Set off for Alola

The Pokémon Contest officially began on the second day, just as Mr. Contesta had said. All the participants were divided into two venues for the competition, and Yuga served as a judge in the second venue alongside Robert and Aunt Johanna.

Coincidentally, May had been assigned to Yuga's venue, and it was his first time seeing her indigo potential Mantyke.

According to May, this was Mantyke's first formal competition. However, Yuga felt that Mantyke had a calm demeanor, showing no signs of nervousness on stage and performing exceptionally well.

Having participated in Pokémon Contests in both the Hoenn and Kanto regions, May's performance style had become much more mature, and she worked in perfect harmony with her Mantyke.

Even though Mantyke was still in its basic form, its water control techniques were incredibly precise. It stood out in the first round of the performance competition, securing the highest score in the second venue.

The first round of the performance competition eliminated most participants. Once they advanced to the second round, which was a battle competition, the contestants from both venues would merge into one for the remaining matches.

In the first venue, Aria also passed the first round of the performance competition smoothly. Although she wasn't a Coordinator, she wasn't a novice when it came to performances, so her score was higher than most participants.

After the two venues merged, there were suddenly six judges in total, which made many participants, who were experiencing this situation for the first time, quite nervous.

However, Yuga played a very minimal role throughout, only speaking when necessary, and his comments were often vague. It wasn't that he didn't want to come across as more professional, but being an outsider, he couldn't discern the more intricate aspects of the performances.

When the list for the battle competition was revealed, Yuga was surprised to see that May and Aria were matched against each other in the first round, and they would be competing in the first battle of the round.

The battle started soon after. May looked at Aria and said, "I didn't expect to face you in the first round. Let's give it our all and have a battle with no regrets."

Aria nodded, "Yes, let's give it everything we've got, no regrets!"

With that, both girls sent out their Pokémon. May called upon her Delcatty and Claydol, while Aria released her Vivillon and Aromatisse.

Seeing May's Delcatty surprised Yuga; he hadn't expected her Skitty to have evolved, which was proof that May had grown stronger since their last encounter.

Although May's Mantyke had performed excellently in the first round, it was still too early for it to participate in battles, so she chose not to use it in the second round.

Similarly, Aria had used her Fennekin in the performance round, where it excelled in presentation but lacked the strength for battle. Naturally, she replaced it with her stronger Vivillon and Aromatisse in the second round.

Unlike May, who had multiple Pokémon to choose from, Aria had only three Pokémon in total: Fennekin, Vivillon, and Aromatisse. In Kalos, Pokémon erformers weren't required to have as many Pokémon as other Trainer professions.

Although Coordinators also didn't need to have a large number of Pokémon, the battle rounds still required some degree of strategy and lineup variety. For most Coordinators, raising five or six Pokémon was the norm, while Aria only had three.

Once the battle began at the host's signal, both sides moved simultaneously.

May's Claydol took the lead, positioning itself in front of Delcatty. Being a defensive Pokémon with excellent stats in both defense and special defense, it could withstand most attacks.

Meanwhile, from behind Claydol, Delcatty unleashed a powerful Blizzard attack aimed at Vivillon, which was weak to Ice-type moves.

Blizzard had a wide area of effect, and although Vivillon excelled at flying, it wasn't easy for it to quickly escape the attack range.

However, Aria's Aromatisse wasn't just standing idly by. It quickly used Light Screen, positioning itself in front of Vivillon to absorb the remaining damage, and then used Heal Pulse to restore Vivillon's health.

May's side featured a mix of attack and defense, while Aria's lineup was clearly focused on offense with a support role.

Typically, both Delcatty and Vivillon are used for disruption and support by traditional Trainers. However, Coordinators have slightly different roles for their Pokémon compared to traditional Trainers.

The white Blizzard and the pink Heal Pulse intertwined, creating a dreamlike scene on the battlefield, but both participants' score bars simultaneously dropped.

"Claydol, use Heal Block!"

"Vivillon, use Signal Beam!"

May and Aria's commands rang out at the same time. May aimed to block Aria's healing, while Aria was trying to eliminate the Claydol that was protecting Delcatty.

Heal Block is a relatively niche move. It's primarily learned by Psychic-type Pokémon, which are rare, so not many Trainers use it.

Although it's an uncommon move, it's incredibly practical. Under the seal of Heal Block, Aromatisse's Heal Pulse became useless, and the healing for Vivillon was interrupted.

Meanwhile, Vivillon's Signal Beam hit Claydol. However, before being struck, Claydol had used Cosmic Power, significantly boosting its defense and special defense. So, even though Signal Beam was super effective, the damage was not as high as expected.

As a result, both participants' score bars dropped again by a significant amount.

With only five minutes allocated for the battle, the clock was ticking, and the two sides remained neck and neck. Aria, participating in her first contest, was starting to feel anxious, but the experienced May stayed calm.

Aria, who had gained some fame in the Kalos region, had a bit of pride. She hadn't expected to face such a strong opponent so quickly.

"Delcatty, use Blizzard again!"

May's command echoed through the arena, and Delcatty unleashed another howling Blizzard.

Aromatisse tried to defend with Light Screen, but Claydol used Imprison, preventing Aromatisse from using the move. Both Aromatisse and Vivillon were engulfed by the swirling snowstorm.

As a purely defensive Pokémon, Claydol could use both Light Screen and Reflect. Under the effects of Imprison, Aromatisse was rendered useless—it could neither heal nor defend effectively.

After this round, Aria's score bar was nearly depleted.

Aromatisse was a pure support Pokémon, with almost no offensive capabilities. Under the restrictions of Heal Block and Imprison, it became useless. Vivillon now faced a two-on-one situation, and before time ran out, Aria's score bar hit zero.

As May emerged victorious, a smile spread across Yuga's face. Although he was a judge, he couldn't help but favor May, who was closer to him.

The remaining matches were almost a formality, as May dominated the competition and claimed victory in the Contest, earning the Verdant Ribbon.

To celebrate May's victory, Yuga and Audino prepared a delicious meal at home to reward her. For a foodie like May, nothing comforts the soul better than a good meal.

After dinner, Yuga mysteriously called May aside and said, "I have a gift for you." With that, he pulled out a Poké Ball.

"What's this?" May looked at the Poké Ball, puzzled.

"There's a blue potential Remoraid inside," Yuga explained. "Your Mantyke will need a Remoraid to evolve into Mantine, right? It would be a waste for your indigo potential Mantyke to pair with an ordinary Remoraid. This blue potential one should be good enough."

There were only two blue potential Remoraid that had ever been bred in Yuga's Ecopark, so offering one to May was no small feat for him.

Hearing this, May quickly responded, "No, no, that's too valuable. I can't accept it."

Yuga had already helped her a lot—not only had he passed on a lot of training experience, but he had also guided her in capturing the well-bred Baltoy and Lunatone. She felt she really couldn't accept this Remoraid.

"Your Mantyke will need to evolve sooner or later," Yuga reasoned. "Do you want to delay its growth? The sooner it starts getting along with a compatible Remoraid, the smoother its evolution will be."

"I can take my time to find one. I'm sure I'll come across the right Remoraid eventually," May insisted, still resolutely declining the offer.

"How long do you think that'll take? You're being foolish not to take what's right in front of you," Yuga said, a bit sternly. "If it really bothers you, just think of it as a loan. You can repay me when you've made some money."

"But…" May was still hesitant.

"Why are you being so stubborn?" Yuga pressed, shoving the Poké Ball into her hand. "Do you really need to be so formal with me? When your father helped me in the past, I didn't act like you're acting now!"

"Well… okay then," May finally relented. "I'll make sure to train them well."

"That's more like it," Yuga said with a smile.

May didn't stay in Verdanturf Town for long. The day after the contest ended, she and Ryo set off on their journey again, with Yuga personally seeing them off.

However, shortly after returning home, Yuga received a phone call from Mr. Norman. It turned out that Mr. Norman had heard about the Remoraid from May the previous night.

Over the phone, Mr. Norman not only expressed his gratitude to Yuga but also transferred a substantial sum of money to him. Although Yuga initially didn't want to accept it, Mr. Norman insisted, so he had no choice but to take it.

Mr. Norman also asked Yuga not to tell May about this arrangement, believing that a little pressure could be a good thing for her.

After finishing the call with Mr. Norman, Yuga came downstairs to find that Aria had returned to the shop.

"Aria? What brings you here today? Are you looking to buy something?"

Aria's eyes lit up as she saw Yuga, and she replied, "I'd like to buy a Pokémon."

After participating in the Pokémon Contest, Aria felt that the number of Pokémon she had was too few, so she decided to train another one. However, she was quite particular about her Pokémon, so she came to YoYo Day Care, a place known for its high potential Pokémon.

Upon hearing this, Yuga immediately understood. "In that case, you should head to our new store. All our Pokémon are sold there."

Aria hesitated for a moment and then said, "I'm looking for a high potential Pokémon." The new store only sold lower potential Pokémon.

"I see…" Yuga said apologetically. "Unfortunately, our high potential Pokémon can only be purchased by appointment."

"I know," Aria replied. "But I heard that members can also buy them. I'd like to know how I can get a membership card."

Yuga: …

How was he supposed to explain this? Should he say that only people close to him could get one? The poor girl might think he was a creep if he said that.

Seeing Yuga's troubled expression, Aria asked curiously, "Is there some sort of condition you can't talk about?"

"That's not it," Yuga shook his head and explained, "The reason I introduced the membership card was to make things easier for my friends, so..."

Aria immediately understood what Yuga meant. She had only known him for a few days—hardly enough to be considered an acquaintance, let alone a friend.

"Alright then, I'll come back another time."

With that, Aria turned around and walked out, leaving Yuga bewildered. He thought to himself, "What does she mean? Will we become friends the next time she visits?"

However, Yuga didn't get to see the "next time" Aria mentioned, because he received a phone call from Luna's Coach and left Verdanturf Town that very day.

"What did you just say? Luna has gone missing?" Yuga's voice rose several notches due to the shock. "Wasn't she in the middle of training? How could she disappear?"

The coach then explained everything about the mission Luna and Kaname Hirakawa were assigned to carry out.

"We didn't expect any issues with the mission; it was supposed to be a simple investigation task," the coach said, his tone filled with guilt.

"Have you informed my aunt and uncle yet?" Yuga forced himself to stay calm as he asked.

"Not yet," the coach replied. Due to Yuga's unique status, the coach had contacted him first instead of Luna's parents upon hearing about the incident.

Yuga let out a sigh of relief. "For now, don't tell them anything. Let's wait until we know more about the situation." His aunt and uncle were ordinary people, and Yuga didn't want them to worry unnecessarily before there were any concrete results.

"Well…" The coach hesitated. By protocol, he was supposed to notify Luna's guardians immediately.

"If anything happens, I'll take full responsibility. For now, just tell me everything that happened in detail," Yuga said in a slightly stern tone.

"Okay… alright."

After the coach finished explaining, Yuga asked, "What's the current situation on the island?"

The coach replied, "We're still investigating, but according to witnesses, they saw an unidentified Pokémon on the island, and that Pokémon was extremely destructive. A large part of the island has already been devastated."

Based on the coach's description, Yuga was almost certain that the unknown Pokémon was an Ultra Beast—Guzzlord. This was a troublesome creature, and he didn't know if Luna's disappearance was connected to it.

"Alright, I've got the general idea. I'll head over as soon as possible. We can discuss the details once I arrive."

"Understood. We'll be waiting for you."

After ending the call with the coach, Yuga quickly gave instructions to Audino and Suzuki Koen, then booked a flight to Alola.

Since time was of the essence, Yuga chose the earliest available flight and arrived at Akala Island's airport within two days.