"This little one's just pretty simple-minded, I think."
Damian played with Nebby for a bit longer, then handed it back to Lillie.
"You really need to keep a better eye on it, y'know. This makes twice now, doesn't it?"
He teased Lillie lightly.
Taking Nebby into her arms, Lillie's cheeks flushed. Twice? If only it were just twice. The funny thing was, she'd only ever bumped into this boy because Nebby had run off both times. Some kind of strange fate, that.
"A shy miss is even cuter, you know." Damian's smile deepened, his blatant, straight-up flirting leaving Lillie completely at a loss.
"C-cute… sir, please don't joke like that…"
Lillie looked like she was about to evolve into a steamy, overloading mess.
"I'm being serious. Anyway, it's getting late. Guess we'll meet again if fate feels like it."
Catching sight of a black-haired girl in the crowd out of the corner of his eye, Damian waved goodbye to Lillie and Nebby, then turned and strolled away.
"Eh? W-wait!"
Lillie blinked, then hurriedly reached out, wanting to say something to Damian.
But Damian acted like he hadn't heard her at all. His figure soon disappeared around the corner.
I still don't even know your name…
Lillie pressed her lips together, feeling a little disappointed.
But… we'll probably meet again, right?
She lowered her head to look at Nebby, happily chewing on its candy in her arms. It seemed like Nebby was really sensitive to that boy's presence.
As long as he was nearby, Nebby could find him! And then she'd be able to see him again too.
Yeah! Nebby could totally do it!
"Lillie, Lillie! I beat the Island Kahuna!"
Selene ran up to Lillie, pumping her fists in excitement, clearly over the moon.
"Mhm~ I saw. You were amazing, Selene." Lillie answered with a gentle smile.
"Heh~ of course I was. A little Island Challenge like that? Easy win!" Selene planted her fists on her hips, brimming with pride.
"Oh, right. Lillie, what are you doing standing over here?"
"Nothing. I just saw a really beautiful view, that's all."
Lillie tilted her head slightly, and that picture-perfect scene seemed to replay itself in front of her eyes.
She didn't mention that she'd run into that boy again. If she did, Selene would absolutely start making a huge fuss and go on and on about it.
"Huh?" Selene glanced around, scratching her head. What around this stage was supposed to be "really beautiful," exactly?
Selene did not get it.
Elsewhere, having left Iki Town, Damian looked up just in time to see a streak of lightning darting away across the sky.
Oh? Tapu Koko.
That was Melemele Island's guardian deity, Tapu Koko—one of the legendary Pokémon.
Seeing Tapu Koko gave Damian an idea.
"Come to think of it… I could pick a Tapu of my own to train, couldn't I?"
He rubbed his chin, thinking about which Tapu would suit him best.
All four Tapu shared the Fairy typing, but their primary types were different.
That said, Damian wasn't a fan of Tapu Koko or Tapu Bulu. The big problem was… their faces. Way too abstract for his taste.
Damian cared about both power and looks. He could accept an ugly mon if it was strong enough.
Tapu Koko was actually really solid in terms of strength, and Electric + Fairy was a great typing with relatively few weaknesses.
But even its power couldn't overcome Damian's opinion of its design.
Tapu Bulu, though, was on another level. In Damian's eyes, it was even uglier than Tapu Koko.
The remaining two, Tapu Lele and Tapu Fini, were acceptable, at least.
"Tapu Lele can be Caitlin's. That just leaves Tapu Fini."
Once Damian had the thought, he acted on it immediately, without hesitation. He pulled out his phone and called Guzma.
"Young master, what's up?"
"Guzma, I need you to send out a notice."
Damian started talking as he walked in the direction of Hau'oli City.
"From now on, keep an eye on Tapu Fini's movements. If anyone spots it alone in the wild, I want to know immediately."
He didn't even pause.
"Huh?"
Guzma froze. So the young master had set his sights on Tapu Fini?
Damn—if he actually managed to catch Tapu Fini, the people of Poni Island were gonna lose their minds.
Because right now, Poni Island didn't have an Island Kahuna. Ever since the last one passed away, the position of Poni Island's Island Kahuna had remained vacant.
And who became Island Kahuna was up to the Tapu.
In other words, the legitimacy of an Island Kahuna depended on whether they were acknowledged by the Tapu.
If Damian caught Tapu Fini at a time like this, then without Tapu Fini, Poni Island would never be able to appoint another Island Kahuna again.
Unless Poni Island ditched that "tradition" altogether—but that would be a hard sell.
"What are you 'huh'-ing about? Get that notice out. Now."
Damian clearly wasn't impressed with Guzma's reaction.
"R-right! Young master! You're insane—in the best way!"
Snapping back to himself, Guzma sounded downright hyped, admiration dripping from his voice.
Damn, this young master was wild. He was going straight for Poni Island's lifeline!
"You really don't aim very high, do you." Damian couldn't help but laugh. As he recalled, Guzma had always been salty about the whole 'Island Kahuna' system to begin with.
So his reaction wasn't exactly surprising.
"Forget it. Add Tapu Bulu to the watch list too. If anyone gets a fix on it alone in the wild, I want to know."
After a moment's thought, Damian added that.
He might not think much of Tapu Bulu's looks, but it was still a Legendary Pokémon. He could keep it under the organization's banner, toss its name onto the prize lists, and use it to fire up the members.
If just dangling Phione in front of them was enough to get them pumped, Tapu Bulu would work even better, right?
Well… maybe not. Tapu Bulu definitely didn't have Phione's cuteness going for it. Its whole aesthetic was kind of… abstract.
But everyone's taste was different. There were probably people out there who liked Tapu Bulu's design, right? Totally possible.
"Got it! Then, young master, what about Tapu Lele and Tapu Koko?"
"Leave those two off for now."
Damian answered without hesitation.
The Psychic-type Tapu Lele was reserved for Caitlin to catch herself. He'd promised her that much.
As for Tapu Koko—that was Melemele Island's guardian deity, and Kukui lived right there on Melemele. Stirring that pot would be a little too much trouble.
And besides, Damian wasn't in any rush on that front.
"I'll spread the word right away."
Guzma couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. What he really wanted to see was Hala and Kukui's faces when they found out their own guardian deity had been caught by someone else.
"Mm."
Damian hung up and looked toward the distant sky. Tapu Koko, the overgrown rooster, was long gone from sight.
Time to head home. No idea if Domino was back yet. He'd have her put on a maid outfit tonight.
Damian let his mind wander idly as he walked.