Ash's Pokémon Travel Has Big Problems

Xiao Zhi didn't dare to delay and headed towards the makeshift guard post... which was actually right next to the police station.

Unlike the police station, which was in a complete mess and difficult to repair.

So we moved to a different place.

Miss Officer Jenny thought this was the most efficient way.

"So...it's that kid, Ri Yong..."

Inside the temporary guard post.

Officer Jenny looked at Ryo, who was still unconscious, as Ash had laid him flat on the bench.

Her face didn't show much surprise, but rather a complex mix of exhaustion and helplessness.

There are far fewer people in the city than before.

Especially the younger generation.

Therefore, Miss Officer Jenny is remembered by many people.

If one of them has a distinctive feature, then it's easy to remember them.

Officer Jenny gestured for Ash to follow, and led him into a small, temporarily partitioned meeting room behind the guard post. She then gently closed the door, shutting out the noise from outside.

"Some things are indeed not suitable to be discussed publicly in front of many people."

Miss Officer Jenny sighed, took off her police hat, and rubbed her temples.

She didn't rush to ask about what happened, but instead poured Xiaozhi a glass of warm water first.

"You've encountered members of the 'Friends of the Mud Society,' right?"

"They... are a group of very persistent people, but they also went to extremes."

As the head of the local police force, how could Ms. Jenny not know about these guys?

Xiaozhi nodded.

Then she told Miss Officer Jenny everything that had happened in the sewers, as well as Li Yong's heated remarks about the history of Black Cloud City and the Mud Clan.

Miss Officer Jenny listened quietly, her fingers unconsciously stroking the warm rim of the cup.

"What Li Yong said... is mostly true."

"Black Cloud City was indeed on the verge of destruction due to industrial pollution, and it was the appearance of Pokémon like Grimer and Muk that slowed down and reversed the city's ecological collapse by consuming industrial waste and garbage."

"In a sense, they are indeed the city's 'benefactors,' or at least 'partners' who helped it through the difficult times."

Officer Jenny's voice was calm.

It's like presenting a long-forgotten file.

"But, Ash... times have changed."

"The alliance's technology is advancing, and society's demands on the environment are also increasing."

"No one can deny their contribution, so the alliance coordinated the transportation of large amounts of garbage from various cities at that time."

"But just as few people can tolerate living in such an environment...surrounded by stench and pollution for long."

"Many people are also dissatisfied with the alliance's practice of delivering garbage."

"Young people are leaving Black Cloud City, and the city's population is declining. This is not the future we want to see."

"It's not just humans, Pokémon are the same..."

"Ash, although there are very few ordinary Pokémon around this city now, you should have seen Pokémon leaving when you came here, right?"

Miss Officer Jenny's gaze became sharp and resolute.

Some things always have to be done by someone.

Otherwise, the situation will only get worse.

In the past, trash Pokémon did protect the city, but now there are more and more trash Pokémon, which are also damaging the ecosystem.

Wild Pokémon are even rarer than when the environment was polluted.

"Neither the League nor the Black Cloud City government has ever intended to, nor will it ever issue an order to eliminate all trash Pokémon."

"The guiding principle for this operation is very clear—the primary goal is to drive away and control the enemy; killing is strictly prohibited unless there is a life-threatening situation."

"As you may have noticed, we have even distributed protective equipment on a large scale in order to protect both sides to the greatest extent possible in the event of a conflict."

"Our goal is to 'rehabilitate the environment' by reducing pollution sources and promoting new waste treatment technologies, so that this land can gradually recover its vitality."

"In this process, the number of stinky mud, stinky sludge, broken bags, dust mountains, etc., which depend on garbage and environmental pollution for survival, will inevitably decrease naturally as the environment improves."

She deliberately emphasized the word "naturally reduced," and there was a hint of reluctance in her eyes.

As the official in charge.

Miss Officer Jenny is also under a lot of pressure.

She can still withstand the pressure now.

If she can't withstand the pressure and radicals join her, things could get complicated.

"Human society, or rather the ecosystem of this world, does indeed need a certain number of these Pokémon to handle the inevitable waste."

"But it absolutely cannot be on the current out-of-control, massive scale of Black Cloud City."

"There are too many of them, so many that they have become a huge obstacle to urban development and residents' health."

"According to the statistics for this period of time... the mortality rate of the elderly population who are unwilling to leave has significantly exceeded the standard."

Say this.

Miss Officer Jenny seemed completely powerless.

"So the current strategy is... to let them fend for themselves as the environment improves?" Ash's voice was a little hoarse.

He felt a tightness in his throat.

The excited and fervent face of Li Yong and the calm, even somewhat cold, statement of Miss Officer Jenny in front of him intertwined and collided in his mind.

...Is this an irreconcilable contradiction?

Indeed, even though it gives me a headache, it seems there's no way to solve it.

...Can we say the league is at fault?

...The league did its best.

If it weren't for taking care of these trash Pokémon, there wouldn't even be any need to bring them here.

Miss Officer Jenny paused for a moment, then slowly nodded, offering an even more callous statement:

"Yes, the population naturally declines."

"This is a solution that has been evaluated by multiple experts and, under the current circumstances, has the least negative impact on urban development and the majority of residents."

“We can no longer, and should no longer, feed and sustain this large population with endless amounts of garbage as we have in the past.”

The parts of the body left behind by the stinky mud will give rise to new stinky mud.

The stinky mud piles up together and then merges into one.

The number of these Pokémon is indeed difficult to manage and cannot be stabilized.

-

-

With a heavy heart, Ash returned to the Pokémon Center in Black Cloud City.

The air filtration system in the center created a small, rare clean area, but he felt an invisible pressure that was even stronger than outside.

Back in the bathroom of the temporary room assigned to me, I turned on the hot water and let the warm water wash away the filth and grime on my body, hoping to also wash away the depression in my heart.

Hot water poured on the skin brings temporary relaxation.

But Officer Jenny's words kept echoing in her mind, as did Riyo's eyes, which were filled with obsession.

On one side are the majority of people who yearn for a clean living environment and the numerous Pokémon.

On one hand, there are the historical contributions and right to survival of certain ethnic groups who depend on pollution and garbage for survival.

This seems to be an unsolvable deadlock.

Dry yourself and change into clean clothes.

Ash sat on the edge of the bed, looking out the window at the gray night sky of Black Cloud City, dotted with scattered lights, his heart filled with unprecedented confusion and entanglement.

"……well……"

"...This isn't a question of right or wrong at all!!"

Xiao Zhi finally shouted it out, feeling a headache coming on, and collapsed onto the bed.

Pikachu lay quietly beside him, gently rubbing its tail against his hand, as if it could sense the turmoil in the trainer's heart.

"Mama?" The dream demon didn't care about this kind of problem. There were too many of them, so why not just kill them?

...Is this indifference to the value of life a kind of ghostly nature?

...For the [ghost], life and death are merely different forms.

After much hesitation, Ash took out his Pokédex and dialed Professor Oak's number.

"Oh? It's Ash. I heard you've arrived in Black Cloud City? The situation there... is a bit complicated, isn't it?" Professor Oak's figure appeared on the screen, with the familiar research lab study in the background.

Ash poured out his story to the professor without reservation, sharing his experiences of the day, Officer Jenny's explanation, and his inner confusion and struggle.

"...Doctor, isn't there a better way?"

"Just watching them... their numbers dwindle, and maybe... it's just too cruel."

This isn't like a group of stinging jellyfish where you can simply assign them a habitat.

Trash-type Pokémon require external supplies.

If it's just a matter of simply dividing up a residential area, then it's no different from what Black Cloud City did.

The other side of the screen.

Professor Oak did not answer immediately after listening.

He fell silent for a rare moment, his usual cheerful smile replaced by a deep solemnity.

Professor Oak's gaze seemed to pierce through the screen, revealing a grander picture.

"Xiao Zhi, the fact that you can think about these questions proves that you have really grown up."

Professor Oak is sure Ash has a good way of thinking.

"First, I want to make one thing clear."

“Intentional, large-scale slaughter is absolutely unacceptable. It is a desecration of life and violates the fundamental principle of our trainers and Pokémon coexistence.”

"but……"

He abruptly changed the subject, his tone now carrying a cold rationality.

"The natural decline of a population, or the reduction in the number of certain Pokémon populations due to environmental changes, or even the extinction of some populations in certain areas..."

"This is actually part of the dynamic balance of the entire planet's ecosystem."

"The biological history of our world is itself a long history of the birth, evolution, and migration of species, accompanied by the decline and even extinction of old species."

"The changing of ice ages, dramatic changes in geological activity, and natural environmental evolution... have all caused countless Pokémon that could not adapt to new environments to disappear in the long river of time."

"Human activities have now become a major factor affecting the environment."

"Our improvements to the environment have objectively deprived some Pokémon that depend on a poor environment of their survival basis."

"It sounds contradictory, but that's the reality."

"As long as there is no malicious intent to actively exterminate them, then this adjustment in the population size of a specific species due to an improved environment... can be seen, to some extent, as a manifestation of... well, natural selection in modern times."

Professor Oak looked at the incredulous expression on Ash's face and sighed softly.

“I know this sounds cold and hard to accept.”

"But Xiaozhi, as researchers, we sometimes have to face this macro-level, and sometimes even cruel, law."

“My job is to study and understand how the world works. As for regional ecological restructuring caused by social development and environmental governance, I usually do not and cannot directly intervene unless it involves malicious killing.”