Returning to the Pokémon Center, Kashiwagi immediately contacted Wes, his acquaintance in the International Police.
He had initially worried about disturbing Wes's rest or work, so he sent a brief message. To his surprise, Wes called back almost immediately.
After listening to the explanation, Wes didn't mock him for being overly sensitive. Instead, he simply told Kashiwagi to wait.
Five minutes passed.
"Hello? You still there?"
"Still here, still here."
Kashiwagi put down his grooming brush and stuffed his right hand into Deino's large, noisy mouth to keep him quiet.
"What's the word?"
"You weren't planning on sleeping yet, right?" Wes asked over the phone.
"Not at all."
"Good. Someone with a thick beard will be coming to pick you up shortly. Just follow him."
"Wait, I'm going too?"
"Of course. You're the primary witness; you have to come along. Did you think you could just drop off the black box and wash your hands of the whole thing?"
Wes's matter-of-fact tone left Kashiwagi speechless.
Honestly, that was exactly what he had intended... but he admitted it was a bit unfair to dump the responsibility and run.
"Alright, fine. I'll wait."
He acknowledged the plan, and the line went dead.
After settling his Pokémon into their sleep routines, someone knocked on his door.
Kashiwagi checked the peephole and saw the "bearded man" Wes had mentioned—a man with a thick, dark beard and tanned skin who looked to be in his thirties or forties.
When he opened the door, their eyes met.
The man gave a sharp salute.
"Hello. Are you Mr. Kashiwagi?"
"That's me."
Kashiwagi patted his bag.
"The item is right here."
"Understood. Please follow me."
The bearded man led him out.
As they passed through the lobby, Nurse Joy called out to remind him that the Pokémon Center would be closing its doors soon.
Kashiwagi offered a quick apology and, under Nurse Joy's helpless gaze, climbed into the man's car.
They drove through the streets of Dewford Town.
The driver remained silent the entire way, never even glancing toward Kashiwagi. His serious, professional demeanor gave Kashiwagi a slight sense of security.
He's wearing plain clothes... does that mean they're undercover in Dewford?
While he was lost in thought, the car pulled up in front of a garage door of a two-story residential house.
"Stay close behind me,"
the man grunted. He then stepped out and entered the house.
As Kashiwagi crossed the threshold, he felt a distinct red light scan him from head to toe.
Beep!
A camera above the door turned from red to green.
"Is that..."
"Identity verification system," the bearded man explained.
"Checking for disguises—specifically Dititos or facial prosthetics."
There was no doubt about it; this house was an International Police safehouse. Though he wasn't sure why they needed a secret base here, he assumed they had their reasons.
He followed the man into an elevator disguised as a large refrigerator. As they descended, Kashiwagi felt a surge of excitement. It reminded him of Men in Black—those secret agents always had bizarre, hidden equipment.
However, when they reached their destination, the reality was a bit more mundane.
The base was spacious and brightly lit, but it looked like a typical high-tech office. Desks were lined up in neat rows, each cluttered with computers and monitors. A handful of International Police officers sat at their stations, barely spareing him a glance as he entered.
One middle-aged man wearing glasses approached them.
"You must be Kashiwagi."
The newcomer looked quite ordinary in his white button-down shirt. He spoke with a gentle, polite tone—clearly a desk officer.
"Yes, sir. Hello." Kashiwagi's eyes briefly flickered to the bulging muscles on the man's arms.
Right. Never judge a book by its cover.
"I'm Yanagihara, in charge of the Dewford base. Wes told me everything about the black box. Come this way."
Yanagihara led him deeper into the facility with a pleasant smile.
Kashiwagi glanced back at the bearded man, who was already sitting down at a desk, and followed.
As they walked, Yanagihara spoke quietly. "We've actually been keeping an eye on Neo Team Aqua and the Lugia rumors ourselves. In fact, we were the ones who told Tommy to stop posting."
"You know Tommy?"
"Of course. Did you think he could modify a shipwrecked vessel that large without us noticing?"
Yanagihara chuckled.
"When that short video started gaining abnormal traction, we warned him not to reveal his location any further."
"As for Neo Team Aqua and Dr. Akihabara... frankly, we thought their arrival was a bit too convenient as well. But without solid evidence, we can't just re-label them as a criminal organization."
He lowered his voice.
"Even if there's data of Lugia inside that box, it doesn't prove anything. Besides, is looking for a Legendary Pokémon illegal? Not necessarily. Many people search for legends; we can't arrest them all. We need to catch them red-handed... I'm sure you understand."
"Uh, yeah."
"Don't be disappointed. It's better for everyone if they're actually playing it straight." Y
anagihara seemed to think Kashiwagi was upset about not busting a crime syndicate.
In reality, Kashiwagi was just pondering the likelihood of Neo Team Aqua's interest in Lugia.
Team Aqua had always focused on Kyogre, the creator of the seas. They had no real reason to go after Lugia. Surely they hadn't devolved into a money-hungry group like Team Rocket?
If what Shelly said was true—that they really wanted to protect the ocean—a different logic emerged.
Perhaps they were trying to protect Lugia from waves of intrusive Trainers to safeguard the marine ecosystem.
Yanagihara led him to the back of the room, where a technician was crouching on the floor tinkering with some equipment.
The officer crouched down as well and reached out.
"Alright, let me have the box."
"Here."
Kashiwagi pulled it from his bag.
He watched as they first sanitized the black box with a disinfectant solution, then attached several electrodes to the casing.
"Power on!"
"Yes, sir!"
At Yanagihara's command, the technician hit a switch.
Zzap!
A shower of sparks flew out, startling Kashiwagi. The lights in the entire underground base flickered and dimmed for a second.
As the power surged through it, the black box came to life like a motorized puzzle. It shifted and disassembled, revealing a high-density chip inside.
"Let's see what's actually on here," Yanagihara said.
He picked up the chip and slotted it into a machine that looked like a specialized disc player. He stood up and smiled at Kashiwagi.
They moved over to a large monitor. After a few keystrokes, a mountain of data appeared.
"Video logs... Audio files... Found it."
Yanagihara opened a video file. Through a layer of static and white noise, several Neo Team Aqua members and a man with mushroom-shaped hair and glasses appeared on screen.
Kashiwagi instinctively looked away, but Yanagihara stopped him.
"It's fine. You brought it in. As the witness, you should know what's inside—just as long as you don't spread it around."
The audio began to play.
"Doctor, we're ready for the experiment."
"Excellent! Experimental Porygon Submarine Unit One, prepare for launch!"
Shelly's voice was unmistakable, followed by Dr. Akihabara's enthusiastic reply.
Then, the camera plummeted into the dark, bubbling abyss of the ocean.
Kashiwagi sat down in silence, his eyes fixed on the screen.