Chapter 39: Zhu Lan, Champion, You Have Finally Arrived

Zhu Lan, clad in her signature black coat, walked aimlessly down the streets of Hau'oli City.

Her exquisite, flawless, and fair face gazed far into the distance; the warm sea breeze blew gently, like the hand of the most tender lover, softly brushing across her bangs.

Alola is so beautiful; an endless expanse of azure sea, a clear and clean sky, and the sound of joyful laughter reaching her ears.

This city seems to be just like that: no pressure, no fatigue, no gloom; relaxation and happiness are its main theme.

If she came here to relax in normal times, Zhu Lan felt she would also immerse herself in the atmosphere of this city.

But...

This time is different.

"Caitlin..."

Zhu Lan pressed her lips tightly; even though she had now become the Champion of the Elite Four in the Sinnoh region, the trainer at the very peak of Sinnoh.

Yet she still felt panic and worry now; she was worried about her sister, truly worried.

Caitlin's change was so intense; clearly, they had been sisters with such a good relationship before.

Originally, after that phone call, Zhu Lan was only somewhat worried, but the message sent from Alola made Zhu Lan completely unable to sit still.

Caitlin actually became a member of an evil organization? How could this be possible...

How did it turn out like this?

Beep beep beep...

Suddenly, Zhu Lan's phone rang continuously; Zhu Lan glanced at it, her dark eyebrows furrowing slightly; it was from Professor Kukui.

And it was a request for help?

Zhu Lan was very confused, but in an instant, could it be that they had run into Team Rocket?

Zhu Lan put away her phone, hurried out of the city district, released Garchomp, and rushed toward the location Kukui had sent.

"Hydro Pump!"

"Dodge quickly!"

At Ten Carat Hill, the battle continued.

Amidst Kukui's panicked shouts, the originally agile Lycanroc, due to frequent dodging, finally made a mistake and was heavily hit by Tapu Fini's Hydro Pump.

With a loud 'Boom', Kukui's Midday Lycanroc was directly blasted away by the powerful Hydro Pump, smashing into the ground and unable to get up for a moment.

"Is that all you have, Professor Kukui?"

Mammon grinned, with dots of green light continuously floating from his hands into Tapu Fini's body.

The Power of Nature was healing Tapu Fini's injuries and relieving the mental fatigue from the long battle.

Tapu Fini, originally somewhat tired, was once again full of spirit and energy.

Tapu Fini was extremely confident; it could fight ten more!!

"..."

Kukui had a Solemn Demeanor, his brows tightly furrowed as he gazed at the powerful Tapu Fini opposite him; the injuries they had barely inflicted during the battle were healed again.

And on his side, both Magneton and Braviary had been defeated, Incineroar was injured, and Lycanroc had just been severely wounded.

Tapu Fini...

"Why aren't you speaking? Didn't you say you wanted to defeat me to rescue Tapu Fini?" Mammon continued to taunt them with a smile.

"Damn it! You use your ability to constantly support Tapu Fini; that's too despicable!" Lillie couldn't help but shout angrily.

"Despicable?" Hearing this, Mammon simply couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Hahaha~ It's hilarious, Queen Lillie; I never expected such words to come from your mouth."

Mammon was in fits of laughter, and after laughing, he mocked them without any courtesy.

"This isn't a fair battle within an arena, and besides, I have only used Tapu Fini from start to finish."

"In the end, you can't even get past Tapu Fini; your weakness is truly pitiful."

Mammon sneered; he even doubted whether Lillie's brain was truly filled with water.

This isn't a formal battle; how could they forbid him from using the Power of Nature?

He had already been lenient enough, always using only Tapu Fini to fight Kukui.

"Besides, speaking of despicable, Queen Lillie, doesn't using a Pokémon to ambush count as despicable? I can't compare to you."

Mammon added another sarcastic blow in a tone of feigned politeness.

Just now, it seemed that Lillie felt defeating Tapu Fini through battle wouldn't be easy, so she quietly released a Lilligant, attempting to take down Mammon, the trainer.

However, unfortunately, Lilligant was immediately sent into a deep 'sleep' by a Shadow Ball from the Gray Fatty, who had been residing in Mammon's shadow all along.

When traveling, one's own safety must Needs Emphasis protection; this is also why Mammon always kept his shiny Gengar in his shadow.

If the opponent plays dirty, such as Lillie trying to kidnap the trainer directly, the shiny Gengar could counter immediately.

Lillie's face was extremely dark, and her chest began to heave rapidly with anger again.

Kukui's face was heavy; he truly never expected that one day he would fall to such a state.

Unable to defeat even one of the opponent's main forces, and that too in a 2 vs 1 situation.

"Mammon, I think we can talk properly."

Kukui's expression fluctuated, and then he spoke hesitantly.

He couldn't win; he really couldn't win.

"Kukui..." Lillie's face changed drastically.

But Kukui only waved his hand at her, signaling her not to speak.

Kukui glanced at the other two sides; unexpectedly, although occupying an absolute type advantage, Hala's battle was obviously extremely difficult.

Kukui could see that Caitlin was in a state of complete ease, and she was also paying attention to Mammon's side.

On the contrary, Hala's battle with Lance was extremely intense, and from the looks of it she seemed to have even gained a slight upper hand.

This high-ranking officer called Lance wasn't actually all that strong.

But it didn't matter much — among the three-person group opposite them, the most important and crucial one was still this leader called Mammon.

"Oh?"

Mammon watched Kukui with great interest, waiting for him to continue.

He was curious what Kukui wanted to discuss with him.

But just then, a domineering roar came from the horizon, and a deep-blue Pokémon streaked in at full speed, landing heavily on the ground and kicking up quite a bit of sand and dust.

The gazes of everyone present were drawn over.

Footsteps slowly approached, and a tall, elegantly poised blonde woman walked out unhurriedly, a fierce and domineering Garchomp following close behind her.

"Champion Caitlin!"

Kukui and the others' expressions brightened — especially Kukui. Champion Caitlin, you've finally arrived!

"Caitlin…"

And Caitlin's delicate face carried a touch of complexity, her eyes enough to be described as a fan-shaped statistical chart, her heart a tangle of mixed feelings.

She could roughly guess why Caitlin had appeared in the Alola region.

"Getting interesting."

Mammon's grin, however, stretched even wider, as he looked this woman who had reached the pinnacle of Sinnoh up and down, along with the Garchomp behind her.

"Caitlin."

Caitlin's gaze quickly swept over everyone present, finally settling on Caitlin.

"Caitlin, don't you have anything you want to say to me?"

(End of this chapter)