? I've never seen so many Feraligatr in one place before. The pack mentality is fascinating.
Lucky collapses against the bulkhead, sweating, while the tiny Dratini goes back to sleep on his shoulder.
LUCKY
(rolling his eyes)
Scientists.
INT. YACHT - ESMERELDA'S PRIVATE ROOM - NIGHT
Esmerelda's room is chaos. A single bed is wedged tightly into the corner. The rest of the room is a mechanical madhouse. Partially assembled water pumps, greasy wrenches, and blueprints litter every square inch of available desk space.
Esmerelda is currently sprawled across her bed, snoring softly.
BARNABY is sprawled entirely on top of her, acting as a massive, pink, living weighted blanket. He appears to be dreaming.
Suddenly, Barnaby opens his eyes.
The trademark Slowpoke vacancy is completely gone. His eyes are sharp, focused, and terrifyingly lucid.
With a silent intentionality unseen so far, Barnaby carefully waddles off of Esmerelda. As his weight lifts, her eyes flutter—but before she can wake, Barnaby’s eyes glow blue.
Using gentle telekinesis (Psychic), he levitates a heavy duvet across the room, perfectly draping it over Esmerelda with the exact same weight distribution. She settles back into a deep sleep.
Barnaby waddles quietly out into the hallway.
INT. YACHT - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
Barnaby waddles down the corridor with surprising purpose and speed. Waddle, waddle, waddle.
He passes Lucky’s cabin door. It is less of a door and more of a bank vault, covered in six different deadbolts, a biometric scanner, and a tripwire.
He passes Gus’s cabin door. It is plastered with tear-away flyers for "TERIYAKI TAIL RECIPES" and "SESAME POKE-SAUCE", waiting for any curious wanderer to take one. Barnaby doesn't even blink.
He reaches a small access porthole leading to the main deck.
EXT. YACHT - TOP DECK - CONTINUOUS
Barnaby carefully hauls his squishy body through the porthole, plopping onto the cold steel deck.
He waddles over to where the heavy steel ramp has been raised and locked. He looks down at the dark, empty beach where the Feraligatrs attacked hours ago.
Barnaby braces his feet. He opens his mouth. Swirling, freezing energy rapidly condenses in the back of his throat.
FWOOSH.
A flawless, high-powered ICE BEAM sprays from Barnaby’s mouth, striking the exact rock where the Feraligatrs had flanked them. The stone freezes solid instantly.
Barnaby stands perfectly still in the moonlight. In the glassy reflection of his dark eyes, we see a hyper-speed mental replay of the evening's battle:
Hungryboy Belly Drumming... Hungryboy executing the Hard Press... Dangernoodle's sweeping Hyper Beam... Scizor's evasion arcs...
He is running tactical analysis.
Suddenly, Barnaby’s eyes glow a faint, psychic blue, as if reflecting a trio of massive, glowing dots buried somewhere far away in the dark island jungle. The island is dreaming, and Barnaby can hear it.
The connection breaks. Barnaby blinks.
The sharp, terrifying intelligence vanishes from his eyes. His mouth falls open into a happy, vacant smile.
Derp.
He turns around and begins the excruciatingly slow, clumsy, dopey waddle back to Esmerelda's bedroom.
EXT. YACHT (TOP DECK) - DAWN
The sun breaks over the Alolan horizon.
GUS sits on the deck, sipping a cup of coffee. He is comfortably resting against the massive, soft belly of HUNGRYBOY, who is currently sleep-eating through a small village’s worth of tropical fruit.
Gus is looking over the railing, watching a climbing rope twitch.
GUS
Any visible damage?
LUCKY (O.S.)
(grunting)
No. Exterior’s fine.
Gus waits a beat for Lucky to climb over the rail. He doesn't.
Curious, Gus stands up and leans completely over the ledge.
On the sheer, vertical steel hull of the yacht, a massive game of tag is underway.
Lucky isn't using the rope anymore. He is free-climbing, shimmying laterally across the exterior hull with insane, ninja-like agility.
Chasing him are Ambipom, Dittopom, and Gus’s three elemental monkeys: PANSAGE, PANSEAR, and PANPOUR.
Pansear starts chimping out, screeching and tossing tiny Embers into the water in frustration. Pansage and Panpour pat their sibling on the back to console it.
Meanwhile, Ambipom and Dittopom are launching themselves across the hull, interlinking hands and twin-tails, trying desperately to tag Lucky.
LUCKY
(out of breath, leaping to a porthole)
Almost! Got! Me!
Pansear calms down, its eyes narrowing. It leaps into the fray.
The three elemental monkeys link hand-to-tail, dropping from the railing to form a living, swinging pendulum. Ambipom and Dittopom leap onto the bottom of the chain.
ESMERELDA peeks over the railing next to Gus. Her eyes light up.
ESMERELDA
Come on, POM-BROS! YOU CAN CATCH HIM! HURRY HARD! HURRY!
GUS
FIREBALL! Remember your follow-through!
Gus pantomimes a perfect golf swing, pointing a finger down at Lucky.
Pansear screeches excitedly. The entire chain of monkeys braces against the hull, preparing for one massive, coordinated swing.
Lucky realizes what’s happening. He makes a desperate, vertical break for the top deck.
He is two-thirds of the way to the top when the backswing begins. He is three-quarters of the way there when the monkeys hit the apex of their swing.
The three Pan-monkeys screech in unison. At the bottom of the chain, Ambipom and Dittopom rear back, ready to snap like a whip.
Lucky lunges, his hand inches from the railing, just as the whip CRACKS.
Dittopom realizes it's going to be short. It cheats. The purple monkey stretches its arm a completely unnatural six inches, wrapping its rubbery fingers tightly around Lucky’s ankle.
Pansear lets go of the hull just as the kinetic wave transfers. Suddenly, the entire chain of five monkeys is dangling in mid-air, supported solely by Lucky’s grip on the railing.
Lucky groans, his fingers slipping.
Just as he loses his grip, the monkeys swarm upward in a blur of fur and tails. They effortlessly grab the railing, catching Lucky in the process.
A beat later, they heave him entirely over the railing, tossing him unceremoniously onto the wooden deck.
Esmerelda and Gus are doubled over, laughing hysterically.
GUS
Good showing, Lucky! You almost had them!
ESMERELDA
Y'know, I've never seen a man climb so nimbly before.
Lucky groans, rolling over and getting to his feet. He dusts himself off, chuckling despite the exhaustion.
LUCKY
Your monkeys are devious little menaces, Gus.
Lucky walks over, snagging a piece of fruit from Hungryboy's pile.
LUCKY
Now that everyone is up, caffeinated, and sufficiently entertained... are we ready to see the rest of the island?
EXT. THE ALOLAN JUNGLE - MORNING
The jungle is massive, prehistoric, and humid.
Gus and Scizor flit above the canopy, gliding effortlessly from tree to tree without ever touching the ground. Below them, Esmerelda is being carried like a queen on her writhing Tangela mat. Lucky leads the expedition on foot, with Ambipom and Dittopom trailing the rear.
ESMERELDA
OH MY GOD! Look at the TROPIUS!
Through a break in the foliage, a massive herd of Tropius ambles through a clearing, consuming the canopy in massive, lazy bites.
Suddenly, a pair of thirty-foot-tall ALOLAN EXEGGUTORS comes rushing by, aggressively eating the leaves right out from under the Tropius herd's noses.
GUS
Ooh, local Exeggcute lines! We won't have to import any base-layer flora!
ESMERELDA
Unless the Tropius eat them all first.
In the clearing, the Tropius herd works itself into an OUTRAGE, violently stomping the ground and attempting to trample the massive palm trees.
In response, the Alolan Exeggutors waver back and forth playfully. Then, fire erupts from their central leaves. They blast the Tropius herd with dual FLAMETHROWERS.
GUS
(taking notes)
Don't count the Tropius out so quickly. Excellent localized type-counters.
LUCKY
(hand on his Pokéballs)
Stay close.
EXT. JUNGLE - NOON
A makeshift picnic in a sunlit grove.
Gus sits beside Scizor. The steel bug is using its razor-sharp claws to delicately slice a loaf of artisan bread and plate a pasta dish.
Esmerelda hovers softly on the Tangela mat. She tears off chunks of bread, passing them to the various blue tentacles, which happily dip the bread into hovering jars of honey and olive oil.
Lucky is fully reclined in his lawn chair, hat over his eyes, snoozing. Nearby, Lady the Lapras and Dangernoodle splash peacefully in a moderately sized pond. Ambipom and Dittopom keep watch.
GUS
I'm telling you, Toxicroaks should be our first goal. Their primary cheek-sac poison has so many chemical parallels to Shellder venom. It’s the most promising synthetic trigger.
ESMERELDA
No, we should get the base marine pipeline going first. I can only pull so much money from the Golden Isles treasury before the people start to suffer. We should get set up selling shiny Slowkings and Slowbros immediately. That way we become self-sufficient.
GUS
(nodding)
Yes. And I'll finally get some hard, peer-reviewed numbers on tail-losses during the evolution process.
A sudden, terrifying ROAR shakes the trees.
A stray Feraligatr, having made its way inland, bursts from the brush and lunges at a lone, grazing Tropius.
The Feraligatr has made a massive mistake.
The Tropius grabs the massive crocodile by the scruff of its neck, beats its four leafy wings, and takes off straight up into the sky.
Lucky lifts his hat just enough to watch the carnage.
High in the air, the Feraligatr’s snout flash-freezes. It sinks a brutal ICE FANG deep into the Tropius's throat.
The Tropius screams, wildly beating the Feraligatr with a DUAL WINGBEAT. The pair breaks through the cloud line, locked in a death spiral.
GUS
(eating pasta)
I think we're overthinking this. First, we should make sure Barnaby is... an effective breeder.
ESMERELDA
(chuckling)
Don't worry about that, Gus. Before the accident, he was a world-class stud.
GUS
And Shellders are surprisingly sensitive to salt concentration. Getting a reliable supply of the two lines to coexist could take some effort.
Esmerelda points up at the sky.
ESMERELDA
Oh, you gotta watch this! He's about to fall!
Gus looks up just in time to watch the Feraligatr get one more desperate, freezing bite on the Tropius's neck.
In response, the Tropius squeezes the croc tightly. They both begin to faintly glow green. The Tropius visibly heals, draining the life from its attacker (GIGA DRAIN).
When the Feraligatr goes limp to take another breath, Tropius simply lets go.
The three humans silently watch the foolish blue alligator plummet hundreds of feet to its demise.
GUS
Did you see the beating he took before going down?
Before Esmerelda can respond, a localized ICE BEAM shoots straight up from the jungle canopy where the croc landed. A split second later, a second ICE BEAM joins it from a different angle. The rest of the pack is waiting.
Both beams strike the Tropius dead-center. The dinosaur freezes solid and plummets into the jungle with a massive, earth-shaking CRASH.
Silence returns to the picnic.
EXT. ALOLAN JUNGLE - AFTERNOON
The jungle surrounds them. It is an impenetrable, claustrophobic wall of green. There is no forward. There is no backward. There is only jungle.
At the front of the formation, LUCKY is working with DANGERNOODLE. The tiny Dratini is firing localized, precise Hyper Beams like a machete, vaporizing a walking path through the dense foliage.
LUCKY
Everyone keep your eyes open. This is the densest part of the canopy.
Above them, GUS and SCIZOR flit along the tops of the massive ancient trees. Gus suddenly stops, staring slack-jawed at the horizon.
GUS
Holy shit. Look at that mountain.
Down in the brush, Esmerelda groans from her Tangela mat.
ESMERELDA
I wanna see!
LUCKY
(slashing a vine)
It is something. Beautiful disks of red, green, and gray, all set into the white stone. You can see it across most of the island. Very useful landmark... when you're not stuck at the bottom of the trees.
GUS
(squinting, adjusting his glasses)
Fascinating. It looks like ruby, jade, and quartz inlaid naturally on an exposed ocean-calcium layer.
Esmerelda waves frantically at Scizor.
ESMERELDA
Can I have a quick ride up to see? It's boring down here. All you can see is jungle. And more jungle. And yet more jungle. Every direction is jungle!
GUS
(laughing)
Yeah, I'll walk for a bit. This really is a view you can't miss.
Scizor slowly lowers to the jungle floor to pick up the Queen.
High above, towering over the island, the massive white "mountain" sits in total silence. The massive colored disks dotting its surface gleam in the sun.
EXT. JUNGLE VALLEY - MID-AFTERNOON
Lucky checks a GPS device. They are standing at the edge of a massive, excavated valley, looking at a thick rope-bridge.
GUS
Oddishes. Well, Vileplumes, really. But Oddishes are way easier to cultivate for base-level toxins.
ESMERELDA
(scrolling her Pokédex)
What about Skorupi? It might even work like a Shellder and physically clamp onto the tail to trigger the reaction.
GUS
Oh! Dragalge, for sure. Imagine the culinary applications. We could try wrapping the tails in Dragalge kelp and fermenting them in the acid!
Lucky visibly gags at the thought of acid-fermented Slowpoke tail.
ESMERELDA
That's your wheelhouse for sure, Gus.
GUS
What about Foongus? Maybe we lace the tails with Foongus spores and see if they take hold and trigger a change?
Lucky holds up a hand.
LUCKY
Hold that thought. We're here.
He points across the valley.
In the distance, the skeletal steel frame of a massive, twenty-story skyscraper reaches into the heavens. It looks completely out of place in the ancient jungle.
A beat.
A massive earthquake shakes the valley. The entire steel skyscraper groans, buckles, and collapses in a catastrophic cloud of dust and twisted metal.
The team gathers around Lucky.
LUCKY
Okay. E. Gus. Where's Hungryboy?
GUS
Sleeping on the ship.
Lucky nods.
LUCKY
That's fine. Scizor will work. E?
Lucky doesn't look at Esmerelda. He looks directly at the writhing mass of Tangela supporting her. They wiggle in anxious acquiescence.
LUCKY
Good. These guys built the dry-docks for me. Dangernoodle handled them no problem. But to build what you two are dreaming up down in that Caldera... we're going to have to impress them.
ESMERELDA
What's up?
LUCKY
The Rhyperior Union. They have the only permits for the entire island. They build these towers, tear 'em down, and build 'em again just to stay sharp.
Lucky turns to the two scientists. He's dead serious.
LUCKY
You want to build here? You gotta prove to them you're worth their time. Pick your best.
SMASH CUT TO BLACK.
TITLE CARD: NEXT TIME ON THE VAULT
(Quick flashes: A Rhyhorn dragging a massive steel I-beam. Two Rhydons locked in a brutal headbutting competition. Gus adjusting his glasses as Scizor steps into the mud.)
END OF EPISODE 1