"I probably won't be heading to Alola anytime soon."
Damian thought it over. He'd already sketched out his next itinerary, and Alola wasn't on the short‑term list.
Though honestly, slipping over for a day or two to relax wouldn't be a problem. Lusamine really was… amazing.
Tsk～ just thinking about it was kind of tempting.
"Oh…"
Lillie couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice.
"I've got stuff I need to work on too. If I get some free time, I'll let you know before I head to Alola, Lillie."
Damian said with a chuckle.
"If you're free, Lillie, you can also come visit me instead. Just have Nebby bring you over."
"? Is… is that really okay?"
Lillie's face lit up, but she was still a little nervous.
She'd never left Alola before.
Running all the way to some other region just to visit Mr. Damian—
Wasn't that way too bold?
"Of course it's okay. With Nebby around, it'll definitely be able to protect you, Lillie. Right, Nebby?"
"Lunala～!"
Nebby replied with full confidence.
Please. It was the 'beast that calls down the moon.' Protecting Lillie was easy mode.
Lillie's heart really started to race.
"T‑then… can I come visit you after a little while, Mr. Damian? Things are a bit inconvenient for me here right now."
Lillie thought it over carefully.
The more she considered it, the more doable it seemed.
It just felt a bit like sneaking off behind her good sis's back to have a secret date with her boyfriend.
That sense of guilt left Lillie incredibly embarrassed.
On top of that, she had to come up with a proper excuse.
One of the things that troubled Lillie most was that Mother didn't seem to want her having too much contact with Mr. Damian.
"Of course. I'm going to be leaving Kanto in a few days anyway.
And Gladion's here with me, you know. You can tell Chairman Lusamine you're going to see your brother."
Damian coaxed gently.
He knew Lusamine far too well.
She so much as twitched and Damian could tell what position she wanted to switch to.
Lusamine had fully accepted the relationship between herself and Damian.
And now that Gladion was also running with Damian, there was no way she'd start getting other ideas.
But that didn't mean Lusamine was happy to let Lillie get close to Damian.
If anything, Lusamine had always been guarding against exactly that.
"Gladion's with you too, Mr. Damian? That's great! I get it now!"
Lillie was overjoyed.
This was perfect. Now she had the excuse she needed.
"Mm. I'll be waiting for you, Lillie. It's been a while—
I'm sure you've gotten even prettier."
"T‑that's not… that's not true… Mr. Damian, you're terrible."
Even though the pure little Lillie had already suffered many of Damian's "direct full‑court presses," her skin was still soft and thin.
They chatted a bit longer before Lillie reluctantly hung up.
Back on Damian's side, the moment he ended the call, he could feel the mood go a little strange.
"That girl just now… she's gotta be super adorable, huh?"
Erika's voice drifted over, soft and a little sour.
Damian raised a brow.
"She's a girl I met over in Alola. She is just as adorable as Gym Leader Erika."
He answered with a smile.
Erika's cheeks flushed on the spot, her heart pounding wildly.
Caitlin cut Erika a sideways glance.
Look at this white‑lotus act.
He complimented you once and you're blushing like a teapot about to boil over?
After that, time flew by.
With Ariana working flat‑out, a steady stream of high‑end precision lab equipment was quietly shipped into Lavender Town.
A lab came together quickly.
"How is it, Grandpa Fuji? If you need any more equipment, just say so."
Once the lab was ready, Damian brought Mr. Fuji over.
"This lab is inside Lavender Town.
We've already bought a house topside; you can come in from there whenever you need."
"No real issues. Where's Mewtwo?"
Mr. Fuji gave the place a once‑over, then turned to Damian.
Damian opened the Cherish Ball.
Armored Mewtwo appeared at his side, silently watching the old man in front of it.
"Mewtwo…"
Looking at Armored Mewtwo, Mr. Fuji's gaze was complicated.
To him, the Mewtwo that had been born by his hands was no different than his own child.
Armored Mewtwo's eyes were just as stirred.
Even inside the Cherish Ball, it could sense what was happening outside.
It knew very well that this old human was the one who had truly created it.
"That's limiter armor, isn't it? Take it off.
Then I'll need to run a detailed check on Mewtwo's physical data."
Mr. Fuji finally spoke.
He'd already left New Island before Shadow Mewtwo fully awakened.
For a scientist, raw, direct data was everything.
Shadow Mewtwo cooperated without a word.
About an hour later—
"Mewtwo's physical condition is exceptional.
Its psychic quality has already surpassed every Psychic‑type Pokémon we know of so far.
Even this young lady's Tapu Lele can't compare."
Mr. Fuji handed Damian a report.
"Damian, you said Mewtwo still has hidden power.
Where did you get that idea from?"
He asked seriously.
Based on his tests, every one of Mewtwo's metrics had blown past normal Pokémon—
To a degree that even he struggled to wrap his head around.
He honestly couldn't imagine how strong Mewtwo could get if it went even further.
"Grandpa Fuji, have you heard of Mega Evolution?"
Damian glanced over the report, then asked.
"You know about Mega Evolution too?"
Mr. Fuji was startled.
He'd once researched Mega Evolution himself—but never succeeded.
"You're saying you want Mewtwo to Mega Evolve?!"
Now he understood—
But how was that supposed to be possible?
Caitlin and Erika were both lost.
"Yup. Mega Evolution—an evolution that leaps past the normal limits of Pokémon evolution, a higher level of evolution."
Damian took a gemlike stone from his pocket.
"When a Pokémon Mega Evolves, it temporarily unleashes its hidden power and gains abilities that normal evolution could never grant."
He explained at length.
"But Mega Evolution has never been fully proven—let alone Mega Evolution for Mewtwo."
Mr. Fuji frowned deeply.
He had once been an exceptional researcher—Professor Oak himself held Mr. Fuji's work in Pokémon research in the highest regard.
And Mr. Fuji had looked into Mega Evolution before—
But he hadn't cracked it.
"No, Grandpa Fuji. Mega Evolution is real—
As long as you have a Key Stone and a Mega Stone."
Damian stepped on a shadow.
A yawning Shiny Gengar slowly floated up out of it.
So they were doing a live demo, huh?
Mr. Fuji stared at Shiny Gengar, a flicker of excitement in his eyes.
The scholar inside him was waking up again.
"Gengar."
Damian pinched the Key Stone between two fingers.
The Key Stone immediately lit up with dazzling light.
At the same time, Shiny Gengar bared its fangs, sticking out its long tongue—
On that tongue, a gorgeous Mega Stone began to glow as well.
In an instant, a rainbow‑colored evolution light flared.
When it finally faded, a brand‑new Pokémon stood before them.
Its entire body was white.
Its eyes were a creepy, dark black.
Its mouth still split in the same wicked grin.
Both arms dragged along the ground.
Shiny Mega Gengar.
"T‑this…"
Erika's eyes went huge.
"Incredible…"
Even Caitlin was shaken.
"So Mega Evolution really does exist."
Of course, the most shocked was Mr. Fuji.
He stared blankly at the Mega‑evolved Shiny Gengar.
"Mega Evolution doesn't just drastically boost a Pokémon's strength—
It can also change its Ability."
"For example, my Gengar. After it Mega Evolves, its Ability becomes Shadow Tag."
"Keheh～"
Shiny Mega Gengar let out a ghostly chuckle as three shadows shot out from under it and latched onto the shadows of Mr. Fuji and the other three.
A strange, indescribable binding sensation wrapped around all of them.
Even lifting a foot felt like a chore.
Cold sweat broke out down Erika's back.
They'd been Shadow Tagged.
"Gengar."
Damian shot Shiny Mega Gengar a warning look.
Shiny Gengar pouted.
He couldn't even mess with them a little? So harsh.
"But Mega Evolution can't be maintained for long.
So it's basically a finisher—something you save for when you want to decide the match."
Damian added.
The glow faded from Shiny Mega Gengar's body as it dropped back out of Mega form—then dove straight into Damian's shadow to go back to sleep.
"Can any Pokémon Mega Evolve?"
Erika couldn't help asking.
This was the first time she'd heard of Mega Evolution.
But she could already imagine how it was going to take the world by storm.
"No. Not every Pokémon can.
From what I've found so far… I'll tell you more once we're back."
Damian shook his head.
"So you're saying Mewtwo can Mega Evolve?"
Mr. Fuji's frown returned.
"Yeah, I think it can.
That's why I asked you to come out of retirement, Grandpa Fuji.
There's no way the outside world already has a Mega Stone for Mewtwo—
But we can make one ourselves."
"I see."
Mr. Fuji grew thoughtful.
This was a highly challenging project.
But that was exactly what made it interesting.
"I'll need you to give me some Mega Stones and Key Stones for research.
And you'll have to find a few Trainers with Pokémon that can Mega Evolve so I can collect data and details."
Mr. Fuji laid out his requests without hesitation.
"You'll also need to have Mewtwo come back regularly to cooperate with me."
"No problem. I'll have Ariana give you full support."
Damian nodded.
"And I can't guarantee we'll succeed."
Mr. Fuji added one last disclaimer.
Creating a Mega Stone for Shadow Mewtwo—
How were they supposed to guarantee the success rate?
He was afraid that if they failed, Damian would take it out on Pokémon House.
As far as Mr. Fuji was concerned, that was exactly the kind of thing Team Rocket would do.
"Of course.
But I am hoping you'll go all out, Grandpa Fuji.
I'll send a few assistants to help you."
"Don't worry. Since I agreed, I'll do my best.
I'm not like you Team Rocket lot."
Mr. Fuji replied coldly.
Damian only shrugged.
He knew the old man's impression of Team Rocket was terrible right now—
But that was fine.
As long as he did his job properly, that was enough.
Over in Alola—
On the beach, Lillie watched the sun sinking into the sea.
On the other side of that horizon was Kanto, wasn't it?
"I really don't know how I'm supposed to bring this up with Mother."
Lillie was tangled up inside.
But she had to summon her courage!
"Every time I talk with Mr. Damian, I just feel so relaxed.
Mr. Damian… really is such a good person.
Right, Nebby?"
Lillie pursed her lips, then flashed a gentle smile as she turned to ask Lunala.
Lunala tilted its head slightly, thinking.
"Lillie, you really like Damian, don't you?
Are you two gonna have babies in the future?"
A slightly hoarse, magnetic female Telepathy sounded in Lillie's ears.
"Uu— that's not… that's not it at all, okay!
Nebby, where did you even learn to talk like that—"
Lillie's face went bright red as she fidgeted with the hem of her clothes.
"Besides, Mr. Damian's so amazing.
I'm sure there are tons of girls who like him."
As she spoke, Lillie's tone dimmed.
Mr. Damian was so gentle, so considerate, so sunny and funny—
And already a Champion‑tier Trainer at such a young age.
He was just too brilliant—
Like the sun in the sky, forever out of reach.
"It's fine. I'm sure Damian really likes Lillie too.
If you like someone, you have to fight for them.
I'll always be on your side."
Lunala sounded like some big‑sisterly confidante as it encouraged Lillie.
"If you have rivals, I'll help you beat them all!
Lillie, I'm super strong now, you know."
Lunala was full of confidence.
Fully awakened, it was nothing like the useless thing it had been before.
It was Lunala, a legendary Pokémon!
"Eh?"
Lillie froze.
"And I've got a partner too!
If I ask, it'll definitely step in to help as well.
Lillie, you just focus on taking Damian down!"
Lunala nudged its head against Lillie's.
In other words, even if Lunala on its own wasn't enough to support Lillie's grand "conquer Damian" project—
There was always the big lion, Solgaleo!
On their previous trip to Ultra Space, it had already found Solgaleo in the Ultra Megalopolis world.
With itself and Solgaleo around, there was no way Lillie had to be scared of those nasty women trying to steal Damian away!
"Pfft～ Nebby, that's not something you can just solve with brute force."
Lillie couldn't help laughing and crying at once as she looked at Lunala.
Even legendary Pokémon clearly thought differently from humans about this kind of thing.
This was romance, not war.
Sure, Lunala could fight—
But what good would that do here?
And besides… Mr. Damian was Selene's boyfriend.
She couldn't exactly have Lunala go beat Selene up, right?
Lillie let out a small sigh.
Selene treated her like a sister—
And she was secretly in love with Selene's boyfriend.
She really was awful.
I'm sorry, Selene.
~~~
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