Hau'oli City was the largest city in the Alola region—without question.
Located on Melemele Island, its harbor connected the other three islands through regular ferry routes.
After spending a night at the Hano Grand Resort, Hayato Sora and his group boarded a ferry arranged by the resort and arrived in the city.
"Mom, Serena—I'll meet up with you later."
He took Cinccino from Serena and placed it on his shoulder.
His mother and Serena were heading to the shopping district, while he planned to take Alolan Meowth back to visit its old home.
They weren't going the same direction.
"Cin~!"
Finally escaping Serena's enthusiastic cuddling, Cinccino happily waved goodbye to Morpeko and Serena.
Its fluffy tail swished back and forth in delight.
They walked past the harbor and through the bustling commercial streets.
The farther they went toward the outskirts, the more Hayato Sora could feel the unique atmosphere of the Alola region.
Everyone wore bright smiles like sunshine.
Whenever people met, they greeted each other with—
"Alola!"
"Meowth, we didn't go the wrong way, right?"
"Meow~"
After a long pause, Alolan Meowth responded, finally pulling its gaze away from the surroundings that felt both familiar and unfamiliar.
It had been nearly a year since it boarded that cruise ship and left its home.
Of course it missed this place.
But now it had new goals and many companions.
The past was no longer something Meowth wanted to cling to.
This visit was more like a final farewell.
A few minutes later, they stopped in front of a building on the outskirts of Hau'oli City.
Looking inside, Hayato Sora saw that it was a Pokémon School.
It was also where Alolan Meowth had lived before.
"Meow~!"
Alolan Meowth waved its paw energetically toward the Pokémon dancing above the school gate.
"Chir?"
Three Pom-Pom Style Oricorio looked over in confusion.
They first glanced at Hayato Sora and the others—clearly strangers—before turning their attention to Alolan Meowth.
"Chir~!"
The Oricorio flew down and surrounded Meowth, asking where it had disappeared to for the past year.
Everyone had even searched for it before, but they couldn't find it anywhere.
"Meow~ meow!"
Being surrounded and cared about made Alolan Meowth smile as it explained.
The commotion near the gate also attracted other Pokémon living at the Pokémon School, along with the school's principal.
Several Alolan Exeggutor with their long, slender necks leaned closer curiously, stretching their heads toward Meowth.
Sliding down the long neck of one of them was a stream of water—
A Vaporeon.
In no time, Alolan Meowth was surrounded by a crowd of Pokémon.
They asked about its life over the past year.
Even after so long, they still remembered Meowth and cared about it.
"It's Meowth! You came back!"
A deep, energetic voice came from inside the school.
The Pokémon gathered around Meowth all turned to look.
Hayato Sora did the same.
"Professor Oak!?"
The moment he saw the man, Hayato Sora blurted out in surprise.
The resemblance was uncanny.
The man looked almost exactly like the Professor Oak from Hayato Sora's memories.
The only difference was that this man had healthy bronze-colored skin—typical of people from Alola.
"Alola! Meowth's Trainer, welcome to the Pokémon School! Rock! "
"Hahaha! Everyone says I look a lot like him."
The man extended his hand.
"I'm Samson Oak, Professor Oak's cousin."
Hayato Sora shook his hand and introduced himself.
"I'm Hayato Sora, a Trainer from the Kalos region. This is Cinccino."
"Cin~!"
Cinccino waved its little paw enthusiastically.
"Ohhhh! Such a cute Pokémon! "
No wonder he and Professor Oak were cousins.
One loved Pokémon senryu poetry, while the other enjoyed Pokémon dad jokes.
They clearly shared the same comedic DNA.
Samson Oak invited Hayato Sora to tour the Pokémon School.
Hayato Sora gladly accepted and followed him inside.
As they left the entrance, a yellow figure flashed briefly from the direction of the forest.
"Cin?"
Cinccino turned its head.
It had just felt a strange gaze watching it.
"What's wrong, Cinccino?"
Hayato Sora picked it up and asked.
Cinccino explained that it thought a strange Pokémon had been secretly watching it—though it might have imagined it.
The group didn't think much of the small incident.
After entering the Pokémon School, Samson Oak enthusiastically introduced the school's facilities.
On the track field, students were racing while riding Tauros.
On the grass, some students were playing tag with Grass-type Pokémon.
Not far away, a crowd had gathered around a basketball match—
Team Machamp vs. Team Primeape.
The match was intense.
In the end, Team Machamp finished the game with a devastating slam dunk.
The defeated Primeape bounced around in rage, its temper exploding.
Were they trying to make Primeape rage so hard it evolved into Annihilape?
"Alola~ Principal Samson!"
An adult man approached them from a distance and greeted them.
"Alola~ Kukui," Samson Oak replied.
"This is quite a 'Meowth'—he comes from 'Zygarde'."
In his joke, "Meowth" meant Trainer, and "Zygarde" referred to Kalos.
Pokémon dad jokes really were something else.
"Nice to meet you, Kukui. Just call me Hayato Sora."
The three of them chatted while walking.
When Kukui and Samson learned that Hayato Sora had studied at Blueberry Academy, they became even more enthusiastic.
They even asked him to compare it with their Pokémon School and offer suggestions for improvement.
Eventually, they arrived at the battlefield used for student battles.
Kukui looked at Hayato Sora seriously.
"Hayato Sora, since you're a Trainer too… how about a Pokémon battle?"
Their eyes met.
Faced with Kukui's challenge, Hayato Sora nodded.
"Sure. It's been a while since I battled another Trainer."
If he remembered correctly, Kukui had once challenged Lance while trying to establish the Alola Pokémon League.
Even though he lost, Kukui was at least at the Elite Four level.
Soon, the news that Professor Kukui would battle a visiting Trainer spread throughout the school.
By the time Hayato Sora arrived at the battlefield, it was already surrounded by students.
"Senior Ilima, do you know that Trainer over there?"
A young girl asked while inching closer to Ilima.
Her question was just an excuse—getting closer to him was the real goal.
Ilima was no ordinary student.
He was admired throughout the school as the "Prince of Pokémon School."
Hearing the question, Ilima thought seriously.
"It's hard to say. That Trainer is from Kalos."
"He might possess that special power."
"You mean… the one similar to our Alola Z-Moves?"
"Mega Evolution."
"That's right."
"Unlike Z-Moves, which can only be used on the islands, Mega Evolution can be used anywhere in the world."
Meanwhile, Hayato Sora stepped onto one side of the battlefield.
"Cin~!"
Cinccino volunteered eagerly, asking to go first.
Hayato Sora rubbed the little Pokémon's head and smiled.
"Cinccino has a more important role."
"Cin?"
"Cheer for us from the sidelines. With Cinccino cheering, we'll definitely win."
"Cin~… Cin?"
(Will we win?)
"Of course we will."
At that moment—
At the highest point of the Pokémon School, a golden Pokémon suddenly appeared.
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