Chapter 63: Absol

Ten days later, Qian Lin returned to Bamboo County. The issue with Mismagius had been resolved, and the Ghost-type Pokémon present were all recorded by Qian Lin one by one, adding them to the Pokémon Encyclopedia on his phone.

Nothing else had happened during these ten days, except that the Pokémon Research Institute reported that the prototype of the pocket-sized Pokémon Encyclopedia had been successfully created, and they were considering transferring its functions to a smartphone application.

There was also one small matter: the people at the Research Institute asked Qian Lin to hand over Altaria and the others' Poké Balls so they could install devices capable of linking with the Pokémon Encyclopedia onto the balls.

Of course, while the prototype had been successfully built, thoroughly researching and perfecting it was certainly no simple task.

However, things were currently moving in a positive direction. According to the Research Institute, within a week at most, they would be able to transition the Pokémon Encyclopedia to the smartphone application, and the rest could be researched alongside the transition.

After returning and handing the Poké Balls over to the Research Institute, Qian Lin opened his phone and browsed the dedicated livestream page and software.

He mainly checked out the discussion boards to see what kind of antics the viewers were pulling. People often posted bizarre remixes, memes, or funny videos there, which Qian Lin found quite entertaining.

Altaria had gone off to visit Milotic again. This time, Qian Lin had her carry some experimental energy cubes, along with some tree berries and instant noodles—the kind of self-heating instant noodles that automatically heat up when water is added. To ensure Feebas could also have a hot meal, Qian Lin had even specially taught Altaria how to use the self-heating instant noodles.

The only problem was... neither Feebas nor Milotic had hands, so whether they could actually figure it out remained a big question mark.

Just like that, he scrolled through his phone while watching the viewers engage in their various antics.

"Huh..." In the afternoon, around three o'clock, Qian Lin noticed a post published in the forum.

It was from a viewer whose ID was "I Am Not Pleased Sheep." The gist of the post was that while he was exploring a dormant volcano with a university professor, they encountered a white Pokémon with curved horns. That Pokémon kept intimidating them, scaring them so badly that they turned tail and ran.

The Pokémon did not attack them and simply left after they retreated. He had thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, when they ran into students from another school, those students said they had also encountered that same Pokémon.

He had no idea what was going on, but it seemed like that Pokémon was trying to prevent humans from going up the mountain to explore the dormant volcano. Out of curiosity, he came to the forum to ask what might be happening.

Seeing this, Qian Lin sat straight up, an expression of indescribable seriousness washing over his face.

Without any hesitation, he directly clicked on this person's private chat and typed out a message: "Hello, I am Qian Lin. Sorry to bother you, but where did you encounter that Pokémon? What is the situation with that volcano?"

After finishing typing, he put down his phone and stood up without a second thought, walking towards Manager Che's office.

If things were truly as Qian Lin suspected, the situation might become somewhat troublesome.

Perhaps because the students couldn't explore the volcano and were just passing the time, a reply from the other side came not long after Qian Lin sent his private message.

*I Am Not Pleased Sheep: Holy crap! It's the real guy! I thought it was a high-imitation fake!*

*I Am Not Pleased Sheep: It's the Duangxing Mountain volcano. The specific situation isn't clear, but it seemed the professors suddenly announced they wanted to explore it after learning something. There is a tourist center at the foot of the mountain, though not many people come for tourism nowadays because of Pokémon.*

As he walked, Qian Lin opened his phone and replied: *Can you tell me more specifically about the situation? I have a somewhat bad premonition.*

*I Am Not Pleased Sheep: Okay.*

*I Am Not Pleased Sheep: Well, when we were going up the mountain this morning, after reaching about a third of the way, that Pokémon suddenly jumped out. At first, we just wanted to do what you said—avoid provoking it, slowly retreat, and then find another path up the mountain.*

*I Am Not Pleased Sheep: But when it saw we were still planning to go up, it suddenly went crazy. It started shouting at us, baring its teeth to threaten us, and had black light radiating from its body.*

*I Am Not Pleased Sheep: It scared the daylights out of us back then. My whole group ran back down the mountain to the tourist center. While talking to others here, we found out we weren't the only ones who encountered it; several people said they ran into it the moment they stepped outside.*

*I Am Not Pleased Sheep: That Pokémon is guarding the foot of the mountain right now, and it looks like it's even planning to head toward the tourist center.*

Qian Lin's expression turned somewhat serious: *The Pokémon you encountered is likely the disaster Pokémon, Absol. It sensitively perceives changes in the sky and the earth and possesses the ability to foresee disasters. When it wants to report a perceived disaster to humans, it appears from deep within the mountains.*

If it were anything else, that would be one thing, but Absol... this Pokémon was no ordinary creature. Classified as a disaster Pokémon, this fellow actually disliked fighting; to put it bluntly, it was a very gentle type of Pokémon.

*Qian Lin: To be honest, I'm not entirely sure whether Absol is sensing something and thus stopping you from going up the mountain, but if possible, please notify the surrounding tourist centers and try to keep tourists from ascending the mountain. I will rush over as soon as possible.*

Since it would actively appear before humans and prevent them from climbing the mountain, there was a high probability something had gone wrong with this dormant volcano.

If it were only an issue with the volcano, that would be one thing, but Absol's attitude did not look like it was merely a simple volcanic problem.

A few minutes later, Qian Lin arrived at Manager Che's office. Manager Che happened to be heading out as well, and the moment he saw Qian Lin, he exclaimed pleasantly, "I was just about to look for you when you arrived. Coincidentally, there's something I need to tell you."

"I have something to discuss as well." Qian Lin walked into the office behind him, pulled over a chair, and sat down.

Manager Che poured him a cup of water and then sat down beside him: "My matter is a bit urgent. If yours isn't urgent, you can wait a moment."

"Unfortunately, my matter is quite urgent too." Qian Lin chuckled and handed over his smartphone.

Manager Che took the phone with a hint of bewilderment: "Let me see... what kind of matter could make you feel so urgent... The Duangxing Mountain volcano?"

Manager Che blinked in astonishment.

"That's right," Qian Lin nodded. "The main point isn't the volcano; the point is that Absol's attitude is a bit strange."

Manager Che remained silent, and Qian Lin continued, "Normally, Absol will notify humans of the arrival of a disaster, but it doesn't stay in one place for long; it constantly spreads the news of the impending disaster to all Pokémon and humans. However, this time, Absol's behavior is extremely abnormal. Instead of choosing to save the Pokémon on the mountain, it is stubbornly trying to make humans leave."

Qian Lin took a breath: "Either the Pokémon have already completed their evacuation, or there's no need to worry about the Pokémon. Therefore, I suspect... this disaster might be related to Pokémon."