Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 304 The Solution - The End of Endless Questioning

Chapter 306 The Solution - The End of Endless Questioning

When people encounter things that cannot be understood by common sense, they often neglect to delve deeper into their origins, as if those things that transcend common sense are simply how they should be.

This can actually be considered a form of rationalism.

After all, ignorance always implies courage.

If we cannot regard things beyond our comprehension as part of nature, then when faced with the unknown, we will be helpless and bewildered.

If we insist on getting to the bottom of everything we encounter, it would have been difficult for humans to pick up an apple with peace of mind before they knew about gravity.

Before separating hydrogen and oxygen, the ocean was seen as an indescribable chasm that was refused to be crossed; before summarizing the mass-energy equivalence equation, it was impossible to look up and look directly at the fireball hanging high in the sky; before fully understanding the nature of Pokémon, these strange creatures, it was equally impossible to establish a bond and connection with them. It is conceivable that if this selective disregard were lost, the world would not be the way it is today.

This indifference is also widespread in daily life.

Just like when people in the Sinnoh region see Cynthia Champion shining on the field, they are more willing to discuss questions that extend into the future, such as "how many more enemies will she defeat next", "how many more years can she dominate the League", "will her main Pokémon be replaced", and "can she defeat the legendary Pokémon".

But we always forget to delve into the specifics of how Zhu Lan defeated all her opponents one by one during the ten years she was crowned champion.

How to achieve this extraordinary power step by step.

It was as if that person was born to be the league champion, and his duty was to accept people's challenges.

Even when people who don't know the inside story occasionally discuss these things, they only relish the few key battle comebacks. It's as if winning a few battles can turn you into a powerful trainer.

Those who are less attentive will crudely attribute the source of that strength to simple terms like talent, hard work, and luck, and then forget about the whole issue.

It's as if as long as there's an acceptable answer, the complex proofs between the conditions and the conclusion can be completely ignored.

No one will care about those tedious steps.

People's understanding of mythology has always been like this.

This applies not only to the general public, but also to a significant number of researchers.

Ordinary people are always satisfied with knowing the most superficial information, such as "origin".

As long as an authority provides some explanation for the myths and legends, they will accept it wholeheartedly and regard those explanations as topics of conversation that "only need to be touched upon briefly and not investigated in depth," glancing over them in a superficial and vague manner.

Consequently, the long history that mythical creatures lived through, the joys and sorrows they experienced, and the numerous traces they left behind were all swept aside, ignored, and confused together.

For researchers, facing mythology, which is ethereal and where finding substantial evidence depends entirely on luck, even if they don't have to launch a futile assault on the void like Meidan, they still struggle between belief and doubt.

If one is not careful, one can fall into superstition that is no different from religion, and become an inescapable defender of a certain doctrine or theory rather than science.

This makes one sigh – humans are such creatures that they are so indifferent to asking questions!

Just like those popular mystery novels on the market, the puzzles are often elaborate and extremely bizarre, while the final solution is always condensed into a few thin pages.

If one investigates carefully, there are still countless questions that need to be answered, and the unnatural coincidences and accidents have not been fully solved.

Does the reasoning and questioning end once someone reveals the correct answer?

Where has the chain of evidence supporting the logic gone? Is the truth that people seek merely something so easily obtained? And does the so-called truth truly signify the end of everything?

Those who are deeply dissatisfied with this kind of mindset, or those who are unable to be indifferent to this extent, will become battle experts like Cynthia when they start to take an interest in Pokémon battles; and when they start to study Pokémon and history, they will become mythologists like Cynthia.

Ultimately, mythologists and atheists like Meidan are two sides of the same coin.

Neither side can be completely convinced of the theory they hold until they have obtained conclusive evidence.

The difference lies in the fact that, faced with this inescapable self-doubt, the scholars in the Forest Mansion chose to take a risky approach and make the best of a bad situation, while true mythologists would choose to continue, relentlessly, even if pointlessly, and forever pursue the question.

Just as Medan believed that as long as the computer kept calculating until it displayed a meaningful character, the truth of the theory would be completed in the experiment.

Mythologists also firmly believe that as long as they continue to pursue their questions along a logical path—questioning in ancient documents, in cutting-edge science, in folklore investigations, gaining new knowledge in the process, and then using that new knowledge to raise new questions—until they ask a crucial question that can be answered solely by human reason—the sealed truth, the whole picture of history, the origin of the gods, and the origin of the origin of the gods—all these questions will be completely revealed in an instant.

Therefore, when Zhu Lan, a scholar of mythology, stood before this Western-style mansion nestled deep within the Hundred Generations Forest, she felt more bewilderment than most.

In fact, it was precisely this impulse that led the Sinnoh champion to act almost recklessly the moment he arrived at the mansion.

Roserade was then dispatched, and she used "Iai Slash" to clear away all the trees in front of the gate in one fell swoop.

That's certainly not about the etiquette of knocking on doors. To go that far is more like being rude and vulgar.

The Sinnoh champion did that simply so he could see for himself that the decorative patterns on the door frame, sealed by trees for centuries, were different from the decorative details that could be arbitrarily altered by later generations. The wood grain stone carvings tightly wrapped by vines were the true record of the original appearance of history.

Afterwards, through questioning Manager Aying and Hayden, Zhulan learned the reasons and process behind the renovation of the current Forest Mansion.

But this is still not enough. The observations and information above are not sufficient to truly answer the mysteries of this forest mansion: Who built this mansion? Why is it located in the deepest part of the Hundred Generations Forest? Where did all the other buildings from the same era go?

Why is it that, despite being a two-story mansion, only the attic is designed as a towering spire? And what is the special meaning behind the interlaced spiral patterns on the door frames on the exterior of the building?

And why did this place become a Rotom settlement when the residents of Sinnoh a hundred years ago didn't use electricity? Why did the urban legend of the haunted house originate here?

In modern times, a hundred years from now, if this place is merely a gathering place for wild Rotoms, the Galactic Group, which discovered the secret, only needs to send people to capture them periodically. So why is it necessary to be so careful and record it in the confidential information of the Space Energy Development Project?

What was the reason for the construction of this mansion, which was built a hundred years ago? And who left behind the ancient books that were originally sealed inside the house?

And why is this building surrounded by layers of trees, like a cage?

There are simply too many problems, intertwined like trees in a forest. So much so that even if one wanted to unravel them, it would be impossible to know where to begin.

It was precisely because Zhu Lan, as a mythologist, was unable to thoroughly answer these questions within the limited time that no one knew about her that she found herself in a passive situation fighting against the enormous creature in front of her.

"I should have thought of it sooner—no, I already thought of it, but I just couldn't admit it because of insufficient evidence and my pride."

Zhu Lan murmured to herself in a voice only she could hear, engaging in self-criticism.

With a somber expression, the Sinnoh Champion finally raised his gray eyes and looked at the mysterious Pokémon whose "Explosion" move had been interrupted by Gastrodon's ground-based attack.

There is no Arceus there.

That's for sure.

Officer Jenny and Professor Medan had never truly faced the pressure of a legendary Pokémon, so it was quite normal for them to make a misjudgment for a moment.

After all, under the immense pressure of the impending explosion of energy in the basement, one would indeed feel a sense of déjà vu, as if something were traversing the barriers of the world. Coupled with the dazzling white light emitted when the "Big Bang" technique was charging up, and the atmosphere created by Medan's extremely mysterious experiment, it would naturally lead those people to mistakenly believe that there was some extraordinary creature in front of them.

But under the white light there, no creatures were traversing time and space, because what was about to traverse the barrier was not an enemy, but the humans present themselves.

The so-called "barrier that seems about to be breached" is nothing other than the boundary between life and death.

The experience of dying—this is the true nature of Officer Jenny and others' sense of déjà vu.

It's like the sudden shock you feel before you're almost hit by a truck on the road.

It's just a simple sense of crisis.

Ultimately, if Cynthia hadn't been there, everyone in the Forest Mansion would probably have died from that ancient Pokémon's morning grumpiness.

No, considering that the earliest alliance organization was established a hundred years ago, according to the classification of historians, the other party can at most be considered a modern creature.

"Sea Gastrodon, well done."

Zhu Lan's clear voice echoed throughout the Mori Mansion.

"Using underground tunnels to draw upon the 'power of the earth' is a brilliant move. It seems we don't need to worry about Da Ye's revenge after his rigorous training in the harsh mountains."

To everyone's surprise, just when everyone thought the battle between the Sinnoh Champion and the Mysterious Pokémon was about to begin, Cynthia suddenly relaxed on her own.

As she felt the ground gradually calming down, and after confirming that the Mori Mansion would not collapse further, she appeared surprisingly relaxed.

He jumped directly into the pit leading to the basement.

The battle is over.

Or rather, the battle had to end this way.

Among the Pokémon that jumped out of their Poké Balls at the scene, none had the "Damp" ability to stop the self-destruct move.

Therefore, even if they used moves like "Wide Area Defense" to defend against the attack, they still couldn't escape being buried in the ruins of the Forest Mansion.

Therefore, if you want to interrupt the other party's "big bang", Zhulan only has one way to do it.

That is to defeat the opponent before they can use their moves.

Fortunately, the sea hare managed to do it.

The "Trick Room" effect has been dispelled, and Gastrodon, now at normal speed, happily shakes its head toward its trainer, its two small, horn-like tentacles twitching on its head.

Seeing that the Flower Rock Monster had followed the Bamboo Orchid into the basement, it finally felt relieved enough to remove its dust-covered belly foot from the already unconscious fern-covered enemy.

Inside the basement, the white light emanating from the gathered energy had dissipated, gradually revealing the true identity of the giant Pokémon before them.

That certainly couldn't be a creator god who was summoned by electronic data and thus crossed time and space to arrive.

On the contrary, they should be the elves in this world who are furthest from the image of gods.

"Even for me, this is the first time I've ever seen a Pokémon like you."

The mythologist, observing his unconscious opponent with great interest, wore a curious smile.

"How's the fresh air after a century? The sealed artifact slumbering beneath the Forest Mansion, the King of the Caves, possessing immense power—"What is that thing?!

Officer Jenny, who was peeking out from behind Orchid, broke the silence with a sound.

"Although they look completely different, the feeling is like—it feels like—"

"Naughty Thunder Bomb"

Zhu Lan said directly.

"Back when the Sinnoh region was still known as Greenery, people used wood, jade, and steam engines to make Poké Balls for catching Pokémon. The most common Poké Balls at that time were of this color, which was a combination of ochre and wood—many of those artifacts are still preserved in the Folk Museum in Canaley City. It is likely that before the red and white Poké Balls we know today were created, Thunderbolt and Electrode were modeled after this type of Poké Ball."

This is what is known as regional morphology.

However, the cause of the Pokémon's transformation was not the natural environment of a special region, but the human environment of a hundred years ago.

"So, right at dusk, as I was standing in this basement, making the analogy of 'like a naughty bomb rising from the west,' was there actually such a huge naughty bomb buried right under my feet like a landmine?"

Officer Jenny looked at the round creature that took up half the room, feeling a mix of fear and speechlessness.

"You described it back then as 'a huge, glowing, mischievous lightning bolt,' which is almost exactly the same as the current situation."

Zhu Lan commented, adding insult to injury.

"But you can rest assured, it probably couldn't hear our conversation at the time."

The champion pointed to the end of the basement, the location that Mei Dan had originally used as a monitoring room.

The tables, chairs, and beds there had long since disappeared, leaving only a huge, bottomless pit.

"Do you remember the rumbling sound we heard at the very beginning of the earthquake? There should be a long, abandoned tunnel deeper underground than the basement. The reason the sound lasted so long was because the newly awakened underground tsunami was carving out a path to the outside world."

"what?"

While talking to Officer Jenny, Zhu Lan suddenly gasped in surprise.

"What's wrong?"

Officer Jenny, who had been worried that Naughty Thunderball might suddenly revive and self-destruct again, was suddenly startled.

"This naughty Thunderball, its injuries don't seem as serious as I thought."

Cynthia held her arms and circled the Mischievous Thunderbolt a few times. The Underworld God pondered, "Could it be that its Special Defense is exceptionally strong in this form? No, these scars seem more like some kind of all-around resistance. It wasn't even countered by the 'Earth Power' move!"

"Let's quickly subdue this guy and take him home to study him at our leisure," Officer Jenny said dismissively.

"When it comes to Electrode, it's definitely a pure Electric type. Cynthia, you're not a professional Pokémon doctor, could you be mistaken?"

Mythologists completely ignored the dissenting voices.

"A wooden Poké Ball...not weak to Ground-type moves—ah, and the exterior of this forest mansion! I see, I see, I see!"

"What did you find?" the intelligence investigator asked curiously.

"Different regional forms usually have different types. Typical examples are the regular Fire-type Vulpix and the Alola region's Ice-type Vulpix, or the regular Flying-type Farfetch'd and the Fighting-type Galarian Farfetch'd. Therefore, since this Electrode has such a significant change in appearance, its type is likely to have changed as well."

"Attributes!" Officer Jenny realized.

"Yes. So, based on my guess, this Ancient Sinnoh, or rather, the Emerald form of the Electrode, is Electric/Grass type. It's because it's been sleeping beneath the Forest Mansion that this mansion is enveloped by such lush forests."

The excess electrical energy and vitality were transformed into grass-attribute energy, which in turn catalyzed the growth of the surrounding forest!

The answer was so simple that it was frustrating—why did they only come up with such an obvious conclusion now?

"Furthermore, the massive tremors we felt within the mansion indirectly confirm this. Ordinary Raikou, aside from self-destruct moves, cannot create such a huge commotion from underground. And if it had used 'Big Bang' so early on..."

It didn't have the stamina to self-destruct again upon exiting. Therefore, it's more likely that it used some powerful Grass-type move, shaking the plant roots that were integrated with the mansion's foundation, thus creating that rumbling effect.

While not interested in the new discoveries about the area's morphology, Officer Jenny noticed another oddity: "Sleeping beneath the Forest Mansion? Could it be that this Pokémon has been sleeping beneath the building since before its foundation was even laid?"

"Rather than saying it lies dormant beneath the mansion, it's more accurate to say that someone went to great lengths to build a mansion in this desolate, uninhabited forest so that it could remain dormant."

The champion asserted that this was a conclusion she had deduced long ago.

She stepped over the unconscious Electrode and commanded the Spirit to use the Psychic-type move "Telekinesis" to clear the rubble from the underground laboratory. "Dig a little further back along the wall. Yes, stop when you find something solid, if my reasoning is correct—"

Officer Jenny peeked out: "What are you looking for? Does this mansion have some other structure, like a second basement level?"

"That's not the case," Zhu Lan explained.

"If such a structure existed, Steward Aying and the others would have discovered it long ago when they renovated the mansion. It should be something that, even if the workers saw it, would naturally be considered as part of the original structure."

Guwa?

The Flower Rock Monster let out a confused sound, and green light spots spun aimlessly in its ghostly face, forming an expression of incomprehension—its "telekinesis" had touched something hard.

"This is it." The mythologist snapped his fingers happily.

Before the two of them stood a steel pillar, as thick as a telephone pole, its surface severely corroded, embedded straight into a crack in the wall of the Mori Mansion.

"And here too," Zhu Lan pointed to another damaged section of the wall not far away.

The wall was damaged even more severely. The Rockruff only used a little Dark-type energy, and the things below were immediately revealed.

That was also a huge steel pillar.

It is not the steel bars commonly found in modern building materials, but rather a thick, continuous steel pillar, like a towering tree trunk, which is unimaginable to appear in the cracks of stone.

"Indeed, judging from the length intervals between the pillars, there are nearly a hundred iron pillars like these in the walls of the Mori Mansion."

They extend from the bottomless pit all the way to the spire at the top of the mansion, together forming a huge device specifically designed to draw lightning from the sky to the underground.

"And this is the secret to how this mischievous thunderbolt has survived for over a century, from the distant era of Xicui to the present day."

Looking at the Sinnoh Champion confidently announcing the answer, Officer Jenny was extremely surprised: "Cynthia, did you already know this beforehand?"

"Of course, after all..."

The mythologist said calmly.

"But it's a necessary condition for solving the case of the decapitated android in the Forest Mansion."