Not a trainer this time.

Chapter 534: The full celebration of Lili Town, the forest test begins!
Alola region, Melemele Island, Lili Town.

This is a small town located in the vast tropical rainforest. The town is very small, with a few scattered households. Country paths connect the buildings, and palm trees are planted on both sides of the road for landscape use.

In the center of the town is a stage made of wooden boards, printed with white totem-like patterns that are full of primitive atmosphere.

Next to the stage stood a number of large bonfire stands with flickering flames burning on them.

If it weren't for the people around him wearing modern clothes, Naoki would feel as if he had come to a primitive tribe.

"Is this the town of Lili?"

Naoki was walking in the town with Gul'don. There were many trainers with Pokémon around him, including Lycanroc, Flower Dancer, Good and Bad Star, and even a Dragonite.

Because of this, he and Gulden were not very conspicuous in the crowd.

It is now dusk. Normally, by this time, tired people should have returned home and started cooking dinner.

But according to Naoki's observation, the residents of Lili Town and those people dressed as trainers were all gathering towards the center of the town.

Huh? What are they going to do?
"Guleton, let's go and take a look!"

"Ah gah!"

One man and one Pokémon blended into the crowd and soon arrived under the stage.

Gradually, more and more people gathered around, and when dusk spread across the earth, several people wearing strange masks, primitive costumes, and tooth necklaces around their necks suddenly stepped onto the stage and performed a strange and intense dance in the dusk and the light of the bonfire.

At first, Naoki didn't understand what was going on.

But when he saw clearly the patterns on the masks on those people's faces, a name immediately came to his mind.

——Kapu·Kimim!
He knew where this place was!

This is the celebration stage of Lili Town and also the stage for worshiping the patron saint of Melemele Island!
In the game, on certain specific days, the people of Lili Town will hold a full-scale celebration to worship Tapu Kokoro on the celebration stage at dusk.

This is to pray for Tapu Meimei to bless the people on the island more and help each other.

Soon, the dance ended, and an old woman wearing traditional ethnic costume, with white hair and leaning on a cane slowly walked onto the celebration stage.

She began to hum an ancient and melodious ballad, and then the sacrificial ceremony officially began.

"Guardian of the island! Please continue to protect the humans living here as you have done in the past! Please accept the gift we have prepared for you, guardian, and come and see the Pokémon battle we present to you!"

As soon as the words fell, two trainers stepped onto the stage and commanded their respective Pokémon to engage in a fierce battle with each other.

It is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Naoki watched the ceremony of worshiping Tapu Hibiki with great interest.

"I wonder if Tapu Kokoro is watching around here right now." Naoki thought to himself.

He turned his head and looked around, trying to see if he could find Tapu Kokoro in some more hidden places, but unfortunately he saw nothing.

Compared to other regions, the Alola region has many legendary Pokémon.

Apart from Solgaleo, Lunala, and Necrozma, there is the Tapu family who rule over the four islands.

Tapu Chirp from Melemele Island, Tapu Tete from Akala Island, Tapu Moo from Ula'ula Island, and Tapu Fin-Fin from Poni Island.

The Tapu family is very different from other legendary Pokémon in some aspects.

For example, they have been living on the island with humans, and will actively appear in front of some people and choose them.

In the Alola region, humans chosen by the guardian god will become the local island king or island queen.

And the chosen person cannot refuse, otherwise the guardian angel will be angry.

Naoki's destination is Hala, the king of the island of Melemele.

Because only the king of the island has the qualifications to start the pilgrimage of the islands. Only after completing the tests they give can you obtain the z bracelet and z pure crystal.

At this time, the battle on the celebration stage has come to an end.

With one of the Pokémon falling to the ground, this fierce battle officially ended.

A middle-aged man with white hair, dark skin and a slightly fat figure walked onto the stage with a smile.

"It was a wonderful battle. I think the guardian angel will be very happy!"

Hala clapped his hands and praised the two trainers in front of him.

The two young trainers touched their heads embarrassedly, but their expressions looked very excited.

The sky gradually darkened, and night gradually enveloped the entire Alola region.

Hara took the two trainers and said to the townspeople, "Well, today's celebration has come to a successful conclusion. It's getting late, so let's go back and rest!"

Tapu Kokoro never showed up from beginning to end. Although the onlookers looked regretful, there was nothing they could do but to disperse one after another.

Hala smiled and waved goodbye to everyone, and just as he turned around and prepared to go home to rest, he suddenly heard someone calling him.

"Wait a moment, Mr. Halla!"

Hala turned his head and saw a young man who was much taller than him walking towards him.

The young man was accompanied by a Pokémon he had never seen before.

Hara was stunned: "Who are you?"

"I'm Naoki." Naoki said, "I want to ask you to help me start the island tour."

Five minutes later, in Hala's mansion,

The island king, Hala, held a cup of tea and squinted his eyes as he looked at the young man in front of him.

"You mean, you want to join our Alola region island tour?"

"Yes, this is my certificate for the pilgrimage to the islands." Naoki placed the certificate he had obtained in the Royal Dome on the wooden coffee table in front of him.

Hala took the certificate and looked at it carefully, and found that it was indeed the authentic certificate of the Pilgrimage to the Islands.

Generally speaking, this kind of certificate is issued specifically to outsiders, and the Alola region has a variety of ways to obtain the certificate.

For example, if a trainer is recognized by an island king or queen, the trainer will be given a certificate for the island tour, which will enable the trainer to start the island tour.

Or it could be a reward to someone who has made significant contributions to the Alola region.

As for the local trainers... they are eligible to participate in the island tour from birth.

"I see! It seems like he's another talented young man!" Hara laughed cheerfully.

He went on to say: "Formally introduce myself. I am Hala, the king of Melemele Island. Since you have chosen to start the challenge from Melemele Island, then next, I will present the content of the test to you!"

"But it's too late today. How about this! Come here at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, and I will announce the content of the test on Melemele Island to you."

"Okay." Naoki nodded politely, thanked Hara, and left. He did not return to Padiya tonight, but rested at the ranch on Akala Island.

The next morning, when the sun rose high above the sea level, Naoki arrived at the town of Lili on time.

And Hala was already waiting there.

After a night's rest, Hara was full of energy. He smiled and said to Naoki:
"You came at the right time. Something happened on Melemele Island. The location is in the forest near Haole City. There is a Forest Pokémon Cafe there."

"According to the feedback from nearby Pokémon and residents, the cafe has recently had some problems and has temporarily stopped operating, which has caused a lot of trouble for everyone. I hope you can investigate and help solve the problem."

"This is the test I arranged for you!"

Forest Pokémon Cafe...

Isn't that a location from the anime?
Although it is a coffee shop, the owner is a Pokémon named Chimaera.

The gorilla is very smart. It provides drinks to customers who come to the store, and when customers complain, it listens to their complaints and helps them solve their problems.

By the way, the Pokémon Taverns in the ranch and on the World Tree were built by him with inspiration from the Pokémon Café in the forest!
That place is closed? Did something happen to Zhihuixing?
After a brief moment of contemplation, Naoki nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go take a look."

Hala narrowed her eyes and smiled: "Then I'll leave it to you."

The distance between Haole City and Lili Town is not far.

Naoki rode on the Gulden and, with the help of the navigation on Rotom's phone, arrived at the forest in less than five minutes.

Naoki originally thought that he would have to spend a lot of time looking for the Forest Café, but he was surprised to find that the Forest Pokémon Café actually had a special landmark on the map app!
Just press the button to go there, and the Rotom Phone will automatically help you navigate.

Naoki was very surprised. He clicked on the landmark and saw a line of text introduction pop up on the screen.

[Forest Pokémon Cafe: A Pokémon-run cafe with delicious pear juice as its signature dish. It is a great place to relieve your sorrows! It should be noted that the staff and most of the customers there are Pokémon! ]

Naoki: "..."

Is this the power of the Internet?

Could it be that his Naoki Ranch also has a special landmark?

Naoki quickly switched to the Padiya region and selected the area of ​​Ziqin Town. Sure enough, he saw the landmark of his ranch on the map.

[Naoki Ranch: A ranch that raises many Pokémon. It is rich in rock salt and two kinds of fresh milk. In addition, there are many special Pokémon trials. However, the ranch owner is very powerful. If you want to challenge him, you must be prepared to fail! ]

……really.

Naoki glanced at Ziqin Town again and found that this was how Ziqin Town was described above.

[Ziqin Town: The birthplace of the culture of abundance. Originally just an ordinary town, it gradually prospered with the arrival of the Bud Crown King. The Abundance Shrine on the back mountain is highly recommended for visiting! ]

...The chief of Dongning Village will definitely cry when he sees this.

After a moment of silence, Naoki asked Gulden to continue following the navigation.

Go through the jungle and go deeper into the forest. After jumping down a steep hillside, you will see a tree house with a very unique shape in the dense forest ahead.

The house was built on a thick tree, and a wooden staircase connected the house to the ground.

This is the deepest part of the forest. There are very tall and deep trees growing around it, and vines hanging from the branches. It looks like a secret place.

Forest Pokémon Cafe, here we are!
Naoki got off Gulden, walked up the wooden stairs to the tree house, and knocked on the door with his hand.

"Is anyone here?"

"Tuk-tuk!"

However, just after he knocked twice, the wooden door opened automatically, and Naoki could see the environment inside the inner room clearly.

Under the dim light, there is a wooden bar and several tables and chairs, and a monkey is standing behind the bar.

On the table next to it, a lampshade night mushroom and two sleep mushrooms were using their body light to illuminate the store.

Near the inside is a coal turtle, cooking a pot of soup using the flames from its body.

However, except for Chiron, all of these Pokémon had sad expressions.

When they saw someone push open the door, they all turned their heads and looked towards the door.

Zhihuixing said, "Yeah, yeah." (The store has temporarily stopped operating.)
Naoki sensed Zhihuixing's intention through Tokiwa's power. He was slightly stunned, then shook his head and explained:
"No, I'm not here to drink juice. I accepted the test from Mr. Hala, the king of the island, and came here to investigate the reason why the Forest Pokémon Cafe was suspended and to help you solve the problem."

Hearing this, all the Pokémon in the cafe raised their heads.

The Lampshade Night Mushroom had a look of surprise on its face, the Sleepy Mushroom was very expectant, and the Coal Turtle also poked its head out.

Zhihuixing was slightly stunned, and it looked up and down at the human in front of it with its eyes full of wisdom.

"Youyou?" (Can you understand Pokémon's speech?)

Naoki smiled and nodded, "Yes, not only that, I can also heal Pokémon!"

Gu Leton nodded repeatedly: "Ah, gash!" That's right!
Chimp was very smart. It looked at the human and the Pokémon in front of it, and based on what the other party had just said, it quickly guessed that he was here to complete the test of the pilgrimage to the islands.

Zhihuixing is no stranger to this matter, because the island's guardian god would visit its cafe from time to time.

"Yeah, yeah." (In that case, come with me and take a look.)
Zhi Huixing walked out of the bar and led the way.

Naoki and Gulden followed it out of the tree house, walked along a path in the forest, and soon came to an open space.

Fields were artificially cleared out on the open space, and fruit trees were planted in them, but the trees were now empty, as if they had been robbed by bandits.

"This is……"

Just as Naoki was feeling puzzled, a snoring sound suddenly came from the other end of the open space.

He looked up and saw a huge Snorlax lying on its back on the grass, revealing its round belly. It had its big paws resting on its belly and was soundly sleeping.

Looking at this scene, Naoki instantly understood what was happening here.

He looked at Zhihuixing and asked, "Is it that Snorlax that ate all the fruits in the orchard?"

Zhi Huixing nodded: "Yeah, yeah."

Naoki couldn't help but feel a little confused. If he remembered correctly, judging from the performance in the anime, this Chimp was very powerful.

It could easily use its super powers or other tricks to drive away this wild Snorlax.

Zhihuixing noticed the human's gaze, and with just one glance, it guessed what the other person was thinking.

Chihuixing fanned the fan in his hand and explained, "Ah, ah, ah." (If you drive it to other places, it will eat up all the other food in the forest, and then the other Pokémon living in this place will starve.)
This orchard was planted by it itself, so even if it is eaten, it will not affect the forest or other Pokémon.

The only thing affected was the supply of ingredients in the cafe. Without the fruits, it would not be able to make juice.

(End of this chapter)