Why is my Pokémon girl a bit strange?

"Dian!"

Dianxi, unwilling to admit defeat, unleashed a Diamond Storm. The pink diamond vortex shot straight towards the black Nihilego. However, the small white Nihilegos formed a wall, actively blocking the attack.

"Hee hee hee..."

The black Nihilego let out a sound that was like a chuckle or a taunt. She waved her tentacles, and countless more poison bullets rained down. This time, Suicune instinctively carried Qiao Ran on its back, leaping across the bridge to dodge.

Suicune's movements were agile, dodging almost all the poison rain. The rest were blocked by Dianxi.

However, when the poison dripped onto the bridge, the seemingly sturdy structure was corroded into pits. The power of this thing... just how great was it?

"No... No! This is..."

This thought didn't last more than a few seconds in Qiao Ran's mind before he was staring wide-eyed at the rapidly cracking ground.

Under this corrosion, the bridge had lost its supporting strength.

"Boom!!"

The bridge cracked open, and Qiao Ran plunged into darkness. However, in the last second, Qiao Ran reached out and recalled Dianxi and Suicune into their Poké Balls.

"Altaria!"

Qiao Ran remained calm in the face of danger. After so many experiences, he had developed a large heart that became calmer the more critical the situation. He took out the Poké Ball containing Altaria, preparing to let Altaria help him overcome this difficulty. Humans couldn't fly, but Altaria could.

However—just as he was about to make this move, he suddenly felt himself falling onto something soft.

"Thump."

"Huh? What... what's going on?"

Qiao Ran looked up, surprised by his surroundings. He realized he was on the body of some Pokémon. The Pokémon was flying in the air, flapping its wings. Not only that, but a girl's faint voice came from his side.

"Are... are you okay...?"

"!"

Qiao Ran's heart skipped a beat. He looked in the direction the voice came from. By the faint light of the surrounding crystals, he saw—the one speaking was a cute girl with short black hair and a red hat.

The girl had a pair of very sunny and captivating large eyes, and she always seemed to have a faint smile when she spoke. However, at this moment, her mental state didn't seem very good... There were faint dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well for a long time. Not only that, but her clothes were also torn, revealing a large amount of skin beneath her already quite revealing attire.

Qiao Ran even felt that if she moved slightly, he would see something he shouldn't.

"You are..."

Qiao Ran felt like he knew her... even though he had never met her in person.

"Mei Yue?" Qiao Ran asked tentatively.

"Eh?" The girl instantly reacted to Qiao Ran's words.

Her large eyes were filled with confusion, as if asking, "How did you know?"

Section 72 070 [Alola: Mei Yue]

The girl didn't understand why Qiao Ran knew her. In her memory, this was the first time she had met this boy.

"Ah... Sorry, I just heard a friend describe your appearance, so I guessed it might be you."

Seeing the girl's reaction, Qiao Ran had basically confirmed that she was the "Mei Yue" in question.

—Like Mei, she was also one of the many female protagonists in the Pokémon world's games. However, the regions they represented were different. Mei was from the Unova region, while Mei Yue was from the Alola region.

If the two regions were compared, it would be like the difference between a global metropolis and a suburban-urban fringe.

Although the Alola region had outstanding organizations like the Aether Foundation, the local customs and traditions here still remained quite "simple." There were basically no industrial facilities, and the environment was preserved very well. In fact—even the League might not have been formally established.

"Is that so... Someone actually mentioned me... Did you come from outside?"

Mei Yue's eyes dimmed slightly. Seeing her expression, Qiao Ran couldn't help but think of Mei again—what had these female protagonists of the Pokémon world gone through? Why did they all seem a bit strange?

"I did come from outside, using a slightly special method. My name is Qiao Ran, it's nice to meet you."

Qiao Ran glanced around and then changed the subject. He was quite afraid that she would keep asking how he got in, a question he couldn't explain at all.

"What happened here?"

"Here... experienced a disaster unlike any before."

Mei Yue shook her head, directing her Pokémon to land on the ground.

Only then did Qiao Ran realize that what he was sitting on was a Tropius, completely green and with bananas hanging around its neck. It was this Pokémon that had caught him in mid-air.

"At first, my friend invited me here, and then, for some reason... dozens of Ultra Holes connecting to another world suddenly appeared, and countless Ultra Beasts entered this facility through the Ultra Holes."

"I couldn't stop the invasion of those Ultra Beasts, and could only watch as they occupied this place. They exiled other living beings to another world and transformed this place into their nest. Not only that... even my best friend was captured by them..."

Mei Yue sat downpowerlessly on the ground. This was the very bottom beneath the bridge, but it had already been transformed by Mei Yue into a small temporary base.

There was a bed, supplies, water, and food, as if everything was readily available.

But there was no electricity, nor many necessities of modern life. Qiao Ran couldn't imagine how Mei Yue had managed to live here.

"The friend you're talking about, is it Lillie? I saw her just now too."

Qiao Ran sighed. If he were strong enough, he would also want to rescue Lillie. After all, she was a good girl, and she shouldn't have become like this.

"You know Lillie too?"

Perhaps because she hadn't seen another living person in a long time, or perhaps because of the familiarity Qiao Ran naturally exuded, Mei found it very easy to talk to him. There seemed to be no barrier between them, unlike their first meeting.

"Mhm, of course I know her."

Qiao Ran nodded noncommittally, adding to himself, Though she doesn't know me.

"Lillie... sniff."

Speaking of Lillie, Mei's little nose twitched slightly. She silently walked to one end of the bed and picked up a somewhat dirty stuffed toy – a Clefairy.

"This is Lillie's favorite doll. I even went out of my way to find it for her... Even though she's become like that now, I still believe... there has to be a way..."

As she spoke, tears welled up in Mei's eyes. It was hard to imagine what kind of blow this strong girl must have suffered to become this way.

"..."

Seeing her so sad, Qiao Ran really wanted to hug her and comfort her. However, he then remembered that this was their first meeting, and such an action might be inappropriate.

What if she thinks I'm a pervert? Will I get yelled at again???

Thus, Qiao Ran's hand, half-extended, reached out and then retracted, stretching and shrinking as he hesitated, unsure of what to do.

"Um... what's wrong?"

After crying softly for a while, Mei noticed Qiao Ran's awkward movements beside her. She couldn't help but turn her gaze towards him and carefully placed the Clefairy doll back on the bed.

"N-no, it's nothing. I was just thinking about a rather complicated problem."

Qiao Ran scratched his head, trying to change the subject again. He no longer wanted to trigger the "guaranteed to anger a girl on the first meeting" buff. After suffering losses several times, he had become increasingly cautious in this regard.

Thanks to Dianxi and Vulpix, Qiao Ran had also realized just how deep the waters were when it came to girls.

"A complicated problem? Are you thinking of a way to save Lillie?"

"...Mhm, yes, that's right."

Qiao Ran seized the opportunity and nodded decisively. After all, he did want to save Lillie, and this matter didn't conflict with his previous thoughts. Moreover, he had a premonition that the Nihilego parasitizing Lillie was likely related to the "center of the singularity," and that Nihilego held a rather special position within its entire species.

"Lillie... I knew it, I just knew it! As Lillie's friend, your thoughts must be the same as mine!"

Hearing Qiao Ran's answer, Mei's face lit up with excitement. She even took a step forward and excitedly hugged Qiao Ran.

"That's great! That's great!"

"...!"

Qiao Ran's eyes widened. He had been agonizing over whether to make such a move, and this girl had just hugged him out of the blue.

Is this the passionate Alola? Qiao Ran thought he was in love.

Although this girl didn't have the outrageously stunning figure of Mei, she was still much better than the flat-chested Dianxi and Vulpix. Or rather, it was Dianxi and Vulpix who were the more unusual ones.

"By the way, what Pokémon do you have available now? I might not be able to deal with that most powerful Nihilego yet. If you have other Pokémon..."

Mei's hug didn't last long. After she let go of Qiao Ran, he asked about Mei's team composition.

Now that he had found an ally and determined the next course of action, Qiao Ran should also understand his ally's strength.

If this protagonist also had Mei's combat power, then the upcoming actions would undoubtedly become much easier.

However, upon hearing Qiao Ran's words, Mei's face revealed a smile that was both bitter and helpless.

Her expression clearly indicated a smile, but Qiao Ran couldn't help but feel like she was crying.

"Alright, I'll show you my Pokémon."

As Mei moved, several Pokémon revealed themselves around her.

Qiao Ran's gaze swept over them.

"Decidueye... Alolan Muk... Toxapex... Salazzle... Drapion..."

Qiao Ran's initial excitement gradually turned into bewilderment as he saw more.

"Wait, why are all your Pokémon, except for the starters and flying transport, Poison-type????"

Why were they all Poison-type???

After all, that Nihilego was quadruply resistant to Poison! Poison and Rock, it was undoubtedly a x4 weakness. Poison-type moves wouldn't even scratch its health bar!

Qiao Ran suddenly felt like he understood something.

Why had Mei always been helpless against this Nihilego?

It wasn't that she didn't try, but her team composition was truly, truly toxic. Not only were most of her Pokémon Poison-type, but the few remaining ones didn't have much advantage against Nihilego; in fact, they were at a type disadvantage.

"Mhm..." Mei touched her head, unsure how to answer Qiao Ran's question.

She could only stick out her tongue slightly and act cute.

"Because... they all look very cute?"

Mei's Pokémon choices were quite unique to her. At this point, Qiao Ran had no other options. Although most Pokémon experts specialized in a single type, an Adventurer who often ventured out couldn't afford to train Pokémon of only one type. Otherwise, they might very well find themselves in such a predicament.

"What's that? Is that a Rotom?"

Seeing Qiao Ran pull out his Rotom, Mei also came closer. She also took out a red object from her bag – the Alolan specialty, the Rotom Dex.

Injecting Rotom into the Dex resulted in a flying Pokémon encyclopedia that could also function as a selfie phone, making it incredibly convenient.

However, her Rotom was currently completely out of energy, unable to even open its eyes.

"Because there's no electricity or sunlight here... I haven't been able to charge it at all. If only we could get out..."

As Mei spoke, her eyes grew determined again.

She looked at Qiao Ran, puffing out her chest excitedly, "Let's defeat that Nihilego together!"

"Mhm... Ah, I know, I know."

Qiao Ran's gaze was still fixed on the Rotom's screen, and he didn't notice Mei suddenly becoming passionate beside him. He could only respond mechanically.

"These Pokémon's levels... most of them are around level 37?"

Qiao Ran muttered to himself. Although Mei's Pokémon were at a higher level than his, their types weren't advantageous. Moreover, that level wouldn't be enough to impress the Nihilego.

"What should we do?"

Qiao Ran stroked his chin. Although he really wanted to ask Mei if her Pokémon had any AoE moves like the Water-type Surf or the Ground-type Earthquake that would be effective against Nihilego, after thinking for a while, he decided against it.

Firstly, Mei's Toxapex, which might possess Water-type moves, was a tank. Even if it could spray a little water from its body, it probably wouldn't have much effect on the Nihilego with its extremely high Special Defense. Secondly, while the Ground-type move Earthquake could deal a fatal blow to Nihilego in the game, it was a great pity that they were in reality now...

Qiao Ran estimated that they might not even be able to shake a single jellyfish, and instead, they might end up half-killing their own teammates.

"I've shown you my Pokémon, so what are your teammates?"

Seeing Qiao Ran's hesitant expression, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself, Mei couldn't help but feel a sense of defiance.