Why is my Pokémon girl a bit strange?

She had brought these Pokémon through the trials set by several Alolan Captains. Although their types might have been a bit too singular, their strength was beyond doubt.

In the Alolan region, due to its simple customs, there was neither a League nor the concept of Gyms.

Instead, there were people called "Captains" who would set up trials to evaluate trainers. Therefore, in Alola, Captains were equivalent to Gym Leaders in other regions.

As a trainer who had already passed several trials, Mei naturally felt a bit unconvinced by Qiao Ran's attitude.

Moreover... among her peers, Mei had always considered herself a "genius." Her journey had been smooth sailing. She had even encountered an Island Guardian Deity on the very day she set out, receiving a treasure from the Island God. Besides that, she had met many incredible people and gotten to know the young lady of the Aether Foundation... Deep down, she even felt that she might be the protagonist.

The legends she had experienced in just one month of travel far surpassed what many people experienced in a lifetime.

"I want to see your Pokémon too."

Mei stared intently at Qiao Ran, clearly determined not to change her mind.

"Alright."

Qiao Ran shrugged. Since it was pre-battle mobilization, he naturally needed to reveal his Pokémon and let Mei know his combat strength.

Perhaps this girl might come up with some unexpected plan.

"First, her—come out, Vulpix!"

Qiao Ran took out the first Poké Ball. With a flash of light, a small, snow-white beast appeared in his arms.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Qiao Ran stroked her body, asking about her condition.

"Mmm-mrrrow..." Vulpix stretched comfortably, indicating that her condition had stabilized. Although she might not have fully recovered to her peak state, she was ready to battle again.

"Alolan Vulpix! Ah... so cute. You've raised her so well. Look at the sheen of her fur... and her tail..."

Upon seeing the Alolan specialty Pokémon, Mei's eyes lit up. She couldn't help but reach out to pet Vulpix, but Vulpix dodged her hand with remarkable agility.

"Sorry, this one might be a bit shy."

Qiao Ran chuckled helplessly. Vulpix had never gotten close to anyone other than him. Even Eve, who had "traveled" with him for a while, wasn't liked by Vulpix, who seemed to hold a bit of disdain for her.

"It's okay, it's okay... Pokémon all have different personalities. By the way, do you want some water?"

Mei waved her hand and offered a bottle of water, telling Qiao Ran not to mind. She often interacted with Pokémon and knew it was best to let them have their way sometimes.

"No, I'm not very thirsty right now."

Qiao Ran refused the bottled water Mei offered. He might need to execute his battle plan soon, and what if he had to go to the bathroom after drinking too much water? He couldn't possibly ask those Nihilego to stop, could he?

"Then, next is..."

Qiao Ran took out a second Poké Ball. After a flash of light, Qiao Ran's Altaria appeared in mid-air.

Before, Qiao Ran had thought about having her catch him in the air, but before she could make a move, Qiao Ran was already caught by other Pokémon.

"Chirp—!"

"My goodness! Altaria! It's actually golden!!"

Mei was startled by the suddenly appearing Dragon-type Pokémon, her mouth forming an 'o' shape. In all her life, this was the first time she had seen a golden Altaria, so her voice was filled with unconcealed amazement and envy. How lucky could someone be to encounter such a Pokémon that symbolized happiness itself!

With just the second Pokémon, more than half of Mei's dissatisfaction had already dissipated. This Altaria... truly had the qualifications to look down on everyone else.

Not all Pokémon were shiny from birth, and not all shiny Pokémon shone as beautifully as this.

"Then, next is..."

As Qiao Ran spoke, he took out another Poké Ball from his waist. However, halfway through, he put his hand back and took out the next ball as well.

"It's troublesome to take them out one by one, so everyone come out together."

"What kind of Pokémon will it be?"

Mei took a sip of the bottled water in her hand, her eyes full of anticipation.

"Come out! — Suicune! Dianxi!"

"Pfft!"

Mei immediately spat out the water.

Su... Su what?

Section 74 072 [Hunt: Strategy]

For a moment, Mei even imagined she might have misheard. Perhaps the other person had said Pokémon like Blastoise, Mudkip, or Eevee. However—when she truly saw the light solidify, she was completely speechless.

"Su... Suicune... it's really Suicune!"

The proud messenger of the north wind appeared in this dark space. Its high-held head and the flowing ribbons around its body all proclaimed its identity.

Not only that, but Mei also saw a small figure beside Suicune.

—It was a remarkably petite Pokémon, appearing to be less than a meter tall. However, its presence was no less significant than Suicune's, perhaps even stronger, especially with the pink diamond on its head.

"Dia... Dianxi... Dianxi!"

Mei exclaimed, holding her face. As a girl who grew up in the world of Pokémon, she had obviously heard the legends of Dianxi. Or rather, most girls had heard the legends of Dianxi when they were young; they at least had some admiration for this cute and noble Pokémon.

"Wait... wait, let me catch my breath. Am I seeing things...?"

Mei took several deep breaths and gulped down several mouthfuls of water. However, even after all that, she couldn't calm her racing heart.

Who... who is this guy?!

Why can this guy just pull out legendary Pokémon while rummaging around?!

Although Mei had a broad perspective, having already met Alola's Island Guardian Deities at the beginning of her journey and received treasures from them, the ability to catch legendary Pokémon and travel with them as companions was something Mei had never even dared to dream of.

How can humans be with gods!

And if you catch them, you can feed them and even bathe them every single day?!

As Mei thought about it, her eyes started to spin. The sheer amount of information was overwhelming her.

With no other option, Mei flopped onto the bed and covered her head with a Clefairy plushie, trying to calm herself down.

"Don't be like that. Even though they're legendary Pokémon, they aren't very strong yet. Otherwise, I wouldn't have fallen off just now."

Qiao Ran looked at Mei, who was sprawled on the bed, completely drained, with a rather helpless expression on his face.

In his own world, he had encountered many unappreciative people. But now, it seemed that being too appreciative wasn't necessarily a good thing either.

"Huh? Strong... not strong?"

Hearing Qiao Ran's words, Mei looked up in surprise, seemingly not understanding his meaning.

"Although they are legendary Pokémon, they are not legendary Pokémon in their mature stage. Most people might not know this, but legendary Pokémon do reproduce..."

Qiao Ran offered his explanation, which was a story he had prepared beforehand. Facing people from the Pokémon world, he certainly couldn't tell lies like "I caught them in the mountains behind my house." He could only give Dianxi and the others a backstory of being "baby divine beasts."

However, as Qiao Ran spoke, especially when he mentioned that "legendary Pokémon also reproduce," he suddenly felt several pairs of eyes staring intently at him from behind. This feeling made him panic.

Qiao Ran pondered for a moment, still not quite understanding—

I don't think I said anything wrong, right? Legendary Pokémon do reproduce? Why are they staring at me like that...???

"Is... is that so? So legendary Pokémon can have babies too."

Mei nodded blankly, indicating that she had learned something new. She truly didn't understand these matters before, or rather... there probably weren't many people in this world

who knew how legendary Pokémon reproduced.

"Anyway, let's put that aside for now. Our priority is to figure out how to defeat that Nihilego and rescue Lillie."

Qiao Ran rubbed his aching temples. The topic had veered off course. They were supposed to be discussing a battle plan, not how Pokémon reproduce.

"R-right, we need to rescue Lillie first!"

When Lillie was mentioned, Mei suddenly perked up. She rolled over on the bed and sat up. As expected of someone who had lived in Alola, her physical condition was far superior to others.

"Alright, let's get down to business."

Qiao Ran also patted his cheeks and began analyzing the current situation.

"What we need to do now is defeat that black Nihilego. In other words, our target has always been singular. Once we defeat that one, our objective will be achieved."

"However, that Nihilego is very special. It has the ability to command other Nihilego. In other words, if we can't finish the fight quickly after encountering it, we will inevitably face being swarmed by countless Nihilego."

Qiao Ran recalled their previous battle. He felt that the main reason for his failure was prolonging the fight, allowing the other Nihilego to interfere. With the other Nihilego acting as shields, that particular one was practically invincible.

"Therefore, if we want to win, we must compress the battle time to the shortest possible duration. To achieve this goal... our skill selection must also be optimized."

"Mhm... mhm."

Mei nodded, listening intently to Qiao Ran's analysis. She suddenly realized that this guy, besides having very special Pokémon, was also quite sharp.

"Nihilego's types are Rock and Poison. Its weaknesses are in its Attack and Defense. Therefore, if we consider the optimal solution, we should first choose Ground-type physical attack moves, followed by Steel, Water, and Psychic types. If all else fails, special attacks can also be useful."

Qiao Ran looked earnestly into Mei's eyes and asked the question that concerned him the most.

"How many of these types of moves do your Pokémon know?"

"Hmm..."

Mei counted on her fingers and finally, hesitantly, held up one finger.

"...One??" Qiao Ran looked at the single finger and silently muttered "WTF" in his mind.

"Uh, I think Toxapex knows one move, Scald... My other Pokémon don't know any moves of those types... Sorry..."

Mei lowered her head sheepishly and fiddled with her fingers. She didn't want it to be like this, but that was the reality.

Qiao Ran sighed inwardly. He had initially thought he had found a powerful ally, but he never expected to find someone who was truly an incredibly dedicated Poison-type master.

"Never mind... Let Dianxi and the others handle the main offense. As long as Dianxi and the others can land their hits, we've already won half the battle."

Qiao Ran felt he needed to change his approach. In the end, he could only rely on his old companions—they were the most dependable ones.

Chapter 75: 073 [Hunt: Ambush]

After a period of discussion, Qiao Ran and Mei had basically come up with a feasible plan. Although Mei still had some reservations, Qiao Ran felt that the plan was worth a try.

—Although Qiao Ran disliked gambling, sometimes he had no choice. As the disadvantaged party, he didn't have the luxury of making such demands.

"Okay... I don't have any other ideas, so I'll do as you say."

After much thought, Mei finally agreed to Qiao Ran's plan. Even though the plan would put her in a very dangerous situation, she still held Qiao Ran's hand and nodded firmly.

"We absolutely have to succeed this time!"

With a plan in place, the two rode Altaria and returned to the broken bridge from below.

As for why they didn't choose Tropius, the reason was quite simple. Altaria's wings naturally possessed a silencing and stealth effect. Compared to the enormous Tropius, she was more suited for this kind of covert operation.

Within the cold Aether Foundation, devoid of any trace or sign of life, Qiao Ran and Mei proceeded cautiously, step by step, wary of Nihilego that might emerge from the shadows at any moment.

Since the operation began, the two had not exchanged any communication, knowing they had to seize this opportunity.

The petite Mei, hidden in the shadows of the bridge, crept forward. Soon, she entered the spacious room—this was the very place Qiao Ran had been to before. In the center of the room, several large transparent containers were still placed.

Mei walked forward without a word, her path leading directly towards the containers in the center.

However, just as she was about to reach her destination, her gaze suddenly sharpened. She pulled an opened soda can from her bag and threw it forcefully onto the ground.

"Clang—!!! Clang—

!! Clang!"

The soda can bounced several times on the ground, creating an astonishingly loud noise in the previously quiet and empty room, and the sound continued to echo—

In an instant—the crystals on the room's walls gradually lit up, a strange aura began to spread, and a heavy atmosphere filled every corner of the room.

White jellyfish drifted out from the shadows, reflecting faint fluorescence in the darkness. It was clear that the commotion Mei had created had attracted many, many Nihilego. As they appeared, they began to approach Mei.

—Mei's alluring form was attracting them.

"Come on... hurry up and come..."

Mei's footsteps continued to approach the central containers, but her eyes were fixed on the doorway.

"..."

Finally, as she silently counted to "seven" in her mind, the figure she had been waiting for actually appeared at the doorway and drifted over.

—It was a large, black Nihilego, with a beautiful girl enveloped in its center. The girl's face was full of a mischievous grin.

"Lillie...!"