Chapter 347

"Weren't we talking in the middle of something? Were we interrupted by Tapu Bulu's sudden appearance?"

Qiao Ran gripped her tightly, preventing her from escaping any further.

"... I saw a Light Orb in that Torn World. Was that really you?"

Qiao Ran's expression was extremely serious. In that Torn World, although both he and the Ninetales were witnesses, strictly speaking, the "Light Orb" and he were the ones who existed from the very beginning.

"Yes, it really is me."

To Qiao Ran's Qiao Ran, yet also as she expected, Rotom readily admitted it.

"That's me, that's my state in that world, Rotom."

"But I don't feel that connection now. And... it feels very unfamiliar."

Qiao Ran closed his eyes, trying hard to describe the feeling. He had experienced the connection with Pokémon the moment he came into this world, but he had never felt this way in front of that Light Orb.

It's as if the two sides were never on the same level from the very beginning.

"It's because that world is very special, Rotom."

Rotom gave her answer, but seeing Qiao Ran's obviously disbelieving expression, she quickly added another sentence.

"If you ask again, I won't know anything, Rotom!"

"So back then you knew where to take me? You must have some understanding of that world, right?"

"I'm System Spirit! So I always follow the map, Rotom."

Rotom immediately launched into a barrage of "I don't know," "I don't understand," and "system Coaching," and even when Qiao Ran continued to ask questions, she didn't say anything else.

"Aba aba, Waibi Rotom."

"Fine, fine, if you don't want to tell me, then don't."

Finally, Qiao Ran simply gave up struggling. Maybe it really was as she said, that she really didn't know anything and was just following the so-called system's instructions.

"But thank you for leading me that part of the way... if that light really was you."

"..."

Upon hearing Qiao Ran's words, Rotom, who had been babbling incessantly, suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, she finally spoke again.

"Because I'm System Spirit..."

Qiao Ran wasn't surprised by Rotom's attitude, since she had acted the same way before. Her failure to get anything out of her this time wasn't unexpected either.

Rather, it would be more frightening if Rotom suddenly acted as if possessed by something and started spouting a series of strange things.

"... I should probably go back to my room to rest now. As for contacting Cynthia and the others... let's leave that for tomorrow. We should get some rest tomorrow and then discuss our next steps later."

Qiao Ran was also quite tired, so she didn't stay there for long before returning to her room.

The other girls didn't say much. Although they hadn't experienced the adventures in that strange world like Qiao Ran, they all understood— Qiao Ran was really tired this time.

Moreover, even if Qiao Ran goes back now, she still has a lot of things to take care of herself.

For example... the Ninetales.

This little guy, who's always been so affectionate with Qiao Ran, has suddenly evolved. Will he really be able to adapt all at once?

In fact, not long after returning to his room, Qiao Ran went to the Wild Area and found Ninetales Fox and the others.

On the grassy field of the Wild Area, Ninetales and Dianxi sat together. The two Pokémon, who were originally similar in size and looked like sisters, were now completely reversed.

Now, the older sister has become Ninetales.

The Ninetales is now clearly much more mature than before, having lost its former innocent and cute charm. Instead, however...

It is pure beauty.

Her long eyelashes and watery eyes were captivating, not to mention her long, pure white hair with hints of icy blue.

In her hands, she held a Fluffy white sphere, which was none other than the Vulpix, the Mew that had suddenly appeared.

"This feeling of clinging to my former self... it's quite strange."

"... Yes." Qiao Ran nodded.

A white-haired girl holding a white Pokémon is indeed a pleasing sight.

However, Ninetales' sudden change is something that not only she herself needs to adapt to, but also the other Pokémon probably need some time to process.

In less than a day, she transformed from a young girl into what she is now. This leap is not just a meteoric rise, but a complete cataclysmic change.

While this might not seem surprising in the context of Pokémon, and many Pokémon change drastically before and after evolution, the relationship between Qiao Ran and Ninetales goes beyond that of Trainer and Pokémon.

"..."

Dianxi, standing to the side, also seemed a little unaccustomed to the change, but her adjustment was mostly due to the other person's changed physique. They used to have similar builds, so how could the change be so drastic?

"By the way, Ninetales Sister's voice is actually very nice too, why don't you try Sing as well?"

Seemingly sensing that the atmosphere was a bit strange, the Altaria took the initiative to change the subject, but her first words startled the Ninetales.

"Me? Sing? Huh?"

Ninetales had never considered this. Although Altaria had praised its voice when it was Vulpix, suddenly asking it to Sing seemed too strange.

"... Isn't it great? Why don't you give it a try if you have the chance?"

Despite the Ninetales fox's pleading gaze, Qiao Ran chuckled.

Seeing his Pokémon able to try more things, he wouldn't object. Besides, as Altaria said, Ninetales' voice was indeed very beautiful, possessing not only an ethereal and dignified holy aura but also a strange sense of ambiguity—a quality that even Altaria himself couldn't achieve.

"Besides, your names are a bit similar, how about we just call ourselves the 'Qiqi Combination'?"

If it were the two of them, they might actually complement each other.

"No good! What kind of name is that!"

Ninetales- Tails rolled her eyes and retorted, "While their names do start with numbers, is this really how you name people?"

"It sounds like a numerical code."

"Then you should choose a nice-sounding name yourself?"

"Well..." Ninetales hesitated for a moment, but she quickly realized that something was wrong.

"Wait, I haven't agreed to Sing yet, have I?"

"Sing is quite fun, why don't you Sing?"

Altaria kept trying to persuade Ninetales to change his mind.

Among the Pokémon in the Wild Area that can Humanoid Transformation, only Vulpix is relatively similar to her. Now that Vulpix has evolved into Ninetales and become about the same size as her, this is simply a golden opportunity to recruit her.

While Sing in the human world is a very special experience, there aren't many Pokémon in the Wild Area that she can talk to about these things and become friends with, not even one. If she could bring Ninetales along... she wouldn't have to travel alone.

"Wait, she also has to help me make decorations for the Wild Area."

However, before Ninetales could say anything, Dianxi interrupted, seemingly not intending to give up Ninetales.

"This..."

Seeing Dianxi step forward, Altaria's momentum immediately softened. However, thinking about the bright future where the two of them could form a duo and work together, she still stood up for herself.

"Sing is good too. It can promote a lot of things in the human world, and our master needs us to attract other people's attention, right?"

"Hmph, you can handle that kind of thing by yourself, can't you?"

"But having one more will definitely be more effective."

"&!*@!&!@"

"&#&*￥...&@*#!"

The two Pokémon actually started arguing over who got to do the job with Ninetales. Not only Ninetales itself, but even Qiao Ran was stunned. You know, both Dianxi and Altaria are usually very good-tempered Pokémon, but at this moment, they actually started arguing.

It seems the Ninetales is indeed quite special.

However, Qiao Ran, who was watching the argument from the sidelines, obviously did not expect that the fire would soon spread to him.

"So, do you need Ninetales to go outside and help you attract more people?"

"It's definitely necessary, right?"

"Hmph... If necessary, you could have let me go before."

Dianxi and Altaria each grabbed one of Qiao Ran's sides and brought their faces close to his.

"Ninetales, she'd definitely be better off with me, right?" x2.

No one wanted to give up on the Ninetales, and Qiao Ran understood their feelings. However, when the battle reached his level, Qiao Ran still decisively chose...

They chose to protect themselves.

"Ahem... I'd better leave this to Ninetales to decide. I don't want to interfere with your choices."

"Besides, even if I tell you what to do, what's the point? If it's something you yourselves aren't interested in, then there's no way you'll do it well."

Besides, he wasn't the kind of feudal parent who would object to his daughters doing other things; on the contrary, he was happy that they had their own ideas.

Most importantly, Qiao Ran usually adopts a hands-off approach to his Pokémon, rarely interfering with their lives. Aside from supervising their training, Qiao Ran can't offer much help otherwise. When there were fewer Pokémon, he could at least Coaching their skill training, but with the increasing number of experienced Legendary Pokémon, expecting him, a human, to Coaching their skills and training... is definitely wishful thinking.

Humans cannot experience the use of skills or understand the feeling of releasing skills. No matter how much they see, it's still a different world. No matter how experienced a Trainer is, they can't compare to the instruction and demonstration of a Pokémon proficient in various skills. It's just wishful thinking for an amateur who has never even used any skills to Coaching Pokémon's training.

After all, Pokémon aren't stupid, right?

"Um..."

That makes sense.

After Qiao Ran's words, Dianxi and Altaria, who were initially a bit agitated, gradually calmed down. This matter should be decided by Ninetales herself, and when she wanted to do something, none of them would object.

"So, let's take things slowly. Let's just get some rest tonight and not think about it too much."

Qiao Ran came here tonight just to check on Ninetales's condition and get some rest, not to watch them fight over each other. Wouldn't it be better if everyone just loved and lived in peace?

Over the next few hours, everyone rested and chatted, enjoying a very pleasant night. However, they also shared their opinions on many recent events. From the perspective of Pokémon, they sometimes have different viewpoints than humans, Qiao Ran listened carefully to their opinions.

"With Tapu Bulu on Ula'ula Island, and once we rescue the Island deity from the other islands, the Alola Region should be mostly back to normal, and those invading Ultra Beast will be driven out..."

"Didn't they come to Alola because they had nowhere else to live?"

Nihilego also joined the conversation, but she clearly represented the opinion of the Ultra Beast.

"If we had a place to live, we wouldn't leave our original home, since the Ultra World isn't suitable for habitation."

"Then let them choose for themselves. Those who want to go back will find a way to send them back, and those who don't can stay in the Wild Area."

As time went on, the number of Pokémon and Ultra Beast living in the Wild Area increased. However, to Qiao Ran's surprise, the land here seemed to be inexhaustible. Even after Mew appeared last time, a huge tree grew rapidly on a Small Mountain and is now growing even bigger.

Qiao Ran didn't know the limits of the Wild Area, but for now, it seemed more than enough to take in some homeless Ultra Beast.

With Yveltal and the others in charge, these Ultra Beast shouldn't be able to cause any trouble.

Moreover, Nihilego can communicate with the other party. Ultra Beast are not emotionless or incapable of communication; they are just mostly preoccupied with survival.

Night deepened.

However, Qiao Ran did not return to the Real World immediately, because the matter of the Ninetales was rather special. Qiao Ran felt that it would be better for him to stay in the Wild Area and spend the night with them.

Although during the process, neither Dianxi, Ninetales, nor he himself seemed to adapt or even resist it, everyone knew that this was a necessary process. Once it started, everything went incredibly smoothly, since they were all familiar with the process before, and even if there were some differences, they were able to quickly adapt and understand everything.

Through a night of conversation, despite some unexpected minor setbacks, everyone gained a deeper understanding of each other. Dianxi, in particular, came to a profound realization that even if she were to Mega Evolution, she still couldn't compare to the other person. It was simply a difference between two different worlds that couldn't be bridged by the minor change of Mega Evolution.

The next day, when Qiao Ran woke up, the Pokémon had already gathered together and were preparing their breakfast. Thanks to Suicune and Latias's efforts, more and more Pokémon in the Wild Area had learned how to cook—and most importantly, once they learned the methods, Pokémon with their special abilities were clearly more suited to doing it than humans.

"Once we're less adventurous, I'll take you guys to open a restaurant."

Qiao Ran couldn't help but complain, "Wait until Suicune and Latias bring out..."

With more apprentices, they might even be able to open more branches.

"Oh, right, I'll go and call Lillie, Mei, and the others over too."

After a heart-to-heart talk last night, Qiao Ran had almost forgotten about Lillie and the others. If they had come looking for him last night and he hadn't shown up this morning, they might have actually blown his door open.