Pokémon: Trainers Returning from Monster Hunter

Chapter 114: Is the chief scientist of the Dewen team Fire Goose?

night.

With Chef Meow deliberately showing off his skills, Growlithe truly enjoyed a feast.

After dinner, it became Tilley's most loyal fan, following behind her and wagging its curled tail.

Tire Cat is so awesome.

With hands on hips and claws flailing wildly, it kept meowing something about "past grievances all vanishing like smoke."

Sentences that Growlithe doesn't understand.

But don't say it.

This cryptic and mysterious demeanor fooled the naive puppy, who barked incessantly, its tone suggestive.

"Meow."

Tirey gently patted Growlithe's hard head.

Good dog.

"Woof~"

This would be considered having both a cat and a dog, right?

Seeing this, Oreki couldn't help but have this thought.

Then, with a wave of his hand, he took out three super stones from his system inventory.

This was the first time he had ever brought out a Gardevoir Mega Stone in front of Kirlia.

In an instant, Kirlia was drawn to the aura of the Mega Stone and couldn't look away.

"Chiru—"

Just like the look in its eyes when it saw the light of evolution.

"They can actually sense it?"

Oreki handed the exquisite box containing the Gardevoir Mega Stone to Kirlia.

"I was originally planning to give it to you after you evolved, but since you sensed it, I'll give it to you now."

When the box was handed to her, Kirlia realized that this Mega Stone was different from the other two!

There is a ring of fixed layers of similar color around it, with a long pink rope extending from each end.

"strange--"

Kirlian started uttering monosyllables that Oreki couldn't understand.

You seem to like it?

"Try putting it on, hmm—I don't think you'd let me put it on for you, would you?"

Kiruri paused for a moment, thinking that it wouldn't be a problem to do it once in a while.

At this time.

Tire, who was playing with her little sister Growlithe near the door in the living room, keenly sensed the change in atmosphere.

Something is wrong!

There's a hint of infidelity!

Press down on the Growlithe's head, and it will look into the house.

"w（°A{°）w！！"

You little rascal!

Tire's cat eyes flowed with a purple hue.

Come here, you cat!

Immersed in a strange emotion, Kirlia was unaware that a strong feeling of being enveloped suddenly appeared on her body.

The next second, she disappeared from the spot.

When it reappeared, it felt hard to the touch. Looking down, I saw it was Growlithe sniffing around.

Look up again.

Tire Cat was playing with its Super Stone Necklace.

"Chiru!!"

You wretched cat, don't touch my necklace!!

Kirullian vanished instantly.

Seeing that another conflict was about to break out, Oreki quickly snatched the Mega Stone Necklace back from Tirion's claws before Kirlia could react.

Before he could even comfort the two little ones, he caught a glimpse of the little blacksmith quietly climbing onto the table, weighing the small hammer in his hand with ill intent.

He then hurriedly put away the other two super stones.

It's fine to break the Flame Orb, but it would be heartbreaking to knock this thing off.

"All of you, stand at attention!"

Oreki's tone carried a hint of anger.

"Woof!"

The clueless Growlithe was very obedient and was the first to respond to its trainer's command, running up to Oreki and standing proudly.

Upon seeing this.

Tiremy and Kirlia reluctantly walked to stand on either side of it. The little blacksmith looked around and, feeling there was no place for him, simply stood at attention on the table with his hammer.

""

Which trainer could remain angry after seeing this scene?

Anyway, Oreki can't do it.

Shaking his head helplessly, he took out Gardevoir's Mega Stone and another Mega Stone whose ownership was still unknown.

The former was given to Kirullian, while the latter was given to Tiremy.

"Keep them safe."

"Meow?"

Can I use this too?

Tirey was surprised. Having listened to Oreki for so long, even if it wasn't very bright, it had realized that Kirlia could go even further after completing its final evolution.

—This is also one of its headaches.

Everyone else is going through three stages of evolution, but you're making a big difference with this super evolution??

Are you trying to kill me?!

"You're really overthinking it," Oreki said coldly, pouring cold water on the idea. "You can't use this thing."

"Meow!"

Then why are you giving this to me?

Tire Cat angrily threw the pink and yellow Super Stone back again.

You got excited for nothing!

However, after this little incident, it seemed to resign itself to its fate and didn't try to snatch the Mega Stone from Kirlia's hands again.

He could only watch longingly as the other person put on the necklace.

For some reason, Oreki felt like a bunch of "envy" words were floating across Tira's forehead right now—

The next day, Friday, was cloudy.

On the north side of Chimney Hill, near Highway 113, there is a factory with a "Derwin" sign.

It is Dewen's ultra-high temperature materials smelting plant.

Daigo was in charge of relocating the entire company, and he was also the actual person in charge.

However, since he usually disappears to mine, most things are decided internally by the company, except for some crucial decisions that are made online. Afterwards, a report is written and submitted to him for review.

The private helicopter landed safely on the helipad outside the factory, and Oreki and Daigo jumped off one after the other.

The moment I landed, the sweltering heat hit me.

The already damp and rainy weather was even more pronounced near Chimney Hill.

"I'm sorry, Oreki-sensei, for making you come all this way."

"Don't always be so formal."

:

:

Oreki didn't care at all.

The sweltering heat had no effect on him; rather, the fact that he could "travel" for free on a weekday was what made him feel happy.

Because it was a surprise inspection, no employees came out to greet us.

After Daigo passed through the security system by scanning his face, the girl sitting at the front desk in a Devon uniform suddenly stood up and ran to the door.

"Young Master, what brings you here?"

"cough!"

Sensing the strange looks from those around him, Daigo quickly corrected himself.

"Sakura, I've told you so many times, don't call me 'Young Master' at the company, address me by my title."

"Okay, Mr. General Manager."

The girl named Sakura immediately changed her tune, while unconsciously glancing at Oreki.

She recognized the handsome boy.

It was the other party who vindicated the adorable Krillin!

That's right, she's a Bug-type Pokémon enthusiast and also a partial fan of Krillin.

As for why it's only half, it's because she also likes Heracross.

However, with the general manager present, she couldn't be too enthusiastic and had to suppress her excitement.

"Is Fire Goose here?" Daigo asked.

"Yes, I am," Sakura added. "However, the chief said she needs to go underground to survey the lava situation, and she shouldn't be able to come up for a while."

"etc."

Oreki suddenly interrupted.

"What's the name of this chief you're talking about?"

He really didn't expect this. He originally thought he would just go along to find out the cause and borrow the smelting equipment to make weapons.

As a result, Daigo's opening remarks almost made him lose his composure.

Fire goose? ?

Is the Huoyan you mentioned the same person as the one I understand?

"Fire Goose, who applied for the job after the new factory was built, is highly accomplished in lava research and is currently the factory's chief scientist."

After a brief explanation, Daigo asked, "Does the teacher know him?"

"Do you have any photos?"

Daigo didn't answer, but looked at Sakura.

Sakura understood and led the way.

The three walked to the photo wall on the first floor.

Oreki spotted the fire goose at the very top immediately.

"It really is her."

Even though Firebird in the photo wasn't wearing the Lava Team's signature red hoodie, her striking short hair color and her world-weary eyes, which fit her character, were still very distinctive.

However, I must say, Huo Yan's white coat outfit looks strangely ascetic.

It's unclear whether she's a free agent at this point in time, or if she's already joined Team Lava.

If it's the former, that's fine, but if it's the latter, doesn't that mean the Devon factory has already been taken over?

Oreki couldn't help but think of the worst-case scenario.

Yi Huoyan: Boss Chiyansong, I have already infiltrated and become their chief scientist?

Although he had considered the possibility that Team Lava might be behind it.

But I have absolutely no idea how they did it.

So you're telling me the Lava Team is actually inside Devon Corporation?

If that were really the case, it would be so ridiculous!

"So, Oreki-sensei really knows him."

Daigo had an expression that said, "I'm used to this."

He now feels that Oreki is a walking encyclopedia.

There weren't many Pokémons, items, or even humans that he couldn't recognize—

How much do you know about this fire goose?

Since things had come to this, Oreki had no choice but to first ask Daigo about the other party's situation before considering how to treat the symptoms.

"learn?"

Daigo was a little confused. "Don't you know him? Why are you asking yourself?"

Furthermore—ask yourself how much you really know about fire geese—

Daigo's face stiffened for a moment before he honestly replied, "To be honest, I don't know much about Fire Goose. I only know that she has outstanding research abilities and seems uninterested in anything else, focusing all her attention on lava research—"

Oreki turned to Sakura, who was behind him with her head down, fiddling with her fingers, and asked, "Sakura, how much do you know about your leader?"

"?"

Xiaoying was visibly flustered when she was asked a question during the conversation between the two leaders.

"that--"

She looked at Daigo.

Daigo smiled. "It's okay, just tell me."

Having received the young master's approval, Sakura slowly spoke.

"Well, actually, there's a little bit of something the general manager said that's not quite right. It's not that the chief is uninterested in anything, but rather that many things are hard to keep her interested in. She once—"

Once Sakura started talking, she couldn't stop, constantly sharing everything she saw and heard.

When Chief Scientist first joined the company, she was particularly interested in studying lava worms. To this end, she captured more than a dozen lava worms, observed and recorded them every day, but after a month, she released them all back into the wild.

There was also a period when I particularly liked wearing red, to the point that for nearly two months my outfits were all shades of red, and I even dyed my hair red. But after two months, I went back to my original state, not only changing back into a white coat, but also dyeing my hair back to its original color.

until-

"However, the chief seems to have changed a bit in the last six months."

Oreki and Daigo exchanged a glance, then simultaneously looked at Sakura.

Sakura didn't pay much attention and continued talking.

"It must have been around the end of last year when she suddenly issued a rule that no one was allowed to disturb her while she was conducting underground research and surveys. In the past six months, she has kept a low profile, and when we do see her, she is always covered up tightly. It seems that her previous short-lived hobbies have all disappeared."

Finally, she sighed, still feeling a bit unsatisfied.

"Sigh, I wonder what the CEO has been into lately? I'm really curious."

They must be too idle, spending all their time gossiping about the chief scientist's preferences.

Oreki inwardly scoffed but outwardly said, "Thanks, Sakura. Daigo, you know how to get to the underground, right?"

"I understand, shall we set off now?"

"There's no time to lose."

"!"

Almost instinctively, Sakura stepped in front of the two of them.

Then she playfully stuck out her tongue and whistled, pretending nothing had happened.

Sakura, Sakura, what are you doing!

How dare you stop the young master?!

Chief, although I have no idea what you do down there all day, I wish you good luck!

With Daigo's highest authority clearing the way, the two proceeded without hindrance.

During the journey, Daigo couldn't help but ask, "Is there something wrong with this fire goose?"

After hesitating for a moment, Oreki asked, "Do you know Team Magma?"

"Team Lava?"

Daigo frowned and slowly shook his head.

"Tsk, you didn't even know?"

Oreki is now starting to doubt whether the league really knows about Team Magma and Team Ocean.

Since he didn't know what Fire Goose's composition was, Oreki could only give Daigo a basic explanation of Team Magma without making any judgments.

After hearing this, Daigo took a while to process it, and even slowed his pace a little.

"Does the teacher mean that Firegoose is a member of Team Lava?"

"I didn't say that." Oreki was very serious. "I just told you some inside information that I knew. You made that judgment yourself."

"I see."

Daigo continued to ponder and add his own thoughts.

"At the beginning, there were definitely no problems. The company had vetted her before allowing her to manage the factory."

"According to Sakura's observation, she only started acting strangely at the end of last year, so the change happened around that time? Does that mean she's already joined Team Magma?"

Can't help but.

Daigo quickened his pace again.

After the two entered the high-temperature resistant elevator, the scene became very quiet.

Staring at the constantly changing numbers on the elevator, Oreki remained silent for a while before suddenly speaking.

"If possible, how about I handle this first?"

"Hmm? Has the teacher thought of something again?"

"No."

Oreki flashed his signature harmless smile.

"I just wanted to take this opportunity to test the Pokémon's practical combat abilities."

"That's fine, but please don't push yourself too hard, teacher—well, I don't think you'll feel pressured."

Daigo agreed.

Soon, the elevator successfully reached the bottom.

When the elevator doors opened, the expected heat wave did not hit us.

Oreki walked out and looked around.

What came into view was not the exposed rock of the underground cave of the Fuma Dojo, but a pure white, enclosed laboratory filled with various instruments.

The empty laboratory, with its pure white color scheme, looks rather desolate.

As expected of Dewen.

Such a luxurious laboratory can be built underground.

"If the Fire Goose is surveying the lava, it should be deeper outside," Daigo said.

Oreki nodded to show he understood and followed behind him as they walked out.