Haru had been utterly exhausted lately.
The Gym challenges themselves were simple enough—basically just one-shotting every opponent that came his way.
But the real problem wasn't just the Gym challenges—it was everything else piled on top.
Iono was manageable at least. She'd been completely absorbed in her "career" these days and hadn't been pestering Haru as often to drink milk with her. Most likely, once her streaming channel stabilized, she'd return to her grand plan of "locking Haru in the basement."
Lillie, though—that was another story. She used to be relatively easy to deal with; Haru only needed to exert a fraction of his power to take her down.
But lately it was like she'd borrowed strength from Lusamine herself—her fighting spirit and endurance had skyrocketed to a terrifying degree.
Even Haru the Great Sage, with all his tricks, had to put in serious effort every day just to keep this little monster under control with his metaphorical staff.
And then there was Nemona—another heavy hitter.
Ever since she came back from Kitakami, it was like she'd awakened memories from a past life, suddenly turning into some kind of god-tier player in the FPS games.
Her flashy plays just kept coming—she even came up with Spiderman-level acrobatics for midair movement.
Sure, neither side had planted the bomb at point B yet, but Haru was already mentally drained, completely overwhelmed.
To make matters worse, Haru later received an invitation from Blueberry Academy. Someone there apparently wanted to meet him.
And at the bottom of the message… was a lipstick mark. That alone was enough to make Haru, already at his wit's end, break into a cold sweat.
With all this intense "exercise," as the battle with Blue drew closer, Haru begged everyone for some time off—just so he could get a little rest.
Of course, he was also planning to look for ways to "power himself up" while heading to Kanto, so he'd have an easier time keeping those girl-bosses in check.
Originally, Lillie wanted to go with him. But after some private talk with Lusamine, she changed her mind and agreed to let Haru travel alone—though only on the condition that he didn't bring Iono or Nemona along.
So this time, Haru's sole travel companion to Kanto was Liko.
Both Haru and Lillie were at ease with that arrangement.
After all, what trouble could such a pure, timid girl possibly cause?
She probably didn't even know what lewd meant.
So really, anyone could potentially "assault" Haru—but Liko? Absolutely not!
Even Lillie thought so.
---
The afternoon sunlight spilled across the Kanto fields, golden rays dancing on the tips of grass, casting a soft, shimmering glow. Wildflowers dotted the meadow, colorful and fragrant.
A breeze stirred, and the blades of grass whispered, swaying gently, carrying the fresh scent of earth.
On this tranquil field, a lazy pink Hatenna lay curled up on Haru's head, half-asleep as it basked in the warm sunlight.
Every now and then it would stretch, flick its little tail, and purr contentedly, as if in tune with the peaceful afternoon.
Beside Haru, Ogerpon and Flutter Mane lounged as well, leaning lazily against their trainer, occasionally nuzzling against him.
They loved moments like this.
A short distance away, however, Liko was still drenched in sweat, practicing Pokémon moves tirelessly.
Recently, with Haru's advice and help, she had caught a Torkoal—helping patch up some coverage in her lineup.
Though Torkoal's stats weren't outstanding, its incredibly low speed paired with the god-tier ability Drought, plus access to the noble move Ogerpon, meant it was far from weak.
Drought turned the battlefield sunny: Fire-type moves gained a 1.5× boost, Water-type moves halved, and no Pokémon could be frozen.
For Fire-types, it was one of the most powerful abilities around.
Moreover, ability activation in battle depended on speed—the slower the Pokémon, the later its ability triggered. For weather abilities like Drought and Drizzle, the later one always overwrote the earlier.
So sometimes, being slower was actually an advantage.
In double battles, Torkoal was practically the kingpin of "Sun Teams."
And as for Ogerpon—there weren't many Pokémon that could pull off that move. Some even had "Flame" in their names but couldn't actually use it, stuck with Flamethrower instead.
Still, for Liko, training Torkoal wasn't the priority. Its power was already decent—what she really needed was battle experience to build trust and synergy.
Her bigger focus was evolving Sprigatito into Meowscarada. Once that happened, her team would gain a solid combat backbone.
Haru didn't like ranking Pokémon of the same species, but even he had to admit: some individuals were just gifted.
Like Ash's Pikachu—no way that thing was a normal Pikachu. What kind of Pikachu could blast a Legendary into the dirt with Thunderbolt?
Believing that was a "regular" Pikachu was like believing Caterpie could beat Rayquaza.
Coincidentally, Liko's Sprigatito seemed to be one of those "special individuals." Its future potential was undeniably high and worth nurturing.
The only problem was… Liko kept drilling Magical Leaf and Leafage over and over.
Seriously? Training a physical attacker exclusively with special Grass spam? Was she really planning to fight the Explorers with Magical Leaf?
Watching her grind the same move yet again, Haru—who'd been trying to nap—finally lost patience.
"Liko, change it up a little. Don't just spam Leafage and Magical Leaf. At least try practicing Terastallization."
"Right now, besides leveling up, the most important thing for Sprigatito is learning to Terastallize."
Panting, Liko stopped her Hatenna mid-move and looked at Haru with curiosity.
"Why is that, Professor Haru? Is it just to boost Sprigatito's move power?"
"I remember you telling me that if Sprigatito Terastallizes into Grass, its Grass moves get an even bigger boost."
After spending time with Haru, she'd gotten to know him somewhat.
In her eyes, aside from being a little too obsessed with trainer battles, her sensei was genuinely kindhearted, deeply knowledgeable about Pokémon, and always shared fascinating theories.
A truly outstanding trainer.
Well… except that sometimes, during her lessons, she'd see things she probably shouldn't see—things that left her unable to sleep at night, questioning whether she might actually be a pervy girl after all.
No—she was a pervy girl. She could fool others, but not herself.
And she had to face that part of herself eventually.
As for her question, Haru, seated on the grass, shook his head calmly.
"Remember this: never think of Terastallization as just a move booster. It has a much deeper role in battle."
"For instance—Meowscarada is Grass/Dark. That means it's got seven weaknesses, including a brutal 4× weakness to Bug."
"In that situation, even a Kricketune's X-Scissor could potentially knock it out, since Meowscarada's so fragile."
"Kricketune? That thing has that kind of power?" Liko blinked in disbelief.
Thanks to Haru's endless comparisons, she had basically written off every Bug-type aside from Volcarona as bottom-tier trash.
Especially Kricketune—Haru brought it up so often as an example of "weak," she assumed it was practically worthless.
And now he was saying it could threaten her final evolution?
Uh oh… was her Meowscarada going to be trash tier?
But abandoning Sprigatito was out of the question—it was her starter, her partner, with a bond too deep to cast aside.
"Of course it can. Even Kyogre can end up flopping like a Magikarp if the battle goes wrong. Don't underestimate Kricketune."
"But here's the thing: the worse your typing, the more Terastallization becomes your saving grace."
"For example, if Sprigatito faces Kricketune, you could Terastallize into Fire. Suddenly, you're not the one being countered—you're the one countering."
"And the real beauty is, you decide when to Terastallize."
"If you already have the advantage, you can hold off. If you sense the opponent about to strike with a super effective move, you Terastallize immediately."
As he said this, Haru plucked Hatenna off his head, gave the little troublemaker a firm head-rub, and continued:
"That's the essence of Terastallization—defensive synergy."
"I see… Then what type should my Sprigatito Terastallize into?" Liko asked, eyes wide with newfound curiosity.
"Water, Fire, Fairy—whatever suits the matchup. The goal is to always keep the upper hand."
"For example, against a Dragon-type Champion, Fairy is much more useful."
"Of course, you have to know beforehand whether you're facing a genuine Dragon-type Champion… or just a so-called Dragon-type Champion who's actually running a Flying-type team."
Liko tilted her head. "Do Dragon Champions really like using Flying-types?"
"Not always—it depends on the person. But yeah, a lot of them claim to be Dragon specialists while actually stacking Flying-types or spamming weather gimmicks. Total frauds."
Just then, a new voice drifted in from the distance—a woman's voice.
"…For some reason, that description of a 'Dragon Champion' sounds very familiar. May I share those words with that person?"
"And Terastallization… what an intriguing system. It sounds like it makes battles far more flexible."
Haru glanced back at the newcomer and replied casually:
"Flexible? More like a mind game. You Terastallize, I Terastallize—everyone's just trying to guess what type the opponent will become. Did they set a trap? Will their Tera backfire?"
"In the end, it's still not as straightforward as Mega Evolution."
He didn't bother getting up. Instead, he held Hatenna aloft, making her wave her tiny hands at the woman.
"Don't you think so, Ms. Cynthia—Sinnoh's Champion?"
Yes—the newcomer was none other than Cynthia, the League Champion of Sinnoh.
Unlike Nemona, who hadn't yet matured fully as a trainer, Cynthia was the real deal—a true Champion.
And among Champions, she ranked among the strongest.
Not only that, she also commanded Mega Evolution, allowing her ace Garchomp to Mega Evolve and push its power even further.
Though, admittedly… Mega Garchomp's stats and ability were a bit awkward.
People might not remember Pikachu's or Charizard's base stats, but ask them Garchomp's Speed stat, and they'd recite it instantly.
Haru was no exception. The moment he recognized Cynthia, what popped into his head wasn't fanart—but "Dragon Rush into death" and the infamous "102 → 10" Speed drop.
Of course, he'd never say that out loud. Otherwise, Cynthia would probably blow up on him right then and there.
Cynthia, however, wasn't surprised Haru knew who she was. She approached naturally, her curiosity evident.
"You seem very interested in Mega Evolution."
"Of course. But only certain ones—like Mega Salamence, Mega Gardevoir, and… Mega Rayquaza."
There weren't many Mega Evolutions in total—only 48—and even fewer that were truly powerful.
Mega Charizard Y, Mega Salamence, Mega Kangaskhan were all top contenders.
But the strongest of them all? That title could only go to Mega Rayquaza—in both games and reality.
It was already a mighty Legendary. With Mega Evolution, boosted weather control, and absurd dual offenses, it stood as one of the most powerful Pokémon in history.
Not to mention—it looked amazing.
Especially the shiny black Mega Rayquaza. Cool beyond words.
Of course, aside from Rayquaza, Haru also really wanted to catch a Gardevoir. At least then he could round out a team of "normal" Pokémon.
"Rayquaza?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow.
If she remembered correctly, that was one of Hoenn's Legendary Pokémon.
"You want to catch a Legendary as well?"
Cynthia had learned about Haru online. She knew he already had a Legendary and a Mythical with him, and she'd noticed the unusual "Mismagius-like" Pokémon by his side.
But she hadn't expected his ambition to stretch to catching Rayquaza.
Capturing a Legendary wasn't something just anyone could do—there was a vast difference between Legendaries and Sub-Legendaries.
And… wait—Rayquaza could Mega Evolve?
From just a few exchanges, Cynthia found herself intrigued by him.
Still, in her eyes, Haru seemed overconfident—arrogant enough to think he could not only catch a Legendary but also Mega Evolve it.
What she didn't expect was that Haru was even more "inflated" than she imagined.
Lying idly on the grass, he yawned and answered:
"Why should I be the one chasing after it? Ideally, the Legendary itself should come beg me to catch it."
"…I don't mean to sound rude, but… are you in your right mind?" Cynthia's tone grew strange.
But before she could continue, Liko immediately cut in, frowning in protest:
"Professor Haru isn't spouting nonsense! If he says so, then he must already have a plan!"