Chapter 88: Haru’s Supreme Lingerie Dial

He... he was back?

But something about this felt off.

Haru sensed something hard in his hand, shaped like a tiny manhole cover.

He hadn't activated any auto-pickup function... and Alola wasn't the Netherlands.

Curious, Haru pulled it out to take a look—only to realize, what the hell, it was some kind of "Supreme Emperor Dial."

But instead of Kamen Rider faces, it was covered in underwear designs.

WTF—was this the Lingerie Supreme Dial?!

And it wasn't just the dial. All the bizarre undergarments stuck to Haru were actually forming a full suit of "Rider Armor."

These garments came from different sources—Iono, Lusamine, Wicke...

In a twisted way, yes, it really was "supreme."

Just... Haru didn't think there was anything cool about this getup.

Like the lingerie pendant Arceus gave him the last time, this was apparently another one of those "little gifts."

This dial let him summon the "armor" at any time. That's it. No other functions.

Because Haru had been... otherwise occupied during the party, he hadn't been wearing a single article of clothing when he left.

So maybe Arceus thought it'd be polite to at least send him back to the present dressed.

But all Haru could think of was how messed up Arceus's sense of humor was—especially with Nemona and Iono standing right there.

Unlike the socially savvy Iono, Nemona was still a proper student.

But she was nothing like the typical college student who stayed up all night gaming, lived off junk food, slept through class, and then had the nerve to say "I'm broke, can you spot me 200 bucks?"

Nemona was a real winner.

First off, she was the daughter of the president of the Rotom Phone Company.

In an era where Rotom Phones were basically a household staple, that made her the definition of filthy rich.

She was kind of like that infamous noblewoman Cuck Queen Lillie from Galar's Iron Crown families—except Nemona had loving, present parents who gave her complete freedom to do whatever she wanted.

And that wasn't even the wildest part. On top of her pedigree, Nemona herself was insanely capable.

Despite being just a student, she was already a Champion-tier trainer at the beginning of the game—one of only two Champions in all of Paldea.

Sure, the Champion title in Paldea might've been a little watered down, but according to the top Champion Geeta, Nemona never even went all out during their battles.

So yeah, her strength was no joke.

With elite skills and an elite background, Nemona was basically maxed out.

If she had any flaws... it was probably that she was a little too obsessed with battling. And her bust was pretty flat—maybe even flatter than Iono's.

That said, Haru knew from the intel he'd gathered that this Nemona hadn't earned her Champion title yet. She had probably just enrolled in Naranja Academy.

If Haru wanted to catch her off guard before she hit her stride, now was the perfect time.

And yet—he did the exact opposite.

He tossed a Poké Ball and barked a command:

"Mew, use Teleport! Get us out of here!"

Fight? Are you crazy? If anyone saw this "armor," his reputation as a Trainer would be over!

First things first—he needed to change out of these clothes!

But the girls' voices beat him to the punch:

"Hold it, Haru. Trying to run again? I already saw everything. It's way too late to back out now."

That was Iono, calm and deadly.

Nemona followed up, her voice full of genuine curiosity:

"Whoa? What's with this outfit? Are you... an artist? Is this some kind of avant-garde thing?"

"Actually, I know an artist too. He works with whips—and he's a Grass-type Gym Leader."

"Also, did you just throw out... Mew!?"

Any normal girl would've screamed in terror at the sight of Haru's ridiculous getup.

But these two? They were far from "normal."

Iono had already witnessed even wilder scenes—and had taken part in some herself.

She had way more important things on her mind than some skimpy outfit.

And Nemona... well, her tolerance levels were on a whole different planet.

Some people joked her Ability was probably Own Tempo.

Honestly, even if Haru had stuck his underwear on his head and declared himself a Showa-era superhero, she'd probably just think it was performance art.

"..."

Faced with these two absolute wildcards, Haru could feel his limbs stiffen from awkwardness.

"Can I at least change first? There were... unforeseen circumstances. This outfit is kind of... special."

"Iono, I swear I'm not running away this time. If I were planning to run, you wouldn't have even found me in the first place."

Iono scanned him head to toe with her Magnemite drones. Only when she spotted a pair of underwear that obviously belonged to her did she give a satisfied nod.

"Go on then. Make it quick."

Originally, she had come here to have a proper talk with Haru—mainly about that psycho girl obsessed with green hair who had just issued a formal challenge.

But halfway through walking with Nemona, she'd suddenly remembered something weird.

Like a memory just popped into her head from nowhere—one that somehow felt completely real.

In that memory, she'd met Haru in Alola a year ago, witnessed a battle between Legendary Pokémon... and made the acquaintance of a naturally-cursed girl who always got third-wheeled.

That memory ended with a massive party—and just as it was about to be her turn to feel Haru's "firepower," he mysteriously vanished.

Meanwhile, Lillie—who hadn't even been invited to the party—had watched the whole thing unfold.

After Haru disappeared, Cuck Queen Lillie had flown into a rage and punished everyone, including Lana. Naturally, Iono hadn't escaped unscathed.

A few days later, Team Rocket had shown up in Alola hunting for Mew, whose presence they had detected during the Necrozma incident.

What they got instead was a beatdown courtesy of Lillie and her god-tier Pokémon.

Even Cosmog, weak as it might be, was still a proper Legendary. Beating up a few low-level Rocket grunts was child's play.

After that, Lillie had shown mercy and let Iono return to Paldea.

And that... was everything Iono had experienced since then.

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