Who needs a girlfriend when you have Pokémon?

"What do you mean 'solve it yourself'? If my brother knows anything, why doesn't he tell the Alliance and let them help him..."

"We can't tell the Alliance!" However, Gladio's attitude was very firm. "I will handle that woman's problem. We don't need the Alliance to interfere! With 'its' power, we can definitely stop that woman's conspiracy..."

Lillie wanted to say something more, but Gladio changed the subject abruptly, "Alright, I didn't come here to talk about this today. It's good that you escaped unharmed, but if you keep running around outside, you might get discovered by the Aether Foundation at any time. So, I'll protect you from now on. Come with me, Lillie..."

As he said this, he extended his hand to Lillie, which left Lillie momentarily bewildered...

Honestly, if it were someone else, they probably would have already started cursing. They didn't say a single human word, just talked in riddles for ages, and then at the end said, "I'm doing this for your own good," and then expected others to follow them.

Where the hell do you get your confidence?

But Lillie knew, because he was her biological brother, and she knew it clearly after so many years together.

That's just how her brother is. He's not very good at expressing himself, but he's actually very caring towards Lillie. He's always been concerned about his sister since she was little. Don't overthink his words; they're just the literal meaning.

He was worried that Lillie would get into trouble if she knew too much, so he hoped to take care of all the problems for her by himself and let the little princess live a happy life without any worries.

As an older brother, isn't it only natural to protect his younger sister?

However, this sense of entitlement clearly did not take into account whether Lillie herself needed or was willing to... be a canary kept in a cage.

"I'm not leaving, I still have things to do..."

"Varied……"

Upon hearing this, the boy in front of him showed an expression of utter shock, as if in his mind, Lillie's refusal of his suggestion was something he had never considered.

For a moment, he seemed unable to accept this fact, causing his brain to be somewhat confused.

"Why? It's dangerous for you to be alone right now!"

His tone instantly became urgent, and his anxiety was genuine and his concern was truly sincere, but it made Lillie want to sigh at that moment.

"I'm no longer a little kid who can only hide behind my brother and mother. This time, I will do what I can do!"

"Well……"

Upon hearing this, the boy hesitated once again. He withdrew his hand hesitantly, remained silent for a long time, and then gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence.

"Is that so? Well... whatever, I don't care anymore!"

He acted like a child throwing a tantrum, but considering his age, he was only two years older than Lillie, around fifteen or sixteen, which is exactly the age commonly known as the "rebellious phase".

This age group is also prone to a common teenage illness, which is often called "chuunibyou" because it usually occurs in the second year of middle school!

He left after saying those words, seemingly quite angry, leaving Lillie alone, somewhat bewildered.

"Ugh, could it be that we used to look like this in other people's eyes? How embarrassing..."

After making a comment that was both funny and exasperating, Lillie finally remembered.

"Oh no, if we don't hurry back, Rowe and the others will be worried..."

Over there, after confirming that Lillie was talking to Gladgio, Rowe didn't interfere any further. After all, it was their own brother and sister talking, and it wasn't their place to interfere.

Besides, Rowe had read the script and knew that aside from being a bit of a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur), Gladio cared for and looked after Lillie quite a bit, so there was no need to worry about what he might do.

He most likely came hoping to take Lillie away. Of course, if Lillie didn't want to go with him, given his temperament, he probably wouldn't do something like forcibly abducting her.

Sure enough, not long after, Lillie returned to her room with a preoccupied look on her face.

"Um..." After seeing Rowe and Asha, Lillie thought for a moment, then composed herself and spoke, "I just encountered that mysterious person, and I know who he is..."

"..."

Next, Lillie summarized the key points of her conversation with Gladion, though she didn't really say anything useful, since he had just been spouting riddles.

The only key point is that Gladio explicitly stated that "that woman is not the mother we know."

"So, literally speaking, this usually has two interpretations..."

The first interpretation is that the other person's personality has changed drastically, often expressed as "He is no longer the innocent boy he once was," referring to a shift in mindset.

The second interpretation is simply the literal meaning...

"...Lillie's mother has been switched with someone else!"

"Eh?!"

Chapter 149 Spoilers with the Script

According to Gladio, Lillie's mother is no longer the mother she knows...

This statement can be interpreted in two ways. The first, of course, refers to a change in mindset, as in the saying, "He is no longer the naive boy he once was."

The second explanation is simply the literal meaning, not some mystical metaphor about a change in mindset; it simply means that Lillie's mother was switched with someone else.

"Huh?" This sentence naturally shocked Lillie instantly. "Impossible! If Mom had been switched with someone else, I would definitely have been able to sense it!"

She immediately became serious, but before that, Aysa, who had been listening for a long time, was completely confused.

"Wait, wait a minute!" She quickly raised her hand. "...Mr. Rowe, please guide me...what exactly is Alice...?"

"Oh, Asha doesn't know yet? Well, it won't hurt to tell Asha anyway. Just remember to keep it a secret. Alice... um, her real name is Lillie, yes, the little princess who went missing from the Aether Foundation..."

"what?"

After that, Rowe could only explain Lillie's situation to Asha, which gave Asha a general understanding of the current situation.

"Uh, so there was such a story behind it?"

Many people in the League already knew about this, but many more were completely unaware. Although Aysa was the Gym Leader, this matter had nothing to do with her, so naturally she wasn't informed.

The reason a secret is a secret is that the fewer people who know it, the better.

However, Rowe believed that Asha could keep the secret, so he didn't mind telling her directly.

“Okay, let’s put this matter aside for now…” Luo Wei waved his hand, bringing the topic back on track, “…Lillie’s mother, President Lusamine, um, does Lillie think she wasn’t switched?”

"of course!"

Lillie's answer was so certain that others might have some reservations. As her biological daughter, theoretically, if her mother had really been switched at birth, Lillie would definitely have noticed some clues.

"Hmm, that's quite convincing. So, to put it another way, what if it wasn't a case of being switched, but rather the person themselves being controlled?"

"Eh……"

Were they controlled, or rather, hypnotized or brainwashed?

In that case, since it is still the same person after all, their words and actions will naturally not be any different from usual. However, because they have been brainwashed and have some of their actions controlled, they may do some things in certain situations that are completely different from their usual behavior.

"Ultimately, all the Ultra Beasts we've encountered before have their own code names. You see, names like Inflator, Jetpack, and Lightning are all understandable. So what does the code name Parasite signify?"

"what……"

Nihilego was given this codename because he possessed the ability to parasitize others and control their actions through his tentacles.

However, the parasites currently discovered by Nihilego are actually more like puppets on strings. They can only perform some simple behavioral manipulations on the target when the target is conscious. Under such circumstances, they are not considered to have the ability to manipulate minds and consciousness.

However, that's because all the Ultra Beasts we've encountered so far have actually been incomplete versions.

It's hard to say what level Ultra Beasts could achieve if they were at their full power. And it's very likely that President Lusamine and the Aether Foundation were the ones who initially summoned Ultra Beasts.

"This is of course just speculation..."

While it's called speculation, Luo Wei has essentially given away spoilers with the script in hand...

"...Could it be that the Aether Foundation and President Lusamine discovered Ultra Beasts for research purposes, but were unwittingly controlled by one of them during their contact, which led to what happened afterward?"

Gladgio made the statement "That woman is not my mother" precisely because he noticed this.

"Is it possible? If so, then it means that it wasn't Mom who did those awful things, or rather, it wasn't Mom's intention?"

Lillie's eyes lit up instantly. After all, she had been struggling with the fact that her mother was the culprit and couldn't accept that her admired mother would do such a thing.

But if everything is as Rowe says, then her mother didn't do those outrageous things out of her own will, and Lillie would naturally feel much better.

"Well, it's just a possibility. To be honest, I'm just guessing, and it's completely baseless..."

"Um, I understand... Sorry, I got too excited..."

Lillie also realized that what Rowe said at this stage was all unfounded speculation, just a possibility. Of course, Lillie hoped that this possibility was true, so that she could reconcile with her mother in her heart.

However, if none of this is true, and her mother is indeed just pretending to be a good person while actually being a cold-blooded and ruthless person, that is also possible.

Therefore, we cannot make too many assumptions now, otherwise, if we are proven wrong by the facts and refuse to accept them, we will only look more ugly and clownish.

"Alright, let's summarize the situation. The immediate problem is that Team Magma stole the meteorite, and Team Ocean definitely won't let it go. Recently, there have been unusual weather events near Chimney Mountain, which seem to be very similar to the ancient legends described in the murals..."

As previously analyzed, the purpose of the Ocean Team's raid on the Kusnogi Shipyard was to obtain the latest submarine technology so that they could investigate things beneath the deep sea.

Combined with the strange phenomena at Chimney Mountain, the stolen meteorite, and the descendants of the Meteor People, everything points to an ancient legend...

"...Team Aqua and Team Magma may very well be trying to awaken the two slumbering gods from the ancient legends!"

In the legends of the two gods, they were sealed underground in the Hoenn region. The ocean god was naturally sealed at the bottom of the sea, the exact location of which is unknown, but it is certainly at a very deep part of the ocean. As for the earth god...

"...No way?" Asha's expression was also shocked. "Could it be that the Earth God is sleeping beneath Chimney Mountain?"

Mt. Chimney is an active volcano, but it hasn't erupted for thousands of years. It contains powerful fire-type energy, which is why a large number of fire-type Pokémon gather around it year-round.

This could certainly be a naturally formed environment, but it's also possible that some incredible force exists beneath Chimney Mountain, which could have gathered together to form such a powerful volcano.

For example...

...The sealed land of the Earth God!

Chapter 150 Foot Bath Hot Spring

"what……"