Chapter 375

He did look quite tired.

After Lusamine finished explaining things to the staff, Qiao Ran was also shaken awake and casually mentioned his previous thoughts.

"So, you're thinking of staying here for a day and then leaving tomorrow?"

Lusamine nodded.

"I have no objection, the problem is with the others too..."

"I'm fine. After all, it's a battle with Tapu, it must be very difficult..." Lillie, standing next to Lusamine, decisively expressed her opinion. Rather than rushing to catch up, she was definitely more worried about Qiao Ran's situation.

"I have no objection either."

Mei Mei didn't object, since they weren't in a rush. Even though the crisis in the Pokémon World was imminent, they were more concerned about the things around them.

"I..."

Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Cynthia couldn't help but sigh.

As the only person present who strongly insisted on being in a hurry, she felt more guilty than resentful towards Qiao Ran in the face of this situation.

He was clearly the strongest among those present, so why was he unable to do anything in that situation?

According to her original plan, if she could find a way to get to that space with Qiao Ran, with their combined strength, they would definitely be able to resolve these troubles very smoothly.

However, things didn't go as planned. Faced with these special forces, she probably overestimated herself.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but it wasn't easy to show this emotion now. She could only turn her face slightly and nod gently.

"... Let's do as Qiao Ran says."

Next, she needs to calm down a bit.

If they struggle in a relatively "less central" region like Alola, they'll likely face even greater difficulties in Unova or Sinnoh. Most importantly, according to Qiao Ran's previous statement, if they encounter trouble in Unova and have to retreat, they'll simply return to the same spot.

This means that once this step is taken, there's no going back.

"Since you're planning to get some rest anyway, why don't you just relax a bit?"

Suddenly, just as Qiao Ran and the others were talking, a familiar voice came from the doorway. It was the girl with long green hair— Mallow.

She had somehow found her way here, and surprisingly, a blue-haired girl wearing a cloak was standing next to her.

"Lana? Mallow? You're alright?"

Acerola was the first to ask. Mallow had said before that she would go to Olivia's place after sending Lana back, but now it seemed that she hadn't shown up yet, which might be related to Lana's matter.

"... Yeah, I'm fine now, it's just... I don't know why, I feel a little cold."

Lana Lian shakily raised her head and explained her current state. In fact, she had regained consciousness shortly after Mallow took her back, and after feeling that she was alright, she pulled Mallow to take her out as well.

"It must be because you went swimming earlier and then collapsed on the ground and have been unconscious ever since, right?"

Mallow glanced at Lana. This girl just couldn't resist wanting to swim for a while, so she secretly put on her swimsuit and went out, only to faint on the ground. She must have caught a chill then.

"I'm glad you're alright. By the way, what happened to you that made you suddenly faint?"

Qiao Ran looked at Lana and felt much relieved. However, no one had expected Lana to suddenly faint. Neither the last time nor this time had this problem occurred before.

"... I don't know either. I just saw a Haze, then everything went white, and then... I ended up lying at home."

Speaking of this, Lana was also very frustrated, and she didn't even have the mind to joke anymore. As the Water-type Captain was known for catching Kyogre with one hand, she was actually knocked to the ground without even realizing what was happening. This was too humiliating.

If the other party still harbors malicious intentions, wouldn't she be in danger?

"It's so similar to what happened to me back then... I don't think I felt anything at all, and by the time I realized it, I was already inside the Cave. Originally..."

Logically, it should be over in the Cave tunnel area...

Cynthia also looked on with sympathy. She understood Lana's feelings at that moment. Any Trainer would feel resentful in this situation. Did it mean that in addition to training Pokémon's abilities, Trainer also had to improve their own combat power to improve themselves?

Considering that Qiao Ran has been training himself to resist abnormal states recently, Cynthia increasingly feels that this is very likely.

Ordinary Trainer can only participate in Battlefield; only by training yourself like Pokémon can you Illuminate shine in wild battles.

From now on, I'll do some physical exercise with Qiao Ran too...

In just half a day, Cynthia began to doubt herself, while the newcomers Lana and Mallow joined the discussion.

"... I've already heard from Sister Olivia that everyone can use Z-Move now, and she's planning to organize a group of people to start clearing out the Ultra Beast outside."

Speaking of this, Mallow was very excited, and Lana, who was standing next to her, nodded repeatedly.

"Once the Ultra Beast are gone, the big fish will give birth to little fish again, and everyone can go fishing again."

Although she was a little upset because she had no idea what had happened, she couldn't help but smile when talking about such happy things.

"And... Tapu Lele has actually come to our Konikoni City! This is the first time on the island, right?"

"Yes, yes, I was stopped by so many people on the street and asked them about this."

Mallow nodded in agreement.

"Qiao Ran, you must be Trainer from another region. I didn't expect Tapu Lele to like you so much the first time we met."

Seeing Qiao Ran being constantly Sticky Hold by Tapu Lele, Mallow was filled with envy. However, because of Tapu Lele, her impression of Qiao Ran improved considerably.

The same applies to Lana. After all, Tapu Lele is their faith on this island, and someone who is so loved and acknowledged by Tapu Lele must have their own outstanding qualities.

If possible, they also hope to get to know each other better.

"Sigh, if Alola hadn't run into this mess, we could have taken you all on a tour of the island. When I was Captain, I even set up Forest for the Grand Trial."

Mallow recalled what had happened before and couldn't help but feel a little regretful. It was a pity that they didn't meet at a "normal" time; otherwise, just spending an ordinary day together would have been quite interesting.

"Yes, I can also take you to the island's fishing paradise, where you can catch Bikini Babe and Swimmer at the Brooklet Hill. And that's also my testing Battle Court, with top-tier Araquanid and Wishiwashi there!"

Lana couldn't help but talk about the trials she had faced as Captain. Although her job Captain had been ruined by the arrival of the Ultra Beast, they would never forget these things.

"We'll definitely come back to play again once Alola is back to normal."

Qiao Ran said with a smile, "After all, Mei and Lillie both live here now, and Acerola's hometown is also here."

In their group, apart from Cynthia and Mei, who were from out of town, the majority were from the Alola Region.

That's normal, though, since the Alola Region is indeed the easiest part to explore right now.

Although Marnie and Gloria from Galar have a good relationship with Qiao Ran, and Qiao Ran and the others would go there every now and then to play for a while and have a meal together, they still have their own towns to manage and can't go on adventures with them.

However, if we have to put it that way, Gloria is more likely to be persuaded than Marnie, who is the manager. After all, Qiao Ran can see that she is not the kind of person who would stay in one place, and she also wants to return to her hometown, which is not in Spikemuth.

However, now is far from the time to persuade Gloria, and she probably won't easily abandon her friends and leave alone until Spikemuth is truly safe and free of worries. After all, if she really wanted to leave, she already has the ability to travel alone to a world full of Gigantamax Pokémon.

"By the way, we'll take you around the city this afternoon. Although most places here are without electricity most of the time, there are some things you can see without electricity."

Hearing Qiao Ran say that, Mallow became even more enthusiastic and began to introduce the city where she lived. That's just her personality. Now that she heard that Qiao Ran was interested, she became even more excited.

Lana, standing nearby, also understood Mallow's thoughts perfectly.

"For example, Sister Olivia's Gem crafts and other artisans' handicrafts... these are all local specialties. Even my family makes those legendary fishing rods that are guaranteed to catch those Feebas! If you'd like..."

"How could such a thing possibly exist?"

Before Lana could even start fishing, Mallow immediately exposed her lie, saying that these were guests who had come all this way, and how could she say such things to them?

After saying that, she turned to look at Qiao Ran, her eyes full of anticipation.

"... I..."

Looking into Mallow's eyes, which were full of sincerity and expectation.

Qiao Ran was actually a little reluctant to refuse. After thinking about it for a while, he finally nodded.

"Alright, then I'll follow your arrangements this afternoon."

"Yeah!"

"Hmph, not bad, you have good taste."

Hearing Qiao Ran's answer, Mallow and Lana both laughed, but Mei, who was standing next to them, couldn't help but look over with some concern and asked a question.

"Qiao Ran, what about your physical condition...?"

"It's alright, as long as I don't do strenuous exercise, it's probably not too serious. But it's not really possible for me to just lie down and rest."

Qiao Ran smiled, indicating that he was fine. His body was already very "Sturdy," and as long as it wasn't the kind of exercise he did in that Distortion World, it was basically a period of rest for him.

Moreover, given the current situation in Konikoni City, it's unlikely that Lana and Mallow could take them to any very far place. Based on Qiao Ran's intuition, it's probably just within the area between Lana's house and Olivia's house.

"Besides, since we've come all this way to the other islands of Alola, it would be a shame not to take a look around."

As Qiao Ran spoke, he couldn't help but shake his head.

Now, he seems to have lost some of his original passion for traveling. Although talking about his original passion at such a critical moment when the world is in danger is a bit inappropriate, taking a moment to experience the local customs and culture in each place he visits is one of the romances of Pokémon Trainer.

"Tete, te... te!"

Hearing Qiao Ran and the others' conversation, Tapu Lele clapped her hands happily. Although she didn't quite understand many of what Qiao Ran was saying, she could roughly tell that Qiao Ran not only liked the island but also planned to explore it in the afternoon.

Anyone who likes this island must be a good person.

Tapu Lele now prefers Qiao Ran.

Konikoni City is a city with a strong architectural style reminiscent of the Johto Region and a distinctly Eastern charm. It boasts not only many ancient crafts but also numerous cultural relics that are rare even in the entire Alola Region.

"Ordinary people wouldn't experience this kind of treatment. To have two of the island's Captain act as tour guides."

"... But if we really have to look on the island, there probably isn't anyone who knows this place better than us."

Mallow and Lana chatted back and forth, and just as they said, they knew this place quite well and introduced many interesting things to Qiao Ran and the others.

"This is the largest traditional Chinese medicine shop on our island. The elderly gentleman and lady who run the shop are very famous pharmacists. If you have any ailments that can't be solved by anything else, coming to them might just have a miraculous effect."

"Herbal medicines from the Pokémon World...?"

Qiao Ran muttered something under his breath, then looked around the shop with genuine interest. The elderly men and women with gray hair watched Qiao Ran and his companions with smiles; there really weren't many young people interested in this kind of thing these days.

"Energy Root... Energy Powder..."

Although Qiao Ran's Real World also has a system for treating diseases using medicinal herbs, the two worlds are vastly different, so there's basically nothing similar between them. The only similarity might be that the "traditional Chinese medicine" in both worlds relies on real-world "objects" for dietary therapy.

However, in this Pokémon World is currently in ruins and needs rebuilding, these things might have some surprising effects. Most importantly, Qiao Ran is indeed very interested in things that exist in the Pokémon World but not in the Real World. In this world, besides Pokémon, there are many other things that do not exist in reality.

"Traditional Chinese medicine? Hmm... According to historical records, before the prototypes of some modern medicines were developed, many people used traditional Chinese medicine to restore the stamina of Pokémon. However, these herbs tasted very bitter, so Pokémon generally didn't want to take them a second time."

Cynthia stood beside Qiao Ran and looked at the herbs placed in the drawers with him. However, perhaps due to the arrival of the Ultra Beast, the store's supply of herbs was clearly insufficient, and some drawers were already empty.

"Some herbs are unique to our Alola Region, and I know quite a bit about that."

Mallow also came over and began to explain the science behind it.

Although she wasn't a professional pharmacist, as the Grass-type Captain of the Alola Region, she wasn't just someone who knew how to grow flowers and plants; she certainly had some knowledge of the special uses of certain plants.

"It's a pity there aren't many fish here, otherwise I could tell you about them too."

Lana wasn't very interested in these things; they were outside her area of knowledge, places she wouldn't normally come into contact with.

Feeling bored, she started gossiping about other people.

"After we've finished looking around here, we'll take you to Olivia's house. She has a huge collection of stones. I heard that some of the most skilled trainers from the Hoenn Region have tried to buy certain Alola Region- specific minerals from her, but she never made a move."

"Top-tier Trainer in the Hoenn Region? Buying stones?"

Qiao Ran became genuinely interested upon hearing this, and seeing Qiao Ran's expression, Lana's lips curled up slightly.

"Then come here and listen, I'll explain it to you slowly."

"... Lana! You!"

Seeing Lana suddenly pull her people away, Mallow couldn't help but stomp her Stomping Tantrum. She was only halfway through introducing these things when Lana was stealing her customers.

As the restaurant owner's daughter and the Restaurant's longtime mascot, Mallow couldn't tolerate this behavior.

"She's definitely joking. Let's come here for traditional Chinese medicine instead."

"... Heh heh, this is no joke. I secretly saw Sister Olivia conducting a jewelry transaction in the Forest when I was fishing that day."

Lana Lian laughed innocently, but the content of her words still left Qiao Ran somewhat confused.

Wait... could this guy really be lying?

In one afternoon, Qiao Ran and his group visited almost all the "slightly interesting" places nearby. There were many things that were indeed very characteristic of Alola, such as some local wood carvings or art paintings. Many of these art styles were closely related to the "patterns" on Tapu's body. For example, the patterns on Tapu Lele were abstracted into something similar to a totem on Akala Island.