บท 36: Chapter 035

Alex was led to what seemed to be an office by Professor Oak. He sat down behind the table, motioned to the seat in front of it and said, "Have a seat."

Alex sat down. Professor Oak accessed a computer on the desk and seemed to be checking something.

After a while, he turned to Alex and said, "Now, as it stands, you are qualified to receive the highest grade sponsorship with the maximum tilt of resources and attention if you go on an adventure now. The Indigo League, which as you know is held once every three years is taking place this year, during the month of April. Hence, if you decide to go on your adventure now, you will have exactly three years to prepare for the Indigo League. With your observation skills and knowledge, you should be a qualified wilderness survivalist and trainer. So you have the hope of getting a great rank in the Indigo League."

"On the other hand, you are not fully qualified as a research assistant. The inclusion of that post on the website is merely a formality. 10-year-olds, no matter how knowledgeable are unqualified for the level of research I am doing. But since you yourself have shown interest in research, and want to put off your adventure, I will present you with a choice" he said.

"You can take an adventure sponsorship from Oak Corall. You will receive all the benefits and attention someone ranked 7th in the PIT will receive. You can spend three years put in the field taking on the Gym circuit, and compete in the Indigo League. And after all that is concluded, you can come back and join me for my research. You will be no doubt much more knowledgeable and steady by then, and qualified to work on at least some of the projects I am engaged in.

Or, you can stay here in Pallet Town for a few years. You will be a research fellow in the Oak Corall. This is essentially a glorified name for an errand boy. You will do all the tasks that need to be completed in Oak Corall, including but not limited to feeding and taking care of the many Pokemon that are on the ranch, transferring Pokemon to the trainers who request it, doing simpler tasks for the projects I am working on, and running errands for me. If you decide to go this route, what I can offer you is a permanent residence in Pallet Town, access to all the information available in the lab, and also permanent space in Oak Corall for any Pokemon you catch" he concluded.

"Think about it. You do not officially get your starter and begin your journey till tomorrow morning. You can give me an answer than" said Professor Oak.

Alex went out of the room in a daze. Just by comparison, it seemed the first option was undoubtedly better. He could have his adventure in peace, spend three years training his Pokemon, and then have a great competition in the Indigo League, and then come back to the Oak Corall and peacefully become a researcher.

But the second option was actually too generous. Except for the part where he had to do all the odd jobs in the laboratory for the foreseeable future, each condition was better than the next. Being able to feed and interact with the many Pokemon in Oak Corall was a huge opportunity. Not anyone could get a chance to observe the hundreds of Pokemon here at close range. He could also scan all the Pokemon and figure out how his potential and training tabs worked. Also he could learn about Pokemon food when he was doing this. Transferring Pokemon to the many trainers who store their Pokemon in Oak Corall may be a handful, but it was also a chance to interact and get in contact with hundreds of trainers across the world.

The data stored in Oak Corall was one of the most complete and comprehensive databases of Pokemon knowledge in the world. Even if some of the information was restricted for him to view, the huge amount which would be available, coupled with his photographic memory, would be of immense help to him, especially when he had to 'discover' the new evolutions. With a solid knowledge of what was know, he could bullshit a reasonable explanation of how he arrived at the results he 'discovered.

The Oak Corall was also known as the best place to store your Pokemon according to some articles he read online. Permanent some here was a huge advantage.

The permanent residence in Pallet town may not seem like much, but the Pallet Town here was much different from the small rural Pallet Town he remembered from his previous life. Here, Pallet Town was known as 'The Town of Champions' due to the 6 champions who emerged from here. Also, the Pokemon Alliance was ridiculously strict in granting residency permits for Pallet Town to any outsider for some reason. Hence it was almost impossible for ordinary people to ever get a permanent residence in Pallet Town.