Why did a previously existing underwater cave mysteriously disappear?
Based on the knowledge Baimu currently possesses.
Perhaps only the move "Secret Power" from the game, which can carve out a secret space in rock walls, can explain this strange phenomenon.
Or, it could be an Illusory Place.
A very special location in the Gemstone Reproduction game, where you need to fly high with the Water City Siblings to discover and access it, not always existing, similar to the original Illusory Island.
After the mini-submarine surfaced on the screen, it remained still for a long time without anyone retrieving it. Liu Yuan checked other files and found out the surfacing command didn't come from the main ship.
The mini-submarine had its internal components accidentally damaged when struck by a group of Sharpedo, causing Porygon to misinterpret the main ship's return command, breaking the network connection. When it surfaced at Sea Mauville, its bizarre and unfamiliar appearance immediately attracted the curious peeking of numerous Wingull.
Some daring ones flew over and pecked at it, seemingly wanting to dismantle the mini-submarine to investigate further.
The attacked Porygon immediately switched to attack mode—
Using sound waves to drive away the wild Wingull.
Just like how Milotic drives away wild Gyarados, these sound waves were quite effective, and the wild Wingull scattered instantly.
Unfortunately, their previous attacks still caused some damage to the mini-submarine, and with the existing damages, the camera became blurry.
In a trance, it seemed like black smoke was rising from the exterior of the mini-submarine.
The camera completely fell into darkness.
From the timing, there were still more than ten minutes left, but Baimu had almost guessed the subsequent plot by now.
Is this perhaps the countdown to an explosion?
The recording equipment seemed to have failed too, leaving only a long string of static noise.
Liu Yuan pressed fast-forward, but there was no further content, only a final "pop" sound as the ending, most likely the echo of the mini-submarine exploding.
"It seems that's all the video content there is."
He began to call up other file information to review and check one by one.
Baimu couldn't understand at all, so he could only wait for the other party to explain the situation.
After a while.
Liu Yuan closed all the pages and said, "Hmm... it seems the New Water Fleet is indeed deliberately searching for Lugia."
"Why do you think the underwater cave Lugia entered has mysteriously disappeared?" Baimu took the opportunity to ask, maybe the other party knew the answer.
Unfortunately, Liu Yuan shook his head.
"I'm sorry, I can't give you a precise answer. There are too many unsolved mysteries on Legendary Pokémon, not something a small international police officer like me can probe through a piece of video."
"I see..."
He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
Liu Yuan pulled a chip from the machine next to him, walked to the front, and placed it into a box that was disassembled into small squares, reassembled it, and charged it again.
The box, once with an uneven surface, was back.
The international police officer placed the black box in front of him, "Just like when you first arrived, I've erased all the records of the check, so you can safely return it to them."
"Return?"
Baimu was somewhat confused, "Aren't you keeping it? As evidence or something."
"A backup has been made, but it's not criminal evidence, so there's nothing about it being evidence."
Liu Yuan smiled, "Like I said, even if it's proven that the New Water Fleet is searching for Lugia, what does that prove? Even if they've already captured Lugia, as long as they haven't committed any crimes, there's nothing we can do to intervene.
"And aren't you also looking for Lugia? Leo told me, 'To restore the greenery to Ore, the leader of the Rainbow Team, Baimu, decided to follow Lugia's footsteps', am I wrong?"
Baimu's face quickly turned a bit embarrassed.
Why does this sound like 'to save the academy, they decided to become idols'? What is Shanren up to!
"It should... be something like that. Because of some past mistakes, Lugia, which used to inhabit the Ore Region, left, and I want to try and persuade it to come back."
He said in a low voice.
Liu Yuan replied, "Then if the New Water Fleet is searching for Lugia to protect the natural environment, wouldn't you be competitors?"
"Uh, if that's the case, indeed."
Baimu held the black box and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
After all, everyone was going for Lugia, so why is he the good guy, and the New Water Fleet the bad guys? It feels a bit like resorting to unscrupulous means to discredit competitors.
But to be fair, he really has no intention of forcibly taking Lugia back, at most just a soft persuasion, and if it doesn't work, so be it. Yet the New Water Fleet has a criminal record...
The more he thought about it, the more he felt he was being unreasonable?
"Hahaha."
Liu Yuan seemed to understand what he was thinking and comforted, "Being vigilant is a good thing, and I can understand your extreme distrust of such organizations with a criminal history. However, I personally suggest looking on the bright side.
"Think about it, Dr. Akihabara can be involved in this, surely he knows the inside story. Core members not knowing the target plan is something that only happens in films. If you have questions about what the New Water Fleet is doing, you might wanna ask him."
Having said this, he didn't continue to dwell on it.
"Thanks for your trouble."
Baimu thanked him, Liu Yuan waved it off as a matter of duty.
Then, with the help of a burly-bearded man, he returned to the Pokémon Center.
By this time, the beach campfire gathering had already ended, the streets were empty, and the Pokémon Center was in a semi-closed state, with only the emergency entrance on the side still open.
Baimu went in and saw a dozing Blissey at the front desk, couldn't help but cough.
"Ha, happy?"
Blissey woke up startled, seeing him and thinking it was a Trainer with an injured Pokémon, hurriedly about to wake up Miss Joy.
"No!"
Baimu hastily stopped it, saying softly, "I just wanted to remind you, it seemed like you were dozing off."
Blissey adjusted its nurse cap upon hearing this, looking at him quite speechlessly, and patted his arm to express gratitude, "Happy~"
It originally wanted to pat his shoulder, but unfortunately, this young man was 1.8 meters tall, and Blissey's arms were too short.
Baimu gave it a thumbs up and quietly went upstairs.
Back in the room.
He quickly relaxed, lay down on the bed after taking off his backpack, and raised the black box.
Should he return it?
According to the image data, before disconnecting from the internet, the New Water Fleet had already received the footage. In other words, if the New Water Fleet's target was Lugia, this black box no longer has any use for them.
To Dr. Akihabara, however, it holds a different value. Some of the mini-submarine data in it has commemorative significance and can serve as experience accumulation for the next construction of a device carrying Porygon.
It seems I should indeed return it, and maybe ask Dr. Akihabara about the New Water Fleet as well.
He made up his mind.