Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

In the settings of Pokémon animation and games, Pikachu is far from being a strong Pokémon. Its popularity comes more from its cute appearance.

Whether in animation or games, Pikachu is definitely the ambassador of cute, and in fact, its combat ability is very average. Especially in games, it can even be said to be poor compared to those strong and gorgeous mythical beasts. Pikachu is indeed cute, but that seems to be its only advantage.

However, the Pikachu encountered by Shiller was far from being this simple. It has intellect comparable to, or even superior to human beings, possesses Pikachu's electric type skill, and seems to have some other abilities.

It is immune to Shiller's mind-sensing, and the fear gas made it only stumble. Given the amount of fear gas used by Shiller to set up the trap that day, it would be enough to drive a small creature like Pikachu mad, but Pikachu merely sneezed a few times.

And it was able to pry open his door lock while Shiller was sleeping, and get onto his bed. Given Pikachu's height, it couldn't even reach the doorknob by jumping, so to pry the lock, it must need a chair.

How this round creature, smaller than a person's calf with very short limbs, could move a chair in the middle of the night, jump onto the chair to pry the lock, open the door then run to Shiller's side without being discovered is a mystery to everyone.

But this Pikachu is obviously much more cunning than Shiller had imagined. More importantly, hearing it speak with Deadpool's voice, Shiller couldn't help but tremble at the absurdity of the situation.

But soon, Shiller didn't have much time to worry about Pikachu. Gordon sent him a message saying they had gathered solid evidence of Jonathan's crime and were about to arrest him.

Arresting Jonathan had nothing to do with Shiller; what he was more worried about was that he would soon be out of fear gas, so he must hurry to possess the stock Jonathan had.

Jonathan, the future Scarecrow, was really unlucky.

When he knew that Jonathan was about to be arrested, Shiller took whatever he could. The young Scarecrow had no sense of counter-surveillance; he was devastated - who would steal his fear gas?

After Shiller gained the ability to teleport, stealing fear gas became even simpler. He just needed to instantaneously flash into the small church underground near the Mossen district and leave immediately after taking the gas, without leaving any trace.

Of course, Batman also joined this operation. With his excellent stealth skills, he returned to the laboratory and found that Jonathan had made a fear gas spray gun. He suggested that Gordon let him go catch Jonathan, otherwise the spray gun could make all the officers involved in the operation, and the residents of the Mossen district go mad.

Although Gordon didn't trust this stranger in the tight suit very much, he had no other choice.

The Gotham Police Department was filled with the inept; except himself, they all were procrastinators who arrived last to the scene of a crime and couldn't be relied upon to do anything.

Just thinking about the combat abilities of such a team, none of them could handle a gas spray gun; it would knock most of the police department down.

And don't expect any help from his superiors. Gordon had seen through them long ago. The current chief of police was in cahoots with some underworld figures; he didn't want additional problems. Considering his money-making plans, the deaths of a few dozen civilians were trivial to him.

Gordon felt helpless and dispirited. So the only person he could rely on was Batman.

Although the current Batman was not mature, the Scarecrow was obviously just as weak. They were two underdogs fighting each other, and in the end, Batman won.

While Jonathan was conducting an experiment in the lab, Batman subdued him with a syringe filled with anesthetic.

Also, the camera on his bat suit clearly captured how Jonathan committed the crime.

Facing such solid evidence, Gordon, who had little power or influence, was kicked out. Gordon's superior officer took over the case, it was rapidly filed, court proceedings started; it was considered quite an achievement.

A university professor, was actually the planner of dozens of murders? Such a shocking case would have made headlines in any other region for several days. But in Gotham, although it was still a significant case, it only occupied one column on the main page of the newspaper.

Seeing that neither Gordon nor Batman's name appeared in the newspaper, but only endless praise for Gordon's superior, Shiller knew that this dark city had just broken another good man's heart.

Gordon, the good cop, still had a long way to go.

To Shiller's surprise, Gordon soon sought him out.

In the Gotham University Psychological Counseling Room, Shearer poured a cup of coffee for Gordon. Looking rather exhausted, the at-the-time relatively young detective perked up a bit after taking a sip of the hot coffee.

He said, "I know my visit might seem presumptuous, Professor. But it's regarding Jonathan's case..."

Gordon seemed about to say more but stopped himself. Shearer spoke up instead, "Let me guess. The case presumably went smoothly until the trial proceedings, right?"

Gordon clenched his fists on the table, his face grim as he retorted, "That damn murderer is a PhD in chemistry. You should know what that implies for Gotham. Some people don't want to sentence him to death but rather seek to exonerate him on the grounds of mental illness and then put him to work for them."

Sitting across from him, Shearer commented, "Indeed. If a genius chemist like him could develop even one new psychedelic drug, his employers would stand to make a fortune."

Gordon shook his head, "It's much more than that. The drugs they're asking Jonathan to develop could well be more dangerous."

"If they were to manufacture narcotics, they would make merely some pocket change from drug addicts. But if they were to successfully create a virus that could put all of Gotham under their control, the riches to be had would be truly unimaginable," Gordon added.

"Has word about the fear gas leaked out?" asked Shearer. The exceptional effects of this gas raises its potential to induce fear in those who recognize Jonathan's capabilities.

Gordon eyed him, paused for a moment, before asking, "I mean no disrespect, but I need to ascertain. Have you encountered any suspicious figures of late?"

"I can assure you, I haven't spoken of this matter to anyone. It holds no advantage for me. As a university professor, it's dishonorable enough to have a murderer as a colleague. Any other connection to him could significantly impact my career," countered Shearer.

"So…" Resting his hands one on top of the other, Gordon continued, "That night, I heard you call that figure in a tight suit Bruce. That's Bruce Wayne, right?"

"On that subject, I can't tell you anything. You should approach him directly for verification, rather than asking me."

"I know what you're worried about." Shearer continued, "As Gotham's biggest tycoon, Bruce Wayne can't necessarily be above the fray when it comes to underhanded deals. If he found out that you were investigating this matter, he would likely be very displeased. Is that why you're concerned?"

Gordon disclosed, "Jonathan's testimony indicated that someone has been consistently stealing most of his fear gas. That figure in the tight suit is my suspect as his actions come across as suspicious."

Shearer sounded somewhat nostalgic. The way Gordon and Batman, a pair of familiar companions, didn't trust each other from the start made for an interesting dynamic. Gordon even had serious reservations about Batman, the weirdly attired vigilante.

This was hardly surprising. Any average person would struggle initially to accept that someone dressed in a tight black outfit, with pointed ears, parading around Gotham in the pitch-dark, would be up to any good.

Shearer challenged, "Have you considered that perhaps he's as suspicious of you?"

Gordon sighed, "Actually, he has more reason to doubt me. If he truly is Bruce Wayne, I know the Wayne kid has never given up on investigating the case from the past. The circumstances around Mr. and Mrs. Wayne's death are very peculiar. I've gone through the case files and there are numerous inconsistencies. If young Wayne is indeed Batman, it's to be expected that he wouldn't trust any of the police, including me."

"The police of Gotham City…" Gordon trailed off, adding with a sigh, "I'm well aware that the police in this city are practically of no use." He seemed rather dispirited, letting out a sigh as he took a sip of coffee, then fell silent.

Shearer advised, "As a solid rock in a sea of mud, you're already remarkably resilient. You can't just rely on someone else to pull you out. You should keep pushing forward, to become so influential that the muddy pool effectively becomes a paved road."

"Is that what you think? Do you believe I should continue down this path?" Gordon seemed somewhat disoriented.

It wasn't unusual for him to be this depressed. Cases he had painstakingly solved taking considerable risks were taken from him. He was content to accept that; after all, Gordon was driven by a pursuit of justice. But now, some people intended to let murderers guilty of mass slaughter walk free for their personal gain. This was a significant blow for Gordon.

Laughing, Shearer stated, "Detective Gordon, it looks like you need a session of psychological therapy. Fortuitously, I just happen to be a psychologist and my services are free."

Gordon managed a small smile, "I've seen your credentials on record, Professor Shearer. To receive therapy from such a renowned psychologist would be quite the year-end bonus for me. I'm truly grateful."

Shearer responded, "No need for gratitude. Being able to assist one of Gotham's standing police officers is an honor for me."

Gordon's smile seemed even more forced as he heaved a sigh, lamenting, "A good cop? Maybe so..."