Chapter 52: What a Despicable Outsider

Watching Mamon's retreating figure, Lillie's eyes grew somewhat hazy.

Mr. Mamon...

The girl unconsciously placed her right hand on her chest, feeling her own increasingly rapid "thump-thump" sound.

She could feel it; she truly could feel the beating of her own heart.

This was a throbbing sensation unlike anything before; Lillie didn't know how to describe it, distinct from the warmth of family or friendship.

But she knew that if Mr. Mamon were by her side, she would inexplicably feel a sense of security and shyness.

But... Mr. Mamon couldn't stay with her forever.

Wait! It seemed she had forgotten to ask Mr. Mamon for his contact information!

Suddenly remembering this, Lillie's eyes gradually widened; she hurriedly pressed her bag and ran toward the direction Mamon had left.

Idiot, idiot, idiot!!!

Lillie even wanted to smash her own head; why did she forget such an important thing!

Last time she forgot to ask for his name; this time she forgot to ask for his contact information. Damn it! Lillie, you really are a big idiot!

After running a distance, Lillie couldn't help but stop and pant slightly, but as far as her vision reached, she couldn't see the boy's figure at the end of the road.

Lillie lowered her head in some disappointment; she had missed him again...

"Lillie~!"

A crisp and cheerful girl's shout came over.

Lillie turned her head, and what came into view was Mitsuki, wearing a straw hat and a printed camisole top.

"Mitsuki." Lillie revealed a gentle smile.

If she were to say what made her happiest during this "outing," it was meeting her good friend Mitsuki and... Mr. Mamon.

The straw-hat girl walked lightly to Lillie's front, her smile blooming like a flower.

"Mitsuki, did you pass the trial?"

"Hehe~ A mere Island Kahuna, Oranguru, is a piece of cake; my Incineroar handled it easily, invincible!"

The girl proudly lifted her delicate chin, acting cool with extreme skill.

"Mitsuki is so great; then next is the Island Kahuna trial of Kahuna Olivia; does Mitsuki have confidence?"

"Of course I do; wait a moment, Lillie, I'll send a message to that scumbag."

Mitsuki giggled, took out her phone, and with full expectation sent a message to someone informing them that she had passed another Captain's trial.

This was also her habit; although being separated across two places was unhappy, whenever she had an achievement to share with her beloved, it was also a very pleasant thing.

Lillie glanced curiously and discovered that Mitsuki's contact name for her partner was a heart icon; emmm...

Come to think of it, it seemed she had heard Mitsuki say that her boyfriend was a very strong Trainer and possessed the ability to communicate with Pokémon and naturally be close to them.

Mitsuki was originally from Kanto, so her boyfriend must be from Kanto as well, right?

Lillie suddenly realized that these things... didn't they all match Mr. Mamon?

Lillie felt somewhat panicked; this must be a coincidence, right? The Kanto region is so big; in the end, only two aspects were somewhat similar.

Lillie comforted herself in her heart; she instinctively didn't want it to be so.

"Alright! Let's go, Lillie; I'll take you to eat ice cream."

Mitsuki finished typing and sent the message with lightning speed, then grabbed Lillie's arm, preparing to go eat some snacks first.

"Mm-hmm." Lillie looked at Mitsuki's beautiful, Bai Xi profile and hesitated for a moment.

"Mitsuki."

"What's wrong?"

"What color hair does your boyfriend have?"

"Why ask this suddenly?" Mitsuki tilted her head in confusion, but she didn't take it to heart.

"Hehe~ It's black, just like mine." Mitsuki played with her braid and replied with a grin.

"..."

Lillie's heart trembled; Mr. Mamon also had black hair...

"Eh? What's wrong, Lillie? Your complexion doesn't seem very good; are you feeling unwell?"

"N-no... it's nothing; maybe I didn't rest well last night."

Lillie lowered her head and replied softly; it shouldn't be, right? How could it be such a coincidence?

These similarities should all be coincidences.

The girl dared not face her sister who was looking at her with concern; the hand gripping her bag unconsciously grew tighter and tighter.

Even, she didn't have the courage to ask Mitsuki her boyfriend's name, when all she needed to do was ask.

But... she didn't dare.

Originally, Lillie wanted to share with Mitsuki about the boy she had met for the third time today, but now her emotions were simply too complex.

I'm sorry, Mitsuki...

On the other side, Mamon arrived at the Ruins of Life.

"Congratulations, Caitlin; you did it."

Looking at Tapu Lele floating beside Caitlin with a face full of existential doubt, Mamon sighed in admiration.

To be honest, when he learned that Caitlin had discovered Tapu Lele's whereabouts and wanted to challenge Tapu Lele, Mamon held reserved opinions.

Although Caitlin had made tremendous progress during this period, Mamon felt that Caitlin still couldn't defeat and capture Tapu Lele at this time.

But the fact was that Caitlin actually defeated Tapu Lele; Mamon didn't even know how she did it.

By general rationality, this success rate probably wouldn't even reach ten percent, right?

After all, Tapu Lele was a genuine Champion-level Pokémon, even if it was wild.

"Thank you. Actually, the tactics were learned from Mamon, and Tapu Lele didn't take it seriously at the start."

Caitlin held a moving, aesthetic faint smile, gazing at Tapu Lele with a gentle look.

"..."

Tapu Lele's eyelids twitched wildly; in its heart, it felt immense regret, wanting to cry but unable to. It regretted it!

Yes, although Caitlin's powerful Psychic power had bolstered it, in a real fight, the Metagross at that time was no match for Tapu Lele.

What truly shocked Tapu Lele was that Caitlin could actually bestow Psychic power upon her own Pokémon.

With a mindset of curiosity and fun, and not wanting to discourage this human too much, Tapu Lele simply didn't apply any pressure at the beginning; it was just playing around.

But the problem lay right here...

Caitlin had Metagross set up a Light Screen, then crazily used Calm Mind and Scratch to strengthen itself. This was the train of thought she learned from Mamon: if hard power can't win, then strengthen yourself!

Calm Mind boosts Special Attack and Special Defense; Scratch boosts Attack.

What a despicable outsider!!!

By the time Tapu Lele realized something was wrong and cursed this despicable human, its Shadow Ball hitting the Metagross—which had set up a Light Screen and used Calm Mind twice—was no longer very painful.

And then there was no then.

Metagross, stacked with a pile of buffs, chased after Tapu Lele, which could only scratch, and beat it up.

Tapu Lele was simply numb.

(End of this chapter)