"Has Sister Yiyi already gone back?"
Just as Qiao Ran was still staring blankly, the nurse holding a teacup had somehow come up beside him.
The nurse still had to work the night shift at night. Qiao Ran thought to himself.
"You too. You suddenly ran off during the competition. Everyone was going crazy looking for you."
"Well, I..."
Qiao Ran wanted to explain why he had disappeared, or at least make up a more believable lie. However, he suddenly noticed something very strange.
"Wait, what did you just call Shi Yiyi??"
"Sister Yiyi? Is there a problem? Don't tell me you didn't know?"
The nurse sat down on the sofa and placed her steaming teacup on the little table.
"When I was little, Sister Yiyi had already started traveling. I practically grew up watching her competitions."
"..."
Listening to the nurse, Qiao Ran's mouth fell open into an O. That girl who looked like an elementary school student was actually older than the nurse????
That old mon—no, just how old was she?!
"Don't blame Sister Yiyi either. Every so often, she comes back to Zhenhui Town to hold a competition, all to select someone suitable... someone who can inherit her performances. But after who knew how many years, she still hadn't gotten what she wanted. Maybe it was already difficult enough for a small place like ours to produce someone like her."
The nurse gently shook her head, a helpless smile appearing on her face.
"She only gave you a hard time this time because she probably thought your attitude wasn't serious enough. She didn't want you to waste such talent... She told me that many Trainers only joined performance competitions on a whim. Some of them might have had decent talent, but with that kind of messing-around attitude, they caused quite a few scandals that tarnished performance competitions. In the end, they gradually became mediocre."
"Don't blame her either. When you ran away, Sister Yiyi thought you were angry with her. She was nearly frantic. Still, Sister Yiyi normally doesn't target people like that unless they say Zhenhui Town is bad in some way or call her short. Otherwise, she won't get angry."
"This..."
Qiao Ran shook his head, both annoyed and amused. What was this situation? He had stepped on both landmines?
"I know. I don't blame her either. After all, Dianxi and I won in the end."
Now that the competition was over, Qiao Ran had nothing left to sulk over with Shi Yiyi. Tomorrow, they would board a ship to Jinling and head for the next city.
Back in his room, Qiao Ran carefully shut the door and released his Pokémon.
Looking at Dianxi lying on the bed, face flushed red as she tightly wrapped the bedsheet around herself, Qiao Ran lightly shook the money in his hand.
"Hehehe..."
"Master... your smile is so strange." Dianxi clutched the blanket and still refused to let go.
—Vulpix's clothes were far too ill-fitting.
Qiao Ran touched his cheek. Even he didn't understand why, when he held cash and looked at Dianxi like this, his smile turned so wicked.
"Um... before we board tomorrow, how about we go shopping at a clothing store?"
He only wanted to buy clothes together, that was all.
By the way, which female character from the Pokémon world, human characters only, did everyone most want to see?
Departure and Boarding
The next day, Qiao Ran got up early.
It wasn't only because he had to catch the ship. He also needed to visit a clothing store and pick out several suitable outfits for Dianxi.
Dianxi did not come out to choose clothes herself. With Vulpix helping take her measurements, she gave Qiao Ran her body measurements and entrusted the responsibility of choosing clothes to him.
"If Master chooses the clothes, I'll definitely like them... So for my first time buying clothes, I still want to wear what Master picked for me."
"This... all right."
Though somewhat hesitant, Qiao Ran ultimately accepted this arduous task. He got up early and squatted outside the clothing store, waiting for it to open.
If he didn't go now, Dianxi might not have suitable clothes for the next few days. It would be a bit of a shame if she couldn't enjoy her time aboard the ship in human form.
Miniature Dianxi had an even more pitiable figure than Vulpix. The difference became even more pronounced after putting on clothes. As a princess, Dianxi could not tolerate such improper attire. At the very least, she did not want Qiao Ran to see her like that.
After finally waiting for the women's clothing store to open, Qiao Ran and Vulpix skillfully browsed through the shop. Qiao Ran swore that this was not a skill he had been born with. These Pokémon had trained it into him.
—His ability to pick women's clothing might now be even better than his ability to pick men's clothing.
"Yes, this one, this one, this one, and this one. What...? They're for my daughter? Wait, do I look that old? I'm still a minor!"
Qiao Ran's mouth twitched as he hurriedly had the tactless sales clerk package the several pink children's dresses in front of him. Qiao Ran might not have been devastatingly handsome, but he was definitely good-looking and refined.
After paying, Qiao Ran carried all the large and small bags in his hands.
These were all princess dresses personally chosen by Qiao Ran. One of them even looked very much like a wedding dress. He believed Dianxi would definitely like them. However, besides that, there was another problem, neither too big nor too small, that needed solving.
So Qiao Ran turned to Vulpix and gave her a very serious, solemn warning. "Whatever you do, don't tell Dianxi these are children's clothes. Otherwise, she'll definitely get angry."
"Mm... mm, I understand."
Vulpix nodded seriously as well. She would protect this secret to the death. Although the clothes she wore were only a tiny bit better than children's clothes, Vulpix did not care about such things.
Dianxi, however, was the complete opposite—she cared immensely.
If she found out she was wearing children's clothes, her dignity as a princess would be utterly ruined. Although Dianxi could gain the graceful figure of a lovely young girl after Mega Evolution, unfortunately, that form could not last long. Once the Mega Evolution ended, she would return to her original little-girl appearance.
After wrapping up the clothes they had chosen, Qiao Ran left with Vulpix. As for underwear, they also took care of that at a nearby store.
"Will it be okay? The underwear... is all pink?" Vulpix looked a little worried. She was not quite sure what Dianxi liked.
"It'll probably be fine... Dianxi should like that color. Besides, every set has different patterns."
Qiao Ran was worried too, but he did not show it. Besides, choosing underwear for Dianxi was quite convenient—at least he did not have to worry about the upper-body size.
Returning to the Pokémon Center, Qiao Ran entered Pokémon Pioneer Land and handed the clothes he had bought to Dianxi. She took them, opened the packages, and looked through them one by one.
"Is this... what Master likes? I thought it would be more..."
"More what?"
"N-No, nothing. These are... quite nice too. Very cute... I like them very much..."
Dianxi's cheeks were faintly flushed, especially when she looked at the underwear.
After saying that, she hugged the pile of clothes and ran into the tent.
"Master, don't peek!"
"I know, I know."
Qiao Ran helplessly shook his head. What did he need to peek at?
—If there had been anything he wanted to see, he had already seen it all yesterday.
Not long after, Dianxi came out after changing. Qiao Ran saw that she had chosen one of the pink-and-white dresses. The style and colors suited her dignified princessly temperament perfectly.
She was truly... beautiful.
"H-How is it?"
"Very good. As good as always."
Qiao Ran gave her a thumbs-up and voiced his approval. There was nothing to criticize about Dianxi's appearance. Even in human form, she was among the very best, not to mention the special aura that no one else could imitate.
She had both the nobility of a princess and the playfulness and cuteness of a fairy, while also being as steady and dependable as rock.
With such a great foundation, she could outshine countless people even if she wore nothing at all.
"Th-Thank you. It's wonderful that Master likes it." Dianxi cupped her cheeks and smiled happily.
Being acknowledged by Qiao Ran was enough to make her feel completely satisfied.
After packing their luggage, Qiao Ran said goodbye to the nurse. Once they left the Pokémon Center, he called Vulpix and Dianxi out in a secluded corner.
"Hehehe. Since we earned quite a bit of prize money, I bought three tickets for this voyage, and we even upgraded to a more luxurious ship."
Qiao Ran proudly waved his spoils in hand. Amid the sparkling gazes of the two girls, he handed one ticket each to Dianxi and Vulpix. They happily accepted them.
"So, during this time, you both need to stay in human form. As for Suicune... I'll talk to her later. When she can take human form, I'll make it up to her too."
"Mm!"
"Let's go board the ship, Master!"
Dianxi stepped forward and directly grabbed Qiao Ran's arm.
Vulpix stared blankly from the other side, then copied her and grabbed his other arm.
"W-Wait! We're still on the street! What are you two doing????"
Qiao Ran's mouth twitched. Were they trying to get him burned at the stake in public??
Qiao Ran could even feel the passersby around them starting to look at him unfavorably. If looks could kill, he would probably have died ten thousand times already.
The Big Ship
"I didn't expect this ship to really be so big."
After checking their tickets and passing security, Qiao Ran boarded the cruise ship bound for Jinling with Dianxi and the others.
The ship was truly enormous. From the outside, it looked at least as tall as a building of more than ten stories. Its facilities also seemed comprehensive. Qiao Ran even suspected that it might have additional entertainment facilities aboard.
"That's amazing, Master! I'm actually standing on water!"
Standing on the deck, Dianxi let out an excited cry. As a Rock Type, this was her first time in such a special place.
However, Qiao Ran immediately covered her mouth.
"Shh—just call me Brother in a place like this. If you keep calling me Master, there'll definitely be trouble."
Qiao Ran gave them a serious look. He did not want the police to slap handcuffs on him and take him away aboard the ship. Qiao Ran was even certain that if they kept calling him that in public, it would happen sooner or later.
After speaking to Dianxi, Qiao Ran turned his gaze toward Vulpix.
"Vulpix, you too. From now on, you need to call me Brother. Also, your names are now Qiao An'an and Qiao Liuliu. Don't forget. Don't forget."
"Mm... I understand, Master... Brother."
Vulpix nodded her little head, but she still instinctively said that word.
"You..."
Qiao Ran rolled his eyes helplessly. Why did that form of address somehow sound even worse now??? Master... Brother???
"How about this, Vulpix? When you're around other people, just try to stay quiet."
"Mm." Vulpix answered. She actually looked relieved. For her, staying silent was obviously much easier than changing how she addressed him.
After boarding the cruise ship, Qiao Ran learned through chatting with the crew that this ship had not actually departed from here. It was merely passing through.
The cruise ship would take on passengers and supplies here, while its final destination was one of the southern hubs—Jinling.
"Zhenhui Town used to be quite a famous port too, but its development hasn't been doing well lately. Times change."
The crewman answered with a smile, then hurried off to help his companions carry boxes of all sizes. According to him, the boxes contained food and daily necessities. Since there were so many people aboard the cruise ship, supplies were used up quickly.
After bidding the friendly crewman farewell, Qiao Ran began looking for his room. Since there were only three of them, he had booked a relatively large room. For the three of them, a room like this was more than spacious enough.
Even if Suicune wanted to come out at night, she could make do on the floor.
The daytime passed quickly. Before Qiao Ran and Dianxi could experience much of anything, the day was already over.
What irritated Qiao Ran immensely was that there were always people trying to harass Vulpix and Dianxi in public places, but all of them were driven off by him, their temporary older brother.
"Brother, there seems to be a swimming pool on the ship, but I..." Passing by the pool, Dianxi seemed to have the urge to try it, but she also looked afraid of water.
"Take it slow. Tomorrow, let's pick out some swimsuits first."
Before you continue