Chapter 77

Qiao Ran, standing to the side, offered his opinion. As a visual creature, he naturally wanted his Pokémon look as good as possible. However, this good looks shouldn't affect the battle. He couldn't possibly make Mimikyu wear a wedding dress Mimikyu because Dianxi looked good in one, could he?

"Of course, I'll discuss it with Mimikyu, right, Mimikyu?"

Lillie looked at the Mimikyu in front of her, seeking its opinion.

"Mi..."

Mimikyu just blinked her little eyes blankly, and...

Not understanding what had happened, she clearly had no idea that she would be used as a dress-up doll...

The next day.

As previously planned, Mei was still in Jinling, has arrived.

"Qiao--Ran--!"

As soon as the two met, Mei gave Qiao Ran a warm hug; she had been waiting for this day for far too long.

Accompanying her were several men and women dressed in different outfits, who, according to them, were the Assistant summoned this time. However, what puzzled Qiao Ran was that these "Assistant" didn't seem to have much of a researcher's aura; on the contrary, they all looked like Trainer.

Phoebe didn't come out to greet them. Instead, the Froslass Maid from the Western-style Mansion guided them to their respective rooms. Qiao Ran hadn't seen Phoebe in the Western-style Mansion these past few days either; perhaps she was tinkering with something strange.

After all, she had previously stated that the Competition with Qiao Ran would be held at the banquet, where she would also announce important information about this discovery. Therefore, it's understandable that Phoebe isn't showing up now.

"Qiao Ran, about that thing with Pokémon from before..."

"We've made up, we've made up a long time ago, I've said it so many times."

Faced with Mei's repeated questioning, Qiao Ran could only roll her eyes. Why did this girl keep dwelling on this?

After settling Mei into her room, Qiao Ran led her there. However—when Mei saw Lillie in the room and discovered some women's items in the bathroom, she was completely shocked.

"Wait a minute, you guys used to sleep together?"

"Well... Lillie said she couldn't sleep, so I let her sleep here too."

Qiao Ran's brow twitched. His purpose in bringing Mei here was actually to let her see the situation of Mimikyu and then improve his combat methods. But who knew that the first thing this girl would find after entering the room was these things.

"Yes... yes, it is indeed a bit scary here. I really can't sleep alone."

Lillie added, her cheeks slightly flushed. These were all the truths, but what her most important purpose was, only she herself knew.

"And then the two of you really did..."

Mei closed her eyes and tapped her head with her finger.

"Hmm... wait, this is a lot of information... I need to think about this carefully. How strange... sleeping together..."

Mei had a feeling that these two guys were up to no good, but for the moment, she didn't know how to put it.

Her usually sharp mind just couldn't seem to grasp the situation at this moment.

Moreover, the feeling of being excluded from the conversation made her slightly irritated.

Anyway—it's just very uncomfortable.

"Don't think about those things. I asked you to come here because I want you to take a look at this Pokémon."

Qiao Ran took out Poké Ball, released Mimikyu from it, and hugged it to his chest.

"Tonight I'll use this child to fight Phoebe... who is also the owner of this Western-style Mansion. What do you think my chances of winning are?"

"Fight the owner of this Western-style Mansion? With this child?"

The mere mention of battle instantly energized Mei, causing her to completely forget about what had happened before.

"Mimikyu... that kind of Pokémon is quite rare where we're from."

Mei bent down to observe Mimikyu's condition, and the two huge mountains that seemed to defy gravity left Mimikyu speechless.

What... what is this...?

What's this????

Do humans have this kind of thing on their bodies? Is it for carrying weight?

Since Suicune did not appear in human form at the meet-and-greet, Mimikyu has never actually seen a real "woman." Whether it's Mei, Lillie, the Western-style Mansion owner, or even Dianxi and Vulpix, they are all more tragic beings than the last, with the last one almost dented in.

Mimikyu has absolutely no idea what this thing is!

"Yes, we all picked a Mimikyu of similar strength beforehand, and each of us trained it for a period of time. Tonight is our official Competition."

Qiao Ran briefly described what had happened to Mei, and Mei nodded seriously after listening to Qiao Ran's words.

"Train each person individually... This is where their training ability and on-the-spot command skills are truly tested. I never expected this Elite Four to have such a unique idea; if he didn't have confidence in himself, he certainly wouldn't have made such a request."

Giving up the advantage of her own level and the advantage of her Pokémon is easy to say, but it takes real courage to do. Phoebe truly deserves her title as the oldest Elite Four to be able to engage in such a special battle with a "junior" like Qiao Ran.

In such a battle, whether he wins or loses, Qiao Ran will definitely learn a lot; it's a valuable experience.

"However, I definitely believe you can win. After all, you're the chosen one... Even the Legendary Pokémon have acknowledged you, and you even saved Lillie and the others... You'll definitely be fine!"

Mei

Qiao Ran was quite confident; even if the opponent was a long-established Elite Four, he was still an opponent who could be Defeat.

No one is invincible forever.

Section 146, page 143: [Add me!]

Mei stayed in Qiao Ran's room for a long time. Besides helping Qiao Ran devise strategies for the battle that night, as people from the Pokémon World, she and Lillie had a lot in common.

"Ugh! Why can you go back to that world with Qiao Ran?! Humph... but I can't."

Mei couldn't help but pout; she had been envious and jealous of this for a long time.

"Um... well... maybe I'm a bit special?"

Lillie looked away guiltily. Actually, she had a vague feeling that perhaps it was because she could be put into Qiao Ran's Poké Ball that she had this special ability, but... how could she say such a thing to others?

If she told other people this, they would definitely think she'd lost her mind, actually advising others to become Pokémon.

"That's great... If I had the chance, I'd like to Unova too..."

Mei cupped her cheeks in her hands. She should have been traveling in Unova, challenging Gym everywhere... If nothing had gone wrong, she might have become the Unova Champion by now.

Furthermore, she also misses the Trainer and Gym Leader in the Unova Region: Roxie, Elesa, and Skyla... and Rosa, whom she has always admired. How are they doing?

"There will definitely be a way, we'll definitely be able to go back."

Lillie nodded firmly, still believing that there was hope. She had been so desperate back then, but she was still saved. It was Qiao Ran Mei who gave her strength.

Furthermore, she will continue her research on space and Otherworld, and one day, she will restart the Aether Foundation's project to find those who disappeared within the Ultra Space.

"Yes, I'll definitely be able to get back."

Mei took Lillie's hands in hers, her eyes shining. She was increasingly finding this girl to be just like her; even if they weren't from the same world, they were sure they could become good friends.

"Qiao Ran, let me sleep here tonight! I want to sleep here too!"

Mei was clearly having a great time chatting; she even wanted to stay and talk with Lillie all night long. She was happy as long as they could talk about the Pokémon World.

"I don't object... but..." Lillie glanced at Qiao Ran.

"Wait, you want to stay here too?"

Qiao Ran's lips twitched. He glanced at the double bed in front of him. It was about the right size for two people, but it would be a bit difficult to fit three.

"But there's not enough room here. Look, this bed can only comfortably fit two people at most."

"Just squeeze it in. Neither Lillie nor I are too fat, so we can definitely manage with a little squeezing."

Mei, on the other hand, was quite optimistic. She figured a double bed could easily be squeezed in to make a triple bed, right?

However, upon hearing Mei's words, Qiao Ran couldn't help but glance at her chest, then covered his forehead. "Are you sure you can squeeze in?"

If you absolutely had to add a Dianxi or Vulpix, Qiao Ran thought that might be a feasible option, since the thickness is relatively thin. But forcing in a Mei... the operational difficulty is still a bit too high.

"... Huh?"

Sensing Qiao Ran's strange gaze, Mei seemed to slowly come to her senses. Not only Qiao Ran, but even Lillie was looking at her chest, intentionally or unintentionally.

The strange atmosphere made even someone as oblivious as Mei and quickly cover her chest. However, this was ultimately just a drop in the ocean—the truth couldn't be hidden forever, and no amount of force could conceal the terrifying nature of human hearts.

"This... this is alright, it's still possible to squeeze... something in, I think."

Mei tried to defend herself in a low voice, but as she spoke, her voice began to falter.

Finally, she could only raise her head and look at Qiao Ran with pitiful eyes.

"You..." Qiao Ran was someone who responded better to gentleness than force, and being looked at like that was completely unbearable for him.

Where did this guy learn that? Or did he teach himself?

"Okay, okay, you can come here tonight. If it's too crowded, we'll figure something out then."

"Yeah!"

Upon hearing Qiao Ran's words, Mei couldn't help but jump up excitedly, and the gloom on her face vanished in an instant.

"I'll go get my luggage right now!"

That's exactly what she was waiting to hear.

Night.

As the sun began to set, the bright moon climbed into the sky.

"Welcome everyone to my banquet."

Inside the luxurious Western-style Mansion, a grand banquet had begun. The Western-style Mansion's owner, dressed in a black and white lace Dress, sat regally in the main seat, her long, white hair adorned with Bat- shaped hair clip.

She never hesitates to dress herself up, especially for formal and public occasions, where she will change into incredibly gorgeous dresses.

The Ghost type in the Western-style Mansion were also busy, not only passing around tableware,

They also brought food to the table from time to time, and perhaps because they hadn't seen so many humans in a long time, they were still very excited.

The Assistant who were summoned were also seeing such a spectacular scene for the first time. It seemed that everything in this Western-style Mansion was being managed by Pokémon, and everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

The person who convened this time surprised them even more.

--That girl who looks like a little girl is actually the oldest Elite Four in China, and an expert in excavating Pokémon Ruins?

"It seems you all have some doubts about my identity? Do you feel that I am not the person you imagine me to be?"

As if reading everyone's thoughts, Phoebe gently stood up from her chair.

"Froslass."

She looked at the Froslass standing beside her. Unlike the other Maid, the Froslass stood quietly beside Phoebe, only reacting when she gave an order.

"Let those newbies see what you're made of."

Phoebe's scarlet eyes narrowed slightly, and a malicious smile curled at the corners of her lips. She had never been one to waste words, and since someone wanted to question her, she would let them experience what it felt like to be questioned.

That's really direct.

Qiao Ran, Lillie, and Mei sat at the table, eating their food while watching the one-sided battle. Having already experienced it before, they didn't receive any "special attention" from Phoebe.

The Pokémon sent out by the "Assistant" were almost all unable to withstand more than a few moves from the Froslass. Qiao Ran didn't even need to look to know that this Froslass was definitely level 50 or higher.

--Thankfully, the battle that follows won't be that terrible, otherwise, Qiao Ran wouldn't be sitting here leisurely eating like this...

Mei

Section 147, page 144 [Pre-dinner program]

The fight in the Restaurant started quickly and ended just as quickly.

Phoebe's Froslass swiftly and decisively defeated all the Pokémon, but the price was that the temperature in the entire room dropped by dozens of degrees, as if winter had suddenly arrived. Even girls like Lillie, who were still wearing dresses, started to shiver slightly.

"It's so cold..."

"Indeed, this level of Ice-type ability is worthy of Pokémon of the Elite Four-level."

The layman sees the spectacle, the expert sees the details. As Vulpix's Trainer, Qiao Ran also has his own understanding of Ice-type Pokémon. This Froslass controlled the Ice-type energy perfectly, only affecting its target, while the rest of the room was completely free of ice.

This level of control, so effortless and effortless, is something that even the Vulpix can only dream of.

After doing all this, the Froslass simply patted her long sleeves gracefully and floated back to Phoebe's side, standing quietly like any of the other Maid.

"How is it? Have you grasped it a little yet?"