Chapter 281

Zacian lay down on the ground again, staring at the Zacian doll in front of him.

If my younger sister wakes up and sees all this... won't she envy her?

The Pokémon World, the Aether House.

When Qiao Ran returned, it was already night, and the children had all gone to Rest. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Acerola slipped into Qiao Ran's room to fulfill her earlier promise.

"Have you already spoken to the children and Uncle Modan about this?"

Seeing her curious and looking around, Qiao Ran couldn't help but ask, "Since you want to leave, you should say goodbye—especially to these children and Uncle Modan. They will definitely be reluctant to see Acerola leave."

"There are still two days left, right? I plan to talk to them again tomorrow..."

When this topic came up, Acerola hesitated for the first time. Some things are indeed not so easy to give up, especially companions she had spent so much time with... This kind of thing can't be resolved with just a few words.

"Yeah."

Qiao Ran couldn't help but smile.

"If you need anything, feel free to tell us. After all, we'll be companions sharing the same secret from now on."

Mei, who was standing nearby, also took out a Mimikyu plushie and put it into Acerola's hand.

"This is what we bought for you over there, what do you think?"

"Is this... a doll from Otherworld?"

Acerola looked at the doll in her hand. She did like such plush toys, but in today's chaotic world, it was impossible to find these things anymore.

"Yes, we chose the best-looking one."

"The dolls from Otherworld... they look a lot like those from our world..."

Acerola stared blankly at the object in her hand, lost in thought. So this was a product of Otherworld, not a toy created by humans in this world, but all of them were the same kind of thing.

No wonder Mei and the others said before that the Otherworld and this world are almost the same, and everyone likes Pokémon.

Oh, I see.

Finally, Acerola sincerely thanked her.

"Thank you! I really like it..."

Acerola accepted the Present, and the group chatted casually for a few moments before it was time to get down to business.

"Acerola, be prepared. If anything seems uncomfortable about what's happening next, you must tell us immediately."

Before the "transformation" took place, Qiao Ran had already explained the potential dangers to Acerola. Allowing Nihilego to parasitize her was certainly not a very "comfortable" experience. And Lillie and the others, who had experienced it firsthand, had probably told her a lot about their feelings about the experience.

"It's okay... I'm fine. Mei and the others said that Nihilego is actually very careful."

Although she kept saying that she was fine, when Acerola saw the Nihilego Levitate next to Qiao Ran, she couldn't help but take a deep breath.

This... this thing...

Will I be parasitized by Ultra Beast?

"Let's begin once we're ready."

Qiao Ran ruffled the head of the Nihilego next to him. This Nihilego was also an outstanding talent recommended by the Queen, and it was a different individual from Lillie and the others.

"Ready... ready!"

Acerola gave up resisting immediately, deciding that a short, sharp pain was better than a long, drawn-out one. Since Mei Lillie and the others said they were fine, then there shouldn't be any problems.

"Let's begin."

Qiao Ran nodded as well.

This process will take a little time, but normally there shouldn't be any major problems. After all, these Nihilego have already been trained and educated into excellent "Pokémon," Ultra Beast. Besides... with his Tokiwa Power replenishing them, these Nihilego don't care about the little bit of energy they absorb from parasitism.

"..."

Finally, after working for more than two hours, this "complex" process was completed.

Fortunately, no problems arose along the way. In fact, Qiao Ran even released her own Nihilego to act as a supervisor, letting her oversee her subordinates. As an experienced "parasite," she had a lot of authority on this matter.

However, the appearance of Nihilego once again made Acerola doubt her own worldview.

"Wait... wait a minute, you're saying she's... Nihilego? She's Nihilego?"

Lying in bed, still clearly weak, Acerola pointed at the white-haired girl standing next to Qiao Ran, who looked about eight or nine parts like Lillie, her face full of disbelief.

No... that can't be, right?

"Could this be the power of Ultra Beast? Or... no, why is this happening?"

Acerola's mind was in complete chaos. Even the experience of being parasitized and entering Poké Ball was not as shocking as what was happening now.

"~"

Nihilego did not answer, but instead gave a mysterious smile and fiddled with his long, pearly white hair.

"It's true!"

Mei spoke up directly.

"We don't know why, but that guy's Pokémon just has this ability."

"Since they can already travel between worlds, it's not surprising that something like this would happen, right?"

Mei nodded, "After all, Qiao Ran is indeed quite special. Maybe he's Pokémon too."

"Huh?" Lillie was startled by their statement. Qiao Ran is Pokémon... She really hadn't considered that possibility.

Don't look at me like that.

Qiao Ran was startled by Lillie's sudden gaze.

"I'm really not Pokémon, really."

He can't even use a single Pokémon move, so he's definitely a normal human. If you're going to have any doubts, you should be doubting those obviously weird guys like Iron Maiden and Sabrina!

And Phoebe, that girl is clearly not normal either, obviously the kind of person who would have problems if you just did a quick check-up.

"Where do you find a normal person who can conjure up a ball of energy in their hand?" Mei couldn't help but retort.

If this were a normal person, wouldn't she not even meet the standards of a normal person?

"Yeah, and it can even use Zacian's sword... I don't think anyone in the legends has ever used that thing, right? Since only Zacian can use it, then only Pokémon can use it."

Mei also began to have doubts.

"In that case, we'll have to check... If it's Pokémon, even if it turned into a human, it would definitely have some distinguishing features."

A strange smile appeared on Mei's face, which looked extremely dangerous.

"This..." A bead of cold sweat trickled down Qiao Ran's forehead.

"No... no, don't come any closer! I really am human."

"No, we have to check it first." Lillie also became interested.

The three of them pounced on Qiao Ran and pinned her to the bed. Seeing this scene, Acerola, who was resting next to her, couldn't help but laugh.

This group of people... seems more interesting than she imagined.

"Ugh!"

Pushed down by the three people, Qiao Ran initially wanted to resist, but sensing their presence, Qiao Ran suddenly lost all strength.

So... so close.

If he were alone, Qiao Ran could barely control himself, but this situation was clearly beyond his control.

"Let me see!" Muttering strange words, Mei took the initiative to lift up Qiao Ran's shirt.

Perhaps because she had an accomplice, she became bolder.

"Watch this." Mei also reached out and tickled Qiao Ran's waist.

The other two seemed to be affected as well, their expressions gradually becoming strange.

Strangely, his hands started moving restlessly. Most importantly—with them pressing so close to him and moving around so much, Qiao Ran had no way to resist. If he moved even slightly, who knew what he might touch, or what might happen next?

After a chaotic scene, the farce finally came to an end.

Acerola, lying next to him, kept her mouth agape, clearly having witnessed something truly astonishing. She was only a newcomer, yet she had already seen such a shocking scene.

Is this... also a normal part of life here?

Did I... make a wrong decision?

Qiao Ran, meanwhile, clutched her clothes, watching the group of female thugs in front of her warily.

"No, I already said I'm not Pokémon!"

"Well... after confirming it a bit, I can definitely relax."

"Yes, yes, there's nothing strange about his body; he's definitely a normal human being."

Mei and Mei, their faces still flushed from exercise, immediately looked away. The two seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding, their statements remarkably consistent, as if they hadn't done anything at all, merely "confirming" something.

Lillie also looked towards the door, pretending nothing had happened.

The onlooker, Nihilego, didn't participate. He just watched with interest. After all, every time he used "Nihilego," it was because Qiao Ran owed him something. There would be many more opportunities for Qiao Ran to interact with him alone in the future. Besides, it was more interesting to watch from the sidelines.

"..."

Qiao Ran straightened his clothes with a strange expression. There were so many people around, and he had no idea what strange places those guys had touched. Acerola was even watching from the side.

"Cough... cough cough."

To ease his embarrassment, Qiao Ran turned his gaze to Acerola and asked about her situation.

"Acerola, how are you feeling? If you're not feeling well, you can tell us."

"I'm... I'm fine," Acerola said, but suddenly, as if she had thought of something, her expression changed abruptly. "I'm perfectly fine, I don't need any checks, really, I don't need any."

Clearly, she was still frightened by what had just happened in front of her.

"If... if I'm not feeling well, I'll tell you, I really will."

Acerola lay in bed, speaking pitifully.

She had just been possessed by Nihilego, and her body was still somewhat weak. If anything were done to her now, she would truly have no ability to resist, which was clearly not the kind of experience she wanted.

"..."

Seeing Acerola's expression, Mei and the others could only scratch their cheeks and offer awkward yet polite smiles. It seemed... their actions just now had indeed gone a bit too far?

"Don't worry, generally a night's rest is enough." As someone who's been through it, Mei could basically guess how Acerola was feeling. It's normal to feel exhausted after being parasitized for the first time, and she'll recover after a while.

"But you went inside the Poké Ball just now, right? How was it?"

Mei smoothly changed the subject and asked about something else.

As Trainer, they were naturally curious about this. Although they knew before that Pokémon could enter Poké Ball, they wondered what was inside, what kind of world it was.

Mei also wanted to know if the feelings she experienced were the same as those of others.

"Hmm... it's amazing, like emptying my mind and entering another state."

"Moreover, through the Poké Ball's shell, I seemed to be able to vaguely see what was happening outside. So this is what it's like to feel like Pokémon."

Speaking of this, Acerola perked up, saying, "The experience of 'becoming Pokémon's has been fantasized about in many works in the Pokémon World, but no matter how many fantasies there are, none can compare to this real experience."

"I feel like... I understand my Pokémon better now."

The world seen through the Poké Ball is not the complete world.

Staying in the ball for a while is good for relaxation, but if the time goes on for too long, it becomes Bide.

These were the feelings that Acerola experienced during that short period of time.

"So, you feel the same way?"

Mei nodded in deep agreement, her face practically screaming "As expected of you!"

"However, that's not all that's surprising."

"Qiao Ran, is it about time to tell her about that?"