Pokémon: My Parallel World Daughters Revealed

The scene changed.

Alola, Melemele Island, Pokémon School.

It had already been exactly three days since Elaria enrolled.

In those three days, she had become the class’s "most popular student" at an astonishing speed.

Not because she was the daughter of the World League Chairman.

Not because she carried a pink Ralts around with her.

But because every day at noon, Hoopa would pop out through its golden ring and perform magic tricks for the entire class.

"Students! Today’s performance is—"

Hoopa stood on the teacher’s podium with both hands raised high.

"The Great Wailord Summoning!"

Every student in the classroom immediately leaned backward in unison.

Several children in the front row had already dragged their chairs half a meter away.

"Just kidding! Wailord is way too big to fit in here!"

Hoopa grinned.

Then it reached into one of its rings and pulled out a still-flopping Magikarp.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Magikarp’s tail repeatedly slapped Hoopa across the face.

Hoopa paid absolutely no attention to it, stuffed Magikarp back through the ring, then pulled out a Vanillite instead.

Vanillite landed on the podium.

It yawned—

Then began spinning around in place.

"Teacher Hoopa is amazing!"

A girl with twin ponytails started clapping.

Hoopa bowed deeply.

"Thank you, thank you!"

"Preview for the next performance— The Great Rayquaza Summoning!"

"Hoopa."

Elaria raised her hand from below the podium.

"Mommy said you’re not allowed to summon Legendary Pokémon inside the classroom."

"All right, all right."

Hoopa floated down from the podium and landed on top of Elaria’s head.

"That’s all for today!"

"Same time tomorrow! Don’t miss it!"

Lillie had been standing by the classroom door the entire time, wearing a complicated expression that seemed caught somewhere between Should I laugh? and Should I be worried?

Only after class ended did she walk over to Elaria.

"Elaria, today’s lunch is curry. Let’s go to the cafeteria together."

"Okay!"

Elaria stood up with Ralts in her arms and followed Lillie toward the cafeteria.

Lillie placed a plate of curry rice in front of Elaria before gently asking—

"Elaria, you’ve been in Alola for a few days now. Have you made any new friends?"

Elaria nodded.

"Yeah!"

"Everyone in class is really nice to me. They share their toys with me, talk with me, and teach me lots of new games."

"But..."

Elaria thought seriously for a moment.

"I still think about Big Sister Ruri a lot."

"Ruri?"

Lillie paused.

"Is she a friend you made before coming to Alola?"

"Mm!"

Elaria nodded vigorously, her golden eyes immediately lighting up.

"Big Sister Ruri has so, so many rocks at her house!"

"Every time I go over to play, she picks out the prettiest one and gives it to me."

As she spoke, Elaria reached into her pocket and pulled out a golden stone about the size of her thumb.

She held it up in front of Lillie.

"Look!"

"This is the birthday present she gave me."

"This stone is exactly the same color as my eyes."

Lillie accepted the stone and held it up toward the sunlight coming through the window.

Light passed through the translucent crystal and shattered into several tiny rainbows, spilling across the dining table like a miniature palette of overturned paint.

Lillie handed the stone back to Elaria, a hint of emotion entering her voice.

"You two must be very close."

"Having a friend you’ve known since childhood is something very precious."

Elaria carefully tucked the stone back into her pocket.

"Does Big Sister Lillie not have any good friends?"

Lillie thought about it.

"Of course I do."

"I have lots of friends—Mallow, Lana, Sophocles, Kiawe, Ash..."

"They’re all very important friends to me."

"Wow! That many?!"

Elaria immediately became interested.

"I want to meet Big Sister Lillie’s friends too!"

"Of course."

Lillie smiled.

"They might be busy with work, though. Let me call and ask first."

Lillie found Lana’s number and called her.

The phone rang seven or eight times before someone finally answered.

The roaring sound of wind and crashing waves could be heard in the background, with Lana’s voice mixed in between them.

"Hello? Lillie?"

Lillie moved the phone half an inch away from her ear.

"Lana, are you free this afternoon? I want to bring a friend to Akala Island to see you!"

"Of course I’m free! It’s just that right now I’m—"

"Wait!"

"Something bit! I’ve got another one!!"

"Gotta go!!!"

The call abruptly disconnected amid a tremendous crashing sound.

[VIP Chat Group]

[Lana]: Is that me?! My parallel-world self is about to appear! I wonder if parallel-world me ever successfully managed to fish up Kyogre!

[Crasher Wake]: Oh? Fish up Kyogre, you say? Young lady, you’ve got ambition! How about a fishing competition with me? I’m the Sinnoh region’s fishing champion!

[Lana]: Bring it on! I’m not scared of you!

[Marlon]: Speaking of fishing, we have plenty of skilled anglers in Unova too. How about we all compare techniques sometime?

[Alder]: Young people certainly are energetic. This old man loved fishing when he was younger too, but my back isn’t what it used to be. These days I can only sit on the shore and watch other people fish.

[Blaine]: Hehehe. Fishing is all about one’s state of mind, not technique.

The scene jumped forward.

Akala Island, Brooklet Hill.

Lillie stepped off the boat while holding Elaria’s hand.

Ralts floated along behind Elaria, while Hoopa lay sprawled across the top of her head like a pink-and-gray hat.

"Lana said she’s near the waterfall at the very top."

Lillie pointed toward the mountain path ahead.

"If you get tired, Elaria, tell me. Big Sister can carry you~"

"I’m not tired."

Holding Ralts in her arms, Elaria seriously marched uphill on her little legs.

"Daddy said children need lots of exercise, or they won’t grow tall."

At the uppermost level of Brooklet Hill—

The thunderous roar of the waterfall was almost deafening.

Lana sat on a rock beside the waterfall, gripping a fishing rod in both hands.

The fishing line extended into the deep pool directly beneath the falls.

"Lana!"

Lillie waved.

Lana looked up.

First, she glanced at Lillie.

Then her gaze shifted toward Elaria.

She stared at the little girl for two or three seconds.

Then she asked—

"Lillie, is this your daughter?"

Lillie’s brain completely stopped working for three full seconds.

Then her cheeks rapidly turned bright red.

"N-no, no, no!!!"

"Lana, what are you talking about?!"

"She came from Kalos to study in Alola! I’m just helping take care of her!!"

Lana nodded thoughtfully.

Then she turned toward Elaria and spoke in an exceptionally gentle tone.

"I see. So Lillie is your temporary guardian."

"Round things up a little..."

"And she’s basically your mom."

"LANA!!!"

Elaria hugged Ralts and tilted her head as she watched the scene unfold.

"Big Sister Lillie, your face is really red. You look like a cooked lobster."

Lillie took a deep breath and forcibly calmed herself.

"Little Elaria, Big Sister is fine. It’s just a little hot today."

"So your name is Elaria."

Lana smiled and extended a hand toward her.

"I’m Lana, one of Lillie’s good friends."

"Welcome to Akala Island."

Elaria took Lana’s hand and nodded seriously.

"Hello, Big Sister Lana!"

"Big Sister, were you fishing just now?"

"That’s right."

Lana sat back down on the rock and patted the spot beside her, signaling for Elaria to sit.

"I’m the number-one fishing expert in the entire Alola region."

"Number one?"

Elaria’s eyes lit up.

"Then what’s the strongest Pokémon Big Sister Lana has ever caught while fishing?"

Lana rested her chin on one hand and thought for a moment.

"The strongest one..."

"Probably Kyogre."