Chapter 299:
Alola Region.
Unlike other regions which are single landmasses, the Alola region is composed of four main islands.
They are Melemele Island, Akala Island, Ula'ula Island, and Poni Island.
Each island has different terrain and geography, but each has its own Guardian Deity.
And currently, on Melemele Island.
Beach, summer, palm trees, a Litten walking on the sand, and an Alolan Exeggutor standing quietly in place.
It stretched its long neck, its gaze vacant, lost in who knows what thoughts.
The faces on its tail, however, were much more active and expressive.
The relatively tropical ambiance made Hayashi Kaede take off his outer jacket and store it in a capsule.
This was the beach in front of the Pokémon School on Melemele Island.
And the information about Tsareena was surprisingly easy to obtain, much to Hayashi Kaede's surprise.
He had been sitting at a small stall selling juice on the beach for about half an hour.
In front of him, a group of children, varying in size, had set up a volleyball net on the sand and were playing volleyball.
This group of kids had a peculiar characteristic.
That is, the five of them... actually had five different hair colors.
Lillie with long beige hair, Lana with short dark blue hair, Mallow with her green braids... Kiawe with short black hair.
Clearly, these were the group who would later become Ash's classmates and attend school together.
To be honest, while watching Sun & Moon, Hayashi Kaede always found it strange.
They're all from the same region, so how could five people look so different?
Kiawe was dark-skinned all over, Mallow had a standard tan complexion, Lana and the chubby Sophocles had yellowish skin similar to the Eastova League.
And Lillie was so pale?
Even though the Alola region is perpetually hot.
Later, he realized that Kiawe's dark skin was because his family ran a ranch, and Kiawe was constantly out delivering Moomoo Milk.
Being in the sun every day and not liking to wear much clothes, it would be stranger if he *didn't* get dark.
Lillie, on the other hand, was a rich girl from a very wealthy family.
Plus, with her family's genetic predisposition, it wasn't surprising she could maintain such fair skin.
"You know them?"
Mewtwo, in human form, noticing Hayashi Kaede's gaze had been fixed on that area since arriving at the beach, couldn't help but ask.
"How should I put it? It's more like I know them, but they might not know me."
Hayashi Kaede took a sip of his juice.
Mewtwo: "..."
That explanation again.
The way he said it, it feels like Hayashi Kaede knows everyone there, but none of them know him.
How strange!
Finishing his juice, Hayashi Kaede stood up and stretched!
"Alright, Mallow's Bounsweet seems to have some connection with Tsareena. Let's go ask directly."
...
The other side of the beach.
The recently caught Bounsweet was a bit reserved at first.
But after a game of volleyball, it immediately became lively.
"Bounsweet~"
It nuzzled Mallow's cheek, swaying the leaves on its stem, releasing waves of fragrance from its body.
"So fragrant~" Looking at the Bounsweet on Mallow's shoulder, its eyes smiling into slits, Lillie clasped her hands under her chin.
"Bounsweet?"
Hearing this, Bounsweet immediately spun the leafy stem on its head and hopped towards Lillie.
"Eh... Ah..."
Lillie shivered, scared, and hid behind Lana, holding onto Lana's shoulders.
"Bounsweet, Lillie is afraid to touch Pokémon, but it's not that she doesn't like you."
Mallow crouched down, picked up Bounsweet, and placed it on her own shoulder as she spoke.
"Bounsweet?"
Bounsweet landed on the ground, looking confused.
She just complimented my scent, but then she's afraid to touch me? Why?
"Lillie is just like that." Lana glanced back at Lillie hiding behind her and said flatly.
Lillie: "..."
Her expression fell immediately.
But she still said, "Theoretically speaking, as long as I want to, I can still touch them."
"Don't worry, Lillie, you'll definitely be able to touch Pokémon in the future." Mallow comforted her.
"Alright, the volleyball net is put away."
Kiawe, the oldest, called out from over there.
"Coming, coming."
The girls hurried over.
Just as they were about to leave the beach, a young man who looked to be in his early twenties stood in front of them.
Behind him was a boy wearing a pink short-sleeved shirt.
"Alola..."
The group was startled but still greeted him, "Alola..."
"Hello, my name is Hayashi Kaede. I'm a Trainer from the Eastova region."
Hayashi Kaede introduced himself first.
The group looked at each other, and finally Kiawe stepped forward.
"Hello, I'm Kiawe. This is Lillie, this is Mallow..."
He introduced everyone to Hayashi Kaede while also sizing him up.
Clear tan lines, wheat-colored skin – this was a Trainer who had done farm work.
The pink-haired boy behind him had cold, purple eyes that seemed to look down on everyone.
That kind of gaze...
Kiawe's heart tightened. Although he hadn't seen it on a human's face before, he vaguely recalled hearing that one of Alola's Guardian Deities had such an expression.
This was definitely a very powerful Trainer!
Kiawe thought to himself.
"The Eastova region? Wow, that's really far!" exclaimed the chubby Sophocles after checking information about the Eastova region.
"There are no direct flights between the Eastova region and here! Taking a ship would take over ten days!"
Hearing this, the others also looked at Hayashi Kaede with surprise.
Seeing characters he had only seen in anime before now vividly appearing before him, Hayashi Kaede was in a good mood.
He even felt a bit sentimental.
It seemed these kids were noticeably younger than in the anime?
Probably because Ash hadn't arrived yet?
He smiled and said, "It wasn't as difficult as you might think. I rode my own Pokémon here."
As he spoke, he released Dragonite.
"Dragonite~"
Dragonite let out a cheerful cry as soon as it appeared.
Clearly, it loved Alola's tropical climate.
But in the eyes of the others, the appearance of the three-meter-tall Dragonite caused quite a stir.
"So big." Lana broke her usual calm expression, looking at Dragonite in shock.
"It's a Dragonite. I've read about it in books. It's a Dragon and Flying-type Pokémon. But it's so big, is it a Totem Pokémon?" Lillie's eyes lit up beside her.
She looked at the large Dragonite with its somewhat goofy expression and couldn't help but like it.
But she didn't dare to go touch it.
Mallow had a similar expression.
Especially when she saw Dragonite's large belly, Mallow couldn't help but look at Hayashi Kaede, "Its belly looks so soft. Can I touch it?"
*(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭: "Dragonite~"
"Dragonite says yes."
Hayashi Kaede didn't hesitate.
"Wow!" Mallow carefully placed her hand on Dragonite's belly. Seeing Dragonite's face still wore a silly smile, she couldn't resist using both hands to feel it.
"Can I too?" Lana followed closely, blinking at this big brother who had suddenly appeared.
"Of course."
And seeing the two people touching its belly, Dragonite reached out and, to their surprise, hugged them both.
Luckily, it let go immediately, but it still gave them quite a scare.
After being released, looking at Dragonite's still silly smile, they found it odd.
After exchanging a glance, both girls couldn't help but laugh.
"Alola. So, Hayashi Kaede, did you come to Alola for something specific, or are you on vacation?"
Kiawe asked again.
Although the little incident had lessened his wariness towards Hayashi Kaede,
looking at this Dragonite, he still couldn't help but feel shocked.
As a Trainer currently undertaking the Island Challenge, he knew well the strength of each Totem Pokémon.
Their power isn't just reflected in their size and status as the leader of a group.
Their strength is overwhelmingly powerful.
But the Totem Pokémon he had seen couldn't match this Dragonite's presence either.
And this was while Dragonite was being friendly and smiling.
He couldn't imagine how intimidating this Dragonite would be if it got angry!
And it was this Dragonite that carried him across such a vast sea to Alola!
This was a very powerful Trainer!
Kiawe thought to himself.
"It's like this. I came from the Eastova region partly to experience the ambiance of the Alola region, and on the other hand..."
Hayashi Kaede paused and looked at Mallow, "...is because I really like Bounsweet and was wondering if I could catch one~"
"I saw the Bounsweet on your shoulder, so I came over to say hello and ask about it~"
Hayashi Kaede found a suitable reason for himself.
Otherwise, explaining everything would be too troublesome.
At the same time, he focused his gaze on the Bounsweet on the girl's shoulder and took out a mixed Berry version Energy Cube he had made for Bounsweet before.
"Bounsweet? Bounsweet~!"
Bounsweet looked at the Energy Cube in Hayashi Kaede's hand, smacking its lips.
It felt a strong attraction to this Energy Cube.
"Bounsweet?"
Mallow, holding Bounsweet, was startled to see it staring intently at the Energy Cube in Hayashi Kaede's hand without blinking.
As an experienced breeder, she could tell that her Bounsweet really wanted to eat this Energy Cube.
But they had already eaten before starting the volleyball game.
This meant that this Trainer from the Eastova region had a very high level of skill in making Energy Cubes!
A level far surpassing her own.
"Bounsweet..., Bounsweet..."
Bounsweet could no longer resist the temptation of the Energy Cube; the leafy stem on its head began spinning rapidly.
Mallow could only lift it up and hold it out towards Hayashi Kaede.
She sighed, "Mr. Hayashi must be a very skilled breeder. I rarely see Bounsweet this excited."
Hayashi Kaede smiled without saying a word.
Taking Bounsweet from her, he fed it the Energy Cube while silently using his Viridian Power to sense this Bounsweet's past experiences.
Soon, Hayashi Kaede's eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth turned up further.
This Bounsweet came from the mountain behind the Pokémon School.
From its experiences, Hayashi Kaede learned that Tsareena wasn't gone forever after being captured as one might expect, but had left that Trainer and was currently in the mountains behind the Pokémon School, constantly searching for her child!
This Bounsweet had actually been recognized by that Tsareena before.
The Bounsweet in his hands finished the Energy Cube and looked at Hayashi Kaede longingly, licking its lips.
This reminded Hayashi Kaede of his own Bounsweet.
Before evolving, his Bounsweet wasn't this lively.
Although after evolving, Steenee smiled a lot more and would release its fragrance when happy, making the gluttonous Blaziken come running,
it still spaced out occasionally.
He couldn't help but take out a bottle of Energy Cubes. "Little one, no rush, there's more here."
"Bounsweet~, Bounsweet!"
Bounsweet smiled even more happily.
Seeing this, Mallow said, "I met Bounsweet with my mother in the mountains behind the school. If Mr. Hayashi wants to catch a Bounsweet..."
"We can take you there."
She thought that since Hayashi Kaede was a Trainer from the Eastova region visiting for the first time, he probably wasn't familiar with Alola yet.
Hayashi Kaede shook his head. "I wouldn't want to trouble you."
He jumped onto Dragonite's back and looked down at the group. "Alright, thank you all. I hope we meet again someday."
With that, he didn't hesitate and immediately signaled Mewtwo to fly into the sky.
This left the people below staring in bewilderment.
"He... flew away?"
Dragonite flying away wasn't strange.
But the boy in the pink clothes flying away too? That was just unbelievable!
"Such a mysterious person. Could he be a legendary Psychic-type Pokémon in disguise?" Lana said, making a cold joke.
But this time, the others surprisingly didn't refute her.
Even Lillie added, "I've read in books... some legendary Pokémon really can transform into humans..."
....
In the sky, Hayashi Kaede, having Dragonite fly up, didn't stop for a moment and headed directly for the mountains behind the Pokémon School.
To be honest, Alola's scenery was beautiful, and there were all sorts of other Pokémon here.
But what Hayashi Kaede wanted most right now was to find his Steenee's mother, Tsareena.
That was the main task!
Dragonite was very fast. After taking to the sky, in just a few breaths, a mountainous forest appeared before Hayashi Kaede's eyes.
A Trumbeak leading a group of Pikipek, originally carrying various Berries in its claws, immediately panicked and dove into the forest upon seeing Dragonite.
Hayashi Kaede ignored them.
But at that moment, accompanied by an orange-yellow blur, a Pokémon that made Hayashi Kaede sigh appeared before him.
A Pokémon with a red crest on its head and hands joined together like shields appeared in front of him.
This forced Hayashi Kaede to stop.
"Tapu..."
"Tapu Koko..."