Chapter 229
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The participation of Pokémon Yveltal relieved Qiao Ran's combat pressure. Of course, this was also related to the combat style Qiao Ran chose. He did not Sheer Force in one place for too long. From beginning to end, he had only one goal.
--Heading to the location of Lusamine.
The longer this drags on, the higher the probability that Lusamine will encounter danger.
No matter what, she is Lillie's mother, Qiao Ran will not stand idly by.
"Serperior!"
Mei also sent out her Pokémon to join the battle. Although Yveltal had intercepted a large number of Buzzwole in the air, some still managed to escape and land on the ground.
Not only that, Qiao Ran's gaze also caught sight of a slender white figure on the covered bridge not far above. The Pheromosa didn't seem to have given up either, and instead tried to get closer to the bridge.
There's no point in staying here any longer.
"..."
Rushing to the central elevator, Lillie operated it briefly, and the elevator activated its emergency power. To conserve energy, this elevator was not always in operation, but only activated when needed.
"Come!"
Lillie grabbed Qiao Ran and Mei's hands and pulled them into the elevator. Riding on this world, Qiao Ran and Mei also retrieved their Pokémon.
"Buzz--"
The red and white Ultra Beast naturally wouldn't let Qiao Ran and the others leave so easily. The Buzzwole flew in the air, gathering all their muscles, Pheromosa had just reached the bottom floor and rushed over like a white lightning bolt. But by the time the elevator doors closed, it was already too late.
The Aether Foundation's Central Elevator was designed for use in times of crisis; even Monster like the Ultra Beast would have to expend considerable effort to destroy it directly.
By then, Qiao Ran and the others had already arrived at their destination.
However--
When the elevator doors opened and Qiao Ran and Lillie left, arriving at Lusamine's laboratory, it was already a mess. Papers were scattered on the floor, and the figure with long Golden hair was nowhere to be seen.
"No... impossible, where is it?"
Lillie searched everywhere, while Qiao Ran closed his eyes and used his Aura Power to investigate the situation.
Under the detection of the Aura Power, living beings have almost no way to hide, but no matter how Qiao Ran searched,
They did not find the person they were looking for.
"It seems... she's really not here anymore."
Qiao Ran glanced at the instruments around them that had been turned off, while Mei lay on the ground picking up the papers that had fallen to the floor.
"Research on the opening of the Ultra Wormhole and the stability of space... What exactly are these...?"
The paper was covered in incomprehensible writing. Although the characters were all familiar, when combined, they looked like alien script to Mei.
"Wait... no, that's not right."
Lillie, who had been running around in a panic, suddenly stopped as if she had suddenly remembered something.
She looked at the computer in front of her and turned it on.
The computer, which had originally contained a large amount of data, was now completely empty, and the locked storage device on the nearby table had also disappeared.
"Nothing must have happened; Mother probably left on her own."
Lillie knew her mother well; she couldn't possibly leave herself no way out, and even if something like this happened, that person could handle everything beautifully.
Although that person had put immense pressure on her and controlled everything about her since childhood, Lillie knew exactly how capable and outstanding she was.
"Given her personality, she must have left some clues... somewhere..."
Lillie searched the room again. She was very familiar with the layout of this room. Before Lusamine woke up, she had also stayed here for a long time and had seen many of the materials stored inside.
Putting myself in her shoes, if she were in that situation, besides taking the research data, she would also leave behind some clues. Of course, besides the research data...
"...!"
Lillie's gaze suddenly stopped on the table beside her.
"What's wrong...?" Qiao Ran noticed her unusual behavior and quickly asked.
"Could you please give me that thing?"
Lillie pointed to a photo frame on the table. If it were her, she would definitely...
"Good."
Qiao Ran stepped forward, picked up the photo frame from the table, and handed it to Lillie was sitting in front of the computer.
It was a picture frame that looked a bit old; because it was often handled, the decorations around the frame had peeled off.
In the center of the frame, there was a special photograph.
"If it were me, I would definitely take this too."
Lillie looked at the photo, her eyes filled with deep nostalgia. The photo showed the smiling faces of four people. Standing in the foreground were two blond adults. One of them was Lusamine looked almost exactly the same as she did now, but her expression was noticeably more sunny and cheerful. The other was a burly man with short Golden hair, laughing heartily. This was Lillie's father, Professor Mohn.
As for Lillie in the photo, she is still a child, being held in Lusamine's arms, looking at the camera shyly. On the other side, there is a blond boy who is not much older than Lillie, being held by Professor Mohn, looking at the camera with a smug expression.
"... She couldn't possibly leave this behind."
This photograph is not only an irreplaceable moment for Lillie, but also for Lusamine.
If she had to choose, even if the research data were gone, she couldn't give up those memories.
Lillie reached out, removed the cover from behind the picture frame, and pulled the photo out.
This obvious anomaly must have had a reason for being done this, and she was probably the only one who could have discovered it.
"..."
Lillie took the photo and turned it over.
Sure enough, there was something written on the back of the photograph.
Alola
"A... Lola...?"
A look of confusion returned to Lillie's face.
Why mention Alola here?
"Could it be...?"
Lillie and Qiao Ran spoke at the same time, and the two looked up at each other.
She's in Alola right now!
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You mean...
Although she was a beat too slow, Mei reacted immediately after hearing Lillie and Qiao Ran's voices.
Alola.
Although the Aether Foundation is located in Alola, it cannot be considered to be in Alola. This Artificial Island was built on the sea in the center of Alola at the cost of countless financial and material resources, and it was Lillie's father and mother who were in charge of all of this.
So, strictly speaking, the Aether Foundation is not located in Alola itself. To reach the real land of Alola, one would have to cross a very, very long ocean.
As for why Lusamine and the others have been trapped here, it's because the surrounding space has been distorted in ways unknown, preventing them from leaving the area where the Aether Foundation is located.
This is also one of the reasons why Mei chose to become Qiao Ran's Pokémon in order to leave this place. As Trainer, she couldn't accept the ending if she was trapped in such a place.
"If that's the case, it explains why there are so many Ultra Beast here..."
Judging from the situation in other regions, the situation in Alola outside the region is probably not very good either. Moreover, most of the regional crises are related to certain "factors" of their own. For example, Unova originated from Black Dragon and White Dragon, Galar is due to its unique Gigantamax, and Alola is probably inseparable from Ultra Beast.
If Lusamine really did go to Alola and remove the "space barrier" outside, then it would be understandable for other Ultra Beast to enter the Aether Foundation. Of course, this is just a temporary guess by Qiao Ran and the others. As for whether this guess has any basis in reality, they still need to explore further.
"So what we should do now is..."
Qiao Ran exchanged a glance with the two girls in front of him. They looked at Qiao Ran and nodded vigorously. From their eyes, Qiao Ran saw a burning fighting spirit.
It was getting late, but they had no intention of stopping there.
"We have Competition tomorrow..."
Qiao Ran sighed. They had been Competition for several days, and tomorrow was the final battle. They had made countless preparations for it.
But...
"However, compared to this—who cares about the Competition, it's not as important as what's happening now."
Qiao Ran waved his hand, and Lillie and Mei laughed along with him.
Yes, compared to this, what is just a Competition?
After leaving Lusamine's lab, Qiao Ran, Lillie, and the others did not choose the elevator this time, but instead came out through an emergency exit in another direction.
This hidden passage is known only to Lillie, Lusamine, and others; its sole purpose is for escape in emergency situations.
Exiting from here leads directly to the exterior of the Aether Foundation, where several speedboats are stored at the end of the passage, ready to leave at any time.
"It seems that research work is quite risky."
Qiao Ran glanced at the surroundings and couldn't help but sigh. This kind of passageway must have been considered during the architectural design, rather than being something added later.