Language Lessons / Pat

A flash of understanding crossed Eve's eyes. Th-That was great... So she had misunderstood Sister Iron Maiden and Qiao Ran?

—People only believed what they wanted to believe, and Eve was no exception. Perhaps the earlier shock had been too great, so she was more willing to believe the explanation Qiao Ran had given.

That was right. No one had changed, and no one had done anything to disappoint her. She had merely misunderstood them.

"..." Iron Maiden wordlessly looked away. She had originally wanted to refute Qiao Ran's claims, but seeing how things stood, she swallowed the words she had been about to say.

Had her head really been hit so hard that her thoughts were muddled?

"That's great! Lillie, your name is Lillie, right? Did you see the same thing in the room?"

"Huh? Ah... y-yes..."

Lillie, who had been sitting stiffly in her chair and zoning out for who knew how long, blankly turned her head and offered an awkward yet polite smile.

As the only outsider who had witnessed the entire process, she had been completely awed by these people from another world.

"You... are all really amazing."

S-So this is another world?

Unova · Chandelure.jpg

Language Education

Having basically figured out what had happened, Iron Maiden asked Qiao Ran what he planned to do next.

"By the way, you're actually looking for little Eve's older sister, right?"

"Yeah."

Qiao Ran gave an affirmative answer. The people he most wanted to see right now were Dr. Lilia and Mei—after talking with them, he would have to return to Mei's side and continue catching jellyfish.

—He still had not finished grinding out his hundred.

However, upon hearing Qiao Ran's answer, Iron Maiden shook her head.

"Then you'll probably have to wait a day—they've recently been analyzing newly excavated items at the laboratory in the suburbs. I'll send them word about you and see whether they decide to come over."

"But even if they decide to come, they probably won't arrive until tomorrow."

Iron Maiden patted Qiao Ran on the shoulder, then got up from the bed.

"I'll arrange a room for Miss Lillie. My Gym is pretty big."

"Th-thank you, Sister." Lillie replied very politely, rising to her feet and repeatedly expressing her gratitude.

Only now did she suddenly realize that this big sister in front of her was actually a Gym Leader!

S-So amazing!

Naturally, as Iron Maiden's status rose, Qiao Ran's image in Lillie's heart became even more mysterious and imposing. A boy who could command Legendary Pokémon and even beat up a Gym Leader with one hand... there probably was not another one anywhere else.

"Then I'll leave her to you."

Qiao Ran answered, letting Iron Maiden take Lillie away. Lillie was a sensible and obedient child, and she could make decisive judgments when it mattered. She was not as much of a decorative vase as she appeared.

So Qiao Ran was not worried that she would do anything inappropriate—she knew what should be said and what should not.

Information about the other world had to remain secret for now, even from Iron Maiden.

While waiting for Dr. Lilia and Mei to arrive, Qiao Ran rested at the Gym for a day. Though saying he rested at the Gym was not entirely accurate—most of his time was actually spent in Pokémon Pioneer Land.

"&!...@&*!...@&*!...@!&"

Watching Nihilego float before him, Qiao Ran sat on the grass with his chin propped in his hands, lost in thought.

Clearly, Nihilego wanted to convey something to him. However—Qiao Ran could not understand a single word.

"Dianxi, did you understand?"

"...No." Dianxi shook her head in equal confusion. What kind of language was that?

"Suicune, what about you?"

"...Awoo."

Suicune looked up at the sky. Only the empty sky could represent how she felt right now.

"Vulpix, what do you think about this?"

"I... I think it's strange. But... but I can't understand it either."

Vulpix closed her eyes, trying her best to recall what she had just heard, but before long, her eyes started spinning. Forget understanding it—even imitating it was beyond her.

"Then Altaria..."

"Chii—"

Qiao Ran finally turned his gaze toward Altaria, but Altaria did not want to answer that question. She took off on the spot and flew directly away from the ground.

"Looks like no one here can understand what she's saying."

Qiao Ran helplessly shrugged and lay down on the grass as well.

Not sharing a language was a major problem, especially when issuing commands. Although Qiao Ran could also give Nihilego orders through that faint connection, it was still far too slow.

For example—normally, if he wanted Suicune to use Water Cannon, he only needed to convey the concept of "Water Cannon." But with Nihilego, it became, "Use a rushing, pillar-shaped move made of water that sprays from your body."

A concept that could originally be neatly summarized in one word now required Qiao Ran to recreate all its characteristics in his mind every time before he could convey it correctly to Nihilego. That was roughly how it felt.

"Master, Master, I actually have another way, Rotom!"

Seeing that everyone was at a loss, Rotom, who had the most wild ideas, let out a smug chuckle.

"If you have a way, then say it." Qiao Ran reached out to grab her, but Rotom nimbly dodged away.

"Don't rush, Master, I'll explain, Rotom~~~ Pokémon language learning isn't really learning at all. It's more like an inborn instinct, Rotom."

Rotom began her analysis in her unique electronic voice.

"So it's impossible for us to understand an otherworldly Nihilego's language, Rotom, and she likewise can't understand ours, because it's instinct, Rotom!"

"You mean..." Qiao Ran rubbed his chin. The point Rotom had raised was indeed a blind spot.

"Think about it, Master, Rotom. If it really were a language, why could Pokémon with different cries understand each other? And Master, do you think Vulpix received any so-called 'language' education when she was little, Rotom?"

"This..." Qiao Ran glanced at Vulpix beside him. The little girl with blue-and-white hair gently tilted her head, blinking her innocent eyes.

Indeed, just as Rotom said, Qiao Ran had raised Vulpix ever since she was born. She had never lived with elders at all. If what Pokémon used among themselves truly was a language, then Vulpix should ultimately have been "unable to speak."

"We were never taught any 'language'—yet we can communicate. This ability is an inborn instinct, Rotom, an instinct granted by a higher-order existence, and such an instinct cannot be learned, Rotom!"

Rotom's voice grew louder and more excited.

"So, there's only one way to break this deadlock, Rotom!"

"What way?" Qiao Ran asked curiously.

"Of course, conquer Nihilego, make her blush, raise her affection! Make her transform into the humanoid group, Rotom!"

"???"

For a moment, Qiao Ran felt that the thing floating before him was not Rotom at all, but a flying matchmaker.—This girl even seemed to aspire to become a midwife.

Yet Rotom continued speaking with great confidence.

"What Master needs to do most right now is make her take humanoid form, Rotom!"

"Only after becoming humanoid can she break free from this instinct and use the most convenient body to learn a new language, Rotom!!"

Petting

"After saying all that, why haven't you taken humanoid form yourself?"

Although Rotom's words made a lot of sense and Qiao Ran largely agreed with her theory, there was still a question that had always troubled him: Rotom herself. As a Pokémon who had followed him from the very beginning, even earlier than Dianxi, why had she still not taken humanoid form?

"Um... my situation might be a little special, Rotom. I don't know why I can't either, Rotom..."

Rotom swayed back and forth in the air. Just as she said, even she did not know why she could not take humanoid form. Raising intimacy and affection did not necessarily require battling, and based on how long Qiao Ran had spent with her, that value should have been reached long ago.

Was some necessary condition missing?

"Forget it. If you can't figure it out, don't keep thinking about it. If you took humanoid form, it would be harder for me to stuff you in my pocket, right?"

Qiao Ran smiled and told Rotom not to dwell on it any longer. However, his words only dealt Rotom an even greater blow.

"Master, that isn't comforting at all, Rotom! I don't want to be stuffed in a pocket, Rotom!"

"Whether you want to or not, you look exactly like a phone."

Qiao Ran joked with her without reservation. He had long known that this girl's bottom line was practically nonexistent—perhaps even below zero.

"And besides, you..."

Qiao Ran wanted to say something else, but halfway through, he discovered that something soft and squishy had latched onto his head.

Qiao Ran: "..."

He reached up to touch it, and his hand was met with a slick, soft sensation. It felt even more comfortable than the smoothest skin, with a hint of coolness that made one want to rub against it a few times.

However, Qiao Ran did not let the thing remain on his head. A ball of green light emerged from his left hand and struck the strange object.

"!...&...!@"

The object let out a shrill "scream," then began to convulse. Her body gradually softened, and while she was limp, Qiao Ran hurriedly peeled her off his head.

"Wait, Nihilego, don't bite my head! I'm not Lillie! No, even if I were Lillie, you still couldn't bite me!"

Qiao Ran's face was full of helplessness. He had no idea how many times Nihilego had attacked him already—although she apparently had no genuine intention of harming him, having a mind-controlling parasite hanging from his head was certainly an unpleasant feeling.

In the end, Qiao Ran could only use Tokiwa Power to pull her off his head. Though even Qiao Ran did not understand the principle behind it, as long as they were his Pokémon, their bodies basically turned into a flowing mass of liquid the moment they came into contact with his Tokiwa Power.

"Master... it must be because of that power that she attacked you."

Dianxi had witnessed everything. Looking at Nihilego still wriggling on the ground, she voiced her opinion. Though she could not understand what Nihilego was saying, she felt that she understood that craving for the power.

Dianxi closed her eyes, recalling how it had felt when Qiao Ran touched her while she was taking humanoid form a few days ago. Gradually, even her human body began to grow hot.

"Is this power really that amazing?"

Qiao Ran scratched his head. Honestly, he had read quite a few Pokémon comics before, but none of the Tokiwa Powers in them seemed to have effects like his. Seeing his Pokémon react so dramatically one after another, he was almost afraid to heal them during battle.

"Of course it is! Um... it's really amazing!" Vulpix rushed to answer, and to make her words sound more convincing, she deliberately added another sentence.

"If Master doesn't believe it, you can ask Suicune. She definitely knows too!"

Suicune: "...!"

An exclamation mark popped up above Suicune's head, and she immediately turned away warily. She seemed unwilling to discuss the topic, but after Qiao Ran's petting over the past few days, her dignity had nearly been worn away.

"Awoo..."

Suicune turned her head and huffily refused to look this way, but even if she deliberately avoided looking, someone still wanted to tease her.

"Master, Master, go over there quickly, Rotom. She definitely won't be able to resist, hehehe."

Rotom spoke as if the world was not chaotic enough, and this time, Qiao Ran actually nodded in agreement.

"Mm—worth trying."

Qiao Ran was not merely thinking of teasing Suicune. On a deeper level, he wanted to change her tsundere personality.

"Awoo!"

Suicune's heart skipped a beat. Watching Qiao Ran approach, her legs actually began to tremble. Yet—she did not dodge. She even seemed to be looking forward to it a little.

Qiao Ran's left hand settled on her body without resistance, giving off a faint green glow.

"Good girl, good girl. Here, just relax."

Qiao Ran's gentle voice sounded by her ear, and Suicune's breathing gradually grew heavier.

It was clear that she was still trying her best to maintain the image of a serious, reliable older sister, but even so, her body quickly gave Tokiwa Power an honest response.

"Awoo—"

Suicune let out a sound of enjoyment, her body going limp as she lay directly on the grass. Feeling Qiao Ran's hand stroke across her mane, she felt every cell in her body being reborn beneath the nourishment of that green power—just like what Lady Ho-Oh had done back then.

"Isn't this pretty nice?"