Chapter 171: The Game

Under Flobo's introduction, Baimu met the reinforcements sent by the International Police.

"Hi, I'm Lei Ou."

A young man with a beige afro, silver sunglasses perched on his nose, a white stripe above his bridge, and a strange blue coat extended his hand.

"Hello, Baimu."

Baimu shook his hand, yet his heart sank into turmoil once more.

Beside him, Flobo smiled as he explained Lei Ou's background: "Let me introduce you—he was once a key member of the Takeover Team many years ago."

"Later, he turned away from darkness, severed ties with the Takeover Team, and successfully crushed the Shadow Team, whose influence once spread across Orel, defeating the former mayor of Silicobee, Eji. Now he's one of the International Police."

Lei Ou!

As someone who had played the Circle Arena series, how could Baimu not know this game's protagonist? But due to the stark differences between his environment and the game, he'd assumed Lei Ou didn't exist.

He hadn't expected Lei Ou to be real—only that the game's timeline was far earlier.

"Ejin is Eji's—"

Baimu turned to Flobo.

"Ejin and Eji are cousins. He inherited Eji's evil assets, restructured the remnants of the Shadow Team, and turned many members into figures who can now walk in the light."

Lei Ou volunteered an explanation for Baimu's confusion: "I came here specifically to resolve the lingering issues of the Shadow Team."

Baimu nodded.

Though he'd suspected it, learning Ejin was truly connected to Eji still surprised him—he'd originally thought Ejin was a parallel world counterpart of Eji…

"Wait! You mean you're here to deal with Ejin's forces?"

He said, startled.

He hadn't realized it at first, but now he saw it clearly—wasn't that exactly what Lei Ou meant? Otherwise, Lei Ou should've gone straight to Silicobee.

"I can't promise it'll be easy. And I'm not alone—my wife Mirei has already led some villagers from Agate Village toward Huang Tie Town. Next, I'll persuade Silver Ape; we had some past connection."

Lei Ou said with a smile.

Mirei! So they ended up together.

Baimu had always suspected they were a couple back when he played the game; now that it was confirmed, he nearly blurted out congratulations.

As for Agate Village…

He knew the village located north of Orel—a rare oasis region, and the only place in the game where a Trainer of the type "Legendary Trainer" resided.

g.

Hearing Lei Ou say this, Agate Village seemed to harbor many powerful Trainers.

"Before Ejin's forces arrive, Lei Ou's presence must remain hidden. For the next few days, you'll have to bear the burden," Flobo seized the moment to assign Baimu's next task.

Namely, guarding the former territory of the Bad Dog Team, preventing any intruders.

"Understood."

Baimu nodded, though he still felt some unease.

Could Lei Ou really eliminate Ejin's forces…? And why had the International Police sent only him and his wife? Why no more personnel? Was Ejin still hiding many residual Dark Pokémon?

Watching Lei Ou converse with Flobo, he couldn't help asking: "By the way, I've never known what kind of power Ejin's forces wield—do they possess technology that Pokémon can't resist?"

Though the Town Mayor's faction held technology far beyond Huang Tie Town's, their main offensive still relied on Pokémon, very much in line with the Pokémon-style emphasis on minimizing weapon destruction.

It was the level of "bombs are inferior to Wave Bombs."

There was no way around it—the Pokémon anime world centered on peace, and large-scale wars hadn't occurred in ages. Without war as a catalyst, the region's technological tree had diverged drastically from his previous life.

Ejin had ruled Orel with impunity for years, rarely facing resistance; Baimu didn't believe he could have catalyzed weapons like tanks or cannons.

"Technology is one aspect," Lei Ou said softly. "The other is a fragmented technique: Dark Pokémon creation."

Baimu's heart lurched.

Sure enough, they were the Shadow Team's Dark Pokémon.

"This technique seals a Pokémon's emotions, turning them into soulless battle machines."

Lei Ou spoke in a low voice: "I destroyed this technique once—but it reappeared shortly after. I destroyed it again… and now Ejin has used it once more."

"To ensure Dark Pokémon never return, saving Orel is imperative," Flobo said seriously.

Baimu's emotions grew complex.

No wonder Liu Ge and the others had always feared Ejin's power.

He couldn't help imagining—if N saw Dark Pokémon, would this savior descend into madness?

Hard to say.

N had once endured Plasma Team's manipulation of Pokémon; seeing this might trigger a similar reaction.

This man had traveled thousands of miles to help; Baimu didn't want this righteous figure—finally understanding his ideal and striving toward the future—to fall into the same dark path as Faldali.

Faldali had developed his apocalyptic mindset through repeated disappointments.

"I need to warn him…"

Walking home, he pondered how to broach the subject with N—his head throbbed.

He only hoped N would understand the inhuman nature of Ejin and his crew.

Yeah.

Strip those scum of their humanity!

But halfway home, Shanren delivered another unexpected message.

"I've made contact with the Devon Corporation in Hoenn."

"Devon…"

"This company has always been Hoenn's leading enterprise, involved in technology, biology, energy, and more—much of Huang Tie Town's ore is exported to its subsidiaries."

"And."

"Then I contacted Zvuchy, the CEO of their headquarters, and informed them of the situation here; they expressed their willingness to assist us."

"Assist... they'll send their employees here to help fight Elder Ejin?"

"Where do you get that idea? I mean technological aid—and the food problem you've been worrying about!"

"Wocao!"

"No swearing! Just wait—you'll soon be enjoying technology from the mainstream regions!"

Shanren said excitedly.

Baimu was also somewhat excited; he knew exactly how powerful Dewen Corporation was.

Coupled with the constant appearance of "acquaintances" these past two days, he truly felt the sense that when one area is in trouble, help comes from all directions.

But.

That emotion quickly faded away.

Baimu returned home and immediately saw N's two older sisters teaching Big Mouth to dress up, with their Pokémon—Sableye and Gothita—beside them.

"Where's N?"

"In the backyard. What's happened?"

"Nothing... wait, something has."

Baimu thought for a moment and decided it might be better to discuss this first with Babena and Helena, letting them tell N.

"Listen to me."

He walked up to the two, picked up the bewildered Big Mouth, and slowly explained the matter of Dark Pokémon.