Why is my Pokémon girl a bit strange?

Furthermore, Mei herself wanted to stay with Lillie. However… after meeting this man, everything seemed to change.

—Lillie could still leave here using this method, but what about her?

After Lillie left, would she be left to wander alone in the vast Aether Foundation?

"I… I don't want Mei to stay here alone either…"

Seeing Mei's lonely expression, Lillie became anxious. She didn't want to leave Qiao Ran, nor did she want to leave Mei alone here. She was Mei's best friend, and to her, Mei was also her best friend.

Lillie looked left and right, finally placing her pleading gaze on Qiao Ran. She hoped this boy could come up with a solution that would satisfy everyone.

"This…"

Qiao Ran's mouth twitched. These guys… were really treating him like Doraemon, weren't they? Even he couldn't think of a perfect solution!

However, if he had to say, Qiao Ran did have a method—that was to have Nihilego parasitize Mei as well, then knock out Nihilego and Mei, and take them away together in a Poké Ball.

But—there was no way this method would work. Mei would definitely not agree to it. She would rather live here alone than take such a step. Moreover, even if such a method existed, it shouldn't be proposed by Qiao Ran, but Mei herself should make such a choice.

Qiao Ran never forced anyone to change their mind.

"How about this, I'll take Lillie to my place first. I have a companion from another region there. You can communicate and exchange information then."

Finally, Qiao Ran proposed a compromise.

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

"Who… Who said I'd be lonely?"

Hearing Qiao Ran's words, Mei couldn't help but retort, but her voice grew softer and softer.

"…"

"Also, Lillie, are you willing to spend half your time here at the Aether Foundation? This place needs you too. I can send you over anytime." Qiao Ran looked at Lillie, seeking her opinion.

His idea was simple: let Lillie shuttle between both places, spending half her time with Mei and half with him. This way, neither side would be neglected.

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

"Mmm… I'm willing, I'm willing… Of course, I'm willing…"

This was indeed the best solution at the moment. She could be with Qiao Ran and also see Mei, rebuilding the Aether Foundation with Mei. Although every decision had its regrets, this was definitely not a better outcome.

Lillie hated partings and the painful waiting that followed after the other person left.

And… becoming Qiao Ran's Pokémon might not be a bad choice.

If that were the case, Qiao Ran wouldn't just abandon her so casually…

"I'll take Lillie away first. We might meet again in two or three days."

After putting Lillie back into her Poké Ball and standing in front of Mei, Qiao Ran felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy.

"If you're leaving, hurry up and go. Don't just stand around in front of me."

Mei glared at Qiao Ran impatiently. It wasn't like they wouldn't see each other again; it was only a few days. She had spent much longer alone than this before.

Yes, she could just grit her teeth and get through it. It was just that no one was there to talk to.

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

Qiao Ran revealed a little. Since he was ready to take Lillie there, he couldn't hide these things from Mei anymore.

"For example, things girls need every once in a while…"

"You…!"

Mei's face instantly turned red. She looked around, stood up, and tried to hit Qiao Ran with her hand, but she ultimately didn't swing.

She thought for a moment and realized she really needed such things, especially in a closed place without an industrial system. It was incredibly important. Usually, not many boys would realize the importance of these things for girls, but Qiao Ran saying this made Mei feel a little touched.

"Fine, if you can bring them, then bring them! Just let Lillie pick them out, you probably wouldn't understand anyway, right?"

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

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

"Hate you!" This time, Mei really swung her hand and hit Qiao Ran hard in the chest.

"Cough, cough." Qiao Ran coughed a few times from the impact.

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

He just wanted to tease Mei, but he didn't expect this girl to be so fiery.

"That's more like it, hmph."

Mei snorted.

"Don't let me find out you've bullied Lillie, or my actions won't be so light next time."

"Of course."

Qiao Ran nodded seriously.

Their conversation didn't last long. Finally, in a faint glow, Qiao Ran's figure disappeared from Mei's sight.

"It's... really gone..."

Looking at the spot where Qiao Ran had disappeared, Mei stared blankly.

"If I become his Pokémon... will I really be able to leave this place?"

Mei muttered to herself, thinking of Lillie who had already left. However, she eventually shook her head and stood up, chasing away the messy thoughts from her mind.

"No, with the Aether Foundation's technology, I can definitely break through here... Yes, I can do it without that man's help..."

She didn't want to become a Pokémon...

Section 86 084 [Return]

"Master, a little... a little gentler, yes, yes... right there..."

"What are you doing? You're making such strange noises."

Back in the real world, Qiao Ran reached out to pull the key from Rotom's body, but... this guy was getting more and more dramatic.

Fortunately, Qiao Ran had chosen to teleport to the wilderness outside Jinling. If he had done so in a crowded place, hearing these strange sounds would have likely caused someone to call the police.

Master, the Singularity strategy went very well this time. At this pace, let's go collect some more keys!

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

"This time it was good that Mei and the others were there, and Dianxi and the others' types had some advantage against Nihilego. These two conditions were almost indispensable. If either one was missing, it wouldn't have been this easy."

"In short, improving my strength is more important!"

Qiao Ran patted his cheeks to make himself look a bit more energetic, then took out a Poké Ball and released Lillie... and Nihilego from it.

"Chua"

A strange sound echoed, and the blonde girl in the white dress and the white jellyfish appeared before Qiao Ran simultaneously. To be honest, Qiao Ran only intended to release Lillie this time, but there was no way around it – the two of them were bound together and could only live in one ball. If one came out, they both had to come out.

Fortunately, after becoming Qiao Ran's Pokémon, Nihilego had become much more obedient. In the beginning, she liked to bite Lillie's head, but now she had gotten rid of that bad habit.

The white jellyfish floated in the air for a while before drifting towards Qiao Ran. Qiao Ran reached out and decisively put her back into the ball.

Nihilego's education still had some issues. Perhaps because of her higher level, Qiao Ran felt that... this guy was a bit disobedient. Or rather, Qiao Ran's other Pokémon were too obedient, which even gave Qiao Ran some misconceptions.

Moreover, Nihilego currently had a language problem. As a "Pokémon" from another world, her language was different from any existing Pokémon. Even Qiao Ran could only sense her emotions but couldn't understand what she was saying. Not only him, but his other Pokémon also couldn't understand what Nihilego was saying.

They could only hear a jumble of "&@#(... !&@...!@!"

This feeling... was like a moon dweller who could only speak Moon language arriving on Earth, feeling helpless.

In short, educating Nihilego was a long-term process, and Qiao Ran hoped to educate her well and then have her set an example for her sisters. Qiao Ran had specifically created a "Nihilego Sanctuary" in the Pokémon Pioneer Land, because no one knew what would happen if these things were directly released into the ecosystem.

They might not have any malicious intent, but their survival instincts could interfere with other life forms, even disrupting the ecological balance – Ultra Beasts were quite dangerous, and it was definitely not wrong to be cautious.

On the other hand, Lillie looked at the lush trees and the clear blue sky around her and couldn't help but exclaim.

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

She hadn't seen such beautiful scenery for a very, very long time.

In the Alola region, everything should have been this beautiful, but with the occurrence of the disaster, her world had also undergone earth-shattering changes.

"Yes, this is the world I was in before. It's a little different from the Pokémon world. You'll know when you stay for a while."

Qiao Ran smiled. Bringing someone from the Pokémon world here was indeed a novel experience. When she met Mei, it would probably be a different feeling altogether.

From the outskirts to Jinling city, since Qiao Ran didn't walk on his own two legs this time, relying on the well-connected transportation network, Qiao Ran and Lillie quickly completed their journey.

"Qiao Ran... your region... it's so big."

Lillie couldn't help but exclaim. Just entering the city took so long. If it were in Alola, they would have already covered a considerable distance on one island.

"It's normal for it to be big, it's just a bit troublesome to travel."

Qiao Ran nodded, but he couldn't help but complain inwardly that the fundamental reason for such a huge difference was that the Alola region was too small. Other regions were entire continents, while Alola only had four islands. And these four islands combined might not even be as large as another region.

Turning left and right with Lillie, they attracted quite a lot of attention along the way. Lillie's temperament was too "special," especially her pure, rich-girl aura, which was quite rare in this country.

Finally, after some twists and turns, Qiao Ran and Lillie arrived at the Jinling Gym – the place where he had lived for a while.

Qiao Ran's purpose for coming here, besides seeing his old friends, was to find Mei and Eve's sister.

Mei, of course, was someone from the Pokémon world, and she needed to chat with Lillie for a while. As for Eve's sister... she was a powerful businesswoman. As long as they could persuade her, she could help Lillie obtain a legal identification document.

Mei had also emphasized this point to Qiao Ran: if they wanted to live in this world, these outsiders from another world needed to have something that could prove their identity.

Entering the Jinling Gym, Qiao Ran skillfully started the auto-pathfinding and soon arrived at the accommodation area.

Iron Maiden had always kept a room for him. After all, Qiao Ran had said he was "going out for some training," and this kind of training was like cultivation; he might return at any time.

"Phew—let's sit down and rest for a while. I'll take you out for a walk later."

"Mm..."

Qiao Ran gestured for Lillie to sit anywhere. The young lady looked a bit reserved now, which was understandable since she had arrived in a new world.

Once she had adjusted for a while, she would be able to relax.

"Dong!"

However, it wasn't long before Qiao Ran's door was burst open with great force.

The tall Iron Maiden appeared before the two who were still chatting, a hint of anger on her face.

"You, you scoundrel... I thought you were obediently going out to train, but it turns out you've learned to bring other girls back, haven't you?"

"Huh?"

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

Did this girl misunderstand something???

However, the enraged Iron Maiden offered no further explanation. She directly reached out and, to Lillie's horrified expression, lifted Qiao Ran off the bed like a little chick.

But, halfway through lifting him, her expression subtly changed. Not only did she put Qiao Ran down immediately, but she also stumbled back several steps.

Her gaze was fixed on Qiao Ran's face, a hint of confusion in her expression.

"I say, you... have you gotten a little better looking?"

Section 87: 085 [Good timing!]

Qiao Ran didn't answer, but he watched the Iron Maiden who had suddenly retreated. He could even see a giant "DANGER" sign above her head.

Clearly, Iron Maiden sensed something strange from Qiao Ran—some feelings could only be perceived by special beings. For example, Qiao Ran's Pokémon and Lillie could sense a special aura from him; ordinary people like Mei or others, unable to feel these things, would never say something like "you seem to have gotten better looking" to Qiao Ran.

"..."

This made Qiao Ran couldn't help but think of a possibility—

Could it be... the potential Pokémon bloodline within Iron Maiden that made her sense his hidden Tokiwa Power?

At this thought, a bead of sweat trickled down Qiao Ran's forehead. If it were Dianxi or Lillie he was dealing with, Qiao Ran could still accept it, as no matter what, they were both easy-to-push-over soft girls; but if it were Iron Maiden... Qiao Ran felt he might as well go to the gym and lift iron weights.