Chapter 55: We Will Sublimate Team Rocket!

"Mr. Mawile, that kind of joke isn't funny."

Zhu Lan refused without hesitation.

A swimsuit? If it were a normal situation of going to the beach to relax and play, Zhu Lan wouldn't mind wearing a swimsuit.

After all, wearing a swimsuit on the beach is a very normal phenomenon.

But that was under her own voluntary circumstances, and now Mawile was clearly harboring ill intentions; how could she possibly agree?

"What a pity, it seems Young Lady Zhu Lan has no sincerity." Mawile shrugged, making no further demands; after all, it wasn't him who was in a rush.

"Mr. Mawile, I truly wish to talk with you."

Zhu Lan's dark eyebrows furrowed.

"Doesn't look like it." Mawile replied lazily, then called over his Miss Shell.

"Finneon, give me a leg massage."

"Qi?"

"I'll eat you later. You do nothing but eat day after day; just let you fatten to death in the future."

"Qi! Qi!"

Accusing his own Trainer of an evil 'curse', Tapu Finneon puffed up its cheeks angrily, extended two hands, and began massaging Mawile's thighs.

Meanwhile, Mawile put his large sunglasses on his face, propped his hands behind his head, and lay down comfortably.

Having fought three hundred rounds with Lusamine last night, he was slightly tired; one must say, indeed, a woman at thirty is like a wolf and at forty like a tiger.

I really can't stand it! Who can endure this?!

Watching Mawile's face of enjoyment and relaxation, Zhu Lan was momentarily speechless; did this guy really not worry at all about her suddenly launching a sneak attack right now?

Her hand holding the Poké Ball tightened then loosened, loosened then tightened; Zhu Lan sighed in her heart.

She indeed could not do such a thing as a sneak attack, because she was Zhu Lan.

"Mr. Mawile, a Trainer like you should not waste your future on Team Rocket; that would truly... be a great pity."

Zhu Lan restored her calm tone and spoke slowly to Mawile.

She still could not understand, but she sincerely expressed her One's Own Thoughts.

"And also Caitlin, please tell her that next time we meet, even if I bet everything, I will bring her back to Sinnoh."

Words ended there.

Zhu Lan prepared to leave; meeting Mawile was indeed an unexpected situation, but on this popular tourist beach, she could not make a move.

After all, there were simply too many tourists playing around, and if a battle broke out, one might accidentally cause collateral damage.

"Young Lady Zhu Lan, you truly understand nothing."

Just as Zhu Lan turned around, the boy's faint voice drifted over.

"?" Zhu Lan turned her head back.

"Not everyone is as lucky as you. Unlike the perfect you, Caitlin and I were originally just puppets on strings, but Team Rocket cut the strings on our bodies, allowing us to gain new life."

The boy pulled his sunglasses up slightly, revealing his own blood-red, demonic eyes, and gazed at Zhu Lan.

"This organization is merely using your power."

Zhu Lan frowned tightly; Team Rocket is an evil organization, and she did not feel Team Rocket had such good intentions.

Ultimately, Team Rocket must have only valued the power and potential of Mawile and Caitlin, wanting to use them as tools!

"Is that so? Perhaps." Mawile chuckled lightly and pulled his sunglasses back down.

Perhaps?

Zhu Lan felt puzzled in her heart, but no matter how she thought it over, she could not figure it out.

"Quit Team Rocket; in such an environment, you will gradually sink into the mud and never be able to climb back up."

After a moment of silence, Zhu Lan offered one final piece of advice.

Deeply entering the darkness, one will eventually sink into the darkness from which there is no escape; for an evil organization like Team Rocket, such an environment is enough to subtly change a person's thoughts and worldview.

This is the most terrifying thing.

"Team Rocket cannot change us; on the contrary, we will sublimate Team Rocket." Mawile said faintly.

"Sublimate? Mawile, what exactly do you and Caitlin intend to do?"

Zhu Lan was stunned; she suddenly felt that what she thought seemed a bit too superficial.

The goal of Mawile and Caitlin joining Team Rocket also seemed not to be so simple.

"Young Lady Zhu Lan, just wait and see. I am going to take a nap; would Young Lady Zhu Lan like to join me?"

"..."

Zhu Lan looked deeply at Mawile; this boy...

Not only was his strength and talent terrifying, but his mind was also very deep, making it completely impossible to guess his One's Own Thoughts.

Perhaps, for Team Rocket itself, recruiting him into the organization was not even a good thing, after all, he is such a dangerous fellow.

Zhu Lan left; although the information obtained was not much, what was important was that Mawile and Caitlin seemed to have joined Team Rocket for ulterior motives?

What exactly do you want to do?

Zhu Lan prepared to talk with Kukui again about searching for Team Rocket; after all, she is the Sinnoh Champion and cannot stay in Alola forever.

If she still could not find Caitlin after some time, she could only helplessly return to Sinnoh.

Another day passed; today, the artificial island of the Aether Paradise welcomed a very special guest.

"Young Lady."

A middle-aged man with a slender build, wearing a colorful research suit and green sunglasses, bowed respectfully to the girl in the white dress.

He was one of the executives of the Aether Foundation, Zoroark.

And standing before Zabobo was Lillie!

That's right; after the heart-to-heart with Mawile last time, Lillie finally made her resolve—she could no longer continue to evade.

As a daughter, she should not be running from her own mother; she must describe One's Own Thoughts to Lusamine face to face.

"Zabobo, is my lord well?"

Yet when the moment arrived, gazing upon this familiar Aether Paradise, Lillie could not help but feel fear in her heart.

"The Chairman has missed you and young Lord Gladion very much. The Chairman has been waiting for you for a long time; please get in the car."

Zabobo replied simply; Lillie was someone he had watched grow up, but as an executive of the Aether Foundation...

... regarding the family matters between Lusamine and Lillie, he certainly should not say anything.

Lillie fell silent, clutched her bag, and got into the car; the car drove toward Lusamine's mansion.

Soon, the car arrived before the mansion; Lillie got out and walked to the front gate.

Gazing at this familiar gate, Lillie slowly raised her hand, but only then did she discover that her right hand was actually trembling slightly.

No, she could not evade any longer!

Lillie bit her lip, took several deep breaths, forcibly suppressed the fear in her heart, and pushed open the gate.

The mansion's decorations had not changed at all; Lillie glanced around, and everything was very familiar—even the people were the same.

Lillie walked inside, and soon her footsteps stopped; she looked at the mature blonde woman sitting on the living room sofa, sipping tea.

"My lord..."

"You're back, my good daughter."

Lusamine's utterly calm voice and gaze made Lillie's body tremble slightly involuntarily.

However, Lillie also keenly noticed that her mother seemed to have undergone some subtle change.

Her complexion appeared more ruddy; her radiant appearance was completely different from the ice-cold temperament of before.

Has my lord been taking some kind of tonic recently?

(End of this chapter)