Chapter 7: First Encounter with Lillie

Chapter 7: First Encounter with Lillie

After taking a rest on the beach chair, Sylveon and Beedrill came over and looked at their new companion. Ron also opened the panel of Froakie to check its information.

Pokémon: Froakie

Level: 15

Gender: Male

Height: 30 cm

Weight: 7 kg

Ability: Torrent

Skills: Toxic Spikes (inherited), Mud-Slap, Growl, Bubble, Quick Attack, Lick, Water Gun

Ron remembered that after Froakie evolved, there was a certain probability that its Ability would become the Battle Bond Ability for bond evolution. When the bond value reached the peak, it could evolve into its bond evolution form after defeating a Pokémon.

But that was the case in the game; he didn't know how it would work in reality.

He quickly called the system to ask, and the system immediately answered: "The host has the power of bonds and can directly use it to help Greninja evolve. The host is requested to explore the specific details on his own."

Ron nodded. This was acceptable. Lying on the beach chairs and enjoying the sunbathing, the four Pokémon gathered together and began to communicate with each other.

While enjoying the sunbath, a scream was heard. Ron immediately sat up and looked up, only to see a girl surrounded by Pyukumuku. It seemed that the Pyukumuku wanted to get close to her, but she seemed very scared, sitting on the ground and backing away repeatedly.

"Ding. Triggering the side quest – Help Lillie overcome her fear of Pokémon. Reward: 1,000 Poké Dollars, 20 Diamonds, 500 Popularity Points."

Ron touched his chin and realized—it was the heroine from Pokémon Sun and Moon! No wonder she looked familiar. But to help Lillie overcome her fear of Pokémon meant confronting her childhood trauma.

But first, he needed to deal with the Pyukumuku.

"Beedrill, use Twineedle. Throw these Pyukumuku back into the sea," Ron commanded.

Beedrill quickly flew over to Lillie and used Twineedle to toss all the Pyukumuku back into the water. It wasn't that Ron couldn't fight them, but Pyukumuku's Ability—Innards Out—was simply disgusting. If defeated, Pyukumuku would spit out its organs to damage the opponent. With Beedrill's fragile skin, that Ability alone could knock it out, so it wasn't worth the trouble.

Ron walked over, stretched out his hand to Lillie, and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I was just scared," Lillie replied. She took Ron's hand, stood up, and said, "Hello, my name is Lillie."

"I'm Ron from Pallet Town," he said. Feeling the softness of her small hand, he was reluctant to let go.

"Pallet Town? Are you here for tourism?" Lillie asked.

Ron glanced at Lillie, who was wearing a white one-piece swimsuit with a pure and beautiful face. He couldn't help but feel a little excited. He nodded and said, "Yeah. I won a special prize by buying a drink, and the gift was this vacation package."

"Then you're really lucky..." As Lillie was speaking, the other three Pokémon came over. Sylveon waved its ribbon-like feelers, accidentally touching Lillie. Immediately, she stiffened as if she'd been electrocuted, unable to speak clearly.

"Hmm? Lillie, are you afraid of Pokémon?" Ron asked.

Lillie took a few steps back, away from Sylveon. She said nervously, "Well… I don't know what happened. When I was a child, I loved Pokémon, but later, I started to become afraid of them, and I don't even know why."

After saying that, Lillie looked sad. This change must have been very painful for her. Ron had watched the Pokémon Sun and Moon anime before transmigrating, so he knew the cause. But without psychic power, he couldn't unlock the mental block causing her fear.

Speaking of psychic power, Ron thought of someone—Sabrina, the Gym Leader of Saffron City. If she helped, unlocking the seal in Lillie's mind should be easy.

He could also spend diamonds in the system's mall to buy psychic powers. There were many options to choose from, but unfortunately, the cheapest one cost 1,000 Diamonds, and 1,000 Diamonds could be used for ten consecutive draws!

Seeing his pitiful balance of 80 Diamonds, he decided to think of a way to convince Lillie to accompany him to Saffron City.

After considering his words, Ron said, "Do you want me to help? I have some psychic power and might be able to see what's wrong with your body."

"Hmm? Is that possible?" Lillie asked, hopeful.

"We can only try. I can't guarantee a solution, but I might be able to find the cause," Ron replied.

"Well… Alright! I hope I can interact with Pokémon again like I did as a child. After all, I love Pokémon the most!" Lillie said excitedly.

Ron nodded, took Lillie to his beach chair, and asked her to sit down. He gently placed his hands on her temples and wrapped her in bond energy. After all, the act needed to be convincing.

However, when the power of bonds touched Lillie's mind, Ron clearly felt a strong psychic force sealing a part of her memory.

He tried using the power of bonds to open the seal, but it didn't budge. Letting go of her head, Ron shook his own and said, "I'm sorry, I can't do anything. But there's a strong psychic force in your brain sealing a small part of your memory. I believe this is the cause of your fear."

"Oh… Thank you, Ron. It's okay. It doesn't matter after all these years," Lillie said, forcing a smile, but the disappointment on her face was obvious.

Seeing Lillie's disappointment, Ron felt a twinge of guilt. He couldn't help but say, "Although I can't help, that doesn't mean others can't. Psychic-type Pokémon can assist in unlocking mental barriers. But since you can't get close to Pokémon, the person who did this to you probably wanted to completely seal this part of your memory."

Lillie's face darkened even more. Ron continued, "But I have another way. The Saffron Gym in Saffron City has a very powerful psychic. If you ask her for help, she should be able to unlock the seal easily."

Lillie's eyes lit up immediately. She grabbed Ron's hand and asked, "Really?"

"Of course. There's no reason for me to lie to you. The only issue is whether you can go. I have three days left on my vacation, and then I'll fly to Saffron City to challenge the gym and prepare for the Kanto Indigo League. If you want, we can go together in three days," Ron said seriously.

"Alright, it's settled then! I'll go back and discuss it with my family. We'll meet here tomorrow! Wait for me!" she said before running off in a hurry.

Ron stood there alone, watching the beautiful figure running farther and farther away until she disappeared from his sight.

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