"Move! Up ahead I see a building!" Ash exclaimed.
Today we find our heroes in the midst of a rainstorm on their way through Route 6 heading towards Chargestone Cave from Driftveil City.
"Ash wait up!" Rosa shouted, spitting her hair from her face as she caught up to him and Elliot.
"Do you think they'll let us in?" Elliot asked, as the trio hid under an awning.
"Can't hurt to at least ask." Ash said, knocking on the door.
"Oh hello there, are you three here for a tour?" A scientist asked.
"If we say yes will you let us in and dry off?" Rosa asked.
"Yes, yes of course, please come in." The scientist said, opening the door for the trio.
"So what is this place?" Elliot asked.
"We're a research station on a Pokemon out here in the local area." The scientist said.
"What Pokemon is that?" Ash asked.
"Deerling." The scientist said. "We've found that depending on the environment it's caught in, it changes it's form slightly."
"Like how Castform can change it's shape and type?" Ash asked.
"In some ways yes, however Deerling don't change type when their form changes." The scientist said.
"So then what are you observing exactly?" Rosa asked curiously.
"We're seeing if there are any changes outside of the visible ones with the form changes." The scientist said.
"So like seeing if their battle powers have changed or if they're faster in certain forms?" Ash asked.
"That's actually fairly accurate." The scientist said.
"Well then I can be a help in return for you giving us shelter from the storm." Ash said.
"Really, you think you can assist?" The scientist asked curiously.
"Ash, help with a battle, I think he was just looking for an excuse." Rosa commented.
"It will be fun seeing how the different forms might battle." Elliot said.
"So where do we start?" Ash asked.
"Right this way, we have some space for the Pokemon to practice." The scientist said, leading them to an open and covered area.
"Alright, bring on the Deerling!" Ash said excitedly.
"This Deerling was caught during the spring season." The scientist said, leading out a pink Deerling.
"Alright, Larvesta come out!" Ash called out.
"Deerling use Double Kick."
"Larvesta use Ember!"
Larvesta scuttled about, moving out of the way of the Deerling's hooves before sending out a flurry of embers at them.
"Deerling use Take Down."
"Larvesta use String Shot!"
Larvesta spun out silk, trapping Deerling's feet on the ground as it quickly approached the now stuck grass type.
"Larvesta use Leech Life!" Ash called out.
Larvesta bit down on the Deerling, draining it of it's energy before hopping back off.
"Alright, I believe that is enough we've seen of the Spring form." The scientist said. "Are you ready to move onto the next form?"
"Ready whenever you are." Ash said.
This repeated three more times with other colored Deerling, one Green, one Orange, and one Brown.
"So did you learn anything special from all this, maybe one being faster or slower than the other types, or stronger or more defensive?" Ash asked.
"From what I saw they all seemed to be within similar parameters against Larvesta in battle." Elliot commented, looking at the battle data he collected.
"That doesn't seem the same as your old program." Rosa commented.
"It's the same idea, I'm still tracking battle strategies and moves, just with a newer program." Elliot said.
"Unfortunately what your friend said is the truth, from how they all fought it looked like the four different kinds of Deerling have no distinguishable differences between them." The scientist admitted. "Thank you for your help though, I'm sure even this data will prove useful in our research."
"Of course, and thank you for giving us some shelter from the rain." Ash said, noticing the storm was starting to let up finally.
"Here as a thanks for helping me research all four types, it's a Leaf Stone." The scientist said, offering the stone to Ash.
"Thanks, you really didn't have to give me this, I mean we were happy to help." Ash admitted.
"Just take the thanks Ash." Rosa scolded.
"I am, I am, I just, I don't know when I'll ever need this, but thank you very much for the gift." Ash said grateful nonetheless.
Authors Notes
Yes a short and simple chapter about Deerling and the season research station. And yes if you bring a Deerling of all four seasons to them in Black and White your reward is ONE Leaf Stone, you know for all ONE Pokemon that evolves from it in the Unova Pokedex. This is one of the few areas we've encountered so far that just wasn't enough for a full chapter of its own in this region, but it's enough of a landmark to make a note of it.