Chapter 302:
After catching Steenee's mother and looking at the Bounsweet before him, Hayashi Kaede found them increasingly adorable.
Unfortunately, he simply didn't have the capacity to handle the emotional responsibility of so many Bounsweet at once, so he could only regretfully shake his head and bid them farewell.
Earlier, he was focused on finding Steenee's mother as quickly as possible, hence the rush. Now that he had found her, Hayashi Kaede's somewhat tense heart relaxed completely.
He checked the time.
Dragonite had set off in the morning.
They arrived around 2 PM.
It was now almost 5 PM.
If they rushed back now, they probably wouldn't get home until after midnight.
Rather than pushing so hard, it would be better to inform Gardevoir that he was safe and return tomorrow.
And then there was...
Hayashi Kaede looked at the Tapu Koko behind him, hiding in a patch of shade, thinking he couldn't see it.
It really was just following him, not doing anything.
Since he was already in Alola and had met the Guardian Deity here, why not try to see if he could raise its happiness value?
No matter how much the happiness value increased, at the very least, he should get its "first time," right?
Who knows when the next time he'd come would be.
Hayashi Kaede tentatively called out, "Tapu Koko?"
"Tapu Koko?"
Tapu Koko emerged from the shade, looking at Hayashi Kaede in surprise.
How did he find it?
Hayashi Kaede saw Tapu Koko's confusion and explained with a smile, "I have a power called Aura, which lets me sense my surroundings. So, I knew when you were watching me earlier."
"Tapu Koko!" (So that's it!)
Tapu Koko had a sudden realization.
Then, its mood inexplicably lifted. It flew over to Mewtwo, looking it up and down while making eye contact.
It could sense that this human was strong!
But it couldn't figure out where this human's strength lay; he was clearly just a human.
This puzzled it greatly.
Rather than dwell on what it couldn't understand, it decided to act directly.
"You want to battle me?" Mewtwo discerned its intention.
"Tapu Koko!"
Tapu Koko's eyes grew serious.
"They're going to have a battle?"
Hayashi Kaede raised an eyebrow slightly nearby.
Different Pokémon had different ways of making themselves happy.
Like that Grubbin that burrowed out of the ground earlier.
It probably enjoyed suddenly popping up to scare people.
That made it very happy.
It just didn't expect to pick the wrong target to scare this time.
Luckily, no one paid it any mind.
And the Guardian Deity of Melemele Island—Tapu Koko— aside from being extremely curious, was also a deity very interested in battles.
In the Sun & Moon anime, Ash attracted its attention early on, prompting it to challenge him to a battle.
But after seeing how weak Ash and Pikachu were at the time, it gave them an Electrium Z and a Z-Ring.
Finally, in the first Alola League conference, it got its wish and battled Ash's Pikachu.
This alone shows Tapu Koko's attitude towards battles.
Though it ultimately contributed to another legendary moment for Pikachu.
But...
A battle between an Alolan Island Guardian and Mewtwo!
Hayashi Kaede had never seen such a scene before.
He was also a bit excited.
Mewtwo was assessing Tapu Koko, seemingly judging whether Tapu Koko was worthy of battling it.
Finally, it nodded.
It could tell this Pokémon was strong!
And it seemed to have some connection to this region.
"Tapu Koko!" Tapu Koko was full of fighting spirit, instinctively about to activate its energy and set up the Electric Terrain.
But Hayashi Kaede shouted, "Wait, hold on! Don't fight here, this is a forest!"
Are you kidding? This is the land you protect. If you and Mewtwo have an all-out battle here, the entire forest would be gone.
Tomorrow, Mewtwo and he would be all over Alola's headlines.
"The Guardian Deity of Melemele Island battled a Pokémon from an evil organization to protect the forest..."
They would definitely be cast as the villains.
"Tapu Koko..."
Tapu Koko saw the logic.
It flew into the sky, glancing at Mewtwo.
Mewtwo's form shifted, reverting to its original appearance, and followed into the sky.
Tapu Koko's eyes lit up.
As expected! Although it couldn't discern Mewtwo's identity, it had sensed Mewtwo wasn't an ordinary human.
Indeed!
This was also an incredibly powerful Pokémon!
Hayashi Kaede called out Dragonite, mounted it, and followed.
Given the flight speed of the two powerhouses, dragonite flying speed simply couldn't keep up.
As the guardian of Melemele Island for who knows how many years, Tapu Koko was intimately familiar with the island's topography.
Soon, it found an open plain area and faced Mewtwo from a distance.
Hayashi Kaede, arriving late, had Dragonite release its own aura, combined with the presence of the two Pokémon in the sky.
The Pokémon below scattered and vanished in no time.
But even so, Hayashi Kaede felt the need to add another reminder, "Try to fight in the sky, okay!"
Before his words fully faded, the entire sky, ground, and even the surrounding air seemed to instantly change color to yellow, crackling with electric sparks.
Hayashi Kaede knew this was Tapu Koko activating its ability.
It had set up its Electric Terrain.
[Electric Surge: Turns the ground into Electric Terrain when the Pokémon enters a battle, boosting the power of Electric-type moves.]
"Phew..."
Hayashi Kaede sat on Dragonite's back and started enjoying the show.
To be honest, a Pokémon battle at this level was beyond his ability to intervene.
Although Mewtwo might listen to his commands,
if his commands conflicted with Mewtwo's own instincts in the heat of battle, it could easily cause hesitation for Mewtwo.
In a battle like this, a moment's hesitation could be critical, right?
So, it was better to just sit back and watch.
He even took out a bag of dried Berry slices.
"Dragonite~!"
Dragonite below, smelling the aroma, couldn't help but turn its head and open its mouth wide, waiting to be fed.
"Alright, alright, alright..."
Hayashi Kaede chuckled and poured the bag of Berry slices into its mouth, then took out another bag for himself to eat.
And at that very moment, the two Pokémon in the central sky began their first round of probing attacks.
...
Hau'oli City.
Dr. Kukui, having just finished his lessons, was planning to go home and cook.
But at that moment, a call came through.
Puzzled, he picked up the phone and saw it was from Dr. Burnet, followed by Lusamine, the president of the Aether Foundation.
"What's wrong?" Dr. Kukui asked, confused.
"There's a powerful energy fluctuation on Melemele Island. It seems Tapu Koko is battling another Pokémon."
"What?"