Chapter 479: Wisdom and Delusion
In the final few days before their departure, Arthur was also busy with preparations. The doctor had been occupied with repairing his sand-proof forest and hadn't come to see him much. Amani, however, frequently came over with her Indeedee, Jia Ran, to go over the supply list with him.
One day, Amani brought him some rather surprising news. "You're saying that Sandslash wasn't the one who destroyed the trees that day?"
Amani nodded. "That's right. After investigating the site, we found that only a small part of the forest was destroyed by the Sandslash's moves. The rest was actually destroyed by human explosives. The Sandslash also explained that it was being pursued and had run to the outskirts of the city as a last resort. To force it out, the pursuers deliberately destroyed the forest. It's just despicable! In the end, it was the Sandslash that bravely stood up to protect the remaining trees. Unfortunately, by the time our people arrived, the real culprits had already fled, leaving only it and its pack of Sandshrew behind, which is why there was such a misunderstanding."
Arthur was quite surprised to hear this. "Is that really what happened?"
Out of curiosity, he went to see the Sandslash later. When he arrived at the temporary enclosure where it was being held, the Sandshrew, which had been playfully tumbling and rolling around, immediately froze as if they had seen a predator. They instantly stood up, backed away, and lined up against the wall behind the Sandslash, like a welcoming committee.
The sight made Amani both surprised and amused. "What did you do to these Sandshrew?"
Arthur looked innocent. "Nothing. This is my first time here."
It wasn't until the Sandslash, who had been sitting on the ground, stood up and bowed to Arthur with its hands clasped together, signaling that there was no more hostility between them, that the Sandshrew behind it finally relaxed and went back to their playing.
The scene made Arthur raise an eyebrow. "What a clever Sandslash," he marveled.
He had sensed something special about it during their battle, and now, in this peaceful encounter, he was even more convinced of its extraordinary nature. He could clearly see human-like emotions and intelligence in its eyes, which was extremely rare for its species.
Amani added, "Yes, many of the professors in the Pokémon studies department are fighting to study it. They're calling it a once-in-a-century case of early sapience."
The average intelligence of the Sandslash species wasn't high, roughly equivalent to a five or six-year-old human child. With training, they could understand simple battle commands, but that was usually the extent of it. They weren't a particularly intelligent species. Generally, humanoid Pokémon, Psychic and Fairy types, and long-lived Pokémon tended to have higher intelligence. Most beast-type Pokémon, however, were not known for their smarts.
But the level of intelligence this particular Sandslash had displayed completely defied common sense. "This Sandslash isn't very old, yet it was able to clearly explain what had happened to it. Its communication was incredibly clear and complete! It was the one who approached us to clear up the misunderstanding and even provided evidence to prove its innocence. It was quite a shock."
As she spoke, Amani held out a Pokéblock. The Sandslash first nodded in thanks before reaching out with its claw to take the food. It was clear that its intelligence was not that of a beast or a child; it had a very polite and well-mannered demeanor. It was also very calm in Arthur's presence. It was obvious that it still held him in awe, but unlike the Sandshrew, it wasn't so scared that it couldn't even approach him.
This made Arthur marvel once again. "Have you found anything in your research? Any idea why it's so smart?" he asked.
But this time, Amani could only shake her head regretfully. "No, the professors' research hasn't made much progress. The Sandslash itself did offer an explanation, though. It said it's because it received a revelation from a great being, and this revelation made it understand its mission."
"A revelation..." Arthur repeated to himself. For a moment, it felt like something had flashed in his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp the thought.
Just then, a Poké Ball on his belt suddenly started to shake. This was quite rare. Arthur opened the ball, and an eager Little Lapras emerged. It immediately rushed toward the Sandslash. Through their telepathic link, Arthur caught the gist of Little Lapras's thoughts.
"A revelation! That's it, it must be a revelation! Why didn't I think of that? My destiny to become the King of the Five Seas must also be a premonition from a revelation! This Sandslash is my destined best friend! I will become the lord of the oceans and the cold currents, and he will be crowned the king of the earth and the deserts!"
Hearing Little Lapras's excited monologue, Arthur felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. Unconsciously, the little one had upgraded her self-proclaimed title again. In terms of age, Little Lapras was nearing adulthood, so why was her chuunibyou syndrome even worse than when he had first brought her from Coral Island?
Greninja, standing behind Arthur, couldn't help but pull on its long tongue, adjusting it like a scarf to cover its face, as if that could somehow reduce its presence. Master must never know that I was the one who introduced Little Lapras to the world of anime. Little Lapras used Greninja's tablet and streaming account to watch her shows. If Arthur ever found out, his life as a frog would be socially over.
Surprisingly, Little Lapras and the Sandslash began to communicate without any barriers, and they seemed to be getting along quite well. Seeing this, Arthur gave up on trying to recall the fleeting thought he'd had.
"So it was just a case of chuunibyou," he muttered to himself and didn't think any more of it.
"So, will this Sandslash be staying at the academy?" he then asked Amani.
To his surprise, Amani sighed regretfully. "The professors in the Pokémon studies department all want to keep it for research, but the doctor and the dean both refused. It's from the nature reserve. Forcibly keeping it in the human world against its will would violate our agreement with the Pokémon. And with a Legendary Pokémon residing in the desert, it's a risk we don't need to take. So, we'll be taking it with us when we leave in a few days. It will be entering the desert with us."
Arthur was surprised. "You know there's a Legendary in the desert?"
Amani smiled. "It's not really a secret for the alliances bordering the desert. Besides, for the last fifty years, the sunlight in the center of the desert has been exceptionally intense, and it rarely rains. Anyone with a little knowledge of Legendaries can guess who's there, right?"
Arthur nodded, suddenly feeling like his trip to see Suicune had been a bit of a waste. It seemed he could have gotten all the information he needed right here in the Batta Alliance. But then again, he hadn't known the situation here, and it was always better to be over-prepared.
And besides, after Suicune had taken advantage of him, he had gotten his revenge by showing off Leafeon. She may have gotten a small win, but he hadn't lost out either.
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