Pokémon Detective Case Files.

"Furthermore, before the reconstruction, the Forest Mansion probably didn't have any place that could be used for scientific research, right? But the mansion itself is inseparable from the sealing device. If it was just a short-term research project, and the equipment was moved out of the Forest Mansion after the experiment, why would the prisoner have needed to design a life support device that could run automatically for a hundred years specifically for the Mischievous Raiden?"

"Therefore, I believe that only kidnapping as a criminal motive can best explain everything we are currently witnessing."

"The builder of the mansion's obsession with Arceus can also be seen in the chain-like patterns carved on the entrance of the mansion and in this carefully restored ancient book of poems."

“Even this Cresselian feather might have been an unintentional byproduct of the mansion owner’s investigation of mythological relics and his pursuit of Arceus’s clues. That’s why he would seal it underground with the hostage without any regard for its safety.”

Zhu Lan refuted the accusation in a gentle and detailed manner, while carefully placing the feather on the long table in front of her.

Following this incident, this item will be provided to the Sinnoh League's research institutions for trace sampling, scientific analysis, and data archiving. It may not be returned to Cynthia for further processing by its discoverer for several months.

—This process is not mandatory, but as the champion of the Sinnoh League, she must set an example.

It is said that if you carry this feather with you, it will attract the attention of Cresselia, the original owner of the feather, on the night of the new moon.

However, Cynthia holds a pessimistic view on this—in mythology, there are indeed many stories of Pokémon giving away pieces of their bodies to humans as tokens of goodwill.

However, this crescent feather has clearly been lost for a long time, and the special energy it used for sending and receiving signals should have been completely worn away long ago. Otherwise, the builders of the Forest Mansion would not have trusted it to be used as a consumable item as a sealing tool to put the mischievous Raiden into a slumber.

What kind of guy was that kidnapper from a hundred years ago?

What reason could have driven that person to come up with the crazy idea of ​​using intimidation to summon the gods?

Is it a desire to resurrect the dead? Or a wish to become stronger? Or a desire to transcend the real world? Or a dream of time travel?

No, a god summoned through extortion like this would certainly never grant the wish of the one who makes the wish.

So, does the other party want to conquer the god who created the world, just like trainers capture Pokémon?

Or, like Professor Medan's opposite, are they simply obsessed with proving the existence of gods?

"...No, based on the information we have so far, we cannot be completely certain that the criminal's blackmail target is definitely a god."

Mei Dan, sitting across the long table, pondered for a long time and finally found another basis for rebuttal.

"It's not just mythical creatures that can live for hundreds of years; organizations and institutions formed by humans can do the same."

“Long-lasting institutions can uphold the same ideals through generations and consistently shoulder the responsibilities and ideals left by their predecessors—that’s probably what the prisoner was looking for, which is why he made a threatening statement to a large organization that existed at the time.”

“Unfortunately, such an institution did not exist at the time,” Officer Jenny said with a shrug.

"It will be several more years before the Pokémon League system is introduced to Sinnoh from other regions. By the time the Sinnoh League has taken full control of Sinnoh's affairs, the rumors of the haunted Forest Mansion will have already spread around Hundred City. The timeline doesn't match up at all."

"Didn't the Sinnoh League have any predecessor organizations?"

Hayden, who had founded his own company, immediately pressed for an answer—

"When such large organizations are established, they usually absorb some local small and medium-sized institutions, or they are simply formed by the reorganization of these institutions."

Cynthia pondered for a moment and said, "If we're talking about the predecessor organizations... it should be the faith organizations from Sinnoh's homeland, Team Kongo and Team Pearl. They're the two groups of believers I mentioned earlier who mistook Sinnoh's Grandmaster Arceus for Dialga and Palkia. Most of the records about Hero Pokémon are also from those people's oral traditions."

Miss Officer Jenny looked at the giant, sleeping spirit in the distance—

"Speaking of which, the person who reported Cave King's disappearance to the Sinnoh League was also a descendant of Team Kongo. That clan seems to have always been responsible for protecting the Guardian King. If their ancestors knew that the missing Jaden hadn't regained his freedom but was being secretly imprisoned, they would probably be filled with shame and grief... Wait a minute?"

Halfway through her sentence, the investigator slapped her forehead: "Oh dear, on the other hand, judging from their completely oblivious attitude when reporting to the Alliance, didn't the Kongo Team at the time have absolutely no idea why the Guardian King disappeared?"

"Don't bring out a bunch of evidence in your favor now. It's too unfair in a debate," Director Hayden said discontentedly.

"The duty of those in power is to keep secrets. In Hayden's extreme theory, it means trying every means to deceive the public and ensure that their deception is not exposed."

Officer Jenny shrugged: "As I've said before, information about the descendants of the Guardian King is a matter that needs to be kept confidential. Revealing this information to you here is already me taking a risk and overstepping my authority."

"Alright, alright. Apart from Team Pearl, who has no authority over Cave King, and Team Kongo, who doesn't know the truth about Electrode's disappearance, there was also a research team with the same name as Team Galactic that was very active in the early days of the Sinnoh region's pioneering era. It was a pioneering army composed of people from various regions who explored the Sinnoh region, which was still in ruins at the time, and carried out the most primitive Pokémon research work."

Zhu Lan smoothed things over and continued to recall historical records.

"However, as the expansion progressed and settlements gradually dispersed throughout Sinnoh, the actual power of this Galactic Team gradually crumbled. After all, there were no convenient communication conditions like there are now, and it was impossible for cities far away to report everything to headquarters, leaving the latter, who were unaware of the inside story, to command remotely. In addition, many veterans of the expansion era returned to their original hometowns after their successful retirement, and this expansion team gradually disappeared into the river of history."

"Until later, when that guy Akari dug him out of the ground again, he completely ruined his reputation."

Officer Jenny crossed her arms and added—

"According to the intelligence gathered by the Alliance, that guy is actually a descendant of a former member of Team Galactic."

"If we were to investigate this closely, the descendants of the original Team Galactic should already be scattered throughout the Sinnoh region. Even if Sun is a descendant of those pioneers, it doesn't prove anything."

Zhu Lan said.

"As Professor Medan said, 'Upholding the same ideals through generational changes and consistently shouldering the responsibilities and ideals left by predecessors' is the proof of an organization's existence. From this point of view, Team Galactic from a hundred years ago and Team Galactic, which was destroyed two years ago, are completely unrelated except for their similar names."

"Sigh, then this can't possibly be extortion against Team Galactic either," Professor Medan sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

After eliminating many conditions, only the conclusion about Zhulan best fits all the events that have occurred so far.

One hundred years ago, this experiment attempting to summon the gods overlapped with Professor Medan's experiment one hundred years later, which aimed to prove that the gods did not exist.

The two interfered with each other, and surprisingly, they both met a disastrous end at the same time.

The hostages that the former had painstakingly hidden were rescued, while the latter's meticulously planned counter-evidence experiment was thwarted by an explosion triggered when the former's seal was broken...

Is this a trick of the gods, or a coincidence of fate?

.

"Hmph, it's more accurate to say that the later Galactic Group used this mansion to plan a major scheme."

Officer Jenny couldn't help but grit her teeth whenever Team Galactic was mentioned.

"Yes. In a sense, this explosion, and even the earlier incident of the android being decapitated, were all orchestrated by Pluton, a former executive of the Galactic Group."

The Sinnoh champion bent down and moved an object that had been placed on the ground onto the table.

—It was the android head that she and Officer Jenny found in the underground tunnel.

The head was covered with a gray cloth, so it did not appear creepy under the green light of the crescent feather next to the table.

But after seeing the object of this size and shape, the people in the mansion, who had already experienced a visual shock, immediately understood what it was.

"Is this the android head we found in the attic?" the maid, Zina, asked, mustering her courage.

"That's right. The most authentic way to find out the truth about a case is for the victim to tell the story themselves."

Zhu Lan nodded slightly, then addressed the crowd—

"The human head fell into the basement during the earthquake, and it shouldn't have moved very far. But when we found it, it was at the deepest part of the underground tunnel—which means that someone moved it before we arrived."

“Yes,” Officer Jenny continued, stating the deduction she had made underground—

"The sudden earthquake caught us all off guard. All the humans at the Forest Mansion were on the surface, as were all the Pokémon they were carrying. Under the threat of that terrifying energy, it was impossible for any wild Pokémon from the vicinity to come in on their own. Therefore, apart from Electrode that emerged from the ground, there couldn't be any other creature in the tunnel—except... the one who released Electrode from its seal."

“After that, we soon found Rotom lurking in the shadows nearby.”

The champion continued—

"This Rotom is the Pokémon that originally resided in the body of the android. It was also the poor victim trapped behind the bookshelf in the Gym Leader's room by the Ice-Treading Doll's 'Light Screen' during the noon wall-pounding noise incident."

"When we found this Rotom, it showed some attachment to the human body it had previously inhabited, which is why it secretly picked up the head at the end of the underground tunnel and lingered around it—but I think this may also be related to the nature of Ghost-type Pokémon."

Miss Champion stepped back, as if handing over the space in front of her to the heads on the table.

"In short, although we have made some speculations about the mystery of this incident, it is still more real and credible than the parties involved speaking for themselves. So, let the victim reveal the final answer."

"Preliminary statement—"

Officer Jenny added before giving up her spot.

"The reason we put Rotom back into its original head isn't out of any special sense of ritual or bad taste. It's simply because Rotom, the Cynthia Champion's phone, is unexpectedly unable to translate Pokémon languages ​​in its current state, seemingly due to some kind of reason that mechanical modifications affect language abilities."

"Therefore, we can only temporarily return it to its original head and use the language module originally built into the head to express itself—this module just happens to have a structure similar to the Rotom Compendium, and the Thunder Stone found underground can also provide sufficient electrical energy to this part of the head."

"Such cumbersome steps are unavoidable, Loto. After all, once it becomes a mobile phone, the language module must operate according to mechanical logic. Otherwise, it will conflict with the electronic data recorded on the hardware."

The red Rotom phone beside it floated around noisily.

"There are such restrictions? They're both Rotoms, yet they can't talk to each other," Miss Venetian asked in surprise.

"Logical contradictions are irreconcilable. In automation design, such counterintuitive things sometimes happen."

Professor Medan, who had personally designed androids, explained to his daughter with empathy.

"It's always difficult to have it all. Unlimited computing power and memory can't come without a price. Before we can truly unlock the mysteries of the biological brain, if we want to provide a place for the soul, we either have to outsource everything and temporarily shut down the original biological characteristics, or we have to keep it as it is and stop progressing. This is actually the threshold and boundary between robots and living beings."

"So, Professor Medan, in your opinion as the creator, do the androids you created belong to the side of robots or the side of living beings?"

“Of course it belongs to the mechanical side,” Mei Dan answered without hesitation.

"After all, creating life is not difficult at all. Whether it's humans, Pokémon, or even ordinary plants, they all have the impulse and ability to reproduce and continue their species. Even if we modify the genetic blueprints and create a modified creature like Mewtwo, we are still just dancing in the palm of the creator. What we want to create is a completely different form of life."

"Even if this new life requires a pre-existing life to manipulate it?"

"This is a gradual process. First, it will be driven by humans who have mastered the manipulation skills, then by ordinary people with no experience, and then by Pokémon, which are clearly separated from humans... If there is a next step, we will adopt a set of pre-set operating principles as the soul of the android."

Mei Dan's gaze swept around the long table, searching for the person who was talking to him. He felt that the voice was both strange and familiar.

For some reason, the people around him looked at him with a strange expression.

"Just like the evolution of Pokémon, we will use rigorous trial and error to improve the technology that matches it, and eventually create a new life form with the same performance as humans, but with the completely opposite internal logic... No, wait a minute, are you...?"

The old professor was suddenly terrified, and at the same time, the voice that had been speaking to him rang out again—

"So that's how it is. Two years ago, I became some kind of intermediate trial and error."

The sound came from the android head covered by the gray cloth.

Chapter 299 The Solution - The End of the Mystery

Although the androgynous voice has a mechanical, grainy quality, it is full of human bewilderment, echoing the head's androgynous appearance.

The sound-generating device appeared to have been severely damaged in the previous incident, and the gray cloth covering it made the sound appear to come from different distances, making it difficult to pinpoint its location.

"Ah, that's not what I meant before! I have never thought of looking down on you at all!" Professor Medan hurriedly and frantically gestured.

"When you were in the Binhai City lab, you couldn't speak fluently, right? We thought it was because you hadn't learned human language yet, so why are you like this now..."

“Human language is not difficult for this body to learn. It’s just that I was hostile to you before, so I deliberately pretended to be unable to speak,” the head said.

"Humans who aspire to be creators, don't worry about flaws in your words. For me, the experience of living in a human body for the past two years has not been painful. In fact, upon reflection, it's more about the fun side. It's just that I was misled by preconceived biases."

"What does this mean? Why were you hostile towards Medan and Hayden before?"

Officer Jenny asked a question.

Although it feels a bit impolite to ask someone a question while looking at the back of their head, the bionic head's visual function wasn't activated at that moment, so it didn't really matter to the latter which direction you spoke to it.

"Sigh." Rotom in the human head let out a very human-like sigh.

"The human who found me underground, thank you for letting me overhear your conversation. Although I didn't understand many of the details, I finally understand what kind of event I've been involved in. I feel like the whole world has been turned upside down."

"The world has been turned upside down? What do you mean by that?"

"You guys aren't actually allies of Team Galactic, are you?"

The gray head spoke its deductions as if it were a detective announcing the true culprit of a case.

"Of course not!"

Officer Jenny doesn't understand why, even now, androids are still grappling with such issues.

"This Sinnoh champion and I are sworn enemies of Team Galactic. Although Hayden has connections with various organizations, he is still considered a suspicious and unscrupulous businessman by Team Galactic, who could potentially sabotage them at any time—and in fact, he did just that in the end."

"As for the rest, they are ordinary citizens who have no connection with the Galactic Group. Considering the Galactic Group's intention to destroy the world, they can be considered potential victims of the former's atrocities—no matter how you look at it, they have no connection with the Galactic Group's accomplices."

"That's why I said it's a prejudice caused by preconceived notions, a simple matter of perspective."

"That's what the head said."

If it still had a neck and the motion module was still working, it would probably make a distressed head-shaking motion.

"For you living in human society, this may not be a problem worth worrying about. But for a bionic robot like me, born in a closed laboratory, how to correctly identify information from the outside world is a crucial problem."

"When you moved from the Galactic Group's secret base to Professor Medan's laboratory, you didn't realize that you had switched organizations, did you?"

The champion of Bamboo Orchid said with an expression that said, "I knew it."

"Information gaps are everywhere. Neither Team Galactic nor Hayden Medical employees would specifically explain the current situation of their test subjects—let alone a wild Rotom—or the content of their upcoming experiments. If you look at the whole incident from your perspective, you were merely captured by Team Galactic's secret laboratory in Baidai City along with your companions on the original site of the Forest Mansion, and have been forced to cooperate with their research ever since... Therefore, you are completely unaware of the differences between the two research sites and the researchers."

"How perceptive! They defeated the powerful human who had wielded the giant, mischievous Raibou."

The bionic head praised in a voice that seemed to come from both near and far.

"That's exactly right. When I was still Rotom, I was locked inside this prototype of a human head by a group of people in white lab coats, and lived a life without seeing the light of day. And when the visual sensors of this body were fully loaded and I could see the outside world again, I was still surrounded by a group of human researchers in white lab coats. If I hadn't finally figured out the key to this while you were talking just now, I might never have been able to perceive the difference between the two scenarios in my entire life."

"The android head was perfected in a medical laboratory in Binhai City. At that time, the Rotom had actually broken away from the control of the Galactic Group. Less than a year after this technology transaction was completed, the Galactic Group's underground research facility that produced the head sample was discovered and wiped out by the Alliance, and all the Rotom there were rescued and released."

Hayden, the director who orchestrated the entire transaction, recalled.