In the bedroom which was as spacious as a living room, Qian Ye was leaning on a soft seat with goose down cushions. The little girl in the top hat was sitting on his lap, her two little feet happily swinging in the air.
In her sight, Nancy squatted down on the carpet, stretched out her hands, and warm waves spread out from her palms. The waves passed through Kokodora's body, and the cracks and marks on the armor slowly began to repair.
After a while, Kokodora seemed to be reborn, and her brand new silver-white shell reflected a bright luster. She raised her head and looked at the girl who healed her with a complicated look.
"Kokodora, how do you feel?" Qianye stood up from the soft seat holding the little girl in his arms and walked forward to ask with concern.
Kokodora shook her head, indicating that she was fine, and then she uttered a soft cry: "Koko?"
What about those two guys?
"Ah, Eevee and Kuroko are all staying with Nancy's Pokémon. They're in another room now."
Without saying much, Kokodola just asked about the location of the room and walked out of the bedroom.
The previous defeat was undoubtedly a huge blow to Kokodora. The unwillingness to admit defeat engraved in her bones made her unable to accept such a cowardly defeat. But unwillingness to admit defeat does not mean that you cannot afford to lose. No matter how badly or aggrieved Kokodora was, she would not bother to make excuses for herself.
Qianye was very clear about this, and he was not worried that Kokodora would be devastated after this setback, because even if she was knocked down by an opponent who was much stronger than her, she would only lick her wounds silently, use the shame as motivation to redouble her training, and avenge herself next time.
As a trainer, all Qianye can do is plan a more efficient training plan for her, but before that, he has to fulfill the promise he made before.
Nancy stood up on tiptoe and floated silently in front of him. Her pretty face remained expressionless, and she just stretched out her arms towards him.
Understanding what she meant, Qianye held the little girl in the top hat under her armpits, lifted her up high amidst the other party's cheers, and placed her in Nazhi's arms.
Speaking of which, he still hasn't figured out the identity of this little girl. At first, he thought she was Naz's sister or something like that, but the way the two of them get along has a weird feeling that they don't seem like sisters at all.
One is so cold that he is almost expressionless, while the other is overly cheerful and energetic. These two people with completely different temperaments can be together without any interaction, as if they don't regard each other as "others" at all.
"Big brother, big brother, come and play with me."
The pink little hand waved gently in front of Qianye's eyes, and Nazi's eyes also emitted green light. The open space between them suddenly opened up, and a huge city model slowly rose.
The model was so delicate and lifelike that Qianye could see neatly arranged tables, chairs, beds and stools through the window of any house, and even the decorations on the wall were clearly visible. It was as if the real town was directly scaled here.
The little girl stretched out her hands, giggled, and lifted the roof of the largest and most gorgeous villa in the middle, and all the layout of the room was presented in front of her. It should be the bedroom of the villa. There was a doll that looked like an adult woman lying quietly on the seat. I don't know if it was an illusion, but Qianye seemed to feel that the doll looked at him for a moment.
"This is, Mom." Naz said, with some rare fluctuations in her eyes.
Mom... Is she the doll that represents the mother in the game of pretend play? Although she looks indifferent, she is still a child at heart.
"In that case, I will be the father."
As soon as he said this, Qianye felt that he seemed to have been a little inconsiderate, because after hearing his words, Nazi lowered her head, her eyes were completely covered by her bangs, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
"Ahahaha, you don't have to play this role. The specific way of playing is up to you..."
"Daddy doll, not here."
A whisper sounded. It turned out that there was no puppet to play the role of father. I almost thought that the other party was offended and angry.
In this case... he clasped his palms together, with the palms acting as the body and the extended fingers becoming the head and limbs. The little man made with the hand gesture was stretched out in front of Nancy and swayed, and the "head" nodded under the boy's control.
Qianye wasn't sure if this approach would work, but judging from the way Nancy's eyes suddenly started to flicker, it seemed to be working quite well?
…
Time passed especially quickly while they were playing. An afternoon slipped away unnoticed. The little girl's laughter never stopped. Listening to the pleasant voice that healed the soul, Qianye's mood also became much better.
Nancy did not actively participate in the game. She just watched the interaction between the two quietly. The childish game lasted for several hours, but she did not feel bored at all.
"Time has passed."
As if she suddenly realized something, Naz looked up at the clock on the wall. It was almost half an hour past six o'clock.
"What's wrong?" Qianye asked after noticing the other party's abnormality.
"Well~ I have to go teach the students... Brother Qianye, let's play together next time." The little guy reluctantly put the doll in his hand back to its original position. After waving to Qianye, he was picked up by Nancy and disappeared on the spot with a flash of white light.
Teleportation... It's amazing every time I see it with my own eyes, that humans can actually use super powers.
How did they do that? Is there psychic potential hidden in the human gene pool? Is it a psychic-type offspring born from the combination with a psychic-type humanoid Pokémon?
The long-dormant scholar's soul was awakened, and Qianye even wanted to find Naz right away to learn superpowers and study the principles behind them.
"That child, Nancy, had a lot of fun today."
While he was deep in thought, a woman's voice suddenly rang out in the room which was empty except for Qianye. A chill ran up his back and his hair stood on end instantly.
As I looked around vigilantly, a gentle voice sounded again: "Don't look for me. I'm in the bedroom of the villa."
The bedroom of the villa... He subconsciously looked down at the model below him. Speaking of the villa, the first thing that came to his mind was the building in the center. The roof had been lifted up and had not been covered yet. At the location of the bedroom, a doll of an adult woman was lying there quietly.
"You read it right, it was me who made the sound. I hope I didn't scare you."
You'll only make it more terrifying if you say that! Reluctantly accepting the fact that the person he was talking to was a doll that couldn't even open its mouth, Qianye leaned down with his head close to the ceiling and asked:
"What did you mean by that?"
"Literally. I haven't been so excited to see that kid in a long time... Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Naz's mother. You can just call me aunt."
Mommy, mommy, mommy?! Nancy did say this is a doll of mommy, but doesn't that refer to the role played in the house game? Does the doll of mommy actually mean the "doll" that mommy has become?
"Was it... Nazi who did it?" Qianye asked cautiously. Only a completely unreasonable superpower could turn a living person into this.
The puppet let out a deep sigh: "This is all our fault..."
She began to tell Qianye about Nazi's past.
The Golden Gym is a psychic gym that has been passed down for generations. In order to ensure a high degree of coordination with psychic Pokémon, each successor needs to systematically cultivate psychic abilities. And Nancy is the most gifted person since the gym was founded.
When she was just born, she was able to control the movement of lighter objects through the air. This talent made her parents very happy. In order not to waste this potential, Naz's childhood always stayed in her bedroom, where she was trained to develop super powers day after day.
The parents' efforts paid off, and Nancy's superpowers soon blossomed. But at this time, they discovered a serious fact: they had only focused on their daughter's superpower training for many years but lacked care for her. Nancy, who possessed powerful superpowers, was also feared by her peers and could not find friends.
Under the long loneliness, Nancy closed her heart, her character became more and more weird and inhumane, her parents wanted to make amends, but it was too late. Nancy's superpowers have far surpassed them, her mother was turned into a doll and left behind, and her father had no choice but to escape from the gym.
"That's why the child has become what she is now. Her father and I both have an unshirkable responsibility."
"I think I understand..." Scratching his head, Qianye spent some time to finally sort out the relationship between this family, "But then again, who is the little girl that Nancy has been holding? I don't think you've ever mentioned her."
"That's also Nancy... To be more precise, it's Nancy's separated humanity and innocence. Even if her heart is sealed, she still longs for the company of others, and that's how little Nancy was born."
"That's why I find it incredible. You must have been brought here because you failed in your challenge to the gym, right? Usually, those losers will be turned into puppets like me, and will not be released until Nancy has had enough fun. Usually, after experiencing this, they won't have the courage to challenge again."
It was an apparently gentle voice, but it still sounded terrifying. Qianye recalled that Nancy did use something on herself right after the game, but it seemed to have failed... Could it be that doll-transforming technique?
"Well, the young man named Qianye... can you agree to one of my requests? It's just a request from an ordinary mother who feels guilty and wants to atone for her sins - can you help us heal that child of Nazzi?"
The puppet's voice trembled slightly. The appearance of the boy gave her hope that Nancy would return to normal. No matter what the cost, she would not let this hope slip away.
"Even though you said that, I'm just a Pokémon trainer, not a psychologist or a psychiatrist. I don't even know how to cure Nancy."
"That's easy!" Hearing that the other party was inclined to agree, the puppet's voice suddenly became a little higher. "The child's father and I have discussed the plan to save Nancy before. At present, there are two feasible plans-"
"The first is to defeat Nancy in a Pokémon battle. This child has never lost to anyone in either super powers or battles since she was a child. Her first defeat will definitely arouse strong emotions in her and awaken her humanity. But this child's talent as a trainer is no less than her super powers. The possibility of this plan being realized is too slim."
"As for the second plan, you have achieved results in a sense." The puppet's head did not move, but Qianye could sense that she was looking at him with a burning gaze. In addition to the hope that he could cure her daughter, there was another ambiguous expectation.
"So what exactly is the second plan?" He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he still asked the question.
"That is, let Nancy fall in love with you!"