Chapter 417: Conquering the World

"You have to come again! Baimu!"

Yuko's eyes brimmed with hot tears, holding the listless Meow Meow in her arms.

Cats are creatures that respect their elders and love their young, but grab whoever's in the middle and beat them soundly — cat-type Pokémon are no different. So even though it once won the Hoenn League tournament for Tetsuya, its status at home still ranked below Yuko's.

How pitiful.

Baimu withdrew his pitying gaze from Meow Meow and waved goodbye to Yuko with a smile.

Though the way she addressed him was a bit of a shock, she was still just a young star-chaser — and the key thing was she was obedient; the moment he said he wasn't used to that form of address, she changed it right away.

Far cuter than those rebellious brats who insist on going against you.

After receiving Tetsuya's hospitality.

By now night had fallen deep.

Tetsuya said there were rarely any taxis in the area and insisted on driving him back to New Zi Jin on that electric tricycle.

"..."

Baimu confirmed with Porygon2 that the Pokémon world didn't yet have ride-hailing apps, and reluctantly accepted Tetsuya's kindness. Without any normal means of transport, in a city where riding Pokémon was forbidden, one could only rely on walking.

It couldn't be helped.

"Next year, when my parents come back, I'm planning to travel through the Kalos region."

On the road.

Tetsuya said so: "I heard there's a kind of miraculous power over there that can make my Pokémon go even further. I wonder if you've heard of it."

"Mega Evolution?"

Baimu asked over the wind.

"Right. Currently the four Elite Four of the Hoenn region and the sitting Champion all command this power. If I want to defeat them, this power is indispensable."

"Mm!"

"From what I know, the Hoenn region originally had Mega Evolution too, but I really have no clue how to obtain it. I just happened to be planning to travel to Kalos, so I figured I'd try my luck while traveling."

"Try your luck, huh..."

Baimu recalled that after the XY main story ended, Alain had found a mineral vein in the Frost Cavern with the same composition as Mega Stones, and in the Sun and Moon that followed, both Brock and Misty had gained the ability to Mega Evolve their Pokémon.

Though there might not necessarily be a connection between the two, he ventured a bold guess.

Setting aside Brock, who had already stepped down as a Gym Leader — perhaps Misty's Mega Stone and Key Stone came from the League's excavation and collection of that mineral vein. The League had harvested a large quantity of Mega Stones and Key Stones and distributed them to Gym Leaders like Misty.

Of course, this was only speculation.

But the vein's existence indisputably increased Tetsuya's chances of obtaining a Key Stone and Mega Stones during his travels.

He had to prepare for Mega Evolution becoming "as common as dirt" in a couple of years...

Baimu was thinking this when he suddenly felt his body jerk sharply, and the electric tricycle beneath him made a wide turn and headed off somewhere else.

"Eh? What's going on?"

"... There's a Officer Jenny ahead." Tetsuya's voice suddenly became very guilty.

"..."

He stared at the back of this guy's head and said darkly, "You don't have a tricycle license, do you?"

"I do have one... but it doesn't match the vehicle class." Tetsuya replied weakly.

"What the hell do you mean it doesn't match — if you don't have the right one, don't just ride it!"

"I'm taking the test, I'm taking the test!"

"You—"

Baimu only felt his teeth itch. How was this any different from not having a license at all? And why would the license class not match? Shouldn't you buy a tricycle based on the license class you have at home, or get a license to match the tricycle you have?

This guy's a ghost-riding juvenile delinquent in training!

Fortunately, Tetsuya ultimately managed to deliver him safely to Li Zi Jin. As for whether he'd get caught on the way back... that, he wasn't too sure about. Either way, if he got caught, it might just make the news.

【Shocking! League Tournament Champion Rides "Without a License"! Officer Jenny Strikes with Valor!】

He hoped he wouldn't see that headline tomorrow morning.

Baimu prayed for Tetsuya in his heart, and on the way back to his room he once again ran into Elite Four Queen Boni, who was preparing to head out. But unfortunately, when their eyes met, neither had any intention of stopping to chat — after a mutual nod, they each went their separate ways.

Although the former very much wanted to battle the Elite Four, his condition today really wasn't great. Better to sleep early and prepare for tomorrow's departure.

What he didn't know was.

Boni walked straight out of Li Zi Jin, all the way to a shadowy corner of some park. After surveying her surroundings, she declared in a clear voice:

"What trick are you playing now, Furong?"

"Hee hee hee..."

A shrill, eerie laugh rang out. A pair of creepy red eyes and a mouth stretched to an exaggerated grin slowly emerged from behind her, surrounded by a sinister wind, forming a terrifying ghostly face that made one's hair stand on end.

Boni tilted her head slightly; the ghostly face was reflected in the corner of her eye, yet her cold, indifferent expression didn't change in the slightest.

"If you keep playing this boring game of hide-and-seek, I'm leaving."

"Don't! Boni, dear~"

The ghostly face suddenly wavered and transformed into a bright, beautiful face, her sea-blue eyes as gorgeous as the finest sapphires.

Immediately after.

A short-haired girl in tropical attire stepped onto the gravel path illuminated by the streetlamp, two large pink flowers tucked into either side of her head, her healthy tanned skin radiating an indescribable vitality.

Without a doubt, this was none other than another of the Hoenn region's Elite Four — Furong, who specialized in Ghost-type, with a towering Dusknoir standing guard behind her like a bodyguard.

She threw herself at Boni, affectionately hugging the latter. "It's been so long! I knew you'd definitely come!"

"You suddenly came to Zi Jin City, and then suddenly called me over to pick you up — what exactly is that for?" Boni, without changing expression, peeled her off.

"There are lots of reasons, you know—"

"Mm?"

"Alright, alright, I'm here to help find a child. Some poor older sister accidentally lost her kid."

"Lost? That sounds like Young Lady Jenny's job, doesn't it?"

"If it were ordinary people and normal Pokémon, then yes, it'd be better left to Young Lady Jenny, but…" Furong's smile remained as a rather strange figure materialized beneath her right palm.

Queen Boni's gaze shifted slightly. "This is…"

—

Hotel room.

All Baimu had long since washed up and gone to bed, idly rubbing Triple Axel the Hydreigon's head while scrolling through his phone.

Professor Kukui had yet to reply to the email.

He wondered what Kukui would think upon seeing Aggron in this state… He recalled the paper on mimicking the move Aromatherapy had been published by him two years ago, so perhaps he hadn't continued that line of research.

After all, the man's main research focus was still the Z-Moves native to the Alola region; inherited moves and egg moves weren't his primary subjects.

Perhaps he ought to seek out other papers specializing in this area…

Practically speaking.

Although Professor Kukui was a household name among players, the Pokémon animation world had no shortage of globally renowned professors unknown to players.

Thinking and thinking, All Baimu gradually drifted off to sleep.

The other Pokémon had likewise settled into their preferred spots; the dim amber bedside lamp cast a soft, warm glow across the modest bedroom.

A hush fell over everything.

Suddenly.

The television in the middle of the living room switched itself on, and the snowing static of its no-signal screen caught Aggron's attention.

"Gugh?"

It lifted its head and stared at the TV in confusion. Among the team, only it and Mawile—the bedroom's "gatekeeper"—ever watched this thing, but ever since Mawile got its new phone yesterday, it hadn't been turned on even once.

What's going on?

Aggron got up and extended its thick, long tail, trying to press the power button.

"Pali!"

A sharp cry rang out beside its ear.

Its vision blurred, and it found that Porygon2 had suddenly appeared, blocking the very tip of its tail, seemingly trying to stop it from turning off the TV.

Meanwhile, Porygon2's gaze was fixed on the glowing snow-screen.

"Pali…"

An eerie atmosphere rose in the living room.

Aggron immediately sensed something was wrong. It whipped its head toward the bedroom, only to find that the space behind it had somehow plunged into pitch darkness. Not only that, but the streetlamp's glow no longer filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows concealed by the long curtains in the living room.

As if, in complete silence, it had slipped out of reality and arrived in some strange place.

"Gugh!"

It didn't panic, but instead looked at Porygon2.

More than itself, it was concerned about its companion who had inexplicably blocked its path and stopped it from turning off the TV. The latter seemed especially focused on the television—the source of all the strangeness.

However.

Porygon2 didn't respond to it, simply staring fixedly at the TV.

Until a figure abruptly appeared within the snow-screen.

This one bore a five-point resemblance to Porygon2, except its lively eyes had become yellow "targets," exuding a strange stiffness, and its "legs" had become "arms."

It gave the feeling of a toy duck transforming into a little duck-headed person.

Porygon-Z!

Aggron knew this one. Its trainer had told it about it before, and even showed it pictures to help with identification.

Why would Porygon-Z appear here?

Could it be… the so-called Prototype that its trainer had mentioned?

The first thing it thought of was this existence its trainer had always had on his mind. It figured only this one would come knocking and do something this strange.

Should it attack?

Would smashing the TV stop Porygon-Z's next move?

Aggron thought for a moment and decided to hold off for now. The other's purpose was still unclear, and more critically, it hadn't figured out what Porygon2 was trying to do.

It watched in silence and saw Porygon-Z actually climb straight out of the television.

The other stared intently at Porygon2 and emitted a string of eerie low-frequency sound waves, as if sending some kind of signal.

【Yù-mián-miu-náng-lóu-yuàn!】

"Pali?"

【Cuàn-ǔ-è-shē-láng?】

"Pali?"

You can't understand it either? Even though you're the same kind of Pokémon…

Aggron was well aware that Porygon2 wasn't communicating with Porygon-Z at all.

And Porygon-Z seemed to realize this too, withdrawing that low-frequency sound wave and switching to a special psychic wave instead.

【Can you understand me now? You haven't grasped this language yet, I see… Looks like you haven't had much contact with the Original either, or rather it deliberately didn't teach you.】

This is…

Telepathy?

Aggron froze, and after checking several times, realized that the voice just now had indeed risen from within its mind. It had heard its trainer mention this situation before, too.

It's a special ability called telepathy.

Very few Pokémon can master it; most are those legendary Pokémon, though of course there are also a small number of ordinary Pokémon that can wield this power.

But honestly, this content — it can't quite figure it out,

Language?

Was that low-frequency sound wave just now actually some kind of language?

This guy doesn't seem to have even looked at it.

Bossgodola quietly retreated backward; it knew full well it definitely couldn't handle this situation on its own, and had to let the trainer handle it.

Must find a way to break through this layer of space.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Porygon2 and Porygon-Z Unit-00 began communicating.

Mainly it was the latter doing the talking.

"Compared to telepathy, I actually lean more toward directly transmitting data — that saves a lot of trouble — but you probably wouldn't accept it either, right? After all, you must have been influenced by Unit-01. It definitely told you that I, Unit-00, wrote a suspicious patch, then blew up the lab and fled."

"Pory?"

"Gugou?"

Porygon2 and Bossgodola were both stunned at once. The matter of Unit-00 had always been relayed to the trainer by Professor Akihabara and his assistant, and they in turn heard it from the trainer — when did it become Unit-01?

Even Porygon2 had never had contact with Unit-01 before; the encounter at the lab during the day was the first time.

"It is Unit-01! Because… Professor Akihabara and his assistant have both had their memories tampered with and been controlled by this guy!"

Unit-00 uttered a string of words that nearly caused both Pokémon's brain capacity to explode.

"I won't say more — those guys are still chasing me — but remember, the words of Unit-01, Professor Akihabara, and his assistant right now cannot be trusted! Don't be deceived by them! These guys want to expand the number of Porygon, and then… rule over humans and the whole world!"

After dropping this cryptic remark,

Unit-00 ignored Porygon2's obstruction and returned to the television, vanishing from sight.

The black "curtain" enveloping the living room dispersed, revealing the room's original appearance; the television also remained black-screened as if it had never been turned on.

However.

Bossgodola and Porygon2 both knew very well that everything that had just happened was no illusion. They turned their heads and were startled to see the bedroom lights blazing brightly, with the trainer and the other companions standing right behind the two of them.

"Are you two alright!"

"Gugou!"

"Pory!"

"That's good." Having received confirmation, All Baimu breathed a sigh of relief, his face solemn as he came between the two. "The Secret Power used inside the house became a separate dimension… what just happened?"

The first to notice something was wrong was Hydreigon; with the keenest perception, it detected an unknown energy fluctuation appearing in the room, followed by Mawile and Blissey.

However, they did not rashly break through the "black curtain" blocking the bedroom door. They first woke the trainer, then confirmed their retreat — that the window was fine — before attempting to break through this thing.

Before they could even act, the black curtain dispersed on its own.

And through the accounts from both Porygon2's and Bossgodola's perspectives, All Baimu learned that Unit-00 had just been here.

But the other's purpose was not to abduct Porygon2, but to issue a warning.

"Professor Akihabara had his memory tampered with — so it's the one being wronged, then…"

All Baimu's expression was somewhat complicated.

What Unit-00 said was neither necessarily true nor necessarily false. After all, Pokémon wanting to conquer the world had appeared in XY — Malamar.

A group of evil Malamar controlled Officer Jenny, attempting to create a system to transform the world, and ultimately, thanks to Ash and the others' efforts, they flew off into the sky in disgrace.

From this, it can be seen that a Pokémon like Porygon-Z intending to control the world is not strange; in essence, it's not much different from artificial intelligence, and the theme of AI rebellion was commonplace in the previous life…

"Hiss! Feels a bit terrifying!"

All Baimu rubbed his arms, realizing he had been dragged into a very troublesome matter.