After thanking Kagetora for his guidance, Peter returned to the Dimensional Research Lab together with Professor Burnet.
Along the way, he explained the reason for his visit.
"You mean… you want me to help recreate the unique aura of an Ultra Beast?"
Peter nodded. "Right. I want to use that aura to draw Type: Null out."
He then told her about everything Type: Null had gone through.
After hearing the full story, Burnet agreed almost immediately. She was more than willing to help.
However, recreating an Ultra Beast's aura would require a massive amount of energy, so she needed time to prepare.
Peter made arrangements with her to contact him once everything was ready, then took his leave.
In the meantime, he and Whitney could use the opportunity to complete Akala Island's grand trial.
…
The next morning, Peter and Whitney arrived at Konikoni City.
Located in the southwest of Akala Island and facing Heahea City across the sea, Konikoni was a bustling commercial town—and home to the current Island Kahuna, Olivia.
(P.S. Kiawe's grandfather was the previous Island Kahuna and has already passed away.)
"Haah…"
Peter and Whitney yawned at the exact same time.
Their eyes met.
Peter grinned.
Whitney's cheeks immediately turned pink.
Last night… she had tried on all ten-plus swimsuits she bought.
Peter had somehow managed to ruin a few of them during the process.
After extensive testing, they reached a conclusion—
He liked every single one.
And naturally… quality inspection had followed.
Once the inspections started…
they somehow continued until sunrise.
Still, hard work paid off.
The defective ones had been eliminated.
The remaining swimsuits were both beautiful and durable.
A complete success.
Soon after, they arrived outside a small accessories shop.
Peter pushed open the door.
"Hello? Anyone here?"
"Coming~ What can I help you two with?"
Behind the counter stood a dark-skinned woman covered in gemstone chains and jewelry, smiling warmly.
She wore a minimalist white camisole paired with ultra-short pink shorts, her slender figure on full display. The side openings of her top exposed her toned waist and elegant navel, giving off that unmistakable tropical island charm.
"Hello, Miss Olivia. We're here to challenge the grand trial. Mr. Hala should've informed you already."
That's right.
The woman before them was Akala Island's Island Kahuna—Olivia.
"So you're Peter and Whitney~"
Olivia looked the two of them up and down and sighed dramatically.
"Mmm… what a lovely couple. I'm honestly jealous."
She looked toward the distance sadly.
"I wonder when I'll finally run into love myself…"
Peter and Whitney exchanged looks.
Neither of them felt qualified to comment on the grievances of a single older woman.
"Alright, alright~ Since you're here, I should do my job as Island Kahuna."
Olivia pulled out a map of Akala Island.
"On this island, there are three Totem Pokémon designated by the guardian deity Tapu Lele. They live at Brooklet Hill, Lush Jungle, and Wela Volcano Park."
She pointed at each location.
"My trial for the two of you is this: each person may use only one Pokémon at a time. Your task is to earn the Totem Pokémon's acknowledgment."
She smiled.
"So? Do you dare accept?"
Peter frowned slightly.
Totem Pokémon were at minimum Gym-tier—and could summon allies.
Those conditions felt unusually harsh.
Then again…
this was a combined trial for two challengers.
A little extra difficulty made sense.
"Alright… even though it sounds tough…"
Just as Peter was about to accept—
Olivia suddenly pulled out a rolled-up document and laughed awkwardly.
"Ah—sorry, sorry! I forgot to explain the trial details first. I was wondering why both of you looked so troubled! Hahaha…"
Peter & Whitney: "…"
She really was every bit as airheaded as in the anime.
…
And so, their Akala Island challenge officially began.
After reviewing the information, Peter quickly made a plan.
Their first destination—
Brooklet Hill.
Home of the Water-type Totem Pokémon, Wishiwashi.
For the challenge, Peter chose Braviary.
Whitney chose…
Stufful.
That's right.
Stufful.
The little thing insisted on participating, and Whitney couldn't bring herself to refuse.
Which meant Peter's difficulty had just increased.
Challenge Mode: Carrying Extra Weight.
Roto floated beside them and began explaining:
"Wishiwashi—the Small Fry Pokémon! When threatened, its eyes become watery, making it look like it's crying.
A single Wishiwashi is incredibly weak, but it can send SOS signals to gather huge numbers of allies and transform into School Form!
In that state, people say it possesses power worthy of being called a monster of the sea, Rotom~!"
Peter added,
"Wishiwashi might be the weakest Pokémon individually, but through collective strength, they gained power so overwhelming that even Gyarados fears them."
Whitney blinked.
"Wow… there's really a Pokémon like that? That's amazing!"
Then she tilted her head.
"But Honey… shouldn't we be heading north?"
Peter froze.
"…Wait. Babe… since when did you learn to read maps?"
Whitney answered honestly:
"I didn't. I just turned on navigation. It keeps telling me we've gone off course."
She held up her phone with a completely innocent face.
"…"
Peter fell silent.
For a second there…
he thought his hopelessly directionless Babe had finally awakened.
…
A while later, they arrived at the coast outside Konikoni City.
A small fishing family lived nearby.
According to Olivia's information, before challenging Brooklet Hill's Wishiwashi, challengers first had to fish it out.
That was why Peter came here.
To find the future fishing specialist of the anime cast—
the future captain of Brooklet Hill's Waterium Z Trial—
Lana.
She had known Mallow since childhood and was still young enough not to be attending school yet.
Peter compared the location and smiled.
"This should be the place."
Whitney looked into the distance.
"So this is Lana's house that Mallow mentioned?"
Peter pointed ahead.
"Yeah. That should be her over there."
Floating quietly on the ocean was a Lapras.
On its back sat a tiny blue-haired girl in a sailor-style outfit with a mushroom-cut hairstyle.
In her hand—
a fishing rod.
Well…
calling it a fishing rod was generous.
It was literally just a wooden stick with fishing line attached.
Whitney looked doubtful.
"Honey… is she really the fishing expert you talked about—"
SPLASH—!!
Before she could finish—
a Wailmer over two meters wide burst violently out of the sea—
dragged up by that tiny little body and her hilariously simple fishing rod.
Whitney: ∑(❍ฺд❍ฺlll)
Peter smiled proudly.
"See? She's strong."
Then—
SNAP!
The line broke.
Wailmer splashed back into the sea and escaped.
Whitney covered her mouth.
"Aah… what a shame…"
"Hm?"
The girl turned around and blinked.
"You two are…?"
Peter stepped forward with a smile.
"Hi, Lana. So here's the situation…"
After explaining their purpose—
Lana immediately stuck out her tongue and smiled.
"If you're Mallow's friends, then you're my friends too~"
Then she looked sadly at her broken rod.
"But as you can see… my fishing rod seems like it wants to take a long vacation."
Peter smiled and pulled something from his bag.
"No problem. I prepared better equipment for you."
He took out a specially customized heavy-duty fishing rod.
Lana's eyes instantly lit up.
"Waaah!! This is Devon Corporation's Professional Grand Angler Rod!!"
Peter handed it over.
"You can have it."
"Okay!! Then I'll fish with enough power to catch Kyogre!"
Lana clenched her tiny arm seriously and flexed her nearly invisible bicep.
Whitney stared.
"Whaaaat—?! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ You… catch Kyogre?!"
Lana stuck out her tongue again.
"Hehe… just kidding~"
Peter looked at her quietly and smiled.
Lana's joke…
was part of his lost childhood too.
And now—
in this life—he finally had the chance to stand here as a teenager himself…and finish the dreams that youth never got to complete.
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T/N:
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