Chapter 16: The Intentions from Above

The technology behind the Poké Ball was somewhat overwhelming for this world. When Qian Lin documented it and handed it to the Chief of Vehicles, the chief... showed no particular expression, only happiness.

After all, he didn’t understand it.

That night, after dinner around eight or nine o’clock, the Chief brought Qian Lin to a conference room. He turned on the main screen, and as it lit up, an image of a conference hall with more than a dozen seated people appeared.

To be honest, Qian Lin barely recognized any of them. He rarely watched TV, and the people he knew were mostly frequent guests. These dozen or so individuals either seldom appeared on television or held such special positions that they didn’t appear publicly.

Once the screen was on, an elderly man seated at the center spoke first: “You must be Comrade Qian Lin?”

“Hello, yes, that’s me,” Qian Lin stood up and nodded gently.

The old man waved kindly, “Please, sit down, no need for such formality. My name is Liu Guohui. If you don’t mind, you can just call me Grandpa Liu.”

After saying this, Liu Guohui leaned forward slightly, eyes wide as he looked closely: “Is that the Swadloon you caught during your livestream?”

“Chirp?” The Swadloon stared at the screen with curiosity.

Qian Lin was momentarily taken aback by the scene, then nodded. “Yes, Grandpa Liu, this is Swadloon.”

“Chirp~!” Perhaps hearing its name, the Swadloon happily hugged Qian Lin, its face full of joy.

Qian Lin smiled as he stroked Swadloon’s feathers and gently rubbed her little head.

“This is truly... astonishing,” Liu Guohui said, thoroughly amazed as he sat back. Then, as if recalling something, he sighed, “If only we had someone like you two months ago, this war might never have started.”

If provoked, we strike back! Our country fears no one. Fight! If we don’t kill you, we’ll make sure you bear our name! We are not afraid of war, but we dislike it, for no one truly desires conflict.

Qian Lin opened his mouth to respond. He had been aware when Pokémon arrived two months ago, but in his previous life, he was just a casual gamer and anime fan with little understanding of Pokémon’s background. He believed the Pokémon were friendly but couldn’t prove it.

Only half a month ago, when the system appeared granting him knowledge from the Pokémon world, did he gain the means to educate others.

Hearing Liu Guohui’s words now, he found himself unable to explain.

Liu Guohui likely sensed the helplessness on Qian Lin’s face and smiled: “Comrade Qian Lin, I’m not blaming you. You did nothing wrong—in fact, you did exactly right. Because of your livestream, the war has begun to cease. Casualty numbers decline daily, and we’ve even encountered Pokémon unwilling to continue fighting.”

“That’s good news!”

“Yes, it is.” Qian Lin breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “By the way, Xerneas, Grandpa Liu—have you found it?”

Upon mentioning this, Liu Guohui’s expression darkened instantly. He shook his head with a bitter smile: “No, we’ve searched that area thoroughly but still haven’t located the legendary Pokémon. Those soldiers turned to stone remain in the military hospital.”

The petrification caused by Yveltal was very different from ordinary petrification. Normal petrification meant you weren’t dead; Yveltal’s petrification drained your life force, so those soldiers were effectively deceased.

All they could do was search with all their might—that was the only thing left to do.

The conversation then broadened beyond Liu Guohui. Nearby, an elderly man dressed as a researcher and several other scholarly-looking individuals chimed in occasionally. They marveled at the Poké Ball technology Qian Lin explained and inquired about various Pokémon.

Qian Lin truthfully shared everything he knew. Of course, he stuck to the same story as before about where the knowledge came from, but the others clearly didn’t care.

The meeting lasted a long time. When Qian Lin finally came back to himself, it was already the early hours of the morning.

At last, Liu Guohui looked at Qian Lin seriously: “Comrade Qian Lin, we hope you will join the Pokémon Scientific Research Institute.”

“I agree,” Qian Lin nodded. “But I hope to continue my livestream. I want to travel to more places, introduce more unknown Pokémon to humanity, so ordinary people will understand what these creatures are and how to face them.”

Liu Guohui smiled: “Of course. We will assign personnel to assist you. From your next livestream, it will be broadcast simultaneously across all platforms. We will also place dedicated moderators in your channel who you can contact directly for any needs.”

“Alright.” Qian Lin stroked the sleeping Swadloon in his arms, a smile touching his lips. “Grandpa Liu, you seem quite familiar with livestreams.”

Liu Guohui appeared to be around seventy, and the youngest person seated nearby looked to be in their forties or fifties. Yet when they spoke about livestreams, there was no awkwardness, clearly they had some understanding.

“We old folks have our own entertainment too,” Liu Guohui laughed heartily.

Qian Lin scratched his head and laughed along.

...

That night, Qian Lin discussed many matters with the dignitaries, mostly revolving around Pokémon. Eventually, he mentioned his desire to create a Pokémon encyclopedia. Liu Guohui was highly supportive and instructed the previously silent Chief of Vehicles to fully cooperate.

The Chief had no objections; he was very pleased.

In the end, Qian Lin’s original plan to develop a small program was supercharged into a full-fledged app, fully funded and supported by the state. The scale was simply overwhelming but work would begin the next morning, as it was too late tonight.

After everyone had fallen asleep, the official website’s “Monsters” introduction page suddenly changed to show a man standing by a lakeshore, holding an adorable little bird, waving to a beautiful serpent in the lake. Both wore broad smiles.

The word “Monsters” was entirely replaced by “Pokémon.” Clicking inside, the monster descriptions had been rewritten—what was once a murderous poisonous bee was now a Beedrill. Many unfamiliar Pokémon had also been added.

Before anyone noticed, a link appeared prominently on the page, boldly titled: Pokémon Science Education Livestream.

The next day at noon, Qian Lin finally got out of bed. He had stayed up too late the night before, and though he woke late, he still felt groggy. The Swadloon beside him looked dazed, her feathers puffed up wildly like a frizzy hairstyle.

Qian Lin couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

Swadloon looked at him blankly: “Chirp?”

“It’s nothing,” Qian Lin smiled, lifting her to the washroom. When Swadloon saw her reflection in the mirror, she suddenly became alert and shouted, “Chirp!!!”

After half an hour of grooming, Swadloon’s expression improved slightly.

Qian Lin carried her to the dining hall. People they passed cast curious glances, mostly intrigued by Swadloon.

Swadloon was unshy and happily sat in Qian Lin’s arms, humming and flapping her wings with joy. Upon reaching the dining hall, she even chose her own lunch decisively. Still, for her health, Qian Lin exchanged some fruits for her.

Pokémon can’t subsist solely on human food. Though it won’t cause malnutrition, continual growth would become mediocre. The nutritional fruits were highly beneficial, and specific fruits could enhance Swadloon’s aptitude and strength—akin to boosting effort values and individual values, eating more could even make her perfect.

Of course, that was just nonsense.

But the fruits did indeed enhance Pokémon to a degree. To become perfect, compressed energy cubes were needed, which Qian Lin did not know how to make.

After several days of livestreaming, Qian Lin’s science education points hadn’t yet reached 100,000, still about 20,000 short. He realized these points didn’t come solely from livestreams; others sharing his recorded videos on websites also earned points.

However, people mostly watched videos casually and few truly remembered the content, so the points gained afterward were far fewer compared to live broadcasts.

Perhaps because Pokémon were very popular, Qian Lin estimated that in about a week’s time, he would reach 100,000 points. Then the store would update again, hopefully with more useful items.

During these days, with the help of various technicians, Qian Lin developed the app. With the full support of the government, the app’s features were impressive. It not only recorded basic Pokémon data but also incorporated Qian Lin’s knowledge to compile Pokémon skills and attributes, complemented by official photos. The Pokédex was updated to include over a hundred species.

All were common Pokémon. Those lacking images were left out for now, to be added later when Qian Lin or the officials obtained pictures.

The app also introduced a new function, similar to facial recognition or image recognition. By enabling the phone’s camera, the Pokédex app could automatically scan the Pokémon in front of it and announce information. Naturally, its accuracy couldn’t match the Pokédex from the Pokémon world; it was merely a variant of image recognition, still needing improvement.

Even so, this was a significant advancement.

Thus, about half a month passed. The Pokédex app was completed and uploaded to all mobile stores. Qian Lin and the government issued simultaneous announcements. Within just one day, downloads exceeded 500,000.

Truly official power.

That night, Qian Lin heard that familiar voice once more.