Pokémon Detective: Cynthia Forces Me to Adopt a Pokémon

Chapter 333 Poisonous Stone Tablet – Dream

"Hey? Hugo, why do you look so pale after just one walk outside? Were you attacked on the street?"

On the third floor of a building in the Dojo Street of Feiyun City, inside Dr. Makomo's Dream Lab, Azure looked in surprise at the detective in the white coat returning from outside.

"I just went to the crime scene where Servilik's body was found, and I ran into people from Team Plasma there. But we didn't fight. They were messengers sent by N to inquire about the case."

The detective, having entered the research institute, shook his head. He carefully stepped over the various colored cables at the entrance, found an empty chair among the scattered equipment, sat down, and said—

"I didn't encounter any danger, I'm just a little confused right now because I've been hearing about some really serious cases one after another."

"It's quite rare to see the great detective of Feiyun City get so frightened by a case... Here, would you like some coffee? Miss Azure, you can't drink it, it will affect the stability of the dream connection later."

A petite girl with two round buns emerged from the gap between the machines. Dragging an ill-fitting lab coat, she found a round table among the piles of documents, skillfully cleared some space, and placed a pot of freshly brewed coffee on it.

"Thank you, could I have a drink?"

Hugo, holding his head, answered absentmindedly, completely unaware that countless obstacles separated him from the coffee pot.

At this moment, as if sensing Hugo's needs, the Chimchar that followed the detective into the room diligently rummaged through the clutter on the floor, took a cup of coffee from the girl with a paper cup, and then carefully ran back to Hugo and placed it in the trainer's hand.

"Hmm... I really want to ask about the details of those cases right away, but the previous dream connections haven't been going very smoothly. Before Miss Mia wakes up, we still need to conduct another experiment later, so now is really not the time to hear about the details of the cases."

Bilan looked at her boss, who was sipping hot coffee, and said resentfully.

"My sister's device was originally a special version designed for Pokémon dreams. Normally, it can only reproduce the dreams that Pokémon have while they are sleeping. After all, humans have a rich ability to express themselves. Generally, they can talk about their dreams within a short period of time after waking up, so there is no need to specially configure one. Therefore, the device needs to be adjusted before it can be successfully connected to Miss Mia's dream."

The petite girl poured herself a cup of coffee and said leisurely—

"However, the sleep wavelength in the last test was already very close to the correct parameters. Judging from my sister's confident demeanor just now, she shouldn't fail again this time."

"You're right, Truffle! I definitely won't fail this time!"

A black-haired researcher dressed in a white robe emerged from the laboratory inside the research institute, followed by a creature shrouded in smoke, Dr. Makomo, the girl's older sister.

"Miss Azure, the equipment has been fully calibrated. Please try it one more time."

The professor took out a device that resembled a Pokémon learning device, a circular mesh headband covered with magnetic poles, with many cables and plastic tubes connected to the back. She confidently announced—

"As long as you wear this device on your head and then fall asleep in the colorless smoke of Dream Erosion, the dream connection device I invented will synchronize your sleep wavelength with Miss Mia's. Then, you will see the dream that she is immersed in in your own dream, and you can even influence the latter's consciousness in reverse, truly achieving the effect of linking the two dreams together!"

"Sigh, I've listened to this explanation three times already. I hope it will work this time..."

Azure smiled wryly as she stood up, preparing to follow Dr. Makomo into the laboratory.

"Azure, we need to deal with this situation as quickly as possible. The poisoning case might be much more serious than we anticipated."

The detective snapped out of his long contemplation and reminded his assistant.

"Understood, I will do my best!"

The young assistant raised a victory sign (V-sign) to her boss, only to be met with Dr. Makomo's Dream Eater sticking right in front of her.

The professor's eyes lit up as he watched the newly acquired Pokémon interact with Azure: "Wow, this child really likes Miss Azure, I'm so envious..."

"If you, Doctor, were locked in a room for more than a month without food or water, and someone came to rescue you, you would definitely develop a special fondness for that person."

The chestnut-haired girl forcefully separated Momo from her body, comforting the pink Pokémon that kept trying to rub against her, as she walked towards the laboratory where Mia was.

"However, since this Dream Eater likes you so much, Miss Azure, have you ever considered becoming its trainer?" Professor Makomo asked.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate. Unlike the Archaeopteryx, which suffered psychological trauma, this Eclipse seems to be naturally timid and shy, to the point that it fainted from hunger while hiding in a classroom full of children. It probably won’t be able to get along well with the other Pokémon I’ve raised… Rather than changing trainers, this kid probably needs to rest and recuperate for a while. I also have a detective assistant job in Unova, so I might not have much time to take care of it.”

Azure carried Dream Eater, who was unusually small among its kind, to the Doctor's side.

"Besides me, a human, whether the child was isolated and helpless or needed comfort from a companion, wasn't there another guy who offered a helping hand? Letting the two of them stay together would obviously be a better fate."

As we were talking, the scene inside the laboratory came into view.

The indoor lights were dimmed to the minimum level that would not affect the experiment. In the center of the laboratory, Miss Mia, who had come for treatment, was lying quietly with her eyes closed on a strange machine that looked like a massage chair. On the other side, Mengmengshi was on her head, using soft pink smoke to soothe the girl's mind.

This Dream Eater was a whole size bigger than the one Azure was holding. As soon as it saw the Doctor bring Azure in, it immediately floated lightly off Miss Mia's head and started circling around Azure and the smaller Dream Eater, making "mhoo-mhoo" sounds, looking very happy.

"Shh... Meng Meng Eclipse, be quiet."

Dr. Makomo reluctantly made a shushing gesture, quietly indicating to her partner not to wake Miss Mia. Then she turned to Azure beside her—

"Miss Azure, just like the previous test, you will lie on the recliner next to me. This Dream Eater will release a harmless dose of Dream Smoke to help you enter a deep sleep. If the experiment is successful, you will be able to see the dream that Miss Mia is in."

"If you fail, you'll be awakened by Xiaomengmengshi's 'Healing Bell' which removes abnormal statuses, right?"

Azure sighed deeply—

"Although there was no pain, being forcibly pulled back to reality from sleep was still somewhat uncomfortable. If possible, I hope I won't have to go through it a fourth time."

"Please...please rest assured! This time the parameter state is the most perfect since the experiment began, it should...no, it absolutely will not fail again!" The doctor swore to the heavens with a face full of apology.

The girl could only manage a hollow smile: "I'll definitely not fail. I've heard similar things four times already..."

While quietly complaining about Dr. Makomo's blunders, Azure also managed to relax.

She sat down in the experimental recliner as quietly as possible, put on the dream connection device with tubes inserted into it, and lay down like Miss Mia next to her.

The doctor's voice came from above—

"The wavelength interferometer has been activated, the signal acquisition unit is operating normally, and the clutter interference has been completely shielded... Okay, Miss Azure, we can begin."

So the girl began to count silently.

"one two three four……"

Immediately, a colorless and odorless transparent smoke rushed towards her, and before she could count to five, the girl's consciousness abruptly ceased as if it had been frozen in time.

It was as if I were being swallowed up by a connected dream.

.

In the laboratory, the doctor looked at the blue creature that had successfully fallen into a deep sleep, but frowned with unease.

"What's going on? Did the dosage of Dream Smoke get wrong? The last few times, it took Miss Azure about twenty seconds to fall asleep, how come she fell asleep so quickly this time?"

Makomo looked suspiciously at her partner, Mengmengshi, who shook her long pink nose, looking puzzled, and shook her head aggrievedly, indicating that there was nothing wrong with the smoke she exhaled.

The doctor, still worried, checked Azure's vital signs again. Seeing that the girl's heartbeat was normal and her breathing was steady, he didn't want to wake her up again for no reason, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue with the dream connection experiment.

"In the end, the dream that Miss Mia experienced was suspiciously abnormal. People usually see fragmented memories or fantasies in their dreams, and some people also have strong emotions in their dreams—but most of these dream fragments are forgotten as soon as they wake up. Unless the dreamer deliberately records them, those fragments will never flow into reality. Even those mental illness patients who claim to be plagued by nightmares are actually left with nothing more than aftereffects such as insomnia, excessive sleepiness, and stiff neck."

The doctor examined the various data displayed on the instrument screen, muttering to himself—

"Miss Mia's bizarre behavior of having suicidal thoughts due to a dream and then acting on them is an extreme case. You see, the human subconscious contains a survival instinct, and under the resistance of that instinct, even if possessed by a Ghost-type Pokémon, it's difficult for the Pokémon to manipulate a human body into self-harm or suicide... It's hard to imagine that Mia could be so affected by her own dream, completely ignoring even her instinct to resist death..."

Just as Dr. Makomo was muttering to himself, a pre-set program window popped up on the instrument screen in front of him, indicating a successful connection.

"Phew, it seems Miss Azure has successfully connected to Mia's dream. As expected, there are no problems after the dream parameters for humans are adjusted. I need to record this data..."

However, the dream scholar, who was focused on his work, did not notice that Miss Azure's sleeping face, who was soundly asleep in the recliner, had undergone a subtle change.

Her brow furrowed slightly, almost imperceptibly, as if she had seen something incomprehensible in Mia's dream...

.

When I came to my senses, I found myself in a spacious area.

I didn't feel anything special; my consciousness was hazy, and I couldn't even tell what color the open space in front of me was... This is probably what the world looks like through the eyes of a blind person.

Moving with the current, I thought that in this space, even if I moved, I wouldn't be aware of the change in my position, but that wasn't the case—

There was a kind of viscous resistance in the air—no, whether it was air at all is questionable—but you could clearly feel the sensation of walking.

Walking... Ah, right, I'm walking on my own two feet, but I didn't notice it just now because I didn't feel the ground.

As I thought about my legs, the tactile sensation of my hands gradually came to mind, and I slowly became aware of my own posture...

"Oh my, is this what lucid dreaming feels like?"

Try to imagine what it feels like to speak, thereby clarifying your self-awareness.