Catch Feelings, Not Just Pokemon

Whether Iono was acting normal or not was a separate issue—for now, what mattered was that the identity of the Pokémon under Haru's command had finally been confirmed.

If Iono had been just some no-name nobody, and if Ogerpon hadn't shown off any of her power, then calling her a Legendary Pokémon would've been laughable at best.

But Iono was a Gym Leader, someone with real standing in Paldea—and Ogerpon had, without a doubt, demonstrated something extraordinary.

Even putting aside her outrageous destructive power, the uniquely crystallized Terastal form she displayed was enough to suggest she was no ordinary Pokémon.

Add both factors together, and there was no more room for doubt.

That really was a Legendary Pokémon—one of the mythical beings that normally only existed in ancient lore.

From what she'd shown so far, Ogerpon likely hadn't reached the tier of a Tier 1 deity-class Pokémon—most likely she was Tier 2.

Still, for 99.99% of people, even laying eyes on something like that in their lifetime would be impossible.

Yes, just "seeing one" was already a privilege that came with an enormous threshold.

After all, Legendary Pokémon aren't like some CoC mythos creature you can summon just by finding a forbidden grimoire and learning the right incantation.

Touch it once and boom—party wipe.

Compared to pseudo-legendaries, real Legendaries are exponentially rarer—let alone compared to ordinary Pokémon.

Sure, it might feel like Haru is surrounded by Legendaries like they're being handed out in bulk, but that's just an illusion.

Think about it—who's she been hanging around?

At minimum, they're "protagonist" or "main heroine" level characters.

The anime and game plots revolve around these figures—that's why they get involved with Legendaries in the first place.

Even the famously hated Goh met Mew as a child.

(Though, now that she thinks about it… where is this world's version of Goh, anyway?)

As a Mew holder herself, Haru was actually kind of curious to meet him.

She couldn't help wondering: What kind of face would he make when he saw her Mew?

Anyway, from the moment Iono acknowledged Ogerpon's status as a Legendary, that livestream stopped being just an ordinary stream.

Previously, it might've only been Iono's fans or a few random passersby watching—but now?

This was a Legendary Pokémon. One that had never been officially documented. Not like the Zapdos or Suicune everyone already knew.

To most trainers, the allure of a Legendary Pokémon easily outweighed that of any human streamer.

So within half an hour of the news leaking from Iono's stream, the entire internet was buzzing about an undiscovered Legendary spotted in a Paldea broadcast.

And it didn't stop there.

Not everyone in the Pokémon world uses the internet. So when those people missed the news, their friends and family made sure to pass it on. Then they came flooding in too.

Cue a wave of boomer jokes:

"How do I install this app?"

"What's a zip file?"

"Why did my computer slow down after I installed five different antivirus programs?"

From nosy onlookers to serious Pokémon researchers, everyone came swarming in.

They all wanted to see this new Legendary for themselves—what kind of creature it was, and what kind of power it held.

But that was only the casuals and trainers. The researchers? They had different priorities.

They wanted to know everything.

Where did this Pokémon come from?

What were its habits?

Was it one of a kind?

What were its unique traits and moves?

To them, Ogerpon wasn't just a powerful Pokémon—she was a gold mine of unknown data waiting to be explored.

As for who Iono even was? That didn't matter anymore.

Who needs girls when there's Pokémon?

Naturally, the flood of viewers caused Iono's livestream to crash.

Even though Pokémon world tech was more advanced than what Haru was used to, their internet wasn't that much better.

At the end of the day, no ordinary livestream server can handle hundreds of thousands—or millions—of simultaneous viewers.

But the site acted fast.

Iono's stream was pulling in insane traffic. Of course the platform would support her.

They'd thought her announcement about exploring Area Zero was her big content drop—turns out the real bombshell came after.

She dropped a brand-new, never-before-seen Legendary on them.

Would've been nice if she gave them a heads-up, though. They could've been better prepared.

Regardless, the site quickly diverted most of its resources to her channel, eager to share in the incoming gold rush.

At last, Iono's lofty dream of becoming a "top-tier streamer" had been fulfilled. No doubt, after today, her name would be on a whole new level.

After all... Haru wasn't the only one using an "unknown" Pokémon. That "little chick" she was using also counted as a de-restricted Tier Two Legendary.

"Tier 2, huh? Looks like a Grass-type, high Attack, high Speed…"

Back in Kanto, Blue frowned slightly as he studied the screen.

He'd pegged Haru as elite trainer level, tops. Didn't expect him to be throwing out Tier 2 Legendaries.

This was going to make their upcoming battle… a bit more complicated.

At the very least, he wasn't someone he could defeat casually.

Still—not a big deal. So what if he had a Tier 2?

He was a top-tier trainer known as a master breeder. He could raise a whole team of powerful Pokémon without issue.

They might not beat a Tier 2 one-on-one, but this was a 6v6 format. Worst case? Stall it out until the Legendary collapsed from attrition.

Take down his Legendary, and what was Haru going to do? Win with what?

No, he'd still win. He was sure of it.

After carefully weighing the factors, Blue concluded:

He still had the edge.

And he wasn't alone—Red and other top trainers came to similar conclusions.

Tier 2 gods were strong, sure—but defeating Blue, a battle-hardened breeder with solid tactics?

Haru could win, but he probably wouldn't.

Unless he pulled out another Tier 2. But what was he going to do, summon another one from thin air? This wasn't Kanto's Little Monsters.

Even so, everyone was hyped for the match.

And if Blue did lose? That'd be hilarious.

With that thought, Red casually dropped a Master Ball donation on Iono's stream.

He didn't usually watch livestreams, but if this one could provide entertainment, he was happy to toss some coins.

And it wasn't just him—big names like Diantha and Cynthia had tuned in as well.

With their trained eyes, they could see that even the two Poison-type Pokémon facing Ogerpon weren't ordinary.

But instead of calling it out, they just quietly analyzed the situation.

As for the thoughts of these Champions and Elites—that could wait.

Haru's battle was still ongoing.

Though Ogerpon had only used one move, Iono and Sabrina's Pokémon partners had already completely lost their will to fight.

There was no way they could win. Not a chance.

If they had to fight Ogerpon, the best they could hope for was fighting the version without her mask.

Masked Ogerpon had already traumatized them.

At this point, they'd rather square off against Pecharunt again.

"Enough. You can't win."

Haru glanced at the two girls and shook her head slowly.

"Your partners were already beaten by Ogerpon."

"Even without her three masks, even facing type disadvantage—Pongpong remains undefeated."

"As for your infighting? That's only speeding up your own defeat."

"I don't want to hurt you. And Pongpong only wants to rough up those two Pokémon a little. She won't involve you."

As Haru finished speaking, Ogerpon swung her thorned club with great drama, putting on an "I'm scary!" face—clearly trying to intimidate the enemy.

Unfortunately, her appearance was far too cute. Instead of being scary, it came off more like a kitten throwing a tantrum.

Maybe… like Ai Hoshino pouting? (lol)

Still, the chicken and the monkey trembled even harder.

Sabrina, on the other hand, hadn't lost her fighting spirit.

Maybe her obsession had sunk deeper than anyone expected.

"That was just a fluke! There's only one strongest Trainer—and it's me!"

"Even you will fall before my overwhelming power!"

With that, she telekinetically yanked her Munkidori out of the cliff wall and ordered it to resume the attack on Haru.

As for Iono… she seemed pissed too.

"Haru, you actually attacked me…"

"I see now. It must be Lillie—she's turned you against me!"

"I was first… I was first! If you're going to be this stubborn, I'll just have to beat the truth into you myself!"

Thanks to Haru's earlier stomp attack, these two—under the sway of their own obsessions—actually started working together.

"Fezandipiti, hit the right! I'll take the left! Use Psychic!"

With that, Sabrina launched her signature combo: Pokémon Hell God Mode.

For every attack her Pokémon made, she made one too—essentially creating a two-on-one offense.

Most Pokémon couldn't handle that kind of onslaught.

Iono, desperate to win, also ditched her usual style.

Instead of an Electric-type, she turned to Munkidori.

"Munkidori! Aim for Ogerpon's head and use Gunk Shot!"

Gunk Shot was a high-power physical move—base power 120, 30% chance to poison. Very strong.

If it landed, it could decide the battle outright.

But it only had 80 accuracy. In the games, it missed like a toddler flinging water.

In real life? It was even less reliable.

Especially against Ogerpon—a tiny, nimble target. Just aiming at her was a challenge.

"Psychic powers, huh? You little monkey, you amuse me."

"But without iron-hard defense, you're not surviving this."

"Ogerpon—rush Munkidori with high speed, dodge as you go, then get in close and start swinging."

"Don't go full force. Land the hit, cancel the recovery animation with movement, then keep swinging to keep it stunned. Don't give it a chance to escape."

"Keep going until it's completely out of commission!"

Ogerpon paused for a second.

That… didn't sound legit. Was that even allowed?

But it was a Trainer's command—so she gave it a try.

And surprisingly? It worked.

It didn't feel as satisfying as a full-power bonk, and the damage wasn't as high…

…but the cancel-tech let her keep swinging before the target could recover—locking it down physically with her thorned club.

Against a soft-bodied Munkidori, it was perfect. The monkey couldn't even respond before it lost all strength to fight.

"This is amazing! Battle is so fun! I should come knock these three Poison freaks around more often!"

Ogerpon was getting increasingly hyped, her little face turning red—just like her thorned club.

As for Munkidori?

It was on the verge of tears.

Ogerpon had already been terrifying before. With a Trainer now?

This wasn't even fair!

In a panic, it fired off two weak Gunk Shots as a formality, then shot up into the sky and refused to come down.

Masked killers were too scary.

No way was it fighting her.

Forget being a target dummy for Electric moves—it would rather do that than face Ogerpon again.

Upon seeing this, Ogerpon couldn't help but sigh in exasperation.

Sure, she was strong—one good whack from her thorned club could literally split someone's skull—but like certain Pokémon, flight was simply out of her league. Beating up Fezandipiti midair? Not happening.

So now what? Just let the little chicken fly off with no consequences?

At that moment, Haru's melodic voice rang out again like a song from the heavens:

"Don't stress, Pongpong. Flying doesn't mean invincible. Remember: anything that takes off has to crash eventually."

"Umma?"

Ogerpon wiped the bloodstains from her club on the unconscious Munkidori, then turned to look curiously at Haru.

This time, she was genuinely intrigued. What kind of command would he give?

Until now, she'd relied purely on instinct in battle—but it seemed there really was technique involved.

"Remember Bullet Seed? That move can be fired skyward too, and at a rapid rate. It's not easy to dodge them all."

Seeing the impatient Pongpong about to charge in, Haru quickly added:

"But hold on—don't rush. Bullet Seed may be fast, but each shot is pretty weak."

"Don't forget—you also know a high-power move: Seed Bomb."

"So... what if you converted the bullets mid-fire into Seed Bombs? Fire them as fast as Bullet Seed, but with the power of Seed Bomb."

"I call it... Grass-Type Machine Gun."

"...?"

Fezandipiti went pale. Then trembled. Then bawled.

Too terrifying. Absolutely horrifying. This man... is a demon.

Who does that to a move? Who looks at a basic technique and turns it into this... this war crime?!

As for Ogerpon, her eyes lit up like fireworks.

That's... possible? Actually, yeah—she could totally pull that off. She wasn't some low-tier wild Pokémon that'd collapse from recoil. She was a sub-legendary, after all.

She had none of those flimsy restrictions others did. She could handle it—and if she could, why not bend the rules?

Only thing was, it might be tricky to aim precisely if she went full-auto...

But then something clicked in her head, and she smacked her forehead.

Why am I even thinking about aiming?

Just blast the whole damn map.

Having fully committed to her revelation, Ogerpon unleashed hell upon the unlucky Fezandipiti in the sky.

Wherever it fled, she bombed. As if determined to send it straight into a KFC bucket.

Fezandipiti was in full-blown panic, darting across the sky in pure desperation. But how could it escape that kind of area suppression?

Two dodges in—and BAM. A Seed Bomb smacked it right on the butt.

"Gyaaak—Fee—zaaaa!"

The purple-black Pokémon let out a bloodcurdling screech before crash-landing into a rocky cliff, just a few feet from where Ogerpon stood.

Its backside was burning—felt like it had laid an egg despite very much being male.

But Pongpong wasn't done.

As Fezandipiti crash-landed, she casually strolled over, Seed Bombs forming in the air around her.

Hehehe... this Trainer's a riot. I bet I'll see all kinds of cool stuff if I stick with him. Maybe I'll just follow him forever...

Bet he can teach me all kinds of neat tricks. Like how to use Wood Hammer. Or mess with other moves, too...

As these gleeful thoughts danced in her head, Ogerpon happily kept bombing the grounded Fezandipiti until it was—literally—deep-fried.

---

Watching this savage spectacle, the livestream chat had no idea what to feel.

Sure, most of them had seen their fair share of Pokémon battles.

But this?

This was... something else entirely.

"Why is she so vicious? She's adorable!"

"And Haru—he looks like such a wholesome guy... Why is he giving instructions straight from the depths of hell?!"

"This... this can't be what real Pokémon battles are like."

"It's not."

"It's not even a Pokémon battle."

"I swear, I never want to battle this guy in my entire life."

"Seconded."

"Thirded. This guy's a freak."

Meanwhile, far away on Mt. Silver, Red opened his messaging app and sent a message to someone he rarely ever contacted:

"Still confident about winning? That guy isn't just any Pokémon Trainer."

"I'm the Champion. I can't afford to lose. His tactics might be weird, but there's no way I'm falling to that."

"Three-minute champion?"

"Shut it. I was the first official Champion of Kanto."

---

Click.

A soft lock turned and a door in a quiet room at Kitakami Village's civic center creaked open. A petite figure stepped inside—Lillie.

The lighting was gentle, casting a mellow glow over the aged walls. A wooden desk stood silently in a corner, stacked with a few books and an old-fashioned lamp.

In the center of the room were two chairs.

Tied to them, wrapped tightly in vines, were Iono and Sabrina.

(This was Ogerpon's work, not Mew's, by the way.)

After that last battle, Pongpong had clearly developed a bit of a misconception. She now believed every command Haru gave carried some kind of divine, secret logic.

So when she caught these two women, obviously there must be a very important reason to bind them up!

...And sure enough, Haru did actually find something on them: a "Wellspring Mask."

Once Pongpong wore it, her typing shifted from pure Grass to Water + Grass, and her thorned club gained Water-type properties.

This was a huge power boost.

Pongpong was now practically worshiping Haru. If not for her ongoing personal quest for revenge, she'd have already declared herself his Pokémon.

But for now, other priorities came first.

After making some "Sleeping Red Tea" for the two girls, Haru stood over them and let out a long sigh:

"Phew... finally. Now I can figure out what's really going on with them."

"Professor Haru... is there any chance they'll return to normal?"

Lillie's concerned voice broke the quiet.

"Of course. They're currently under the influence of a Mythical Pokémon. If we find it, everything can be reversed."

"Problem is, that Mythical Pokémon won't be easy to locate. I'm thinking about other ways to solve this ahead of time..."

Suddenly, Mew—emerging from invisibility—spoke:

"Satisfy their deepest desires, nya. Completely fulfill them—so much so that they feel disgusted by their own craving. Once that happens, there is no more desire to control them."

"Conveniently, one of Iono's desires is already fulfilled. Only one left."

"And Sabrina... shares one of those same desires."

Haru stared at his smug cat Pokémon.

So what, you're telling me to... seduce them into puking?

He didn't say it aloud, but the look on his face said enough.

At that moment, a knock came at the door. A voice followed—it was the civic center's manager.

"Professor Haru? A package has arrived for you."

"A package? I didn't order anything..."

"I wouldn't know about that, but the address clearly has your name on it. Please pick it up as soon as possible."

"Alright... got it."

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