Catch Feelings, Not Just Pokemon

Haru didn't bring Liko back to his home. After "dismissing" Nemona and Iono, he simply found an empty office.

Due to a recent mass resignation of teachers at Naranja Academy over a series of incidents, many offices had been left vacant—convenient for Haru.

His reason for sending Nemona and Iono away wasn't that he didn't trust them. It was simply because this matter involved Liko's secret.

Haru felt it wasn't his place to share something so sensitive with others without permission.

Still, he hadn't expected Liko to immediately call over Lillie—her classmate and fellow "Legendary Girl."

Was it because Lillie gave off a trustworthy vibe?

Once the three of them were seated in the empty office, Haru took the initiative to speak to the girl sitting several steps away from him:

"Liko, I've actually had my eye on you for quite a while now."

"I knew about you even before you transferred here, and I'd planned to find a time to reach out."

"Didn't expect you to come find me on your own after I joined the faculty. Guess we're pretty fated, huh?"

He smiled kindly as he said this.

Ah… this kind of opening line… So he's been targeting me?

Talking about fate and how he's "been watching me"—isn't that a little too much?

"Is that so? But I think you should probably focus your attention on the people closer to you."

Liko kept her head slightly lowered, her expression unchanged, but internally, she was roasting every word Haru had said.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

For some reason, Haru suddenly thought of the "prisoner" locked in the basement of his house.

…Should he be paying more attention to her?

"Ahem."

Sitting beside Haru, Lillie couldn't take it anymore. She coughed lightly twice, cutting off their thoughts.

Unlike Liko, she didn't suspect anything romantic going on. She was simply wary—alert for anyone who might pose a threat.

The bitter lesson she'd learned from Alola had taught her that much: never let those sneaky cats get even the slightest opening!

"Let's keep this short."

"There's good news and bad news. The good news is: your pendant is actually a Pokémon named Terapagos—classified as a Legendary, a Tier-One Legendary Pokémon."

"...?"

Liko blinked, stunned.

She understood every word Haru said, but once strung together… none of it made sense.

Her pendant… is a Pokémon? A Tier-One Legendary?! Come on.

She'd sooner believe Lillie hadn't been dumped by Haru than buy that story.

"But don't get too excited. The bad news is, that Pokémon is still recovering its strength and can barely hold a battle-ready form."

"And there's worse news: a criminal group called the Explorers has already set their sights on your pendant."

"Meaning, if you don't plan on handing it over, you'll need to be ready to fight."

"From what I know, the Explorers are a large crime syndicate that can operate across entire regions. And several of their members are very powerful Trainers."

"One of their executives commands a Pokémon called Ceruledge."

"..."

Liko was speechless.

Fight back against that kind of criminal syndicate?

Her? Fight the Explorers?

She'd only just gotten her starter Pokémon. What was she going to do—throw hands with high-tier criminals using Sprigatito?

And she couldn't even rely on the Legendary inside her pendant. Haru had just said it wasn't battle-ready.

Even if it was awake, who's to say it would help her?

But the thought of giving up the pendant didn't sit right either… even if it wasn't a Legendary, it was a keepsake from her relatives. How could she just give it away?

And yet—how did Haru even know all this?

What if he was lying? What if this whole thing was just a scheme? What if he was some kind of weirdo secretly stalking her?

"How do you even know—"

Before Liko could finish, another voice interrupted her.

"I suggest you believe what Professor Haru says."

She looked up and realized it was Lillie—the so-called "abandoned" one.

"I don't know how he always gets this weird intel, but Professor Haru really does know a lot of secrets about the Legendaries."

"When it comes to this kind of thing, if you don't trust him… the consequences won't be good."

Saying this, Lillie casually tossed a uniquely shaped Poké Ball.

"Come out, Nebby."

A flash of light—and a Pokémon appeared before Liko, radiating a sense of overwhelming pressure.

It didn't look ferocious or frightening, but the way it floated silently in the air made Liko's whole body tense up. It felt like a divine presence—a true god—stood before her: the Lunar Deity.

"That's…?!"

"One of only two Pokémon I own—Lunala. It's a Legendary, officially a Tier-One Pokémon."

"Back when Nebby was still in its Cosmog form, Professor Haru recognized it immediately and predicted it would become either the Sun or Moon Legendary."

"And he was right. It became the Moon."

"So don't underestimate Professor Haru. He would never lie about something like this."

"He's far more mysterious—and powerful—than you think."

"I… is that so…"

Still, Liko felt like Lillie might be overreacting.

She'd only just barely started to question Haru, and Lillie had already jumped to his defense like a switch had been flipped. It was… odd.

But her instincts told her: now's not the time to argue.

"Then… what should I do?"

Everyone knew that criminal groups targeting Tier-One Legendaries were serious threats. It was basically a known fact among Trainers.

Even Officer Jenny couldn't deal with them all, especially when it involved Pokémon of divine status.

Haru smiled gently at her question:

"It's simple. Just become a Champion-level Trainer."

"I'm a target of Team Rocket myself, after all."

"That's why we have a 'Combatting Criminal Organizations' class, remember?"

"From now on, I'll be the one to train you."

"If you're strong enough, what do the Explorers matter?"

"I… I understand!"

So it turns out she was totally overthinking everything. Professor Haru really is a decent guy.