Why is my Pokémon girl a bit strange?

Mei scooped up the Toxapex and used it as a cannon to spray hot water all around. The surrounding Nihilego were forced into a difficult position by this area-of-effect skill, and in that time, Mei managed to carve out a path.

Mei's escape was very smooth. Without their commander, the Nihilego were nothing but a disorganized mob. Although they were all powerful, they couldn't unite as one like Qiao Ran and the others.

However, the turn of events ultimately exceeded Qiao Ran's imagination.

Just as Mei, panting, ran over to Qiao Ran, both of them, as if by unspoken agreement, turned their gazes to the black Nihilego on the ground. But upon seeing the situation on the ground, their expressions froze.

"What the heck... why hasn't this thing gotten off Lillie yet?"

Qiao Ran blinked. He had no idea what principle was at play. Could it be that because the possession had lasted too long, the separation was also slower?

Qiao Ran mused that in the game, when others were parasitized, they came off immediately.

Could it be that their compatibility was too high?

"What should we do! Should we carry them both away?"

Mei also panicked. Although she could break through the encirclement, it was only because the Nihilego had lost their commander. If they slowly came to their senses, with Mei and Qiao Ran's current energy, they wouldn't be able to resist wave after wave of attacks.

Qiao Ran took a deep breath and finally made a decision.

"...Carry them!"

He bent down and slipped his hands through the Nihilego's limp tentacles, trying to lift it. However, even with all the strength he used to lift a shovel, he couldn't move it even a fraction.

"So heavy!"

Qiao Ran's face turned red. Lillie and the Nihilego showed no reaction. In the end, Qiao Ran and Lillie tumbled together, and it took considerable effort for him to stand up from the ground.

"We're doomed, we're doomed, we can't carry them at all!" Seeing Qiao Ran's disheveled state, Mei panicked even more. Since Qiao Ran couldn't carry them, she certainly couldn't do it.

"What do we do? What do we do??"

Qiao Ran looked at the Nihilego and Lillie on the ground, his mind racing.

However, at this moment, a voice suddenly broke the tense atmosphere.

"Master, use a Poké Ball, use a Poké Ball! Hurry!"

The voice came from Rotom, who flew out of Qiao Ran's pocket. However, upon hearing her words, Qiao Ran almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Hey! The one lying there is a human! What's with using a Poké Ball?!

"Hurry, Master! There's no more time, let's just try it first. Have you forgotten our objective!"

Although Qiao Ran still seemed unconvinced, Rotom urged him on from the side. At the same time, she also mentioned the concept of "objective."

Objective—that was the task Qiao Ran needed to complete after arriving here. Qiao Ran remembered that the task given at the time was to "destroy or control the source of the Singularity." Could it be that... "control" meant this? Did it mean capturing them with a ball?

"What do you think? Mei, should we keep trying to carry them, or try throwing a ball?"

Qiao Ran's expression was a little conflicted. To be safe, he still asked for his companion's opinion.

"I don't know, I don't know." Mei shook her head like a rattle drum. Luring the enemy in had completely drained all her energy, and she had no idea what was happening now.

"...Alright."

Qiao Ran fell silent for a moment and finally took a Poké Ball out of his pocket.

Although Qiao Ran knew that humans couldn't be caught in a Poké Ball and this throw would likely end in failure, as someone willing to try, Qiao Ran felt that Rotom's words might have some truth to them.

After striking a throwing pose, Qiao Ran threw the Poké Ball at the puddle of a girl on the ground.

The red and white ball drew an exquisite arc, finally hitting Lillie and the Nihilego.

"Pop."

As it bounced off, the Poké Ball fell to the ground, seemingly without anything happening.

"Phew—" Qiao Ran and Mei both exhaled in unison, showing expressions of "as expected."

"Rotom, I knew you were lying to..."

Qiao Ran turned to look at Rotom, but the moment he turned his head, his peripheral vision seemed to catch something.

—From the Poké Ball that had already fallen to the ground, a beam of light suddenly shot out, directly towards the Nihilego and Lillie on the ground, and finally—wrapped in the light, the Nihilego and Lillie disappeared from the ground with a "whoosh."

The Poké Ball closed perfectly. It glowed red and shook on the ground.

After shaking a few times—

"Ding...!"

The Poké Ball made a crisp sound.

At the same time, a line of small text appeared on the Rotom Dex.

—"Singularity mission complete...

Rewards waiting to be claimed...!"

However, Qiao Ran, who had witnessed all of this, looked up and gazed at the sky at a 50° angle, falling into a long silence.

Then, his gaze gradually shifted downwards, and his mindset underwent a series of changes.

Qiao Ran: "..."

Qiao Ran: "??????"

Qiao Ran: "...wtf???"

Looking at the still Poké Ball, it felt as if tens of thousands of Groudons were stampeding through his mind.

Is... is something wrong here??????

Section 78 076 [Alola: Lillie]

"An illusion, it's definitely an illusion..."

Qiao Ran rubbed his temples, thinking this was likely due to overwork, causing him to see strange things.

However, when a large group of Nihilego approached him, he decisively recalled his Pokémon, picked up the Poké Ball from the ground, grabbed the petrified Meiyue beside him, and started to run.

Sometimes, people only unleash unparalleled potential in desperate situations, and their acceptance also greatly increases. And from the looks of it, Meiyue's shock was definitely even greater than Qiao Ran's.

She had personally witnessed her friend being captured into a Poké Ball... If a child saw this, they'd surely have nightmares.

But Qiao Ran didn't have time to worry about that now. He picked up Meiyue, jumped off the broken bridge, and released Altaria in mid-air.

Qiao Ran's actions were fluid and seamless, a special skill honed through his adventures.

"Chirrr—!"

A clear cry echoed in mid-air. Altaria accurately caught them on its back, then flapped its wings, soaring rapidly through the sky.

Although Nihilego weren't slow over short distances, they couldn't catch up to Altaria in long-distance flight. In no time at all, Qiao Ran brought Meiyue back to their base under the bridge.

"As expected... she couldn't handle fainting?"

Qiao Ran looked at her tattered clothes and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. Although most of her skin was exposed, making it almost no different from not wearing anything if Qiao Ran were to look, he didn't have the mood to pay attention to such things now.

He had more important things to do.

This operation was indeed thanks to Meiyue. If it were anyone else, they might not have been able to hold out for so long under the siege of so many Nihilego.

Hmm... carrying so many Poison-type Pokémon around was actually quite useful.

Qiao Ran planned to put her on the bed first to let her rest for a while. As for himself, he took out the Poké Ball from his pocket, which still felt a bit warm.

"No way?"

Even now, Qiao Ran's mind was still struggling to believe what he had seen. Why could a person be captured into a Poké Ball? Why?

What was the principle behind this? What was the meaning of this? What earth-shattering secret was hidden within?

Qiao Ran's mind was a complete mess.

In any case, Qiao Ran decided to release whatever was in the Poké Ball to see. Just in case, Qiao Ran also called out Dianxi and the others—if anything unexpected happened, they could help out.

However, just as Qiao Ran was about to open the Poké Ball, Meiyue on the bed suddenly woke up with a carp leap and a somersault, simultaneously dispelling the gray-white coating and petrification all over her body.

"Where's my Lillie? She was just here, where's the big Lillie?"

Not only Qiao Ran couldn't believe it, but this girl also couldn't believe it. If humans could be captured into Poké Balls, wouldn't this world be thrown into chaos?

Would everyone stop training Pokémon and start training "Pocket Humans" instead?

Qiao Ran shrugged helplessly and answered Meiyue's question.

"Probably... in the Poké Ball. I was just about to release them to take a look."

Qiao Ran knew well that "practice is the sole criterion for testing truth." To resolve their doubts, they had to release whatever was in the Poké Ball.

This question was like Schrödinger's cat; unless they released whatever was in the Poké Ball, they would never know what state it was in.

Qiao Ran pressed the switch on the Poké Ball. Enveloped in light, that Nihilego reappeared on the ground. However, unlike before, its body had changed from black to the same white as a normal Nihilego, though its size seemed to be slightly larger than the others.

Beneath it, Lillie was also separated.

"Lillie!!!"

Meiyue exclaimed and hurried forward to check on her friend. Lillie's body was sticky, and her thin dress clung to her, covered in some unknown substance. However, her expression had become much more peaceful, and her long hair had returned to its original brilliant golden color.

Meiyue placed her ear on Lillie's chest, listening to her heartbeat. Only after hearing the clear beating sound did she break into a happy smile.

"Okay! That's great... Lillie is okay! That's great!"

Waves of excitement rippled through Meiyue's eyes. Her best friend had been found again, and at this moment, no one could be happier than her.

Qiao Ran didn't disturb their reunion. Although Lillie was still unconscious, as long as her life force hadn't extinguished, recovery was only a matter of time.

Moreover, now that Lillie had been separated from Nihilego, many of the previous problems were no longer issues. Even if she had been captured into the Poké Ball, it must have been an accident.

—As long as she recovered, she would still be the same innocent and cheerful Lillie.

"...Although that Nihilego looks very weak, whatever... I should recall her first."

Qiao Ran looked at the Nihilego sprawled on the ground and couldn't help but shake his head. Although she had caused him a lot of trouble before, she had now become his Pokémon. Qiao Ran had no choice but to recall her into the Poké Ball and let her recuperate.

It was too pitiful to see her lying on the ground like a flattened pancake.

Qiao Ran pressed the button on the Poké Ball, and it emitted a beam of light. Qiao Ran aimed at the Nihilego sprawled on the ground. However—a small operational error occurred. Sometimes, such things were quite common.

—The beam of light veered slightly off course and ended up hitting Lillie.

"Chua!"

Instantly, Lillie disappeared from Meiyue's embrace.

"Huh?????"

Mei, who had been crying tears of joy, suddenly wore a bewildered expression, her hands still held in a bent position.

????

Mei's mind was filled with question marks.

"Where's my Lillie? She was just here, where did that big Lillie go?????"

Flying (Cavalry Version).jpg

Section 79 | 077 [Containment: Strength]

"What... are... you... doing!"

After observing her surroundings and understanding the cause and effect of the situation, Mei decisively stood up from the ground and ran up to Qiao Ran.

Just now, just now—this man had actually put her good friend into a Poké Ball... Was this something a human would do!

Mei stood on tiptoe, demanding an explanation from Qiao Ran.

"This... this was just an accident, just an accident..."

Facing Mei's disappointed gaze, Qiao Ran awkwardly, yet politely, scratched the back of his head. To be honest, he didn't want this to happen either, but who knew that the beam of light would hit Lillie?

Was it because his Poké Ball control technique was too poor, causing him to miss? Could it even split mid-air???

That shouldn't be the case...

Qiao Ran weighed the Poké Ball in his hand, then reopened it, releasing Lillie. Mei seized the opportunity and caught Lillie's limp body.

"Don't make this kind of mistake again! Hateful!"

Mei glared at Qiao Ran. If Qiao Ran hadn't left a good impression on her before, she would have definitely lectured him. Putting a fainted girl who couldn't resist into a Poké Ball was simply too awful.

"I definitely won't make it again, definitely."