Chapter 5: Mochizuki, We Will Meet Again

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Hau'oli City is a city brimming with joy and peace; the atmosphere here is very relaxed and pleasant, truly a vacation destination.

On the beach, Mamon, wearing sunglasses, lay on a beach chair, leisurely and at ease. A straw was stuck in a coconut; after taking a sip, Mamon looked at the people playing and frolicking on the beach.

Indeed, there are many beauties in the Pokémon world; Mamon confirmed this point once again.

"Hey! What a wonderful day, young man! Want to have a refreshing Pokémon battle with me right here on the beach!"

Suddenly, a young man wearing a swim cap, goggles, and swim trunks appeared before Mamon, flashing a mouthful of big white teeth and speaking to Mamon.

This is the Swim Trunks Guy, yes, one of the classic background NPCs in the original game.

"?"

Mamon tilted their head, a question mark appearing above their head, and simply watched the Swim Trunks Guy silently without speaking.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

The Swim Trunks Guy, originally smiling brightly, felt a bit awkward; why was this young man just staring at him without saying a word?

"You're blocking my view. Could you please move?"

Mamon's smile was deadly, but combined with the purple gas eerily rising behind them, it was extremely terrifying.

"My deepest apologies for disturbing you. I'll leave immediately."

The Swim Trunks Guy bowed deeply in a standard manner and hurriedly left. What a terrifying young man!

"Alright, Gengar, stop it." Mamon lay back down, and the gas special effect behind them vanished.

"Hehe~"

From the shadow on the ground, two crimson eyes lit up. A chubby arm poked out of the shadow, snatching a piece of cake from the table in a flash of lightning; the red eyes narrowed into crescent moons.

Mamon put down the coconut, reached out, and grasped nothing.

"Where's my strawberry cake? Gengar!!"

Mamon paused for a moment, then immediately looked down at the ground.

"Heh?"

Gengar poked half its body out of the shadow, holding out its small chubby hands, full of innocence.

"You little thief..."

Mamon twitched at the corner of their eye, looking at the cake crumbs on Gengar's mouth.

"Hurry up and go buy a few more." Mamon angrily threw their wallet at Gengar.

"Hehe!" Gengar's red eyes instantly lit up; its chubby gray-black body floated up and sped like crazy toward the direction of the shop.

Hehe, little cake, my little cake, hehe~

Watching their Gengar fly away, Mamon couldn't help but laugh in anger. That glutton, runs faster than anyone else whenever there's something good to eat.

On the other side.

"Wow!! What a beautiful ocean!"

The young girl wearing a floral straw hat had sparkling eyes, filled with wonder.

"Right? The ocean of Alola is clear, azure, and gentle. Mochizuki, if you're traveling in Alola, I think experiencing the island's signature Mantine Surf is a must."

Another blonde young girl in a white dress, clutching her bag, suggested this to Mochizuki with a soft tone and a smiling face.

"Emmm..."

The young girl named Mochizuki fell into indecision, looking at the people surfing on the backs of Mantines far out at sea. So cool!!

"Okay! I'll go sign up right n—"

"Hey! What a wonderful day today! Young lady, want to have a refreshing Pokémon battle with me right here on the beach!"

Suddenly, a Swim Trunks Guy popped out, flashing a mouthful of big white teeth and giving a thumbs-up to the two girls.

"Yes!! I love Pokémon battles the most!" Mochizuki's face instantly lit up with delight.

"Then let's settle this by betting our pocket money!"

"Eh?"

The Swim Trunks Guy paused; why would a battle require betting pocket money??

"Wait, young lady, I don't have any money on me!"

"Then bet your swim trunks! Trainers shouldn't care about such external things during a battle! Come on! Go, Dratini!"

"??!!"

The Swim Trunks Guy felt his luck was just bad today; he only wanted to have a battle.

Just getting scared by that gloomy young man was bad enough, but not long after, he ran into a young girl who looked harmless, yet this time she was a bandit!!

Watching Mochizuki and the Swim Trunks Guy suddenly start battling, Lillie wore a gentle, faint smile.

She had known Mochizuki for only a few days. According to Mochizuki, she had moved from Kanto to Alola to train and become a powerful trainer; this was her promise with her boyfriend.

Although Lillie had never met Mochizuki's boyfriend, this Dratini of Mochizuki's was the starter Pokémon given to her by her boyfriend.

From this, it could be seen that Mochizuki's boyfriend valued her greatly.

Even though Lillie wasn't a trainer, she knew that Dratini was one of the very precious and rare Pokémon.

The wind blew, stirring the young girl's blonde hair; Lillie quickly reached out to hold down her white sun hat.

But her bag suddenly opened, and a small creature resembling a nebula poked out from inside.

"Wait! Cosmog, don't run around!"

Lillie shouted anxiously at the Pokémon named Cosmog, but Cosmog seemed not to hear, floating quickly toward the distance.

Lillie, helpless, could only chase after Cosmog.

Cosmog had very strong curiosity; every time it came out, it would run around, sometimes causing Lillie no small trouble.

For example, on the day they first met Mochizuki, if Mochizuki hadn't helped, she might have gotten hurt.

Lillie hurriedly chased after Nebby, but with so many people on the beach, before long, she had lost track of it.

Lillie grew anxious, asking passersby while quickly scanning the surroundings.

"Do you like eating this?"

"Moo~ Moo~"

Hearing Nebby's cry, Lillie immediately looked toward the sound and indeed saw Nebby perched in a young man's arms not far away.

The young man was holding candy to tease Nebby, and Lillie breathed a sigh of relief.

"What a cute child."

Mamon melted the candy into Nebby's mouth, while his other hand gently stroked Nebby, who squinted happily, chewing the candy.

Lillie pressed her lips together, staring at the scene in a daze.

The handsome young man sat cross-legged, feeding Nebby on his lap; hazy light spilled down, a smile on the young man's lips, creating a beautiful and harmonious picture.

Sensing someone approach, Mamon looked up.

"Is this child your Pokémon?" The clear voice of the young man brought Lillie back to her senses.

"Ah, yes, I'm sorry; Nebby seems to have disturbed you."

Lillie apologized to the young man.

"It's fine; this child is very cute, but you should be more careful in the future and try not to let it get lost again."

Mamon picked up Nebby, stood up, and handed it to Lillie.

"Yes, thank you very much." Lillie took Nebby.

"Nebby seems to like you very much; it rarely gets this close to people."

Lillie looked curiously at Nebby, which seemed to want to float back into the young man's arms.

"Perhaps it's because of my ability; I tend to attract Pokémon's favor."

Hearing this, Lillie was puzzled; an ability that attracts Pokémon's favor? Does that even count as an ability?

"By the way, this strawberry cake tastes good; you should give some to this child too." Mamon smiled at Lillie and gestured toward the strawberry cake on the table.

"Eh? We can't accept this..."

Lillie hurriedly tried to refuse.

"Lillie! Lillie, where are you?"

Suddenly, Miyuki's call came from afar; Lillie instinctively stopped, turned, and looked back.

"It seems your friend has come to find you. Goodbye."

Mamon glanced at Miyuki not far away, who hadn't noticed them yet; his smile deepened considerably, and he turned to leave.

Miyuki, we shall meet again, but not now; your journey is not yet over. I will wait for you.

I am very patient.

(End of this chapter)