Who needs a girlfriend when you have Pokémon?

"Haha, young brother Luo Wei, you also study fossils? Then we'll have to have a good chat after we get back to business~"

Chapter Fifty-Six: Ancient Legends

A cheerful, middle-aged male voice reached his ears, and Luo Wei knew without even guessing who it belonged to.

After all, this is the top floor of Devon Corporation's headquarters building. The department manager next to me must have special access privileges to unlock the way upstairs. You could count the people who can get here on one hand.

Luo Wei turned his head, and in front of him stood a middle-aged man dressed in a suit and tie, looking very proper.

Although he was middle-aged, his facial features were still discernible; he must have been a handsome young man in his youth. The middle-aged man gave a rather gentlemanly smile and gestured to the fossils on the wall.

"Young man Luo Wei, do you also study fossils?"

"Ahem, I know a little bit... I guess..."

This statement clearly came out somewhat guiltily, after all, it was far from a matter of knowing a little; it was more like he knew absolutely nothing. Luo Wei was completely clueless about fossils and archaeology, except that he happened to recognize some of the famous fossils in the game.

After all, even in the game, it's a limited-time item that can only be obtained through specific story events, which shows how precious it is...

Speaking of fossils, we must mention another cutting-edge technology in this world: the mysterious technique that can restore fossils to life. It is said to have originated from the Pokémon Fossil Research Center on Cinnabar Island, a research institute founded by "Sabelle".

This Blaine is also a ruthless person. In a sense, he is Mewtwo's father and a tech genius... At the same time, he is also the Gym Leader of Cinnabar Island.

He once had a secret collaboration with the Rockets, but has now "abandoned the shady ways" and become a technical staff member in the league.

In short, putting this part of the plot aside for now, Pokémon fossils are very precious items. Even in the hands of President Zvoich, these are considered quite prized collections. So when he saw that Rowe seemed to have some knowledge of fossils, he immediately gained a lot of points with him.

At that moment, the middle-aged gentleman chatted with Luo Wei for a few minutes with great interest. Apparently, there were still two guests who had not yet arrived, so they would not discuss business for the time being.

Luo Wei could only rack his brains and pour out all the knowledge he had about Pokémon fossils.

Finally, having run out of things to talk about, Luo Wei changed the subject and brought up another topic.

"Speaking of fossils, we're talking about the ancient era. So, what about the legendary Pokémon of the ancient era in the Hoenn region... the legend of the 'Earth God' and the 'Ocean God'..."

"Oh?"

As expected, President Zvuch was immediately drawn to this topic. Ancient Legendary Pokémon, like Mythical Pokémon, are among the most mysterious beings in this world.

If mythical Pokémon are merely naturally occurring "spirits" that can harness the power of nature, then legendary Pokémon are the embodiment of the laws of nature...

Their power is so great that their mere existence can trigger all sorts of incredible phenomena...

For example, the legendary Twin Gods of Time and Space, even if they do nothing, simply existing in the same space, the clash of their powers can cause the collapse of time and space...

Every region has its own legends. Even the remote island of Alola has its own four island gods, as well as the sun and moon gods, who are said to come from another dimension.

In the Hoenn region, the two legendary Pokémon passed down since ancient times are the god of the earth and the god of the sea...

"This land beneath our feet was created by the power of the two gods. In ancient times, the two gods waged countless wars. In the end, the ancient humans summoned a meteor from beyond the sky through prayer. With the power descending from the meteor, they quelled the anger of the two gods and caused them to slumber underground..."

The place of prayer that quelled the conflict between the two gods later became the final resting place for Pokémon in the Hoenn region. Therefore, that land is called "Mount Sending Off Gods," meaning "the place where the gods rest in peace."

...and the ancient people who quelled the two gods with the power of meteors were thereafter known as the "Meteor People".

"It is said that the Meteor People obtained a special power from meteors, which allows Pokémon to 'change their form' for a short time. They call this power 'evolution beyond evolution'..."

These stories can be considered myths passed down in the Hoenn region since ancient times. Almost every resident of this land has heard of them.

However, there are too many unclear details, such as the most important point...

...Do the Meteor People really exist? After all, there are no descendants of the Meteor People in the world now.

Furthermore, what was the power that allowed the Meteor Dwellers to quell the wrath of the two gods? There has been no specific description of this power since then; what has been passed down are only vague accounts.

"So, Brother Rowe is also interested in these ancient legends?"

President Zvoich seemed to be implying something, and Lowe immediately nodded seriously.

"Yes, to be honest, I'm very interested. If I have the chance, I'd like to explore the secrets behind it..."

"Haha, then maybe there really is a chance..."

As President Zvoich was speaking, another elevator notification sounded, and he immediately stopped talking.

"Oh, it seems the other two guests have arrived."

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Du Juan and the elderly Hachi appeared together. It seemed that they were the other two guests invited by President Zvoich.

In this way, everyone was present.

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Du Juan..."

President Zvoich gave Du Juan an elegant nod and bow, while Du Juan, wearing glasses and a uniform, had already transformed into a teacher.

Speaking of hard work, it is indeed quite hard work. After all, she has to take care of the dojo while also dealing with a major event in the mining area. However, Du Juan remains relatively calm.

"It's nothing, just part of my job. Let's get down to business; I have a lot of things to take care of..."

"Okay, then please..."

Seeing that Du Juan said that saved them from some boring pleasantries, and everyone present seemed to have no objections, so they immediately went to President Zvoich's office and sat down.

Unlike the corridor outside, which was decorated like a high-end hotel, the office was quite normal, looking like a proper CEO's office. After settling down in the reception room, they got down to business.

"I've already compiled and sent the information about Team Lava and Team Ocean to the League. To be honest, I don't know why they were interested in 'that' thing..."

After all this talk, it seems no one has mentioned what "that" actually is—the project that Devon Corporation and Kusnogi Shipyard are working on together.

Seeing that everyone present was involved, President Zvoich finally stopped keeping him in suspense and spoke frankly.

"...The latest submarine engine, developed through a collaboration between our Devon Corporation and the Kusnogi Shipyard, boasts performance more than three times that of the older models currently in service. Combined with the new hull designed by the Kusnogi Shipyard, this time, we can finally explore places on this land that have never been explored before."

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Because I've Read the Script

The new project jointly developed by Kusnogi Shipyard and Devon is the latest model of submarine engine. With this new submarine, which is said to have more than three times the performance of the old model, it will be able to explore deep-sea areas that have never been explored before.

Kusnogi Shipyard itself is a stakeholder; building submarines is part of its job as a shipyard, while Devon Corporation's assistance with the project is purely due to President Zvoich's personal reasons.

Because the ocean is the origin of life, there must be many mysteries about the evolution of life in the ocean. For President Zvoich, who is fond of fossils and ancient culture, the deep sea is a place full of romance and mystery.

Therefore, it's not surprising that he would fund this project.

The Alliance did provide assistance in this matter, as they were also very interested in the conditions in the deep sea. After all, once people are well-fed and watered, they want to explore more of the unknown, and human civilization is built upon the exploration of the unknown.

So here's the question: if we're assuming this is for scientific research purposes, why are the Ocean Team and the Lava Team fighting over it?

This is puzzling. What exactly is it that attracts them from the depths of the sea?

“Uh, beneath the deep sea…” Just as the scene fell silent, Luo Wei suddenly broke the silence, “If you’re talking about the biggest secret sleeping beneath this land, isn’t it the God of the Earth and the God of the Sea?”

"what?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned for a moment.

However, since Lowe had just discussed a similar topic with President Zvoich, his idea here wasn't too outlandish, but the idea itself was unbelievable.

Because the legends about the two gods of the earth and the sea are, after all, just legends, and frankly, whether they are true or not is debatable. It's like someone telling you that their purpose in going to the moon is to see if there is a moon rabbit and Chang'e there.

If you insist on saying whether this idea has any logic, it does seem to have a slight logic, but most ordinary people would definitely not think in this direction.

If we hadn't just talked about this, President Zvoich's first reaction would probably have been the same as Du Juan's and Old Man Hachi's: just one word...

……ah?

After the initial shock, everyone had to seriously consider whether this was even possible. After all, as mentioned before, the Pokémon world is a utopian world with no shortage of productivity, and most villains wouldn't cause trouble just for survival.

Since everyone has enough to eat, wear, and use, many reasons for committing crimes are not valid. Therefore, if someone really wants to cause trouble, they usually target areas that are "beyond human capabilities."

Therefore, when human power is insufficient, we need to rely on the power of "gods (legendary Pokémon)"!

Thinking about it this way, it seems that this seemingly absurd reason is actually the most reasonable.

"Could it be that they really are going underground to find the legendary sealed twin gods?"

Du Juan raised her head, her eyes filled with disbelief, as if she wanted to ask "why?"

Why would anyone want to destroy the hard-won peace for such a ridiculous reason?

If this were true, she instantly felt a strong sense of powerlessness, the source of which was her inability to understand human nature.

She is a teacher and a dojo master. As a high-achieving young lady, she is too focused on rational thinking. This rational thinking makes it unacceptable for her to do something like this just because of an ancient legend that is neither true nor false.

"We cannot rule out... such a possibility..."

However, in the end, even the model student could only bite her lip and squeeze out these words through gritted teeth with a dark face, showing that she truly hated Team Lava and Team Ocean for causing trouble for such reasons.

“I will inform the Alliance of this possibility and consider it as an important clue. Thank you, Rowe, you have provided… a… very meaningful conjecture…”

...No, I've read the script!

To be honest, if he hadn't read the script, Lo Wei wouldn't have dared to make such a hypothesis, because it's just too far-fetched.

"To be honest, I don't understand either..."

Rowe glanced at his side. Masked Meow was still clinging to him like a little girlfriend, while Kirlia, now the size of a young girl, was also taking over Rowe's other hand.

"...For me, the best life is one where I can live with my Pokémon partners, challenge powerful enemies together, and grow stronger together!"

This is not just empty talk. Luo Wei, who once died from overwork as a corporate slave, genuinely feels that his current life is like a dream come true.

Even on such a good day, some people still want to cause trouble.

"Yes, if everyone in the world had this idea, the world would be at peace long ago..."

"Haha, it would be so boring if everyone in the world thought the same way. But, while we don't expect everyone to think the same way, at least 'not causing trouble for others' is a basic requirement..."

Upon hearing this, Masked Meow nodded in agreement, then glanced at Kirlia, as if to say, "Did you hear me? Don't cause trouble for me and Rowley, meow!"

Kirlian, of course, chose to ignore it decisively, instead snuggling affectionately against Rowe's arm, her thoughts flowing through her mind.

He's so considerate of everyone; he truly deserves to be the man I chose!

Ralts chose Rowe because she thought he was a kind and gentle person, and now Kirlia is even more certain that she made the right choice.

They have such a good relationship...

These were the thoughts of the others present, but they also didn't see anything wrong with it; Pokémon and their trainers should have a close and intimate relationship.

Rather, it is precisely because of this that one can become a powerful trainer...