Chapter 9: Guys, I Fished Up a Person!

It was a child—wearing orange shorts and looking quite young!

But the trainer of hers hadn't even looked in the water, just focused on the rod and preparing to yank.

If you pull now, the kid might get hurt by the hook!

Serperior frowned, two vines shooting out from her collar.

One vine whipped Lucas' butt, making him gasp and drop the rod, looking at her with aggrieved confusion.

Had he offended Serperior? Did she find out about his tricks from before?

Serperior ignored him and used the other vine to pull the unconscious child from the water.

When Serperior pulled a child out of the stream, Lucas forgot his stinging butt and quickly caught the kid.

"No visible injuries… probably swallowed water, just needs to cough it up."

Lucas quickly judged the child wasn't in danger—marveling at how tough people were in the Pokémon world. He had Serperior use her vines to perform the Heimlich maneuver and clear the girl's airway.

Serperior could control her vines far better than a human could, avoiding accidental harm.

Finally able to look at the kid, Lucas realized he'd need to take her to Officer Jenny to find her parents.

She had fair skin, cute twin-tails, and looked about ten.

She seemed familiar, but Lucas couldn't place her.

Her soaked clothes looked like the Naranja Academy uniform—so she was a student there.

Lucas considered contacting Geeta. It felt like overkill to bother the League Chairwoman, but she was the only contact he had at the school—the rest of the staff he didn't know.

As Lucas wondered if he should call Geeta, the girl started coughing loudly, catching his attention.

He turned to see her eyes slowly open.

Nemona's unfocused gaze gradually cleared. But when she saw Lucas looking at her, her pupils widened in panic and her lips trembled as if to scream.

But Nemona, afraid of angering Lucas, could only clamp her hand over her mouth, tears welling up.

Lucas was puzzled. Judging by her frightened look, she must have been scared by something.

Thinking about it, the only ones present were himself—the friendly big brother—and Serperior, who looked fierce.

So the answer was obvious.

Serperior must have scared her!

Lucas congratulated himself on his quick wits. The solution was easy.

He put on a warm, sunny smile. As Serperior looked at him like he was an idiot, Lucas comforted the girl:

"Don't be afraid, Serperior is my Pokémon."

"She looks fierce, but she means no harm."

Before Nemona could process this, a vine cracked the air with a sharp snap—Serperior, annoyed, lashed Lucas' butt a few more times.

She was careful to hit only the meaty part—hard enough to sting but not injure.

Lucas knew Serperior was holding back—her vines could snap trees and rocks—but he still hissed in pain.

After Lucas and Serperior's antics, he noticed the girl's eyes were no longer afraid, just a bit shy.

She must have realized, from their interaction, that they weren't bad people.

But the hint of wariness in her eyes gave Lucas pause.

Being cautious was good, but wasn't this girl a little too alert?

Lucas decided to ease her nerves with the conversation, then take her home to dry off. Staying in wet clothes would mean catching a cold.

"Hello, I'm Lucas Blade, the owner of this farm." He introduced himself, continuing,

 "This is my partner, Serperior. Can you tell me your name?"

"Ssska~"

Serperior tried to soften her expression, but her natural regal aura was hard to hide.

Nemona looked at Serperior, then at Lucas, who was smiling kindly.

After a few seconds' hesitation, Nemona said timidly,

"My name is Nemona. Thank you for saving me, big brother."

"Nemona, huh? That's a lovely name," Lucas praised gently.

Then his eyes widened in shock.

This fair-skinned, cute little girl was Paldea's future Champion-ranked trainer, the healthy, tan, energetic upperclassman Nemona.

She didn't look like her at all!

 Her personality and appearance were different—only her facial features were similar.

Was it a coincidence of names, or had he wandered into an illusion?

But Nemona's uniform was definitely from Naranja Academy, so, unwilling to give up, Lucas tried one last thing:

"If you don't mind… can you tell me where you live?"

"I live in Cabo Poco."

Nemona answered quickly. For some reason, her gut told her this big brother wasn't one of the bad people who kidnapped her.

That confirmed it—this was the human Paradox, the future battle maniac Nemona.

Lucas, who'd once seen countless memes about being Nemona's Arcanine or Lycanroc, felt a huge disconnect. He was utterly dumbfounded.

So, the main cast's personalities did change as they grew up.

Or, more accurately, their childhood selves grew into their adult personalities.

Lucas wanted to ask Nemona to come home with him, but just then, she suddenly grabbed his hand in panic.

"Big brother, let's get out of here, quick!"

"The people who kidnapped me might still be nearby!"

Lucas' smile froze.

"Huh?"