Buzz——
Under the silent night sky, the doorbell sounded somewhat jarring.
Hoopa waited for two seconds and couldn't help but say, "Let's just go in."
"I rang the bell not because I can't get in, but to remind them someone has arrived." He responded softly.
Then there was a creak, and the iron-barred gate swung open inward.
The small door at the end followed, opening with a man in a white coat appearing, half of his body leaning out, sleepily adjusting his glasses.
"...Who are you?"
"I was introduced by Shanren from Pyrite Town, there's an emergency to discuss with Dr. Mu Yin." Baimu knew the man may not recognize him, but he would definitely know Shanren, so he borrowed his name.
The man did indeed open the door completely upon hearing this, saying, "Oh, alright, I'll go get the doctor, but come in and sit first."
Baimu stepped inside, looked around, and felt it wasn't much different from a regular office, so he found an empty spot on the sofa piled with documents to sit down.
Mischievous Hoopa looked left and right, and upon finding nothing he understood, he made circles with his fingers on either side like Brother Yixiu, seemingly deep in thought, suddenly asking, "Are there donuts here?"
"Probably not."
"Hoopa wants to eat donuts~"
"Bear with it, after the matter is settled, I'll take you to buy some."
"Really?" Hoopa's eyes gleamed slightly but then said depressingly, "Mei Yali won't agree, she only allows me to have five donuts a day. I've already finished them today."
Baimu: "..."
Do Phantom Beasts not get fat or develop diabetes?
"We'll sneak over to get some later." He comforted, then took out a Poké Block from his pocket and handed it over, "have this to tide over."
Poké Blocks were much healthier than high-fat, high-sugar donuts.
However, Hoopa had helped him with so many tasks diligently, not to mention one donut, a hundred wouldn't count for much.
"Mmmph..."
Hoopa covered his cheek while chewing the Poké Block, "This is alright."
In the midst of talking.
Dr. Mu Yin arrived with his hair disheveled, walking briskly.
"It's you! Lord Baimu! You've returned to the Ore Region?" He paused a moment when he saw Baimu and Hoopa; although not familiar, he had seen Baimu once in Pyrite Town, plus Shanren had deliberately spread his name around, making recognition unavoidable.
As for Hoopa... there were so many Pokémon he hadn't seen in the world, it was no surprise.
"Dr. Mu Yin, I've encountered Lugia."
Baimu paused for a moment and straightforwardly asked, "But it still occasionally undergoes dark transformations, why is that? Did you and the Dragon People not fully purify it?"
Dr. Mu Yin didn't respond immediately; instead, he furrowed his brows and asked as if confirming, "You said Lugia is still undergoing dark transformations?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."
"...The thing we feared most has happened indeed." He sighed, took a cup of coffee from his assistant, sipping it to help wake up.
Being awakened in the middle of the night, he needed to regroup a bit.
Baimu was also present, but he showed no interest, so he handed it to the curious Hoopa.
Hoopa tasted a tiny sip and immediately stuck out his tongue in bitterness.
"Hoopa hates this."
"Add some MooMoo Milk and sugar, and you'll like it." Baimu softly reminded, turning his gaze back to Dr. Mu Yin, who was now completely alert.
He reminisced, "Back when I thankfully collaborated with the Dragon People, and we barely managed to confine Shadow Lugia within the Purification Room, yet the dark power on it was more resilient than I had imagined... I think this was my fault."
"Your fault?" Baimu didn't understand.
Dr. Mu Yin nodded, "Back then, I hadn't completely built the Purification Room when the Shadow Team discovered it and kidnapped me. At that time, Elina, the head of the dark transformation department, obtained many purification-related details from me and improved Shadow Lugia's immunity to purification, attempting to create the ultimate dark Pokémon..."
With this said, Baimu instantly recalled the storyline from Circular Arena 2, remembering how the Dragon People and Shadow Team turned against each other, starting from his father being kidnapped.
Apparently, Dr. Mu Yin of the past had failed to remain silent.
It was understandable; not everyone can withstand the tortures of evildoers, not to mention they might have truth serum-like substances.
Poor Lugia got patched with a dark enhancement because of this...
It was just too tragic.
But in the game, the Purification Room obviously had success in completely purifying Lugia, why did discrepancies appear when the world view changed?
Baimu couldn't figure it out, just like how he couldn't understand why the Shadow Team could reignite three times.
Dr. Mu Yin continued, "Later, inside the Purification Room, Lugia underwent dark transformations more than ten times, and each time after purification, the interval to the next dark transformation extended; the last time Lugia went a full two months without one, we thought we'd succeeded."
He sighed, "Lugia was also fed up with being trapped in a small place for ages, at the suggestion of my daughter Manai, we chose to let Lugia go free, yet didn't anticipate failing to completely cure its dark transformation."
Because they failed to cure it, the frequent dark transformations caused Lugia's trust in humans to decline more and more, ultimately unable to believe in human technology anymore.
No wonder Lugia wasn't interested upon hearing Dr. Mu Yin's name.
It's like a patient hearing others brag about a doctor who couldn't cure them despite long torments; they wouldn't vilify but wouldn't trust again either.
"What about now? Do you have a solution now?" Baimu hurriedly asked, "For instance, does the Purification Spray work on Lugia?"
"…Hard to say."
Dr. Mu Yin shook his head, "The advantage of the Purification Spray lies in its convenience and speed, eliminating the need to throw dark Pokémon into Purification Rooms one by one, but there isn't much enhancement in the purification effect."
"Then what to do?"
"Only Lugia's return to the Purification Room and specific case research will work... it seems impossible now." Seeing Baimu's trembling mouth corner, Dr. Mu Yin wasn't too surprised.
Pokémon are not humans' playthings but beings with their own emotions, and their trust in humans has limits too.
Even the foremost expert in dark transformation technology research, Dr. Mu Yin, couldn't fully understand the suffering of dark Pokémon; it isn't something describable in words.
He could only attempt to empathize but couldn't feel what they felt.
Everyone wants to help Lugia, who has endured torment, whether they hold some self-interest or wish to atone for humanity's harm, when Lugia itself declines to accept human help, they only have two choices—
One, for its good, force treatment.
Two, respect its wishes and abandon treatment.
Unquestionably, Dr. Mu Yin and Baimu could only choose the latter.
Because they saw Lugia as an independent entity, not a puppet moved at will. But respecting it and having to watch it suffer from dark transformations was also torment for them.
"Can you first give me a bottle of Purification Spray to try?" Baimu asked.
"Of course."
Dr. Mu Yin nodded and a few seconds later added, "If possible, could you give me a chance to meet it? I know it may not want to see me, but maybe I can come up with a solution."
Baimu had no objections, but needed to prep Lugia beforehand.
Soon after.
Using Little Hoopa's ring as a tool, he returned to the overseas island first, where Lugia lay beside a mountain stream, and Blissey was singing, seemingly a lullaby.
"Mmm..."
Lugia slightly opened an eye, spouting a mist; it wasn't in a hurry anymore, it had weathered these past years, what difference did a short while make?
"I've brought the Purification Spray, and Dr. Mu Yin wants to meet you, you see..."
Baimu softly inquired.
By rights, Dr. Mu Yin held no grudge against, even gratitude from Lugia, it wasn't necessary to mention it beforehand, but the current Lugia had entered a state where it dismissed humans entirely, expanding its hatred target from the Shadow Team to humanity as a whole.
Suddenly seeing him might just incite anger.
Fortunately, although Blissey couldn't persuade it, it at least completely calmed it down inside, temporarily entering an elevated state, neither agreeing nor rejecting.
Thus, Dr. Mu Yin, in such circumstances, with a distracted look, met the Pokémon he hadn't seen for years again.
"Lugia..."
He softly murmured.