Chapter 555: Seeing Seeing Kapu-Mimikyu Peeping from the Shadows

Once the piercing siren faded into the distance, Kukui finally came to his senses.

At this moment, the look in his eyes as he gazed at Luo Mu could no longer be described merely as complex.

How should one put it? When he watched with his own eyes as a fellow disciple, who had at least once trained under the same master as himself, was slapped with silver handcuffs and escorted into a police car with a completely bewildered expression.

His first reaction was actually—

There's such a method!? Seeing Kukui, who looked as if the door to a new world had just swung open, Luo Mu smiled slightly; after Marshtomp resealed the cracked ground of the Pokémon School, he bid farewell to Kukui, Professor Samson Oak, and Lana, then turned and walked out of the Pokémon School.

His demeanor was indescribably carefree and dashing.

Surrounded by enthusiastic companions asking why Luo Mu had greeted her, Lana could only repeatedly explain that she had met Luo Mu while fishing.

Meanwhile, Kukui watched Luo Mu's departing figure, lost in thought.

Thinking it over carefully, Guzma's actions indeed satisfied the conditions for endangering student safety and provoking trouble.

Taken away by Miss Miss Junsha, he would likely spend some time in detention, where specialized "teachers" would provide him with "psychological counseling."

Guzma's such heretical and rebellious behavior was partly related to his experiences; coupled with Instructor Hala's longstanding reluctance to reprimand him severely, this lesson might just make him restrain himself slightly. The more he thought about it, the brighter Kukui's eyes became.

The problem that had given him such a headache for so long, Luo Mu had found him a completely new way to handle it!

Just as Kukui was thinking at high speed, he suddenly heard a rustling sound from the canopy of the large tree overhead, caused by leaves rubbing against an object.

"...?"

Kukui looked up in confusion, just in time to see a yellow figure dart out from the tree canopy.

The other party's speed was extremely fast; almost instantly, it turned into a lingering afterimage and vanished, disappearing precisely in the direction Luo Mu had left.

A faint scent of "electricity" lingered in the air; although the surrounding students noticed nothing, Kukui, relying on his exceptional eyesight, clearly saw the true form of that yellow figure at that moment.

One of the four Island Guardians of the Alola region, the land deity of Melemele Island residing there: Seeing Seeing Kapu-Mimikyu.

His own master, Hala, was the Island Kahuna of Melemele Island; in his youth, Kukui had been fortunate enough to witness Seeing Seeing Kapu-Mimikyu's form several times with his own eyes and had learned some information about it from Hala.

Seeing Seeing Kapu-Mimikyu was brimming with curiosity, fickle in temperament, easily provoked to anger, yet quick to forget the cause of its wrath.

Seeing Seeing Kapu-Mimikyu paid considerable attention to powerful Trainers, and there had been numerous instances where it stole finished Z-Rings from Hala's room to give to Trainers whose talent it favored.

Could it be that due to that final move of terrifying power, "Tectonic Rage: Heaven-Shaking Grand Finale," the battle just now between Guzma and Luo Mu had even attracted the attention of Seeing Seeing Kapu-Mimikyu?

Not knowing what Seeing Seeing Kapu-Mimikyu intended to do, Kukui struggled internally over whether he should inform Luo Mu.

Although it sounded somewhat strange coming from him, a native of Melemele Island.

But... once Seeing Seeing Kapu-Mimikyu took an interest in someone, it would secretly follow that person every day, peeping from behind, acting exactly like a stalker.

Between his friendship with Luo Mu and his respect for Seeing Seeing Kapu-Mimikyu, a fierce battle raged within Kukui's mind.

After leaving the Pokémon School, Luo Mu did not immediately return to Akala Island but instead wandered around Melemele Island.

Upon seeing students from the Pokémon School, he had initially thought of simply having lunch at Mallow's family restaurant, "Aina Kitchen."

But recalling carefully, he remembered that the Tauros taxi driver had mentioned "Aina Kitchen" was not far from the villa where he stayed on Akala Island, meaning Mallow should be from Akala Island.

Yet in the anime, she lived on Melemele Island.

Apart from the setting conflict between the game and the anime, Luo Mu suspected that perhaps next year Mallow would move to Melemele Island.

Come to think of it, Lana was the same; when he met her, she was also fishing by the seaside on Akala Island.

Truly strange.

Shaking his head, Luo Mu turned and walked directly into Heahea City, the largest city on Melemele Island.

As a region where tourism flourished, Heahea City was undoubtedly at the forefront of trends.

Luo Mu's destination was the shopping plaza in Heahea City; he planned to first select and purchase some items with Alolan characteristics to bring back to the farm as souvenirs for his Pokémon.

Incidentally, he could also buy some new little dresses for the Eevee sisters, and since Ogerpon was also craving "Malasadas," they could visit a famous restaurant to taste them.

The Alola region also had "Jin Pingtang" that Cosmog liked; he could buy some of those too to bring back for it.

He imagined it would surely smile very happily.

As Cosmog's innocent and naive smile floated in Luo Mu's mind, he felt his mood, which had been ruined by Guzma, improve once again.

Not bringing Cosmog along for this Alola vacation was a consideration shared by him and Lei Guan Wang.

Cosmog was essentially still an "Ultra Beast," and the Island Guardians, who were sensitive to such auras, would definitely detect it.

More importantly, Luo Mu did not want Cosmog dragged into the problems of the Alola region; he feared it might be targeted by Necrozma, which would cause quite some trouble.

Staying away from the whirlpool of conflict was also a way of life.

Of course, if Necrozma followed the scent and came looking, before it could do any harm to Cosmog, it would first have to pass the hurdle of the furious "father," Lei Guan Wang.

With all sorts of random thoughts running through his mind, Luo Mu released Luxray and the others from their Poké Balls and marched grandly toward the shopping plaza.

Eating Malasadas, buying Alola-region specialty "Electric Seeds" for Luxray and the house-sitting Meng Lei Gu, purchasing an apron decorated with Alolan totems that looked uglily cute for Cangyan Cangyan Rengui, along with many other things... nearly filling the spare space backpack he had brought, Luo Mu finally stopped his frenzied spending with reluctance.

It had to be said that Alola being a popular tourist destination was not without reason.

Not only were the residents warm and hospitable, but the staff in the shopping plaza all had excellent attitudes and handled tasks with great efficiency.

When trying dresses on the older and younger Eevee sisters, upon hearing that Luo Mu planned to taste Malasadas, the shop clerk without hesitation contacted the most popular shop, skipped the queue, and had piping hot Malasadas delivered directly.

Just look at that service attitude.

Even Luo Mu would want to come back for a second round.

After wandering around Heahea City for nearly an entire afternoon, Luo Mu, with reluctance, rode Dragonite and flew in the direction of Akala Island.

Midway, Dragonite suddenly let out a cry, as if sensing something.

"Booo~"

Its ability to manipulate air currents was improving day by day; it could even obtain limited information through the wind, so Dragonite realized that after leaving Akala Island, a strange creature had been following them from behind.

However, the other party seemed very clear about how far to maintain distance while stalking, so Dragonite was still unable to detect its exact location.

Roughly understanding Dragonite's meaning, Luo Mu pondered briefly and chose to let things be.

"Which Pokémon is following us?"

【Ding! The Pokémon following the host is the Island Guardian of Melemele Island, Seeing Seeing Kapu-Mimikyu】 Luo Mu: "????"

"No, what is Tapu Koko doing following us? It can't possibly be seeking revenge for Guzma."

Completely bewildered, Luo Mu halted Dragonite and, while the sun had not yet fully set, looked back.

But apart from a cloud dyed orange by the setting sun, he saw nothing.

In such an open place, where could Tapu Koko possibly be hiding?

Luo Mu even began to suspect that the hint system, having been inactive for so long, had malfunctioned.

As if perceiving Luo Mu's doubt, and seemingly to prove itself, the hint system bubbled up again, accurately pointing out Tapu Koko's location.

It was a cloud soaked in the glow of the setting sun; if one did not look closely, an ordinary person would not even notice it.

Yet, once examined carefully, one could discover that within that cloud lurked a faint silhouette whose specific details were discernible.

But the other party reacted quickly; as if sensing that Luo Mu had discovered them, their form shimmered slightly, and they vanished directly from sight.

"."

Seeing this, Luo Mu had no intention of pursuing Tapu Koko.

Not only did he not wish to engage in another battle today, but more importantly, if Tapu Koko wished to meet him, it would naturally reveal itself.

If it did not wish to meet, there was no meaning in him going to find it.

It was better to return early and see how that fragile young master, Gladion, was faring.

He had even specifically bought some special-effect fever-reducing medicine in Hau'oli City.

Luo Mu patted Dragonite's back, signaling it to continue flying.

A short while after they departed, a figure appeared in the area where they had just paused, hovered silently for a moment, then chose to continue following them toward Akala Island.

At the same time.

Lillie, having just finished a day of classes and been picked up by the butler James, excitedly shared her observations of the day with him inside the car.

"I see, so the other party is quite a formidable Trainer."

Driving the car without letting his gaze wander, James responded to Lillie while waiting at a traffic light.

Then, he asked cautiously, "Then, Young Lady, do you feel you could make contact with those three Pokémon?"

Judging by Lillie's tone, she seemed to think Luxray, Dragonite, and Swampert were very cool.

If the other party did not reject the idea, he must immediately contact the Lady to inform her of this happy news.

Presumably, the Lady would immediately prepare the basic forms of the corresponding three Pokémon to give as gifts to the Young Lady.

Unfortunately, realizing what James was asking, Lillie forced a smile, loneliness rising in her eyes.

"Probably... it might still be a bit difficult."

The atmosphere inside the car suddenly fell silent.

After apologizing for his rashness, James drove in silence toward a large estate.

This was the Lillie family's residence; however, since Master Mohn went missing, Lady Lusamine became engrossed in her work all day, Young Master Gladion began acting alone, and only he, Young Lady Lillie, and some servants lived here regularly.

Just as they entered the estate and stopped the car, a hurried maid ran over and whispered something into James's ear, causing his expression to change instantly.

The maid said that Young Master Gladion had not returned home for several days! Although he usually acted alone and no longer allowed them to attend to him, he basically returned once every two days.

Either to replenish food for his Pokémon and training props, or to sleep alone in his room for half a day.

A few days ago, he had noticed that Young Master Gladion had not shown up, so he had specifically instructed the maids to watch for any signs of his return.

As a result, it was nearly dark today, and he still had not returned!

James hesitated no longer; after dropping Lillie off at home, he hesitated for a moment under her worried inquiries, then chose to conceal the matter.

Subsequently, amidst the roar of a car engine, he drove away from the estate.

He intended to immediately inform the Lady of this news!

On the south side of Melemele Island, within the bright chairman's office of "Aether Paradise," the artificial island serving as the "Aether Foundation Headquarters."

Lusamine, with cascading golden hair and a figure that remained slender despite having a son and a daughter, pressed her well-maintained cheek against her desk, staring blankly at a family portrait.

It was just that such brilliant smiles as seen in the photo had not appeared in this nearly disintegrating family, over which she felt powerless, since her husband Mohn went missing.

Her son Gladion's rebellion, the burden of searching for her husband, and the operation of the Aether Foundation left Lusamine so overwhelmed by work that she could barely breathe.

She also had to balance her research on Ultra Beasts; only her daughter Lillie, obedient as a doll, gave her slight relief.

Only now could she do nothing but lie on her desk for a while, recalling happy memories of the past.

"Mohn, where exactly are you..."

Lusamine murmured softly, calling out her husband's name.

Although the official story was that Mohn had gone missing, Lusamine, who had witnessed his disappearance with her own eyes, knew clearly that was merely an excuse.

Several years ago, Mohn had already been swallowed by an Ultra Wormhole, his life or death unknown.

The reason she frantically researched Ultra Wormholes and Ultra Beasts was the hope that one day she could actively open an Ultra Wormhole, enter it, and retrieve Mohn.

She did not believe Mohn had left this family so easily.

It was also because of her neglect due to being busy with work that Gladion had become as if covered in thorns.

After brooding alone for a while, Lusamine pulled herself together and continued working at her desk.

This continued until Butler James's arrival diverted her attention.

Looking at James, who was panting and whose brows and eyes seemed filled with anxiety, Lusamine instinctively sensed something was wrong and frowned, asking, "James? Why have you come at this time? Where is Lillie?"

Breathing slightly heavily and cursing his aged, elderly body, James disregarded etiquette and told Lusamine that Gladion had not returned home for several days.

Deep down, Lusamine essentially loved her children greatly, even more than her pursuit of Ultra Beasts; her expression changed drastically, she stood up immediately, and her voice unconsciously rose in volume.

"You say Gladion is missing!?"

(End of Chapter)