April 1st, League Year 198 — Early Summer
On that day, Hayato Sora, his mother, and Serena took an international flight from Lumiose City to the Alola Region.
You might ask—why wasn't his father there?
Of course he was off traveling with Ash's dad!
Back to the main story.
After arriving in Alola, Hayato Sora's family checked into the Hano Grand Resort.
It was the largest resort in Alola, and hotel reservations were usually fully booked far in advance every year.
The only reason they managed to get a room was thanks to that one-week vacation ticket.
After dropping their luggage in the room and greeting his mother and Serena, Hayato Sora headed straight to Hano Beach.
Finding a quiet corner with no one around, he tossed out all the Poké Balls he was carrying.
Cinccino was the first to pop out impatiently.
It curiously looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings.
"Chii chii… chii~"
(So many people… and so many Pokémon, like grains of rice!)
"Flabé!"
"Meeeh(Mareep cry)~"
"Meow!"
"Brr~"
"…"
"Fluff!"
(The sunshine feels amazing!)
The Pokémon excitedly explored their surroundings, their eyes full of curiosity.
The bright Alolan sun felt especially comfortable for Smoliv.
It could clearly feel that the speed at which it accumulated energy had increased.
This was Alola—
a region filled everywhere with tropical charm.
Every year, countless tourists from all over the world came here to vacation.
You could see Pokémon from many different regions here, and each of the four main islands offered completely different scenery.
Hayato Sora first settled the Pokémon and made sure they were well fed.
Just then, Serena and his mother arrived wearing swimsuits.
When Serena spotted the adorable Cinccino and Morpeko, she ran over excitedly and hugged them tightly.
"Cinccino! Long time no see! Did you miss me?"
She rubbed and kissed them repeatedly.
After a while, she lifted Morpeko and ran to Hayato Sora.
"Big brother, what's this Pokémon called?"
"Morpe~"
Morpeko looked utterly lifeless while being held up, even pausing its eating.
Hayato Sora pinched Morpeko's round little belly.
"It's called Morpeko, an Electric-type Pokémon. Don't touch its cheek pouches—it can discharge electricity."
"So it's called Morpeko! I already got zapped earlier—it made me feel all tingly."
Serena explained sheepishly.
Kids wanted to grab and play with everything.
And judging from her current condition, that small shock hadn't affected her at all.
No wonder in the anime Serena could survive so many Thunderbolt attacks from Pikachu without any problem.
Turns out she'd been training since childhood.
"Serena, come help Mom apply sunscreen!"
Not far away, Hayato Sora's mother called out while holding Cinccino.
"I'm coming!"
Holding Morpeko high in her arms, Serena skipped happily toward her.
As for Hayato Sora, he continued feeding the Pokémon.
Once everyone was full, the Pokémon scattered around to play.
The three Mudsdale sat together calmly, observing their surroundings with composed expressions.
The Alolan environment felt very comfortable for them.
Beside them lay the Mareep.
The lazy one yawned repeatedly, its eyes barely open.
Even though it had done absolutely nothing, it already looked exhausted.
Compared to that—
Another Mareep proudly showed off its strength beside a female Mareep, trying to get her attention.
But the female Mareep was focused entirely on another Mareep, while that one quietly followed Hayato Sora, curiously observing the unfamiliar surroundings.
"Alolan Meowth, is your home on this island?"
The Alolan Meowth looked around.
Everything felt unfamiliar.
"Meow~"
(Not here, meow!)
"Then it's probably on Melemele Island. Tomorrow I'll have Noivern take us there."
The four islands of Alola weren't very far apart.
With Noivern, traveling between islands would be quick.
Alolan Meowth glanced at Hayato Sora, then at Noivern behind him.
It originally wanted to refuse.
It didn't want Hayato Sora to waste his precious vacation time for its sake.
But when it saw the seriousness in Hayato Sora's eyes—
It nodded.
"Meow…"
Standing by the shoreline, seawater covering his ankles, Hayato Sora turned toward the Pokémon following him.
"You don't need to stay with me the whole time. Go have fun too."
"Flabé…"
"Vwooo…"
The Noibat looked extremely uncomfortable.
It kept trying to crawl inside Hayato Sora's clothes to hide its head.
The reason was obvious.
The Alolan sun was far too intense.
For Pokémon that preferred dark environments like Noibat and Noivern, it felt extremely unpleasant.
"Later I'll take you back to the room so you can rest. You can come out again in the evening."
After comforting the Noibat, Hayato Sora looked toward Flabébé, Meowth, and the Mareep.
As for Cyclizar and Kangaskhan—
Cyclizar was sitting beneath a coconut tree, holding the Pokémon Egg, occasionally pressing it to its ear to listen.
Kangaskhan had entered its Ride Form and was sprinting along the edge of the beach, kicking up huge splashes of water.
"You guys go play. We'll be here all day today."
After hearing that, Flabébé and the others flew over to Kangaskhan and began playing with the sand.
Meowth called over the Mareep trio.
They split into two teams and started playing beach volleyball.
The small ball bounced back and forth between them, and the joyful cries of Pokémon filled the air.
Away from the ranch, the Pokémon could finally relax and enjoy life.
Hayato Sora did the same.
After sending the two Noibat back to the room, he rented a jet-ski on the beach.
"Veluza, I'll be counting on you."
A flash of light appeared as the pink fish landed in the ocean, half its body above the surface.
Under the guidance of the staff, Hayato Sora attached a water-riding harness to Veluza.
He himself put on a life jacket and goggles.
"Let's go. Take a lap around the coastline first."
He patted Veluza.
"Blub!"
Veluza flicked its body.
Using its psychic power, it protected Hayato Sora's vital areas.
Then it shot across the water like an arrow, racing along the coast.
"Gaaao! Gaaao!"
Cyclizar noticed them and chased after them from behind.
Not only Cyclizar—
Noivern also caught up, flying beside them.
After swimming for quite a while, Veluza had completely warmed up.
Hayato Sora took a deep breath and tapped Veluza, signaling it to dive.
Receiving the command, Veluza plunged underwater like a submarine.
Only a faint pink blur remained beneath the surface—
leaving Cyclizar and Noivern staring at each other in confusion.
The underwater world was breathtaking.
Huge schools of Wishiwashi formed massive storm-like swarms as they avoided predators.
Hayato Sora signaled Veluza to swim around them.
Soon they reached a coastal coral reef.
Before long, Hayato Sora's attention was captured by a certain Pokémon.
He slowly approached it with Veluza and grabbed it in his hand—
Suddenly, white scissor-like claws shot out.
It startled him.
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