Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

Besides, she'd much rather stay in the sea than in flower fields teeming with insects or on the beach.

After they left, Mao also said with a smile that she was going to leave for a while to go to a more distant place to collect some nectar.

In the end, only Ash, who was standing still, and Lillie, who was standing still and didn't dare to move, were left in the flower field.

"Maw, it's too hot again~" Ash shook his head helplessly.

He understood what Mao meant; he wanted to leave some space for him and Lillie to communicate.

Ash and Lillie's relationship isn't quite right, which is obvious to their classmates. Mallow wants everyone to get along well, so she deliberately created this opportunity for the two of them to talk things out.

In her opinion, Ash had just helped Lillie again, so it was appropriate for them to be open and honest with each other.

The intention was good, but it has to be said that this is really embarrassing...

"I've left Pikachu here. It won't come near you; it's just there to keep out any Pokémon that might appear." Ash put Pikachu down and turned to leave. "You can play here for a while... If you want to go back, just have Pikachu guide you to the beach."

"Um... wait a minute!" Seeing that Ash was really about to leave, Lillie hesitated for a moment, clutching her clothes, before finally calling out to him from behind.

"Is there something you need?" Xiao Zhi turned around and asked casually.

"I...I am..." Lillie stammered for a long time, but finally seemed to have mustered up her courage and suddenly bowed ninety degrees to Ash!

"Xiao Zhi, I beg you... no, I plead with you, please let my sister go!"

"Huh?" Ash was taken aback. "When did you get a younger sister?"

“I don’t know when it happened… I only heard my father mention that my sister was in your hands…” Lillie’s voice and body trembled, as if she were enduring fear. “I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to spy on you!”

"When did you start spying on me again?" Ash was even more confused.

Wait... is Lillie sure she's on the same wavelength as me?

"Oh...so you didn't notice?" Lillie was also adorably stunned for a moment. "I was so nervous the whole time. Every time you looked over or talked to me...I wondered if I'd been found out."

"Then you're really overthinking it." Xiao Zhi twitched his lips speechlessly.

What's going on here? Sister, surveillance... wait a minute!

"Lillie, who is your sister?"

"She's...she's my father's illegitimate daughter~"

puff!

Seeing Lillie's incredibly serious yet conflicted expression, Ash almost spat in her face...

Chapter 431 Misunderstanding Cleared Up, and... First Contact

Lillie has a younger sister who is actually Moen's illegitimate daughter!

Listening to Lillie's earnest revelation, Ash couldn't help but sigh...

This girl has such a wild imagination!

She completely misunderstood!

When Moen disappeared, Lillie was very young and didn't have a deep impression of her father... but that didn't diminish her feelings for Moen, and the family's reunion did indeed make her overjoyed.

The misunderstanding stemmed from Moen's sentiment that Lillie should go and thank Ash.

This suggestion was flatly rejected by Rosamund.

'No need to thank him. He already said it was a transaction; I traded the entire Ether Foundation for you.'

Lillie overheard her parents' conversation and, in her mind, her mother was saying that Ash had taken over her family's business.

However, Lillie didn't feel any ill will towards this; on the contrary, she felt a bit pleased.

The main reason she gradually drifted apart from her mother was that Rosamund was busy with work... For Lillie, the Ether Foundation was a place that competed with her for her mother's love, and it was actually quite nice to have it taken away from her.

But after hearing the rest of the conversation, she could no longer maintain a pleasant mood.

'Mount, your other daughter is already in someone else's hands, are you going to push Lillie into the fire too?'

"Can you not bring this up? I had amnesia back then... Besides, Lillie and Gladio were both home, so there was no way to bring her back."

These words were like a bolt from the blue for Lillie!

Oh no! My father has been missing for so many years, it seems he has an illegitimate daughter!

Moreover, since he and his brother were at home, his father couldn't bring them back...

Of course, it's too late to get her back now, because her little sister has fallen into Ash's hands!

Lillie was shocked to learn this 'secret'. She knew she couldn't handle such a big problem on her own, and she didn't dare to tell her brother the whole story. So she could only ask Gladio indirectly...

For example, his opinion on Xiaozhi, but the result was equally unfavorable.

'That's a dangerous guy, Sora thinks so too... Lillie, you absolutely must stay far away from him, and never have anything to do with him!'

After giving him a very serious lecture, Gladio said, "I want to become stronger," and then left home on his own.

In Lillie's view, this was clearly a way to train herself and improve her strength so that she could rescue her sister!

And coincidentally, her father also found the old Z-Ring and a bunch of other antique parts... Lillie vaguely heard that it was a legendary Pokémon called 'Mana'!

This terrified Lillie. She even brought up a legend. Were her parents planning to take a desperate gamble and confront Ash head-on?

Lillie was tormented by this idea, but no matter how much she tried to get information from her parents, they wouldn't say anything.

With no other option, Lillie had to start keeping an eye on Ash.

She wanted Xiaozhi to release her sister, but dared not approach him rashly. She was on tenterhooks almost every day, afraid that Xiaozhi would discover that she was spying on her.

But today, her 'secrets' can no longer be kept hidden…

"You..." Xiao Zhi was a little at a loss for words.

Lillie's family, while not as twisted as their counterparts in games and comics, are certainly not exactly normal people either.

What kind of amazing thought process does it take to come up with such a long string of blunders?

However, seeing Lillie's nervous expression, Ash suddenly felt playful.

"That's right, your sister is in my hands!" Ash said, striking a menacing pose. "And I'm not going to let her go easily!"

"No...no!" Lillie cried out urgently. "I know you might want to keep the hostage...but my sister is so young, she's innocent! At most...I'll be her hostage, okay?"

Xiao Zhi: ...

Please, is she serious?

And how does she intend to substitute? Can she possibly score a goal in place of Kyōgo Idō?

"Forget it, I was just talking nonsense. I don't need you as a hostage." After marveling at the family's thought process once again, Ash shook his head speechlessly. "Lillie, your so-called sister is actually it."

“This is…” Lillie was taken aback. Ash was holding a special Poké Ball in his hand!

"It might bring back bad memories, so please try to bear with it." Ash said, throwing out the Ultra Ball. "Come on, Lillie!"

"Lily...A?!" Upon seeing the sudden appearance of Nihilego, Lily was initially puzzled by the name, but her thoughts were quickly overwhelmed by darkness and coldness!

Her body trembled uncontrollably as she suddenly recalled her experience from several years ago!

At that time, she was also...

"Please calm down." Ash immediately used his psychic powers to help Lillie calm down. "You were indeed attacked by Nihilego four years ago, but it wasn't this one!"

“I…I know.” Lillie nodded reluctantly, but still nervously clutched the hem of her clothes.

“It’s also called Lillie. During the years your father was missing, he lived with it,” Ash explained. “He always talked to your mother about this ‘daughter’… The reason it’s in my hands is because Lillie is an Ultra Beast that I caught. It’s not a hostage; your father entrusted me to keep it safe for a long time.”

"But...why don't they just say it outright?" Lillie asked, conflicted.

“It’s probably because they’re worried about bringing back bad memories for you, like just now… Of course, there’s also a problem with your family’s communication style.” Ash continued, “As for your brother, his type: Void is still very immature. He goes berserk whenever he sees an Ultra Beast, which is why Lillie can’t see you and Gladion.”

"So that's how it is." Lillie finally understood.

"And that Machina, that's an artificial legendary Pokémon called Magearna... Your father told me that he bought it for you as a gift shortly after you were born. He tinkered with that Pokémon all by himself, probably wanting to surprise you and give it to you as a gift."

“Is that so…” Lillie couldn’t help but turn into a beady-eyed mess.

So... it was all a misunderstanding from beginning to end?

After spending so much time on edge, cautiously and hesitantly keeping an eye on Xiaozhi, all I got in the end was nothing...

I feel so embarrassed~

Looking at Ash's ambiguous smile, Lillie felt her cheeks burning, wishing she could hide in the flower field and never come out again.

“However… one thing is true.” Ash suddenly said in a low voice, “This is indeed a deal. I really am plotting to seize your mother’s business… Even if you’re not happy, I’m about to succeed.”

"No!" Lillie quickly retorted, bowing repeatedly to Ash in apology. "I didn't really care... I, well, I'm so sorry! I misunderstood everything before, and I unjustly suspected and monitored you for so many days... I'm truly sorry!"

"There's no need to apologize." Xiao Zhi shook his head indifferently. "Anyway, I didn't notice any surveillance. You've been worried sick for a long time, haven't you?"

“Uh…” Lillie looked embarrassed again.

Much later, she solemnly expressed her gratitude to Xiaozhi: "Thank you! Xiaozhi, I really don't know how to thank you! Family reunion has always been my biggest wish, and it was all made possible because of you!"

“I have my own purpose, and you don’t need to be so grateful.” Ash shook his head. “Besides, it’s not exactly a family reunion for you… there’s still Lillie.”

“It…” Lillie hesitated for a moment, but finally said seriously, “I will still treat it as my father’s daughter, my own sister… There are two Lillies in our family!”

"Would you like to try touching it?"