Faba (anime)

Faba (Japanese: ザオボー Sauboh) is a recurring character who appeared in the Pokémon anime. He works at the Aether Foundation. At first, Faba acted antagonistically towards and, in particular , but went on to become an ally.

Pre-series
In the past, Faba worked on the creation of, a Pokémon created to combat. Although the project was a success, Faba lied to and reported it to be a failure, keeping Silvally's existence a secret from her. Four years prior to the start of the, Faba secretly opened an Ultra Wormhole down in Aether Paradise's underground research area and successfully summoned a.

However, when stumbled across the site, the Ultra Beast took notice of her and attempted to take her back with it. As Faba could only watch in horror, Lillie was saved by Silvally. In order to avoid Lillie from telling anyone about the incident, Faba used his to erase her memories of the event. Sometime after the incident, Faba put restrictions on Silvally by giving it a special limiter mask, reverting it to a. Because of this mistreatment, ultimately stole Silvally from him.

Faba debuted in A Dream Encounter!. He, along with Lusamine, Professor Burnet, and Wicke, investigated the Altar of the Sunne due to Ultra Aura being detected from that location. When they were unable to find anything, Faba blamed this on Burnet's equipment malfunctioning, only for Lusamine to point out his jealousy of Burnet. Later, after receiving another Ultra Aura response, Faba accompanied Lusamine and Professor Burnet to 's house on Melemele Island, where he met and Nebby. He became upset with Lusamine when she entrusted Nebby to Ash, and for not letting the Aether Foundation take care of it instead.

In Deceiving Appearances!, Faba and Wicke welcomed Ash and to Aether Paradise. During their tour of Aether Paradise, he followed the group around to learn more about Nebby. Faba also began feeling troubled by Lillie making contact with Pokémon again, not wanting her to remember the incident that caused her fear. It was also revealed that he hired as Aether Foundation employees after taking a keen interest in their talking.

In Mission: Total Recall!, Faba traveled to Gladion's hotel room to take back Type: Null. After defeating Gladion's Pokémon in battle, he Gladion and succesfully retrieved Type: Null. Later that day, Faba noticed Lillie and Ash, wandering through Aether Paradise's lab area on a quest to remember the cause of Lillie's fear. Fearing that Lillie had regained her memories, Faba attacked her and Ash and attempted to erase her memories. However, he was stopped when Gladion and Lusamine arrived after having found Type: Null. Upon being sent out, Type: Null broke free from its helmet and evolved into, allowing it to easily defeat Faba's Pokémon. Seeing Silvally made Lillie remember everything and helped her overcome her fear. As Lillie celebrated being able to touch Pokémon again, Faba managed to sneak away.

Following his foiled scheme, Faba had been looked for, but could not be found. In Faba's Revenge!, he was seen watching Ash and his classmates at the Pokémon School. He planned on kidnapping Nebby to open an Ultra Wormhole and catch an Ultra Beast in order to restore his honor. While everyone's attention was elsewhere, Faba managed to lure Nebby away from the group and tricked it into ing them to Aether Paradise's lab area. He was soon confronted by Ash, Lillie, Gladion, and Lusamine who successfully managed to free Nebby from the machine before he was able to successfully open up an Ultra Wormhole. However, Nebby then evolved into, radiating enough Ultra Aura for a wormhole to appear, summoning a Nihilego. As Faba stared in admiration, Nihilego knocked him aside before engaging in battle with the others, eventually succeeding in taking Lusamine with it into the Ultra Wormhole. In the next episode, when Faba was confronted by Wicke and Burnet about Lusamine's capture, he desperately attempted to pin the blame of the incident on Lusamine herself.

After Lusamine's rescue, Faba was seen attending Kukui and Burnet's wedding in The Professors' New Adventure!. He later apologized to Ash and his classmates for his actions and revealed that he was demoted and made into Wicke's subordinate. He was then asked to show the group details of the Ultra Guardians, a task force dedicated to dealing with any potential Ultra Beast incidents.

In Dummy, You Shrunk the Kids!, Faba was invited to be a special teacher at the Pokémon School to teach about science. He showed off his new invention, which could shrink objects, allowing them to be placed in Poké Ball-like capsules. Faba attempted to demonstrate it on a blackboard, only for the machine to malfunction, which resulted in Ash, Lillie, and getting shrunk. A subsequent accident caused them to be swept away from the school. Whilst the others set off to find Ash, Lillie, and Sophocles, Faba stayed behind to make repairs on his machine with help from the. After Ash, Lillie, and Sophocles were returned to their normal sizes, Faba attempted to demonstrate his machine once more, which resulted in growing in size.

In The Shape of Love to Come!, Faba was seen with Lusamine and Wicke, when Ash, Professor Burnet, and Professor Kukui called the Aether Foundation to inform them about 's habit of putting its feelings into its drawings. While Wicke thought it was romantic, Faba was disappointed that it wasn't really "scientific".

In Filling the Light with Darkness!, mysterious dark clouds appeared over Alola, leaving all of the adults tired and without motivation. After doing some research, Faba, Lusamine, Wicke, and Burnet, found out that the cause of the incident was a small Ultra Wormhole that was slowly draining Alola's Ultra Aura. The Ultra Guardians were sent to the Altar of the Sunne, where, under Faba's instruction, the members with Z-Rings combined their Z-Power to fuel his machine that could disperse the clouds and reveal the hidden Ultra Wormhole. In the next episode, he and the others witnessed and  emerging from the wormhole. He was later seen arriving at Melemele Island, along with Lusamine, Wicke, and Burnet. While everyone was later watching Lunala recover in the Ultra Guardians base, Faba informed them of Team Rocket's Matori Matrix.

After the Ultra Guardians left for Ultra Space with a fully recovered Lunala in The Prism Between Light and Darkness!, Faba and Professor Kukui volunteered to aid them. On Ten Carat Hill, he and Kukui confronted the Matori Matrix by using their Pokémon to damage the team's airship and prevent them from entering the Ultra Wormhole. Afterwards, Faba and Kukui faced Gozu and his in battle, but their Pokémon were swiftly beaten. In the next episode, Faba didn't own any more Pokémon, forcing Kukui to sent out his, who was able to defeat Mega Aggron with its Z-Move. Faba quickly figured out Kukui's secret identity upon noticing the resemblance between him and the Masked Royal, and revealed he was a big fan of the Masked Royal. He and Kukui then witnessed attacking Team Rocket's airship, after which the team retreated. Faba later joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with light so it could revert to its. After Necrozma had returned to its, Faba watched as the Ultra Guardians, Nebby, and Lunala returned to Alola, alongside Kukui, Lusamine, Burnet, and Wicke. In Turning the Other Mask!, Faba and James participated in a handshake event held by the Masked Royal. Later, the two headed backstage, hoping to get an autograph, only to discover Molayne preparing to change into the Masked Royal costume to cover for Kukui. Mistaking him for an impostor, Faba and James attacked Molayne and tied him up. When Mad Magmar appeared, demanding the Masked Royal face him in a rematch, Faba took on the Masked Royal persona and tried to battle him with Incineroar, only to be easily defeated. Later, after Mad Magmar had been defeated, Faba woke up in the bleachers and tried to resume the fight, only to discover that it was over, however, he then found out that the Masked Royal autographed his prized Masked Royal T-shirt, making him very happy.

In Don't Ignore the Small Stufful!, Faba encountered Team Rocket, who had secured jobs at the Aether Foundation thanks to Wicke. He was suspicious of them at first, but Wicke spoke up for them. Later, Faba discovered a list of potential Pokémon targets that Team Rocket had. He then realized that a was unaccounted for and alerted Wicke. They later found Stufful clinging to Jessie's hair, accused them of stealing Stufful, and didn't believe their excuses after they ran. Faba then watched as arrived to collect Team Rocket and was reunited with Stufful, who was its child, in the process.

In Beauty is Only Crystal Deep!, Faba revealed a trap to help the Ultra Guardians catch a, which involved surrounding their Z-Crystals in glue. However, this resulted in Faba getting stuck in the glue instead. He was later freed when Wicke suggested he remove his clothes.

In The Secret Princess!, Faba helped Lillie and Gladion search the labs at Aether Paradise for information on their father Mohn. It was also revealed that Faba and Wicke were present when Mohn was taken to the other side of an Ultra Wormhole, and that they prevented Lusamine from going after him.

In SM127, Faba initially did not want to participate in the upcoming Alola League, due to preferring to be a spectator. However, he later expressed interest in the prospect and ultimately decided to join after learning that the winner will get to fight the Masked Royal.

In SM129, Faba was among the 151 Trainers taking part in the Battle Royal round of the Manalo Conference, using his. In the end, Faba was among the Trainers to progress to the Top 16. The match-ups for the next round revealed that he would be battling Ash, prompting Faba to start thinking of a strategy to defeat him.

In SM130, Faba faced off against Ash in the first match of the Manalo Conference, using his Hypno. Having spied on Ash the night before, Faba assumed Ash's Meltan was the weakest member of his team and had Hypno ensure that Ash had to battle with Meltan instead of as Ash had originally intended. Despite this, Hypno was soon defeated, eliminating Faba from the competition.

Character
When Faba first appeared, he was rather mean-spirited, constantly trying to grab Nebby. Realizing that his past actions involving may be revealed, Faba took measures to prevent it from happening by ruthlessly attacking  and, whilst preparing to wipe 's memories of the incident. He later apologized profusely for his actions and was forgiven. Faba has since become a trusted ally for the Ultra Guardians and the Aether Foundation.

A different side to Faba was shown in Securing the Future!, when he realized that was in fact the Masked Royal. He revealed that he was a big fan and promised not to mention Kukui's secret identity to anyone.

Faba is a bit clumsy, as seen in Beauty is Only Crystal Deep!, when he attempted to show off an invention that would allow the Ultra Guardians to catch, only to get stuck on the glue himself. His attempts to free himself failed until Wicke suggested that he take off his jacket.

Faba is tends to use sneaky tactics in battle. This was seen in SM130, where he had Hypno use its Psychic powers to ensure Meltan was sent out to battle instead of Pikachu like Ash originally intended.

Pokémon League
Faba has competed in the following Pokémon League Conferences:
 * Manalo Conference - Top 16 (SM130)

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