Aether Foundation Employee (Trainer class)

An Aether Foundation Employee (Japanese: エーテル財団 職員 Aether Foundation Staff) is a type of Pokémon Trainer introduced in Generation VII. They are employees of the Aether Foundation who are dressed in white, futuristic uniforms.

The undefined battles the Employees while raiding Aether Paradise in search of the kidnapped Lillie. During this sequence, the Employees act and look villainous when battled, acting similarly to the Grunts of villainous teams. In addition to the traditional male and female variants, the player will also battle masked scientist Employees in the Foundation's secret lab.

Outside the main plot, Aether Foundation Employees may be battled in the Battle Royal Dome and Battle Tree, each with distinct names and using the Trainer class. These Employees are friendly and are truer to the ideals of the Foundation.

Most of the Employees keep their Pokémon in s, although scientist Employees use s instead.

In the anime
An Aether Foundation Employee first appeared in A Dream Encounter!. Several other Employees appeared in Deceiving Appearances!, including a disguised, who had been personally hired by Faba to serve as his underlings. However, they resigned in Mission: Total Recall! upon discovering Faba's plans to erase 's memories, with them declaring that even they wouldn't stoop so low.

Several Aether Foundation Employees appeared in SM096. They listened as Wicke made an announcement about a missing. Team Rocket were also seen in their Employee disguises, working under Wicke. They had planned to steal the Pokémon living in Aether Paradise's conservation area as an offering to, but their covers were blown after they were caught with Stufful.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Aether Foundation Employees debuted in PASM11, where two were seen on a commercial advertising their organization. In PASM13, a group of Employees were seen at Aether Paradise filming another Aether Foundation commercial.

In PASM15, a male Employee reported to Faba about, Professor Kukui, and Professor Burnet, who had been rescued from a shipwreck and taken to Aether Paradise to recuperate. Faba had his attack the Employee for failing to use his proper title of Branch Chief as a way of ensuring that he would never do it again. Scared, the Employee apologized for his mistake and ran away.

In PASM16, two Employees appeared in a flashback where they were seen protecting a pair of from a group of s. They were rescued by Mallow.

In PASM22, Faba and a group of masked Employees set off to Vast Poni Canyon. After arriving at their destination, Faba sent a small group of Employees to capture Hapu, the newly appointed Kahuna of Poni Island, while he and the remaining Employees traveled to the Altar. Before the Altar team could leave, they were attacked by Moon and. Worried that his plans would be jeopardized, Faba had the Employees battle Moon's Pokémon, hoping that the clash would be enough of a distraction to allow him to escape.

After Faba left, Anabel switched out Moon's Pokémon for her own and used them to keep the Altar team busy while she, Moon, and Plumeria followed after the Branch Chief. Elsewhere, the Kahuna team encountered Hapu and, but before they could capture their target, a that had been defeated by Gladion was thrown on top of them. Scared, the Kahuna team ran away and was told to join the Altar team and meet back with Faba. Once they arrived, Faba had the Employees join him in battling Moon, Anabel, and Plumeria.

Six months after the Poni Island incident, Faba had managed to take control of the Aether Foundation, running it like a dictatorship. Despite this, several Employees refused to fully ally themselves with Faba and secretly plan to stop him. When Lusamine when missing, a female Employee and Wicke managed to locate her on Poni Island playing with a group of Ultra Beasts. Their attempts to dock on the island were thwarted by a, forcing them to return to the Aether House on Ula'ula Island and meet up with Gladion and Lillie. Wicke decided the best option was for her and the Employee to return to Aether Paradise and gather information before making their next move.

In the TCG
This is a listing of cards mentioning or featuring Aether Foundation Employee in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

In other languages
Æther Foundation Personal Empleado de la Fundación Æther Employé de la Fondation Æther Dipendente Fondazione Æther エーテルざいだんのしょくいん 以太基金会职员