Why is my Pokémon girl a bit strange?

Yi Ruoyun seemed to want to say something more, but just then, a fierce commotion erupted from a nearby cave, cutting her off.

"Awooo! Woo!"

The sound wasn't like an explosion, nor like rocks collapsing, but rather... like the roar of some wild beast.

"…!"

Yi Ruoyun's expression instantly turned serious.

"What's happening again…?"

Section 24 024 [Cave (Vote for me!)]

"You come with me."

Despite the urgent situation, Yi Ruoyun brought Qiao Ran along for his safety. The League's reinforcements wouldn't arrive for a while, and leaving Qiao Ran alone outside could lead to an accident, which would be terrible.

"Okay."

Qiao Ran nodded, recalled his Pokémon, and followed her into the cave.

He was actually quite interested in what was inside this cave.

According to the information he'd found, Pokémon didn't exist in this world hundreds of years ago. So, what was in these ruins? Could it be something unrelated to Pokémon?

"Do you know what this cave is? A relic of prehistoric humans?"

Walking behind Yi Ruoyun, Qiao Ran voiced his question. Although he didn't know how much information this Elite Four member could provide, Qiao Ran hoped to get some intel.

"This cave?"

Yi Ruoyun blinked, pulling out a flashlight from who-knows-where, and answered softly.

"We don't really understand it either. We just know that these special ruins suddenly appear in specific locations. Hmm… according to scientists, the formation of these caves is related to things like quantum mechanics; it's stuff from another world being teleported over… After all, think about it, Pokémon history is only a few hundred years old. How could our world have ruins related to Pokémon?"

"Pokémon… ruins?"

Qiao Ran was taken aback. Could there really be Pokémon ruins in this world? And from another world at that?

"Believe it or not, look over there." Yi Ruoyun moved her flashlight, illuminating the carvings on the wall.

Qiao Ran looked closely and saw abstract murals. However, unlike typical murals, they depicted non-human figures accompanying people intimately.

"You mean… these carvings depict Pokémon and human life?"

"What else would they be? Didn't a certain Pokémon Professor explain and analyze this on a TV show before?" Yi Ruoyun gave Qiao Ran a strange look.

"I don't watch much TV."

Qiao Ran shrugged. He never had the habit of watching TV, especially after getting a phone and computer.

As they walked further, Qiao Ran continued to observe the wall paintings. At some point, the theme of the drawings began to change. A jellyfish-like monster suddenly appeared, chasing humans and Pokémon.

Finally, Qiao Ran and Yi Ruoyun arrived in a stone chamber. The chamber looked unremarkable, but… looking at its rectangular layout, Qiao Ran felt he'd seen it somewhere before.

"So, those poachers blew this place up just to steal some murals and antiques?"

"Something like that. But what they were really after were fossils of prehistoric Pokémon. Those are rare worldwide, and each one would definitely be worth a fortune… Shh."

Suddenly, Yi Ruoyun placed a finger to her lips, lowering her voice.

"Don't move. Stay close to me."

Not only that, but she also held Qiao Ran's hand, pulling him to her side, pressing him close.

Although the posture was a bit awkward, and he even felt something soft and bouncy against him, Qiao Ran understood that the situation didn't allow him to dwell on such things. Moreover… this seemingly lazy Elite Four member seemed quite reliable when it mattered.

"Golbat."

Yi Ruoyun opened another Poké Ball, and a four-winged, bat-like Pokémon appeared before them. Its wings beat rapidly, sending out sonic waves in all directions.

Golbat, the Bat Pokémon, and quite a swift one at that.

Yi Ruoyun intended for Golbat to scout the surroundings, but what happened next caught both Yi Ruoyun and Qiao Ran somewhat off guard.

"Rumble!!!"

The moment Yi Ruoyun released Golbat, the stone chamber they were in was heavily damaged.

As if struck by something heavy, the entire wall beside them cracked open!

The sound of shattering stone was deafening. Qiao Ran couldn't help but cover his ears, yet even so, he felt a throbbing headache.

"Awooo!!"

A roar echoed within the stone chamber.

"What… is that?"

Qiao Ran looked closely and saw a Rhyperior, its body enveloped in dark energy. Its grayish-black, muscular body was wreathed in endless black matter. It emerged from the rubble, its eyes glowing with a dangerous red light, destroying everything around it with overwhelming force.

"What's going on? Was that the thing making the noise earlier?!"

Not only Qiao Ran was confused, but even Yi Ruoyun, an Elite Four member, couldn't figure out what was happening. What was wrong with that Pokémon? Why… did it look so enraged?

"Golbat! Bat Blood!"

Yi Ruoyun wanted to subdue it first. No matter where the Pokémon came from, or why it had gone berserk, knocking it out was the priority.

Qiao Ran felt the ground beneath his feet tremble, even letting out a low groan.

"If one isn't enough, then let's add another!"

Yi Ruoyun knew she couldn't delay any longer, so she threw out another Poké Ball. A large black crow, looking like it was wearing a top hat, appeared in the cave and joined the battle to subdue the rampaging Pokémon.

"Honchkrow, Dark Pulse!"

"Golbat, continue Sucker Punch!"

The Pokémon of a Champion were indeed worthy of their title. The battle started quickly and ended just as fast. Under the pincer attack of the two flying Pokémon, the Rhyperior soon lost its strength and collapsed with a rumble.

Its massive body struck the ground, kicking up countless pieces of rubble.

"Phew... it's finally over... wait."

Yi Ruoyun was about to breathe a sigh of relief and check the condition of the rampaging Pokémon, but she was shocked to find that the Rhyperior lying on the ground was rapidly disappearing.

Its body began to turn transparent, and gradually, its entire body vanished from the ground!

"It... it's gone?"

Yi Ruoyun was dumbfounded. Where did such a large Pokémon go? Where did the Pokémon that was just here go???

Just like that... gone???

"It really disappeared??"

She turned to look at Qiao Ran, as if seeking confirmation, and Qiao Ran nodded seriously.

"It really disappeared, truly."

"My goodness... what is going on..."

Yi Ruoyun took a deep breath. She could swear that in her entire life, this was the first time she had ever witnessed something so bizarre.

What was happening? Could it be... a ghost... a ghost...

Yi Ruoyun shivered all over and quickly stopped her imagination. To be honest, she was quite afraid of these creepy, ghost story-like events.

However, she didn't notice that in Qiao Ran's eyes beside her, a peculiar light seemed to flicker.

Qiao Ran understood in his heart that the Rhyperior hadn't actually disappeared into thin air. Because where it had vanished, a shiny key had actually dropped. However... for some reason, Yi Ruoyun didn't seem to have noticed these things.

—Yes, it seemed only he could see this key.

"Let's go out first. We can investigate these things in detail after the other League members arrive."

Yi Ruoyun rubbed her forehead, feeling that she might be a bit tired, so tired that she was hallucinating.

"Are you looking at something?"

"Hm? No? I was just looking around."

Qiao Ran replied casually, but he quietly walked to the spot where the Rhyperior had disappeared and picked up the shiny key that had fallen on the ground without anyone noticing.

The moment his hand touched the key, nothing special happened. However, on the Rotom Phone, a line of text quietly appeared.

"Pokémon Anomaly, ID 037 - Key acquired!"

Chapter 25: 025 [ID 037]

After coming out of the cave, due to the many events they had experienced, both Qiao Ran and Yi Ruoyun sat on rocks and rested for a while.

They didn't wait long before League operatives began to arrive one after another. They loaded all the poachers, who had been knocked out by Yi Ruoyun, onto helicopters.

"My, my, well done. To discover something like this right after starting your journey, fighting crime is everyone's responsibility. The League will award you a commendation."

The leader of the operatives patted Qiao Ran's shoulder with a cheerful smile. They had disliked these poachers for a long time, but due to a lack of information, they didn't know where these ruins would appear, which was why these poachers had always gotten there first.

The excavation of these Pokémon ruins held extraordinary significance. If any amazing discoveries were made, it could enhance the strength of the entire Huaxia Alliance and give the Huaxia Alliance more say in the world.

In fact, in recent decades, the Huaxia Alliance had been on the decline.

"A commendation... hmm, I'll accept it."

Although Qiao Ran said it happily, he was secretly thinking that he would have preferred some money instead.

Ever since he bought a few dresses for Vulpix, he had been broke. No offense, but honestly speaking, dresses are really expensive.

"It's about time we left. Don't you really want my autograph?"

After loading all the poachers onto the helicopter, it was time for Yi Ruoyun to leave. She glanced at Qiao Ran and brought up the autograph again.

"How much do you like autographs? Alright... then give me one."

Qiao Ran rolled his eyes, but this time he didn't refuse outright. Before, it was because he didn't know Yi Ruoyun and didn't know what kind of person she was, which was why he had refused directly. But this time was different. After spending some time together, he felt that he had indeed received a lot of care from this older sister.

Especially that key... he would definitely study it carefully later.

"Good boy, good boy, that's a good boy."

Yi Ruoyun smiled and took out paper and a pen, quickly writing one. Looking at her practiced hand, who knew how long she had been practicing.

"Alright, take good care of it. This is actually the first autograph I've ever given out."

"The first one?" Qiao Ran sounded surprised.

Looking at the words "Flying Elite Four Yi Ruoyun" written on the paper, Qiao Ran never would have guessed this was her first autograph.

"The first one after becoming an Elite Four member. Is that surprising? What, did you think an Elite Four member this young just fell out of the sky?"

Yi Ruoyun winked, then hopped onto her Skarmory. The Skarmory flapped its wings, gradually leaving the cliffside.

Her voice faded into the distance.

"So, take good care of it. If we happen to meet again next time, I'll be checking your homework, little Qiao Ran."

"You're the little one."

Qiao Ran held the autograph, unable to resist retorting. His functions were perfectly normal, and his performance far exceeded that of an average person!

You're the little one!

Night fell, and Qiao Ran set up camp by a small river nearby, ending his day's journey.

Sitting inside his tent, he picked up the strange key and examined it carefully, over and over.

The key's exterior was ordinary, with nothing else remarkable except for the serial number "37" engraved at the top. However, it shimmered with a peculiar radiance all over, as if announcing its own existence. It was precisely because of this special glow that Qiao Ran hadn't missed it in the pitch-black cave.

"Master, this appears to be a key that opens the door to other worlds. Just like how it allows travel to Pokémon Pioneer Land, this key can also open a 'door' to a certain world... However, the system indicates that the world on the other side has a certain degree of danger, and Master needs to think carefully before confirming whether to open it."

"Danger, huh..." Qiao Ran nodded, listening to Rotom's response.

"Is that why it's called an 'Anomaly'? And the number is 037, which means there are definitely more of these keys out there."

"Master, do you want to open it now? Unknown worlds might hold unknown rewards. Danger and adventure go hand in hand."

"No, I'll try it after challenging the next Gym. Since there's a degree of danger, it's better to train myself first."

Qiao Ran lay down in the tent, but his mind couldn't help but drift to the Rhyperior that had caused chaos in the cave. If Yi Ruoyun hadn't been there at that time, could he have dealt with that rampaging Pokémon on his own?