Catch Feelings, Not Just Pokemon

The one who had rescued her from the Aether Foundation was still her "first love"—the one she'd never forgotten. And now, that very first love was finally lighting up her face once more.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of the girl's lips as she quickly walked up to Haru.

"Not a day went by when I didn't think of you."

"Mm... I've always had you on my mind too, Lillie."

At this point, what else could Haru even say?

It had been less than thirty-two hours since his whereabouts in Paldea reached Alola, and now Lillie was standing in front of him—having come through the "official channels," no less.

That alone made it clear: the feelings this girl held were far heavier, far deeper than Haru had anticipated...

It left him flustered and a little guilty—his mind drifting instinctively to what happened the night before.

Next time… next time I really won't go messing around with other girls! Lillie's been waiting for me this whole time!

Maybe... maybe it's time to ghost Sabrina?

No, no, that's not going to work. He still needed Sabrina's help going forward.

Offering up his body... was simply a necessary sacrifice.

"I don't know why, but seeing you again brings back so many memories."

"Everything you did back in Alola... I've kept it all in my heart."

Lillie, unaware of what had gone down the previous night, continued pouring her heart out like no one else was in the room.

Compared to the past, she was definitely bolder now.

If this had been the Lillie Haru first met, she probably wouldn't have had the courage for any of this.

That weak version of her... was gone now.

Meanwhile, Haru briefly recalled his experiences in Alola—and felt like the only accurate description was "tragic beyond belief."

And when viewed from Lillie's perspective... it just got weirder.

Please don't keep those memories in your heart—I'm honestly getting scared.

Off to the side, Iono was completely stunned by Lillie's sudden appearance.

W-What the hell?

How did this girl get here so fast?! Wasn't she supposed to be dealing with Lusamine and all those other complicated people?

They got dealt with that easily? Where was that energy when they were busy fighting each other before?

And didn't they agree the "final boss" was supposed to give her some time to level up? Why was she already camping the dungeon entrance?

Wasn't this final boss being a little too optimized?

Now things were really messy. She hadn't even made any serious progress yet, and Lillie was already throwing herself into the mix.

Only hope now was that Lillie's personality hadn't changed too drastically... If so, she might still have a chance.

Otherwise, how was she supposed to compete against the actual girlfriend?

Just then, the head of the office, Clavell, finally spoke up.

He glanced at Haru, curious.

"Professor Haru, so you already know this child?"

"Yeah... we go way back. I visited Alola about a year ago."

"Well, that certainly makes things easier. In fact, she's also our newest transfer student—kind of a last-minute addition."

"She'll be joining Nemona's class as well."

"Her paperwork came through just this morning. The League's efficiency was even faster than I expected."

"Young people these days sure are motivated."

Clavell, who actually knew exactly what was going on, chuckled as he sipped his tea.

The world of Pokémon wasn't just about battling—it was also about connections and human relationships.jpg

This girl named Lillie came from the most powerful conglomerate in all of Alola. It was only right for Naranja Academy to show her a bit of respect.

They hadn't quite understood why Lillie was in such a hurry to transfer to Paldea, but now... Clavell had some ideas.

Young people these days really were incredible—in more ways than one.

"But let's get back to the main point. There's something else I need to inform you all of."

He set down his cup and gestured toward Liko.

"This here is also a transfer student—her name is Liko. Over the coming days, I hope you'll all look out for her."

"Hello, I'm Liko..."

The short-haired girl seemed a bit nervous, clearly not used to the current atmosphere.

She was honestly starting to wonder if she was supposed to be here at all...

Yesterday, she had received a notice from the principal saying she needed to stop by his office today—he had something important to tell her.

But now that she was here, she kept feeling like that blonde girl calling herself "Lillie" was glaring at her with suspicion the entire time.

It was like she was being treated as some shady suspect.

Even though she hadn't done anything wrong.

Clavell didn't seem to notice the silent tension between Liko and Lillie. He just turned toward Haru and Nemona.

"These two will be your teachers for Pokémon battles—Professor Haru, and Student Council President Nemona."

"Hello, Liko."

This time, Nemona didn't seem overly hyped. She just nodded calmly at Liko, and added with a ceremonial air:

"Want to have a battle later?"

"Eh? A battle?"

Liko blinked in surprise.

She did have her own Pokémon now, but it was still in its base form and only knew a single move—"Leafage." There was no way she could beat the Student Council President with that, right?

Maybe if it was at its second evolution...

"Nemona, Liko's still a beginner. Don't bully her."

Clavell sighed. He was clearly used to Nemona's "noob-hunting" tendencies.

"Fine, Principal."

With Nemona's promise in hand, Clavell turned toward Iono.

"As for her—she's Paldea's Electric-type Gym Leader."

Seeing Clavell omit her real main job, Iono quickly added:

"And I'm also the host of the ElectraStream channel! Please follow Iono-Meow! Thank you, Nya~!"

"By the way, Miss Iono, was there something you needed from me?"

"Oh, no. I've just been tagging along with Haru. I started a new streaming series recently."

"I see."

"I see."

Lillie and Clavell said it in unison.

"One more thing—Professor Haru, when exactly is your scheduled battle with former Champion Blue?"

"Two or three months from now. Blue needs time to train up a new team."

"Perfect, then."

Clavell nodded slightly.

"We've received an invitation from Blueberry Academy—they want to hold an outdoor adventure event, about four or five days long."

"They'll send someone to lead their group, and as for Naranja Academy... we'd like you to take charge on our end."

"The destination is a place called Kitakami Village."

"Oh, and Liko, Lillie, and Nemona were also randomly selected to participate in this event."

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