Who needs a girlfriend when you have Pokémon?

Lillie said a little shyly, "I don't know this child's name either, so I'll call it Little Nebula for now. It's my friend~"

As soon as the word "friend" was uttered, Nebula nodded vigorously in agreement, as if it understood Lillie's words.

"But it seems like Mom and the others want to use the Little Nebula for some kind of experiment. It seems the Little Nebula is the source of the experiment that triggered the Ultimate Void..."

"!"

The experiment that triggered the Ultimate Void originated from this little guy?

To be honest, it sounds a bit unbelievable, but Daigo believes Lillie is not lying.

After all, in the world of Pokémon, you can't judge strength by size. Although this little guy hasn't put any pressure on Steven yet, he seems to be a weakling with no fighting ability.

"That's all I know..." Lillie paused, looking at Daigo in front of her, seemingly waiting for his response...

Chapter 116 He's got a really good eye for people!

“I understand the situation…” After pondering for a few minutes, Daigo decisively stood up and nodded. “I believe what Miss Lillie said, and it doesn’t seem like she’s lying. But if that’s the case, then things are going to be very troublesome.”

"...With these clues, is there no way to launch an attack on the Aether Foundation?"

Loew patted Lillie on the shoulder, gesturing for her to sit down again, then looked at Daigo and asked...

“Indeed…” Daigo picked up where Lowell left off, “...we already have enough clues, but the other side is the Aether Foundation, which makes things very troublesome…”

Luo Wei understood Daigo's meaning. "So, does that mean we need more evidence?"

"...There must be concrete evidence to prove that the Aether Foundation is the mastermind, otherwise it's inconvenient for the Alliance to get involved. But now that we have a direction, we just need to investigate along that direction. Leave the professional stuff to the professionals."

"...Interpol?"

Rowe knew that law enforcement agencies existed in this worldview, and that the Pokémon world certainly had police as well. For example, Officer Jenny's entire family were police officers, and above them, there were international agents who specialized in handling all kinds of major cases.

"Yes, I'll arrange that. Thank you, Miss Lillie, for the clues and information. And..."

Daigo looked at Nebula in Lillie's handbag, and Lillie's expression instantly tensed up.

As Lillie also said, the Little Nebula is the key to opening the Ultra Void, and the Aether Foundation obtained the method to open the Ultra Void by studying the Little Nebula.

So, will the alliance demand that Nebula be taken away?

Although Lillie would certainly not refuse if the League really made such a request, she believed that the League could protect Nebula better than she could.

She had already come to this realization before choosing to reveal everything.

However, Daigo gave her a choice...

"...Lillie, do you intend to seek the Alliance's protection, or do you intend to continue acting freely on your own?"

When he said this, Daigo glanced at Rowe, making his attitude all the clearer.

Rather than saying she "acted freely," it would be more accurate to say she "acted with Rowe." As for seeking the League's protection, she simply followed Steven and went to the League to have a specialized elite trainer act as her bodyguard.

Lillie wasn't surprised by this situation; what surprised her was that she was given a choice.

"...But, is there a choice?"

“Of course…” Daigo immediately laughed, “...It’s not like we’re dealing with a heinous criminal, just a little princess who needs protection. We naturally have no right to forcibly interfere with your personal freedom. If Her Highness has already found her knight, then indeed, no one else needs to intervene.”

His joking remark made Lillie blush, and Rowe's lips twitched awkwardly, because he could already feel the resentment of Masked Cat behind him.

“I think… I want to continue as before…” In other words, she intends to continue following Rowe, “…maybe I can find more ‘things I can do’.”

Anyway, she had already told the Alliance everything she needed to, and she felt much lighter. Keeping the secret to herself had really been a real struggle for her.

Now that she has fulfilled one wish, she hopes to resolve another knot in her heart.

That is, "finding what you can do"...

Before that, she discovered her mother's secret and felt a strong urge to "do something." By the time she came to her senses, she had already embarked on her journey to Hoenn alone.

In fact, going to Hoenn was a complete accident. She hadn't planned a specific destination at all. She just randomly picked a regular ship, jumped on it, and went wherever it took her.

At the time, she had no direction at all; she just felt a sense of mission to do something to stop her mother's wrongdoing, which led her to take action. But when she looked back, she realized how reckless her actions were.

Now, she hopes to make a proper plan, at least to determine "what she can do." Although she hasn't found the answer yet, she has a feeling that following Luo Wei might lead her to it.

As for why she followed Luo Wei, she couldn't say. Perhaps it was because she had always relied on her mother and brother, and this was the first time she had left her hometown and the first person she had met who was kind to her and had indeed helped her several times.

With her mother no longer reliable, her brother's situation precarious, and her own abilities truly limited, it just so happened that... Luo Wei became a genuine role model for her.

She admired and envied Luo Wei, who looked to be about the same age as her, yet had accomplished so many remarkable things, which led to her decision.

Lowe didn't mind Lillie coming along. He had two purposes for traveling: one was to challenge himself and grow, and the other was to meet all sorts of people.

Every encounter between humans and between humans and Pokémon is about building new connections, and these connections will one day become a driving force for progress.

Although Masked Cat seemed to have some reservations about this, Lo Wei could only scratch her chin to comfort her.

"Rest assured, my princess~ Your knight will not betray you~"

"Hehe, that's right, that's right, we must cultivate a good relationship!"

Seeing this, Daigo gently stroked his chin and spoke with great interest. Luo Wei felt that he was obviously doing it on purpose, whether it was calling Lillie "princess" earlier or saying these things now...

...Could it be that this kid is actually a cunning schemer?

Of course, there is another possibility: it's just a simple case of gossip. After all, gossip is probably the fourth major human instinct besides survival, eating, and reproduction.

"In that case, we have a clue to continue, and then..."

Daigo sighed again. Rowe knew what he was sighing about, because even after eliminating the Aether Foundation, the Hoenn region had other more pressing problems.

Team Lava and Team Ocean were relatively quiet for a few days after their last attack on Director Kusnogi, but it was clear to everyone that this was probably just the calm before the storm.

This group is most likely plotting some big conspiracy, and their next move will definitely be even bigger.

What specific actions will be taken, and where will they be taken?

All of this is quite a headache, and what's even more troublesome is that we still don't know who the boss on the other side is.

"Anyway, if Rowe discovers anything later, I hope you can let me know as soon as possible... I have a feeling that if it were you, you might unexpectedly be the one who easily attracts these people~"

"..."

Holy crap, you've got a really good eye for people!

Chapter 117 We're Well-Trained

"Perhaps, Luo Wei is surprisingly prone to attracting these kinds of troubles~"

"..."

Daigo's casual remark filled Luo Wei with profound respect...

Holy crap, you've got a really good eye for people!

Could it be that he discovered my protagonist aura?!

Okay, that's a joke. It might just be some kind of intuition. After all, there are too many strange and supernatural things in this world. Daigo's talent and aptitude for becoming the champion are beyond doubt. He might even have some special abilities.

Although he himself may not be fully aware of it, his strong intuition helps him make more accurate judgments.

"Well then, I should go too. Staying here too long will arouse suspicion... Oh, right..."

As Daigo stood up, he looked at Rowe and continued, "Your performance at the Grand Contest was amazing. My best friend asked me to pass on a message: if you're interested, he'd be very happy to exchange some Grand Contest tips with Rowe..."

"...Who is your closest friend?"

"That guy's name is Mikkel, and let's just say he calls himself an artist..."

As Daigo said, Michael's main job is "artist (as he calls himself)," and of course, he does have considerable talent in art, especially in the Grand Contest.

At the same time, he taught an outstanding disciple who is currently an active Grand Contest idol... That's right, Rukia is Mikuri's disciple.

Incidentally, the two seem to be related, but that doesn't really matter, because Rukia's strength is enough to prove that she gained her current popularity through her own abilities, not by relying on relatives or connections...

As for Mikoli, he has a side job in addition to his main job...

...The Gym Leader of the Sootopolis City Gym, and in terms of pure strength, he is a strong contender to compete with Rowe's father, Senri, for the title of "Strongest Gym Leader".

After all, in the original game, after Steven skipped work... this guy directly took his place as the champion, which shows that his strength was actually on par with the champion. Like Lou Wei's father, becoming a gym leader was purely a personal interest.

In short, he is a handsome man who is witty and humorous, and very popular... and a close, albeit mischievous, friend of Daigo.

"Wow, Rowe is really popular!"

Grandpa Tie Xuan laughed heartily as he delivered his conclusion, while Luo Wei coughed sheepishly, "Ah, it's all thanks to everyone's kind words..."

In short, let's put the Versailles topic aside for now, and this private conversation can be considered over. Daigo is still very busy, and he needs to immediately arrange to contact international agents and find suitable candidates to investigate the Ether Foundation.

In fact, there were already special agents responsible for investigating Ultra Beasts, but they hadn't had any more leads before and could only follow behind the Ultra Beasts.

Now, we finally have some new clues, which naturally leads to a more systematic direction for investigation. I believe they are also very interested in Daigo's information.

Meanwhile, it was time for Luo Wei to continue his journey...

...During the time he spent learning from Tie Xuan, Luo Wei mainly sought advice on the topic of "attribute fields." In fact, Tie Xuan himself gained a lot of inspiration from Luo Wei.

After verifying each other's findings, both of them gained considerable insights.

So, as he prepared to say goodbye, the old man was still a little reluctant.

"I never thought I'd still be able to learn new things from young people at my age, haha, truly 'one is never too old to learn'~ Well then, farewell, young Lo Wei... and Lillie, oh, you should be called Alice in public~"

Although she had already revealed the truth to the Alliance, she still needed to maintain a disguise to avoid alerting the enemy. Therefore, Lillie continued to act under a false name.

“…Alright, as I said before,” Grandpa Tie Xuan waved his hand generously, “once the underground renovation is completed, I will definitely invite you to be among the first to visit.”

In fact, the specific modification plan had already been completed, and even the relevant modification resources had been allocated. They were just about to start when they unexpectedly encountered an Ultra Beast.

Fortunately, things have been settled smoothly, and Grandpa Tie Xuan can now get ready to get down to business.

Luo Wei readily agreed, and after the two parties made their arrangements, they set off for their new destination.

Purple Violet City is a very interesting city. It was originally the Great Purple Violet Energy Development Company, which then went on to expand wildly, before being pulled back from the brink and undergoing a complex transformation.

Now, it has become an entertainment city filled with amusement parks, a paradise for children, because Tie Xuan loves children very much, after all... young people are the future of the world.

As for the dark history of the former Great Violet Energy Development Company, and what the underground area will look like, Luo Wei only knows the name of the project at present.