With Naoki lending a hand, the flow of service picked up. Every guest was cared for, and Oranguru finally let out a relieved sigh as he looked out at the bustling café.
It was full of laughter, good food, and happy Pokémon.
Naoki stood beside him, pulling out his Rotom Phone and snapping photos to capture the mont.
But then, just as he frad the perfect shot—FWOOOSH!
A burst of light streaked in from outside and stopped with a flash of electricity right at the front counter.
Naoki blinked, stunned, as he got a good look at the figure.
It was a Pokémon.
Black body, orange mane and legs, arms wrapped in halves of a shell adorned with glowing golden patterns. The curved markings on its shell resembled a bird's beak.
Naoki's breath caught.
"That's… Tapu Koko?!"
'So Tapu Koko really does visit the Forest Pokémon Café?'
Oranguru, calmly working behind the bar, didn't seem the least bit surprised by the sudden arrival. Clearly, this wasn't the first ti the Guardian Deity had dropped by.
With practiced ease, Oranguru reached under the counter and began rummaging through a pile of miscellaneous items.
anwhile, Naoki kept his eyes on Tapu Koko. After a mont's thought, he rembered: yes, Tapu Koko did make appearances here in the ani. That confird it—this café really was sothing special.
Suddenly, Oranguru found what he was looking for.
From beneath the counter, he pulled out an old but carefully preserved white bracelet.
"Ooh-ooh." (Here. For you.)
Oranguru handed the bracelet to Naoki with a gentle expression.
Naoki blinked in surprise, caught off guard by the gift. "Huh? What is this?"
Oranguru's eyes twinkled. "Ooh-ooh-ooh." (A thank-you gift for helping us.)
He then glanced over at Gogoat and Koraidon, who were lounging nearby, before adding:
"Ooh-ooh-ooh." (You're clearly a trainer. This bracelet might be of use to you. Please accept it.)
Naoki was stunned. He recognized the item imdiately—it was a Z-Ring, the very thing required to perform Z-Moves.
"Are you sure?" he asked, hesitating. "This is really valuable."
Oranguru nodded with quiet certainty. "Ooh-ooh." (What you've done for us is worth far more.)
Hearing that, Naoki no longer resisted. He bowed slightly in gratitude and slipped the Z-Ring onto his wrist.
It was a little old, but still fully functional.
All that was left now was finding the proper Z-Crystals to use with it.
Naoki's thoughts drifted toward a greater concern: Arceus.
Right now, Arceus was still incomplete—five of its elental Plates that make up the Life Orb were still scattered across the world.
If he rembered correctly, the missing Plates were: Electric, Grass, Water, Ground, and Dragon.
However, Dragon-type moves were ineffective against Arceus when it held the Fairy Plate. That had already been proven in the movie when Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina failed to even scratch Arceus.
Ground-type moves wouldn't work either if Arceus held the Flying Plate.
So only three types could currently deal any aningful damage: Electric, Grass, and Water.
Naoki reviewed the Pokémon on his ranch:
Grass-type: Calyrex.
Electric-type: Zapdos.
Water-type: Kyogre.
Zapdos was powerful, but compared to Calyrex and Kyogre, it might not hold up in a final confrontation. So the final finishing move, using the Z-Ring, would likely fall to one of the others.
Still, Naoki didn't want to make that choice on his own. After all, using a Z-Move wasn't just up to him—it would take full coordination and approval from the Pokémon involved.
With that thought in mind, Naoki returned to his seat, where Koraidon and Gogoat were still sipping on pear juice.
Behind the bar, Oranguru resud its work, preparing a fresh glass for Tapu Koko.
But Tapu Koko… wasn't paying attention to the drink.
Its eyes were locked on Naoki, Koraidon, and Gogoat, staring with intense curiosity.
The guardian deity could feel it—Naoki and his Pokémon radiated a deep, powerful connection to nature.
Tapu Koko narrowed its eyes.
No, this wasn't an ordinary Alolan trainer. In fact, it had never t this human before. At least, not here on lele Island.
At that mont, Oranguru gently pushed a glass of freshly blended juice, made with ripe Sitrus and Salac berries, toward Tapu Koko.
"Ooh." (Your drink.)
But before the guardian could take a sip'
whoosh!
In a flash of golden lightning, Tapu Koko vanished from the bar, leaving only the faint hum of electricity in its wake.
In the blink of an eye, Tapu Koko zipped straight toward Naoki and his Pokémon, hovering inches away and staring intently at them.
"Huh?" Oranguru blinked in confusion from behind the bar.
Naoki, caught off guard by Tapu Koko's sudden approach, instinctively leaned back a little.
"Koko?" Tapu Koko let out a low, inquisitive cry.
Naoki hesitated for a second before cautiously offering a greeting. "Uh… hello?"
Tapu Koko stepped back, eyes still fixed on them, now watching from a short distance with an unreadable expression.
Naoki was baffled. What is Tapu Koko doing?
Then, a thought struck him.
'Wait… could this be like in the ani?' He rembered how Tapu Koko had taken an interest in Ash and gifted him a Z-Ring embedded with an Electric Z-Crystal.
'Could Tapu Koko be sizing up for sothing like that?!'
"Koko…" Tapu Koko narrowed its eyes, its gaze sharp and assessing. Then, without touching the pear juice Oranguru had just served, it suddenly turned and floated toward the door.
After just a few steps, Tapu Koko paused and glanced back when it noticed Naoki wasn't following.
"Kaoko!" it called, a clear gesture to co along.
Naoki blinked. "Wait… are you asking to follow you?"
Tapu Koko nodded with an emphatic "Koko!"
Staring in disbelief, Naoki tried to process what was happening. The Guardian Deity of lele Island—the Tapu Koko—was personally inviting him sowhere?
After a short pause, Naoki got to his feet. "Alright, let's see where this leads."
He returned his Gogoat to its Poké Ball, gave a quick nod to Oranguru, and set off with Koraidon beside him.
The two of them followed Tapu Koko out of the café and through the dense greenery of the forest. Eventually, Tapu Koko floated down into a broad, open clearing surrounded by ancient trees.
There, it stopped.
Without a word, its entire aura changed.
Crackling bolts of electricity danced across its body as it spread its mask-like arms wide. The halves of its golden shell snapped open with a thunderous clack, revealing the sleek, avian form beneath.
Lightning flared around it, illuminating the entire clearing with flashes of yellow.
Tapu Koko raised its arms in challenge, clearly issuing a battle invitation.
Naoki instantly understood.
"So that's it, you want to battle ?"
Tapu Koko stared silently, electricity surging around it like a thunderstorm waiting to strike.
Just like the stories and episodes Naoki had watched back ho, Tapu Koko was as intense and unpredictable as ever.
Despite being revered as a Guardian Deity, Tapu Koko was no peaceful monk. Its temperant could shift on a di—one mont guiding and protecting, the next testing or even punishing those it deed unworthy.
Of course, Tapu Koko also had a rare habit of bestowing mysterious gifts on humans it liked, just like how it gifted Ash a Z-Ring with an Electricium Z in the ani.
At the sa ti, Tapu Koko was famously curious and constantly intrigued by both humans and Pokémon. It would appear unexpectedly, often playing or sparring with them just for fun.
Thinking of that, Naoki's eyes glead.
This is my chance.
According to local tradition, if one could defeat Tapu Koko in battle and earn its approval, the island guardian might even reward them with a Z-Crystal.
And as a Guardian Deity of Alola, Tapu Koko had access to all kinds of Z-Crystals.
Naoki thrust his hand forward decisively.
"Koraidon!"
The red-scaled Pokémon beside him stepped forward imdiately, letting out a deep, ancient roar that echoed across the clearing.
Tapu Koko narrowed its eyes, locking onto Koraidon.
In the next instant, its entire body lit up with a golden surge of electricity. Yellow currents crackled and spread rapidly across the grass at their feet, enveloping the battlefield in a dazzling field of energy.
Naoki's eyes sharpened.
Electric Surge… So Tapu Koko had activated its Electric Surge Ability, setting up Electric Terrain!
"Don't use Dragon-type moves!" Naoki called out. "Stick to fighting techniques!"
"Raao!" Koraidon rumbled in response, acknowledging the command.
No sooner had the words left Naoki's mouth than Tapu Koko beca a blur, vanishing in a flash of static and reappearing behind Koraidon with electrifying speed.
Naoki's heart skipped a beat. "So fast…!"
This was exactly how Tapu Koko moved in the ani—lightning-quick and impossible to track.
The guardian Pokémon raised its hand, electricity arcing violently from its fingertips as it aid a thunderous strike at Koraidon's back.
But just before the blow could land—
WHAM!
Koraidon twisted with shocking precision and snatched Tapu Koko's wrist mid-strike.
Tapu Koko's pupils contracted in surprise.
It hadn't expected that.
'It's even faster than ?!'
Naoki couldn't help but smirk. 'Just as I thought. As long as Tapu Koko doesn't use a Fairy-type move, we're good.'
"Koraidon—Close Combat!"
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