Elf: Who told him to be an investigator!

Chapter 340 O'Rei: Don't come any closer!

The word "Replay" was displayed in the upper left corner of the TV screen.

The footage shows journalists reporting on an accident.

This accident occurred on Route 18, which is adjacent to Honglian Town and separated from Zhenxin Town by an entire sea area.

"...The entire road surface was swept up in a black storm that seemed to materialize! It was even difficult to stand up; only something as large and heavy as Snorlax could escape being blown away!"

"The wild Pokémon inhabiting Route 18 were alerted when the storm started and left. Even so, several Rattatas can still be seen struggling, caught in the black storm!"

"The Water-type Pokémon in the nearby waters are fleeing in panic, but strangely enough, Starmie, which is used to hiding deep in the sea, is rarely seen surfacing!"

"Ah! Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen! This lighthouse, which has stood on Highway 18 for seventy years, is about to collapse in the storm!"

"We don't know who caused this destruction! However, we've seen clues about the culprit in the still-intact security cameras at the scene!"

Next, the TV screen changed to show footage from the camera that the reporter had mentioned earlier.

Perhaps because of the black storm, the image is blurry, but you can still see that at the beginning of the storm, a blurry black humanoid Pokémon appeared.

Stop here.

The television replay paused.

In a room at Professor Oak's lab, Wataru, upon hearing this, looked at Sawaki, who had suggested pausing, and asked, "What did you discover?"

Ze Shu said calmly, "I know this Pokémon."

"How come you recognize Ze Shu?" Higana looked at Ze Shu, then stared intently at the blurry black figure on the television. "I don't recognize him at all! Am I, Queen Higana, some kind of idiot?"

Ze Shu: "That's right."

Higanbana: "???"

She glared angrily at Ze Shu.

Watari frowned and asked, "What exactly is it?"

Zeshu said, "It's Mewtwo, the so-called 'most powerful' Pokémon that Team Rocket created through their genetic experiments. A week ago, on the beach at Twin Islands, it tore off Blaine's arm and ran away—Bleach fainted from the pain and is still lying there."

Upon hearing this, Higanbana's eyes widened even further as she stared at Zeki: "You're saying this black guy is that 'orphan' Mewtwo?!"

"How is this possible?!"

Her face was filled with disbelief as she pointed intently at the black figure on the TV screen. "Ze Shu, open your eyes wide and look! It's black! But Mewtwo on that beach is pink, just like Mew!"

"Although they look the same, since they're all human-like, Zeju, tell me—why does a Pokémon suddenly change color? And it has a golden, armor-like thing on its shoulder, while Mewtwo doesn't have that bulge on its shoulder!"

Ze Shu: "Why doesn't it change color? Xi Jiana, you're still too naive."

Higana's eyes widened: "How could it possibly change color! Prove it to me! Then I'll admit I'm just a ignorant Queen Higana!"

"Prove it then." Ze Shu smiled, then walked to the window and waved outside, "Little Lugia, come and perform for us, you know, that one."

"Waaah?"

The little Lugia, who was playing outside, trotted in through the window. Upon hearing Ze Shu's request, it blinked its eyes and then let out a loud whimper.

Almost instantly, its fair, snow-white skin turned a deep black as if melting away, and its originally innocent eyes turned a dark red that made it look dangerous at first glance.

"Huh?!"

Higana stared wide-eyed at the dramatic change in little Lugia.

"Little Lugia can do that?! How come I didn't know?!"

She really is ignorant!

Watari stood up abruptly: "What's this?"

Zeshu said, "This is its dark form; a normal Lugia doesn't have this ability to 'turn black.' The reason it became like this, well, it's a combination of various coincidences, hard to explain in a short time. But I remember, I told you about something like 'Dark Pokémon.'"

"Yes," Wataru replied, "I know your shojiro soldier."

Ze Shu: "It's that kind of thing."

"So you mean this is Mewtwo, but—" Lance pointed to the black figure on the TV, then looked back at the dark form of Lugia, "it also turned into this form, this dark form?"

Zeki: "Yes. Perhaps it should be called: Dark Mewtwo."

"We don't know if legendary Pokémon, after transforming into their dark forms, are able to avoid losing their sanity like Gryphon did. At least, my Lugia didn't lose its sanity, and the dark Mewtwo in the picture didn't either."

"It quickly stirred up a storm on Route 18 and then quickly left, the whole process taking no more than ten minutes, so much so that the League didn't even have time to react, which clearly indicates that it had a purpose."

Ze Shu slowly began to speak.

Watari asked, "What do you think the purpose is?"

Ze Shu said, "The goal is probably the Dark Resonance Stones. Or rather, to collect the Dark Resonance Stones. It's those two things."

He looked at the small insurance policy on the table in the room, on which lay two jet-black Resonance Stones in a velvet cloth—one that Professor Oak originally had; and the other that was found on the beach of Twin Islands.

"The route of the Dark Resonance Stone branch is very regular, following the same flight path as Lugia's mother. These 18..."

Road No. 1 is clearly the area between Fuchsia City and Twin Islands, which happens to be the distribution area of ​​the Dark Resonance Stone.

"We haven't fully understood the function of this Dark Resonance Stone yet, but there's no doubt that it's one way to transform a Pokémon into a Dark Pokémon. Mewtwo's transformation into this form is highly likely related to this Dark Resonance Stone."

"At the same time, it is also highly likely to be related to the mysterious girl 'Ann' who was abducted by Mewtwo."

"You're right." Du frowned. "But now..."

'

Before he could finish speaking, coincidentally, the tightly closed door to the room opened, and Professor Oak burst in: "I've found out! The origin of that girl—Ann!"

Before anyone else could ask a question, Professor Oak immediately gave the answer.

"She comes from the Kentie region I mentioned before!"

"Based on the clues you recalled—the 'Kun' character in red, green, and blue on the woven bag that girl was carrying—I've found the specific information! It's confirmed that she's from the Kentei region!"

"Because the Ironclad region is far from the mainstream areas and is not under the jurisdiction of the Alliance, several organizations have spontaneously formed there. Among them, three organizations are: the Red Alliance, the Green Alliance, and the Blue Alliance."

"The Kentei region reveres its fighting culture. These spontaneously formed alliances are now competing against each other due to a large-scale fighting tournament popular in the Kentei region. However, they also sometimes unite. This woven bag with the tricolor logo may be a commemorative item jointly printed by these three alliances during the tournament. Because the character 'Kun' is the logo of that large-scale fighting tournament in the Kentei region!"

Professor Oak had been talking for a long time and was now catching his breath.

"Professor Oak, your research is so accurate!" Higanbana exclaimed, "Wow! You're amazing!"

Professor Oak chuckled and scratched his head: "Don't underestimate me..."

'

Higanbana: "But Professor Oak, the information you found doesn't seem to be of much use to the situation!"

"Uh..." Professor Oak's hand, which was scratching his head, froze.

"No, it's still useful. At least we have a lead in the Ironclad region," Lance said. "However, our top priority right now is to find this Dark Mewtwo before Team Rocket finds and captures it."

"Rockets' star player, Giovanni..."

Recalling the truth he had previously learned, Watari's eyes also showed lingering fear.

He simply couldn't believe it: Giovanni, the "Earth Master," a figure of immense influence in the righteous path, who had selflessly shared his life's experience in the secret manual "The Secrets of the Earth," and was practically an idol to all Ground-type Trainers, renowned for his magnanimity and hailed as a master...

He's actually the leader of Team Rocket, the evil organization in the Kanto and Johto regions!

The Rockets' evil reputation is well-known throughout the Kanto and Johto regions.

If even Sakaki can become the leader of an evil organization, Wataru can't even imagine what innocent people are left in the Kanto region!

Surely it couldn't be the Cerulean sisters from the Cerulean Dojo, who specialize in water performances, could it?!

They went to investigate the situation at Cerulean Cave, and were completely wiped out by a Team Rocket soldier on the roadside!

"So how do we find that Dark Mewtwo?"

This is a new problem.

Du looked at the Dark Resonance Stone on the table.

"Since Zeju said Mewtwo's goal is to collect this Dark Resonance Stone, then, should we wait and see? Although it's a passive approach, it's the only method I can think of right now."

But then, Lance concentrated all his energy and waited patiently for several days, but Dark Mewtwo didn't make a sound at all. In fact, there was no news of Dark Mewtwo in the entire Kanto region, or even the entire world.

Where did it hide?!

"This can't go on!" Watari said.

Ze Shu proposed another solution.

"You mean... the Ore region?"

"Yes, the Ore region."

Ze Shu slowly explained.

"The Orei region is a remote and undeveloped area, not under the jurisdiction of the Pokémon League. There aren't even any wild Pokémon inhabiting it; it's practically a dumping ground for stolen Pokémon by Pokémon hunters. And in this chaotic region, there are many evil organizations, including not only the Retrieval Team but also the Shadow Organization that creates Dark Pokémon."

"Coincidentally, I once captured a few low-level members of the Shadow Organization from the Orei region in Petalburg Woods in the Hoenn region. Yesterday, I went to 'greet' them and learned some details from them."

"After the Dark Pokémon are created, although their appearance is no different from normal Pokémon—Lugia and Mewtwo are special—a kind of aura is born within them: a dark aura."

"The unique move of the Dark Pokémon—Dark Rush—is driven by this aura."

"The storm that Mewtwo caused on Route 18 with its psychic powers was also stained black by this aura."

"Furthermore, the Shadow Organization has specialized aura detectors that can identify and even track dark Pokémon possessing a dark aura."

"I think we can rely on this search device to actively track Dark Mewtwo."

Du was deep in thought.

Ze Shu patted him on the shoulder and continued, "So, you can continue to wait for this Dark Resonance Stone. I'm going to the Orei region, wipe out the Shadow Organization, get a Searcher, and then come back to find Dark Mewtwo. Contact me immediately if anything happens."

"Yeah, let's hope the Rockets don't completely dominate us."

渡：

Please, when has he ever been completely outmatched by the Rockets?

Even if the Rockets' leader is revealed to be Giovanni, the Earth King, but... but... but...

Flying types are immune to ground types!

After a long pause, Du nodded earnestly.

"Alright. You may go!"

An island stands on the turbulent sea.

This is the new island base that Team Rocket built specifically for Mewtwo.

Now, in the base, Sakaki stares at the broken petri dish in front of him, lost in thought.

"Cough, cough!" He suddenly coughed a few times.

"Sakaki-sama...

'

The newly arrived Makoto quickly handed over a handkerchief.

Giovanni took it, without wiping his mouth, and simply asked, "Any news about Mewtwo?"

Upon hearing this, Masahiro perked up, his eyes, usually filled with dark circles, widened, and he exclaimed loudly, "Yes! This time it's here!"

She had come here specifically to report to Sakaki.

"We've identified the form of Mewtwo that caused trouble on Route 18! We've reviewed a lot of information, but only the Dark Pokémon created by the Shadow Organization in the Orei region fits the requirements for Mewtwo's form—although Mewtwo's Dark Pokémon form differs from the normal one!"

"Having confirmed this lead, we investigated the Shadow Organization in the Orei region. Because the Orei region is a dumping ground for captured Pokémon, and Lance, who was in charge of this contact, wasn't arrested by that investigator, we were able to uncover a lot of information!"

At this point, Zhenniao subconsciously pursed his lips.

The Rockets' power is not as strong as it used to be; that investigator has arrested far too many of their officers.

So, she subconsciously said with a hint of relief, "The Lance officer hasn't been arrested by that investigator yet."

This sentence.

Seeing that Lady Sakaki did not show any emotion, Makoto paused for a moment and then continued to earnestly recount a lot of information that she and her subordinates had investigated.

"In summary, based on my previous investigation, the Shadow Organization equips its meritorious subordinates with aura detectors." They should be able to track the dark aura emanating from Dark Pokémon.

"Then our best course of action is naturally..."

"Go to Orei," Sakaki said.

"But the Rockets are missing a lot of key personnel, so their fighting strength..." Masahiro said worriedly.

"Heh." Sakaki chuckled coldly, the meaning of which was unclear. "Even if we've lost quite a few officers, we're not someone that can only run rampant in small places. We can't be stopped."