Return / Just in Time!

Besides, Mei herself wanted to stay with Lillie. But... after meeting this man, everything seemed to have changed.

—Lillie could still leave this place through this method, but what about her?

After Lillie left, would she be left to wander alone through this enormous Aether Foundation?

"I... I don't want you to be left here alone either, Mei..."

Seeing Mei's lonely expression, Lillie became anxious too. She did not want to leave Qiao Ran, nor did she want to leave Mei here by herself. Mei was her best friend, and likewise, wasn't Lillie Mei's best friend too?

Lillie looked around before finally turning pleading eyes toward Qiao Ran, hoping the boy could come up with a solution that would satisfy everyone.

"This..."

Qiao Ran's mouth twitched. Did these girls really think he was Doraemon? Even he could not think of any perfect solution!

Still, if he had to name one, Qiao Ran did have an idea—have Nihilego parasitize Mei as well, then knock out both Nihilego and Mei and pack them into a Poké Ball together.

However—there was no need to even consider that method. Mei definitely would not agree to it. She would rather live here alone than take such a step. Besides, even if such a method existed, it should not be Qiao Ran proposing it. Mei had to make that choice herself.

Qiao Ran had never forced anyone to change their mind.

"How about this? I'll take Lillie to my side first. There's another companion from a different region there, and the two of you can talk and exchange information."

In the end, Qiao Ran proposed a compromise.

"When the time is right, I'll send Lillie back. We'll rebuild the Aether Foundation together. Once we can thaw Lillie's mother, Mei won't be lonely here by herself anymore."

"Who... who said I'd be lonely?"

Hearing Qiao Ran's words, Mei could not help retorting, though her voice grew quieter and quieter.

"..."

"Also, Lillie, would you be willing to spend half your time at the Aether Foundation? This place needs you too. I can bring you over anytime." Qiao Ran looked at Lillie and asked for her opinion.

His idea was simple: Lillie would split her time between the two sides, spending half with Mei and half with him. That way, neither side would be left behind.

Lillie thought for a moment, then hugged Qiao Ran again, expressing her answer through her actions.

"Mmm... I'm willing. I'm willing... Of course I'm willing..."

This truly was the best solution for now. She could stay with Qiao Ran while still seeing Mei and rebuilding the Aether Foundation with her. Every choice came with regrets, but—there could be no better ending than this.

What Lillie hated was parting, and the painful waiting after someone left.

Besides... becoming Qiao Ran's Pokémon might not necessarily be a bad choice.

If that were the case, Qiao Ran could not possibly abandon her so casually...

"I'll take Lillie away first. The next time we meet will probably be in two or three days."

After returning Lillie to her Poké Ball and standing before Mei again, Qiao Ran inexplicably felt a little wistful.

"If you're leaving, then hurry up and go. Stop hovering in front of me."

Mei glared at Qiao Ran irritably. It was not as though they would never meet again. It was only a few days, and she had spent far longer than that alone before.

Right. She just had to grit her teeth and get through it. It was not like she would have no one to talk to.

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving. But do you really not need me to bring you anything next time? The place I'm going is a safe world."

Qiao Ran revealed a little. Since he was prepared to take Lillie there, he could not keep these things hidden from Mei anyway.

"For example, things girls need every so often..."

"You...!"

Mei's face instantly turned bright red. She looked around, stood up, and wanted to hit Qiao Ran with her hand, but in the end, she did not swing it down.

After thinking for a while, she realized she truly did need those things, especially in such a closed-off place without an industrial system. They were incomparably important. Normally, few boys would realize how important such things were to girls, but Qiao Ran bringing it up still moved Mei a little.

"Fine, if you can bring them, then bring them! Just let Lillie pick them out. You definitely don't understand, do you?"

"Understand what? Isn't it just buying clothes?"

Qiao Ran blinked in confusion, but his words made Mei unhappy again.

"You're awful!" This time, Mei really swung her fist, thumping Qiao Ran hard in the chest.

"Cough, cough." Qiao Ran could not help coughing from the blow.

"Alright, alright, I know. I won't joke with you anymore. I'll have Lillie help pick everything out then."

He had merely wanted to tease Mei. Who knew this girl had such a fiery temper?

"That's more like it. Hmph."

Mei snorted coldly.

"Don't let me find out you bullied Lillie, or I won't hit so lightly next time."

"Of course."

Qiao Ran nodded solemnly.

Their conversation did not last long. In the end, amid a faint glow, Qiao Ran vanished before Mei's eyes.

"He really... disappeared..."

Mei stared blankly at the place where Qiao Ran had vanished.

"If I become his Pokémon... can I really leave this place?"

Mei muttered to herself, unable to stop thinking of Lillie, who had already left. But—in the end, she shook her head, stood up, and drove those messy thoughts from her mind.

"No. With the Aether Foundation's technology, I can definitely break through this place too... Right, I can do it without relying on that man's power..."

She did not want to become a Pokémon...

Return

"Master, g-gently... Y-yes... right there..."

"What are you doing? Why are you making such weird noises?"

Having returned to the real world, Qiao Ran reached out to pull the key from Rotom's body. Yet... this thing was getting more and more exaggerated.

Fortunately, Qiao Ran had chosen to teleport into the wilderness outside Jinling. If they had been somewhere crowded, people would probably have called the police upon hearing such strange sounds.

"Master, this special point raid went very well! At this rate, let's collect some more keys!"

Rotom congratulated Qiao Ran, but Qiao Ran shook his head.

"This time, it was only manageable because Mei and the others were there, and Dianxi's attributes restrained Nihilego somewhat. Those two conditions were practically indispensable. Without either one, it would not have been so easy."

"Anyway, improving our strength is still the most important thing!"

Qiao Ran patted his cheeks to make himself look a little more alert, then took out a Poké Ball and released Lillie... along with Nihilego.

"Chua."

A strange sound rang out as a blond girl in a white dress and a white jellyfish appeared before Qiao Ran at the same time. Honestly, Qiao Ran had only wanted to release Lillie this time, but there was no helping it—they seemed bound together. They could only stay in one ball, and if they came out, they had to come out together.

Thankfully, after becoming Qiao Ran's Pokémon, Nihilego had become much more obedient. At first, she had liked biting Lillie's head, but now, she had corrected that bad habit.

The white jellyfish floated through the air for a while before drifting toward Qiao Ran. He reached out and decisively recalled her into the ball first.

Nihilego's training still had a few issues. Perhaps because her level was relatively high, Qiao Ran always felt... that she was not quite obedient enough. Or rather, his other Pokémon were simply too obedient, to the point that they had given him the wrong impression.

Moreover, Nihilego still had a language problem. As a "Pokémon" from another world, her language differed from that of every existing Pokémon. Even Qiao Ran could only sense her emotions and could not understand what she was saying. It was not just him—his other Pokémon could not understand Nihilego either.

All they could hear was a string of "*＆@*＃(...!＆@...!@!"

The feeling... was like a moon person who could only speak lunar language arriving on Earth, utterly helpless.

In short, training Nihilego would be a long-term process. Qiao Ran hoped he could teach her well and have her set an example for her sisters. He had even specially created a "Nihilego Sanctuary" in Pokémon Pioneer Land, because nobody knew what would happen if these creatures were released directly into the ecosystem.

They might not possess any ill intent, but their survival instincts would interfere with other lifeforms

and even disrupt the ecological balance—Ultra Beasts were quite dangerous, so caution was certainly the right choice.

Meanwhile, Lillie looked at the lush trees around her and the azure sky, unable to stop herself from sighing.

"This... is this a new world?"

It had been so, so long since she had seen such beautiful scenery.

Alola should originally have been just as beautiful, but after disaster struck, her world had undergone earth-shaking changes as well.

"Yes, this is the world I was in before. It's a little different from the Pokémon world. You'll understand after staying here for a while."

Qiao Ran smiled. Being able to bring someone from the Pokémon world here truly was a novel experience. Once she met Mei, it would probably feel entirely different again.

From the outskirts to Jinling itself, Qiao Ran did not travel on foot this time. Thanks to the extensive transportation network, he and Lillie completed the journey quickly.

"Qiao Ran... your region... is so big."

Lillie could not help exclaiming. Just getting into the city had taken so long. Back in Alola, they probably could have crossed a large stretch of an island in that time.

"It's normal for it to be big. Traveling is just a bit troublesome."

Qiao Ran nodded, though inwardly he could not help complaining that the fundamental reason for such a massive difference was simply that Alola was far too small. Other regions were entire continents, while Alola only had four islands. Even put together, those four islands might not be as large as another region.

Leading Lillie through twists and turns, Qiao Ran attracted a great many looks along the way. Lillie's temperament was simply too "special," especially that pure, blond young-lady aura, which was quite rare in this country.

At last, after some trouble, Qiao Ran and Lillie arrived at Jinling Gym—the place where he had once lived for a time.

Aside from visiting his old friends, Qiao Ran had come here to find Mei and Eve's older sister.

There was no need to mention Mei. As someone from the Pokémon world, she needed to talk with Lillie for a while. As for Eve's older sister... she was a powerful businesswoman with influence. If he could persuade her, she could arrange proper legal identification for Lillie.

Mei had emphasized this to Qiao Ran as well. To live in this world, outsiders from other worlds like them had to possess something that could prove their identity.

After entering Jinling Gym, Qiao Ran skillfully began navigating by memory and soon reached the lodging area.

Iron Maiden had always kept a room for him. After all, Qiao Ran had said he was "going out to train for a while." Training was like cultivation; there was no telling when he might suddenly return.

"Whew—sit down and rest for a while first. I'll take you out for a walk later."

"Mhm..."

Qiao Ran indicated that Lillie could sit wherever she liked. This young lady still looked somewhat reserved, but that was understandable after arriving in a new world.

Once she adapted for a while, she would loosen up.

Bang!

However, before long, Qiao Ran's door was forced open by a tremendous impact.

The tall Iron Maiden appeared before the two, who had still been chatting, with a trace of anger on her face.

"You brat, well, well... I thought you obediently went out to train, but you've learned to bring other girls back now, haven't you?"

"Huh?"

Qiao Ran's face was full of question marks: "?????"

Had this woman misunderstood something???

But the furious Iron Maiden was not about to explain herself. She reached out and, to Lillie's horrified expression, lifted Qiao Ran off the bed like a chick.

However, halfway through lifting him, her expression changed slightly. Not only did she immediately put Qiao Ran down, but she also staggered back several steps.

Her eyes locked tightly onto Qiao Ran's face, a trace of confusion in her expression.

"Say, you... haven't you gotten a little better-looking?"

Perfect Timing!

Qiao Ran did not answer. Instead, he watched Iron Maiden, who had suddenly backed away, and could even see a huge "Danger" character above her head.

Clearly, Iron Maiden had sensed something strange from Qiao Ran—some sensations could only be detected by special beings. Qiao Ran's Pokémon and Lillie, for instance, could sense a special aura from him. Ordinary people such as Mei, who could not sense such things, would never say something like, "You seem to have gotten better-looking."

"..."

That made Qiao Ran think of one possibility—

Could it be... that the possibly existing Pokémon bloodline within Iron Maiden's body had allowed her to sense his hidden Tokiwa Power?

Thinking that, a bead of sweat could not help sliding down Qiao Ran's forehead. He could accept petting Dianxi or Lillie, since no matter what, they were soft, easy-to-push-over girls; but if it were Iron Maiden... Qiao Ran felt he might as well go to the gym and pet iron blocks.