章 109: C109 - The professor's grand meeting
"What do you say? Impressive, right?" Lusamine asked as they stood at the highest point of the floating, man-made island of Aether Paradise, the Alolan headquarters of the Aether Foundation.
"Yeah, you really created a miracle with this place," Pete easily admitted with an impressed smile.
He had just been given a big tour of the place when the two had finished getting to know one another back on Ula'ula Island and teleported over with the help of a Clefable of all pokemon. It had been Lusamine's ace since she was a small girl, she explained.
"Well, we plan to recreate it!" Lusamine excitedly revealed and brought Pete back inside where the plans for an island were shown on a large screen. "You'll need an office if you want to be a respectable pokemon professor! And a lab for research! And, maybe, space to teach students! Space to raise pokemon! You'll have it all on this new masterpiece of the Aether Foundation: the Aether Institute of Higher Learning!"
"Oh... wow, are you sure that's necessary? The name's a little... grand."
"I'm sure! We can change the name before we finish the construction - but you can't just be based out of Johto or the league will not recognise your deserved place among the professors even if the other professors do. But if it's a ship like the Aether Foundation, you're based in inter-regional waters - even if you're usually docking close to your lovely home," Lusamine explained with a wide, almost unhinged grin.
She felt very strongly about this opportunity to have a pokemon professor affiliated with her foundation.
"Uh, sure. I could see myself working from such an island. Actually, I already had the idea of an artificial island called the Brain Island..."
As Pete and Lusamine started exchanging the most ludicrous of ideas that soldom resulted in something that Assistant Branch Chief Wicke - who more or less worked as Lusamine's personal assistant - was able to write down as she was taking minutes for this meeting.
The brunette with an even more outrageous haircut than Lusamine because of its sheer volume, at least in Pete's humble opinion, managed to crystallize some proposed changes out of the ramblings of the two 'geniuses' that included several different habitats for different kinds of pokemon that the Aether Foundation hadn't considered yet.
When they finally didn't find any more outlandish ideas, Wicke dragged the two towards the food court of Aether Paradise. There, Pete began to mingle with some of the employees and learned that Wicke was loved by absolutely everyone.
The branch chief patiently listened to everybody and took care of tens of concerns and requests by the time they finished eating alone. Pete was very impressed by her work ethic, social skills, and just plain likability.
If he was to run a giant floating research institute and school, Pete needed someone of her caliber to run things so he wouldn't have to.
After their dinner, the bubbly woman who wore a constant sweet smile was completely floored when she heard Pete's question to Lusamine as they were walking back toward's Lusamine's mansion on the far side of the floating headquarters.
"Do you think you could spare Wicke from this place? I'd like her to run the day to day of my institute, including becoming the eventual headmistress of the school on my island if enough people ask for it?"
Wicke's eyes immediately started watering at being considered for such a position, and she squirmed under the scrutinizing gaze of Lusamine, who looked her up and down.
"If that is her wish, I'll grant you yours. But you better treat her well, I'm quite fond of her," Lusamine eventually agreed and continued walking forward.
Pete stood still for a moment until he walked over to Wicke with a bright smile, and he held out his hand while asking, "I hope it wasn't too abrupt? Please consider working with me! You'd be amazing for the job I have in mind."
With a 'kyaaa', Wicke threw herself in Pete's arms and started crying tears of joy.
Eventually, Pete couldn't take it anymore and asked, "Uh, is that a yes?"
"Of course!" Wicke excitedly agreed and ran away to tell her friends here at Aether Paradise.
Now left alone, Pete looked around and wondered where he should go...
The next morning, Pete was brought to a spacious meeting room at the Aether Paradise after breakfast. And he was surprised to see a few old friends waiting for him there.
"Professor Oak! Professor Elm! Kukui!" Pete greeted warmly. The three turned around to see who it was and revealed two more people with them that Pete hadn't yet noticed as he entered the room.
With an excited smile, the old lady next to Oak stepped forward and shook Pete's hand, "Hey there, young genius. We finally meet!"
"Professor Magnolia! It's a pleasure to finally get to talk to you in person," Pete returned just as excited.
"Don't hog him all to your own," a smooth voice suddenly interrupted as an arm slung over Pete's shoulder. "Hiya, Petey. I brought some cider for you to try and judge!
"Augustine - you made it all the way to Alola?"
Professor Augustine Sycamore - one of the professors he called most often because of his specialization in Mega Evolutions - was from Kalos. One of the regions furthest from Alola, though technically just as far as Galar where Professor Magnolia was from, Galar had a coast that allowed immediate sea travel toward Alola. Kalos, on the other hand, needed you to leave the region via land as you cross Unova on the way, or you needed to get through Galar first.
In any case, out of all the professors present, Sycamore had the longest travel time for sure.
Before the Kalosian professor could answer, five faces appeared on the screens in the room and revealed even more pokemon professors.
Professor Rowan from Sinnoh, an old man wearing a three piece suit who specialized in evolution and form changes.
Professor Birch from Hoenn, a casually dressed middle-aged man who looked like he was tuning in from inside a tent - which was probably the case, as he specialized in habitat research and rarely stayed home.
Professor Juniper from Unova, a woman with light brown hair whom Elm told him used to be a model. This was his first time seeing her, but Pete could see how that was possible as the professor specializing in unearthing the mystery of pokemon origins leisurely fixed her hair - not realizing she was already broadcasting her image to the group.
Professor Willow, who at first came as a surprise to Pete, specialized in habitats like Birch, though he added a twist by documenting large scale migrations, and he has three very capable assistants with whom he researches breeding, evolutions, and training methods. The grey-haired man turned out to be the current professor of Paldea, the region of the Scarlet and Violet pokemon games. In the games, there existed Professor Sada and Professor Turo, who both did not exist in this world as of yet according to Pete's research into the matter. Sadly, his MC, when he wrote the novel in his last life, never reached Paldea, so he couldn't be sure.
Willow, on the other hand, was famous in Pete's last life for being the professor of the Pokemon Go game - so to Pete's knowledge, the professor technically shouldn't have been of this world. Pete hadn't yet had the chance to talk to the man sporting hiking gear in his video feed with a Pikachu sleeping on his shoulders.
And lastly, Professor Bellis from the Pasio region, which in itself was an artificial island, was next on the fifth screen. Like Pete and Professor Willow, she had a broad research portfolio. The pretty woman with two-toned black and white hair was formost known to most for her creation of egg incubators that Pete almost excessively helped gather data for in his time in this world. When she wasn't dabbling in pokemon breeding like Professor Elm, she researched what she called 'sync stones', a newly discovered mineral that strengthened the bond and affinity of a pokemon-trainer pair and granted them unique overpower moves.
Pete had regular contact with the Pasionan professor to discuss her original research direction: Affinities and bonds - without the sync stones put into the equation.
When even Professor Juniper realised that she was seen and heard, all the professors started jovially exchanging greetings, reminding their peers to answer a mail, discussing recent finds, and most left Pete standing there in awe.
Only the old Professor Magnolia didn't leave his side as even Sycamore went to the screen with Professor Bellis' face in it and started flirting the woman.
"Wondering why it takes so many of us to make a decision?" Magnolia whispered conspiratorially.
"Just overwhelmed that you all took so much time getting here and being available," Pete responded with a slightly forced smile.
"Heh, only Elm and little August are here for you. The rest just didn't want to miss out," the old professor admitted with a grin.
"Aww, you didn't come to see me? I thought I was your favorite for 'discovering' the fairy typing and bringing fresh air into the research community," Pete quipped in a low voice with a fake saddened expression. "You said so in that one inverview..."
"Heh, I came here mostly to see Burneys little bundle of sunshine. Did you know I was the one to finally beat some sense into that brat Kukui to make up his mind and marry Burnet?"
"Oh? He needed help with that decision? He looked to be head over heels for her whenever I saw the two together."
"You got that right. But he's a bit of a blockhead. Glad I don't have to do the same with you," Magnolia gloatingly responded.
"Did I hear you cursing me just now?" Kukui asked as he appeared next to the two.
Magnolia only scoffed, so Pete got the chance to ask, "How's little Lei?"
"My son's as strong as a Machamp and as loud as a wailing Exploud. Just as cute as a Torchic, too," Kukui jovially revealed with pride. "And thanks again for all those berries, Pete. Burney's already fit as a Taurus. She actually started deep cleaning the house when Lei wouldn't go to sleep and kept us up at night. Apparently, that's his trigger, though. Napped right through the entire thing."
"Huh, I should move my old bones to dust off some shelves too when I get home..." Magnolia mumbled to herself as Pete injected with a small smile, "Get some Cinccino to live with you. Never saw a speck of dust yet on my farm. You carry in some dirt from the fields, and they are hot on your heels, cleaning it up before you can turn around to see it."
"Oh? And the kitchen?"
"You're asking the wrong person there. One of my Miltank no longer really allows me to in there. Not without her supervision and a wet towel in hoof to clean up after me so her space is spotless," Pete described with a fond smile.
Before the two professors could ask more about his home dynamics, Lusamine entered the room as she sashayed to the front and got everybody's attention.
"Thank you. everyone, for coming and for tuning in. You already know why we're here, so I won't take up too much of your time. Professor Elm of Johto has formally filed for his own assistant to be recognized as a formal professor of the Pokemon League and Professors Bellis and Sycamore signed off, which means Pete Lang already has enough votes to be recognized as a professor, a peer among you. But Elm's goal - and my own - was to make Pete a true peer among you. A Pokemon Professor. But with no region lacking a professor running point, we want to do what Professor Rowan did for Professor Bellis when he made his assistant the professor of the artificial islands of Pasio," Lusamine explained and looked toward Elm.
"Thank you, President Lusamine. It is as she says. You all have read his works, I'm sure, but few of you are aware just how many little tidbits of wisdom are lost when you don't regularly talk to Pete. I encourage every one of you to reach out to him and discuss your specialization if you still feel it is too early to grant this opportunity to my genius. You'll be better for it, I assure you," Elm added with a warm smile toward Pete, and he saw both Oak and Kukui in the room give sagely nods.
Both of them felt like they talked to someone who had lived half a lifetime researching pokemon, not someone who appeared out of nowhere less than a thousand days ago.
Yes, most of them were aware of his 'dubious' identity, but none cared. The advancements he brought to humanity's understanding of pokemon were too much already. And people living outside league affilitied cities weren't all too rare either. There were plenty of old settlements with no contact to the outside world on the main continent of this planet.
"*Has the boy decided on a research direction yet?*" Professor Rowan asked from his screen as he brushed his beard with a sly smirk. "*I invite him to take over my field to allow me to retire from work in the near future. My two brilliant new assistants need someone smart to converse with once I'm gone. He's found plenty of hidden evolution requirements already, no?*"
"Heh, you're but a babe and think of retirement already?" Professor Magnolia mocked.
"*Maggy, you're two days older than me! AND you're pushing for your lovely granddaughter Sonia to take over your lab but haven't had any success... I won't hear this from you,*" Rowan shot back with an exasperated sigh.
"If anyone's retiring here, it's me! I'm four weeks older than the both of you," Oak chimed in and pretended to have a sore back with a laugh.
"Alright, then I guess we won't need to build a floating island for Pete, he can just take Kanto over," Elm decided with a serious expression - an expression he couldn't hold for long as he started to giggle.
Soon, the other professors joined in.
クリエイターの想い 
Nuclide
Nuclide Did a little world building in the hopes it makes for a fun chapter. I failed... but I wrote it so here it is.
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/nuclide
章 110: C110 - Back at the farm
Two weeks later, Pete was dressed in his winter gear as two white-furred Vulpix were nestled in his coat's hood. A big Mamoswine listened to his instructions as Pete pointed out where it was supposed to move the earth away in the cave. To the side, psychic/ice typing Mega Reuniclus was busy moving ice crystals around, planting them in the ceiling.
Never-Melt-Ice.
Never-Melt-Ice that looked like stars with the ceiling Pete had installed prior to turning this part of the cave system into a fridge. A ceiling that showed the movements of the moon outside and but kept the sunlight out to always offer a relatively dark and relaxing atmosphere for everyone who wanted to sleep in this this freezing cavern.
Like his new ice pokemon Alolan Vulpix and one of the Eevee his Espeon and Sylveon gave birth to over the years, as well as Courtney's Mamoswine.
"Alright, anybody got any objections?" Pete asked when Mamoswine finished making its own bed.
Glaceon brushed up against his leg as it appeared out of nowhere and gave a low purr. The little evolved Eevee had been the reason for his sudden decision to make this ice cave deep inside the hill where the other habitats of the more... 'normal' pokemon were. Many of them had made their discontent known after Glaceon started sleeping next to the two Alolan Vulpix down in the deepest part of the original sleeping arrangements.
Even the newly evolved Leafeon, Glaceon's sister, was giving Glaceon angry looks each morning because he didn't control the cold around him while in his dreams. At more than one point did one of the 'fur leaves' on Leafeon's body broke off in the morning, completely frozen through.
"Alright. I'll keep the Ice Stones for you two to evolve, Vulpix, and you guys tell me if we overdid it with the cold. I don't want you guys to get ill or shiver through the night just because we didn't consider putting the Never-Melt-Ice a little deeper in the cave," Pete argued with a smile as he took the two ice fox pokemon out of his hood and regarded them fondly.
Getting a few happy 'yips' in return, Pete placed the two down beside Glaceon and said, "I'm getting the photograph of your Drampa guardian tomorrow. The printshop in Goldenrod City said it'll be done by then."
Both Vulpix gave him some more happy noises in return, and Pete made his way out of the cave. The way up was lit up in a soft light, and for human company, it even had railings on both sides so nobody would slip on the potentially icy flooring.
Just before exiting the cave, Pete saw someone don a thick jacket to take a look down in the cave. No jacket was needed outside in the permanent spring-summer weather of the Evergreen Meadow.
"Hey, Willow! Are you going to rate my ice cavern setup?" Pete jokingly asked when he saw the white-haired professor get ready for a snow hike.
Professor Willow invited himself to Pete's farm and Ilex Forest. Elm's stories during the meeting made him eager to find out more about the reigning Vileplume tribe and their coexistence with Pete.
It had happened before, but the newest professor's operation was on a scale that was previously undocumented, according to both Birch and Willow, who both studied pokemon habitats.
Without prompting, Professor Willow even offered to provide a substantial shipment of metal for the construction of Pete's future research base as payment for living at Pete's farm. The man was one of the richest professors among the group, Pete learned as they made their way toward Johto after they spent some time as a big group in Alola - Willow had discovered or rather rediscovered the mythical Melmetal pokemon line.
The pokemon was a sort of metallic Ditto, and it amassed chunks of refined ore just by existing, especially if out hiking near a mountain that contained raw ore. And, Professor Willow did both.
On the other hand, Magnolia invited herself onto his farm before anyone had made any plans to do so. She and Pete spent a couple of days in Alola together and mostly stayed at Kukui's to help the two with their baby.
And then there was Professor Sycamore, who was busy doing absolutely nothing except for chatting with the Miltank in Pete's kitchen or bar-hopping in Goldenrod City... just like he did in Alola already.
Not that he needed to, but Sycamore did 'buy' his way in as he stayed at Pete's farm. After a quick call with Jasmine, the Kalosian professor learned that Pete originally came to Alola in the hopes of finding an Alolan Raichu. And the man did just that... by sheer luck after he made out with a woman who was nursing a hurt wild pikachu back to full health at her home.
With the promise of an idyllic home and the enticement of a 'free' evolution with a thunderstone Sycamore provided, the Pikachu agreed to staying at Pete's farm in the future since it was close to the water and nothing was expected of the electric pokemon.
It did, however, come with five additional wild Pikachu... not that Pete minded in the slightest. He could even test if the pokemon truly needed to be in Alola to evolve into their electric/psychic variant of if getting birthed and raised there did the trick to decide the variant.
"A tropical farm with its own ice pokemon habitat," Willow quipped as he looked past Pete down the wide hallway leading down into the mountain. "And people call me the eccentric and rich professor."
"I mean, they call me the recipe professor, and I don't even own my own kitchen anymore," Pete countered with a laugh before he pointed behind himself. "Want me to show you around?"
"No, I'm good. Your lovely wife told me to fetch you anyway," Willow waved away with a smile. "Something about 'getting grounded'? I'm sorry, I didn't pry further to give you a better explanation."
"Ah, that's all I needed. It's time to make good on my word," Pete cryptically answered and had his Mega Reuniclus teleport him back to the entrance of his house despite it being a relatively short walk.
"Jas! I'm here!" The newly-minted professor shouted into his home and got a jump-scare when his wife called for him from just behind him. She had been sitting in the shade of the heart tree outside as she waited for him and was hidden behind its trunk before.
Using his ground typing energy to find people and pokemon around him was something Pete did by instinct at this point, but Jasmine had ground typing energy herself and constantly trained it just like Pete. Hiding herself from his senses had become a small game between the two as they tried to surprise each other by sneaking in for a small kiss without the other one finding out first.
"Take off the jacket," Jasmine ordered with an exasperated sigh as she brushed Pete's long hair behind his ear lovingly. "You're gonna start sweating it through real soon."
"You're right," Pete agreed and quickly dumped his jacket into his bag without care which earned him a small glare until he took it back out and hung it in the closet next to the house's main door in an orderly fashion. He meekly added, "Sorry."
Jasmine flicked his forehead and asked, "You got the gem?"
"I do! Did you talk to our pokemon to see if they have a definitive preference?"
"They do, it's where the two Torterra sleep, just like you originally suspected," Jasmine answered with a sweet smile and hooked her arm into her husband's to drag him over to where they would 'plant' the Ground Gem Pete brought back from Alola.
Through the psychic link with his Espeon, Pete called it over together with the Espeon's first Eevee offspring - the one that he had been pumping full of ground type energy before and after its birth. It was time to see if doing so had a pay-off or not. If this Eevee didn't evolve even sleeping right next to such a powerful ground typing energy artifact, then at this point, Pete could only concede that the eeveelution didn't exist.
"Did you know that Preston has a Rock Gem?" Jasmine idly asked as she enjoyed walking around Pete in the sunny orchard.
"Oh? I mean, he did run the Olivine City rock gym for quite a while. I shouldn't really be surprised, but I still kind of am," Pete pondered as he looked around to judge the status of his berry trees.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I thought. Kind of made me wonder though how much we don't know about the true powerhouses of the league. I wouldn't have something like a Ground Gem for my pokemon for quite some time because I didn't even realise just how much influence such a rare item could have... and how much influence or luck I would need to get it in the first place," Jasmine softly argued as her grip on Pete's arm tightened for a moment. She was feeling even more lucky than she originally thought she was on days like these. Having Pete by her side felt like a cheat at times.
"Eh? Without me here, you'd have hundreds of suitors lined up in front of your gym lavishing you with gifts to gain your attention. Eventually, one of them would have realised your true worth and buried you in Ground Gems. I was just lucky that I got your affection without the need for such tricks," Pete countered with a loving smile and earned himself a shy slap on the shoulder as Jasmine mumbled 'stop it' and gained a blush.
"Ryan reached out again yesterday, by the way. Or, well, I stalked him a little," Jasmine eventually revealed a stone throw away from the waiting Torterra.
"Oh? Where did you interest in him come from?" Pete curiously inquired.
"It's you who paid him the attention originally," Jasmine countered with a pout. "I just like seeing their progress. It's really humbling to think about where they would be without your helping hand..."
"Now you're making me blush," Pete joked with a big grin before he asked, "So what did Ryan do?"
"Not him, but his girlfriend! She caught a shiny Staryu!"
Pete stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his wife before he asked in disbelief, "Say that again?"
"She caught a shiny Staryu? Why are you looking like that?"
'Of course I'm looking like that! My MC didn't get a love interest in my story until after the Kanto arc was over!!' Pete shouted in his mind as he shook his head and inquired, "Who's is his girlfriend?"
"The youngest sister of the four Cerulean City gym sisters. You know, Violet, Daisy, Lily, who share the title of gym leader and their youngester sister Misty who's fresh out of school... I think?" Jasmine unsure revealed. The three sisters taking over for the mysteriously missing father of the four girls made quite the splash when it became news before Pete even entered the world. But there wasn't much known about Misty... yet.
"Ryan and Misty are a thing? Do we know how that came to be?" Pete asked, still not sure how such a thing was even possible.
"Since when were you such a gossip? Ask him yourself if you want. You have his number," Jasmine scoffed as she looked at her husband with an amused smile.
"Maybe I will," Pete mumbled under his breath.
But in the next moment, his head snapped back to the task at hand.
Time to bury a Ground Gem.
クリエイターの想い
Nuclide
Nuclide
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/nuclide
(there'll be a secret second chapter tomorrow or Monday. tell noone)
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