Chapter 177

Mei and Lillie, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly surrounded Qiao Ran as soon as he appeared.

"... Where did you go?"

"What happened?"

Qiao Ran had been gone for so long that they were all a little nervous, afraid that something might have happened. Fortunately, Latias had specifically informed them and confirmed their safety before appearing with Qiao Ran, which relieved them from worrying too much.

I met with someone briefly.

Qiao Ran's expression was somewhat stiff. What had just happened was hardly something that could be described as "presentable," but in order not to make them overthink, Qiao Ran did not elaborate on the details.

"Who?"

"Um... well, actually I think Mei should know her."

Qiao Ran's gaze swept across Lillie and Mei's faces. As a young lady who had been controlled since childhood, it was understandable that Lillie didn't know certain things, but as for Mei, as a girl living in the Unova Region, there was no reason why she wouldn't know these things.

Qiao Ran even had reason to believe that they might have met once or several times before, and had some contact with each other.

"Someone I... know?"

Mei pointed to her face, looking somewhat confused.

She doesn't know anyone in this world. Could it be that Dr. Lilia, who saved her before, has reappeared here?

Or is it Amnesiac Nurse Joy exchanged contact information with her before?

Did they come here to watch the Performance Competition?

"No, actually it's the one we met once before..."

Qiao Ran covered her head with a headache, wanting to explain the whole story to them.

The person he encountered this time never hid their identity from beginning to end, and even used their real name when registering. Yet, despite this, they did nothing that day and did not Frisk the other person's identity.

Perhaps this is the reason why all of this has happened today.

--Just then, the host's announcement rang out from above the stage.

"Please welcome the next contestant— the Champion of last week's Performance Competition in our Modu City competition!"

"Miss Sabrina!!"

Below the stage, the audience cheered, while the contestants...

In the dressing room, Mei and Qiao Ran stared at each other wide-eyed when they heard the name.

"Yes, that's him." Qiao Ran pointed upwards.

Lillie stood by, completely bewildered.

"It really is Miss Sabrina!"

After a moment of silence, Mei reached out and grabbed Qiao Ran's shoulder.

"In Pokéstar Studios in our Unova Region, she's a household name as a female celebrity!"

Faced with Mei's sudden Snarl, Qiao Ran could only stare blankly with dead fish eyes and silently reply, "..."

Then why didn't you recognize her at all before?

Sabrina--

In this world, she is a trainer at the Magic City Gym and the Champion of last week's Performance Competition. However, in reality, her identity is not as simple as it seems.

Or perhaps it should be said that she is not actually from this world.

She had only been in this world for about a month and had regained consciousness.

Her hometown is Saffron City in the Kanto Region. Furthermore, she is an important part of the Pokémon World Pokémon League — the Gym Leader of Saffron City in the Kanto Region.

In addition to this, she has another unofficial profession—a famous actress in Pokéstar Studios in the Unova Region.

Of course, this was just a pastime for her as the Gym Leader during her spare time. In fact, she was neither short of money nor power.

The Saffron City, is one of the most prosperous and largest cities in the Kanto Region. It boasts a high-speed train connecting the region and the Silph Co., which pioneered the Poké Ball technology. As the Gym Leader of Saffron City, Sabrina possesses far more resources than other Gym Leader.

Most importantly, her personal and Pokémon's battle prowess is enough to support some of her capriciousness, allowing her to free up some time to do some interesting things.

For example, participating in the filming of movies.

It was in Pokéstar Studios in the Unova Region that she met a Trainer. After resolving the trainer's confusion by using her Future Sight, the Trainer, as predicted, landed a role in a movie that was about to be filmed. Although it was just a very minor role, Sabrina inexplicably watched her performance and praised her.

And that Trainer's name was "Mei".

--Sabrina still remembers her name.

Unexpectedly, after arriving in a new world, she would meet him again.

However, the man did not recognize her at all.

This Sabrina to some kind of suspicion.

After meeting that day, Sabrina began to gather information, but with all the resources at her disposal, Sabrina didn't find any useful information. In fact, her doubts only deepened. All she could command were some ordinary Trainer in the Gym, while the ones who modified Mei and the others' information were people at a higher level.

As a former high-ranking member of the Pokémon League, Sabrina felt an invisible web, and within that web, someone was weaving lies.

"... If you're being threatened, then let me test you."

After all, they are two different worlds. Sabrina has always been reserved about the Pokémon League with this world, and now it seems that this Pokémon League is even more of a den of iniquity.

Sabrina decided to do it herself.

If the other party is preparing to participate in Competition, that would be an excellent opportunity. She could teleport them unintentionally, then control them, Hypnosis them, and read their thoughts.

... That sneaky man is very suspicious.

On the day of the Competition.

Using her infiltrated pawns within the Performing Family, Sabrina knew Qiao Ran's location without even showing herself. Just as she suspected, this man was always with Mei and another girl, whether he was there or not, suggesting he was being monitored and controlled.

"Chance."

Taking advantage of the man's absence, Sabrina found an opening, Teleport behind him, and took him away.

Her destination was an abandoned warehouse, which she had prepared in advance as a perfect prison.

However, what happened next completely overturned all her ideas.

In the Pokémon World, Psychic are skills that can be cultivated. These abilities are usually most easily triggered during childhood, and Sabrina is a genius that is probably one in tens of millions of people.

With a human body, she can do things that Pokémon can do.

Confusion, Teleport, reading the future...

With her abilities, she could control and destroy an ordinary human with almost no effort, but... this time, her Psychic failed.

Faced with her Confusion, the opponent somehow produced a Long Sword and began slashing at her. Most strangely, her Confusion was also cut off and blocked by this thing.

What's this???

Even in the Pokémon World, she had never encountered such a bizarre scene. Was this guy... really human?

If humans could do that, what would be the point of having Pokémon?

Having failed in her attack, Sabrina regrouped, preparing to use her pre-arranged Pokémon. But this time, she still...

They failed.

The other party turned the tables on her, and ended up outmaneuvering her.

Finally—just as she was about to give up and leave, a fair, clean hand landed on her shoulder.

This time, even her most prized Psychic was blocked.

What she found most unacceptable and intolerable was that the owner of this hand... also appeared to be a human.

... Why?

Are there any other humans with Psychic as strong as mine?

Normally, Sabrina might have felt some interest and excitement, but in this situation, she only felt a chill run down her spine.

If the attack hadn't been a spur-of-the-moment decision, she might have even thought it was all a setup against her.

Now, she is utterly doomed.

"..."

Sabrina remained silent, watching the man step forward, using his Long Sword to pry open the cloak she had used to conceal her identity.

She raised her head and glared at the other person with resentment.

This was the first time in her Sabrina had tasted such humiliation.

Not only was his scheme Foresight, but his Psychic were also suppressed. None of this should have happened.

After staring at her face for a long time, the man suddenly spoke.

"Wait, haven't I seen you somewhere else before?"

"... Could you please stop telling such a lame lie?"

Sabrina wore a mocking smile. She had said those words to hundreds, if not thousands.

Besides, she's a household name in the Pokémon World; not having seen her is a huge problem in itself.

"I'm Trainer at the Magic City Gym and a participant in the Performance Competition. You'd better let me go right now. My assistant has recorded my departure time, and if I'm gone for too long, she'll immediately seek help from the police and the Gym."

Sabrina knew that she was now under control, and a direct confrontation would be useless. Besides, her face had already been seen, so hiding her identity was no longer of any use.

Her status, ironically, became her bargaining chip.

She could try to negotiate with the other party, or even show a disdainful attitude to provoke them. As long as the other party showed the slightest weakness—such as removing the hand from her shoulder—she could leave instantly.

However, just as she was saying this, the man suddenly looked at her and said something she hadn't expected.

"Is your hometown a place called Saffron City?"

Time is back on track.

"Let's welcome Miss Sabrina! She'll be giving us a performance!"

With the host's warm-up, the audience below the stage was already in a frenzy. Normally, Performance Competition of this caliber wouldn't have this many spectators, but now—the audience was packed to the brim.

This time, they were all there to watch one person's performance: a genius trainer who joined the Magic City Gym in less than a month and became Elite Trainer, and also last week's city-level Champion.

Her existence was like a shooting star that appeared suddenly and amazed everyone. Although she repeatedly emphasized that she had not participated in any public activities before, her steady stage presence and elegant and beautiful attitude at all times spread her name like a virus.

Sabrina.

Her clothing, makeup, and overall style have become a fashion trend Mimic and sought after by some mature urban women. No one knows what the future holds for this dazzling new star, but everyone understands one thing—this is just the beginning.

As the host finished speaking, a beam of light shone down from the mall's high dome. With the increasingly dazzling light, the main character on stage and the figure of an Espeon appeared together in the center of the beam.

Hello everyone, I'm Sabrina.

With a faint smile on her face, the slender, long-haired beauty introduced herself to the audience. In front of her, the purple Espeon also raised its head, its fur shimmering with light.

Without any extra preparation, and even on a simple, makeshift stage, Sabrina's appearance still brought a stunning feeling.

"Miss Sabrina!!"

"... It really is Miss Sabrina!"

The crowd below cheered and chanted Sabrina's name. This rising star, who shouldn't have been at this kind of event, had actually appeared here.

Being able to see the real people makes their trip here today worthwhile.

Offstage, in the dressing room, Qiao Ran and the other two girls were also caught in a completely different kind of shock.

"So... the person we met that day was actually Sabrina?"

Mei slumped into a chair, staring blankly ahead.

"I... I didn't even notice?"

"Yes, you completely ignored her, which made her think that I had harmed you, so she just secretly talked to me for a while when you weren't paying attention."

Qiao Ran emphasized the word "communication." Luckily, he was quite alert and had seen this kind of thing many times before. Otherwise, he would probably have fallen into Sabrina's trap and been Hypnosis by her.

"Place

So, who exactly is Sabrina?