MTL NOVEL Chapter 40: 40
Chapter 40: Speak, My Inmate Brother, Where Did You Get This Omanyte? Bro, Don't Set Me Up! (Seeking Continued Support)
Ye Yinchuan stared at the Omanyte that had appeared on his screen, falling into deep thought.
In the Pokémon games, he was quite familiar with Omanyte. It could be encountered in specific wild areas.
But in this real Pokémon world, Omanyte was an exceptionally rare case.
As the chat would put it—it was a criminally problematic Pokémon!
Because in this realistic Pokémon world, Omanyte was an ancient Pokémon that had once gone extinct. In recent years, however, a few had been rediscovered, making it an extremely rare and protected Pokémon!
According to the official Pokémon setting, Omanyte was indeed an extinct species, but its fossils had been found and revived using advanced modern technology.
The ones that escaped or were released into the wild eventually reproduced, leading to them no longer being rare, and in some cases, even causing ecological issues.
After all, an extinct species introduced into modern ecosystems, where it has no natural predators, could rapidly proliferate like an invasive species.
However, in this real Pokémon world, there was no confirmed evidence of fossil revival technology being available.
This meant Omanyte was still incredibly rare, making it a critically endangered Pokémon.
Its appearance resembled that of a snail, but with more intricate patterns on its shell—lines separated into sections, with an overall spiraling coil that made it look like a chrysanthemum from the side.
Those horizontal "lines" were actually Omanyte's "water absorption channels," which also acted as natural "compartments" separating gas chambers inside.
Essentially, Omanyte had multiple air sacs inside its body, similar to swim bladders in fish. By filling or emptying these chambers, it could control its buoyancy in water.
Its shell was tough and heavy, with a rocky texture—likely the reason for its name.
Ye Yinchuan also knew that in his original world, Omanyte's real-life inspiration was the ammonite.
However, its actual shell shape more closely resembled that of a nautilus.
In short, both creatures looked quite similar, making it easy to mix them up.
Not to mention, in the real Pokémon world, different individuals of the same species had slight variations in shell patterns and even in the shape of their carapaces.
The exposed part of Omanyte's body, apart from its large, slightly vacant eyes, consisted of numerous blue tentacles, making it look like a big-eyed mustache creature.
But to Ye Yinchuan, its coloration and design had an undeniable extraterrestrial vibe.
[Why is the streamer silent? Is he calculating how many years in prison this is worth?]
[Is he secretly contacting the Pokémon Protection Bureau?]
[Bro, how did you even dare to acquire this...?]
The viewer "Nutritious Yarn," who had just connected via live chat, started to feel uneasy seeing the reactions from both the chat and Ye Yinchuan.
"What do you mean? Why is everyone saying it's illegal? It's just a Pokémon, right?"
[Wow, classic case of legal ignorance!]
[You know it's an Omanyte, and you didn't even bother Googling its status?]
[Bro's about to end up knitting yarn in prison...]
[Must be drinking some bootleg sodas...]
"Well… my guy, this is actually a big problem. Illegally trading endangered Pokémon? That's a minimum three-year sentence."
"What? Jail time? What do you mean by 'endangered'? I just heard that Omanyte is rare and valuable, so I spent five thousand m… I mean, I found it!"
Even though Nutritious Yarn's face wasn't visible, the nervous shift in his tone was obvious.
[Five grand for three years of free meals and lodging? That's a steal.]
[Bro? More like inmate!]
[If you bought it, why the heck would you bring it to a livestream for appraisal?]
[Wait, since when do we have to pay taxes on "found" items?]
"Can I disconnect the call right now, or is it too late?"
Nutritious Yarn weakly asked.
The chat was only making him more anxious.
@Pokémon Protection Bureau Officer Tan: [Don't hang up yet! A fan specifically called me in to check this out. Don't waste my time. This Omanyte looks pretty aged, huh?]
[Wow, dude smelled an arrest from miles away and came running.]
["Looks pretty aged." Man's talking in double entendres.]
[Was the fan who called you "Kabi Treasure Appraisal" by any chance?]
"Officer Tan, welcome."
Ye Yinchuan wasn't expecting this last appraisal session of the day to feature such a rare Pokémon—or to summon an old acquaintance like Officer Tan.
He didn't mind though—after all, Officer Tan was a known figure with his own following, which meant more exposure for his stream.
@Pokémon Protection Bureau Officer Tan: [Kabi, go ahead with the appraisal. My audience and I are all very interested!]
"Oh no, I'm doomed."
Nutritious Yarn hadn't expected this situation to escalate so quickly, with the Pokémon Protection Bureau responding almost immediately.
He knew streamers sometimes got official accounts to join their sessions, but he truly had no clue that buying an Omanyte could be a crime with serious consequences.
The word "endangered" had never sounded so terrifying to him before.
"Alright, let's get this over with. Where did you get this Omanyte from?"
[Translation: Confess now, or regret it later.]
"I bought it. There's a fishing crew near where I live that sometimes brings up Pokémon from the sea. I saw this one and thought it looked special, so I bought it. Later, I searched it up and found out it was an Omanyte. Then I saw others selling them for 150,000, so I came to get an expert opinion…"
@Pokémon Protection Bureau Officer Tan: [So you're saying you didn't know it was an Omanyte at the time of purchase?]
"You spent 5,000 on a Pokémon without even knowing what it was? My guy, you've got guts."
Ye Yinchuan's tone was amused. While Nutritious Yarn was a long-time follower, if he had actually committed a crime, he'd still have to face the consequences.
But a thought crossed his mind.
"Wait… don't tell me you bought this from some fisherman with suspiciously foreign ties?"
"Y-yeah! The 5,000 was… uh… in yen!"
[Bro, the streamer just threw you a lifeline, and you grabbed it immediately.]
@Pokémon Protection Bureau Officer Tan: [If this involves cross-border illegal transactions, that's an additional offense.]
[Oh man, the streamer really wants his follower to do time.]
[Bro just walked into a legal minefield.]
"Bro, Kabi bro, don't set me up like this!"
Nutritious Yarn sounded like he was about to cry.
Ye Yinchuan coughed. "Or, uh, maybe that fisherman just happened to have a foreign background but was actually a legal citizen…"
@Pokémon Protection Bureau Officer Tan: [Yeah, no, I'm not buying that.]
"This is pointless! Officer Tan, Kabi, can I just turn myself in? If I surrender the Omanyte, does that reduce my sentence?"
Nutritious Yarn was breaking down.
Ye Yinchuan sighed. "Well, technically speaking…"
@Pokémon Protection Bureau Officer Tan: [Actually, you don't have to surrender it. A new policy was issued recently: Omanyte is no longer classified as an endangered Pokémon. You're not breaking any laws, but you do need to register it and sign a commitment to proper care.]
[Wait, for real?!]
[Bro just made 150,000 out of nowhere?!]
[That's a jackpot!]
Ye Yinchuan blinked. "Since when did that policy come out?"