Why is my Pokémon girl a bit strange?

"..."

Gradually, she even found herself wishing she could be a little lighter... If she became a loli, Qiao Ran should be able to pick her up, right? Maybe?

Following the passage forward, Qiao Ran and the others passed a long "bridge." The bridge was surrounded by darkness, and on the other side was an empty room.

"What is this place?"

Qiao Ran squinted, trying to make out his surroundings. Finally, he spotted several protruding columnar objects in the center of the room.

Qiao Ran walked over, holding Vulpix. As he got closer, he finally saw what those "columns" were. They weren't utility poles standing on the ground, but transparent containers. Most of these containers were hollow inside, with only the central one seeming to contain something.

"…!"

Qiao Ran narrowed his eyes at the central container, but the sight within still shocked him.

Inside the container was a very young woman with brilliant, hip-length golden hair. Most importantly, her slender, smooth body was completely naked, frozen within the container by some unknown substance, like a sleeping beauty.

Staring at the naked woman frozen in the transparent container, Qiao Ran stood stunned. Then, he spoke her name, word by word.

"Lusamine…"

Lusamine—the president of the Aether Foundation… Why was she here?!

And… in a frozen state…

"What in the world happened here?!"

"Crack."

Just as Qiao Ran exclaimed, a strange sound came from behind him. Not only that, but the various crystals attached to the walls instantly lit up.

Multicolor light bloomed, washing over the air like an ocean.

Ethereal, hazy veils also drifted out from behind the crystals…

A suffocating aura began to spread throughout the room…

Section 70 068 [UB01: Nihilego]

The hazy light was like the polar day illuminating a dim sea. Along with the spreading light, several creatures shaped like white jellyfish began to drift out from somewhere, swaying their forms in the air like an ocean.

They had very beautiful appearances. Their heads were like hats with blue rims, and their every movement was as elegant and soft as that of a human girl.

Beautiful, dreamy, yet incredibly deadly.

"Nihil…ego!"

Seeing the large group of "jellyfish" that suddenly appeared, Qiao Ran couldn't help but gasp. Although he had expected to encounter something dangerous here, he never imagined there would be so many Nihilego hidden here.

—In the Aether Foundation's archives, Nihilego were classified as UB01: Parasite. They were life forms from another world.

Although, like Pokémon, they could be put into Poké Balls—as Pokémon from another world, or rather "Ultra Beasts," their abilities were far more powerful than most Pokémon in this world.

A single ordinary Nihilego had a base stat total of an astonishing 570. Among normal Pokémon, only Pseudo-legendaries could likely compete with that. If you compared it to a Sun Seed, which had the lowest base stat total of all Pokémon at 180… who knew how many would be needed to match one Nihilego.

"These guys…"

Moreover, Qiao Ran felt not even a trace of goodwill from these Nihilego. Their appearance here was likely because Qiao Ran's arrival had disturbed the quiet environment, or perhaps… they had a particular fondness for Qiao Ran's body.

Nihilego, UB01: Parasite. They were called this name because they had the ability to parasitize other life forms and, through this parasitism, control the thoughts of the host. However, not everything would be parasitized by Nihilego; their parasitism seemed to have its own preferences…

In any case, seeing the white jellyfish gradually swimming closer to him, Qiao Ran couldn't just sit back and wait. He directly issued commands to his Pokémon.

"Suicune, Water Cannon!!! Dianxi, Earth Power!!!"

If they were ordinary "real jellyfish," Qiao Ran wouldn't have used Water and Ground-type moves against them. However, as special jellyfish that could swim in the air, Nihilego had an extremely peculiar Rock/Poison typing.

This meant that—as jellyfish, they were actually doubly weak to Water-type moves, just like Dianxi…

"Roar!"

"Dia!"

Following Qiao Ran's command, Suicune opened its mouth, and a rapid stream of water shot out, hitting a Nihilego directly. On the other side, Dianxi also channeled the power of the earth, perfectly coordinating with Suicune to hit the same Nihilego simultaneously.

"...!*@!..."

The white jellyfish let out a strange cry, a sound like a girl's scream or something else entirely. She wobbled and fell from the air. It wasn't easy to withstand the double weakness to Water and the quadruple weakness to Ground, especially when the moves were unleashed by two "legendary Pokémon."

"Keep attacking! Vulpix, Altaria, you two help out too!"

The attack was effective, so Qiao Ran pressed his advantage. However, looking at the limp, soft white jellyfish on the ground, covered in Suicune's liquid, Qiao Ran couldn't help but have some strange thoughts.

"Wait… I remember my Pokémon collection quest specifically needed Rock-types, right?"

Qiao Ran rubbed his head, then, as if possessed, pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket.

He suddenly felt that catching some jellyfish wouldn't be so bad after all… After all, tough guys who live in the sea like catching jellyfish.

A long time passed.

However, the battle in this room continued. By now, Suicune and Dianxi had knocked down over ten Nihilego, but the jellyfish seemed endless, constantly drifting over from all directions.

"...Is this a jellyfish nest?"

Qiao Ran looked at Vulpix and Altaria, who were starting to pant, and inwardly thought that things were not good. It wasn't just them; even Suicune and Dianxi were a bit tired.

"Vulpix, Altaria! You two go back into your Poké Balls and rest for a bit."

Qiao Ran took out Poké Balls and returned them. The special aura here seemed to suppress ordinary Pokémon, causing Vulpix and the others to expend stamina much faster than usual.

Not only that, but due to this being a singularity, Qiao Ran and his Pokémon couldn't directly travel to Pokémon Pioneer Land unless he completed the final mission and could leave this godforsaken place.

"The mission objective is to deal with the source of the singularity... what exactly is this source? Is it the leader here?"

Qiao Ran glanced at Lusamine in the transparent container behind him. The leader of the Aether Foundation had now become a frozen ice sculpture, at her current state, she couldn't possibly be the source.

So... is the source something else?

"Dianxi, Suicune, let's get out of here. We can't stay here and be surrounded!"

Qiao Ran gave the command. The Nihilego had an overwhelming numerical advantage. If they continued fighting like this, they would eventually be worn down. Moreover, this room only had one obvious large door. If the Nihilego occupied the entrance, they would be trapped here.

"Tee-tee!" Dianxi nodded in agreement with Qiao Ran's idea. As a Pokémon, she could clearly feel her stamina being depleted. Furthermore, to defeat the Nihilego, she had to be at 100% focus. Although she and Suicune had already taken down quite a few Nihilego, it didn't mean these creatures were weak. On the contrary, they were very powerful.

Thus, Qiao Ran, having made up his mind, led Dianxi and Suicune out of the encirclement and back onto the bridge at the room's entrance.

"Hoo..."

Qiao Ran placed his hands on his knees and bent over, panting heavily. That room was incredibly vast, truly befitting the Aether Foundation, which never skimped on space. Even he, a man who underwent training, felt fatigued.

However, before Qiao Ran could catch his breath, a chilling sensation began to creep up his back. Qiao Ran's eyes widened, as if his heart had stopped for a second.

—A black tentacle sliced through the air, lunging directly at Qiao Ran. It wasn't targeting a Pokémon, but Qiao Ran, the human trainer.

This thing directly attacks trainers! We're... we're done for!

Qiao Ran closed his eyes, already picturing himself being severely injured.

"Tee!"

"Ding!"

However—in that final second, the last second before Qiao Ran felt he was about to be critically hit, Dianxi extended her hand and created a giant pink diamond behind him, blocking the attack for him.

"Di-Dianxi!"

Qiao Ran's eyes were filled with shock, while Dianxi's eyes were full of seriousness. Her gaze was fixed on the area behind Qiao Ran, looking as if she were facing a formidable enemy.

"..."

Following her gaze, Qiao Ran slowly turned around.

There—a giant, black jellyfish was drifting out of the darkness. And in the center of that jellyfish, a young and cute-looking girl was enveloped.

Her hair looked as if it had been dipped in ink, turning pure black, with only the tips retaining the golden color like Lusamine's. Moreover, her expression was filled with malice... Looking at her like this, Qiao Ran couldn't help but think of the description, "a good child who has turned into a bad child."

"Lillie...?"

Qiao Ran felt like he recognized this girl.

That's right, in the Pokémon world, this girl had considerable popularity, even being called the "doujinshi queen" of the new generation.

—Her name was Lillie, and she was also the... young lady of this Aether Foundation.

Normal Lillie.jpg

Section 71: 069 [Overlord: Parasite]

"Has she been parasitized...? Is that black thing a Nihilego?"

Qiao Ran looked at the girl enveloped by the "jellyfish," his expression growing increasingly grim. Although he had long known that Nihilego had such abilities, seeing it firsthand still sent a shiver down his spine.

No one liked being parasitized, not even Qiao Ran.

And Lillie—in the Pokémon world, she had always been a rather special character.

She was a pure young lady from the Aether Foundation, and the daughter of Lusamine, whom Qiao Ran had seen "frozen" earlier. Everything about her was as pure as a blank sheet of paper. Lillie herself didn't have much combat power. However, she was the only one in all the games who had raised a Level 1 Legendary Pokémon with a base stat of 680 from a young age.

Not only that, but even the Pokémon game development company, GF, treated this character like their own daughter. They prepared a separate model for every Lillie that appeared in the game, forcefully cramming a 400MB Lillie into a game that was only a few gigabytes...

Although this was partly due to GF's lagging technical capabilities, it also showed Lillie's importance.

"Hehehe..."

However, at this moment, Lillie showed none of her "pure young lady" demeanor. Wrapped by the Nihilego, her face was filled with a malicious smirk, her blue eyes half-lidded lazily, as if she were contemplating how to deal with Qiao Ran and his companions.

"Tee-tee...!" (Master... be careful, that one is very dangerous...!)

Dianxi's gaze never left the black Nihilego. Not only her, but Suicune was also tense. The moment Qiao Ran was attacked, she had wanted to help, but her movements were a step too slow.

Although Qiao Ran's crisis had been resolved by Dianxi, she still felt a pang of self-reproach. She had always wanted to be a quiet guardian, but—her strength was still too weak.

This was the first time Suicune had felt the urgency to become stronger. Only by becoming stronger could she protect what she wanted to protect. If she couldn't even protect her master now, could she protect the great Lady Ho-Oh in the future?

Rotom, who had been floating around Qiao Ran, also provided its analysis. Due to the opponent's special state, it had taken some time to analyze.

「Master! This guy's level... its level has reached 41, Rotom! The energy... the energy is quite powerful!」

"What? Level 41?!"

Qiao Ran looked in Rotom's direction in surprise. Level 41 was no ordinary Pokémon. As Ultra Beasts, their Level 41 was naturally much stronger than ordinary Pokémon.

Not only that, but this Nihilego, which had parasitized Lillie, was enveloped in a strange aura, and its body appeared to be slightly larger than that of a normal Nihilego.

"Hee hee..."

A strange laugh echoed from the darkness, reverberating around the long bridge. The black Nihilego extended its tentacles and sprayed purple venom at Qiao Ran and the others.

"Dianxi!"

Seeing the opponent suddenly launch an attack, Qiao Ran unhesitatingly clutched the Dianxi Key Stone on his chest and channeled his power into Dianxi's body.

This Nihilego was very different from the previous ones. If he wasn't careful, they could all be defeated by it—Qiao Ran dared not be careless.

After that sneak attack, Qiao Ran understood that the opponent truly wanted his life or his body...

"Ti!"

Wrapped in a dazzling pink light, Dianxi's appearance completely transformed. A powerful force emanated from her body, and in this darkness, she became a shining light source.

Dianxi extended her hand and constructed a gem barrier in front of her, blocking the incoming venom. The venom touched the gems, emitting a piercing sound and strange purple smoke.

In a battle, Dianxi would likely not choose to block directly, but it was different now. Her master was standing behind her, and she would never choose to retreat.

"Dianxi, Earth Power! Suicune, you also block the opponent's attacks! Continue using Water Cannon!"

On the bridge, Qiao Ran had both legendary Pokémon engage in the battle. Moreover, he was contemplating whether to send out Vulpix and the others. Even Qiao Ran couldn't predict the outcome of this battle.

If they lost, an extremely tragic ending awaited them... He might also turn into a jellyfish and wander in this ocean forever with Lillie.

"Hee hee hee..."

Facing the attacks from Dianxi and Suicune, the black Nihilego showed no panic. Instead, it dodged them with a slight sidestep. Furthermore, the white Nihilego that had been in the rooms began to float over from its side.

—The number of opponents was increasing.

"This is bad..."

Qiao Ran's pupils contracted. This was the opponent's territory, and continuing to fight would only put them at a greater disadvantage.