Yuga looked at the Lycanroc before him, pondering how to handle it. Persian had asked him to avenge her, but how exactly? Should he kill it? Cripple it?
Yuga felt conflicted. Although he had agreed at the time, looking back, it seemed he'd been a bit hasty. After all, he was a Gym Leader of the League; either killing or crippling the Lycanroc didn't fit his status.
The Lycanroc before him wasn't concerned with Yuga's thoughts. Seeing an opportunity, it leaped towards Persian, raising its gleaming claws to strike.
Watching this, Yuga understood how Persian had gotten those previous clawed wounds; it was Lycanroc's Crush Claw.
Persian's body hadn't fully healed yet and couldn't dodge or withstand the attack.
At some point, Mimikyu had appeared in front of Persian, intercepting Lycanroc's Crush Claw with its Wood Hammer. The impact sent Lycanroc flying backward.
As Lycanroc launched its attack, Meowth and Rockruff by Persian's side were startled. But after it was repelled, the two little ones, regaining their composure, stood protectively in front of their mother, growling "threateningly" at Lycanroc. Their voices, though childish, moved Persian deeply.
Yuga smiled and said, "Oh, look at that — you two know how to protect your mom! Nice. But leave this matter to me today. Take your mom and step back."
Knowing they couldn't help, Meowth and Rockruff quickly pulled Persian back behind Yuga.
This time, Lycanroc, after standing back up, no longer ignored Yuga. It quietly assessed Yuga and Mimikyu, its scarlet eyes gleaming with menace.
"Awooo!"
Lycanroc used Howl again, then leapt forward with Crush Claw to attack Mimikyu. Mimikyu, like a small cannonball, bounced up and used Play Rough to collide with Lycanroc.
Boom!
The two Pokémon clashed, but in terms of strength, Lycanroc actually lost to the small, "frail" Mimikyu, who exerted force and threw Lycanroc to the ground.
Boom!!!
The hard rock shattered into pieces from Lycanroc's impact, causing exclamations among the observing Lycanrocs.
Their leader was the strongest Pokémon in the area, yet it was already struggling.
This was when the pack's unity came into play; the Lycanrocs on the cliff all jumped down and surrounded Yuga and Mimikyu in an instant.
"Are you planning to gang up on us?" Although Yuga said "you," he kept his eyes on the Lycanroc leader.
The Lycanroc leader, now standing again, felt its pride trampled. It turned around and barked at the other Lycanrocs, who backed off in fear.
"How about we make a bet?" Yuga continued, addressing the Lycanroc leader. "If you lose, you'll give up your position as leader and leave your pack."
Since killing or crippling it wasn't a good solution, Yuga had come up with this alternative.
Since Persian's mate had been killed in the fight for leadership, he thought it fitting that the one responsible should lose the same position.
Yuga's words enraged the Lycanroc leader. It had struggled immensely to become leader, unifying the two packs — how could it just give that up so easily?
Seeing the Lycanroc glaring viciously at him, Yuga sneered, "What's wrong? Afraid? So you're certain you're going to lose? I can't believe a coward like you actually became the leader."
"Roar!"
Yuga's words successfully infuriated the Lycanroc leader, and in a moment of rage, it agreed to Yuga's bet.
Yuga chuckled after hearing its answer. Sure enough, taunting straightforward Pokémon was a foolproof tactic.
The battle resumed. Lycanroc sent a barrage of sharp Stone Edges shooting toward Mimikyu, who extended a giant black claw from behind itself, swatting each stone away with left and right strikes.
After deflecting the Stone Edge attacks, Mimikyu didn't stop. It leaped up, its entire body glowing pink, and hurled itself at Lycanroc.
Not to be outdone, Lycanroc used Rock Climb to charge at Mimikyu.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The two Pokémon clashed again and again until finally, Lycanroc was defeated, knocked to the ground by Mimikyu's Wood Hammer.
Seeing the Lycanroc leader unconscious, Yuga called out to Persian, who was watching from nearby, "How about we settle your grudge by driving it out of the pack?"
Persian felt reluctant; if possible, she wanted to kill the Lycanroc leader. But knowing that wasn't feasible, she nodded in agreement.
Driving the Lycanroc out of the pack was the best solution for now.
Seeing their leader defeated, the other Lycanrocs wanted to check on him but held back, wary of Yuga's strength.
Yuga didn't heal the unconscious Lycanroc leader. Instead, he waited patiently until it woke up.
When the Lycanroc finally came to, it was around noon. Yuga had set up cookware and prepared a lavish lunch, eating with Persian and the others while they waited. The scent of the meal made the surrounding Lycanrocs' mouths water, and their usual berries suddenly seemed a lot less appetizing.
"You're awake! So, are you going to honor our bet and leave this place?" Yuga said casually, noticing the Lycanroc leader opening its eyes.
"Roar…"
For a moment, the Lycanroc looked confused, but then, as if accepting its fate, it slowly got up and limped toward the canyon's exit, its departure looking rather bleak. Even Yuga felt a bit sympathetic.
The other Lycanrocs wanted to stop it, but a single glare from their leader kept them from intervening — it didn't want to lose the last bit of its dignity.
Oh no, am I starting to look like a villain here? Yuga thought to himself.
After watching the Lycanroc leave, Yuga decided to head out as well. There were no high potential Lycanrocs or Rockruffs left here besides the departing leader, so he didn't want to waste any more time.
Letting such an excellent Lycanroc go was actually a bit painful for Yuga. But since he had decided to keep Persian and her children, he couldn't very well capture their enemy.
It's like how a Seviper Trainer would never capture a Zangoose.
After leaving the Lycanroc territory, Yuga didn't hurry to fly off on Dragonite. Instead, he recalled Persian, Meowth, and Rockruff into their Poké Balls and ventured into the surrounding forest.
Since he had some free time, he figured he might as well explore the forest and see if there were any Pokémon worth capturing.
The natural ecosystem of Alola is exceptionally well-preserved and complete. Though the place where Yuga was wasn't a primeval forest, it was still a vast, dense forest home to all kinds of Pokémon.
Here, Yuga saw Passimian leaping among the trees, Cutiefly and Ribombee playfully flitting across the grassy fields and flowers, Toucannon devouring berry in large gulps, and Morelull and Shiinotic sleeping hidden in the bushes—all Pokémon that could only be seen in Alola.
Despite the abundance and variety of Pokémon, finding high potential ones suitable for capture wasn't easy, and after a long search, Yuga hadn't spotted even a shadow of one.
As Yuga walked along, the ground suddenly bulged at his feet, and he saw something burrowing around beneath the soil.
"Florges, use Vine Whip to pull it out!" Yuga instructed Florges beside him.
"Florges!"
Upon hearing this, Florges swung out her vine, and with a bang, the ground burst open. A Wimpod, caught by the vine, was pulled out, writhing in struggle.
Just as Yuga was about to tell Florges to knock out the Wimpod, a clear ringing came from the sky, and suddenly a black and red figure descended, smashing Florges's vine and causing the Wimpod to fall back to the ground and burrow away in an instant.
What the heck! Yuga was about to curse out loud, and seeing the black-and-red figure more clearly only made him want to swear even more.
Tapu Bulu!
Was he stirring up a whole nest of Alola's guardian deities? Why they were come to him one after another! Wasn't Tapu Bulu the guardian of Ula'ula Island? Why was it here on Melemele Island?
It must be Tapu Koko's doing! Yuga thought to himself.
Tapu Bulu bounced around as it observed Yuga, and with every swish of its tail, a pleasant ringing echoed out.
Somehow, hearing this sound, Yuga couldn't help but feel a sense of closeness to Tapu Bulu.
Unlike Tapu Koko, Tapu Bulu didn't attack upon arrival. Instead, it circled around Yuga and Florges, appearing quite interested in them.
Seeing that Tapu Bulu didn't have hostile intentions, Yuga stood still, allowing it to observe him.
After a while, Tapu Bulu suddenly leaped over to Florges, startling Yuga.
Just when Yuga thought it was about to attack, it instead led Florges over to a small sapling and began performing a mysterious dance in front of it.
Ding-ling… ding-ling…
With each step Tapu Bulu took, green light emanated from its body. To Yuga's amazement, the small sapling started growing at a visibly rapid pace, and before long, it had transformed into a towering tree covered in pink blossoms.
Yuga was stunned by the scene, remembering only then that Tapu Bulu had the power to control and enhance the growth of plants.
Florges also possessed the ability to make plants grow, but her powers couldn't compare to Tapu Bulu's.
After finishing, Tapu Bulu pushed Florges over to another sapling, encouraging her to give it a try, just like it did.
Florges hesitated for a moment but then tried to imitate Tapu Bulu's dance. Though there was no ringing, Florges also emitted a green light.
The sapling began to grow, sprouting branches and buds, but after a while, it only reached about the height of a person—nothing like the towering tree that Tapu Bulu had created.
Tapu Bulu continued to lead Florges to the next sapling, demonstrating again, and even providing explanations as it went along, as if earnestly teaching her.
And so, one by one, towering trees began to spring up across the forest, growing quickly under the influence of Tapu Bulu and Florges.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the same forest, Gladion was training with Umbreon. Gladion is Lillie's older brother and the son of Lusamine, the president of the Aether Foundation.
"Umbreon, did you hear something?"
Gladion suddenly stopped, tilting his head to listen closely to something.
"Umbreon!"
Umbreon also stopped, raising its long ears, mimicking its trainer's actions as it listened intently.
"Umbreon!"
After a moment, Umbreon nodded at Gladion, confirming that it, too, had heard a strange ringing sound.
"Right, you heard it too. Should we go check it out?" Gladion asked Umbreon.
"Umbreon!"
Umbreon nodded in agreement, then darted forward, leading the way. Seeing this, Gladion quickly followed.
After running a while, Gladion suddenly heard Umbreon calling out anxiously from up ahead. When he caught up, he saw that a Midnight Lycanroc was blocking their path.
The sight of this Lycanroc instantly captivated Gladion.
"Umbreon, let's capture it together!"
"Umbreon!" Umbreon responded enthusiastically, leaping in front of Lycanroc.
The Lycanroc initially wanted to avoid Gladion, especially since it was injured, but seeing Umbreon provoke it was more than it could tolerate!
The battle began, with Umbreon launching a Dark Pulse at Lycanroc, while Lycanroc retaliated with Stone Edge aimed at Umbreon.
Although Lycanroc's level was considerably higher than Umbreon's, its injuries hindered it, and its natural strength and training couldn't quite match Umbreon's. Before long, it was defeated by Umbreon.
After Gladion captured it, Lycanroc found itself surprisingly okay with the outcome. It planned to one day seek revenge on the human who had driven it away, but doing so alone would be impossible. However, with a trainer, things might be different!
Thus, Lycanroc willingly decided to follow Gladion.
After capturing Lycanroc, Gladion and Umbreon continued to follow the ringing sound.
Meanwhile, on the other side, under Tapu Bulu's guidance, Florges had nurtured one tree after another, gradually grasping the essentials of Tapu Bulu's power, and the entire area was now blooming with vibrant flowers.
Tapu Bulu was pleased with Florges's progress. Seeing that she had mastered the technique, it shook its tail triumphantly and flew away.
Halfway through its flight, Tapu Bulu suddenly thought: What was I here for again? Fighting?
Not one for meaningless battles, Tapu Bulu flew straight back to Ula'ula Island, completely forgetting the task Tapu Koko had given it.
Meanwhile, after seeing Tapu Bulu leave, Yuga and Florges also departed. When Gladion and Umbreon finally arrived, all they saw was a forest filled with pink flowers.
"Umbreon, are these flowers supposed to bloom at this time of year?" Gladion asked dumbfoundedly.