Chapter 373: The Pharmacist Girl

The scene shifted.

The school changed from night to day.

A female student hurried forward with her backpack; the previously empty corridor now teemed with students standing around, their head bubbles flashing text nonstop.

【You heard people discussing the classroom explosion discovered this morning, felt guilty, lowered your head, and quickened your pace to reach your classroom.】

Was that transition too fast?

Baimu had been curious how the female student would handle Mimikyu, but she gave no conclusion at all—just jumped straight to daytime? Really?

Released? Captured?

He personally hoped it was the latter.

Under his gaze, the female student entered her classroom and swiftly approached two girls her own age.

You saw the two classmates you'd bet with rush over—but to your surprise, they recoiled several steps as if seeing a ghost at your excited expression. Watching their reaction, you suddenly understood.

The female student clearly realized two of the ghosts from last night were fakes, but she didn't seem to care; she moved closer and pulled from her backpack a strange plush toy hugging a tattered Pikachu doll.

【You told them the truth about the school's ghost legends: they were actually Mimikyu lingering secretly, and you exposed the two of them impersonating ghosts last night. To your shock, they denied it outright and, embarrassed and angry, claimed Mimikyu was just your flimsy excuse.】

Seeing their stubbornness, the female student's head bubble erupted in chaotic lines—clearly rendered speechless by them.

Then.

She returned to her seat, bored, and began interacting with the Mimikyu that had crawled into her backpack, just as her Mimikyu flew in through the window.

One girl and two Pokémon wriggled in cartoon pixel form, their head bubbles shifting through various expressions.

【Last night, through conversation, you discovered Mimikyu feared sunlight and strangers, yet longed to coexist peacefully—so you and Mimikyu became friends.】

The classroom wasn't large, but the students outnumbered those in Satoshi's class slightly—

No one greeted the female student.

"Good with Pokémon, terrible with people…"

Baimu watched the female student's conspicuously "lonely" scene, curious how someone so fearless and outgoing could have zero friends at a Pokémon school.

Those two girls?

Perhaps before seeing her behavior just now, there'd been a sliver of doubt that last night had been a joke meant to tease her—but now, it was undeniable: their relationship was outright antagonistic.

Could she be a transfer student, like Satoshi?

As Baimu pondered, the female student was suddenly called out by a pixelated figure resembling a teacher, taken to an office, and questioned—predictably, about the explosion in another classroom.

Obviously, if the school wanted to investigate, finding the female student was easy—even without security personnel.

But.

The school's instructors at the Pokémon school were clearly more lenient, and one of the interrogators was a "joker"—Kai·Oak, who added Pokémon names to the ends of his sentences and mimicked their poses.

Like a Ditto.

【You apologized to Principal Oak and the teacher, who forgave you warmly and asked if you could adapt to school life. They noted you'd only recently arrived in Alola—just a week ago, you'd still been living with your mother in Kalos.】

So she really moved here…

Baimu thought Alola must be incredibly livable, otherwise why would so many people flock there? Maybe when Orre develops, he could retire to Alola when he's older?

By then, all major events would've been resolved by Satoshi anyway—no need to worry about Ultra Beasts or anything.

Meanwhile.

The simulated female student returned to her classroom.

But unlike the earlier scene of empty space around her seat, no sooner had she sat down than a crowd of classmates swarmed her, chattering nonstop about last night's events.

Some asked what exactly happened yesterday, others asked how she blew up the school, whether it was her Pokémon's doing—

Though the narration couldn't identify who asked that last question, Baimu felt if the school got blown up again, he'd know exactly who to blame.

【You heard your classmates' curious questions and answered them all kindly—whether about your bet on whether ghosts existed in the school, or how you'd crafted grenades using berries and Pokémon scales.】

Huh?

Another pharmacist?

Baimu looked at the female student in surprise; he remembered the female protagonist in the Special Episodes, Mangetsu, was also a pharmacist—but judging by what he'd seen so far… this girl was more aggressive.

After all, Mangetsu made medicine to heal Pokémon; this girl made medicine to blow up Pokémon. Maybe "chemical engineer" would suit her better.

Unfortunately, observing the pixel-style backgrounds revealed her era was earlier—Mao, Sui-Lian, Lillie, and others were likely still too young to attend school.

Possibly even not born yet.

Seeing the formerly solitary female student suddenly become popular, the two girls who'd played ghosts earlier had thought bubbles filled with clear displeasure.

They switched to sarcasm mode.

【You heard them say, "If you're so skilled, why not challenge the Island Challenge?" Hearing this term for the first time, you became curious and asked others about it.】

【After learning what the Island Challenge entailed, you immediately declared your intent to undertake it. The classmates around you hesitated. Those two girls laughed exaggeratedly, insisting the Island Challenge was extremely serious and grueling in Alola—far beyond the capability of some newbie girl.】

These two… have serious Team Skull potential.

Baimu stared at the narration, expression odd.

Standardized villains like this are rare these days—perhaps only possible in an anime setting?

He couldn't help but feel sorry for the female student.

Come to think of it, she does have the makings of a reckless girl—she'd jump into challenging something after hearing a few words, without even understanding it.

If not for her Blue Talent, he'd genuinely worry about her future.

【You ignored their words; your mind held only curiosity and longing for the Island Challenge. Arriving on unfamiliar land, you were eager to do something.】

Hmm.

Her approach is admirable.

Acting out of spite and acting out of interest are two extremes—as long as she's not a dumb girl, it's fine.

Baimu nodded in satisfaction, and the simulation froze momentarily on the two girls' head bubbles, filled with mocking expressions, while the female student ignored them entirely.

The screen rapidly darkened, then slowly brightened again.

The female student who had just been in her classroom now stood in the principal's office.

【You learned more about the Island Challenge from Principal Daomu, including the challenge process—greet the Island King and accept their trial. On your current island, Melemele Island, the Island King's name is Hala, currently residing in Lili Town.】

It wasn't Kuku Yin the doctor? Could it be that in this era, Kuku Yin is still in school?

As Baimu speculated, the female student had already dashed out of school with Mokkoko and Mimikyu, racing toward Lili Town—her frantic pace drew stares from passersby.

Unfortunately, her stamina clearly wasn't enough to cover such a long distance.

She stopped after only a short run, gasping for breath.

【You deeply lamented your frail physique, but luckily, you caught a ride.】

The so-called ride was actually a Tauros cart loaded with fruit.

The driver was heading back to Lili Town; seeing the girl seemed to be going the same way, he offered her a lift.

But.

This journey didn't seem to go smoothly.

As the Tauros cart climbed a slope, its speed inevitably slowed, and suddenly, a series of eerie red lights flared up from the surrounding forest.

The next instant.

Dozens of Alolan Rattata and Alolan Raticate burst from the forest, these pitch-black Rodent Pokémon immediately overturned the cart's cargo bed, then began snatching the scattered fruit.

The driver's head bubbled with anxious expressions.

Seeing this, the female student naturally didn't ignore it—she sent out Mokkoko and Mimikyu to attack the Alolan Rattata, while pulling out a handful of small balls from somewhere and hurling them.

【To be honest, I've been reading novels and catching up on updates with Yeguoyuedu lately—easy source switching, multiple voice options, available on Android and iOS.】

Is the Bomb King about to start?

Baimu widened his eyes, but when the small balls exploded, no fire erupted—instead, a wave of golden powder surged out, and every Alolan Rattata and Alolan Raticate that breathed it in collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

【You saw how effective the Paralysis Bomb was, and nodded in satisfaction.】

Paralysis Bomb…

So she's a Weapon Master whose focus differs from Xiangxun Sister and Man Yue?

In the scene, Mokkoko flapped its wings to disperse the powder, preventing it from affecting their side, while the driver stood frozen in shock—he'd clearly never seen anything like this in his many years.

The ambushers lay sprawled everywhere.

A small, brown-skinned figure with slightly grayish hair sprinted into view from off-screen, and upon seeing the Alolan Rattata and Alolan Raticate, giant exclamation marks floated above their heads.

Then the brown-skinned figure began speaking with the driver and the female student.

【From the newcomer's self-introduction, you learned he was none other than the Island King Hala. After greeting him, you eagerly expressed your desire to join the Island Challenge. But he looked at the unconscious wild Pokémon and asked how you managed it.】

【You explained you used Paralysis Bombs—devices made from Powdered Butterfree dust and berries—that wouldn't seriously harm these thieving Alolan Rattata and Raticate, but would give them a lesson.】

【You received Island King Hala's approval and were given your first trial—deal with the Alolan Rattata and Raticate ravaging farmland and Tauros carts.】

The Island Challenge consists of Trials, Major Trials, and Grand Trials.

The most basic Trials require not only battling Pokémon, but also completing various special challenges, including but not limited to item retrieval and problem-solving.

Baimu saw that Hala had given the female student the trial of dealing with the ravaging Alolan Rattata and Raticate, and thought she'd likely go looking for Meowth and Persian—these two Pokémon were the "natural enemies" of Alolan Rattata and Raticate, and experts at driving them away.

But.

He overthought it.

She was an outsider with no local friends—how could she possibly know about Meowth and Persian, like Ash did?

Besides, reckless girls always use the simplest method—storm in directly!

She directly chose to track the recovered Alolan Rattata and Raticate, following them until she found their nest.

And naturally, she encountered the Alolan Rattata Boss.

The fat, plump creature lay atop a barren rock hill, lazily munching on berries offered by its underlings.

【You looked at the unusually large Alolan Rattata and realized it was surely the gang's leader. You stepped forward, demanding a one-on-one duel, and declared that if you won, it must control its underlings and stop them from attacking farmland and Tauros carts.】

Baimu: "... You've got guts."

Watching the female student boldly step out, completely unfazed as dozens of Alolan Rattata and Raticate surrounded her, he already imagined what would come next.

Sure enough.

As Dark-type Pokémon, the Alolan Rattata clearly wouldn't accept her proposal.

So when they lunged at her, she swiftly pulled out a large number of bombs from her pocket and hurled them outward—

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Explosive effects flashed repeatedly across the screen; when the smoke cleared and Mokkoko fanned it away, most of the Alolan Rattata Boss's underlings lay unconscious.

You should be the Bomb Genius!

Baimu had never seen a Trainer who chose to charge in personally—even if using "technology"—but defeating so many Alolan Rattata alone was still astonishing.

The Alolan Rattata Boss had no choice but to accept her challenge.

Fortunately, having learned the details of the Island Challenge from Principal Daomu, she understood battles against Boss Pokémon were different—so she didn't fight it herself, but properly chose Mokkoko and Mimikyu.

But even in a Pokémon battle, the female student's abilities were extraordinary.

Mokkoko had clearly inherited its Trainer's talent for bombs, masterfully wielding Seed Bombs and Energy Balls, making the Alolan Rattata Boss—even with its Boss Aura activated—look utterly disheveled, repeatedly interrupted mid-cast of Hyper Beam.

And.

Mokkoko's flight speed was swift and stealthy; once it darted into the nearby forest, the Alolan Rattata Boss couldn't tell where it had gone, and could only take the explosions blindly.

In the end, Mimikyu didn't even get a chance to enter the battle—the Alolan Rattata Boss surrendered.

The victorious female student's forehead displayed a smiling face; using materials on the spot, she quickly crafted a Paralysis Cure Bomb, restoring all the Alolan Rattata and Raticate to normal and healing the Alolan Rattata Boss's wounds.

The latter seemed slightly grateful, jumped in place, then gave the female student a black, prism-shaped crystal.

The prism-shaped crystal enlarged and appeared before Baimu.

"Evil z…"

【You have received a gift from the Totem Wu La La Wu La La Da — Z-Pure Crystal】

This was undoubtedly the first Z-Pure Crystal the female student had obtained, and the smiley face on her forehead grew wider.

Afterwards, she dragged the Totem Wu La La Wu La La Da before the Island King Hala, stating that the former had given a promise to stop harassing the farmlands and farmers, but hoping to obtain some tree fruits to fill her stomach.

The Alola region advocated coexistence between humans and Pokémon, so naturally it would not refuse such a small request.

It's just that…

Hala: "……"

All Baimu saw the ellipsis on this Island King's forehead and understood that he most likely wanted to teach the female student to learn to use means other than combat to solve problems, to better understand the natural ecology of the Alola region, and the relationship between Pokémon and humans—

Just as he later taught Ash.

Unfortunately, the female student's way of handling things was simply too swift and fiery, and she even had the means, actually understanding the principle of capturing the king first to capture the bandits, directly taking down the Totem Wu La La Wu La La Da.

Hala fell into a moment of indecision, and tried asking the female student a question.

【You heard Island King Hala ask you what you would have done to complete this trial if you hadn't been able to defeat the Totem Wu La La Wu La La Da, and told him you would have found a way to seek out the methods used since ancient times in the Alola region to manage Wu La La Wu La La Da. But battling wild Pokémon and forming friendships with them is your personal style, so you adopted your habitual approach】

The Hala in the picture heard these words, and the indecision on his forehead quickly turned into a smiley face.

It seemed he was relatively satisfied with this answer.

【You heard Island King Hala acknowledge that you passed the trial, were extremely excited and thrilled, and couldn't wait to participate in the Grand Trial, and Hala agreed】

The Grand Trial.

That is, a battle with the Island King.

It just so happened that Hala's rules were two-on-two singles battles, and the Pokémon he used were all Fighting-type, so the female student's side had a type advantage.

The battle indeed proved this to be the case.

Rowlet fully exerted its mobility as a Flying-type Pokémon, continuously bombarding Hala's Hariyama with Seed Bomb, looking just like a bombing chicken.

And the moment Hariyama showed signs of fatigue, Rowlet dove toward it.

Unexpectedly, this seemed to be Hala's trap. This Island King completed the charge of his Fighting Z at the fastest speed, having Hariyama deliver an 【All-Out Pummeling】 at Rowlet.

Even the picture presented by the simulator was incredibly exaggerated; nearly half the screen was covered by the numerous golden fist shadows, and it wasn't hard to see that the power of this Z-Move was truly quite terrifying.

But after the smoke cleared, the one standing on the field was not Rowlet but Mimikyu.

【You told Hala that your Rowlet used Baton Pass at the last critical moment to successfully switch out and bring in Mimikyu, and the latter was both surprised and somewhat impressed】

Even a Z-Move could not overcome type matchups.

Not long after, Hariyama fell beneath Mimikyu's playful attacks, and Hala's second Pokémon, Crabrawler, also failed to withstand the rotating attacks of the two Pokémon.

The female student ultimately successfully passed the trial and Grand Trial of Melemele Island, earning the recognition of Island King Hala.

And obtained the Z-Ring and Flyinium Z from the latter.

Originally, the Island King had wanted to give her Fightinium Z, but considering the female student wasn't well-suited to that type, he changed it to Flyinium Z, letting her be able to use it perfectly.

【You obtained the Z-Ring and Flyinium Z, successfully passed the trial of Melemele Island, and it is time to set off for the next island】