Chapter 210: International Reactions
"By Arceus, am I seeing this right? A Lileep, a living, breathing Lileep!"
Watching the video of the Lileep swaying its head and tentacles, everyone in the room was completely floored.
"Is this real? Can you really revive a fossil? This is… this goes against all known science!"
"The National League is incredible!"
"If we can revive Fossil Pokémon, then our country has just mastered a 'core technology'! I've read that the ancient Pokémon from millions of years ago were incredibly powerful due to the harsh environments they lived in."
"It's true! I read a book about Aerodactyl. If the descriptions are accurate, its value would be on par with Arcanine, Lucario, and Volcarona."
While the local reporters were buzzing with national pride, most of the international press were simply stunned. The idea of resurrecting the dead was just too far-fetched.
The reporters from the Unova region, however, had a strange look on their faces. Instead of the excitement of breaking a huge story, their expressions were filled with worry.
"What are our scientists back home doing? How could they let another nation be the first to revive a Fossil Pokémon?"
"Exactly! These are ancient Pokémon from millions of years ago. They might have abilities completely different from modern Pokémon. If used correctly, the effects could be revolutionary."
"A nation's Pokémon are a reflection of its strength. In some areas, our rivals have already completely surpassed us."
The Unovan reporters were a mixture of anger and frustration. They were angry at their own scientists for falling behind and resentful that their rivals had pulled ahead.
The technology to revive Fossil Pokémon was a breakthrough of epic proportions. If their rivals built upon this and made further advancements in Life Energy, they could gain an insurmountable advantage. Unova's position as the world's number one power was in jeopardy.
Seeing the varied reactions in the crowd, the female host and the officials on the stage exchanged a subtle smile.
"I have a question!" a reporter called out, raising his hand.
"Yes, you, please go ahead," the host nodded.
"Thank you," the tall, white reporter said. "As far as I know, there has been a major development in the international collection community recently. Many Pokémon fossils, which were in the hands of private collectors, have suddenly been bought up at high prices. Can you confirm that these fossils are now in your nation's possession?"
The implication was clear, and the suspicion was well-founded.
"I'm sorry, I have no knowledge of this matter, and it is outside the scope of this press conference," the host replied with a pleasant smile. But her non-denial was a tacit admission.
The reporters from the Five Great Powers exchanged worried glances. The smaller nations didn't care who had the fossils; they were too far behind to compete anyway. But for the major world powers, this was a cause for serious concern. The international stage was a zero-sum game. One nation taking a small step forward meant the others had taken a giant leap back.
"Will your nation make this technology public, for the benefit of all humankind?" another, rather naive, reporter asked.
"I'm sorry, but we have no plans to make the technology public at this time," the host replied. "However, if any nations are in need of assistance with fossil revival, we welcome them to cooperate with us."
The other reporters instantly understood. This was the true purpose of the press conference. "Cooperation" was just a euphemism for "paying a hefty price."
The naive reporter, they realized, had been a plant.
The press conference was being broadcast live, both online and on television. Within minutes of the announcement, a seismic shockwave went through the Pokémon world.
The Scientific Community:
"This proves it! The Life Energy approach to fossil revival is the correct one! The only reason we haven't succeeded is because our extracted Life Energy isn't pure enough."
"Exactly! We need to apply for more funding immediately. We can't give up now."
"Those who advocated for a different approach were fools! We just need to work harder. Science requires persistence!"
The idea of using Life Energy to revive fossils had been the mainstream consensus for years. No one doubted the announcement. The path was correct; they just hadn't gone far enough down it. In an instant, Life Energy research labs in all of the Five Great Powers were drafting new, massive funding requests.
The Governments of the Five Great Powers:
Emergency meetings were called to discuss how to respond.
Unova, The White House:
"What's our move?" the President of the Unovan Pokémon League asked the assembled Champions, Elite Four members, and other high-ranking officials.
"It's obvious," one of them said, his voice firm. "We have to increase our funding for Life Energy research, at any cost. We can't go begging to them for help. I won't stand for it."
"And even if we did, they would demand an exorbitant price."
"What is our intelligence agency doing?" another official demanded. "How did they miss something this big?"
The head of the agency, a short, balding man, wiped the sweat from his brow. "This was… an oversight on my part. However, as far as I can tell, this final experiment was not conducted by their Life Energy Bureau. Otherwise, we would have known about it."
The Other Four Great Powers:
The intelligence chiefs of the other four nations were all facing similar grillings. And their response was the same: a massive increase in funding for Life Energy research.
But in the northernmost of the Five Great Powers, the response was slightly different.
The Kremlin:
"In addition to gathering intelligence and increasing our research budget," the nation's Champion, a stoic, powerfully built man with deep, blue eyes, said, "we are strategic partners with the nation that made this discovery. We can send a delegation to negotiate. If the price is acceptable, we can consider cooperating with them... to revive Amaura."
The eyes of the other officials lit up. Amaura, the ancient Ice-type Pokémon. Their nation, with its arctic climate, was the world's leading authority on Ice-types. If they could revive Amaura, it would be a massive boost to their national prestige. And with their expertise, they were confident they could unlock its secrets and take their mastery of the Ice-type to a whole new level.
"I agree."
"I concur."
The proposal was met with unanimous approval. For the past twenty years, this Champion's word had been law. In this nation, he was the sky.
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