"Kyuu!!"
Seeing all of its underlings collapse one after another, Mimikyu finally lost its temper.
The tiny eyes drawn onto its ragged disguise suddenly glowed brightly as it lunged toward Ursaluna with astonishing speed. Its disguise cloth spread wide open, aiming to completely envelop the massive bear Pokémon inside.
Peter's eyes narrowed.
"Use Fling!"
The Flame Orb shot through the air instantly.
The moment it struck Mimikyu, flames burst outward and spread across its entire body, inflicting a burn just as Ursaluna became fully wrapped inside the disguise cloth.
Fairy-type energy exploded violently.
A barrage of impacts echoed continuously from within the cloth as the disguise bulged and twisted in every direction.
A few moments later, Ursaluna was violently tossed back out, covered in injuries. At the same time, a dim glow flickered across its body—its Attack stat had been lowered.
Play Rough.
A Fairy-type physical move with a chance to lower the opponent's Attack.
"Kahh…"
Ursaluna panted heavily while shaking its head. Thankfully, it still looked capable of fighting.
If Peter hadn't reacted in time by throwing the Flame Orb and burning Mimikyu, that Play Rough would've heavily crippled Ursaluna on the spot.
"Use Earthquake!"
"KAAAHHH!!"
Another earth-shattering tremor erupted.
Before Mimikyu could react, the violent shockwave from beneath the floor blasted it off its feet.
Peter's eyes lit up instantly.
The Z-Ring on his wrist shimmered with dazzling rainbow-colored light.
"Ursaluna!!"
"KAAAHHH!!!"
Trainer and Pokémon crossed their arms simultaneously as the Z-Crystal erupted with brilliant radiance.
"Z-Move… Corkscrew Crash!!!"
"KAAAH—!!!"
Steel-colored light instantly wrapped around Ursaluna's massive body before transforming into a spiraling metallic storm that charged violently toward Mimikyu.
"Mimikyuuuu—!!"
Mimikyu's tail glowed brightly as it also leapt forward to meet the attack head-on.
BOOOOOOM—!!!!!
The next moment, the metallic vortex completely swallowed Mimikyu whole.
The terrifying explosion shook the entire supermarket violently. Dust poured endlessly from the ceiling as though the building might collapse at any second.
Without hesitation, Peter immediately shielded Whitney in his arms while Slaking burst out from its Poké Ball beside them.
Thankfully, the abandoned Thrifty Megamart turned out to be sturdier than expected.
After a tense few moments, the building finally stabilized.
When the dust eventually settled, Ursaluna was lying flat on the ground, breathing heavily.
Not far away, Mimikyu's disguise cloth had already gone limp and shriveled.
[Ding! Cross-tier battle victory achieved. Obtained 20 universal talent points. Ursaluna has leveled up to Lv.49. Heavy Slam proficiency increased to "Mastered"!]
Peter smiled faintly as he took out medicine and began treating the injured wild Pokémon. At the same time, he tossed a Rare Candy toward Ursaluna.
"Kahh…"
A flash of white light passed over its body, and Ursaluna's aura became noticeably stronger.
[Ding! Rare Candy consumed. Ursaluna has reached Lv.50 and learned the new moves High Horsepower and Rest!]
After recalling Ursaluna, Mimikyu and its underlings gradually recovered as well.
Under Peter's overwhelming "food diplomacy," he smoothly obtained two Ghostium Z crystals.
With that, all three Totem Pokémon challenges on Ula'ula Island had been completed.
And the time was only two-thirty in the afternoon—far earlier than Nanu's deadline.
"Let's go, Babe. We've been busy all day and still haven't eaten lunch."
"Okayyy~! ヾ(^▽^*)))"
The moment she heard they were finally leaving this creepy place, Whitney instantly regained all her energy.
By 3:55 PM, inside the police station, Nanu sat lazily staring toward the entrance.
"Strange…" he muttered. "Why are they taking so long?"
Given his information network, he naturally knew quite a bit about Peter already.
That was precisely why he'd deliberately set such an absurdly tight challenge limit.
But unexpectedly, it was already almost four o'clock, and Peter still hadn't returned.
"This brat…" Nanu clicked his tongue. "Didn't he say he'd be back soon?"
The truth was, because Peter had sounded so confident, Nanu had skipped lunch entirely just to wait there.
He'd only taken a quick nap, and when he woke up, it was already this late.
Just as he was growing increasingly irritated, Peter and Whitney's conversation drifted in from outside the station.
"Honey, that Clauncher barbecue was sooo good! And the Mareep skewers, the Swinub braised pork, the Alcremie ice cream cake… I swear I haven't eaten this happily in forever!"
"Then we'll come back again sometime."
"Mhm! But I ate soooo much…" Whitney poked her stomach worriedly. "What if I gain weight?"
"You barely ate breakfast and skipped lunch completely. Of course you'd eat more after seeing all that food." Peter chuckled. "Besides… whenever you gain weight, it somehow only goes to the places it's supposed to."
As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward Whitney's curvy figure while the hand around her waist slowly began sliding lower.
Before he could continue enjoying himself, however, a black-faced Nanu suddenly stormed out of the station.
He had sat there starving the entire afternoon…
While these two idiots had gone out for a luxurious seafood feast?!
The moment he thought about it, his already narrow eyes widened into something downright intimidating.
His jaw clenched tightly, and his face turned darker than a ten-year-unpolished leather shoe.
"Yo, Uncle Nanu~" Peter greeted cheerfully.
"I am not okay at all!" Nanu snapped back instantly.
Then he glared at Peter accusingly.
"Kid, didn't you say you'd be back soon?!"
"We were pretty quick," Peter replied casually. "We finished around two."
"Then why the hell are you only coming back now?!"
Whitney blinked innocently.
"Because Acerola said you hate getting disturbed during your naps, so we thought we'd just come back close to the deadline~"
"...Was that really the reason?!"
Nanu's mouth twitched violently.
So did his stomach.
One was from anger.
The other was from hunger.
Meanwhile, back at the Malie Library—
"Achoo!"
A certain purple-haired little ghost girl sneezed suddenly and rubbed her nose.
"Huh? Is someone talking about me?" Acerola giggled. "Maybe something good's going to happen today!"
A few minutes later, inside Tomato All-Day Seafood Restaurant—
Nanu sat down with a dark expression.
"Waiter. Bring me exactly what this kid ordered earlier. And make it fast."
"Certainly, sir. Since we require payment before dining, your total comes to 283,754 Poké Dollars. We'll round it down for you—just 280,000."
Nanu, who had just taken out his wallet, froze completely.
"…How much?"
"280,000 Poké Dollars, sir."
Silence.
Nanu slowly lowered his head and glanced at the menu.
The prices were absolutely horrifying.
"…I see."
After a long pause, he silently pulled out two hundred Poké Dollars and slapped them onto the table with imposing dignity.
"After thinking it over carefully… ordering too much would just be wasteful."
"I'll have one bowl of tomato noodles."
"Pfft—!"
Whitney burst into laughter immediately.
"Uncle Nanu, this is what happens when you slack off at work every day instead of properly doing your job~"
Peter stepped in to save him.
"Alright, alright. Order whatever you want, Uncle Nanu. This meal's on me."
Hearing that, Nanu quietly pocketed the two hundred Poké Dollars again.
His eyes clearly conveyed the message: At least the brat still has some conscience.
Unfortunately, Peter's next sentence nearly made him cough blood.
"Perfect timing too. Ursaluna and the others still aren't full yet, so they can eat some more too. It's not very nutritious, but the taste is pretty good."
Peter said it matter-of-factly.
Crack.
Nanu's fist made a crisp cracking sound.
At that exact moment, however, the waiter arrived carrying a steaming pot of Clauncher spicy prawns.
The rich aroma instantly filled the air.
Nanu's clenched fist slowly relaxed.
Then he silently picked up his chopsticks.
This Tomato Restaurant food…
Really was delicious.
As he peeled a large shrimp, Nanu thought to himself:
I'll deal with this brat after I finish eating.
Yeah. That was my plan all along.
Definitely not because I'm greedy. (Certain)
And so, he immediately began devouring the food with great enthusiasm.
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T/N:
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