"Hey, Molayne—Sophocles is here!"
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
In the distance, a blond chubby boy waved his arms enthusiastically while driving a bizarre-looking electric vehicle toward them.
Underneath him was what appeared to be a Magikarp-shaped children's toy car, wobbling noisily as it struggled across the terrain.
"Little Soph… you finally made it…" Molayne scratched his head helplessly as he took back his Poké Balls from the boy. "What took you so long?"
"Don't even ask," Sophocles sighed dramatically while patting the red toy vehicle beneath him. "It's all because of my latest invention."
"And this is…?" Whitney asked curiously.
"It's called Magikarp Leap Model One!" Sophocles declared proudly. "I specifically designed it to simulate Splash! My idea was to use it to jump directly up the mountain from the lower road!"
Whitney blinked. "So… did it work?"
Sophocles' expression instantly collapsed.
"Theoretically, yes. The calculations were flawless."
Peter's mouth twitched slightly. "Theoretically?"
"I forgot to account for my own weight…" Sophocles admitted with complete sincerity.
Peter already had a bad feeling.
"So?"
"So under the crushing might of my Body Slam…" Sophocles spread his hands helplessly, "…Model One was totaled."
"…"
"Thankfully, I met this little guy on the way up. It helped me gather some materials, so I barely managed to patch the car back together."
"Toge~!"
A Togedemaru popped its head out from inside the toy vehicle and cried happily.
Molayne stared at him speechlessly.
"That really is… incredibly lucky."
After the small interruption ended, Peter and Whitney helped restore the condition of the two Totem Pokémon and the surrounding wild Pokémon using medicine and Pokémon food.
Once Peter took out two Thunder Stones, the conflict between the two Totem Pokémon was finally resolved peacefully.
As thanks, each Totem Pokémon gifted Peter and Whitney two Z-Crystals—Electrium Z and Buginium Z—while Molayne also presented Whitney with a Steelium Z.
With that, the incident at Hokulani Observatory finally came to an end.
And the time had only just reached one-thirty in the afternoon.
They still had two and a half hours left before Molayne's… no, before Nanu's deadline.
After saying goodbye to "Molayne" and "Little Soph," Peter and Whitney immediately rushed south toward Tapu Village without stopping.
According to Rotom's detection system, the third Totem Pokémon was located at the abandoned Thrifty Megamart near the southern side of the village.
"Does this really count as a village?" Whitney asked in confusion while looking around. "Why does it feel so deserted? There's barely anyone here…"
Peter nodded lightly.
"According to legend, the people here once disrespected and angered the guardian deity Tapu Bulu instead of worshipping it properly. The entire village was destroyed as punishment, and the old Thrifty Megamart got caught in the disaster too. That's why the supermarket later relocated to Royal Avenue while this place was slowly abandoned."
"I see…" Whitney looked thoughtful. "Guardian deities must be really strong, huh?"
"Yeah…" Peter nodded slowly. "At the very least, they should be around the same level as Cresselia and Darkrai."
As he spoke, memories of the battle on Iron Island surfaced in his mind, causing the Poké Balls at his waist to shake faintly.
After experiencing that battle, both he and his Pokémon had developed an even stronger desire for power.
The two of them landed outside the abandoned Megamart, and through the dusty glass windows, they could already see the inside.
Because the building had long been abandoned, even broad daylight failed to illuminate the interior. Everything inside was dark and eerie.
Looking at it alone sent chills crawling up one's spine.
"Judging from this atmosphere… the Pokémon living here wouldn't happen to be a Ghost-type, right?" Whitney asked nervously.
Her face had already turned pale.
She was actually pretty timid.
Peter gently rubbed her head.
"Just stay behind me later."
"Mhm!"
The next second, she immediately hugged his arm tightly, burying it between her soft chest.
Peter sighed inwardly.
Who would've thought that a future Normal-type Gym Leader would be afraid of Ghost Pokémon…
Especially when Whitney's Miltank literally had the Scrappy Ability.
Creeeak—
Peter pushed open the supermarket doors, and the two stepped into the dimly lit interior.
The shelves inside had long since collapsed and gathered thick layers of dust, clearly abandoned for years.
A damp, decaying smell filled the air, making Peter frown slightly.
"Hey—! You there?"
His voice echoed throughout the empty supermarket.
But no response came.
"H-Honey… maybe we should wait outside first…" Whitney's voice trembled slightly. "I feel like someone's going to put their hand on my shoulder at any moment…"
"AH—!"
Before Peter could respond, Whitney suddenly let out a frightened scream and jumped directly into his arms.
"Gengarrr~!"
A Haunter floated out from the darkness, clutching its stomach as it laughed at Whitney mischievously.
"It's okay, it's okay," Peter said while patting Whitney's back soothingly. "It's just a prank-loving Haunter."
Then he tossed an Pokéblock toward it.
"Go call your boss out."
"Gengaar!"
Haunter wrapped its long tongue around the Pokéblock and swallowed it happily before disappearing back into the darkness.
Soon, an icy ghostly aura spread throughout the supermarket.
From the shadows emerged a massive Mimikyu draped beneath its disguise cloth, followed by two Gengar and three Haunter.
[Mimikyu Lv.59 (Gym High Rank, Totem Form)]
Description: A Mimikyu guarding the Ghostium Z. Possesses a special Totem aura that boosts all of its abilities by one stage and allows it to command nearby Haunter and Gengar in coordinated combat.
Peter wasted no time and immediately tossed over a dozen Ghost-type Pokéblocks.
"Mimikyu, we need to pass your trial. Let's battle. If we win, you hand over the Z-Crystal you're protecting. Deal?"
"Mimikyu…"
Mimikyu stuffed the Pokéblocks beneath its disguise cloth and chewed happily for a while before finally nodding and assuming a battle stance.
"Honey… I'll cheer for you from here…" Whitney said weakly, clearly having zero intention of participating in this particular battle.
Peter chuckled softly.
"Alright. Just rest."
He left Indeedee behind to protect Whitney before stepping forward alone and throwing out a Poké Ball.
"Go, Ursaluna! You're up!"
"KAHHHH!!!"
The massive bear Pokémon emerged surrounded by blazing heat, determination burning in its eyes.
Its Flame Orb had already activated its Guts Ability.
"Use Earthquake!"
"KAAAHHHH!!!"
Ursaluna slammed both fists into the ground violently.
The entire supermarket shook as savage Ground-type energy exploded outward in all directions.
Aside from the floating Haunter protected by Levitate, both Gengar were instantly knocked unconscious.
Mimikyu, however, merely tilted its head slightly without taking any damage at all.
Together with the three Haunter, it immediately fired back with an enormous Shadow Ball.
Disguise Ability:
Covered by its disguise cloth, Mimikyu can completely negate damage from one attack.
BOOM!!!
The gigantic Shadow Ball slammed directly into Ursaluna and exploded violently against the floor.
Yet the enormous beast remained completely unaffected.
Its massive paws alternated forward as it charged directly toward Mimikyu.
"Wild Pokémon really aren't that smart…" Peter shook his head slightly before his gaze sharpened.
"Payback!"
"KAAAHHHH!!!"
Ursaluna roared as its massive paw swept outward.
The three Haunter were sent flying several meters away and instantly fainted, their gaseous bodies turning noticeably transparent.