“Easy there, Ms.
Diantha…
please, don’t do this…”
Although Noah had no idea what was going through Diantha’s mind, he quickly reached out and helped her back to her feet.
Diantha gently wiped away the tears trailing down the corners of her eyes before smiling once again.
“I’ll continue training hard as well.”
“I won’t let you leave me too far behind.”
“At least, even though Serena belongs to you now, our Kalos region still has another rising star.”
Hearing that, Noah’s expression became rather strange.
“The person you’re talking about…”
“Don’t tell me it’s Alain?”
The moment those words left his mouth—
The gentle smile on Diantha’s face instantly disappeared, replaced by obvious vigilance.
“You know Alain?”
“Mr.
Noah, Serena is already yours.”
“You can’t steal him too!”
Poor thing.
A perfectly beautiful woman had practically developed PTSD thanks to Noah.
She was genuinely afraid he’d show up with another sack and start poaching Kalos’s talent all over again.
Holding back his laughter, Noah waved his hands.
“Relax, relax.”
“I have absolutely zero interest in that guy.”
“But since we’re friends now, let me give you one piece of advice.”
“Stay away from him.”
“He’s not a good person.”
Whenever Noah thought about Alain—
Even as a Transmigrator, he couldn’t help shaking his head.
Setting aside the fact that Alain’s Mega Charizard X somehow defeated Ash-Greninja—
What really irritated Noah was something else.
Alain had once been a member of Team Flare.
Following Lysandre’s orders—
He had unknowingly helped carry out who knew how many terrible deeds.
Even after all of that—
The League never arrested him.
Not only that—
They still allowed him to compete in the World Coronation Series Masters Eight.
Noah seriously suspected Alain must have seduced some high-ranking female League official.
After all—
That guy wasn’t exactly bad-looking.
…
Noah’s warning caused Diantha to frown slightly.
She had personally reviewed Alain’s records.
Everything had seemed perfectly normal.
So why was Noah insisting that Alain wasn’t a good person?
“In any case…”
“That’s all I can tell you.”
“If fate allows it, we’ll meet again someday.”
“Goodbye, Champion Diantha.”
Noah waved casually before turning around and leaving.
He offered no further explanation.
After all—
Even if he tried explaining everything—
He had absolutely no evidence.
Alain’s work for Lysandre had always been conducted in secret.
And who exactly was Lysandre?
The CEO of Lysandre Labs.
The man credited with advancing Mega Evolution research.
One of Kalos’s greatest public figures.
And the Chairman of the Kalos League.
If Noah suddenly claimed a man like that was secretly the leader of a criminal organization—
Without any proof whatsoever—
Who would possibly believe him?
Well…
Giovanni would.
Lusamine would too.
…
…
Melemele Island—
One of the four major islands of the Alola region.
At Hau’oli Airport, located in Hau’oli City, the island’s largest city—
The moment Noah stepped out of the arrival gate with Grace and Serena—
He spotted Professor Kukui standing outside the crowd, jumping up and down while holding a sign with Noah’s name written across it.
“Hey, Noah!”
“Over here!”
“Right here!”
Rubbing his temples, Noah walked over.
“Professor…”
“It’s not like I don’t know the way.”
“You really didn’t have to come pick me up.”
“Oh, come on!”
Professor Kukui replied excitedly.
“You’re Alola’s greatest hero now!”
“Ever since your battle with Champion Diantha went viral, Alola’s tourism revenue has already increased by several percentage points!”
Over the past two days—
The battle between MetalGreymon and Gardevoir had remained one of the hottest topics on the internet.
It had especially sparked tremendous curiosity about the previously overlooked region of Alola.
It reminded Noah a little of the tourism boom certain places experienced back in his previous life after unexpectedly going viral online.
“Oh, right.”
“Professor.”
“Let me introduce someone.”
“This is Mrs.
Grace.”
“And this is her daughter, Serena.”
“They’ll both become future Elite Four members of the Alola League.”
Noah turned and introduced the mother and daughter.
Professor Kukui hurriedly greeted them.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m Professor Kukui, Alola’s Pokémon Professor.”
“If there’s anything you don’t understand, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you.”
Grace smiled politely.
“We’ll be relying on you from now on.”
After greeting Kukui, Serena turned toward Noah somewhat embarrassed.
“N-Noah…”
“…Uncle.”
“C-calling me an Elite Four member is a little too much…”
“I think becoming a Gym Leader would already be my limit…”
She had instinctively started to call him ‘Noah.’
But after sensing her mother’s deadly stare—
She hurriedly corrected herself midway through.
Noah simply thought to himself—
‘If I personally train you and you still can’t even become an Elite Four member…’
‘Then I might as well throw myself off a cliff.’
‘Besides—’
‘If Serena possessed the same level of talent she demonstrated in the games—’
‘Becoming a Champion would practically be effortless.’
“Oh, Serena.”
Professor Kukui suddenly remembered something.
“Didn’t Noah give you a Digimon?”
“I still haven’t added its information to the Pokédex.”
“Could you let me see it?”
“Of course.”
Serena took out her Poké Ball and released its occupant.
A small green Digimon with a large flower blooming atop its head appeared cheerfully.
Just by looking at it—
Anyone could immediately guess it was Grass-type.
“Palmon.”
Noah explained from the side while Kukui rapidly took notes.
“Grass and Poison-type.”
“During the daytime, it spreads the flower on its head and its leaf-like arms to perform photosynthesis.”
“The flower can release both pleasant fragrances and poisonous gas.”
“W-Wow!”
“So that’s one of Alola’s exclusive Digimon?”
“I remember him now!”
“That’s the guy who defeated Champion Diantha two days ago!”
“I saved my allowance for half a year just to come to Alola and catch a Digimon!”
“Same here!”
“Damn it, MetalGreymon was way too cool!”
Before Kukui even finished taking notes—
A huge crowd of newly arrived tourists noticed the commotion.
Like zombies flooding through the streets—
They all rushed toward Noah.
Frightened, Palmon hurried behind Serena and tightly hugged her leg.
Seeing the situation—
Noah and Kukui simultaneously threw their Poké Balls.
“Agumon!”
“Incineroar!”