Chapter 282

"That matter is...?" Hearing Mei's sudden question, a question mark popped into Qiao Ran's head. What was that matter?

No, we haven't said anything strange before, have we?

"Of course, it's Wild Area! Wild Area!"

Mei rolled her eyes at Qiao Ran. Acerola had already officially joined; shouldn't she be telling her these things by now?

"Oh, yes, that's true."

After Mei's reminder, Qiao Ran also realized what was going on.

"Going to the Wild Area will speed up our recovery, so let's go together now."

"At that time, I can also introduce some other things."

Pokémon introduce you to Pokémon.

Acerola: "?"

This time, it was Acerola's turn to have a question mark appear on her head.

Wild Area?

What place is that?

And... we have to take her there... it's already so late, where can we go?

"I..."

Acerola gently opened her mouth, about to say something, but—at that moment, she saw a scene that astonished her beyond measure.

Beside Qiao Ran, a clear Portal was rapidly expanding, and through the gaps within it, she actually saw a completely different scene.

Could it be... that's another world?

"This place... is it the Otherworld you mentioned, the one that's so similar to the Pokémon World?"

Supported by Mei, Acerola stepped through the Portal and looked at the night view that appeared before her, and couldn't help but ask a question.

In the dim light, she saw lush meadows and Forest, as well as a quietly flowing river. Although everything was peaceful and beautiful, she still subconsciously felt a strange sense of unease. Even though she couldn't quite put her finger on it, this feeling was still faintly present.

"No, this is the Wild Area. It's more like... well, a world still growing."

Qiao Ran didn't know how to describe this place, but he had indeed watched it grow from nothing to a world in the beginning. Every day there were new changes here, thanks to the Pokémon living here.

His comrades-in-arms, in particular, made many contributions to this place.

"So, this isn't considered Otherworld?" Acerola tilted her head.

"No, if we're talking about Otherworld, then maybe it is?" Qiao Ran thought for a moment and gave this definition. In fact, even he wasn't sure of the exact location of the Wild Area. Was it a region within another world, or a small, undeveloped world?

He didn't have an answer to this question, but based on the differences between this place and the Pokémon World and the Real World, the only thing that could be confirmed was that this place was definitely different from those two worlds.

"So this is Otherworld too?"

Acerola nodded blankly, feeling a little dizzy from all the back-and-forth conversations.

"So where exactly is this place...?"

"Don't worry, we'll show you around and you'll see."

Mei reminded her not to rush, but that if one takes their time, it actually takes quite a while, and tonight, they probably won't be able to see too many places.

During the day, Pokémon are active outside, but at night they all go back to their dens and lie down. You can't wake them up unless you specifically look for them.

"Then I'll go back and rest too~"

Nihilego Levitate in mid-air, hooked his arm around Qiao Ran's neck, and gently kissed Qiao Ran's cheek when no one else was paying attention.

"Mmm!"

Even Qiao Ran himself was startled by her sudden action, while Lillie covered her cheek, her face slightly flushed.

No... that doesn't make sense, does it?

Even if it's Pokémon, it shouldn't do such a shameless thing in front of so many people!

Moreover, Nihilego's appearance was so similar to hers that Lillie had a feeling of hallucinating as she watched the other's actions, as if it were her...

"Hehe." Before leaving, Nihilego gave Lillie a final look, which made Lillie heart skip a beat.

"If you'd like to come visit us sometime, you'd be very happy to do so!"

After saying this, Nihilego flew out of everyone's sight and returned to their cave with the Nihilego that had previously parasitized Acerola.

"It really is Pokémon."

Looking at Nihilego's Levitate figure in the air, Acerola became even more certain of this.

If it were a human, they probably couldn't do something like that, right? They probably couldn't, could they?

"Let's go check out other places too."

Qiao Ran continued speaking, following Acerola's lead, and then changed the subject.

"First of all, I would still recommend..."

Qiao Ran and the others first arrived at the Cave in Dianxi.

Choosing this place as the first stop wasn't just Qiao Ran's personal preference; it was also because this place truly best represents the characteristics of the Wild Area.

Dianxi and Vulpix really put a lot of thought into their homes; compared to other Pokémon who are "unconcerned with details," their "style" is indeed different.

Acerola looked around curiously. Although it was a cave, there were a lot of pink Gem ornaments, making it seem like she had entered another magical world.

Some of the pink jewelry also contained blue crystals.

The unique structure, especially the two-tone flowers blooming on the lamps, gave her a sense of absurdity that "such things shouldn't exist in the Real World."

"Owner?"

As Qiao Ran stepped into the cave, Vulpix and Dianxi already sensed his arrival.

Who is this?

Looking at the petite figure that appeared beside Qiao Ran, Dianxi pondered for a moment, but quickly remembered the other person's identity.

"Ah... the Trainer who fought alongside us against that Guzzlord in the last battle?"

"Who are you...? Do you know me?"

Acerola found it strange; both girls in front of her were quite adorable. One had long purple hair and looked gentle and confident, while the other had long snow-white hair and looked both natural and a little shy.

If she had seen such a beautiful and adorable child, she probably would never forget her, right?

"Of course I've seen them."

Dianxi smiled and nodded, slightly opening her palm. A pink diamond gradually took shape in her hand and slowly rotated.

Meanwhile, the Vulpix also displayed its abilities. A chilling aura emanated from its hands, and as it used its power, two small fox ears emerged from the top of its head, and six white tails appeared behind it, swaying gently.

While Pokémon Humanoid Transformation can conceal some of their features, they will increasingly resemble their original form as they use their power. Generally speaking, Legendary Pokémon have better control over their power than ordinary Pokémon like Vulpix, its six large tails are really hard to hide.

"Who are you...?"

At this point, it was impossible for Acerola not to recognize him; she had some understanding of Qiao Ran's team composition.

But even after realizing this, she still felt a sense of shock and confusion.

Pokémon... have really taken on human-like appearances.

"Dianxi? Vulpix?"

"Um."

Upon hearing Acerola's cautious inquiry, Dianxi and Vulpix both smiled and nodded, acknowledging their identities.

"Welcome, Miss Acerola."

"Since we're both our owner's Pokémon, we'll be partners from now on."

After introducing themselves, everyone understood each other's identities. Acerola curiously stepped forward and tentatively touched the tail that was peeking out from under the skirt behind Vulpix.

"This... this tail is actually real!"

This was the first time she had ever seen something like this grow on a human body. Wait, this shouldn't be human, right?

It still feels Fluffy to the touch, just like Pokémon, but when the animal ears and long tail grow on Vulpix, it makes her look even cuter than usual.

"I didn't see this when I came in. Are all these things actually controllable?"

"Hmm..." Vulpix nodded, and perhaps because her tail was being controlled, her expression looked a little strange.

"If Master needs me... I can transform into my current form as well."

"Need?"

Acerola blinked in confusion.

Does this appearance serve some other purpose?

"..."

Acerola looked completely bewildered, while Vulpix remained silent, though a slight blush crept onto her face.

"Okay... okay, stop rubbing it like that."

Vulpix interrupted Acerola's playful manipulation of her tail, and also changed the subject; they probably weren't here tonight for this kind of thing, were they?

"I'm so sorry."

After witnessing the size of the Vulpix fox, Acerola realized she had been a bit rude and quickly let go of its hand—still stunned by the various facts, she clearly had no idea what she was doing.

Let me explain our design concept.

Dianxi, who was standing to the side, smiled and changed the subject, saying that she was quite qualified to speak on the design of the Gem craftwork here.

"If possible, we can make you a small Present later too."

"Huh? Really? Is that okay?"

Upon hearing this, Acerola's eyes lit up.

Everyone loves beauty, and even she is attracted to beautiful things, especially such beautiful Gem jewelry. Is it really something she can own for free?

Dianxi and Vulpix's Small Mountain was just the first stop. Next, Qiao Ran took her to see different Pokémon. However, due to the time of night, they could only see a portion of Pokémon.

Incidentally, thanks to the "slow healing" effect of the Wild Area, Acerola's body felt a little better. Although she was still somewhat tired, she was clearly much better than before when she needed to be supported.

"Real

Well, after Pokémon took on human form, it feels like we're all actually the same.

Back at the Aether House in the Pokémon World, Acerola was still staring blankly at the pink hair clip in her hand. Dianxi's mastery of these things was indeed superb; with her abilities, producing a large quantity of them probably wouldn't be a problem.

However, Qiao Ran and Dianxi themselves didn't seem to have such thoughts; even if they had such abilities, they only considered them as Present between friends.

"If my Pokémon could too..."

"Right, it would be great if our Pokémon could too."

Before Acerola could finish her exclamation, Mei and Mei, who were standing nearby, had already joined in, expressing their deep agreement. Every time they saw Qiao Ran's Pokémon in the Wild Area, this feeling would only intensify. Sure enough—every Trainer would probably have the same thought after learning about this.

"You must think so too, Lillie."

"Mmm... mmm."

Lillie simply nodded blankly. She had previously supported that view; if Nebby and Type: Null could also become human, they would definitely become even closer. However, after witnessing Nihilego's actions tonight, she seemed to realize something else.

Something seems... not quite right.

"Alright, that's all for tonight. Let Acerola go home and get some rest."

Qiao Ran interrupted everyone's chatter. Although he understood the excitement of having a new companion, there were other things to deal with tomorrow, and Acerola was still a bit weak, so getting some Rest was the right choice.

"Um."

Everyone nodded in understanding; it was clearly getting late.

"I'll say goodbye to everyone properly tomorrow."