"How is this one different from the others?"
Ruan Mei looked over the diagnostics pouring onto the console, her voice remaining level, though her narrowing pupils betrayed the sharp stirrings of her mind.
Julian hadn't caught the subtle tell, answering in his usual conversational rhythm:
"Based on the system classifications, the ones you looked at before are ordinary species. This one, and the group that follows in the index, fall under legendary or mythical classifications. For simplicity, I generally refer to them all as legendary Pokémon."
"Legendary? Mythical?" Ruan Mei pressed, her gaze fixed on the glowing genetic strands. "Do they wield principles distinct from the ordinary specimens? What is the defining line?"
Back in his original world, Julian's rule of thumb had been straightforward: legendary Pokémon were caught through standard regional plotlines, while mythical Pokémon were distributed through special events, side quests, or promotional gifts.
Yet that framing carried little meaning in a laboratory setting. Fortunately, Julian had pondered this distinction long before setting foot on the station, and he replied without missing a beat:
"Both can be grouped under the broader banner of legendaries, but mythical species are far more elusive. Their appearances are fleeting and irregular; most people only hear of them through folklore and travelers' tales, earning them the reputation of phantom creatures."
"Compared to ordinary species, many of them embody distinct universal laws and primordial forces. When tethered to a specific world or biome, they can even wield authority akin to regional deities."
A faint, approving smile touched Ruan Mei's lips, and she gave a quiet nod.
"We will test these mythical specimens last. Let us run through the ordinary roster first."
Julian had no objections. In matters of life sciences, deferring to Ruan Mei was only sensible. He settled into the role of a patient partner, calling forth species after species across the cleanroom floor.
From the first generation through the eighth, Julian projected every creature in numerical order. Running the complete catalog through the diagnostic pods took a grueling day and a half of continuous scanning.
As for the ninth generation, he kept it entirely off the table.
Even though his database held the baseline specs, his personal familiarity with Paldea was patchy at best. To avoid stumbling into complex questions from a member of the Genius Society that he couldn't cleanly answer, skipping it outright was the safest choice. After the era of Black and White, his gaming hours had dwindled, and outside of following the tournament arcs around the eighth generation, he had rarely kept up with the franchise.
Once the standard catalog was fully archived, Ruan Mei asked Julian for a comprehensive breakdown of the creatures' physiological rules, elemental affinities, and behavioral mechanisms.
A living architecture that could be summoned into physical matter through pure Path resonance had to possess profound biological value, and Ruan Mei refused to overlook a single detail.
"Cultivating and cloning the ordinary specimens is entirely within my power," Ruan Mei stated calmly, looking over the finalized synthesis model. "However, the process requires a single, indispensable catalyst: a physical remnant of the Aeon of Propagation."
"A fragment of Tayzzyronth?"
Julian's initial excitement evaporated, his brow furrowing into a deep scowl. That was about the foulest material in the cosmos.
"Other cellular matrices can be substituted with high-grade cosmic materials or relics of other divine lineages," Ruan Mei explained evenly. "Yet the spark of natural reproduction cannot be faked. Without the primal authority of Propagation woven into their baseline, spontaneous biological propagation will be impossible."
"Unless you desire sterile specimens, the authority of the Swarm is non-negotiable."
Julian felt an immediate headache building behind his temples.
If he were a cold-hearted executive from the Interastral Peace Corporation, engineering sterile creatures to enforce an absolute breeding monopoly would be the dream business model.
Yet he had never viewed Pokémon as consumer commodities. He dreamed of a real, living ecosystem where these creatures could nest, wander, and thrive across the wilderness. A species incapable of reproducing on its own was nothing more than an artificial curio waiting for extinction.
Obtaining genuine remains of the Propagation, however, was a monumental hurdle.
He knew Jingliu had managed to secure a fragment during her clandestine travels.
Yet both she and the relic had already been remanded to the custody of the Xuling ship, placed directly before the Marshal for judgment. Forget a young rising figure like himself; not even General Jing Yuan held the authority to demand evidence back from the highest military tribunal.
Furthermore, until Jingliu's true motives and the risks of her gambit were fully assessed, the Alliance would never entertain a trade, even if Ruan Mei personally brokered the deal.
By this point in the timeline, Jingliu must have already reached out to Ruan Mei, right?
Julian looked at the researcher, asking directly: "Miss Ruan Mei, do you know of any other avenues to acquire such a remnant?"
Since she had brought up the requirement, he assumed she had a lead in mind.
Ruan Mei shook her head with a faint trace of indifference.
"A certain party did reach out to me previously, dangling a royal chrysalis fragment as a bargaining chip. However, that negotiation will yield no tangible fruit in the near future."
"Beyond that, one of the Lord Ravagers likely possesses a significant piece of the Swarm King's core. Without such an engine, the Antimatter Legion's endless, locust-like swarm armies cannot be logically explained."
"Additionally, there is an isolated star system that fell completely to the Swarm. The dominant Broodmother consumed a remnant of the fallen Aeon, swelling in power beyond the threshold of ordinary Emanators before seizing the entire cluster. The major galactic factions managed only to blockade the perimeter, relying on the severed silver rails to leave it marooned in the dark."
Julian's mouth twitched.
A Lord Ravager who commanded the frontline armies of Destruction, or an ancient Broodmother stronger than an Emanator that required multiple galactic factions to contain... What was an ordinary Pathstrider supposed to do against threats like that?
"Is there truly no alternative?"
If that was the only path forward, Julian would have to shelve the project until his own resonance crossed the threshold of an Emanator before even considering hunting down that brood nest.
As for the Lord Ravager, Julian suspected the entity hoarding the Swarm remnants was likely the Forge King, the logistical master behind the Legion's bottomless ranks. Nanook would never leave such a vital production asset unguarded. Walking into that forge meant courting disaster against multiple Emanators or drawing the direct gaze of Destruction itself. Tackling the isolated Broodmother seemed far safer by comparison.
Yet having the threshold of his dream sitting right before his eyes while remaining entirely out of reach was deeply frustrating.
"There are compromises," Ruan Mei added, her voice smooth and unbothered. "If you gather enough lesser relics or fossilized amber bearing traces of Propagation authority, their residual power can sustain a small-scale batch. However, once the ambient resonance bleeds dry, the catalyst cannot be renewed."
Julian grasped her meaning instantly. It didn't strictly require an intact divine fragment; ancient amber, fossilized husk shards, or artifacts steeped in Swarm authority could work as temporary catalysts.
Yet the Swarm Disaster had ended countless eras ago. Most ruins had long since been looted and cataloged by the Intelligentsia Guild and the IPC. Whatever remained on the black market was scattered in meager dust and tiny chips.
Mass-scale cultivation using scrap relics was impossible.
Still, Julian reasoned that using commercial connections to quietly hoard Swarm amber was a solid start. Cultivating an initial pioneer batch and releasing them onto an isolated terraformed world would let them reproduce naturally, turning a prolonged wait into steady progress.
Julian shifted his focus back to the diagnostics.
"What about the legendary species? You deliberately set them aside, so their cellular blueprint must operate under entirely different rules, right?"
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