Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

A progress bar pops up on the screen, with a line of text appearing next to it.

[Analyzing...]

"Where's Rotom? I don't see Rotom."

Xiaoxia peeks at the screen.

"It's here."

Zheng Hui patted the computer, the screen flickered, and a blue figure emerged from it.

It was Rotom, wearing small data glasses, with a focused expression.

Type out a paragraph of text.

【LotoLoto~ Comparing data, please do not turn off the power~】

Xiao Zhi stared intently at the rapidly scrolling data stream on the screen.

"Wow, amazing! This...this is the power of technology!"

"Pickup!"

"What's so special about this!" Zheng Hui crossed his arms, his smile widening. "It's just the most basic application!"

"Let me tell you, Carlos's been researching something even more interesting lately: the Rotom Dex!"

"By putting Rotom into the Pokédex, while taking convenience into account, we can make it not only look up information, but also talk, analyze, and interact with trainers."

"Just imagine how convenient a living, talking illustrated guide would be!"

A talking encyclopedia?

Xiao Zhi's eyes lit up.

"Wouldn't that be similar to a cat?"

"...Although I don't know why it's called Meow Meow, you can use this analogy if you want."

Zheng Hui's lips twitched.

"In short, this project is still in the research and development stage. We'll wait until it's fully developed over there—"

He paused, moved closer to Xiaozhi, lowered his voice, and wore an expression that said, "We're like family."

"I'll get one for you."

"Really!"

Xiao Zhi almost jumped up.

"Thank you so much, Brother Zhenghui!"

"Oh, it's nothing! It's all trivial! After all, I'm not the kind of scholar who stays in a small village all the time and is stingy with his juniors! It's just a picture album, a piece of cake!"

Xiao Zhi nodded as if he understood but not quite.

He felt that Zheng Hui's words had a hidden meaning, but he couldn't quite grasp it yet.

"Just wait and see."

Zhenghui patted him on the shoulder and turned to continue directing the excavation work.

......

Over the next few hours, the construction site became lively again.

Perhaps the discovery of that stone slab brought good luck, because the workers unearthed three more objects near the slab.

Two large and one small, three black spheres connected together.

A long, narrow object with pointed ends and a spoon handle attached.

Finally, there is a large clock.

However, compared to the stone slab densely covered with inscriptions, these three things seem... somewhat ordinary.

The workers cleaned them up and registered them, and the whole process was uneventful.

After a busy day, the campsite gradually quieted down after sunset.

As a researcher, Zheng Hui strictly adhered to the eight-hour workday and responded to the alliance's call.

Everyone was full and satisfied.

The workers returned to their tents, and Xiaozhi and his friends squeezed into the makeshift wooden hut that Xiaozhi had built with his own hands.

Before long, snoring filled the air.

Pikachu nestled beside Ash's pillow, its tail gently curled, sleeping soundly.

The hamster is exhausted today.

Ever since Ash told me that my Iron Tail wasn't up to standard, Squirrel has been working on strengthening its tail every day.

The hamster's tail is getting harder and harder!

Everyone was asleep.

Only the Rotom computer was still lit up.

The progress bar on the screen continued to move slowly, and Rotom appeared on the monitor, his data glasses reflecting a faint blue light.

It works quietly, repeatedly comparing, analyzing, and classifying all image information.

All sounds are silent.

Moonlight seeped in through the cracks in the artifact storage room, its silvery rays slowly moving across the floor.

After all, it's supposed to be a cultural relic storage room.

It was actually just a temporary tent with a few protective boxes inside.

The stone slab covered with inscriptions and three artifacts were placed inside, padded with a soft cloth.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the tent, like a gentle hand, softly falling onto the stone slab.

The densely packed words suddenly changed under the caress of the moonlight.

At first, the edge of a symbol trembled slightly.

Then the second, the third... hundreds and thousands of symbols seemed to be infused with life, beginning to flow, wander, and leap on the surface of the stone slab.

In the end, all that remained of the stone slab were some hieroglyphs.

The other characters rose from the stone slab, each emitting a faint blue light, arranging and rotating in mid-air.

[Anomaly! Anomaly! A major anomaly has occurred!]

Rotom sprang out of the screen, his miniature glasses nearly flying off, and his expression instantly switched from "numb to overtime" to "pupils dilating in shock".

What do you mean by the object it was studying suddenly starting to move on its own?!

The analysis interface was jumping around wildly, with lines of red warnings flooding the screen like a waterfall:

[Unknown energy fluctuation detected!]

[Reanalyzing... Analyzing... Analyzing...]

[Data matched successfully!]

[Identity Confirmed: Unknown Totem!]

Those words—

No, those unknown totems stretched out their bodies under the moonlight, like a group of souls that had been sealed for thousands of years finally gaining a moment of freedom.

They hovered silently inside the tent, emitting a series of low, almost inaudible buzzes.

Then, as if remembering something, they all turned to the other three objects in the corner of the tent.

The unknown totems drifted by silently, forming a large circle that enveloped the protective box containing the three items.

Then they began dancing.

An ancient dance without a name.

There was no music, no rhythm, only silent spinning and flickering light.

But as the dance continued, the air inside the tent began to grow heavy, as if something was being awakened.

The spherical object was the first to react.

It began to vibrate, initially very slightly, then more and more violently, striking the inner wall of the protective case with a dull "thump thump thump".

No debris flew.

A dense, dark shadow surged from the stone sphere, like spilled ink, rapidly expanding, condensing, and taking shape.

The tent was ripped open from the inside.

A colossal creature appeared in the moonlight.

Its body was as black as night, covered with strange patterns.

Its eyes were bloodshot, and its mouth was twisted into a strange arc, revealing sharp fangs.

It's a Gengar!

A Gengar that's ridiculously huge!

Meanwhile, at the other end of the camp.

Ash's Gengar, who was examining the dreamscapes in each tent, patted its belly.

Sigh, the quality of this late-night snack is terrible. It's all just digging holes and more digging holes. It's nowhere near as good as what you get at the research institute!

It smacked its lips and withdrew from a worker's dream with a hint of disdain.

As a normal Ghost-type Pokémon, being active at night is its normal routine.

For it, daytime is like staying up all night!

That said, it originally intended to attack Bill, but Ash wouldn't allow it.

They actually forbid it!

Gengar puffed out its cheeks, just about to go and check Brock's dream again—