Chapter 37: Pokémon Punk 2077
No one knows how things like Secret Realms came to be.
Most Secret Realms are two completely isolated spaces from reality, with only one entrance but many exits.
The three Natural Secret Realms inside Academy City have all been traversed by countless predecessors, and detailed maps have long been drawn up with every possible exit marked in detail, but if you want to get out without a map, it’s probably still impossible.
The maps not only mark the exits but also many Ecological Dense Areas where ferocious Pokémon gather; if you wander in without a map and enter an Ecological Dense Area, you definitely won’t even have a whole corpse left.
The entire Academy City has only three Natural Secret Realms, and White Dragon High School monopolizes two of them.
One is an Ecological Dense Rainforest that’s almost entirely marked red on the map, numbered 1005, and the other is the filming location for Pokémon Punk mentioned by Old Man, numbered 2077.
The interior of 2077 is all building ruins, unlike other Secret Realms in the world; 2077 is the only place confirmed to have had other human existence.
《Pokémon Punk 2077》, this game’s map modeling recreates part of the destroyed buildings in the Secret Realm.
Zuo Hang had heard this claim.
Tieba, Weibo—many places have articles written by netizens about the source of the Pokémon Punk map, but hearing Old Man admit it personally today still surprised him a bit.
The Pokémon known as Ultra Beasts in the League Pokédex are said to come from Secret Realm space 2077.
—Codename “Parasite Beast,” UB01 Beast, Nihilego.
—Codename “Sticky,” UB08 Beast, Naganadel.
—Codename “Stacked,” UB09 Beast, Stakataka.
Besides that, there’s Pheromosa, Buzwell, Xurkitree.
Zuo Hang had only seen these Pokémon in the Pokédex; to him, they were rarer existences than Mythical Beasts and Pseudo-Legendaries.
It’s said that Ultra Beasts are just ordinary Pokémon in their original world, but to this world, they are terrifying things that can threaten the survival of humanity and Pokémon.
Zuo Hang said, “A high-risk Secret Realm with Ultra Beasts—you sure White Dragon High can really open that place? I know how dangerous Ultra Beasts are; even if I join the Student Union, it’s not like I can just go in whenever I want.”
“Smack~” Old Man tapped Zuo Hang’s forehead, “What are you thinking all day? The Ultra Beasts have mostly been wiped out long ago; even though it has the high-risk title, 2077 is now just a pure ruin with nothing there.”
“Then why should I go in?”
“Tch~~ Can you let me finish first? It looks like there’s nothing on the surface, but what if some are left?
If there are, go catch a Buzwell and bring it back. The Pokémon underground at White Dragon are hard to deal with, but if there’s a Buzwell, I have at least an eighty percent chance!” Zuo Tian said.
—Codename “Beauty,” UB02 Ultra Beast Buzwell, said to have a beautiful face that makes all Pokémon fall for it; regardless of gender, they lose hostility the instant they see it and become charmed.
Zuo Hang had never seen a Buzwell and didn’t know if it was as divine as the rumors said.
“If I really find one, I’ll give it a try,” Zuo Hang said.
“Good, I knew you’d agree, kid! But… I have to warn you, in case you run into danger.”
“I’ll run, don’t worry.”
“Haha, that’s good.” Old Man patted Zuo Hang’s shoulder, “No matter what you think, Old Man me absolutely won’t screw you over!”
“Oh, right!” Zuo Tian suddenly remembered something, “White Dragon High isn’t just full of League people—know Team Plasma?”
“Yeah, that chuunibyou organization that’s always dreaming of catching black and white dragons to rule the world.”
Old Man said, “Good you know; I’m just giving you an example. Academy City is a mixed bag with all sorts of factions; your 15- and 16-year-old classmates—seriously, don’t trust age too much. There are plenty of dark Trainers your age… and those casual workers in the Entertainment District, the old man at the ramen shop.”
“Hold up.” Zuo Hang interrupted, “Too exaggerated, Old Man. I’m going to school, not into a den of thieves—don’t set up weird imaginary enemies for me; I don’t have persecution delusion.”
“No, I’m just reminding you…”
“No more reminders; I don’t want to spend another second with you right now. I feel like if I stay longer, you’ll just say more and more.” Zuo Hang pulled open the door without hesitation and put away that Investigator’s identification.
Before leaving, he said, “Throw out the veggies in the fridge; they’re spoiled. Remember to do the dishes before going out; even if Zuo Rou and I aren’t here, come back a few times.”
Old Man waved his hand, “Nag nag! Get going! What’s the point of me living alone in this little house?! Talk about it when you two come back!”
……
…
Arrived in the morning, left at noon.
Zuo Hang didn’t stay long at home.
He had originally thought of going out to eat with Old Man, but the moment he stuck out his finger and said “one more thing,” Zuo Hang knew.
Eating out was absolutely off the table.
One thing means two things.
He had to run for Class Monitor and campaign for Student Union, help his sister overcome social anxiety… and now there’s suddenly this Investigator gig.
Zuo Hang sighed…
Life is really tough.
“Pika~”
Pikachu sighed along…
The little guy didn’t have much tough about life, but near vermilion gets red, near ink gets black; after spending so long with Zuo Hang, he got infected too.
*
Back at White Dragon, he headed straight for the Training Ground.
Since he returned early, sister’s matter should be settled sooner.
After watching Turtwig’s training for a few days, it could basically fight Fletchling to a 46 split; the only problem was Zuo Rou—she needed to be able to give commands normally with multiple people watching.
Zuo Hang switched to QQ and found the class group.
Class A’s group chat had no one talking, but he could still find the corresponding people in the member list.
Staring at the member list in thought for several seconds, Zuo Hang realized the only person he could call was Xingye.
Calling just one definitely wouldn’t work, but he basically hadn’t even talked to the others.
“3 PM, Training Ground 5, train with me, you in?” Zuo Hang found a few people he was relatively familiar with and copied and pasted this message several times.
The people receiving this message were Hoshino Ryuji, squinty-eyed Lin Ping who’d fought him once, airheaded Heichuan Nagi, and Vice President Jiang Xia who’d he pissed off last time.
Four people, plus him makes five—barely enough audience; he just didn’t know how many would actually come.
Jiang Xia probably wouldn’t come… If not for having so few people to contact, Zuo Hang wouldn’t have messaged her; last time at the Student Union, her expression when looking at him was pretty stiff.
*
On the other side.
Jiang Xia was taking Dedenne for grooming at a shop outside White Dragon High School.
“3 PM, Training Ground 5, train with me, you in?” Jiang Xia read the terminal message softly.
Had to say, this was a line that could easily cause misunderstanding.
“Heh.” Jiang Xia sneered, “Dedenne, revenge opportunity’s here! We’ve practiced Charm for a week! That Electric Mouse is going down this time!”
“Dedenne~~” Dedenne echoed on the surface but was panicking inside.
I think pretty much no one doesn’t know about Ultra Beasts, right? Anyway, I as a discontinued-generation player know, and I figure you guys probably do too (dog)
