Catch Feelings, Not Just Pokemon

Cosmog turned its head and gave a small nod toward Lillie and Haru.

Then... a terrifying surge of energy burst from its twin wings!

This was a Pokémon born with a sacred body, fused with the power of the dark moon. Who could hope to defeat it? Who would dare even try?

"Māhina Pe'a!!"

When facing off against the Mightyena, Cosmog didn't even bother using its signature move Moongeist Beam. Instead, it casually tossed out a Shadow Ball.

Even so, the scale of the attack was like something out of a blockbuster—more spectacle than substance. It was as if someone had handed a showboating Pyroar an Ultra Wormhole attack just to watch the fireworks.

Cosmog understood Lillie very well. It knew that if it went too hard, she'd be upset. So it intentionally held back, reining in its true power.

In moments like this, a lot of thunder and a little rain was the best approach.

Unfortunately for Mightyena, it had just pulled its head out of the crater when it saw a giant, gleaming orb barreling toward it—illuminating its entire dog face like a spotlight.

"Move! Quick! Don't let it hit you!!"

This time, Carmine really couldn't hold it in.

She'd seen Shadow Ball plenty of times—it was a common Ghost-type move. But this? What Lillie just unleashed didn't feel like a Shadow Ball…

More like… "Fat Boy" or "Little Boy"!

If that thing connected, not even ten thousand lives could survive it.

She had to run. Eating that hit head-on was suicide.

Mightyena seemed to agree. Before Carmine even finished shouting, it exploded into motion, tapping into the deepest reserves of its speed in a desperate bid to outrun death itself.

The faster it ran, the more intoxicated it felt.

Ah, this wind roaring past—this was freedom! The path to the future stretched endlessly beneath its paws.

As long as it didn't stop running, not even a divine beast could catch it!

A dog's potential... was limitless!

So—could Mightyena truly dodge Lunala's attack and even stage a comeback?

Not a chance.

It hadn't even taken three steps before the glowing sphere slammed into it, knocking it flat. Only its hind legs twitched faintly, as if even in unconsciousness, it still dreamt of chasing its "freedom."

"Big–Bad–Dog!!!"

Carmine clutched her head and let out a heart-wrenching wail.

Meanwhile, Haru—whose right hand had temporarily been freed—touched his smooth chin and, for some reason, felt the urge to laugh.

This scene… felt oddly familiar.

Back when he first played this DLC, didn't he also go on a rampage using Gholdengo's Make It Rain and Zamazenta's Behemoth Bash?

Ah yes, divine beast guys and divine beast girls—utterly inhumane. Good thing he was one of them.

Seeing that Carmine still looked unwilling to accept the loss, Haru finally spoke up:

"How about we end it here for today? This was just a friendly match—no need to get too heated."

Then he turned to Lillie. "What do you think?"

"I'll follow your lead, Professor Haru," the girl replied sweetly, smiling as she recalled her Pokémon.

Now that she'd shown her strength, Carmine probably wouldn't be foolish enough to challenge her again.

Even if that girl didn't seem romantically interested in Haru-sensei, one could never be too careful.

Any girl who might covet Haru-sensei must be punished!

"Hmph! I won't lose next time! Kieran, we're leaving!"

"Huh? Ah—"

Having just suffered a crushing defeat, Carmine grabbed her younger brother and quickly stormed off toward their home village.

So what if she couldn't beat Lillie's divine beast?

She'd just challenge Haru-sensei directly next time!

It's not like all teachers were good at battling anyway.

Thinking back to Haru's ever-smiling expression, Carmine found herself growing even more irritated.

Now that she really thought about it, this Professor Haru gave off major "harem master" vibes. Even that divine beast girl seemed like just one little goldfish in his massive koi pond.

"By the way, what Pokémon was that Lillie just used?" Blanca asked curiously, looking from Haru to Lillie—who had once again wrapped herself around his arm.

Others who had remained nearby also turned to them, clearly wanting answers.

That Pokémon was undoubtedly a divine beast… but none of them had ever seen anything like it before.

They never expected that this seemingly ordinary transfer student from Naranja Academy's Alola branch was carrying around a god-tier Pokémon.

When did divine beasts become so common!?

Facing the expectant eyes around him, Haru gave a faint smile.

"Just… a special Pokémon from Alola."

And that was all he said.

He didn't elaborate further, and instead, proceeded with assigning rooms as planned.

But immediately, he ran into another problem…

After assigning a room to Lillie, she made a rather problematic request—she wanted to stay in the same room as him.

With all eyes suddenly on them, Haru lowered his voice and asked:

"Lillie, don't you think… sharing a room isn't really appropriate?"

"What's the problem? If I can't, then why can Clavell?"

"Because Clavell is a grown-up," he replied with a strained smile. "You're still a kid. Best to stay out of grown-up matters for now."

Clavell himself gave a chuckling nod. "Exactly."

"You people are shameless! How can you think of doing things like that during a summer camp!?"

Liko's face turned crimson as she tried to stop the trio—who seemed one step away from throwing a private party during the school trip.

Unfortunately, she didn't quite have the status or authority to stop them.

And so, no one really paid her any mind…

---

According to the in-game lore, Ogerpon resides in the Fearsome Cave atop the cliffs of Kitakami.

Though it had been ages since Haru last played Pokémon, if the real-world Kitakami geography mirrored the game even slightly, he was confident he could find that place.

But games were just games. In reality, the topography and scale of Kitakami differed significantly from the virtual version.

What's more, Ogerpon was extremely wary of humans due to past experiences. If Haru simply showed up unannounced, he'd likely never find the elusive Legendary.

In fact, Kieran had once said he'd visited the Fearsome Cave countless times since childhood, but had never once seen the so-called "ghost."

Clearly, Ogerpon didn't want to interact with people he didn't trust.

Still, it wasn't entirely hopeless.

During the annual Masked Festival, Ogerpon would don a mask and blend into the crowd, pretending to be human to join the celebrations.

In that sense... it oddly fit the idea of being "afraid of loneliness."

No companions? Then just dress up and enjoy the party alone.

This made the upcoming festival Haru's best chance at forming a bond with this Pokémon.

If he could succeed in this first step, the rest would be easy.

After all, deep down, Ogerpon just wanted someone to stay by its side.

And it just so happened that the Masked Festival would take place tomorrow night.

Having barely escaped the earlier battle between the three girls, Haru gazed at the nearby Loyal Three statues… and for some reason, felt something was off.

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