Once his racing heart finally settled, Kashiwagi lowered his head, sinking deep into thought under the watchful eyes of his Pokémon.
Unit-0's little speech was highly suspicious, to say the least.
Why single out Porygon2?
Was it a cry for help? A warning? Or... was it trying to manipulate Porygon2 into doing its dirty work?
The rogue AI definitely knew Kashiwagi was there. Yet, it specifically waited for him to fall asleep, isolated the entire living room into some weird digital sub-space, and then delivered its message to Porygon2.
Sneaky.
Sure, you could chalk it up to a classic case of "Robots Don't Trust Humans".
But did Unit-0 really think Porygon2 would just keep secrets from its own Trainer?
Kashiwagi highly doubted a telepathic, hyper-intelligent artificial Pokémon would overlook such an obvious flaw. Yet, it still went through with this overly complicated, redundant theatrical display.
The most logical conclusion? It just really, really didn't want to deal with Kashiwagi face-to-face.
Looking at it that way, Unit-0's behavior practically reeked of a setup. It felt like it was deliberately trying to muddy the waters...
Wait. That's highly likely!
Dr. Akihabara had deployed a massive Porygon army to capture it. Unit-0 was probably exhausted from running and fighting. So, it set its sights on Kashiwagi.
It wanted to use his strength to throw a wrench into the Doctor's plans, creating a golden window for a clean getaway!
Ultimately, according to this guy, Unit-01 supposedly wants to use Dr. Akihabara to mass-produce Porygons and achieve total world domination. If that's true, why obsess over catching one stray Unit-0?
Unless... Unit-0 was holding onto a crucial puzzle piece for this "world domination" scheme.
A piece like... the Dubious Disc?
Kashiwagi recalled Dr. Akihabara claiming he had locked away the Dubious Disc because it was "unstable" and was actively patching the code. That was supposedly why only Unit-0 and Unit-01 had evolved into Porygon-Z so far.
But, if the Dubious Disc was currently in Unit-0's possession... then everything the good Doctor said was just a massive lie to cover up the truth.
It opened up a whole can of worms. Take the system's "Trust Levels," for instance. He had always been curious about the metrics behind that. What on earth was it actually measuring?
But Kashiwagi quickly grounded himself. These were just wild theories; he didn't have a single shred of solid evidence.
Plus, trying to apply standard human common sense to a highly intelligent, telepathic, artificial Pokémon was a fool's errand.
It wasn't human. Thus applying human logic to Unit-0's actions was fundamentally flawed.
Theories were just tools—little flashlights helping illuminate possible paths in the dark maze toward the real truth.
At that moment, Kashiwagi snapped out of his trance and looked up. To his surprise, none of his Pokémon had gone to sleep.
Led by Aggron, the entire squad was crammed into the rather modest bedroom, staring at him intently with a colorful array of expressions.
Some looked worried. Some looked anxious. Others looked dead serious, and a few just looked adorably confused.
But without exception, every single one of them had that distinct look of: "I really want to say something, but I don't want to interrupt his brooding time."
His eyelids fluttered, and a warm smile broke across his face.
"...Right. Let's talk this out as a team. I've only got one head to work with here. If we all brainstorm, we'll cover way more ground."
It hit Kashiwagi right then: understanding his Pokémon's thoughts was second nature to him now. But was it just as easy for them to understand his convoluted human thoughts?
He realized he needed to be more vocal, to share his deductions and worries with them properly.
Wasn't that the whole point of being partners who battled and grew together? Besides, this whole Porygon mess directly affected every single one of them.
"Agg-r-o-n!"
"Por-y-gon!"
"Happ-e-y~!"
Hearing his invitation, the cramped bedroom instantly lit up. The Pokémon broke into delighted smiles, nodding enthusiastically in unison.
Family meeting time!
When it came to Unit-0, the squad's consensus was unanimous and crystal clear:
Access Denied. Zero Trust.
Hydreigon was his usual diplomatic self. He bluntly expressed that if he ever crossed paths with that floating USB drive, he'd blast a point-blank Dragon Pulse right into its face.
"Hydrei-g-o-n!" ( We can talk after I've blasted you into oblivion continuously for a week!)
Even Porygon2 wasn't buying what its evolved cousin was selling. While not as bloodthirsty as Hydreigon, it firmly believed Unit-0 needed a serious attitude adjustment.
You don't just pop out of the digital ether, drop a conspiracy bomb, and expect instant loyalty.
Trying to win their trust with just a few cryptic sentences? Even if the threat was real, Unit-0 was seriously underestimating them. It felt incredibly half-hearted and dismissive.
Aggron rumbled his agreement with Kashiwagi's earlier theory. He figured Unit-0 was just trying to stir up chaos so it could slip away—essentially using them to trip up Dr. Akihabara.
As for the enigmatic Dr. Akihabara himself?
That was where the team was divided. It was a mixed bag of trust and suspicion. However, the biggest shocker came from Porygon2.
Despite being born in the Doctor's lab and knowing him better than anyone in the room, the digital duck planted its virtual feet firmly in the "Do Not Trust" camp.
It wasn't because it suddenly recalled repressed memories of the Doctor doing something sinister. Rather, Porygon2 was adopting a policy of universal skepticism.
Clearly, with its recent upgrades in intelligence, it had successfully downloaded a brand-new emotion: Paranoia.
Blissey, ever the empath, disagreed.
She felt the Doctor's affection for the Porygon line was 100% genuine. Every time she had observed him, his love for the digital Pokémon radiated warmly.
To her, there wasn't a single byte of falsehood in his devotion.
Falsehood...
Kashiwagi chewed on that thought. Emotions are usually built on a foundation of memories. If someone were to hack and alter those memories, wouldn't it be terrifyingly easy to manipulate those "genuine" emotions too?
And when he voiced this dark little philosophical theory out loud to Blissey... the poor pink Pokémon froze solid.
She stood there, staring into space as if her entire wholesome worldview had just blue-screened and crashed.
Then, panic set in.
Her face scrunched up in visible, rapid-fire anxiety.
She flailed her stubby arms, looking desperately like she wanted to argue the point but completely lacked the vocabulary to articulate her sudden existential dread.
Poor Porygon2. Even as a professional digital translator, it found itself totally "glitched" out by this emotional crisis.
It could only watch helplessly as Blissey's anxiety leveled up, making her spin in frantic little circles on the spot.
Thankfully, Milotic glided forward to drop some pearls of wisdom.
『"True feelings aren't that shallow. They aren't just stored in memory; they're etched into the very fiber of one's being... into the body itself." That is what Milotic says,』 Porygon2 translated.
Seeing Blissey nod vigorously in agreement, Porygon2 let out a digital sigh of relief.
Kashiwagi relaxed too. The last thing he wanted was to trigger a full-blown existential breakdown in his own team with a stray comment.
Besides, Milotic had a point.
Fabricated memories are just that—fakes. No matter how tightly coded they are, cracks eventually show. Genuine, deep-seated emotions don't just vanish the moment you sense something is "off"; they fight back.
Dr. Akihabara wasn't an idiot. Since his lifelong ambition to promote Porygon had been consistent from the start, his drive likely wasn't some artificial script.
Kashiwagi found himself caught in a mental loop again.
Then, Galarian Corsola and Mawile piped up with two sentences that hit him like a super-effective Confuse Ray cure.
『"This is such a pain. Let someone else deal with it."』
『"Exactly. Didn't we contact those... 'people' back in Dewford Town for stuff like this?"』
Eureka!
Kashiwagi slapped his forehead. Why was he losing sleep over this? If Dr. Akihabara really was being brainwashed by Unit-01 to achieve world domination via virtual ducks, that was a job for the pros!
Why not just hand the whole mess over to Officer Jenny or the International Police?
They weren't just sitting around eating malasadas all day; this was literally their job description.
Why was he acting like Ash Ketchum, trying to shoulder the weight of the entire world on his own back? He had plenty of other things to do!
Since when did he develop such a terminal case of "Protagonist Syndrome"?
"You guys are geniuses!"
Kashiwagi exclaimed. In a fit of excitement, he scooped up Mawile and planted a quick kiss on her forehead.
The Steel-fairy was momentarily stunned by the sudden affection. Then, her face twisted into a mock-offended sneer of "Lady-like Indignation" as she reached up angrily and began pinching Kashiwagi's cheeks, stretching them out like putty.
Maw-wile!! (How dare you! Do you have any idea how to treat a lady?!)
"S-sorry, sorry! Got carried away!"
With his face comically deformed, Kashiwagi stammered out his apologies and set Mawile back down on the small sofa. He looked around at his assembled team.
"Alright, it's settled! We're handing this off to the International Police. Any objections?"
The Pokémon shook their heads in unison. No complaints here.
Porygon2, however, chimed in with a vital reminder: they needed to make sure Unit-0 wasn't "eavesdropping" while they made the call.
Kashiwagi nodded. "Good point. Any ideas on how to block it?"
『"Leave it to me! I'll create a digital firewall to mask our signal. I already intercepted a fragment of its data stream earlier—if that glitchy rogue shows up again, my sensors will ping immediately!"』
Porygon2 puffed out its chest (or the digital equivalent) with immense pride.
It was clear the little duck had been waiting for the perfect moment to flex its elite cybersecurity muscles.
Kashiwagi didn't miss the cue and gave a round of enthusiastic applause.
"Impressive, truly impressive."
Porygon2 practically glowed with satisfaction.
Logically speaking, if Unit-0 was telling the truth about Dr. Akihabara's memories being tampered with, there would be "digital fingerprints" left in his brain.
In a world with Pokémon-tier black-tech medical equipment, a cover-up like that wouldn't hold up for long.
Even if it could fool a machine, it wouldn't fool a high-level Psychic-type or a human Esper.
The International Police were the best bet.
Kashiwagi just had to make sure they didn't blunder in and ruin the Doctor's attempt to catch Unit-0. If they spooked the rogue AI, the feds might accidentally help it escape.
...
The next day, Kashiwagi used Leo as a middleman to reconnect with the International Police.
He arrived at their secret base in Mauville City and laid out everything—the rogue AI, the brainwashing theories, and the potential global threat.
To his surprise, after the officers ran a quick background check, they informed him that they had actually been keeping an eye on Dr. Akihabara and the Porygon project for quite some time.
They even had a specialized agent assigned to the case.
"I'll forward the video of Unit-0 to the lead investigator," the officer told him firmly.
"If any issues arise, he'll contact you. For now, your priority is your own safety. Don't feel like you need to take the world's problems onto your shoulders, kid."
Hearing those words, the massive weight finally lifted from Kashiwagi's chest.
"Understood! Thank you!"
.....
The sun was shining, and with the weight of the world finally off his shoulders, Kashiwagi checked out of his room at Mt. Mauville.
He faced a choice: head straight to Fortree City or go greet his newest team member.
He chose the latter.
"A new partner, huh..."
He mused on the fact that it had already been two months since he'd acquired his Shiny Feebas. What kind of companion would the simulator bring him?
With a heart full of anticipation, he boarded the high-speed train to Fallarbor Town, Mawile in tow.
As soon as they hit their seats, Mawile pulled out her phone and became utterly engrossed in a drama.
Kashiwagi caught a glimpse and realized she'd discovered a "campus youth" series yesterday.
The plot? A "country bumpkin" Smoochum moves to a prestigious academy for the elite, where she encounters four wealthy, handsome, and high-status Pokémon. Naturally, drama and romance ensue.
It was essentially a Pokémon version of Boys Over Flowers.
Kashiwagi felt a massive sense of déjà vu just reading the synopsis, but he hadn't expected a live-action Pokémon drama to be this popular. It was actually pulling better ratings than most human-led shows. Even his stoic Mawile was hopelessly hooked.
I'll never understand show business, he thought, looking out the window as the landscape blurred past.
As he reached for a snack, his phone buzzed. It was an email from Professor Kukui.
The Professor confirmed that he hadn't done much research into Mirror Herb since publishing his initial paper.
He was genuinely surprised that Kashiwagi had used it as a training tool to help his Pokémon learn moves.
Regarding Aggron's sudden mastery, Kukui offered one explanation: "A Flash of Inspiration."
Under the stimulus of the Mirror Herb, Aggron had been so "inspired" by Donphan's demonstration of Head Smash that he'd unlocked the move—much like a Pokémon suddenly learning a new move in the heat of a life-or-death crisis.
In the academic world, there are two schools of thought: one suggests moves are innate but "locked" until a specific trigger occurs, while the other believes in traditional learning through practice.
Whether a move comes from hard work or a deep-seated genetic memory remains a mystery.
Kukui's conclusion? As long as Aggron's health check-up was clear, the "instant" learning was a marvel, but perfectly normal.
"Because Pokémon are full of mysteries, we scholars have to keep studying them... well said, Professor", Kashiwagi muttered, tucking his phone away.
....
Mauville City is in the heart of Hoenn, so the trip to Fallarbor Town in the north took less than two hours.
For Mawile, that was exactly two episodes of her drama.
When Kashiwagi gave her the heads-up that they were arriving, she reluctantly tucked her phone into her cute waist-pouch.
Porygon2, who had been "co-watching," zipped back into Kashiwagi's phone.
『That was intense! I HAVE to know if Smoochum-chan chooses the young master Elekid or the refined Magby!』
"Maw-wile!" (Mawile nodded in fervent agreement.)
Kashiwagi smirked.
"What about Prince Riolu?"
『Prince Riolu? Was he even in that scene?』 Porygon2 looked confused through the screen until it saw Mawile's look of pure disgust. It realized the Trainer was just talking nonsense again.
The digital duck felt a bit speechless.
It hadn't noticed before it evolved, but its Trainer really had a mischievous streak.
"Hahaha!"
Once they stepped off the train, Kashiwagi released Hydreigon and strapped on the saddle.
"Let's head back to the Dragon's Den!"
"Hydrei-g-o-n!" The three heads roared in harmony.
As the team's primary mode of transport, Hydreigon actually enjoyed the feeling of carrying his Trainer and friends through the sky.
He just hoped the new rookie wouldn't try to steal his "job." If they did, he'd have to teach them a lesson in Dragon-type hierarchy.
High in the air, Mawile tried to keep watching her show, but the wind was howling so loudly she couldn't hear a word from the speakers. She eventually gave up with a huff.
"Want me to buy you some headphones?" Kashiwagi shouted over the wind.
"Though finding earbuds that fit you might be a challenge..."
Mawile didn't understand the "earbud" part, so she just sat quietly in his arms, waiting to reach the Den so she could find a quiet corner to finish her binge-watch.
....
Soon, the thundering waters of Meteor Falls came into view.
Kashiwagi opened the simulator and activated the Pokémon Clue. He set the filter for a base stat total of 600.
So, who's it gonna be? Dragonite? Garchomp? Salamence? he wondered. Those three were the most common in the Dragon's Den, though other pseudo-legendaries occasionally appeared.
However, the clue he received was... not what he expected.
[Please arrive at Room 1608, Mt. Mauville, before 2:30 AM. Hide in the bathtub and remain silent, regardless of what sounds you hear around you.]
"Huh???"
"Wait... what??"
Kashiwagi stared at the screen.