Chapter 6: Continuation
-Ars Bastion PoV-
As I returned the unconscious Sliggoo back to her luxury ball, I began to ponder what went wrong in my first pokemon fight.
I know logically that my chances of winning were low from the start, but I feel like I could have at least done better, especially with Cynthia using one of her weaker pokemon.
Her Hakamo-o is clearly young and new to her team, its training nowhere near the standards of the rest of them, meanwhile my Sliggoo had all the advantages in the world…
But while I was silent, drowning in my own thoughts, I felt something poking my sleeve.
Looking at the source, I found Cynthia staring at me with a stiff smile plastered on her expression. "It was a great fight, Ars."
I nodded at her, still partially contemplating my thoughts. "Yes, it was."
My answer left her with an uncomfortable silence for a moment, as Cynthia asked me with some degree of awkwardness. "... Are you mad?"
"No, I'm not mad," I answered her, while crossing my arms. "I'm just thinking about the match."
"Oh?"
This piqued Cynthia's interest, as the trace of nervousness disappeared from her face. "What do you think about it?"
"I feel like I made a lot of mistakes during that fight," I answered her while rubbing my chin with my finger. "From early on, I recognized that Sliggoo is much stronger than Hakamo-o, giving me an immediate advantage in sheer power compared to him. But that advantage soon disappeared when Hakamo-o utilized Noble Roar to stagger Sliggoo out before using the opportunity to attack."
"Shelter combined with Sliggoo's ability did create a perfect opening to fire a point-black Dragon Pulse to Hakamo-o, but you didn't let yourself get trapped by the same trick twice while using Hakamo-o's superior speed and also the snowy environment to punish me back." I continued while wracking my brain about the fight, not realizing that Cynthia is looking at me with a smile plastered on her face, which was copied by Garchomp who was standing beside me as both of them were silently listening to my outspoken thoughts.
"Also the timing, several times Hakamo-o managed to stun Sliggoo with a perfectly timed Noble Roar, harassing her enough to lower her offensive effectiveness while also reducing the amount of damage he took for the preparation for that turn around with Reversal. If I played it more cautiously while covering any attempt for Hakamo-o to get closer, I probably could have won by doing chip damage over time… but you probably also had an answer for that…"
I sighed in frustration, unable to think anymore about possible scenarios for me to win, Cynthia completely outmatched me without leaving any room for countering her back.
"Incredible. Truly incredible, Ars." Cynthia clapped her hands with a beamed smile, which got me confused. "Despite this being your first match, you quickly adapted with the environment and showed a performance exceeding any normal rookie trainer. Not only that, but you were also quick-witted with the result, explaining it thoroughly with an excellent evaluation as well."
"Gar! Gaaa! Chomp!" Not only Cynthia did give me a compliment, but her Garchomp also growled at a compliment at me as well; saying I did very well with Sliggoo, which kinda embarrasses me a bit, but it also makes me happy.
The rest of her pokemon are in the same boat, giving me various shades of praise for my performance along with Sliggoo, who was currently out cold in her Luxury ball.
Zorua yelped as she quickly jumped forward, landing on my shoulder while licking at me affectionately, while Ralts quickly occupied the other shoulder, shyly giving me a soft coo while rubbing her tiny hands against my chin, apparently also impressed with me as well.
I smiled, basking in their compliments.
But still, I can't continue the training if Sliggoo is still unconscious so I had to take her to the nearest pokemon center. "Maybe we could heal our pokemon? I still want to continue my progress on training my pokemon."
Cynthia nodded at my request. "Yes, that would be sufficient since I also need to heal my Hakamo-o as well." spoke Cynthia while returning her exhausted Hakamo-o to pokeball.
Having decided the same thing, both of us then returned our pokemon back to our pokeball, except for Zorua who wanted to stay outside a bit longer.
Initially, she wanted to walk beside me alongside Cynthia during our trip towards Pokemon Center, but after several steps and due to the thick snow, she decided that resting on my shoulder is much more comfortable for her tiny body rather than trying to push herself past five centimeters of snow which covered our path.
It didn't take too long for us to arrive at the Pokemon Center of Freezington Village, as I marveled over myself about entering the building.
I've passed it several times, but this is really the first time I stepped inside. Mainly it's because the former Ars Bastion never once entered here due to his fear of getting scolded by his mother– or technically my mother now.
Remembering that makes me sigh internally.
It feels really close to home for my comfort, and I didn't want to think about my former life too much, lest I be consumed with the guilt of leaving my mother first.
"What's wrong?"
Cynthia's voice snapped me out from my internal thoughts, which brought me back to reality. With a quick smile, I lightly shook my head. "Nothing, just having some thought about what I should say to Sliggoo when she's awake."
"Oh, you're right." she nodded in realization. "Despite her apparent age, This is basically her first battle. You're probably thinking about her feelings since she just lost in her first battle."
I rubbed my chin in thought.
"Honestly, I don't know what to say other than giving her some comfort and encouragement. Though I must say that Sliggoo did quite well despite the disadvantages of her evolution stage." I said in response.
Hearing that, Cynthia's eyes glued at my face while her lips hummed in curiosity. "What do you mean about Sliggoo's disadvantage?"
"Basically, unlike the Kalosian Sliggoo who didn't develop any form of shell upon reaching its final evolution later, Hisuian Sliggoo will carry the shell when they evolve into Hisuian variant of Goodra. The shell itself, while providing extra protection during the fighting, is also many times heavier than normal shell due to its metallic composition, which hampers Hisuian Goodra's mobility more than its Kalosian Goodra counterpart." I explained
"But alas, while the Hisuian variant is suffering from the lack of mobility, it also gained another aspect that I deemed much better for the exchange." I continued while looking back at the excited Cynthia. "Can you guess what I am talking about?"
This drew her analytical mind to sprang forward, as she quickly put fingers on her soft chin. From her serious expression, I assumed that she is currently constructing her hypothesis based on the previous fight.
"It gained a secondary Steel-typing," said Cynthia. "Despite having slower movement, it gained another typing which makes it a Dragon and Steel type pokemon. Like how my Rotom Dex explained about Sliggo's data earlier"
My guess was on spot when I heard her explanation, as I nodded at her. "Correct, the composition on Hisuian Sliggoo is composed of metallic substances which Sliggoo can freely control the shell's density."
"I guess my assumption about its weakness against fighting-type moves is spot on." replied Cynthia thoughtfully.
Hearing that, I decided to add some about how the typing combination worked. "And it also removed Sliggoo's weaknesses on Dragon and Fairy-type moves due to its typing combination, which is rare for most dragon-type Pokemon."
"Yeah, I noticed that during our battle. The fact that you ordered Sliggoo to tank Hakamo-o's Dragon Claw made me quickly switch my tactics into focusing on fighting-type moves." added Cynthia.
"Yep, and that's worked well with Hakamo-o's STAB as well."
"Stab? What do you mean by stab?" asked Cynthia in confusion.
"Stab is an acronym, it stands for Same-Type-Attack-Bonus which increases your pokemon damaging move if the move has the same type as your pokemon's type." I explained.
Cynthia hummed in thoughts. "Same-type-attack-bonus, STAB. I like it. it flows off the tongue pretty nicely and also something that I have never considered about that."
"Where did you learn this?" asked Cynthia while looking at me, as before we knew it, we'd already arrived in Freezington's pokemon center.
"Observation, and studying pokemon for years." I lied smoothly, totally leaving the part where it's a game feature that not many people in this world knew about. "Anyway, let's save our talk for later, we need to get our pokemon all healed up."
Cynthia nodded as both of us walked to the reservation table where Nurse Joy greeted us with a jovial tone. "Welcome to the Freezington Village pokemon center, may I help both of you?"
"Can you give our pokemon a check up?" I asked.
"Certainly, now if you would please wait in the waiting room until I call your name, I'll be right with you," Nurse Joy said while eying me a little. "And congratulations on getting your pokemon license, Mr. Bastion."
"You know me?" I looked at her questionably.
"A good friend of mine sometimes talks about you," answered Nurse Joy while taking mine and Cynthia's pokeball to the healing pod. "I'm glad that you are finally able to pursue your path."
"Thanks, I guess?"
She just giggled while leaving the reservation table.
"It seems like you already have a fan." teased Cynthia as she found the whole interaction amusing, taking a stroll towards the seat near the reservation table and just sat there. She then lightly pokes the seat beside her, as if inviting me to sit. "C'mon, let's talk more while we're waiting~"
"Give me a break…" I shrugged in acceptance as both of us chatted a bit more while waiting for our Pokemon.
"We need to talk, now."
This was something that I didn't expect as I arrived back home. As I grabbed my toothbrush, Elaine's voice suddenly called out to me out of nowhere. Honestly, I was surprised that she was even talking to me after being humiliated by Mongolia in public a short while ago. And, judging by the way she was glaring at me, it wasn't like she was going to stop trying to get me to forget my dream of being a pokemon trainer and settle for something... 'safer'.
… and as an older person inside her only son, I would need to deal with this situation very carefully. I did owe it to this body's original inhabitant, though not so much that I was willing to stop pursuing my dreams. Perhaps it would be better to go straight to the point?
"I am not giving up my chance to be a pokemon trainer, if that's what you are about to say."
I could see Elaine was biting her lips, as her eyes met my unflinching stare. Both of us stared at each other for a while, with neither of us saying anything.
"... It's dangerous." She finally said, looking away from me.
"I know the risks. And I am prepared for it." I answered immediately.
"... You could hurt yourself." She was quick to bring up her concerns, but that didn't deter me.
"It's a risk that I must face."
I agree that not everything is sunshine and rainbows in the life of being a pokemon trainer, and while it might sound concerning, I was pretty confident in my own abilities.
"... I forbid you to leave-!"
Before she could continue, I decided to end this conversation before it could drag on by stating the facts.
"You can't. Because I will leave no matter what. I can take care of myself and Mrs. Magnolia has already agreed to be my sponsor."
I could see the light from her eyes dwindle as she realized her biggest mistake again.
"... I am beginning to regret my idea of calling her here."
"And I am quite thankful for that, mother." I smiled at her sarcastic response.
Elaine didn't react immediately to my attempt at humor to lighten the atmosphere. Instead, she just looked at me directly with a distant look on her face. "You've changed. Ever since that incident and the truth about your relationship with... them, you've really changed. So much so that I can't recognize you anymore..."
"But I am still your son, mother." I smiled at her, while completely hiding my real thoughts.
I could understand why Elaine thought about something like that. After all, I am technically not the son that you once knew. But at the same time, even if I were the original person of this body, I wouldn't go as far as revealing that to Elaine.
The truth will break her.
Sometimes, you ought to lie in order to spare someone's feelings.
I sat on the table, where Elaine placed my dinner in front of me without saying anything.
It was a mouth-watering dish which consisted of red bean soup, grilled fish, sausages, eggs, bacon, and baked potatoes. Freezington Village doesn't have much luxury of getting any typical food from any region due to its secluded location, so getting food like this almost everyday is a luxury for their residents.
I quickly dug my portion with a healthy appetite, enjoying the various flavors inside my mouth. Even if I could make something for myself, my cooking skills still can't be compared with Elaine's masterfulness in cooking.
Furthermore, she always gave me a large portion, which I appreciated. Unlike my previous smaller body which cannot contain many dishes, this current body has a much larger frame and developing muscle, which was the reason I had a bigger appetite everyday.
Not to mention with my staggering height which dwarfed almost everyone in the village, reaching almost six feet four inches, I really built like a freaking bodybuilder.
Shamed that the previous Ars was a coward, even though he had a hulking figure who could bodied anyone if he wanted, like those so-called friends of his.
Speaking about those three, I still haven't met them yet after the whole unveiled incident in the village chief's house. Apparently, they were being house-arrested as a punishment, and their pokemon trainer licenses are currently being frozen until the duration of their 'discipline time'.
It surprised me that those pieces of shits are actually have pokemon trainer licenses. While I wondered what kind of starters they have, I couldn't delve too much due to privacy matters.
While devouring my dinner, I eyed Elaine who simply dug her food with moderate speed. Even with disheveled hair and dark bags under her eyes, she's still a beautiful woman in her thirties. Which is understandable considering she was having me in her juvenile age. And even though she was currently working as a nurse in a local hospital, our residence could be considered an above-average house compared to other villagers.
I wondered how could she have that much money in the first place, when her profession doesn't give much to begin with, considering our secluded location, which people occasionally visited for the sake of vacation or for catching a pokemon in this area.
… Except if there's anyone who actually helped her financially?
After Gathering my thoughts, I decided to simply ask her.
"Mother." I called her.
"Stop calling me that, just talk to me the way you used to." Elaine curtly replied without even looking at me, aimlessly playing with her food
"I always wondered about something," I continued while being unbothered by her dismissed attitude. It had been a recurring thing for me when we're having a conversation, where she would exhibit an aloof personality once the conversation shifted into topics that she didn't like. But unfortunately for her, I am not the Ars Bastion that she knew anymore, nor that she was the Elaine Bastion who raised Ars Bastion all by herself. "You're still in contact with my father, aren't you?
Therefore, I held nothing regarding her feelings at all.
My suspicion proved true as Elaine's body went rigid, her finger stopped playing with her food, while her eyes looked elsewhere, clearly trying to avoid this topic.
"I-I don't know where that man went-" Elaine said as she was trying to divert the topic, but I didn't plan to let her go away.
"Despite only working for a nurse in a local hospital, I noticed that we're considered quite wealthy even among our neighbors, something that your wage alone clearly wouldn't be enough." I cut her immediately.
Her pupils dilated as she lowered her head, avoiding my gaze. "N-no, I have enough inheritance to buy-"
"From whom have you got the money to buy all of this furniture? Especially when you're never talking about your parents at all." My rebuttal finally put her in a position where she couldn't even rebuke anything to counterargument it. She just sat in her place in silence as I continued.
"You're receiving a monthly sum of money from this person, That's why you had no problem raising me in this secluded place even with a minimum wage from your job." I concluded as Elaine just replied with a weak nod.
At least she was finally being truthful about this matter.
Both of us stood in silence, with my gaze never once left from Elaine's unmoving body. Neither spoke anything as I let her take some time to digress.
"... How did you know about that?" came a weak reply from her, as she looked at me with her eyes being moist with tears.
"I came to this conclusion all by myself." I answered her truthfully. "You can thank the rock on the riversdale for making me able to think more clearly."
That was a lie, but I said it just as an excuse. But in the right circumstances, a lie could become a truth if the opposing party believed it.
Elaine's shoulder sagged, unable to refute my words anymore as she began to speak, albeit with a shaky tone. "... You're right, Ars dear. That person… had always been sending us a sum of money for us to live…"
'As expected, this does leave me with another question.' I hummed in thoughts, choosing to press more questions now that Elaine had become more cooperative, since it's a rare case where I can finally crack the truth beneath her facade of aloofness. Though I didn't expect that our talk as a 'mother and son' would last longer until afternoon when professor Magnolia came to visit us to meet me.
"Ars, dear. How about joining me in my next meetings with other professors? They are also expecting your presence as well."
That is not what I expected from Magnolia when I greeted her.
"… Excuse me, what?"
"Are you sure about that, professor?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I? You're more than eligible to join in part of this discussion."
Currently, I along with professor Magnolia and Sonia are staying in Freezington Village's hall. It was a big surprise for me when the old woman suddenly arrived in my house after dinner time and announced that she would like to bring me to the village hall for a meeting with other professors.
Naturally I freaked out when I heard about this, but professor Magnolia simply wouldn't budge with her decision as she literally dragged me away, leaving my mom alone at the dining table without uttering any single words.I guess their relationship is still soured to the point where professor Magnolia wouldn't even want to talk with her, even if she wanted to protest about the circumstances.
In the end, I went along with the old lady.
While I felt bad for leaving my mom alone, I cannot let a chance to talk with other professors at this rare moment like this away.
Imagine my surprise when I arrived in the village hall and found Sonia was currently working on the meeting's setup, along with an enormous projector screen which I estimated to be more than 2 meters wide.
Speaking about Sonia, she's apparently very excited about this meeting.
"I can't wait for them to listen to your explanation!" That's what Sonia stated when I asked about her unusual chirpy behavior during our work on setting the setup for tonight's meeting.
I suddenly felt like I was back in time during college, where my friends and I were preparing for our presentations. The difference was I am currently preparing for my solo presentation and without any proper preparation at all.
Damn, I was nervous as hell on this.
"Man, this is very nerve-wracking, especially when I am the main speaker in this meeting." I said to myself, which professor Magnolia heard it.
"Hmph, I doubt you are nervous when I can clearly see that damned smile plastered on your face." snorted professor Magnolia who was currently working on something with her personal laptop.
I just gave her a grin on her remark because she was right about that. While I was nervous, this also excited me.
"Dear me, is all of this preparation necessary, Magnolia?"
I shifted my focus to the person who had just spoken and was pleasantly surprised when I recognized Cynthia. She was standing by the front door while being accompanied by an older woman who bore a striking resemblance to her, albeit with shorter hair and weathered expression.
Cynthia's face lit up with a warm smile as she spotted me, and with brisk steps, she made her way from the hallway, swiftly arriving at my side. "Hello again, Ars~! I can hardly contain my excitement for the upcoming meeting!"
Her enthusiasm caught me off guard, which made me sweatdropped in response.
"Well, as you can see, I am currently feeling anxious for the meeting, since I would be the main speaker for this meeting." I replied to her with a thin smile.
Cynthia just giggled hearing my honest reply, as she nudged my shoulder with her index finger. "Don't lower yourself like that, Ars. Just speak like you always did before, like when you did that with me this afternoon~"
"No promises for that but I will try." I smiled in response.
"I will keep you to your word, Ars." Cynthia smiled after hearing my answer. She then walked away, presumably to go back to her grandmother who was currently speaking with professor Magnolia. Unconsciously, my eyes were drawn to her bottom, as its jiggly mass swings hypnotically, left and right with every step.
… She is doing this on purpose, because I swear she didn't walk like that before.
She didn't even deny it when she teased me further by looking back at me, playfully blinking her eyes as if she knew I was staring.
Deep breath, get a grip on yourself, Ars Bastion.
You have a goddamn meeting to attend, and you also need to present your pokemon in front of many Pokemon professors across the world.
'... Can't deny it though, that ass looks great. Combined with her clothing, it makes her really appealing.' I thought inwardly while finally finishing the setup for today's meeting, before turning my head and stared directly at Cynthia who unfortunately noticed it.
She winked again at me.
And this time I am not buying it, as I quickly approached her with hasty steps, which surprised her as my larger frame now stood in front of her.
"... Uhm, anything that you want, Ars?" Cynthia asked unsurely.
"You, me. Next day after lunch, in the same place like this afternoon." I said in a finality, before turning back to my preparation with my mind fully focused on it, since this would be the first time I ever experienced meeting a large circle of these Pokemon experts.
"... Okay."
I totally missed Cynthia's reaction as she just stood frozen in her place while her face flushed in red. Completely unable to properly comprehend what just happened but still managed to reply to me with a weak voice.
"Professor." I called Magnolia who halted her conversation with Cynthia's grandmother when she heard my voice. "The preparation for the large projector is done. You can start the video call now."
"Wonderful, thank you for your help Ars, dear." replied Magnolia, as she and Caroline decided to end their conversation. The aged professor then connected her personal laptop with the projector and Rotom Camera, which started to hover around us.
It doesn't take long for a notification to start echoing in the hall, signifying the arrival of the professors in voice chat.
[Ding!] [Ding!] [Ding!] [Ding!] [Ding!]
[Finally, I thought you had forgotten about today's agenda.]
"Shut the hell up, Rowan! I merely did extra preparation since there's few extra guests, including the star of today's meeting!" I heard professor Magnolia immediately fired back the accusation.
My eyes wandered in both anxiety and excitement as the faces of other professors, which I counted to be nearing thirties, are now completely covering the entire projector.
Damn, I don't think anyone has ever done this even in the anime before as far as I know.
[You can't blame him, Magnolia. We're here already waiting long enough considering the topic of this meeting is considered as a huge discovery.] another voice, which was unmistakably from professor Oak where he then looked directly at me. [Ah, you must be the young man who recently found two extinct Pokemon from Ancient Hisuian era. I believed your name is Ars Bastion, am I correct?]
"Yes Professor Oak," I answered with a bow. "It's an honor to meet you here."
The old professor just chuckled when he saw my reaction. [At ease, my boy. We are here to speak and discuss your Pokemon due to shared common interest. You don't need to be uneasy about it.]
I smiled at the grandfather tone that professor Oak gave me. "I appreciated it, Professor Oak."
[Alright, ye' have your share of words, Samuel.] Another voice, which this time belongs to an old professor which I couldn't identify, joined the conversation. Unlike how professor Oak greeted me with a welcoming tone, this professor just gave me a diminished tone, as if he doesn't care about my participation in the meeting at all. [Boy. Show your Pokemon, now.]
[Now, hold on a minute, old buffoon Kodama. You can just simply force young Ars to send out his pokemon without his consent.] This time, professor Rowan joined while giving some consideration for me. Unfortunately, professor Kodama ain't talking about it at all due to his impatience.
[Shut yer' trap Rowan, ye' knows 'dat is 'da main topic o'er this part!]
[How about you shut your mouth, considering you didn't attend the last meeting! We're all here for the sake of Pokemon study, yes. But show some character, rather than act like an uncivilized brute!]
[I dare ye' to say 'dat again here Juniper!]
Suffice to say, the entire ordeal is now quickly turned into a large-scale of shouting and cursing due to the tension among the professors. While the likes of Oak, Rowan, Juniper and Elm voiced their support towards me, other professors also expressed their disapproval.
From what I heard from these contests of shouting, the main subject of their disagreement is largely due to my young age, which I understand given the one who voiced it was the older professors around their fifties or more except for Oak and Rowan who are on my side. The younger professors on the other hand are voicing their support for me, which included Juniper, Elm, Birch, Sycamore, and many others that I didn't know who they are.
[Kodama! You're being unreasonable with this unjust discrimination!]
[Screw you! He is nothing but a mere greenhorn who apparently got lucky to find supposedly extinct pokemon from Ancient Hisuian era!]
[You forget that Magnolia is vouching for him, Professor Kodama. As far as I know, she rarely does something like that.]
[But Professor Elm, it could be a favoritism because young Bastion is from the same region as her.]
"I dare you to say that again, Lund." spoke Magnolia with a venom in her voice. "I'm picking young Ars because of his capacity, and not subjectively."
[Calm down Magnolia, you're not helping in this case!]
This would never end unless someone does something to stop this commotion.
Suddenly I had an idea. I've done this before during my college days and it is probably a good thing to stop these esteemed professors from arguing further.
I then intentionally misplaced one of the speaker cables, causing a loud pitched noise from the speaker which made a lot of professors quickly take their headphone in a pained yelp.
Ignoring their protests from the sudden noise, I quickly seized the opportunity to take over the conversation. "First of all, apologies for the sudden noise. But I think this commotion needs to stop or else the discussion wouldn't start."
"... While I am grateful for stopping this stupid charade, I would like for a warning before you did that, Ars dear." spoke Magnolia in an annoyed tone. "But alas, you did a good job stopping all of us, despite a slight damage to our eardrum."
[Slightly damage to our eardrums, you said. I could still feel the noise inside my head…] grumbled professor Kodama while regaining his composure.
[Ehem, while ignoring the unusual method that young Ars did to stop us from bickering any further, while also damaging our ears…] spoke Oak while giving a stinky eyes towards me and a thin smile. [I heard that young Ars has something to share for all of us.]
[So Ars, Magnolia here says you have a small presentation due on your unique pokemon, especially your Hisuian Sliggoo. If you would be so kind as to show us what she could have meant? And maybe tell us a bit of what you believe to be the potential sources of your pokemon and its form? Maybe your insight will lead to more areas of study.] said Oak which immediately garnered the attention of the entire professors.
I gulped.
This is it, this is where I am supposedly told them about my theory regarding the difference of Hisuian Sliggoo, and Kalosian Sliggoo which I once told about it to Magnolia.
Taking a deep breath, I began to talk.
"I believe that the cause of differentiation between Hisuian Goomy and Kalosian Goomy is due to dimorphism caused by the environment."
This statement quickly took the attention of all professors along with various reactions from them.
[Dimorphism which is caused by the environment,] Oak spoke as if he's my thesis examiner, which caused me to internally chuckle in irony. Here I am, already graduated long ago in my previous life, and now I am here to present my theory which I crafted from the lores from pokemon games.
Oh well, screw it.
"Yes, the condition of the environment is mainly the reason why there's a distinct difference between Kalosian Goomy and Hisuian Goomy which causes them to evolve into a different species." I began to speak again.
As I continued my presentation, not a single professor in the video call even once rebuking or cutting my explanation. All of them are focused on hearing my explanation about the difference between Hisuian Goodra, and Kalosian Goodra.
I further explained this theory by linking it with other circumstances regarding my Hisuian Zorua, and how they were formed.
"It's possible that the consumption of rare, now extinct foods could have caused an evolutionary dimorphism between the species over time, much like professor Oak's study on shiny variants may suggest. Only seeing them in one region and at a specific time period leads credence to it being a region and time specific phenomenon." I continued my theoretical speech under the serious watch of other professors.
"It also could be from Arceus being more active at that time. From the documents recorded during that era, we knew that Arceus was more active compared to current modern times. Maybe they were exposed to a certain wavelength of specialized Arceon radiation. We must also consider that this region has undergone vast divergence. This divergence was likely due to a catastrophic event that required Arceus' intervention. This leads me to believe it may be a variant caused by near death exposure as a means of self-preservation from a regular Zorua, probably influenced by Arceus' Arceon radiation with those Zorua."
"I know and understand that from the onset, my Pokemon here has been a scientific wonder to still exist after such a long period of time and I was curious to see why and how she might have come to be, much like you all. I sincerely hope my insight can give you a new view on this unique morphology of regional variations of pokemon, and finally I would like to apologize if there's something that I lack the ability to articulate during my short presentation." I ended my speech with a deep bow.
[Well Ars, you say that arceus might possibly be the perpetrator from this cause.] said Oak with a glint in his eyes. [But isn't arceus still around? Wouldn't his Arceon radiation still cause mutations in near death experiences for pokemon similar to Zorua? I'd also like to point out that thanks to our work in the Cinebar labs we have reproductively viable examples of all sorts of flora and fauna, yet we still haven't seen this type of dimorphism in our samples.]
I hummed in thoughts while rubbing my lower mouth in ponder.
Professor Oak definitely poked at my theory about Arceus since it was the weakest due to its low credibility and evidence. But on the other hand, what professor Oak said is correct, since the technology from the current era was already able to revive many fossil pokemon from various regions. Yet they were unable to revive the pokemon from the Hisuian era for the reason that I haven't delved further.
"Fair point, Professor Oak. Putting the blame solely on the creator doesn't have merits scientifically. Also for the cause of how Hisuian pokemon are able to exist, I already mentioned the theory about the environment being the key to their dimorphism."
A slight smile appeared from the old man, as he gave his verdict from my counterargument. [Close Ars, but my point isn't just the environmental factors that we can easily replicate. No it's that our samples are just that, samples. On top of that we don't have the right species in the right environments. So while your theory is worth testing, we need to do it right.]
"I see…" I nodded in understanding.
[Also, while his words seem to be offending, what professor Kodama said earlier was right in some ways. You have a lot more to learn, my boy. never stop growing and become the professor this world needs. Until then we professors need to have a long discussion. Good to see you're doing well.]
I blinked in confusion.
"So, I basically get kicked out from here?"
It caused a chorus of laughter from other professors, which included Magnolia, Sonia, Caroline, and Cynthia, as they just gave me a meaningful look.
[Unfortunately yes. While I would like you to stay for our real discussion, this part is classified and currently is beyond your capacity AND your current status as well, no offense for that. You're a talented young man, but there's some information that you are prohibited to know, at least for now. Even if Magnolia got a little too excited over your discovery] said Rowan with a smile, and a knowing smirk towards Magnolia, who had the grace to faintly blush at the slight reprimand.
I hummed in understanding.
While it sucks to get kicked out after giving my all in this presentation which I really had to squeeze every single brain cell I had, I also understand what Oak and Rowan are talking about.
"Well, alright then," I said while shrugging. "It's a nice experience, and thanks for hearing about my sudden presentation which I literally didn't have any time to prepare."
I said that while giving a stinky eyes towards Magnolia, which she responded with a subdued laughter.
"You did it marvelously, dear. Be proud of yourself." she then complimented me while giving me a sign to leave the hall. "But I still have to send you out, my apologies for that."
"No need for that professor," I replied to her, while later turning my eyes towards the big projector where other professors were looking back at me with smiles on their expressions. "Well, I will see you all later, Goodbye."
[Goodbye, Ars.] replied Oak while waving at me.
[Bye lads, 'ye did a good job there. Sorry for my sudden outburst.] spoke Kodama with a sign of respect.
[Goodbye, young man~!] chimed Juniper with a singsong tone.
[Goodbye, Mr. Bastion. See you in your next endeavor.] Rowan bid his goodbye with a big smile on his face.
[Goodbye.]
[Bye lads.]
[It was a great presentation, I hope that you are keeping with your study and possibly pursuing the path of the Pokemon Professor.]
[Magnificient. I hope to see you again soon, Mr. Bastion.]
Chorus of goodbyes filled the room as other professors bid me a warm goodbye. And with that, I left the Village hall with a huge smile on my face.
Tonight, I just accomplished something in this world.
-To Be Continued-
Beta Reader: Hipnyah, Old Man of The Mountain
Beta note: help. I'm trapped in his basement and all he is feeding me is moldy rice crackers. I squeeze the moisture from them for sustenance. I won't survive much longer. Help…. (hope you enjoyed the chappy) -Hipnyah
This is your grave, you dug it and you will lay on it, for it was your choice. For it is the path of the Beta readers to listen to whatever the author has to give us. -Old man of the mountain
Author Note: Hello, I am back. Irl sucks and I just forced my betas to awake to work for me. Well, anyway. I finally finished my work and another lore dump which was mostly being crafted by me and my betas, kek.
And also a temporary close curtain for the family matters, which honestly is the main reason why this fic is getting stuck for so long. Oh god how I hated this plot and I wish I could just remove it completely.
Alas, it already happened and I must face it like a man, which I finally did. So Yay for me.
Also here I give another hint about an interesting fact.
Yes, Ars' father is still alive.
And he regularly supports family financially, yay.
A small spoiler for this, Ars father is a canon character. Feel free to guess lol.
Anyway that's all from me and I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. Ciao.
Ars Pokemon
Hisuian Sliggoo
Snail Pokemon
Steel/Dragon-type Pokemon
Gender: Female
Relaxed Nature
Height: 1.5 m
Weight: 153.7 kg
Ability: Hydration, Shell Armor, Gooey
Moveset: Shelter, Absorb, Acid Spray, Water Gun, Dragon Breath, Water Pulse, Protect, Rain Dance, Dragon Pulse, Curse, Acid Armor, Body Slam, Life Dew (Egg move)
New Move Learned: Ice Beam
-Warning, the size indicates this Pokemon is an Alpha Pokemon-
Hisuian Zorua
Spiteful Fox Pokemon
Normal/Ghost-type Pokemon
Gender: Female
Timid Nature
Height: 0.6 m
Weight: 11.1 kg
Ability: Illusion
Moveset: Torment, Shadow Sneak, Snarl, Extrasensory (Egg move)
Ralts
Feeling Pokemon
Psychic/Fairy-type Pokemon
Gender: Female
Modest Nature
Height: 0.4 m
Weight: 4.5 kg
Ability: Trace
Moveset: Disarming Voice, Confusion, Hypnosis, Double Team, Thunderbolt, Disable (egg move)