Catch Feelings, Not Just Pokemon

Something happened?

But what exactly? Did Pecharunt finally beat the jail boss?

Or maybe Team Rocket started making their move? Or—gods forbid—did the alpaca descend from the heavens in widow form?

After capturing the Rocket grunts, Haru didn't bother interrogating them himself. Instead, he handed them straight over to Officer Jenny (the one from Kitakami Village).

He also asked her to share any useful intel from the interrogations.

Not because he was lazy, of course—he was just busy going on a date with Lillie and building rapport with Ogerpon. No time to waste on some grunts.

Definitely not because all the captured Rockets were guys and he couldn't, ahem, raise any interest.

From the intel gathered via Officer Jenny and Sabrina, it seemed that a hidden group of Rocket members was still lurking in Kitakami—including Giovanni's secretary.

Now that was a big fish. She surely knew a lot of Team Rocket's secrets.

If possible, Haru would love to get his hands on her and squeeze out all the secrets she held.

And no, absolutely not because he was curious if Giovanni's secretary was "usable."

Anyway, while Kitakami looked peaceful on the surface, it was more like a minefield waiting to explode.

Some people were busy with the resurrection battle, others with scheming. Even Carmine from Blueberry Academy wasn't exactly idle—she kept lurking around that damn Crystal Pool like a hound.

"Haru, has something happened?"

Though Lillie wasn't as familiar with Kitakami as Haru, she could pick up a lot just from his and Ogerpon's reactions.

Something was definitely brewing again—and it probably involved the Legendaries.

But she wasn't too worried. Sure, the Necrozma incident last time had been utterly absurd—but this time, there was no way something ridiculous like a Legendary cheating on her was going to happen.

Besides, she was no longer the fragile girl she used to be!

Through countless betrayals and tragedies, her heart had become as hard as diamond. Nothing could hurt her now.

And when it came to power, her little Cosmog had evolved into a full-fledged Lunar Deity.

With her Lunala at her side, who in this world could stop her?

With strength and resolve combined, a new trait had bloomed in her: confidence.

She would protect her dear Mr. Haru!

"Yeah... it's hard to say what exactly, but someone's definitely stirring trouble."

Haru gave a small nod, acknowledging her intuition.

"Do you need my help, Mr. Haru?"

"If you require my strength, please use me as you wish."

"Necrozma's guarding Sabrina now. You're short on backup. If something like that last incident with Necrozma happens again, it'll be a real problem."

As she spoke, her eyes brimmed with such overflowing emotion that just by looking into them, Haru could feel her devotion.

"...Alright. Come with me for now and let's check it out."

Originally, Haru had planned to ask Lunala to escort Lillie to safety—just in case. Even if she wielded the power of a Legendary now, he still subconsciously viewed her as a girl who needed protection.

But seeing the determination in her eyes, he realized she was now capable of holding her own.

Having Lillie around might be more helpful than not—plus, it's not like he was sneaking off to see another woman.

Might as well bring her along.

Gaining a powerful ally for free, Haru crouched down slightly so he was eye-level with Ogerpon.

"Pongpong... is it alright if I call you that?"

"Do you know where the disturbance is coming from?"

"Ummaa~!"

Ogerpon bounced in place twice, gripping her thorned club, then pointed with a hidden hand under her little cloak toward the middle of Oni Mountain's slope.

Haru figured she wanted them to follow.

"Alright then. Let's go. The sooner we deal with this, the better."

With that, Haru summoned the hovering Mew, who had been cloaked in invisibility spying from the sidelines.

"Mew, teleport us."

—

Following Ogerpon's lead, the group soon arrived at the 'crime scene.'

Unluckily, it was the very altar of the Three Toxic Beasts that Haru had inspected earlier that morning.

Well, was—because now the altar was no more than rubble, like the jail boss's crushed body.

Not just the altar—everything nearby was in shambles, like a second-rate male lead who just got violently wrecked in a bad fanfic.

Under a large tree nearby, a Blueberry Academy student lay unconscious, sprawled out like someone who'd just lost a shadow duel.

Judging from the posture, he had tried to protect something—but failed. Whatever he was guarding had been taken from him.

Not just that—the Poké Balls he carried were also gone.

The victim: Kieran. More precisely, Kieran who had stolen the mask earlier... and then got ambushed.

From the looks of it, the Three Toxic Beasts had somehow won their resurrection battle and defeated the jail boss.

They broke free from the altar and rampaged through the area before fleeing.

But one thing didn't sit right: why did they steal Kieran's Poké Balls?

They weren't Trainers. His Pokémon wouldn't obey them.

Unless... it wasn't them. What if it was Team Rocket, who specialized in stealing Pokémon?

Of course, there was also the possibility that it was the beasts, acting out of sheer greed—thanks to their influence from Pecharunt.

After all, these three were among the few Pokémon who could truly be called "evil."

Most Dark-types might be mischievous, but they wouldn't kill. The Three Toxic Beasts, however? At least one confirmed kill on their record.

After confirming Kieran's identity, Haru pulled out his phone and called Carmine from Blueberry Academy, asking her to come clean up the mess.

He had no time to waste. The beasts had to be tracked down and contained ASAP—left unchecked, they'd cause even more havoc.

Then, he turned to Ogerpon. "Pongpong, can you still sense where they went?"

But this time, Ogerpon looked confused. She scratched her little head with her sleeve and spun around in place, puzzled.

"Umma?"

"You can't track them anymore? That's... inconvenient."

Then she scratched her head again—this time pointing in several directions.

Actually, scratch that—she pointed in every direction.

"Umma uma?!"

"What does that even mean?"

"Mew, translate for me."

"If helping gets me punished and not helping gets me rewarded, then... I'm in!"

Haru, utterly lost, had to summon his ultimate card: a Pokémon interpreter.

Despite being different species, Pokémon could often understand one another. That alone made interpreters extremely valuable—and those who could speak human language? Even more so.

Communication with Pokémon was considered a psychic ability in itself.

Fortunately, Mew—being a devoted fan of human pop culture—just happened to have that skill.

"Punishment? Say no more—I'm in, nya!"

"She says... it feels like that annoying guy's aura is everywhere in Kitakami."

"And because the air is so saturated with his energy, it's hard to trace the original scent of the three Pokémon buried here."

"Oh, and she also sensed her three masks—they're not together, but scattered in three separate places."

"That's all, nya."

With that, Mew flopped back onto Haru's shoulder.

She had originally planned to get a few more rounds in her game, but with the area potentially unsafe, she curled up in full alert mode.

Seeing Haru understand her, Ogerpon gleefully ran two circles around him.

"Everywhere, huh?"

At first, Haru thought it couldn't be—but then he remembered Pecharunt.

According to the DLC side story, Pecharunt had used his toxic mochi to mind-control the entire Kitakami region.

Could history be repeating itself?

He didn't have to wait long for an answer.

Out of nowhere, a girl in an oversized coat suddenly popped into view, spinning twice in place with unnatural fluidity, then thrusting her face into a floating camera:

"A good woman? That's me! I am the good woman! I am... LADY Iono!"

"Greetings, my little viewers! Morning, noon, and night—welcome to the Iono Chronicles livestream!"

"Today's stream theme is... Beating up homewreckers and arresting bad men!"

"Keh keh keh keh! Now that I've received brand-new power, I'm invincible!"

"I will force that man to his knees and drag him home to be my hardworking husband!"

Yes, it was Iono—though now her eyes glowed a strange, unsettling violet. Something was definitely off.

And just seconds after her entrance, another figure leapt out from the bushes.

A girl with long black hair and a whip in hand:

"Found my partner in crime. Time to seal the ultimate deal—fan and pole dance showdown!"

"Giovanni, you bastard! You worked me to death and didn't even pay overtime! I crawled back from hell for this—the end of Team Rocket is nigh!"

"And you over there, rainbow-haired freak! Trying to steal my business partner?!"

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