Chapter 418: Clues to a God-Level Entity

After calming down.

Baimu lowered his head, thinking under the gaze of all the Pokémon.

Zero's words were clearly questionable.

After all, why would it say these things to Polywhirl II? To seek help? To warn?

Or perhaps…

To get Polywhirl II to do something?

It certainly knew of his existence, yet waited until he fell asleep to isolate the entire living room, creating a special space to transmit information to Polywhirl II.

Of course, this behavior could be explained—perhaps it didn't trust him, or was wary of humans.

But would Polywhirl II not report this to him afterward?

Baimu didn't believe Zero, with its telepathic intelligence, could fail to realize this—yet it still chose this unnecessarily convoluted approach.

It was extremely likely that it didn't want to see him.

From this perspective, Zero's actions seemed suspicious, as if deliberately stirring up trouble…

Very likely!

Professor Akiba, fully prepared to capture it, had sent out an army of Polywhirls; Zero, overwhelmed, turned its attention to him.

It wanted to use his power to create difficulties for Professor Akiba, thereby carving out an opportunity to escape.

After all, according to this thing's own words, One wanted to use Professor Akiba's power to spread Polywhirls and make them rule the world—so why obsess over capturing it?

Unless it possessed something crucial to Polywhirls' global domination.

—Suspicious Patch?

He remembered Professor Akiba had sealed it away, citing its instability, and was actively modifying its contents—so far, only Zero and One were Polywhirl Z.

If the Suspicious Patch was currently in Zero's possession, then Professor Akiba's statements became lies meant to conceal the truth.

Many other things also raised questions.

For instance, Trust Level—he had always wondered what its criteria were, what exactly determined it.

But Baimu knew these were merely guesses; he had no evidence whatsoever. Moreover, he shouldn't judge a highly intelligent, telepathic artificial Pokémon by normal human logic.

It wasn't human; applying human reasoning to Zero's actions was incorrect.

【Guesses】 were merely tools in the search for the correct answer…

At that moment.

Baimu, lost in thought, looked up and found the Pokémon—led by Machamp—had not gone to sleep; they crowded into the small bedroom, gazing at him with varied expressions.

Concerned, anxious, serious, confused.

Yet without exception, each bore the look of wanting to speak but fearing to interrupt his thoughts.

His eyelids twitched.

"... That's true. Let's discuss together. One mind has only one thought; many minds will bring more perspectives."

Baimu suddenly realized that understanding the Pokémon's thoughts wasn't difficult for him.

But was it difficult for the Pokémon to understand his thoughts?

He should express his own ideas and intentions to them more often—only then could they truly be partners fighting and growing together. After all, this concerned each and every one of them.

"Grrr!"

"Pari!"

"Happy~"

Upon hearing this, the Pokémon all broke into surprised smiles and nodded in unison.

Regarding Zero.

Their assessment was unanimous—

Do not trust it.

Dragonite even bluntly declared that if it encountered the thing, it would immediately blast its head with Dragon Pulse—deal with it after knocking it down!

Polywhirl II also had no intention of trusting it; though less volatile than Dragonite, it still demanded Zero show proper sincerity.

Not just suddenly appearing to say such things.

To expect trust with just a few words—even if true—Zero was either insulting them or being far too dismissive.

Machamp believed Zero was trying to muddy the waters to escape—exactly as Baimu suspected: sabotaging Professor Akiba.

As for Professor Akiba's issue.

Opinions were divided—some trusted him, some didn't. Surprisingly, Polywhirl II, having been created under Professor Akiba, the one most familiar with him, sided with distrust.

It wasn't because it recalled past events and found him truly suspicious, but because it held a general attitude of skepticism.

Clearly, its heightened intelligence had added a new emotion—distrust.

But Happiny believed his affection for Polywhirls was genuine; no matter how many times she saw Professor Akiba, she could tell he truly loved Polywhirls, with not a trace of falsehood.

Falsehood…

Baimu thought: emotions were rooted in memory; if memory could be altered, perhaps emotions could be manipulated too.

When he shared this idea with Happiny, it froze in place, as if its worldview had shattered, then its expression rapidly twisted with visible distress.

It seemed desperate to speak but didn't know how.

Even Polywhirl II, the professional translator, was at a loss, helplessly watching Happiny grow more frantic, pacing in circles.

Fortunately, Milotic spoke up with fairness.

True emotion isn't so shallow—it's not just in memory, but in deeper, unforgettable aspects, like the body… that's what Milotic said.

Polywhirl II saw Happiny nodding vigorously and exhaled a quiet sigh of relief.

Baimu relaxed too—he didn't want his own words to shatter his Pokémon's mindset.

Moreover, Minas's words do make sense.

Fictional memories remain fictional; no matter how tightly constructed, they will have flaws, and even the most intense emotions will shift once something feels off.

Dr. Akihabara is not intellectually deficient; if the will to promote Multimon has been consistently upheld from start to finish, his thoughts are likely not fabricated.

Baimu couldn't help but feel conflicted.

Then.

He heard Sunflora and Jigglypuff each say something that made him suddenly understand—

This is such a hassle. Let someone else handle it.

Right, didn't we already ask that guy back in Battle Town?

Exactly!

Why am I stressing over this myself? If Dr. Akihabara really has been brainwashed by Unit One and intends to control the world via Multimon, this isn't something I should handle alone!

Hand it over to Young Lady Junsa. Hand it over to the International Police. They're not just sitting around doing nothing.

Why act like Ash and take every problem onto yourself? Are you bored out of your mind?

It's not like you're the only one who can do it.

When did I start feeling so much like "the protagonist"?

"That makes sense!" Baimu excitedly picked up Jigglypuff and kissed its forehead; Jigglypuff, stunned by his sudden gesture, then sneered in annoyance and pinched his cheek, pulling it sideways.

You! What are you doing to a young lady?!

"Sorry, sorry, I got carried away."

Baimu, his face distorted, mumbled as he placed Jigglypuff back on the small sofa in the room, then looked around at his Pokémon.

"Then it's decided! We'll hand this over to the International Police! Any objections?"

The other Pokémon all shook their heads.

Multimon II reminded him that while contacting the International Police, he must avoid Zero's surveillance.

After thinking, Baimu asked: "What do you suggest we do?"

Leave it to me! I'll block its presence—I've already intercepted part of its data stream; next time it appears, I'll detect it!

Multimon II said proudly.

Clearly, it had mentioned that just now to showcase its cyber-security skills.

Seeing this, Baimu could only applaud.

"Impressive, impressive."

Thus, praised, Multimon II became even happier.

In reality, if Zero claims Dr. Akihabara's memories were altered by Unit One, then his brain must retain "traces"—and under the black-tech medical methods of the Pokémon anime world, those traces cannot be hidden.

Even if machines are fooled, psychics will never be fooled.

Handing this over to the International Police is undoubtedly safe.

But I must make it clear to them: don't interfere with Dr. Akihabara's pursuit of Zero. Otherwise, if this guy truly wants to escape, the International Police might end up helping him.

The next day.

Baimu reconnected with the International Police through Leo, arrived at their secret base in New Zi Jin City, and relayed many details about Multimon.

To his surprise, after reviewing the information, they told him that the International Police had been monitoring Dr. Akihabara and Multimon all along.

They had even assigned a dedicated officer to follow up.

"I'll forward Zero's video to the lead investigator. If anything comes up, he'll contact you. Otherwise, just focus on your own safety—don't take on unnecessary responsibilities."

Seeing them say this, a heavy weight lifted from Baimu's heart.

"Understood!"

—

The sun shone brightly.

Relieved of all burdens, Baimu checked out of his room on New Zi Jin Mountain and chose to head to Yin Yu City to welcome his new member rather than stay.

"A new member…"

He remembered catching the Shiny Oddish was already two months ago.

What new companion will the simulator bring him this time?

With a touch of anticipation.

He boarded the high-speed train to Akihabara Town with Jigglypuff, who, as soon as seated, began watching a drama, engrossed in his phone—adorable.

Yesterday, it had discovered a school romance TV series.

It told the story of a country girl, Lickitung, attending an elite academy, meeting four handsome Pokémon of noble birth, interacting with them, and falling in love—

"Pokémon version of Meteor Garden."

The familiarity was so strong that Baimu understood the plot from the synopsis alone, yet he never expected such a Pokémon-starring school romance drama could be so wildly popular—even more so than human-acted ones—and Jigglypuff was utterly hooked.

I don't get it. I don't get it.

He gazed out the window at the scenery rushing past, about to take out some snacks, when his pocket phone suddenly vibrated.

He pulled it out—it was Dr. Kukui's reply.

As expected, the latter had not researched Mimic Herb since publishing that paper, and had never imagined Baimu would use it as a basis to try teaching his Pokémon moves via Mimic Herb.

Regarding what happened to Boldore, Dr. Kukui offered one explanation: 【Sudden Insight】.

Under the effect of Mimic Herb, Boldore was stimulated by Dwebble's demonstration of Double-Edge, like learning a new move in a moment of crisis, and successfully executed it.

Currently, in academic circles, there are two theories about Pokémon moves: one claims they are innate but require specific conditions to "unlock"; the other is the genuine learning theory.

Whether moves come from hard-earned training or sudden recall of skills buried deep in the genome remains a mystery.

Therefore, as long as the physical exam shows no issues, Boldore suddenly learning Double-Edge, while surprising, is not particularly problematic—as long as it doesn't affect its health, all phenomena are normal.

"Precisely because Pokémon are full of mysteries, that's why we scholars must keep studying them... Hmm, that's well said."

Baimu sighed and put away his phone.

New Zi Jin City lies in the center of the Hoenn region, and it's not especially far from Autumn Leaf Town at the northernmost end—no more than two hours by car.

For Gulpin, that's equivalent to two episodes of a TV show.

Hearing the trainer's reminder, it reluctantly placed the phone into the cute bag hanging at its waist; inside, the Poliwhirl flew into Baimu's phone.

How beautiful! I really want to know whether the fangirl will ultimately choose Electabuzz Young Master or Psyduck Young Master!

"Kichidochi!"

Gulpin nodded in agreement.

Baimu said: "Why not Lucario Prince?"

Lucario Prince? Is there such a character? The Poliwhirl inside the phone looked utterly confused—until it spotted Gulpin's disgusted expression through the camera and realized the trainer was just rambling again.

For a moment, it was speechless.

Before it evolved, it hadn't noticed—this trainer is truly mischievous.

"Hahaha."

Baimu laughed as he released Salamence from its Poké Ball and strapped on its saddle, "Let's head back to the Dragon's Nest!"

"Sashou!"

Salamence responded loudly.

As the only means of transportation in the team, it still greatly enjoyed the feeling of carrying the trainer and companions high into the sky—just hoping the new companion wouldn't steal its "job."

Otherwise, it would definitely Haohaodi Sect teach the newcomer how to be a dragon.

On Salamence's back, Gulpin tried again to pull out its phone to watch the drama—but when it realized the howling wind at high altitude made the speaker's sound inaudible, it gave up in frustration.

Seeing this, Baimu said: "Want me to buy you headphones? Though earbuds suitable for you probably aren't common..."

Gulpin understood none of it; it sat properly in the trainer's lap, waiting until they reached the Dragon's Nest so it could find a spot to resume watching.

Not long after.

Meteor Falls loomed ahead.

Seeing this, Baimu opened the simulator and used the Pokémon Clue, selecting a base stat total of 600.

"So which one will it be—Dragonite, Sharpedo, or Flygon?"

He thought—the Dragon's Nest had the most of these three Pokémon, followed by pseudo-legendaries from other regions.

But what he didn't expect was how the clue described it—

【Arrive at Room 1608 on New Zi Jin Mountain before 2:30 AM, hide in the bathtub, and make no sound no matter what noises occur around you】

"Huh? Huh???"