We're going to continue our tour through the Pokemon HQ Laboratory to see what else Pokemon Conservationists do. We saw that Professor Jovi takes great pride in testing her soil samples and is working hard to keep the region stable, and purify the contamination, but what other secrets are in her laboratory? Are there any other interesting sights we can explore? Marion's certainly having a blast, that's for sure.

KedharS: Ayame had to get her aggressive, no-nonsense side from somebody, and her dad is a big old teddy bear when you get right down to it. I'm surprised that you would be surprised that Hiromi is the really scary one in the family.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Yeah, this chapter touches a little bit on how much work needs to go into taking care of the environment, and how much money it can cost- which, when you're dealing with a volunteer group, isn't the most optimistic perspective, sadly.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 925

The tour continued onto the next part, moving to a different area in the lab. While the section of the lab that had been devoted to researching soil was no-doubt significant in exploring solutions to the environmental crisis facing the Orre Region, it wasn't exactly the most interesting thing for a bunch of teenagers.

The next room, however, was a lot more engaging. That was because it contained something that none of them had expected to see in the Orre Region.

Pokemon!

Lots of pokemon were living in artificial habitats. There were Water type pokemon swimming in an artificial beach, with more inhabiting a massive fish tank. There was also a large terrarium designed to house a forest that several Grass and Bug type pokemon were making their home, as well as a section of the wall that was replaced a stony cliff overlooking a pit filled with sand and gravel for Ground and Rock type pokemon to play in. And of course, there were just sections of fenced-off grassy areas for pokemon of all kinds to frolic through.

Olivia was amazed. Ayame was amazed. Everyone was amazed, even Donoma, displaying some actual positive emotions for the first time all day.

It was Hiromi who found her voice first. She stepped forward into the room, her eyes scanning the enclosures with excitement.

"Is… Is this for real?" She asked hopefully, turning to Professor Jovi. "These pokemon you have here, are they all…?"

"Wild pokemon?" Professor Jovi asked, nodding. "Yes. Every last one of them. Of course, they aren't native to the Orre Region. We had to bring them over from other regions so that they could be raised here."

"What's the point, though?" Olivia asked, frowning. "I mean, it's not like they can live in the habitats in the Orre Region, right? The water's poisoned, the minerals are poisoned, there aren't any berries, why bring them here?"

"Uh, because it's cool?" Lila said, rolling her eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You don't think that taking care of wild pokemon in a lab like this would be cool? Look at all these neato designs!"

Olivia looked at Lila like she was crazy, and she wasn't the only one.

"Lila, do you want to be a researcher or something?" Darla asked, confused.

"What? Oh, god no, you mean a nerd? Blegh." Lila made a face of disgust. She gestured towards the terrarium. "I'm just saying that the interior design skills needed to make a place like this are amazing, clearly someone knew what they were doing to create… what is it again? A 'habitat'? Yeah, a habitat like this."

"Well, thank you, us nerds always try our best," Professor Jovi said, smiling icily at the innocently insensitive girl.

Lila blushed with shame. "I, uh… sorry," she apologized lamely.

"Lila, please think before you open your mouth," Darla sighed, holding her head in her hands. Olivia snickered.

"I think she's right, though," Jessie said, surprising everyone. Jessie had been in their group for a few days now, but the only people she'd really made an effort to talk to so far were Celia and Marion. So to hear her come to Lila's defense was unusual. Jessie walked over to the fish tank and looked at it admiringly. "I mean, just think about it. Making a place like this really takes a lot of time and effort, right? You've got to make sure that the habitats are all perfect for the pokemon who will be staying in them."

Olivia sighed. "Okay, but that doesn't actually address my question, I still don't get what the point of all this is! Like, yes, it's nice seeing these wild pokemon live in environments that they wouldn't be able to survive in Orre, but… so what?"

Professor Jovi smiled. "I understand why you're confused. After all, it doesn't make a lot of sense to bring these wild pokemon here. But there is still a lot we can learn from seeing how pokemon react in these environments. Those trees? They're the exact same kinds as the ones that grow in the Orre Region. That water's mineral composition is exactly identical to what Orre's was before the runoff poisoned it. Same with those rocks and the sand, as well. Basically what we've done here is create an entire artificial model of the Orre Region's biosphere to see how wild pokemon interact with their environment."

"Wow, that's really impressive!" Hiromi said. "I can bet you'll get a lot of data from that about how pokemon react, right?"

Professor Jovi nodded. "Exactly. If we want to acclimate pokemon to being able to live in the Orre Region, we need to start by introducing them to habitats that are similar to what they'll encounter when we are able to remove the pollution to the environment. These biomes are the first step in that process. At the same time, we can also test how well pokemon can grow in artificial environments, which is another vital area to explore for Pokemon Conservation efforts."

"Oh, I see," Ayame said, starting to get what the professor was driving at. As a student in the Caretaking Course, she had done her fair share of looking after pokemon being raised in captivity. This was almost like one big glorified daycare center, now that she thought about it. This lab reminded her a lot of that pokemon store that she went to with Blake right before the field trip.

"So what you're saying is that you want to expand the ways that pokemon are raised in captivity?" Ayame asked, squinting her eyes thoughtfully. "So… like there would be places like this all over, then, for pokemon to inhabit?"

Hiromi gasped as she pictured what Ayame was envisioning. An entire artificial environment, sort of like a miniature ecosystem, like a dome. She imagined that terrarium filled with plant life, but one large enough to fit an entire forest.

Professor Jovi's eyes were shining with excitement. "Yes, that's the long-term goal of this project," she confirmed. "Orre's natural environment is in a critical state, incapable of sustaining life. But if that's the case, then there's nothing stopping us from developing entirely self-sustaining artificial ecosystems to rear wild pokemon in, right? With enough funding, we could spread out labs like this at a hundred times the size, all across the Orre Region. It wouldn't be exactly the same as repairing the environment, of course, but it would be a start, and it would give us a chance to begin introducing pokemon into the wild again."

A whimsical smile crossed Professor Jovi's face. "Pokemon Conservationism isn't just about preserving the environment, or about taking care of pokemon. It's about creating systems that allow pokemon to flourish with nature. We aren't just trying to repair the damage done to the Orre Region for the sake of the pokemon living there, but also so that we can get more developed land for pokemon to be raised on, so that we can take pokemon from other environments where they can't easily survive and give them somewhere to live."

Professor Jovi finished her little speech, and looked out across the crowd of students to see what they thought.

Olivia shut her mouth. She hadn't thought that there was much point in this at first. Just another pokemon zoo, even if it was one that was a little bit more technologically advanced than the other ones she'd seen. But what the professor was describing made a lot of sense. It reminded her of the Safari Zone in Kanto, a similar project proposed by conservationists to provide the species of pokemon endangered by the rampant pollution in the region with a place to grow naturally.

Thinking about it like that made it sound like a very great thing… but she was also a realist. She could tell that the professor was being far too optimistic about this endeavor.

"That's nice and all," Olivia sighed, "but a project like that must cost quite a lot, huh?"

Professor Jovi's face fell, and she sighed in resignation. "That is the problem, unfortunately," she admitted. "With proper funding, we could really make a lot of change in helping the environment and taking care of displaced pokemon. But the problem is, not a lot of people want to invest in something like this."

Olivia nodded. She didn't like it, but she understood it.

Lila, on the other hand, was totally confused. "What?! Why not? This is, like, the one thing that people SHOULD be using their money for! You're taking care of the environment, helping pokemon find homes, it's just…"

She sighed in exasperation.

"…What else would you even spend money on, anyway?!" Lila demanded. Her brow furrowed. "…Well, I mean, besides shoes. And designer handbags. And dresses, and makeup, of course, not to mention hair treatments, massages, specialty Venti Nonfat Half-Caff Soy Caramel Macchiatos with extra Whipped Cream…"

Darla rolled her eyes. Lila's heart was in the right place as usual, but the girl was far too shallow and materialistic to be any kind of activist.

The professor laughed it off good-heartedly. "I understand what you're saying. And you're right, in an ideal world, we could have all the funding we need. But unfortunately, we don't. People have other priorities, and charitable works like ours aren't always the best source for investments. And it's not like we can CHARGE people to fix the environment, so we run purely on donations."

Olivia made a grim expression. It was one of the harsh realities of the world. Professor Jovi was right, of course, ideally everyone should be working to help take care of the environment. But Pokemon Conservationism was like any other cause. Everyone wanted to see it happen, but nobody wanted to spend THEIR money to support it.

"And that's why these experiments are so valuable," Professor Jovi continued. "Because if we can prove that these ecosystems are feasible, then we can start finding ways to make them cost-efficient, without having to cut any corners. And once we do that, then we'll really have made a breakthrough in our conservation efforts. We'd be able to secure lots of funding once we can prove just how feasible these projects are!"

Marion thought similarly. Her own goals were very much in line with what the professor was advocating for, after all, she wanted to create an artificial ecosystem of her own in the future, one where she could house all manner of fish pokemon for her guests. It was her dream, and part of the reason she'd wanted to work at this lab.

The research they were doing here… it was a vital component in building the fishing paradise that Marion always envisioned.

"Exactly!" Marion jumped in. "That's what's so great about the Pokemon HQ Laboratory! All their habitats are specially-made to accommodate the pokemon that will be staying in them- and it's exactly like the habitats that I designed back at the Pokemon Academy for all the fish pokemon that I'm taking care of, too!"

Marion blinked in realization as a thought occurred to her. She turned to Jessie. "Hey, wait a minute, if you're here, then who's taking care of all the fishies?!" She exclaimed. It had totally slipped her mind that with Jessie here, there wouldn't be anyone to look after the place.

Jessie blinked, surprised. She had been so engrossed in Professor Jovi's explanation that she hadn't even thought about someone talking to her.

"Oh, um… I had Sango look after all the fish pokemon, like you wanted," Jessie finally replied. "She was happy to do it."

Well, "happy" wasn't the right word. "Willing" was a better term to use. Sango did love Marion, and wanted to help her keep her shop (and her fish pokemon) alive, but that didn't mean she had to like it though.

Marion, on the other hand, was over the moon when she heard that.

"Aww! That's my girl!" She exclaimed. "Sango, you're just the best! I love you so much!" She blew kisses into the sky with joy at the thought that her friend was working hard right now taking care of all her fish pokemon.

Ayame nodded, a whimsical smile passing her face as she observed all these habitats surrounding her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Sango would absolutely LOVE a place like this, dedicated to taking care of pokemon and building bonds with nature.

"You know, it's a real pity that Sango can't be here to see this," Ayame sighed. "I think she would be having a blast on this tour."

Ayame was just saying what she thought, she had no intention of going any further than voicing her wishes for her friend.

But when Marion heard that, there was no stopping her. She turned on a dime and rushed over to Ayame, looking up at her with clear blue eyes shining like the sea.

"Yes! You're exactly right!" She cried. "Sango would positively ADORE the Pokemon HQ Laboratory! Ohhh, why couldn't she be a senior or a junior?!"

In a flash of a second, Marion went from being excited at getting to show off her old workspace to being broken-hearted over the fact that she couldn't share it with one of her closest friends. She was practically in tears.

Professor Jovi sighed, an action that Hiromi caught.

"…Something the matter?" Hiromi asked, raising her eyebrow.

Jovi quickly replaced the smile on her face and shook her head. "No, no, it's nothing. Professor Jovi is just fine! I was just… thinking that it's been a while since I saw Marion. So she's just like that with her friends, huh, not just her coworkers?"

Olivia caught onto the conversation as well. Not one to miss out on hearing any dirt spread about Marion, she butted in, asking, "what? What was she like when she was working?"

Professor Jovi shrugged. "Oh, she's a lovely girl, very bright, with more passion than most about taking care of the environment."

Olivia could hear the "but" hanging in the air.

Professor Jovi continued, "However…"

Well, same thing.

"…She can be a little… bit of a handful," the professor said, trying to play it off with a laugh. "She burned through her practicum hours in a flash, it was like she was living in the lab. But I couldn't count all of that time, though, because…"

"Because she kept taking fishing breaks?" Olivia suspected.

Professor Jovi's smiling face cracked.

"For hours!" She groaned under her breath. "Half the time she was practically sleeping in the lab doing all of her work, and then it was like I would never see her. She'd be fishing all over the place, even in the habitats!"

Olivia snickered. She could picture that perfectly.

The professor shook her head and nursed her forehead with a sigh. "Marion… she's a wonderful student, and a great mind when it comes to fieldwork. But as you might have noticed, she can be rather hard to keep under control."

"Still, she did complete all of her practicum work!" Hiromi said, trying to look on the bright side of things. "So she couldn't have been all bad! And like you said, she's really passionate about what she does!"

Professor Jovi decided not to mention that she may have fudged the numbers on Marion's review assessment a little bit to justify getting her out of her hair a little quicker. It wasn't like Marion had even needed the practicum in the first place, after all, the girl was practically an expert at all the things the professor had spent a lifetime learning.

Especially where fish pokemon were concerned, too.

"She's a great child," Professor Jovi said diplomatically. "She can just get out of control. Now, where were we? Oh, right, we were talking about the habitats that we work on in the lab, and- Marion, what are you doing?!"

Marion glanced up from her tablet, confused. "Oh, nothing prof," she said with a shrug. "I just thought that one of my friends would absolutely LOVE to see what we're doing, so I was going to give her a call and do a little video chat! Totally fine, right?"

"Um, this is a tour," Professor Jovi said awkwardly. "We don't like people recording what's going on in the lab, or having them stream it out to other people, either…"

Marion pouted, putting on a pleading face. "Oh, please, professor? Sango's not like the rest of 'em! She absolutely loves the environment and taking care of pokemon! She's training to be a Pokemon Ranger! It's all thanks to her that I could even come here in the first place, oh, you just have to let me show her how great the lab is!"

Professor Jovi had to admit it, Marion was very good at making a pleading face to get what she wanted. From one beggar to another, the professor had to admire the hustle. She herself had done similarly with her older brother more times than she could remember.

"I think it's fine," Ayame agreed. "Sango's a great sport, and she loves learning more about the environment and taking care of pokemon. It's just a little video call, not a big deal, don't you think, mom?"

Ayame turned hopefully to Hiromi, who felt like she was trapped between a rock and a hard place. She wanted to respect the professor's wishes of keeping the lab free of stuff like that, after all, they were guests here and this was HER tour through HER lab, and hey, Hiromi and her group hadn't even paid due to the professor's closeness with Marion.

At the same time, she did know a little something about Sango. She'd never met the girl, of course, but Ayame talked about her constantly, and if half the things she said about her friend were true, then Sango was one of the people who deserved to be here and see this the most.

The professor and the chaperone shared a tense look. They weren't sure if it was the right thing to do, but at the same time, there didn't really seem to be any PROBLEM with it, either, it felt like Professor Jovi was just being a stickler for the rules.

Profess Jovi took another look at Marion, who was practically in tears with her hopeful whimper. In the end, there wasn't a whole lot she could say against a face like that.

"…Fine," Professor Jovi agreed. "You can call up your friend if you want."

"WOOOHHOOOOO! Thanks, professor! You're the best!" Marion was practically spinning with glee at the fact that she was finally allowed to call Sango. She didn't waste a moment.

Nice! So Sango's going to get a chance to check out the Pokemon HQ Lab! All the way back at the Probationary Ranger Exam, Sango helped Marion get her license and now here we are. Hopefully Sango likes it, and there's surely going to be more to come!