Tetsuya now fully understood why Weezing had survived and how it had become that conjoined Koffing. However, things were far from that simple. There were still many questions he needed answered.
"Why were you able to come through this explosion unharmed?" Tetsuya asked.
The Four-headed Weezing began speaking again, with Gengar naturally serving as the translator.
"Ever since I was engulfed by the flames during that explosion, I mutated and underwent, eh, Devolution(?) into a conjoined Koffing. Not only did I regenerate my Poison type, but I also naturally learned Flamethrower.
At first, when the gas was still thin, I used it once and almost caused another explosion… After that, I never dared use it again. But now I think I'm basically immune to fire? So the explosion just now only blasted me out with the shockwave. The flames themselves didn't affect me very much.
The gas produced after it burns is my favorite kind of gas! I absorbed every bit of it in one gulp before returning to the mine crater. That's when I met another of my own kind… I never imagined that this conjoined Koffing also belonged to you!
The moment we met, it felt as though we'd found family, because everyone else saw us as freaks… After we came together, surrounded by gas, we completed our Evolution. After evolving, we became much stronger, and we absorbed all of the gases in the entire mine crater in a single sweep~!"
Through Gengar's translation and telepathic communication, Tetsuya completely understood everything that had happened.
Things had truly taken an unexpected turn. He had spent a mere 700k on this Pokémon Daycare, and in return had obtained a Four-headed Weezing…
'Tehaha!' He had made an incredible profit!
At that moment, Tetsuya heard the sound of approaching sirens.
'Hm? I need to hurry.'
"Good. Now you can become my Pokémon again. After this, you'll gradually get used to this new body. For now, return to your Poké Ball."
After saying that, Tetsuya recalled the Four-headed Weezing into its Poké Ball, then recalled all of his other Pokémon as well.
Sure enough, the fire department, the police, and even Officer Jenny all arrived. Soon afterward, the Media somehow caught wind of the incident, and many reporters rushed to the scene. After all, dozens of workers had died here three years earlier, and it had made the headlines. Now that another incident had occurred, there was no way they would miss such an opportunity.
---◓---
After conducting their investigation, they found that there had been no casualties. Tetsuya merely coordinated with the police and Officer Jenny. With the title of an official pupil of Ecruteak Gym, the discussion naturally went much more smoothly.
Of course, Tetsuya completely refused all interviews. What he wanted was a quiet life right now. It was better to stay as far away as possible from attracting public attention.
This time, the League would undoubtedly seal off the mine completely. Furthermore, no one would be permitted to live within a certain radius. Under public pressure, the entire Pokémon Daycare would have to be purchased and redeveloped by the League. At present, however, the owner of the daycare was Tetsuya.
Officer Jenny, representing the League, came to negotiate with Tetsuya regarding the purchase of the Pokémon Daycare.
"Officer Jenny, what is the limit of your authority?" Tetsuya asked bluntly. Since Jenny was representing League Headquarters in handling the mine and the safety compensation for the surrounding area, she had undoubtedly been given a maximum budget for this matter.
Most people would have immediately asked how much compensation they could receive. Officer Jenny had long been prepared for questions like that. However, Tetsuya completely ignored the usual approach, leaving her momentarily unsure how to respond.
"…That's not something you need to concern yourself with," Officer Jenny replied after a second.
"Oh? Since you put it that way… Officer Jenny, the market value of this Pokémon Daycare is 1.5 million. I won't leave for anything less," Tetsuya said confidently.
That amount naturally fell within Officer Jenny's authority. Paying the market price would also give the League a reasonable explanation.
In the end, they had no choice but to purchase the Pokémon Daycare from Tetsuya for the market price of 1.5 million.
In just two months, Tetsuya had doubled his money on this property. Since all of this was public information, the previous owner of the Pokémon Daycare would certainly learn about it. He was probably crying his eyes out by now.
---◓---
After receiving the money, Tetsuya left behind everything inside the Pokémon Daycare. He had bought the place solely to raise the Skorupi variant. Now that the [Badly Poisonous Skorupi] had been successfully raised, the place had naturally outlived its usefulness.
After taking the money, the newly raised Skorupi and the newly evolved Weezing with him, there was no reason to remain any longer.
After returning home to let Ecruteak Gym know he was safe, Tetsuya left temporarily under the pretense of going to Lyra Town to find Professor Witherwood. There was only one month left in the year, and he had no intention of walking the entire way. He planned to test Weezing's strengths and moves in the forest first before taking a train directly to Lyra Town.
Although Lyra Town was not as famous as Pallet Town, compared with the later New Bark Town, it was still fairly well known. That Aerodactyl could only fetch the best price if it was sold to someone as fanatical as Professor Witherwood.
Upon arriving at the forest north of Ecruteak City, Tetsuya released only the Four-headed Weezing. Of course, in front of other people, he would still call it "Weezing." It was better not to draw too much attention to its name. It was merely a mutated variant, not an entirely new species.
"Weezing, with your four heads, you can each keep watch in a different direction. That means any Pokémon trying to launch a surprise attack against you can almost give up the idea.
You've only just completed your Evolution and aren't yet familiar with this body, so first practice coordinating your movements. Make sure all four heads act in complete unison.
You can split up your actions when necessary, but you must share the same core way of thinking."
In truth, Tetsuya was worrying unnecessarily. This involved a particular form of Pokémon Evolution: Fusion Evolution. The most obvious examples were the Evolutions of Magnemite and Metagross. In fact, the Evolution of Slowbro, as well as his own Weezing, also counted as Fusion Evolution.
First was Slowbro. Its Fusion Evolution differed from the other three. The other three all underwent Evolution with Pokémon of their own species. However, in the case of Slowbro or Slowking, the primary consciousness remained with Slowbro. Although Shellder, attached to Slowbro's tail, was still an independent individual, it could no longer influence Slowbro's thoughts.
Simply put, as far as Slowbro was concerned, Shellder had already become little more than an ornament mentally.
It was like his own Slowbro, whose absentmindedness had reached an entirely new level, while the Shellder biting its tail was actually a clever and capable fellow. Yet no matter how clever Shellder was, it could not influence Slowbro's thinking..
As a result, Slowbro remained just as dense as ever, while Shellder had already given up trying…
No matter how intelligent and capable it was, it was useless!
It even had to obtain its nutrients from Slowbro's tail, so naturally it could not influence Slowbro's way of thinking.