Chapter 326

Moreover, knowing there are traps around, they can clear the walls and ground as they go.

Although this would cause irreversible damage to the building, there's no time to worry about that now.

"Etc."

Qiao Ran wasn't in a hurry, because a little over a minute later, he sensed the presence of life at a corner ahead.

"Well? Since you're here, why don't you come out?"

"..."

Perhaps influenced by Qiao Ran's words, a short, chubby little boy emerged from the shadows around the corner. He wore a scarf shaped like Pikachu's tail around his neck, had short orange-yellow hair, and his expression always seemed somewhat unhappy.

He watched Qiao Ran's location with great vigilance.

At his feet followed a very small electric mouse Pokémon. This Pokémon had a round gray body and a familiar lightning bolt-shaped tail; it was Togedemaru, an electric mouse unique to Alola.

How did you find me?

The little boy asked cautiously, but his gaze involuntarily swept over the people around Qiao Ran. When he saw Mei and Acerola, he paused for a moment.

"Mei? Acerola?"

"Wait... what are you all doing here?"

"Of course we came up here to rescue people."

"Also, check on the situation at the Observatory."

Both Acerola Mei answered, and Qiao Ran, seeing this, shrugged and stood aside, guessing that he didn't need to take action now.

The Alola Region is small; it's basically just four islands. All the Alola know each other, not to mention Acerola is Trainer from this island.

As for Mei, they met during their Island Challenge.

"... In that case..."

The little boy nodded, took a remote control out of his waist bag, pressed the button, and after a few operations, the columnar objects on the wall retracted, and the wall's shape returned to its original state, almost identical to before.

"They actually used Poké Ball to trigger my trap..."

The little boy stepped forward, picked up the slightly charred Poké Ball from the ground, and muttered to himself.

"Does this mean I need to make some minor improvements...?"

Although the little boy always seemed to have a furrowed brow.

However, after seeing Mei and Acerola, his attitude clearly improved considerably.

He gave a brief self-introduction.

"My name is Sophocles, and I'm the engineer at this Observatory."

"His cousin is another Captain on Ula'ula Island, and also the director of the Observatory." Acerola kindly chimed in, introducing the boy. She knew that he was a bit introverted and, while he enjoyed tinkering with inventions, he wasn't very good at conversation.

"More or less... Um... how did you guys get up here? Could it be... the situation outside is already...?"

Sophocles glanced at the somewhat unfamiliar Qiao Ran, Mei, and Lillie, and most importantly, at this boy... This was the same boy who had brought her out of hiding. How did he find her?

"It's basically clearing Ultra Beast while walking up."

Mei pursed her lips and gave a direct answer, which immediately made the little boy in front of her widen his eyes.

"They came up here???"

The area outside is Ultra Beast. Anyone who steps outside the designated area will be immediately Beat Up. How did you manage to walk right up from there?!

Moreover... this mountain is quite high; how long would it take to climb up?

Are you kidding me?

Although he couldn't immediately believe what Qiao Ran and the others said, after the two sides introduced themselves, Sophocles still led Qiao Ran and the others into the house and let them go into the Basement with him.

"After the crisis, all our Observatory staff moved all the equipment and data. Everyone usually lives in the underground area, and I have basically converted the upper areas into capture devices."

"Capture device?"

"Yes... we still know too little about Ultra Beast, so I've always wanted to capture Ultra Beast for research, and many researchers feel the same way."

"However, these creatures are very cautious. They only attack when we go out, and they won't rush into the house on their own. Even if I open the door, they won't attack."

Sophocles complained a few times.

"Just now... I thought my device had succeeded, I didn't expect it to be you guys..."

"Phew." Acerola couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

She and Sophocles were about the same age and both were on the shorter side. Most importantly, Mamane was also the successor to the Captain, so Acerola found it quite amusing to see her get the short end of the stick.

"Regarding Ultra Beast, I think you can ask those two. They're experts in this field." Mei glanced at Qiao Ran and Lillie beside her. If there were anyone in the entire world who could surpass these two in Ultra Beast research, it would probably only be Lillie's parents and a few heads of the Aether Foundation.

"No... don't say that. I didn't participate in the research; I just looked at the data."

Lillie waved her hand modestly.

"Qiao Ran knows more than I do."

"... Hmm."

Qiao Ran shook her head, both amused and exasperated.

He did know quite a bit about Ultra Beast, but it was all information about combat.

Moreover... lately, whenever he talks about his Ultra Beast, all he can think of is Nihilego's smile, which is full of a special meaning.

Isn't that a bit too strange?

"I think the reason why the Ultra Beast didn't actively attack the inside of the house is related to their purpose in coming here."

"They come here to settle down. Once they find a suitable area to live in, they generally won't continue to expand outwards. Except for a few individuals driven out of the group, they will continue to live within that area. This is why we are attacked when we pass through certain locations."

"And since these things on the mountain already have their own places to settle, they naturally won't rashly occupy the area where the houses are located."

Qiao Ran briefly shared her thoughts.

"Are you sure about these things?" Sophocles glanced at Qiao Ran thoughtfully.

"Hmm... this has been the case most of the time along the way, and I've also asked Nihilego..."

"?"

"Ah, no, I was just talking to myself." Qiao Ran quickly interrupted himself. Perhaps it was because he had talked too much with Lillie and the others, or perhaps it was because his mind had been tense lately, that he was rambling a bit.

On their way to the Basement, the group chatted briefly, but then the conversation shifted, and Qiao Ran asked about the question that concerned her the most.

Since the Ultra Beast outside generally don't actively attack the inside of the building, their safety can be basically guaranteed—meaning that the data inside the Observatory can be considered largely intact.

"By the way, besides Ultra Beast, I'd like to ask if your Observatory made any special discoveries during this period?"

"..."

Upon hearing Qiao Ran's question, Sophocles tracks, and even Togedemaru beside him halted.

His brows furrowed even more deeply.

This issue... involves

That's a bit much.

"I'll take you to see Old Ma later. He knows more about this than I do. Let him explain it to you."

Sophocles slightly turned her gaze away, hiding it in the shadows.

"However... you must be prepared, some things... are even more terrifying than what's outside."

"Furthermore, we're running low on food and water. If you want to eat something, you'll need to discuss it with Old Ma."

The "Old Ma" that Sophocles mentioned was his cousin, who was also the station manager.

The way these cousins address each other—"Old Ma" and "Little Ma"—is quite unique.

"We brought our own food, so don't worry."

Qiao Ran and the others exchanged glances and smiled.

Although Qiao Ran could directly pull out a bunch of things from the Wild Area, there was no need to rush. It wouldn't be too late to discuss it in detail after meeting Sophocles's cousin.

The Observatory's underground base is not large. Perhaps from the beginning, it was not intended to be a living and research area. However, thanks to the supplies stored here and the help of Electric-type Pokémon, it has always maintained a very small amount of electricity.

Several researchers dressed in white coats looked curiously at Qiao Ran and his group who had suddenly appeared. Among them, Qiao Ran also saw the so-called "Old Ma".

He was a tall, thin young man in his thirties with a slightly hunched back. He had messy blond hair, wore metallic glasses, and had a very shy and gentle smile.

"Welcome."

"Xiao Ma just contacted me too. Did you guys really climb up from the bottom of the mountain?"

He smiled and picked up a device covered in writing. It seemed that Sophocles secretly sent a message to his cousin while leading Qiao Ran and his group underground.

"By the way, let's not talk about that now, let's come inside and discuss this."

He led everyone into a room that contained only a large table and many chairs, resembling a conference room. He gestured for everyone to sit down in the chairs next to the table.

As before, Qiao Ran and the others briefly introduced themselves and then recounted their mountain climbing experience.

Old Ma, the owner of this place, also introduced himself.

"My name is Molayne, and I'm the director of this Observatory and the current Captain of the Steel-type. However, I'm about to retire, and I had originally designated Xiao Ma as my successor, but I never expected this to happen, hahaha."

He glanced at Sophocles, who was sitting in the chair looking like a ball, and couldn't help but scratch his head and laugh.

However, Mei and Acerola, who knew each other well, knew this.

This "Old Ma" is not only the director of the Observatory, but also a highly skilled Trainer, even among all the Captain, he is one of the best.

"We were prepared for this to happen... to run out of ammunition and supplies, and then charge out with everyone at the last minute. We didn't expect you guys to come right up here."

"Mei and Acerola are here too... Indeed, you are quite strong."

During the previous Island Challenge, Molayne had fought against Mei as the Captain, and he had watched Acerola grow up, so he knew her strength. But... to be honest, it would be too difficult for just the two of them to break through the defenses of so many Ultra Beasts.

So, does the key lie with the remaining few people?

Molayne's gaze swept across the faces of Qiao Ran, Mei, and Lillie.

To be able to participate in activities with Mei and Acerola, one must at least be Trainer of similar skill level to them.

"When you came up, did you...?"

"Old Ma, let's not talk about this now."

Molayne seemed to want to ask something more, but Sophocles, who was sitting next to him, interrupted his cousin's question.

He frowned, his expression somewhat serious.

"I want to show them the materials we've compiled over this period of time."

"Regarding satellite records."

Thinking back to Qiao Ran's question, he was now even more anxious than Qiao Ran was.

"Um... ah."

Upon hearing Sophocles's voice, Molayne's expression gradually turned serious.

"Indeed, compared to our current situation, these things are indeed..."

"Please wait for me a moment."

Molayne stood up from the table, took a locked box from the cabinet next to her, and took out a USB flash drive from it.

"This is one of our backups. With this thing protecting it, at least it can be found after the Observatory is destroyed."

He took the USB drive and plugged it into the laptop on the desktop.

"But since you're here, I'll show you these documents."

Molayne opened his laptop and clicked on a folder on his USB drive. The folder contained almost all sorts of videos, which he then clicked on the first one. A video of a satellite view appeared before everyone's eyes.

"This location is in the Kanto Region, roughly north of Pewter City and Mt. Moon."