Why is my Pokémon girl a bit strange?

Mei called out her friend's name, gave her a deep look, then resolutely turned around and ran towards the transparent container without looking back.

"……!"

For some reason, upon seeing Mei's actions, the black Nihilego actually showed a look of anxiety for the first time. It hurriedly extended its tentacles and sprayed venom towards Mei's location.

"Block her attack!"

Mei released her Pokémon.

A swarm of Poison-type Pokémon appeared on the ground, using their skills to block Nihilego's venom. While Nihilego's venom might be troublesome for other Pokémon, for Mei, the "Poison Master," it was the easiest type of attack to deal with.

"…………＆……@@)＃*(@!!"

Mei's actions ignited the anger of the black Nihilego. It let out a strange cry, and under the influence of this sound, the other Nihilego around it sped up their swimming, and their numbers continued to increase.

The Nihilego that were close by also attacked Mei—

"As expected..."

Looking at the countless jellyfish surrounding her, and the venom and tentacles they shot out, Mei showed no hint of panic on her face. Instead, the corners of her mouth curved into a knowing smile of a plan come to fruition.

She had no reason to panic, because she knew—this time, Qiao Ran had bet correctly.

She couldn't help but recall the discussion Qiao Ran had with her under the bridge not long ago.

At first, she hadn't quite believed this boy's strategy, but now—she felt a sense of admiration for Qiao Ran for the first time.

"Although our mission objective is clear, there's still one problem: how do we find our target? Rushing around blindly is definitely not wise; we need to think of a practical method to make her appear before us voluntarily."

The boy stroked his chin, his eyes glinting sharply.

"Right, I encountered the Nihilego in that room before. I didn't run into them when I passed by other places, so why did it only happen when I went into that room? And as soon as I left the room, I encountered that black one..."

"That... actually, I often encounter her around here too, which is why I chose to live under this bridge..."

Mei raised her hand and answered.

"Around here?" The boy frowned, as if he had grasped a key point.

"Yes, while it's 'around here,' the area is still quite large, and this part happens to be where the most Nihilego gather." Mei nodded.

"Then let me ask you another question: the one in the container is Lusamine, right? Why was she frozen?"

"This... actually, Lillie did it herself." Mei's expression showed some struggle, and she averted her gaze, not daring to meet Qiao Ran's eyes.

"Lillie's mother was once bewitched by an Ultra Beast and her mental state is already very unstable. If she were to stay in such an environment, she would go completely mad... Lillie had no choice but to freeze her mother, waiting to thaw her after everything is over... As long as she's frozen, she won't be targeted for parasitism by those Nihilego..."

"In other words, this was all Lillie's decision? Lillie... Lusamine..."

The boy's brow furrowed and then relaxed, but soon, he covered half his face and let out an involuntary laugh.

"What's wrong?"

Mei looked at him doubtfully. Had this guy finally gone crazy from too much pressure?

"No, I'm fine. I just thought of something interesting."

Qiao Ran waved his hand, telling Mei not to worry, but the smile on his face never faded.

"Everything—it's all connected."

"Our previous assumption was that Nihilego controlled Lillie, stole her thoughts, and controlled her body. But have you ever considered... perhaps Lillie's obsession could also influence that Nihilego in return? If we follow this line of thought, many of our problems can be easily solved."

Qiao Ran spoke word by word, but what he said made Mei's eyes widen.

The astonishing conclusion completely overturned her thinking.

"You mean..."

This... How is this possible?!

Section 76 074 [Hunt: Single Point Breakthrough]

Countless times—Mei couldn't remember how many times she had wanted to awaken Lillie's consciousness, but... every time, Lillie had made her suffer greatly, as if she had completely forgotten her.

Gradually, Mei began to lose faith, to no longer believe that Lillie's personality could be awakened through ordinary means.

"Lillie's growth trajectory is different from that of ordinary people. She lost her father at a young age, so her mother was always her support."

Qiao Ran analyzed calmly.

"Therefore, the reason the black Nihilego appeared after I entered that room wasn't because I triggered some mechanism or made too much noise, but—because I entered that place."

"She... is afraid you'll hurt her mother?" Mei's voice trembled.

"No, quite the opposite."

Qiao Ran's gaze sharpened, and he narrowed his eyes.

"She's afraid of something else—she's afraid we'll rescue Lusamine."

"If we fail to rescue Lusamine, Lusamine will face an incredibly tragic end, not only being parasitized but also losing her sanity; if we succeed in rescuing Lusamine, then the current Lillie will completely lose the pillar of her heart and truly become a puppet doll completely controlled."

"Either way, it's not a situation Lillie wants to see, which is why her obsession is so deep that it affects Nihilego's own thoughts."

As he said this, Qiao Ran's aura began to surge, sharp like a drawn sword.

"And this is exactly where we should exploit our advantage this time!"

"What... what do you want to do?"

Mei's voice trembled as she swallowed hard. The boy in front of her possessed an exceptionally sharp mind and logic, along with boundless energy and passion. She even had the feeling that anything this guy said would somehow come true.

"What I want to do is simple: I want to push that Nihilego to its limit. Once we push it hard enough, it'll reveal the weakness we need."

Qiao Ran looked up at the broken bridge high above.

"To defeat someone who seems invincible, the best way is to make them angry."

Time rewound to the present.

In the pitch-black room, Mei was facing an onslaught of Nihilego. However, she calmly issued commands, having fought these Nihilego countless times before.

"Toxapex! Scald!"

"Splash!"

Toxapex's body shuddered as it spewed streams of scorching water from its mouth, hitting the Nihilego. Although Toxapex's attack power wasn't great, the double-damage Scald skill managed to push back most of the 'jellyfish.'

While directing her Pokémon to resist, Mei also tried her best to approach the transparent container. Her Pokémon couldn't defeat the Nihilego, and the Nihilego also found it difficult to defeat her.

It didn't take long for Mei to reach the container. The fair-skinned Lusamine appeared in Mei's vision. Her impressive figure was far superior to that of a young girl like herself. Even as a mother of two, Lusamine's figure had never gone out of shape, and her beauty only grew with age.

However, Mei paid no attention to these details. Her gaze was fixed on the control panel next to the container. She reached out and began fiddling with it.

"Pat, pat."

The sound of tapping echoed continuously. Of course, Mei wasn't actually trying to control the panel to release Lusamine from the container. Her purpose was much simpler: she just wanted to enrage that Nihilego.

"**＆(@!^w＆————!!!!!"

As expected, not long after Mei did that, the Nihilego let out a strange, piercing shriek, its body writhing and trembling.

The other Nihilego, as if injected with adrenaline, began launching suicidal assaults on Mei's Pokémon one after another. The black Nihilego also charged directly at Mei, all of them wanting to stop Mei's actions.

Poison, tentacles, and rocks flew through the air. Even Mei's well-trained Pokémon team began to struggle.

Mei gritted her teeth, knowing it wasn't the right time, but she had to create an opportunity. If she didn't, the black Nihilego might never approach her to attack. Thus, she began to rush towards the controller, inputting the real password one by one.

"!"

Seeing this, the black Nihilego shrieked and lunged directly at her.

"Everyone, attack together—! Attack that black Nihilego!"

Mei instantly stopped her hands. She turned her head, her gaze fixed on her target.

She knew the time had come! It was now!

Under her command, Decidueye, Alolan Muk, Toxapex, Salazzle, Drapion, Tropius... all her Pokémon swarmed forward, unleashing their most powerful skills at the black Nihilego.

Decidueye extended its wings, drew the bowstring of its shadow, and shot an arrow made of darkness; Salazzle struck a peculiar pose and spewed scorching flames from its mouth... countless skills intertwined in the air, illuminating the room brightly.

However, the black Nihilego showed no fear. Its body drifted in the air, hiding behind layers upon layers of other Nihilego. Even in its rage, its consciousness retained a part unaffected by Lillie.

"Boom!!!"

The shockwaves of the countless skills exploded in the air, ultimately only injuring some of the foremost white Nihilego.

"Hee..."

A scoffing sound echoed again, like an ethereal sound resonating in the sea, but without any melody, only deep mockery.

However, this time, something seemed to have changed.

"You thought you dodged it?"

Mei also let out a scoff.

The most pathetic thing in the world is to be proud of one's own cleverness before falling into a trap.

"?" The Nihilego had no idea what this human woman was doing.

But, at the very moment Mei wore that expression, the ground beneath the black Nihilego's feet exploded. The accumulated energy surged upwards, engulfing its body.

"Boom!!!!"

The ground roared, and energy coursed through the Nihilego's body, causing it unimaginable pain. Its tentacles curled up.

The ground energy had a fourfold type advantage against it, and the pain was beyond comprehension.

Simultaneously, a thick pillar of water struck its face. The attack followed like a torrential downpour, giving it no chance to rest.

"!!*!!!"

The Nihilego shrieked. After taking two consecutive super-effective hits, its body wobbled and fell from the air.

"..."

Dazed and weakened, it raised its head from the ground. The first things it saw were a cute Pokémon floating in the air, wearing a pink dress, and a blue water wolf entwined with ribbons. Standing beside them was a familiar boy.

He began to clap rhythmically.

"Didn't expect this, did you? I knew it—you'd definitely end up at the back when dodging attacks, it's your habit, right? And I should thank you, actually. You gathered all the nearby Nihilego here to attack Mei, creating a perfect opportunity for my sneak attack. No one could have possibly spotted me—"

The boy's face broke into a kind smile as he spoke.

"Alright, it's about time this ended. It would be troublesome if you recovered. Diancie, Suicune, give her the finishing blow!"

As the man commanded, the two Pokémon beside him unleashed their strongest skills without mercy.

"Tia—!"

"Aooo!"

The black Nihilego's body was completely submerged in the torrent of earth and water energy.

"This time, we win! Nihilego!"

Section 77: 075 [Finale: Retreat]

After taking several Earth Powers and Water Cannons in succession, even this Nihilego, over level forty, was gradually losing its combat ability. She struggled on the ground a few times with great unwillingness, but like a heatstroke-stricken bamboo rat—after bouncing for a while, she collapsed on the ground and fainted.

"Mei! You can retreat!"

Seeing this, Qiao Ran shouted loudly to Mei, who was still within the Nihilego's encirclement. The other Nihilego, seeing their leader fall, began to stir. Many Nihilego even abandoned their encirclement of Mei and turned to attack Qiao Ran.

"Vulpix! Altaria! You two come out and help too!"

Qiao Ran released all his Pokémon at once. Qiao Ran hadn't called out Vulpix and Altaria earlier because he was planning a sneak attack. He didn't bring Vulpix because he was afraid her ice-type attacks would interfere with Suicune's Water Cannon. As for Altaria, it was because her appearance was a bit too flashy… If they were outdoors, she could disguise herself as a cloud, but indoors, where would there be clouds?

However, with the Nihilego leader already down, they also became powerful combat forces, capable of shining on the battlefield.

A large group of Nihilego shifted their target towards Qiao Ran, simultaneously relieving Mei's pressure. Mei gritted her teeth and began moving towards the exit, stepping over various pebbles and poison on the ground.

After this battle, Mei's already tattered clothes were further corroded by poison, leaving her basically in a state of wearing only her undergarments and rags.

"Hurry!"

Qiao Ran kept an eye on Mei's situation while issuing commands to Diancie and the others. As long as Mei successfully escaped from there, they would prepare to retreat.

"Hot Water! Hot Water! Hot Water! Hot Water!"