Chapter Forty-Six: Those Unknown Pasts and Futures

Chen Ou’s expression was grave.

According to the workers, they had already cleared away many corpses of various Pokémon, yet what lay before them, resembling sludge, was still the remains of Grimer. The sheer scale of it could only be described as a thousand-mud pit. Thousands of Grimer had perished here in the riverbed, as if for some mass burial. Chen Ou felt a chill run down his spine.

Grimer was hardly a beloved Pokémon, but its resilience was well-known—it was one of the toughest survivors. Yet here they lay, dead without a sound or trace. Chen Ou sensed something was amiss, but he couldn’t piece it together. What force or being could cause such a multitude of Grimer—enough to challenge a city—to die here in silence?

Moreover, the state of the Grimer corpses was odd. While Grimer’s body would eventually become indistinguishable from ordinary sludge, that process should take a month or two; even after death, Pokémon retained enough energy to preserve their bodies for some time. Grimer had no natural enemies—most Pokémon avoided it at all costs.

From the hints and overheard conversations among the workers, Chen Ou learned that these Grimer—or this sludge—had appeared no more than two days ago. Considering the timing and circumstances, it could only mean something had drained every last bit of residual energy from their bodies.

Chen Ou immediately connected this to his earlier suspicions. He knew that certain Poison-type Pokémon, during their growth, could absorb the energy of other Poison-types, converting it into their own. Some trainers, driven by extreme methods, even used this technique to train their Pokémon, though it risked causing them to become violent, shortening their lifespan, or even leading to backlash.

Nevertheless, Poison-types cultivated this way grew faster and became stronger. This was why the League struggled to eradicate the practice; many Poison-type trainers built their careers on it, and the technique was hardly a secret. Some even developed their own unique methods to exploit this ability, calling it “Venom Devouring.”

This was a breeding method exclusive to Poison-types—other types, aside from Ghost-types with their mutual devouring, did not require such a brutal approach.

Yet Chen Ou remained puzzled. His familiarity with Grimer stemmed from his research into its Poison-type energy when collecting samples. He became fascinated by these Pokémon, composed of poison and mud, so similar to his own existence, and began to study them in detail.

He catalogued every type of Poison energy from Grimer and Muk in his sample library. Yet this conflicted with the unknown Poison-type energy observed at the site. After devouring, a Pokémon would typically experience energy turbulence. Chen Ou, familiar with the process, was prepared for this—Rotom could analyze the energy and determine its closest match, providing a rough identification.

But there was nothing.

So, what Pokémon could have drained the energy from the Grimer corpses? Why did it lure so many Grimer here? This was no small number; Chen Ou estimated that most of the Grimer from Deep Gray City and Cerulean City were present.

Chen Ou took protective gloves from his backpack and, under the workers’ shocked stares, scooped up a handful of sludge and examined it closely.

“Hey, isn’t that guy disgusted?”
“Is he really a researcher? Real researchers shouldn’t get their hands dirty, right?”
“Yeah, why would he dare pick up such filthy sludge?”

The workers voiced their doubts one after another.

Junzhi, however, watched Chen Ou’s actions in silence. At this moment, Junzhi finally understood how this man before him had become the youngest Pokémon Professor. Yes, Junzhi recognized Chen Ou.

He was fascinated by Chen Ou’s published papers—the hypothesis that legendary Pokémon influenced the world’s stability intrigued him. He had studied Chen Ou’s work: imaginative ideas fused with meticulous logic. Such researchers were rare in the entire field.

Now, seeing the unpretentious Chen Ou, Junzhi couldn’t help but marvel—this was truly a Pokémon Professor.

Meanwhile, Chen Ou had no idea Junzhi had recognized him. Otherwise, he would have been suspicious of Junzhi—a worker who could comprehend Chen Ou’s papers, who understood professional journals...

Chen Ou’s papers were not mere storytelling or popularization of ancient legends. They were rich in references, personal investigations of ruins, and information relating to mythical Pokémon. His unconventional thinking, though logically structured, made the papers dauntingly difficult to read. That Junzhi could understand them...

Unaware of this, Chen Ou continued to examine the state of the Grimer corpse. Suddenly, he placed the sludge back on the ground, removed his gloves, and—amid a chorus of shocked cries—plunged his bare hand into the sludge.

This was no longer a matter of disgust.

The workers’ first thought was that he didn’t care about his hand anymore. They all knew the stuff was toxic and should never be touched directly. Chen Ou’s lack of a protective suit was already seen as reckless; now he was putting his hand in the sludge.

Junzhi reacted instantly, striding forward and pushing Chen Ou aside. Chen Ou cried out, pulling his hand from the puddle.

“What are you doing! You’re not just risking your own safety—you could endanger us little people, too! Do you know you’re a member of the Oak Research Institute? Do you know what the Oak Institute means to people like us?!”

Junzhi’s face was grim; he hadn’t expected Chen Ou’s actions. As he scolded Chen Ou, he took his water bottle from his belt and, without giving Chen Ou a chance to protest, washed the sludge off his hand.

Chen Ou watched Junzhi’s methodical response compared to the other workers’ flustered reactions, and while he admired him, a trace of suspicion flickered in his eyes.

But he showed nothing, only quietly checked his hand, which was still perfectly normal.

“This sludge...isn’t toxic...”