Chapter 193: Is This a Proper Research Lab?
"What are they doing?"
On the communicator screen, Misty's face popped up, and she stared, bewildered, at Professor Westwood V muttering as he walked off the screen. To her left, a young man with a center-parted hairstyle and a headband, who looked quite practical, was also dumbstruck.
"Hey, hey, Tracey, aren't you dying to become a researcher? Speak up!" Ash nudged the young man with his elbow.
"Ash, is this a proper research lab?" Tracey suddenly lowered his head, covered his mouth, and whispered into Ash's ear. Why did this feel a bit like one of those cults the Pokémon League is cracking down on!
"Of course it is. This is Professor Oak's Laboratory!" Ash looked at him, puzzled.
"Professor Oak's Laboratory!" Tracey snapped to attention, and his expression instantly became very proper. Chest up, eyes bright, he stared across at Natsume.
Right then, Professor Westwood V exited, and Natsume turned back and saw Tracey.
Who's that? Looks familiar! Natsume's gaze slid upward and fixed on the center part in his hair.
"Center-parted, you actually took human form!?" The startled cry rang out, and Tracey, who had been sitting with perfect posture, froze, casting a pleading glance at Ash.
"Natsume, he's Tracey, a partner we met during our journey," Ash stepped forward and hurriedly explained.
"Tracey, are you interested in becoming a researcher?" Natsume caught on.
"Th-th-this—" Faced with Natsume's straight-to-the-point question, Tracey stammered with nerves. "Of course! My dream is to become a researcher, and I'm currently doing Pokémon watching work. Here's my work ID!"
Tracey said this as he excitedly opened his Pokédex to show Natsume his ID. Orange Islands Pokémon Watcher—valid for three years.
Natsume narrowed his eyes. In places short on staff but valuable for scientific surveys, the League does recruit relevant civilian personnel. "Are you a university student?" Natsume raised an eyebrow. Opportunities like this are usually allotted by the League to university institutions as internships.
"Uh, no. I—I passed the written test and the interview through self-study," Tracey said earnestly.
"Self-study? That's impressive. I look forward to your performance," Natsume praised him from the heart.
With this kind of Pokémon Watcher internship experience, the path to future employment becomes much smoother. Not only League institutes—some private labs also prefer to hire such people. As a result, this kind of coveted internship is hotly contested at institutions of higher education. It rarely trickles down to the public, and even if it does, the competition is fierce. For Tracey to break through the crowd says a lot about his ability.
"Heh-heh, Natsume, how's my new partner? Pretty good, right?" Ash leaned in, grinning.
"Natsume! You're Professor Oak's student—Mr. Natsume!" Tracey's eyes lit up, and his tone became instantly respectful. He quickly set down his backpack and pulled out stacks of thick notebooks, well-thumbed and curled at the edges. "Natsume, I have lots of Pokémon observation records here. I hope you can look them over!"
Tracey piled the notebooks up—easily as tall as a person. Natsume stroked his chin and said nothing. After a moment, Tracey realized he was being presumptuous, scratched his head, and smiled awkwardly. "I got too excited, Natsume. I'll be following Ash back to Pallet Town—please take a look then."
"Perfect. Professor Oak might be coming back around that time," Natsume nodded slightly.
For the past two days, Professor Oak had been calling him non-stop, hinting that something might be discovered at Mt. Moon, that they were short-staffed, and that he wanted Natsume to come. Unfortunately, Natsume could barely keep up with his own work. He figured he'd swing by then and, while he was at it, bring Tracey along to see what he could do. If he was good, well, that would mean Natsume had found Professor Oak a nuclear-powered cow—high-quality talent—and that would make up for it.
"All right, I'll prepare carefully!" Hearing Professor Oak's name, Tracey's eyes brightened, and he carefully packed up the notebooks. He'd heard that this Natsume was the most outstanding in research output among Professor Oak's students. That must mean he held a high place in Professor Oak's mind. If he could earn Natsume's recognition, he'd be that much closer to earning Professor Oak's!
Tracey suddenly felt that tomorrow was full of hope.
"Heh-heh-heh, Natsume, I caught a Lapras!" Ash said, pointing his Pokédex toward a pool of water behind him. In the pool was a small Lapras, and on its head, Pikachu was fast asleep. "And I also got—"
After chatting with Ash for a while, Natsume ended the call. The Orange League only requires four Badges before you can go to Pummelo Island to challenge the Orange Crew's Supreme Gym Leader. At Ash's current pace, he'll definitely be back within two months.
Gotta hurry.
Natsume stood up and headed to Warehouse No. 1. As he stepped in, it was as cold as ever. Familiar with the route, Natsume walked straight to the Central AI.
"How's the simulation going?" Natsume asked.
"It's ready." On the electronic display, the temperature readout suddenly vanished and was replaced by a big smiling bean face. A burst of data stream shot out, gathered together, and formed a Porygon.
"Bzz-zz—" Porygon looked especially happy. This lab was way better than the computer it used to live in. Compared to the Central AI—like a luxury mansion—that previous place was basically an old, shabby flat.
Natsume gave Porygon a once-over. Very healthy, and its level had even risen by two. "Amazing. Just processing data streams can raise your level."
Seeing this, Natsume's pleased expression deepened. In that case, all he needed was to catch a Porygon with Analytic and decent stats and let it live inside the chip. As the Mecha Rotom went about its daily activities, its level would naturally climb—nice and hands-off.
"Come on out, Mecha Rotom!" A red beam flashed from Natsume's belt. The mecha body equipped with Rotom Unit 1 appeared.
"All right, Porygon, try merging in." Natsume pointed at the pitch-black energy core in Mecha Rotom's chest. Porygon nodded, and under Natsume's telekinesis, drifted toward Rotom's chest. With a whoosh, it turned into a data stream and vanished.
"Rotom, try moving." Natsume gave the order.
Rotom started doing calisthenics. Its every move was no longer as stiff as before but lifelike, fluid as a dragon.
"Good. Control has improved. Try releasing the black fog!" Natsume prompted.
Rotom paused, and the pitch-black core in its chest flickered continuously. This time, no black fog gushed out over Rotom's body. Instead, the black lines that had been limited to its chest began spreading outward wildly, devouring the original golden lines.
Before long, all the golden patterns on Rotom had vanished, replaced by a viscous black like crude oil. Yes—viscous. Unlike the golden lines that glowed with a halo, these black lines, on close inspection, were like a fluid, slowly coursing over Rotom's body. As if a heart had grown inside Rotom, pumping "blood" through its whole frame.
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