Chapter 296

This human is...

She remembered Lillie's name, and they often met, but...

Something's not right.

Compared to little girls like Mei and Acerola, Dianxi, with her extensive combat experience, clearly knew more. Dianxi noticed something amiss at first glance.

"Alright."

After finishing, Lillie smiled and took a step back, looking at her work with satisfaction.

Maintaining an elegant demeanor at all times was also part of Lusamine's upbringing. Although Lillie clearly rebelled against Lusamine's oppressive upbringing, these habits were still ingrained in her.

"Not bad." Anabel smiled too; youth is truly wonderful.

Meanwhile, Mei, who was observing the situation from the side, seemed to have also Frisk the source of this anomaly. She hadn't been idle along the way; instead, she had used the keen observation skills she had honed in Pokémon battles to observe many unusual details.

Although Lillie would help Qiao Ran tidy his clothes in the past, this morning she'd seen Qiao Ran like an idiot way way far too many times.

Mei secretly made a mental note of this, determined to find Qiao Ran and confront him tonight if she had the chance.

"Let's go have lunch first; it's almost lunchtime."

Looking at the time, Qiao Ran suggested going out for dinner. He had used up a lot of energy last night, and hadn't eaten much this morning, so he was quite hungry.

He was exhausted and hungry; that's pretty much his current state.

"Yes."

Lillie nodded in agreement with Qiao Ran's suggestion. Not only Qiao Ran, but she was also quite hungry, though she was too embarrassed to say so directly.

That's all.

"Then I have a place I can recommend."

Anabel recommended a restaurant. "The crew had a meal there yesterday, and I thought the food was pretty good. You guys should check it out."

Anabel herself didn't care much about the taste of the food. No matter what kind of food it was, as long as it tasted good, she would accept it without hesitation.

"Um."

Mei and Acerola nodded in agreement. Although they each had their own thoughts, they could easily reach a consensus on the matter of eating.

After lunch, the afternoon was spent shopping as usual. As we all know, every city has different shopping malls, and each mall has its own unique charm.

Only by conquering the city's largest shopping mall and taking photos at its landmarks can you truly say you've been to a city.

"Several more people have joined us... Are they all your friends?"

Seeing the sudden appearance of Dianxi and Yveltal (humanoid) and others, Anabel couldn't help but ask a question.

With the arrival of Dianxi and her group, the already large crowd became even more congested, but Qiao Ran still patiently introduced everything to Anabel.

"This is Xiao An, this is Xiao Yi..."

As everyone knows, among Trainer, using "Xiao" followed by another word is enough to serve as their nickname, just like Brock, whom Qiao Ran encountered. Even now, Qiao Ran doesn't know his real name. Could it be that his name really is Brock?

Sure enough, after listening to Qiao Ran's introduction, Anabel didn't sense anything strange and simply nodded knowingly.

"Welcome, are you all Trainer?"

Anabel was very friendly towards these lovely girls, fulfilling her role as an older sister very well.

Unfortunately, these "girls" are not just girls.

Some of the more arrogant and Own Tempo ones won't easily show any kindness to other humans.

Dianxi and Altaria are among the friendliest people to humans, especially Altaria —she was recognized by passersby several times after appearing in the mall.

The video of her Sing a cappella went viral, even outside of Magic City, with many people following Altaria's progress and asking when she would sing another song.

It will be here soon, it will be here soon!

Faced with inquiries from others, Altaria could only wave her hand to brush them off. After finally managing to get away with it, she could only give Qiao Ran a rather resentful look. In fact, she had long wanted to record another video, but because Qiao Ran had other things to do recently, he ultimately rejected her suggestion.

Now that we've arrived in the next city, and we still have to wait to challenge the Gym, surely we'll have some time to record the song now?

"Ah... hahahahahaha."

Qiao Ran could only scratch his head, endlessly passing the buck. If it were yesterday, he would have agreed to Altaria's idea immediately, but unfortunately—times have changed.

Lillie and Dianxi still have a ton of messy things to deal with.

"How about... you look around this mall and see if there are any similar promotions?"

"No way, I'll just sing it without accompaniment!"

The Altaria looked away unhappily. Although her a cappella singing was already quite good, she still wanted to try singing a song with accompaniment.

"Then I'll find someone to make you a backing track when I get back."

Seeing that even the Altaria was sulking, Qiao Ran had no choice but to comfort her and agree to her request for accompaniment.

Since Altaria will be singing mostly songs from the Pokémon World, there are no ready-made arrangements or accompaniments available in that world. If she doesn't want to sing a cappella, she'll have to find someone to prepare them beforehand.

Qiao Ran recently won some prize money in the Battle Train, so he's quite generous. If he really doesn't have enough... then maybe he can ask Sabrina for some?

After all, they're already allies in the same camp, and Altaria is practically a propagandist, so it's perfectly normal for her to ask for some funding, right?

Um.

No problem.

Qiao Ran nodded with a satisfied expression.

With a wealthy woman backing him up, he seemed to have gained a lot of confidence.

After spending the afternoon at the mall and trying out the latest amusement facilities, Mei Mei finally began their final plan.

Are there any recommended shops here?

"Yes."

In response to Anabel's question, Mei, pretending to be looking at a map on her phone, nodded.

"It's over here; we've already seen it."

Mei and the others chimed in.

Hearing everyone's answers, Anabel didn't doubt anything, and simply smiled and nodded.

She was actually quite happy with the day, meeting so many friendly children, playing and laughing with them, buying things she liked, and discussing things between girls.

Topic.

Although she dresses and acts like a boy, she is actually much more sensitive than she appears.

However, what happened next was clearly beyond Anabel's expectations.

Just as she was anticipating what interesting things would happen next, several familiar large characters appeared in front of her.

"Pokémon... Training Ground?"

Following behind Mei Mei, Anabel stared blankly at the shop in front of her.

"This is..."

"So, it's time for Pokémon battles!"

Mei Mei grabbed one of Anabel's arms to prevent her from escaping.

"You wouldn't refuse our challenge, would you?"

"I... challenge?"

Anabel blinked in bewilderment. The speed at which things were unfolding was clearly beyond her expectations. One second she was browsing in a shop window, and the next she was abducted by two Trainer.

What kind of situation is this?

"Yes, a challenge."

"We witnessed your previous battle with Qiao Ran, so we all want to fight you to see what level of strength Train Conductor should possess."

Mei Mei, and the others were already itching to try, while Anabel, seeing their expressions, shook her head, both amused and exasperated.

"Okay, fine."

With Trainer standing before her, Anabel naturally wouldn't refuse their challenge. However, what left her unsure how to react was that they had agreed to just come out and have fun today. How did things suddenly escalate back to Pokémon battles?

What about happiness? What about relaxation?

Where did it go?

Although that's what she was thinking, after playing around all day, Anabel actually wanted to have a Pokémon battle too— Trainer are just that kind of people; even if they say they don't want to, once their interest in battling is piqued, no one can stop them.

Especially with these newly acquainted friends—it really does take battles to increase mutual understanding; otherwise, there's always a sense of distance between us.

Some things can only be overcome through battle.

"..."

Seeing Mei and the others heading excitedly towards the Training Ground, Qiao Ran could only follow. He had fought Anabel before and had no interest in fighting again. Most importantly, even if he joined now, there probably wouldn't be a place for him.

Mei, Mei, Acerola, and the others are all lining up to take on the challenge.

So in the end, apart from the few who were preparing to fight and cheering them on, only Lillie and Qiao Ran were left resting on the Battle Court. Qiao Ran hadn't noticed anything before, but when the two of them were alone again, the atmosphere between Lillie and Qiao Ran became strange once more.

After a long while, someone finally spoke up.

"Um... about last night..."

Lillie rubbed the hem of her skirt and finally spoke the words that had been bottled up inside her since she woke up that morning, words she hadn't had a chance to say.

"Between us, we should... we should already be..."

Everything happened so fast and so naturally last night that Lillie gave up thinking and simply became a couch potato. It wasn't until she woke up this morning that she recalled everything that had happened before, and her relationship with Qiao Ran... suddenly seemed incredibly complicated.

However, this change is still sweet and wonderful.

Lillie didn't reject what was happening; she was just a little scared—scared of the dramatic changes in the relationship, and of the anxiety and uncertainty that would follow once she gained something.

"Yes, that's exactly what you think."

Qiao Ran did not deny his relationship with Lillie, but in fact, there were some things that he didn't say, and Lillie didn't say either, but the two of them maintained the same tacit understanding.

"But..."

Qiao Ran's expression showed some hesitation.

Unlike Dianxi and the others, Lillie, who lives in human society, clearly cares more about the status of relationships. However, Qiao Ran doesn't know how to handle making their relationship public.

Silence fell between them once again.

This time, it was Lillie spoke slowly once again.

Don't worry... I'm not that unreasonable.

Lillie simply shook her head with a faint smile, but there was a clear sense of loneliness and bitterness in that smile.

She really wanted to be like other girls, urging Qiao Ran to give her the status of his girlfriend, and then possess this man all to herself.

Unfortunately, in some respects, especially in how to manage an organization, she knew far too much.

The knowledge that Lusamine absorbed from being around her, though mostly ineffective, would inevitably surface at certain times.

"We are now a group, a complete group."

"This group isn't just about the two of us... there are many, many people."

A healthy group

Only by maintaining the same relationships as before can stability be guaranteed for everyone. However, if someone at the center makes a different move... such as tilting too far to one side, it will inevitably lead to the disintegration of the group.

As Lillie spoke, she watched the girls fighting in the Battle Court.

Urged on by Mei, she acted rashly and did those things. Although she herself did not regret it, it was not the right direction for their long-term interests.

Neither her power alone... nor Qiao Ran's power alone could save that Torn World. Only when they were together could they be the best team.

And the most crucial point is... even if Lillie is Oblivious, she can sense that many other girls have feelings for Qiao Ran.