Chapter 43: What Is the True Nature of the Fourth Calamity? (Leaning Back Strategically)

Chen Ou had never been an especially cautious person. In the past, his longing to return home had made him wary of becoming entangled in all sorts of affairs, but eventually, he resigned himself to his fate...

Now, having abandoned the thought of going home, his mind wholly occupied with the urge to explore this world, how could he possibly turn a blind eye to such an odd and suspicious occurrence?

Wouldn't you agree, traveler?

As a proper Fourth Calamity, Chen Ou always looked forward to these sorts of situations. After all, with his ability to protect himself, he could afford to be as reckless as he pleased.

And so, Chen Ou headed toward the area thick with toxic energy.

It wasn't long before Rotom began emitting a series of "beep-beep" alarm sounds.

"Beep-beep, the concentration of Poison-type energy ahead has reached the human limit for those not wearing protective gear. Rotom."

Rotom mischievously played a video on his screen: a stick figure walking along, suddenly clutching its head, turning purple all over, then collapsing. Its body decayed, leaving nothing but a pile of white bones. The stick figure's death was gruesome, almost unbearable to watch, and yet the background music was "A Good Day," a tune Chen Ou had once absentmindedly hummed.

With a single slap, Chen Ou knocked the prankster Rotom to the ground.

"Is this your idea of dark humor?" Chen Ou rolled his eyes at Rotom.

He wasn't particularly worried. For one, he wore a gas mask, effectively preventing the poisonous energy from entering through his nose and mouth, thus slowing the rate at which the energy could harm him.

Additionally, having eaten the Burn-Burn Fruit and gained elementalization, he was, in essence, an energy construct. This level of poisonous energy was nowhere near enough to affect him.

As for the drawbacks of an elemental body...

If you could fully control your elemental abilities, there were essentially no drawbacks at all. After all, if something could affect energy itself, it would have rendered the human body useless long ago.

What’s that? You mention elemental turbulence targeting elements...

Well, as far as Chen Ou knew, so long as Arceus’s plates remained intact, such things were unlikely to happen. And if elemental turbulence did occur, faced with lightning strikes, fire, or extreme cold, would your body give out first, or would the energy?

So true—being alive isn’t easy.

But Chen Ou was different. His form of existence had little to do with the human species anymore.

He didn’t even count as a Pokémon. After all, there were no Fire-types entirely composed of elements like him. If anything, he was more like certain Grass, Rock, or Ice-types.

So really, he wasn’t a Pokémon at all.

Calling him a fire spirit would be more accurate. Alas, the rules of the new world forbid such spirits.

But back to the matter at hand.

Chen Ou continued forward, with Rotom dutifully displaying the concentration of Poison-type energy along the way. The readings, however, did not increase further.

After another five hundred meters or so, the concentration remained at a level manageable with a gas mask—no higher.

"It seems we've entered the territory of a Poison-type Pokémon," Chen Ou said, his face beneath the mask growing more serious.

Powerful Pokémon often unconsciously released their energy to cover a certain area—a clear signal: "Don't mess with me."

Usually, such territories weren't too large, nor was the energy very intense. It was more like a safe zone, allowing them to sleep undisturbed.

But if you trespassed...

Those Pokémon with a nasty temper upon waking would fight you to the bitter end...

"Should we keep going, Rotom?" Rotom asked Chen Ou, a hint of helplessness in his tone. After all, any Pokémon capable of generating such an energy field was no weakling. And while Chen Ou and his team had little to fear at their current level, Rotom’s thinking was: the fewer complications, the better. These creatures weren’t to be trifled with, but confronting them was hardly reasonable either...

After all, you’re intruding in their home, waking them up, and then trying to take them away (capture them, that is). That’s bandit behavior, plain and simple!

Chen Ou waved a hand, signaling Rotom not to worry, then smiled with keen interest. “The Poison-type energy sample database Professor Oak and I compiled doesn’t contain this one. That means this Pokémon may never have been documented before. That makes it even more valuable, doesn’t it?”

Rotom pressed a hand to his screen in exasperation.

Damn it, what Trainer isn’t a bandit? What researcher isn’t a scoundrel?

How careless he’d been...

Back when he was a wild Rotom, he’d been happily stealing electricity and singing songs before he was caught and sent to Rotom School...

Those carefree days of reckless mischief were a lost youth he could never reclaim.

A look of nostalgia flashed across Rotom’s screen, brimming with the sentiment, “Those were the days...”

But the next second, Chen Ou, ever the scoundrel, interrupted.

“Enough reminiscing—lead the way. I have a feeling we’re in for a big discovery. If this really is a highly promising Poison-type Pokémon, I might be able to capture it. I’m genuinely curious to see if my enhancement abilities work on types other than Fire.”

A glint of manic excitement unique to researchers shone in Chen Ou’s eyes.

Rotom shot a disdainful glance at this fool who didn’t appreciate the value of youth, then resumed guiding the way.

What Chen Ou didn’t see, however, was the hint of worry behind his own curiosity.

After all, with his knowledge of the original works, Chen Ou had already catalogued all the ordinary Poison-type Pokémon, even the rarest ones, including those from the Galar region—like Toxel, for example.

Thanks to his exceptional memory, he clearly remembered which Poison-types he hadn’t yet recorded:

The Poison-type Silvally equipped with a Poison Memory.

The Rock/Poison Ultra Beast Nihilego.

The Poison-type Ultra Beast Poipole, and its evolved form, the Dragon/Poison-type Naganadel.

And the so-called “Great Naganadel,” Eternatus.

And finally... Arceus carrying the Poison Plate...

Any one of these appearing here would be a real headache.

But the likelihood of any of them showing up was slim! As far as Chen Ou knew, Ultra Wormholes had only opened in Alola so far, and the Aether Foundation hadn’t developed the Beast Balls yet. There were no traces of Ultra Wormholes opening in Kanto. So Poipole and Nihilego could be ruled out.

Likewise, the Aether Foundation didn’t have Beast Balls yet, which meant Silvally was out of the question.

As for Eternatus, boss of the Galar region, it would be very strange for that thing to show up in Kanto, wouldn’t it?

That left the last—and most likely—possibility...

Arceus playing with Poison in Kanto...

But given the abilities of Arceus or Eternatus, wasn’t this Poison-type energy far too weak?

So who, then, could it be?

With a shadow of unease in his heart, Chen Ou pressed onward, eager to uncover the truth.