Pokémon: Trainers Returning from Monster Hunter

After sorting through the memories in his mind, Oreki's expression turned strange.

"Good heavens, Zhu Lan is actually my childhood sweetheart?!"

Oreki is not from Hoenn; his hometown is Sinnoh, and his parents used to work for Professor Ichigo.

However, it is unknown whether the original owner was born unlucky or what, but during one of his parents' routine archaeological trips, they encountered a rare collapse of a historical site.

Subsequent investigations revealed that the collapse was caused by a Pokémon riot within the ruins.

This is why the original owner hadn't caught any Pokémon in over twenty years—to put it bluntly, he had some PTSD.

After the incident, he was depressed for a long time and eventually chose to leave Sinnoh and go to Padia to study. During this time, all his expenses were covered by Professor Ichigo as compensation.

After some adventures, he gained some fame in the field of historical research and then received an invitation from Dr. Solans.

"I gave you a chance, but you failed miserably!"

Oreki was exasperated; why didn't he stick with a perfectly good rich woman and insist on going out and making his own way in the world?

Looking at the chat history, the two had very few conversations, and each conversation was basically about myths and history.

The only exception was when Zhu Lan shared a photo after winning the championship last year, but I didn't reply!?

Well, we went from childhood sweethearts to research colleagues who only keep in touch occasionally.

No wonder I hadn't thought of it before; wasn't this just a complete stranger?

[Cabbage: Finally, it shows as read. Have you been busy lately? (Ibu puzzled.jpg)]

[Cabbage: I'm not in a hurry, just take a look when you have time.]

"No, which company's chat software has a 'read' function?"

"Okay, it's from Devon Corporation, then it's fine."

Origami wood taps the screen.

[Broken, rotten wood: Wait, I'm thinking.]

"?"

As soon as it was posted, Oreki saw his own ID and almost fainted.

"If you're not unlucky, who is? What a terrible ID."

He quickly changed his name back to his original name, "Oriki".

Then, I clicked on the picture to take a closer look.

As Zhu Lan said, the picture shows a stone slab with many crooked characters engraved on it, which looks very abstract.

[Oriki: Was this unearthed from a site in the Sinnoh region?]

[Cabbage: That's right, it's a relic I just discovered not long ago. Grandma has temporarily named it "Random Relic"]

"So the random ruins were discovered by Zhu Lan? As expected of a champion who is passionate about mythology and history."

Knowing the origin of the stone slab, Zhemu had a clue.

He was deeply impressed by Random Ruins because in the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl anime, Team Galactic found the "Gun Key" in Random Ruins, which was considered one of the more important items.

There is no "Key of the Gun" among the random relics in the game, only a bunch of unknown totems.

But these unknown totems are the key to deciphering the stone slab.

The script used in the Pokémon world today is not the script used on Earth before the time travel, so scholars do not understand the Latin letters represented by the Unknown Totem.

Therefore, if Oreki wasn't a time traveler, no matter how skilled he was at archaeological excavation, he would still have to honestly go to the site to compare and slowly decipher the mystery.

It seems that Zhu Lan was just trying her luck. After all, she is the granddaughter of Dr. Jie Zilan. If even Jie Zilan couldn't decipher the relic tablet, there probably aren't many people in the world who can understand it.

Origami rotated the image ninety degrees based on his memory and writing habits of the Latin alphabet.

"No wonder it seemed so abstract at first glance."

The rest is very simple; just translate the Unknown Totem into Latin letters and then into Pokémon script.

A moment later, Oreki sent the message.

[Oreki: I guess this is a route map, with the path order being top right, bottom left, top right, top left, top left, bottom left...]

He had no intention of hiding anything.

This stone tablet is merely a route map to the depths of the ruins. Even without his deciphering, Dr. Mustard could have enumerated the correct route; it was just a matter of time.

Instead of doing this, you might as well take advantage of the opportunity to make a name for yourself.

Besides the right approach and methods, networking is also crucial for Pokémon breeding.

Power Cubes, TMs, and even Pokémon items all cost money!

The system is temporarily unavailable, so Oreki will have to rely on his own efforts.

He now deeply regrets that he focused so much on grinding monsters and fighting in the New World that he didn't learn any skills like cooking or forging.

However, it can't be entirely blamed on him; after all, the other hunters in the survey team were so professional.

He didn't need to worry about anything; the research team members would produce the food, weapons, and armor as long as he provided the materials.

He only needs to focus on defeating monsters and exploring the new continent.

"Never mind, what's done is done, let's eat first."

Oreki put away his phone and went to the kitchen to prepare some simple dishes for himself and Shin-chan.

At this moment, in Shinwa Town, Sinnoh region, inside a quaint, detached villa.

Cynthia, wearing Eevee pajamas, is giving Milotic a massage in the bathroom. She only asked Oreki for help, so when he read her message again without replying, she started her daily Pokémon massage routine.

"Is this force okay?"

"Crunch~"

Milos nuzzled against Bamboo Orchid affectionately.

Pikachu!

My phone suddenly beeped.

"Sorry, wait a minute."

"Kus."

After wiping her hands, Zhu Lan picked up her phone and then froze.

After a brief moment of thought, three large exclamation marks appeared on her smooth forehead.

!!!

"So that's how it is!!"

As for whether Oreki's interpretation was correct or not, Takeran already had her own judgment.

—This roadmap is very likely real!

Otherwise, there's no way to explain how the other person could accurately pinpoint the location of the ruins even though they'd never been there.

So far, only she and her grandmother have been inside the Random Ruins, and only the two of them and Garchomp know the structure of the first few floors.

Each chamber has four different entrances leading to the next chamber, most of which are dead ends.

The first two routes that Oreki gave were the correct ones to continue forward!

All signs indicate that Oreki truly can read the stone slab!

More importantly, he actually changed his ID and became more talkative!

Zhu Lan's beautiful eyes flashed with surprise.

Does this mean that the other person has moved on from the trauma of their parents' death?

Even if it isn't, it at least shows that the other party is already changing.

"I wonder if he's overcome his fear of Pokémon?"

Zhu Lan muttered to herself as she replied to the message.

[Cabbage: Received! I'll try it tomorrow! (Gible trying.jpg)]

Then she added.

[Cabbage: Hmm... If I'm right, I'll thank you properly! You can also tell me if there's anything you want! (Ibu serious.jpg)]

"This... shouldn't seem too abrupt, right?"

Zhu Lan suddenly looked up and asked.

Milotic tilted its long neck in confusion, "Click, click~"

"Hahaha!"

Cynthia was amused by Milotic's adorable expression. "That's right, we hadn't met when Oreki left Sinnoh, but Garchomp must know."

"roar??"

A roar came from outside the bathroom.

"It's alright! You can rest assured."

"roar…"

"Xin Ye Miao, get up and eat first, then go back to sleep."

Upon feeling his phone vibrate, Oreki didn't check it immediately; instead, he called out towards the living room.

Shin-chan rolled over, landing on its back, rejecting Oreki's request for food.

With no other option, Oreki had to concentrate and try to connect with Shin-chan's mind.

"Get up and eat!"

"Meow!!"

The new Leaf Cat Anjanath form is making a limited-time return.

That ability is so insidious!

……