"Haa~ This feels so weird, stop it already~"
Half an hour later... the battle was still going, though the two had already switched through countless different positions.
After their last clash, Lana looked like someone who'd just licked a popsicle—completely drained of strength, with no ability to resist.
Another hour and a half passed...
Time had started to lose meaning for Lana. She could only twitch mechanically, murmuring odd lines like, "Hehe~ I'm the weakling, I'm the real weakling, nya," and "Go for it, Master Haru! Wreck this little weakling beyond recognition!"
Yeah... something in Lana was probably a little broken now.
As the master of Mew, Haru's techniques far surpassed even his partner's in certain... disciplines.
With sheer stamina and relentless willpower, he overwhelmed, humiliated, and thoroughly strengthened Lana—until she wholeheartedly "admitted her faults."
If Lusamine hadn't passed out early on, she might've actually started to fear just how terrifyingly ruthless Haru could be.
Even Mew, who had just ended its livestream not long ago, was left stunned.
W-What!? That's... that's possible? Could this be the legendary "brute force over finesse" technique?
It looked rough and unrefined, but the results—well, they were clearly leagues beyond anything Mew had pulled off.
Terrifying. As expected of its master. Haru had once again done something normal people couldn't even begin to attempt.
No wonder all of Mew's clever little schemes kept failing—it still had so much more to learn.
Yes, it was time to sit down and have a very serious talk with its master later.
---
Meanwhile...
Iono's Alolan adventure was still underway.
She had only just arrived when she got her first major lead: Lillie.
In fact, Iono had already noticed the blonde girl hanging around Haru in earlier news clips—and they seemed way too close for comfort.
At the time, she'd run wild with speculation about their relationship, spinning up all kinds of absurd theories.
Like maybe Lillie was actually Haru's biological daughter, and he—being the good-for-nothing he was—had ditched her mother after a fling.
Then, without knowing it, he'd left behind a child who never should've been born... a child who grew up alone, unloved...
Now Haru returned to Alola, completely forgetting that past, and—plot twist—ended up attracted to his own daughter, making her his next target.
Iono found this perfectly reasonable.
After all, she hadn't seen Haru in ages, and yet he still looked exactly the same. His unchanging appearance meant guessing his age based on looks alone was impossible—just like certain mysterious "forever seventeen" ladies.
...Of course, she didn't actually think Haru would do something that insane.
From what Iono remembered, he gave off pretty heavy herbivore energy. No way would he just casually make a move on someone.
Still... what exactly was this girl named Lillie looking at on her phone so intently?
Despite Iono getting closer, Lillie remained completely absorbed in her screen, snapping Iono out of her train of thought.
Curious, Iono crept around from the side, planning to give the girl a little scare—just a harmless prank to satisfy her mischievous side.
But just as she reached out to tap Lillie's shoulder... she paused.
Something was off.
Lillie's face was completely flushed—red all over, as if she were the Chosen One of some deeply cursed fate.
And that wasn't all. On her face, Iono could read a tangled mess of emotions: anger, shame, frustration, despair... you name it.
It was honestly hard to believe a single person could wear so many expressions at once.
Yet despite it all, Lillie's gaze stayed locked on the screen in her hands. She refused to look away.
...What on earth was she watching?
No way, right? There's no way one of her wild theories turned out to be true... and Lillie just happened to stumble onto the truth right now?
Impossible. Absolutely not.
Still, just to be sure, Iono leaned in slowly and peeked over Lillie's shoulder to get a glimpse of her screen.
And then...
She dropped to the rocks like a Lurantis hit point-blank with Solar Beam.
Her butt hit the stone hard, but that pain was nothing—nothing compared to what she had just seen.
"Wha-wha-WHAAA?! It's that kind of video!? That jerk Haru actually... actually did that!?"
Shocked beyond belief, Iono let out a squeal. Her face turned as red as Lillie's.
The outburst finally snapped Lillie out of her trance. Turning her crimson face toward Iono, she gathered her courage and demanded:
"W-Who are you? Why are you looking at my..."
"An acquaintance of Haru's," Iono said bluntly, "but I never thought he'd become this much of a scumbag."
Her gaze toward Lillie now carried a trace of pity.
Lusamine and Lillie looked so alike—she immediately guessed their connection.
So this girl must be...
But Lillie quickly shook her head and denied it outright.
"Mr. Haru isn't a scumbag! He was forced! He must've been brainwashed or something by that woman after she captured him!"
"If he had a choice, he'd never touch someone like that!"
Lillie... was determined. Cosmog's energy was growing stronger by the second.
It wouldn't be long now. Soon it would awaken—evolve into Solgaleo or Lunala. And when it did, she'd ask it to help her bring Mr. Haru back.
Yes. No matter what, Mr. Haru would come back to her.
But even as she said those words, a memory flickered in her mind—Haru's voice during the battle, shouting the name Lusamine.
The kind, thoughtful girl clenched her fists.
And perhaps—perhaps moved by her unshakable resolve—Cosmog, who had been dormant since the Dratini incident, suddenly released a brilliant beam of light.
It was evolving!
***************************
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