Chapter 336
Qiao Ran simply threw the blame away. As locals of Alola, it was perfectly normal for them to know about Kukui.
"Haha, it's normal to say that. After all, he's become quite a celebrity lately, running around everywhere to prepare for the establishment of the Alola League. I heard the Aether Foundation has also donated a considerable amount."
Molayne smiled and scratched the back of his head, looking happy for his friend, but soon his mood dropped again.
"... Sigh, who knew such an accident would happen recently? Otherwise, the Alola League might be opening soon."
"Yes."
Qiao Ran nodded, but couldn't help adding a thought to herself.
If the Alola League opens as scheduled, Mei might become the first Alola Champion.
As the first Pokémon League to open, the Alola League's prestige is naturally incomparable to other Pokémon League. However, defeating the Island Kahuna and Island Kahuna of other islands, as well as Professor Kukui who can compete with Champion from other regions, is still a very difficult task.
"Let's not talk about that for now. Anyway, with his strength, he's probably not in any major problems right now. The key is Guzma... Sigh, I really don't know how to meet with him."
When old acquaintances meet, they sometimes find themselves in an awkward silence, especially when both have changed significantly. As a researcher, Molayne didn't know how to handle this situation.
Along the way, Qiao Ran chatted with him a lot. She found it quite easy to talk to this type of Trainer who was a science and engineering guy.
Upon arriving at Po Town, Qiao Ran easily entered the city walls, and the Team Skull at the gates were already familiar with their appearance.
"... Guzma's friend? I see. As for where he'll be staying... it might be a little difficult to arrange, but recently..."
They are indeed building new houses, so if they are willing to help, it shouldn't be a big problem.
Plumeria, who came out to check the situation, quickly made a judgment, while Guzma himself finally arrived late.
Hi, Guzma.
Molayne took the initiative to greet the other party, but the white-haired Guzma, as before, simply snorted coldly and looked away.
"Tsk."
The relationship between the two is probably not easy to manage, but Qiao Ran also knows that Guzma shouldn't be as troublesome as he used to be.
This attitude... should it be classified as tsundere (a person with a haughty and arrogant demeanor)?
"We'll head back soon, you all go about your business."
Qiao Ran and the others did not plan to stay here for too long. With Molayne and Sophocles's strength, they would not suffer losses here. The two brothers were strong enough to take on the entire Po Town by themselves.
"Okay, keep it up..."
Molayne went straight up to Qiao Ran and gave her a hug.
I hope you have a safe journey.
He felt only gratitude towards the young people who had led them down the mountain, and the other researchers also bowed to express their thanks to Qiao Ran and the others.
"We will do our best to help if needed in the future."
Molayne added another sentence, and Sophocles on the other side nodded, clenching her chubby fists.
"Come on."
Their Pokémon Journeys may end here, but Qiao Ran and his group... probably still have a long way to go.
If he could, he would like to do such a thing, but he didn't have the courage. Moreover, even if he wanted to travel, he couldn't leave his cousin and the researchers behind.
"..."
But--
These are ultimately just excuses.
The most fundamental reason might be the courage to take the first step.
"Don't lose to those Ultra Beasts."
All he can do is stay here and cheer them on.
"Um."
Qiao Ran responded, then smiled and waved before turning to leave with the other girls.
One issue was resolved perfectly, and now they had to tackle more complex problems.
--The Trainer's steps, it seems, are indeed impossible to stop easily.
After leaving Po Town, Qiao Ran and the others began to return via the same route. To reach the Island deity's Shrine on the island, they still had to pass by the Aether House, and to do so, they would have to go through the small police station in Nanu.
With Acerola's help, the group quickly spotted the peculiar little bungalow. If not told otherwise, probably no one would know that this was actually the only police station on Ula'ula Island, and also the residence of the Island Kahuna.
Fortunately, the place was not occupied by Ultra Beast, and the house was intact, except for looking a bit dirty and dilapidated, there was nothing seriously wrong with it.
"With so many Key, do we have to try them one by one?"
Looking at the large bunch of Key that Qiao Ran pulled out, Acerola couldn't help but ask, "Nanu has a lot of things to keep safe, and sometimes he can't even remember which Key is which. If Qiao Ran has to try them one by one, it would probably be too troublesome."
However, Qiao Ran simply shook his head.
"Need not."
He reached out and placed his hand on the door of the police station. With his eyes closed, he sensed the spread of the Aura Power. Before long, he had already outlined the contours of the small cave. No matter how small the depression or how tiny the protrusion, nothing escaped the Aura's detection.
As Qiao Ran gradually became familiar with this power, everything began to become clear.
"In that case... it must be this Key."
With the internal outline in mind, it was only natural to deduce the right Key. Qiao Ran found the right Key in no time and opened the door in front of him. As the door opened, a musty smell and dust rushed out, covering his head and face.
"..."
"Pfft." Mei had narrowly escaped death by standing behind him, couldn't help but laugh. Seeing how useful Aura Power, she realized it couldn't defend against something like this, could it?
Qiao Ran was speechless. If it were a large, tangible object, his Aura Power could indeed detect its shape. But if it were something as small as dust or something like a musty smell, he couldn't defend against it.
There's really nothing we can do about this.
Qiao Ran asked Suicune to wash his face and clean himself up a bit. However, what had just happened also served as a wake-up call for him.
It's dust now, but what if it's a similar attack later—like Sleep Powder or Poison-type gas?
After acquiring the Aura Power, Qiao Ran did indeed have a strong control over his surroundings. However, he became overly reliant on this power, and once he realized there was no danger behind him, he forgot about any potential threats.
In the future, we might need to be even more careful.
"Suicune, can you help me clean this up?"
"OK."
The Maid long, purple, curly hair nodded respectfully, went into the room, and began Water Spout to clean it. Faced with so much dust, her abilities were truly impressive.
It is truly the nemesis of these things.
However, in order not to get the documents or other items inside wet, Suicune also showed great restraint and professionalism.
After all, she had done similar things many times before.
As Latias's predecessor, Suicune may not be in the top tier in battle, but no one can surpass her in logistics. Whether it's cleaning, laundry, or cooking, her abilities are irreplaceable, and other Pokémon simply cannot learn them.
"This place is such a mess! Things are just thrown on the floor."
Qiao Ran and the others also started searching around the house, but the process was obviously not smooth. It was clear that Nanu was not a person who liked to tidy up the room, and everything was basically in a very disorganized manner.
"I never imagined he used to be International Police..."
"Haha, it's probably because the island is so safe that we don't need to manage it so diligently."
Acerola chuckled in support of Nanu, though she herself knew that Nanu was indeed quite lazy at times. Perhaps he had overworked himself while working as International Police, and now that he was retired, he was trying to make up for it?
After quite some time, Qiao Ran and the others finally found Anabel's file in a locked drawer, which prominently displayed the logo and Badge of the International Police.
"The head of the International Police UB Countermeasures Headquarters Director... fell into the Ultra Wormhole ten years ago, becoming FALL, who can attract Ultra Beast, and lost all his memories... Ten years have passed..."
When Anabel served as the Battle Tower Tycoon, she was probably not even twenty years old yet, looking about seventeen or eighteen. Ten years later, she might be about the same age as Cynthia now, or even a little older.
This document records most of Anabel's work situation, even including her height and weight, but not much else.
It is worth noting that this document actually contains a lot of photos, many of which were taken during different periods when Anabel was discovered by International Police and joined the International Police team. Qiao Ran did not find anything suspicious in these cases. They had already thoroughly investigated many of the Ultra Beast themselves.
However, the value of this information is not limited to that.
"When we get back to the Real World, maybe we can use this to help Anabel remember something."
Qiao Ran carefully put away the documents, and then also took some other items that seemed useful from the police station to the Wild Area. They could hand these over to Nanu when they passed by the Aether Foundation on their way.
"Um."
The girls nodded in unison, stopped what they were doing, and left the room one by one. Qiao Ran, who was the last to leave, politely locked the door behind her.
It's already late afternoon, and going directly to the Shrine is clearly not feasible. Tonight, we might have to spend the night at the Aether House.
"Let's go back to the Real World later and see if we can find some time to ask Anabel out. Let her set a time so we can meet up."
Qiao Ran couldn't wait to use these to awaken Anabel's memories. Although she had suffered from amnesia so many times, it was unlikely that she knew any information. However, given her strength, this was definitely a powerful ally.
Instead of being a Bullet Train conductor and working for the production team, I'd rather dedicate myself to their mission of saving the Pokémon World.
That's such a waste of his talent.
When they arrived at the Aether House, it was already evening. After finishing up some things, everyone decided to stay at the Aether House for the night.
In the Real World, they can go back anytime, but they can't stay at the Aether House for very long. And judging from the way Lusamine when she saw them again, she seemed to have something to say.
At least, Qiao Ran and Lillie seemed to have seen that in her eyes.
Is it because of the problems with those videos from last time?
In order to make Lusamine have a good impression of Lillie, Qiao Ran specially selected some scenes where Lillie performed exceptionally well, including not only clips from Performance Competition but also scenes from her participation in Gym Challenge. In particular, Qiao Ran also cleaned up the surrounding comments, removing a little bit of background noise to further enhance the viewing experience.
You could tell just how satisfied Lusamine was from the smile on her face.
At night, after everyone finished their own business, they prepared to go back to their rooms to rest. It was only at this time that Lusamine finally arrived late, knocking on the doors of Lillie and Qiao Ran in turn, and leading them both to her underground research lab.
"There's plenty of usable equipment here, and it's not much worse than what we had on the island."
Lusamine was wearing a white long-sleeved lab coat and pink-rimmed glasses. Her appearance in the research lab had changed considerably from before.
She also looked much softer overall.
"After all, we don't have enough energy right now. Even if we had the things on the island, we wouldn't be able to use them without sufficient energy."
"Then I'll call you tonight"
The reason we came together is actually related to your situations... You should be able to guess what it is, right?
Lusamine's gaze lingered on Qiao Ran and Lillie for a moment, causing both Lillie and Qiao Ran to feel a pang of unease.
Wait... did they really see through it??
Lillie's face flushed crimson. She thought she had hidden it quite well, but could it be that her mother, being an experienced woman, really had some special methods?
What I wanted to say was...
Lusamine's smile deepened, but then she abruptly changed the subject as if in a prank.
"... Regarding your upcoming trip to the Altar of the Moone."
"..."
"..."
Lillie and Qiao Ran were completely taken aback by the sudden change of topic, and they both froze on the spot. Wasn't that...?
Wait... was that just a test?
Lillie's eyes widened suddenly. Her mother might not have fully grasped her current situation, but through her earlier probing, her reaction had clearly revealed it...
This is a tactic that Lusamine often used when she was the president of the Aether Foundation: to test and guide the other party with words that are easy to misunderstand, while at the same time being able to extricate herself unscathed.
By the time she stepped back, she had already obtained the information she wanted.
"..."
As expected of that woman... my mother...
Lillie calmed down immediately, while Lusamine continued her narration.
"During this time, I also conducted some research on the world of Ultra Beast."
"The environment of that world is quite different from ours. If we wanted to go directly there, it would be a heavy burden on the inhabitants of this world. Of course, the same goes for the people of that world; if they wanted to come directly over, they would probably need to undergo some processing."