"Coming right away."
Professor White said this as she struggled to climb up from below.
Silas glanced at her, and couldn't help but feel impressed. As expected of a professional archaeologist—her movements weren't as clumsy as he had imagined.
Once Santai pulled her up, Silas began wandering around the hall.
"Hmm, as expected, Farfetch'd has always been considered a delicacy no matter the era." Silas sighed as he looked at the mural before him.
The mural depicted people eating Farfetch'd, using its leek as seasoning.
Although this hall seemed to serve as a ceremonial site, the surrounding murals depicted rather mundane scenes like this.
It didn't take Silas long to finish examining the relatively small chamber.
"How's it going up there, Professor White?" Silas asked from below the platform.
"Seems fine, but it's a bit cryptic. I don't understand all of it," Santai replied, poking his head out to answer in her place.
At this moment, Professor White was entirely absorbed in deciphering the inscriptions, paying no attention to their conversation.
After some time, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she raised her head with excitement.
Silas had already climbed up onto the platform, and, intrigued, asked:
"Professor White, did this ruin reveal something new?"
If it weren't anything significant, she wouldn't be so thrilled.
Professor White nodded eagerly and began explaining the general contents of the text.
In a typical archaeological expedition, the research team would never share such findings with the security detail, since the guards weren't considered qualified to know.
But here, the roles were reversed—Professor White's team wasn't the employer. Rather, it was the security detail's backer who had hired her.
So when the client asked questions, she naturally had to answer.
"The inscriptions record the escape of the royal family of the Pokélantis Empire."
Her first words shocked everyone.
"Wait, Professor—I thought the legend said that Ho-Oh wiped out the Pokélantis Empire in a single night?" Santai quickly asked.
Ho-Oh, a Legendary Pokémon frequently mentioned in myths, was known for immense power.
Back then, Poké Balls were not yet widespread, and the empire's army-controlled "monsters" couldn't possibly resist a Legendary Pokémon.
Given such a massive difference in strength, how could anyone escape?
Earlier ruins associated with the Pokélantis Empire always depicted the kingdom's prosperity.
If it weren't for clear historical records in neighboring regions, the empire's sudden disappearance might have remained a complete mystery.
"Beneath the shroud of night, golden light shone across the land.
Seven colors flashed and disappeared, and then silence fell.
All returned to darkness."
Professor White recited the record of the empire's fall, then paused.
"From this description, the most likely Legendary Pokémon was Ho-Oh. But there has always been debate about this.
In nearly every other legend, Ho-Oh is depicted as bringing happiness and life—not destroying civilizations. This is the only record suggesting otherwise.
Even if Legendary Pokémon have motives we humans cannot comprehend, this doesn't align with Ho-Oh's nature.
That's why many historians believe the Pokélantis Empire's destruction may have had another cause.
The records we've found here prove that the question of whether Ho-Oh destroyed the Pokélantis Empire is still open for debate."
Her eyes shone with excitement as she spoke.
"In fact, even among the fleeing royal family, there were two factions.
One, led by their king, believed the empire was destroyed by Ho-Oh. They swore to harness the hidden power near the capital to take revenge against Ho-Oh.
The other, led by the queen, believed Ho-Oh had saved them. They urged the surviving citizens to migrate and rebuild their lives elsewhere."
"Wait, wait, wait—I'm confused. How could two groups experience the same event and come to completely opposite conclusions?" Santai interrupted again, struggling to follow.
"There are lots of possibilities," Silas said quickly before the professor could respond. "For example, maybe the king wanted to use evil powers to dominate the world, and Ho-Oh appeared to stop him.
Perhaps the queen's side disagreed with the king but didn't have the strength to resist—so they received Ho-Oh's help instead.
In that case, of course the two sides would interpret events differently.
Stop interrupting and let the professor continue."
Professor White, taking the hint, went on:
"The exact reasons are unknown. These inscriptions don't give enough detail. We may need to find other ruins to fully explain the truth.
Aside from clarifying the Ho-Oh issue, the most valuable part of these records is that they also describe the approximate locations of two—or even more—additional ruins.
The first is near the original capital of the Pokélantis Empire. It should be connected to the king's faction, or perhaps the so-called 'hidden power' mentioned before.
The second lies farther west, in the Johto or even Hoenn regions, where there must be one or more ruins tied to the queen's faction."
She pointed at the murals on the outer walls.
"With this information, we've already narrowed the search range considerably. I believe more clues remain hidden among the outer murals."
"The capital of Pokélantis… I remember it was located near what's now the Binu Coast, right?" Silas recalled from his knowledge of history.
"Yes, exactly." Professor White nodded repeatedly.
"Near Binu Coast there are still temple structures built in the Pokélantis style. Combined with other findings, these have been unanimously identified as the ruins of Pokélantis' former capital.
That's why the area isn't just a vacation spot, but also a historical tourist site."
She hesitated, then added:
"If possible, I'd like my team to continue handling future excavations. I wonder if…"
Silas gave a polite smile.
"Unfortunately, I can't make that decision. You'd need to speak directly with the Gym Leader once this project is completed.
But with your talent and expertise, I'm sure you'll succeed."
He had no intention of making promises he couldn't keep and it wasn't his place anyway.
"Ah, I see." Professor White looked reluctant, slowly climbing down from the platform.
"Still, my luck has been pretty good," she said with a wry smile. "The last team went off to study Grampa Valley thanks to your discovery, Silas. That gave me the chance to be here.
Otherwise, I would've missed the opportunity to be the first archaeologist to uncover this piece of the truth."
As they walked out, Silas kept up polite small talk, though in his heart he thought:
So this is the butterfly effect caused by my own actions.
...
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Douluo Dalu: Reincarnated as Yan(40 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler(30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu