Chapter 368

Seeing Qiao Ran suddenly freeze, Cynthia couldn't help but look at him and gently patted his shoulder.

Are you alright? Did you get tired on the way?

Cynthia was also very worried about Qiao Ran's situation. She had seen the commands Qiao Ran had given along the way, especially since she also had a Lucario. Although she herself did not know how to use Aura Power, she could understand how much fatigue and burden it would cause to the body if such power was used for a long time.

"It's nothing, I just thought of some things, but it might just be speculation."

Qiao Ran smiled at Cynthia, telling her not to worry, and then took the opportunity to say what he had been thinking. Cynthia nodded understandingly, realizing what Qiao Ran meant.

"You mean, the factor that determines whether or not Trainer can travel to that world is whether they possess a legendary Pokémon?"

Cynthia hadn't considered this point before, and the reason she overlooked it was probably because Qiao Ran was too special, to the point of being excessively special.

--In the Pokémon World, there are people who have owned Legendary Pokémon, but as for those who can traverse worlds, she has only ever met one person: Qiao Ran.

"What you're saying is possible, but we don't have the means to try it at this stage."

Normally, she might be able to get some information from the Pokémon League and then try to catch some relatively common Legendary Pokémon. For Champion- level player like her, Defeat some weaker legendary Pokémon head-on wouldn't be a big problem. But given the current state of the Pokémon World, it's probably unlikely she can get any information.

"The only chance may still lie with Lillie."

Although the Island deity is also Legendary Pokémon, it bears the mission of protecting and reviving Alola. Qiao Ran and his friends cannot simply beat it up and capture it without knowing the facts. Therefore, the only person who can verify Qiao Ran's idea is probably Lillie, who has Nebby.

"So, are you planning to have Lillie bring that 'Nebby' with you tomorrow?"

Cynthia propped her cheek up with her hand, looking at Qiao Ran with curiosity.

"What she's saying now..."

"No, you know it's still too dangerous for her to go right now."

Qiao Ran smiled helplessly. Although he really wanted to verify his idea, what he couldn't accept even more was putting Lillie in danger.

Everything he does is for what he cares about; if Lillie gets hurt, then all of that is putting the cart before the horse.

"Perhaps she'll be able to stand on her own once we reach the Altar of the Moone."

"The Altar of the Moone is also an important location in the Alola Legends. Legend has it that it was here that the legendary Pokémon representing the Sun and the moon were born."

Cynthia looked at Qiao Ran, seemingly understanding his thoughts completely. Her upturned eyes were filled with a tacit understanding that only the two of them could comprehend.

Are you thinking of the legends surrounding this place?

"Ah... um... indeed."

Although there seems to be a slight discrepancy in the middle, what led Qiao Ran to these thoughts was indeed, in a sense, a "legend." He couldn't very well say that he came from another world, another world of another world, could he?

"That's right. Seeking clues from legends is the most correct way of thinking. Although ancient legends are not as meticulously researched as modern accounts, they are precisely the ancients' records of reality, and this is how they understood the world."

Seeing Qiao Ran nod, Cynthia couldn't help but praise him a few more times, her face full of admiration.

However, before they could say anything more, Mei, who had been watching them for a while, ran over.

She had long suspected that something was off about the two of them.

"You two seem to be having a great time talking, what are you talking about?"

Actually, Mei wasn't the only one who found the relationship between Qiao Ran and Cynthia strange, but now that she was so bored and had no one else to catch up with, she realized that...

She was the only Unova Trainer left.

However, before Mei could even get close to Qiao Ran and Cynthia, Lana and Mallow joined in, their reason being that Acerola Mei had mentioned Qiao Ran than once, which had made them quite interested in him as well.

In particular, Mei's personal admission that Qiao Ran was stronger and more powerful than her was an eye-opener for them. They never expected that Mei would be convinced of someone's abilities, especially since the person who admitted it was a man.

If this weren't their first meeting after such a long time, they would have dragged Mei back to her room for a thorough interrogation.

How exactly did you two meet?

Are you also Trainer from another region?

What is your favorite Pokémon?

"... Which Water-type Pokémon do you think is the cutest?"

Mallow and Lana bombarded Qiao Ran with questions, as if interrogating him for information. Like Acerola at the beginning, they seemed very curious about Qiao Ran, but their curiosity was clearly different from Acerola's.

By the time they finally escaped the interrogation, it was already past eleven o'clock. At this time, everyone should go to rest Rest —after all, there would be an even tougher battle tomorrow.

"Olivia has already arranged your rooms. You can go and rest now."

Olivia patted her chest, assuring everyone that they could rest assured.

The situation here is different from that on Ula'ula Island. Under Olivia's leadership, most people can at least ensure a safe life within this safe area. Under these conditions, finding a few houses to stay in is not a difficult thing.

"Um."

Qiao Ran and the other girls exchanged glances and accepted Olivia's offer. Although they had the option of returning to the Real World to rest, Akala Island seemed to be doing well, so staying there was a good choice.

As for Mei, she was immediately taken home by Lana. Although Qiao Ran was a little worried that they might chat all night, they both had to go to the Ruins tomorrow, so... there shouldn't be any major problems, right?

The night passed, and nothing particularly noteworthy happened.

After all, Mei might have done something, had already been taken away, and Lillie didn't dare to make any rash moves in front of her mother. As for Mei, considering that there might be a battle the next day, she probably didn't want to expend too much energy.

After a quick wash, Qiao Ran and the others headed to the Mallow family's Restaurant for breakfast. Starting this morning, they had to split into two groups.

Lusamine stated that she would be taking Lillie with her.

"I'll go see the remaining Aether Foundation members here to see if they've recovered any data. If not, we'll just have to wait for your progress."

"Do you need anyone else to help... protect us?"

Although Lillie would be coming along, Qiao Ran was honestly quite worried. After all, Lillie's strength wasn't particularly strong or weak, but at least among them, she was definitely the worst performer.

Qiao Ran was still quite scared.

"No need. I'm Pokémon Trainer too. You don't think I'm weak, do you? Besides, we only stay within this safe zone; we don't wander out unnecessarily."

Lusamine smiled gently and declined Qiao Ran's offer.

"Thank you, but Lillie will be fine with me, so don't worry."

Lusamine told Qiao Ran not to worry. Although she appreciated the concern, she felt it was indeed a bit of an overreaction.

Everyone except Lusamine and Lillie will participate in this operation, and their target is the Life Ruins, located in the jungle at the southernmost tip of Akala Island.

"The Life Ruins are called the Life Ruins because, in Alola's legends, this is where life was born."

Leading the group carefully through the Rock-type gate set up by Olivia, Lana, who was finally able to breathe some fresh air, became quite talkative.

Just like yesterday, she was still wearing a blue and white short-sleeved top, and on her signature short blue hair, she wore a fence-shaped headpiece. Only between her top and pants, there seemed to be traces of what looked like a swimsuit.

Wait a minute... could this guy really be wearing a swimsuit under his clothes??

Who usually wears a swimsuit under their outer clothes?

Moreover, judging from the exposed color, this isn't the kind of bikini swimsuit you see on the beach, but rather the kind of one-piece swimsuit commonly seen in various movies and TV shows, worn on school campuses.

"..."

Qiao Ran's expression immediately turned strange. Could someone really be running around wearing this?

So, he found an opportunity to quietly pull Mei aside and then quietly asked her the question.

Why are you asking this? You wouldn't happen to be...

Mei's gaze immediately turned strange, and she even quickly took a few steps back.

Lana's figure looks similar to Acero's.

The match was only about 50/50, and even though things were already like that, I didn't expect Qiao Ran to still...

"No, I just wanted to ask. Don't you think that's weird?"

Qiao Ran rolled his eyes. He just wanted to satisfy his little curiosity. He couldn't possibly rush over and peek at Lana's clothes, so he could only pin his hopes on Mei, who had stayed with Lana yesterday.

"..."

After staring at Qiao Ran for a while, Mei sighed.

"That's true. After all, she's the Captain of the Water-type, so she basically always wears a swimsuit, which makes it convenient for her to swim whenever she wants. However, she's been living in the safe zone over there, so she hasn't had the chance to swim. Now that she's finally able to come out, she's changed back into her old clothes."

Seeing that Qiao Ran didn't seem to have any strange ideas, Mei kindly offered an explanation for him. However, with a major battle looming, why focus on such a question at a time like this?

Can't this guy be a little more serious?

Mei had already categorized Qiao Ran as unreliable in her mind, but at least she couldn't appear unreliable here. She still took this operation quite seriously.

The last one to disappear was Qiao Ran, and she herself didn't react at all. As a Trainer who considers herself to be somewhat skilled, this kind of thing would definitely be an indelible stain on Mei's reputation.

This time, she will definitely be more motivated and try to accomplish more.

"Even the residents of our island rarely approach the area where the Life Ruins are located, as this area is considered a very 'sacred' place."

"Furthermore, starting from Konikoni City and heading South across the island, past the Life Ruins, you'll reach the 'Memorial Hill' on the other side. And over there..."

As Lana spoke, she lowered her head slightly and also lowered her voice.

"It's said that a large number of Landorus have been discovered there."

"Huh?? Really??"

Mei, standing nearby, was startled. The legendary Forces of Nature Pokémon known to Unova Region, and they'd even appeared in Alola!

"... hey-hey."

Seeing Mei's startled expression, Lana finally revealed a satisfied smile.

Mei or Acerola, who were more familiar with her, never took her words seriously from the beginning. After all, in their minds, Lana was just a casual angler who liked to set up strange traps even during conversations.

She can casually make statements like fishing for Kyogre with Fishing Rod or catching Suicune with a fishing net.

"Your reaction was great. I love it when you're like that."

Seemingly quite satisfied with Mei's naive reaction, Lana continued with her explanation.

"What I just said was just a little joke. The real Memorial Hill is actually just an ordinary cemetery in Alola. However, because it's close to the Life Ruins, it's been a burial place for important figures since ancient times. Powerful people all like to be buried there."

As Lana spoke, she glanced at Acerola almost imperceptibly.

Whether considering the relationship between the cemetery and the Ghost Type, or the relationship between this cemetery and the royal family in the past, it is impossible for this place to be completely unrelated to Acerola. However, since Lana brought up this topic, Acerola has not said much.

She had actually abandoned these superfluous identities a long time ago.

"The tombs of great figures throughout history?"

Cynthia was walking at the front of the group, also heard the others' discussions, which caught her attention. For mythologists, many "graveyards" are actually places that need to be explored, especially the Ghost Pokémon those places, which may have recorded many, many years ago.

Cynthia's team actually includes a Ghost type / Dark type Spiritomb, a Pokémon said to be formed from 108 sinful and tormented souls. Even among Ghost Pokémon, Spiritomb is quite rare, as its formation method is rather demanding.

However, it is precisely these Pokémon that have recorded some of the local landscape and history, especially the long-lived Ghost-type Pokémon, which have a unique advantage in this regard.

--Just like the Phoebe she met in Qiao Ran's world.

Can Ghost Pokémon reproduce with humans? Before, Cynthia would definitely have been skeptical, but after meeting Phoebe, she began to have some doubts.

"If I have the chance, I'd really like to go and see it. Maybe there will be something interesting on the ancient tombstones."

Cynthia doesn't want to offend the deceased, but she can still conduct research with reverence. Ancient scripts from the Pokémon World are one of her research areas, and if there are any available resources in the Alola Region, they would be of great help to archaeological research.

"I'll take you there once Akala Island returns to normal."

Lana readily agreed. She had long hoped the entire island would recover; if everything returned to normal, there was nowhere she wouldn't be able to go.

?

"Yes, things will definitely get better."

Acerola took her hand, reassuring Lana that Ula'ula Island, where she was, had returned to normal, and this would be the next island to return.

The group continued chatting as they moved forward, following the route pointed out by Lana. Qiao Ran and the others were unlikely to get lost, and Ultra Beast suddenly appeared were quickly dealt with by Cynthia and Qiao Ran.

Although they haven't been in the team for long, the rapport between Cynthia and Qiao Ran is gradually growing. Even though some of Cynthia's Pokémon still have some complaints about Qiao Ran Cynthia's commands, they are currently able to maintain a certain balance.

"We're almost there."

Lana took off her top and pants, revealing a swimsuit underneath, and rushed into the stream in front of her. When she jumped out again, she pointed out the direction to everyone.

This is our destination.