Haru was now furiously defiling the "Totem Sticker" on the real Lusamine, attempting to recolor her with Lana's shade.
Meanwhile, Lusamine looked like a Pokémon player who had spent the whole afternoon resetting without saving, finally encountered a shiny female Ralts—and then had their Switch crash. Her whole face was crimson.
Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!
Though Lana hadn't physically harmed her, hadn't forced her to kneel, hadn't even paid her much attention—
To Lusamine, that was the ultimate insult.
And now, the battle between the two was heating up to a boiling point…
What's worse, Haru was actually calling out her name during the fight!
"Lusamine! Take this attack, filled with my burning rage!"
"Abyssal Thrust!"
"Lusamine! Fall before the might of my strongest move!"
Haru's thrust came like lightning and thunder. It may have only been a standard 80-power physical move, but with Haru's strength behind it, it could rival the spear that slays gods.
Harder than Shuckle. Mightier than Zacian.
Even deities would weep blood before this move!
"Nnh~ ah—!"
And so… amid a low moan…
A god bled.
Red liquid trickled from the wound, spreading across Lusamine's body, staining her bit by bit.
"Lana… I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!!"
"No matter what it takes, you're going to pay for what happened today!"
At the exact moment the god bled, Lusamine's voice erupted from below—seething with fury and humiliation.
It was also at that moment that Haru began to feel something… off.
Wait, what had he been doing before this battle even started?
How did it suddenly become just him and Lusamine, alone? And then, naturally, somehow…
Also—why did the person beneath him suddenly feel more delicate… tighter?
In his memory, Lusamine was more of the "plush and wrapping" type, wasn't she?
As this realization hit, a baseless fear ignited in Haru's mind.
He suddenly didn't want to confirm what was happening.
Wouldn't it be better to live in a world of illusion?
Sadly, as Lana's psychic power faded, Haru was forced to face the truth.
And that truth was… he'd become the stuffing in a sandwich.
A sandwich that even came prepared with ketchup and melted cheese!
Thankfully, this was the Ultra Space.
Whatever happened here would never be noticed by the outside world.
Unfortunately, Haru didn't know...
In the shadows, a pink, cat-like Pokémon was holding a ridiculously expensive-looking camera, recording everything.
No—actually, to be precise, she wasn't recording.
She was livestreaming.
And her stream had only one viewer: Lillie.
Mew figured that if Lillie was ever going to adjust to certain… futures, she needed to help her master lay down some "foundations" in advance.
That way, her beloved master could unlock certain special achievements later on.
Especially considering that earlier, Haru had been attacking Lusamine while yelling her name the whole time…
Such quality material!
Sure, it might be a little stimulating for Lillie to see, but since Haru wasn't actually battling Lusamine, it probably wouldn't scar her permanently.
Who knows? She might even see her master as the victim here.
After that, her master could slowly warm the pot like a frog in water…
Once he realized what she'd done, he would definitely be grateful!
Yes, yes, that's right. She had followed the reference material this time exactly.
There was no way this could backfire!
Mew nodded confidently while flipping through a book with an unusually ornate cover.
---
Meanwhile, a girl with two mechanical Magnemite ornaments perched on her head had just set foot on the exotic region of Alola.
Perhaps due to a recent Ultra Beast invasion, the region was in a bit of a mess.
Fortunately, with the help of the guardian deities of the four islands and the efforts of countless Trainers, most of the Ultra Beasts had been driven back into Ultra Wormholes, preserving a hard-won peace.
Iono, arriving at this exact time, had luckily avoided the chaos altogether.
According to reliable intel from the news, the person she'd been searching for was hiding somewhere in this island region.
But… just blindly searching like this?
Even if Mewtwo Strikes Back, she still wouldn't find him.
Hmm… maybe she should just ask the locals? That guy was on the news, after all—he had to be somewhat famous, right?
Thinking this, the girl quickly spotted a man in a lab coat looking completely worn out.
"Yo, good morning/afternoon/evening, mister! Iono wants to ask you something!"
"Mmh, about that man who was on the news earlier—he looks kinda like…"
Iono gave a quick description of Haru.
"You mean Mr. Haru, the one who was with Lillie?"
"Yes, yes, that's him! Haru! Do you have any info on where he is?"
Iono tilted her head up, her large, watery eyes blinking twice at the man in the lab coat.
"I don't know where he is now, but Lillie's been with him recently. She might know something."
As he spoke, the man noticed a blonde girl sitting alone on a reef at the edge of the beach and pointed toward her.
"Ah… that's Lillie. If you've got questions, ask her directly. I've still got some work to do."
He said this while pressing his palm to his forehead, continuing on his way.
The Ultra Beast invasion had left Alola with too much to deal with.
Even now, there were endless tasks waiting for him.
As for Lillie's safety?
Please. Right now, Lusamine didn't even remotely resemble a threat to Lillie.
According to what Lillie had said earlier, it was thanks to Lusamine risking her life to save her that she was even standing here safely at all.
"Lillie?"
Iono stared at the figure in the distance, tilting her head with a puzzled look.
***************************
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