Chapter 286: Antidote
Rinko was completely stunned as she stood there, a slightly surprised look on her face, which soon gave way to deep contemplation.
"There's absolutely no need to feel conflicted about dissecting a Pokémon like Rattata," Xiu continued, his tone matter-of-fact.
"There are far too many of them all over the world. This species eats everything – grass seeds, fruits, anything remotely edible.
Their nests are usually built underground, and they gnaw on tree roots, which is a serious burden on the surrounding ecology.
Now that I've dissected this one, and once we find an antidote or a countermeasure based on these findings, this Rattata will have contributed to saving potentially millions of other Pokémon and benefiting the entire region."
Xiu was not, by nature, a conventionally "good" person. He would always choose the most advantageous, most effective route to his goals.
With Abra's psychic assistance providing precision and sensory feedback, Xiu completed the autopsy quickly, leaving only a meticulously organized, if grim, collection of samples and notes on the workbench.
"Can I borrow your computer?" Xiu asked Rinko. Seeing her nod, he hurried upstairs to her office to which Xiu didn't hesitate.
He directly integrated his findings from the dissection and the earlier memory probe into a concise report and sent it to Professor Oak.
However, not long after he sent it, while he was composing another message the unknown drug affecting the wild Pokémon, an incoming video call request from Professor Oak appeared on the screen.
Xiu accepted it immediately.
The connection established, and Professor Oak looked startled when he saw Xiu's background – Rinko's laboratory.
"Xiu? Why are you at Rinko's garden?" he asked, his surprise evident.
"I captured a few agitated Pokémon that breached Pallet Town's outskirts," Xiu explained. "Daisy and Gary are safe at the institute. I couldn't very well conduct a dissection there, so I came to Rinko's place."
Xiu summarized the situation in a simple sentence, simultaneously addressing what he knew would be Professor Oak's primary concern.
"Daisy and Gary are both fine. Although a convoy of refugees from Viridian City has arrived, there aren't any major problems in Pallet Town itself yet."
After Professor Oak confirmed his grandchildren were safe, he was visibly relieved.
His tone, however, quickly became stern. "You are incredibly bold, Xiu! Selling off that much Stun Stem without even consulting me! Do you have any idea of the potential impact of your actions?"
"Professor, let me be frank," Xiu replied, his voice firm. "Apart from the Stun Stem, what other methods did you have to control a beast tide in such a short period?
Faced with the choice between the countless casualties of ordinary people if Viridian City fell and using the Stun Stem, what would you have chosen, Professor?"
Xiu's direct words instantly left Professor Oak speechless. It was, indeed, the most viable option under dire circumstances.
"Professor, you don't have to think so badly of me," Xiu continued, his tone softening slightly. "I spoke with Rinko about this. She understands all the risks involved.
I only contacted Officer Jenny after Rinko gave her explicit consent. I did not 'sell her out' or coerce her."
Xiu maintained a calm demeanor. His past lives had smoothed many of his rough edges, but that didn't mean certain bottom lines could be crossed without consequence.
No matter how pragmatic or even ruthless he could be, he would never sell out a friend for personal gain.
"Alas… that's not what I meant, Xiu," Professor Oak sighed, looking even older and more tired than usual.
Xiu paused, allowing his own slight irritation to cool before he took the initiative to explain further. "Professor, you must have been incredibly busy at the time. I couldn't contact you at all.
My only option was to ask for help from Director Bao Ba. He has an Alakazam that could use Teleport, which could quickly transport the Stun Stem to where it was needed.
Plus, he has direct lines of communication with the Jennys."
"Why Officer Jenny specifically?" Oak inquired.
"Because Miss Rinko had previously supplied some of her Stun Stem to certain Joy factions," Xiu explained, his eyes narrowing slightly, his expression becoming unreadable.
"For Miss Rinko's own safety and future autonomy, I couldn't risk this large consignment falling into their hands again." He paused, then added,
"Besides, the Joys, for all its resources, doesn't command the same presence as the Jennys. Their deterrent effect on certain… interested parties… is not as strong."
Professor Oak, however, seemed to pick up on an underlying implication. "What exactly are you planning to do, Xiu?" he asked, a note of caution in his voice.
"From now on, no one can force Rinko to do anything she doesn't want to do." Xiu stated, his voice hardening.
Xiu's expression turned unexpectedly grim, and even through the video screen, Professor Oak could feel the intense, protective emotion simmering beneath his words.
At this point, Professor Oak finally understood Xiu's full intent. He was trying to leverage the massive Stun Stem delivery to strike a deal with the Jennys, securing their protection for Rinko and breaking any undue influence or restrictions the League or other factions might have held over her due to her family's legacy.
But… Oak thought, if it were that simple, Rinko wouldn't have been in such a precarious position for so long. He sighed internally. I'll still have to clean up some of this mess, won't I?
As if guessing Professor Oak's thoughts, Xiu added another critical piece of information. "There is no more Stun Stem of that specific, highly potent strain. I've already had Rinko assist me in harvesting all remaining mature plants, and we've ground the roots into powder as well.
Those people can no longer get what they want directly from her. If there's no continuous benefit to be gained, they will naturally not risk offending Officer Jenny by trying to coerce or harm Rinko."
Professor Oak was genuinely shocked when he heard this. Good heavens, boy! That move—cutting off the supply at the source—is a killing blow to their leverage.
"What did you say to Rinko?" Oak asked, bewildered. How could she agree to let her parents' most outstanding research result, the culmination of their work, end like that?
"If you hold onto something too tightly, refusing to let it go, you are doomed to be restricted by it," Xiu replied calmly. "It is better to simply let it go, secure your freedom, and then, if desired, start anew on your own terms."
Professor Oak was again left speechless by Xiu's reasoning. Well said, young man, he thought wryly, it's not your parents' life's work that you've just effectively neutralized, so of course, you can say it so freely.
"Let's discuss this later. Let's talk about the immediate business first," Xiu said, having no intention of delving deeper into that particular topic with Professor Oak at the moment. He adeptly changed the subject.
The two then communicated about the specifics of the rampaging Pokémon Xiu had encountered. Xiu also relayed the information he had obtained from the autopsy.
This, however, elicited a weary complaint from Dr. Oak. "You didn't have to go to that trouble, Xiu. The League has already developed an antidote."
"So fast?" Xiu was genuinely surprised. They found the situation only recently, yet an antidote is ready in just a few days?
"You don't think the Kanto League did nothing, do you?" Professor Oak said, a hint of his usual professorial tone returning as he regained the conversational initiative.
"They noticed the unusual activity in Viridian Forest at the outset and immediately captured some of the affected Pokémon.
These were sent directly to research facilities. And the Joys have access to some of the world's top equipment and biochemical talents. How difficult do you think it would be for them to crack a relatively crude psychoactive drug?"
"It seems the Joys is quite powerful indeed," Xiu conceded, his impression of them shifting slightly.
"What else would you expect? Eighty of the top one hundred Pokémon Breeders in the world are affiliated with the Joys in some capacity. They also have cooperative relationships with various top experts and scholars in numerous fields."
"So, Professor, are you going to participate in the cracking and production of the antidote?" Xiu probed.
Professor Oak didn't seem inclined to answer that directly. Instead, he began to explain to Xiu the mechanism of action of Team Rocket's drug and the current plan for preparing and distributing the antidote.
The general gist was that the drug greatly stimulated a Pokémon's brain, making it highly active and aggressive.
This stimulation, however, required continuous intake of the drug to maintain.
If the supply was cut off, the Pokémon would become even more manic and violent, desperately seeking out more of the substance to which they were now acutely sensitive.
Fortunately, the Nurse Joy researchers had already cracked its composition.
Now, they just needed to mass-produce and distribute the antidote based on the established formula.
But then Oak added a rather unsettling detail: "...this formula, unfortunately, requires a key component derived from the brain tissue of already infected Pokémon."