Why is my Pokémon acting a little weird?

What…what should I do! My mother actually saw me like this! Could she have really misunderstood something? No…that's not right! Isn't it even a misunderstanding…? No, no, no, no…being seen like this is definitely not okay, right?

"Pfft."

Seeing Lillie's panic, Lusamine suddenly laughed, contrary to her usual behavior.

"Okay, you don't have to explain anything else. How about telling me what happened recently?"

"Mother...you..."

Lillie was stunned again. She had originally thought that she would be scolded by her mother for her disobedient behavior, but at this moment, Lusamine seemed to be even more... open-minded than she had imagined.

"Has your body... recovered?"

Lillie looked at Lusamine's face. After her father was sucked into the Ultra Hole and disappeared, Lusamine, as a mother, showed a strong desire to control everything around her. The first to be affected were her daughter Lillie and Lillie's brother Gladion.

If it was Lusamine at that time, she would definitely not show such tolerance towards Lillie.

——Being so close to a strange man is absolutely intolerable.

"Well, your friends have helped me a lot, but now I want to know more about you, Lillie."

Lusamine sat next to Lillie, like an ordinary sister.

However, beneath that long golden hair, in those emerald green eyes that resembled Lillie's, was a sadness and grief that was difficult to conceal.

"Mother……"

It was the first time that Lillie saw Lusamine looking so haggard and weak, like an ordinary girl. In the past, Lusamine seemed to be an omnipotent existence in front of Lillie. However, after her family was separated again and the foundation she built with her own hands completely collapsed... no one should be able to bear it.

"Well, I'll tell you little by little, everything will definitely be fine."

Lillie patted her cheeks, looked at Lusamine, and nodded firmly.

Past sins and mistakes cannot be erased, but now, as her daughter, Lillie must bring a glimmer of hope to her family.

"All this...has to start with him..."

Lillie turned her gaze to Qiao Ran and told him the story from her own perspective.

——————————————————————————————————————

"Hmm? Have you guys started chatting already?"

After the battle, Mitsuki, who had released all her suppressed emotions, moved closer to Lillie. However, she was a little surprised to see that Lillie and Lusamine were sitting together in harmony. Lusamine was as quiet as a listener, only showing a smile and surprise from time to time. It was basically Lillie who was telling her own story.

Releasing Lusamine from the container was actually something Mitsuki decided to do a few days ago. After all, Lillie and Qiao Ran had been gone for far too long, and Mitsuki was growing increasingly uneasy. Moreover, Lusamine's condition had basically stabilized, and Mitsuki felt that perhaps the president of the Ether Foundation could come up with a solution to the problem.

However, before Lusamine could show any effect, Lillie and Qiao Ran finally returned here. Although the joy of reunion prevailed in her heart, but... Miyue felt that she could not bear this anger. The more she thought about it, the more confused she became, so she took Qiao Ran as a target and gave him a beating.

"Aren't you the same..."

Hearing Mitsuki talking about herself, Lillie looked at Mitsuki who was walking towards her and couldn't help but complain.

——Because on Mitsuki's right, there was another person holding hands. It was undoubtedly Mei, who was at odds with her just now. The two of them were as natural as best friends who had just come back from a walk, talking and laughing as they walked.

How did these two develop so quickly?

Is this what it means to feel at first sight?

Chapter 248 244 [Method]

"Us?"

Hearing Lillie's complaints, Mei and Mitsuki looked at each other and fell silent at the same time. Yes, why did they become familiar with each other so quickly?

In the past, such a thing actually never happened.

However, this kind of thing might happen from time to time, but they just haven't encountered it in the past -

"Maybe... I just felt the other person's heart during the battle? So that's why it happened like this? I think everyone else should feel the same way, right?"

Mitsuki blinked, and Mei beside her nodded repeatedly.

"It's like this, it's like this."

In fact, they all felt that the other party's personality traits and values ​​were basically consistent with their own, so detailed that they could maintain a wonderful synchronization in some specific matters. Even the rhythm and judgment of commanding Pokémon battles had obvious similarities.

If it weren't for the obvious difference in the other person's appearance, they would have thought that the other person was their long-lost sister.

"..."

Listening to Mitsuki and Mei's stories, Lillie could only respond with silence.

Is everyone really like this?

The conversation between Mitsuki and Lillie also attracted the interest of Lusamine, who was standing nearby. She had met Mitsuki before, so this time her attention was mainly focused on Mei.

"...Are you all Lillie's friends?"

Lillie is her daughter whom she cares about very much, so Lusamine also needs to have a good grasp of Lillie's social status.

--------------------------------

"Hmm...Hmm...My head hurts..."

Qiao Ran woke up from his coma, feeling sore all over. His memory had been fragmented since he came to the Ether Foundation, and he really didn't remember anything that happened after that.

Qiao Ran clenched his left hand, and then he realized that he did not have Cang Xiang's sword with him. In order to allow Cang Xiang to rest well and to reduce the burden of his own movements, he did not carry the sword directly on his back.

The current Ether Foundation is not a place so dangerous that he needs to pay attention all the time. If it were in Galar, Qiao Ran probably wouldn't be able to relax so much.

"Um……?"

Qiao Ran opened his eyes, but the first person he saw was a person who surprised him a little.

Long golden hair, a charming figure, narrow and deep eyes, and very distinctive clothing...

"dew……"

Lusamine???

Qiao Ran looked to the side and was slightly relieved when he saw Liliae, Mei and others were also there.

——Lusamine was someone he had met when he first came to this place, but at that time she was imprisoned in a strange facility, which was obviously incomparable to her current state.

Moreover, unlike her youthful appearance, Lusamine is actually Lillie's biological mother. Judging from her age, she is at least in her thirties or forties.

Is this person a friend or foe?

If it were in the game storyline he'd experienced, Lusamine had once been obsessed with the power of the beasts. Back then, she'd undoubtedly been the antagonist, directly leading to a series of crises. However... in the anime version of Pokémon, Lusamine was completely whitewashed, becoming a "good mother" who was completely oblivious to the conspiracy.

"..."

Qiao Ran was subconsciously a little alert, but looking at the relaxed expressions of the girls around him, Qiao Ran seemed to understand something.

"...Ah, Qiao Ran, are you awake?"

The first person to discover that Qiao Ran had woken up was Lillie, who had been taking care of her. Soon after, everyone else gathered around and asked about Qiao Ran's condition.

"Wait, how come you two are so close?"

What surprised Qiao Ran was that Mitsuki and Mei were standing together like old friends. If Qiao Ran hadn't known that the two didn't know each other, he would have suspected that he had made a mistake.

Is this the attraction between heroines?

"Isn't it normal to have a good relationship? Besides, if you hadn't been so slow, I wouldn't have had to wait here for so long."

Facing Qiao Ran, Meiyue obviously no longer had the patience she had when answering Lillie. Although the punishment had been given, she was still angry.

"Chairman Lusamine is also because you guys haven't come for a long time... I tried to find a way to get her out first. I thought you guys... humph."

Miyue turned her head away and didn't continue.

"Well, I've been checking the equipment here these past few days, and a lot of things have exceeded my expectations... I heard it was Lillie's work, and she's really done a great job."

Lusamine took over the conversation and praised her daughter.

"No...it's not that amazing. I just read the notes my mother left behind..."

Lillie felt a little embarrassed by the compliment. She really couldn't stand this kind of compliment. Or rather, it had been a long time since Lusamine had praised her like this.

"By the way, I also heard from Lillie that you came here through a special method? Did you go to another world before?"

Suddenly, Lusamine changed the subject and talked about a

Important topics.

This question had already concerned her when she heard Lillie's story. However, Lillie had avoided it at the time by saying "I didn't know the principle". However, as a scientist who has spent her whole life studying creatures from another world, Lusamine obviously would not give up this opportunity easily.

"Can you tell me about your method of traveling through this world?"

"A method of traveling across worlds..."

Qiao Ran was stunned for a moment. He glanced at Lillie and Mei with some suspicion. He wasn't sure what they had said to Lusamine. However, looking at Lusamine's face, Qiao Ran inexplicably had a somewhat absurd idea in his mind.

There aren't many ways to travel through time, or rather, Qiao Ran has only one way to choose if he wants to lead other humans through time.

Lillie was parasitized by Xuwuid and accidentally put into the ball... Mei was parasitized by Xuwuid on her own initiative, so she can also be put into the ball... And as for Lusamine, she was parasitized by Xuwuid before... Doesn't that mean...

However, just as this thought came to mind, it was interrupted by Lillie's trembling voice.

"Mother...you wouldn't...you wouldn't still be thinking about those...those things, would you?"

"Father and brother!... They've already!"

Lillie's expression suddenly changed.

The atmosphere in the field suddenly became solemn.

Chapter 249 245 [Thinking]

"Ha...hahahaha, I might have gone a bit too far."

Everyone sensed this unusual atmosphere, and finally—it was Lusamine, the chairman, who took the initiative to stand up. Her face still had her usual smile, but she walked out of the room.

It was obvious that she was not as relaxed as she appeared to be.

Lillie's words also pierced her heart.

"Oh, there are still some devices up there that need maintenance, so I won't bother you for now. The rest of the time should be left to you young people."

"..."

After a while, Lusamine disappeared from the room and no one tried to stop her.

After everything happened, Mitsuki looked at Lillie beside her with some concern: "Is this okay...?"

"..."

Lillie looked silently at her tightly clasped hands on her knees and shook her head.

"...That's it, that's enough."

The joy of reuniting with her mother was one thing, but when this joy passed, Lillie blamed Lusamine in her heart for destroying the Aether Foundation, causing her brother and countless foundation staff to disappear into another dimension.

She might...really not be able to forgive the other person before everything is over.

Seeing that Lillie had made a decision, Mitsuki didn't say anything else. She also knew that these things might have gone beyond the scope of ordinary "family affairs" and could not be dismissed with just a few words.

"Hey."

However, Meiyue couldn't help but nudge Qiao Ran, who was still in a daze, with her elbow. This guy usually moves very quickly, so why did he fail at the critical moment?

Under Meiyue's various eye hints, Qiao Ran quickly reacted and took Liliae beside him into his arms.

"What are you doing..."

Lillie was frightened by Qiao Ran's behavior at first, but after the initial slight surprise, she did not resist at all, but leaned quietly on Qiao Ran's arms.

This feeling... seems pretty good...

Her heart, which had become empty due to various misfortunes, gradually became warm and fulfilled.

Lillie closed her eyes, feeling the tranquility of the moment, however - in the sight of the tool man Qiao Ran, she met the eyes of two people directly.

Meiyue: "..."

Meiyi: "..."

The three of them remained silent at the same time, but the regretful looks in Miyue and Meiyi's eyes had already expressed their inner desire to cut Qiao Ran into pieces.

"Come on, let's go out first."

"Ah."

In the end, the two of them left the place unable to bear it any longer. Although Qiao Ran's actions were prompted by Meiyue herself, she had not expected to feel so unhappy when she saw this scene. Meiyi's situation was even simpler. She just felt uncomfortable, as if something was missing.

Thoughts are not clear.