Hikaru rubbed his chin a little.
In the games, it really was mentioned that Nemona had raised different Pokémon when she first enrolled. And for the slightly older Trainers at the academy, you also rarely saw any of them still carrying their initial partners around.
On top of that, Director Clavell and Mr. Jacq had only started conducting ecological surveys a few years before Scarlet and Violet's story began. The Paldea region did not even have a proper Pokédex device before then, but once it got updated, it jumped straight to an app. It was even clearly stated that Jacq had developed it before the start of the story, to the point that the director commented, "Back in our day, our Pokédexes were all handwritten."
"A new region. A rising League. More territory still belongs to Pokémon than to humans. An 800-year-old academy preparing for reform, bringing in new initial partners, and after Egg Groups were clarified, beginning large-scale, systematic breeding."
And in the story, the director even personally showed up to deliver the starter trio, while saying that if something happened, he would take responsibility for it. Could it really be that those three only started being bred later, once they finally had enough staff?
"Actually, that wouldn't be a problem at all!"
The idea of a starter trio had indeed only really become established starting with Professor Oak. It was only after Professor Elm investigated Egg Groups that they could be bred in a systematic way.
And in ancient times, although Professor Laventon had also brought a starter trio, those three were not, strictly speaking, "initial partners" in the traditional sense. It was clearly stated that they had been brought from elsewhere specifically for researching Hisui, so they were really more like a "mixed trio."
"If you put it that way, then Paldea bringing in a formal Water-Fire-Grass system now actually happened earlier than before."
And in some regions, the earliest partner Pokémon had even been caught personally by the local Professor. For example, before a proper breeding system existed in Hoenn, Professor Birch would simply catch Pokémon out in the wild and then hand them out to new Trainers. That was why he kept getting chased around outside his own house by Pokémon all the time.
And the reason he was able to find those Pokémon so easily was because Professor Birch's field of research, much like Professor Juniper's, was "Pokémon habitats and distribution."
All the systematic frameworks that existed today had been built up little by little through the research of Professors from each region.
As Hikaru thought about that, Geeta took out three Poké Balls. With a flash of light, three new Pokémon appeared.
Rika looked curious. "So these are going to be our region's initial partners after the reform? Back in my hometown, Johto, Professor Elm seems to be doing research on Egg Groups too. His recent research results are..."
Hassel said, "All three of them look like the cute type. I think they're wonderful. So what are they called?"
Arven asked, "If everyone gets the same Pokémon, won't people just mix them up?"
Larry said, "...There isn't a Normal-type."
Geeta replied, "There was never going to be one."
Professor Juniper laughed. "Even though we aren't in Unova, I suppose I'll be the one explaining this."
"In the Unova region, the initial partners are Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott. And according to research and investigation, all of their Egg Groups are Field. Of the three, only Snivy is Field plus Grass."
"As Professor Elm's report points out, Egg Groups are the key factor in determining whether two opposite-sex Pokémon can produce an Egg. The following conditions must be met: the Pokémon cannot be in the Undiscovered Group, the two Pokémon must share an Egg Group, and the two Pokémon must be of opposite sexes."
"Therefore, the initial partners offered in Unova all have Egg Groups that are compatible with each other."
"And in the Paldea region, we have also found three Pokémon suitable for beginner Trainers to raise. Being able to find similar Pokémon in an unknown new region is thanks in no small part to the long history of Naranja Academy."
"Using the academy's list, as well as some of the handwritten paper Pokédex records from the past, I found three Pokémon that fit the standards. However, I haven't yet done detailed research into their Egg Groups..."
Hikaru said, "The earliest place to have something like 'initial partners' was ancient Hisui. But in truth, an initial partner could be any Pokémon. It varied according to the customs of each region. The three being chosen here are simply meant to represent the elemental cycle of type advantage."
"You definitely know, don't you?" Professor Juniper put her hands on her hips. "You may never have said you study Egg Groups, but every time you send me your data, that category is always in there, so I know perfectly well that you know!"
Her expression was full of certainty. At this point, she had already gotten used to Hikaru's all-knowing nonsense.
Hikaru replied, "Sprigatito is in the Field and Grass Egg Groups, same as Snivy."
"Fuecoco is only in the Field Egg Group."
"And Quaxly is in Flying and Water 1. Its Egg Groups differ from the first two, so they can't breed with each other."
"According to Professor Elm's research, most Pokémon in the Water 1 Egg Group are amphibious Pokémon or Pokémon that live around water. For example, Totodile in Johto is in two Egg Groups, one of which is Water 1, so it can produce Eggs with Quaxly."
Professor Juniper gave a helpless smile, while a faint glint appeared in Geeta's eyes.
"Ahem. There are two tasks. For one of them, I would like you to make a little trip..." Geeta said with a smile. "For you, it should simply be along the way. And besides, it also falls under the job you technically haven't performed yet."
"But because it's an important matter, I can't send just any ordinary staff member." As she said this, Geeta glanced at Larry with a meaningful look.
Larry had already drifted mentally into outer space and acted like he heard absolutely nothing.
Ordinary staff member? Yes. That's me. I'm just an ordinary staff member.
"I hope that afterward, you can take these three Pokémon to a certain person and have him raise them, so that valuable data can be collected."
"That person is Clavell, the one we mentioned before during our communication. Although we've already asked him to return to the League to carry out ecological investigations, he isn't here right now. He's at a special research institute... together with an old man named Xilan. I hear the two of them once attended the same school. That's quite an old friendship."
"We arranged to meet near Cabo Poco, but I simply have too much work on my hands and can't make the time. As you can see, I've been working overtime these past few days too. Considering that I already helped you test the tower, surely you won't refuse this job, will you?"
Hikaru froze for a second.
Well, well. The director gives the protagonist a starter trio.
And now I'm the one delivering the starter trio to the director?
Did I just become the Professor from the start of the game?!
At a time like this, should I start chanting...?
You are about to enter this mysterious world and embark upon a grand adventure. Wherever you go, talk to people, collect all kinds of items, gather information from every town, route, and cave... help those in need and open up new paths... sometimes you'll be challenged by Trainers, sometimes attacked by wild creatures... press A to begin your adventure!
Hello, nice to meet you, and welcome to the world of Pokémon!
My name is... well, everyone calls me the Pokémon Professor. This world is inhabited far and wide by creatures called Pokémon!
Now then, tell me, are you a boy or a girl? [Boy] / [Girl]!
Chant complete!
"And then there's the classic 'What's your name?' and 'What's your rival's name?' amnesia section. Oh right, there actually is. Principal Xilan is an old acquaintance of Director Clavell, and he's forgetful too. It all matches up."
He had honestly never expected to get this kind of side job.
Still, it really was no big deal. He was just delivering a package, basically. Almost every generation of the games had some task like that, except Scarlet and Violet. Now it finally felt right.
"No problem. I'm just delivering something, and I'm interested in these three too." Hikaru accepted the errand right away.
You already volunteered to defend the tower as Champion, so what is there left to say? Don't leave tonight's dream too early. I'm turning the difficulty up for you again.
Wouldn't it be easy enough to have Entei use "magic" to mold a few illegal Pokémon? I could start you off with an Electric-Tera Shedinja holding Wonder Guard, and I guarantee that'll be every bit as delightful a surprise as the giant king.
Then Hikaru carefully examined the three little ones.
Sprigatito yawned lazily. Fuecoco, on the other hand, was full of energy. And Quaxly... that duck somehow always managed to look ridiculously self-absorbed, no matter what. Any one of them would do.
"Their Abilities are Overgrow, Blaze, and Torrent?"
Hikaru looked at Professor Juniper. She nodded, then, after a moment of thought, added an explanation.
"However, that only comes from records in old paper documents. It seems Pokémon of the same species with different Abilities have also been found."
"As for these three, I haven't tested their Abilities yet."
"Is that so? Then it's the Hidden Abilities, the rare ones." Hikaru pointed at Sprigatito. "Without human intervention, Hidden Abilities are very difficult to appear, but this Sprigatito should have the rare Ability."
"Ability: Protean. It's the same incredibly powerful Ability shared by Kecleon from Hoenn and Greninja from Kalos."
"Under normal conditions, when the user uses a move, it can, once within a certain span of time, change its own type to match that move!"
Professor Juniper was immediately shocked. She wasn't particularly close with Professor Sycamore from Kalos, so she didn't know much about Greninja's Ability. And Hoenn was even farther away.
"An Ability that changes its own type?!" Professor Juniper's researcher curiosity was instantly reignited. "That sounds a bit similar to Terastallization! And come to think of it, before Kecleon, I don't remember hearing of anything like that either. Well, Unova is too far from Hoenn, and Kecleon hides itself too, so it's understandable if research missed it."
That was true. Kecleon had first been discovered through Devon Corporation's detection equipment, and it had been Steven who found it. They would turn themselves invisible and block the road so the protagonist couldn't get through.
"That Ability is a bit too strong. It seems this Sprigatito won't do." Geeta suddenly started thinking. "...Initial partners should be relatively balanced. If any one of them begins with excessively strong innate power, that would throw that balance off. In other words, an Ability that powerful should not be given to a beginner."
"Myaah!" The previously lazy Sprigatito instantly got mad at Geeta's evaluation and started hissing. It leaped up in a flash and tried to scratch her, only to be caught by Hikaru by the scruff of the neck.
And then, just like any other cat, it immediately froze.
"I don't think it matters."
Hikaru glanced at the Sprigatito hanging stiffly in his grip. It had clearly realized that something about this human was not quite right, and its little paws had gone rigid with tension.
"There are plenty of Sprigatito with Overgrow, but one with Protean is extremely, extremely rare."
Hikaru laughed. "It's just like your Glimmora. The one with Corrosion. It may not be the standard one, but among others of its species it's still exceptionally rare. From the standpoint of data collection and research, it's incredibly valuable."
Still, in battle terms, after Protean was heavily nerfed, in many situations it could no longer clearly outclass Overgrow.
As the saying went, "Those who are free are not truly free, and Protean no longer shifts so freely."
"Then what about the rare Abilities of the other two?" Geeta nodded slightly. "That is also valuable research data. Similar things do seem to have been recorded in past handwritten documents, but the records regarding Quaxly are relatively sparse."
Hikaru said, "Ah, yes. As far as I know, Quaxly didn't originally exist in ancient Paldea. It came here from distant lands long ago and settled down."
"Its rare Ability is Moxie."
"As for Fuecoco, its rare Ability is Unaware. Quagsire and Clodsire share the same Ability, so that's one everyone should be familiar with."
"If that's the case, then the gap between them does seem to disappear. In that case, I retract my earlier statement." Geeta nodded. Then, seeing that this place was nearly turning into a full-fledged Pokémon symposium, she gave two light coughs.
"Then please take care of these three for a little while and bring them to Cabo Poco later. Really, your research into Pokémon ecology is astonishingly detailed."
"Although Professor Juniper has already told me that you are not formally trained as a field researcher, that is exactly why I feel wilderness exploration is an even more necessary job. Only by staying with Pokémon for long periods of time could someone become this familiar with their habits, ecological traits, Abilities, and characteristics!"
On that point, both Geeta and Professor Juniper gave Hikaru extremely high praise. In certain respects, they even found him a little dazzling.
No matter what kind of Pokémon it was, it seemed to come with its own story and legend, and the person before them was someone who knew all of it.
Hikaru said, "I just happen to know a few things."
Geeta smiled. "No, 'the one who knows everything'... is actually a very fitting description."
"If there hadn't already been suitable candidates, I honestly might have hoped to make you our region's ecological investigator, or even our Professor. But I suspect you would never accept the kind of work that keeps you in one region for too long."
"So I'm happy even if you only submit a report from time to time." Geeta smiled at Professor Juniper, while Professor Juniper rubbed her hair.
All right, sure, that did sound great, but...
Professor Juniper said, "If this guy really did go all-in on ecological investigation, then Paldea's biological research reports would literally never be finished!"
Geeta laughed softly.
"If that happened, it would only prove how important and how real the data is! I'm very much looking forward to the outcome of this academic summit. Professor Juniper, Hikaru, please do your very best."
"As for the second job..."
Geeta's expression turned a little more cheerful.
"This year's Treasure Hunt has reached its most active period. Although there are some bad rumors within the school, there are still highly motivated students taking on the Gym challenge."
"Some of them have already obtained all eight Gym Badges and are preparing to take the Champion Assessment. If they pass, Paldea will gain new Champion-ranked Trainers. If they fail, then that is truly a shame."
"To be honest, in the past there have also been many people who obtained eight badges but ultimately failed the assessment. Some of them never returned after that loss, and I regret that. But everyone has their own path. Perhaps, in the course of those battles, they came to understand something..."
"In any case, everyone, prepare to begin the Champion Assessment. Rika, you'll start the interview. The others should proceed into standby for battle. Even though this counts as overtime, please take it seriously, and above all, be sure to keep your sense of proportion!"
Hikaru found himself a little curious.
It wasn't strange at all for some unfamiliar character to challenge the League. People who could collect all eight badges did exist. Whether they could pass the assessment was another matter.
And before Nemona, Paldea had been short on Champion-ranked Trainers for a very long time. There weren't even corresponding NPCs added in Scarlet and Violet, which really didn't make sense...
"As one of Scarlet and Violet's core settings, the idea of Champion rank somehow never had anyone appear besides Nemona. That goes beyond mere laziness. Putting a few strong NPCs in specific places and giving them a couple of lines wouldn't have affected anything at all."
"Still, I used to think Nemona might not have moved in yet, but that was probably wrong. Since Arven had already gone into Area Zero, Nemona should have moved there long ago. During Scarlet and Violet, she feels like she should be somewhere between eleven and fourteen, and she passed the Champion Assessment at the youngest age on record."
"Is there already a really beautiful courtyard in Cabo Poco now? If Arven is eight at the moment, then Nemona should also have moved in some time ago, but she should still be physically weak and totally clueless about Pokémon battles. Before the Rotom Phone was developed, what kind of business was her family even involved in?"
Thinking along those lines, Hikaru decided he might as well actually perform his duty for once.
After all, it wouldn't waste much time.
Really, it wouldn't.
Geeta placing herself in the second slot made the other Elite Four visibly surprised.
Larry said, "...From the standpoint of strength, this placement is wrong."
Hassel added, "I read the report from Area Zero. If you place the shopkeeper second, then even if the challenger somehow beats Rika, no one will get through after that. The rest of us didn't need to come at all."
Rika protested, "Hey! Don't say it like I'm just going to get wiped out right away!"
Geeta smiled. "But I already said it, didn't I? Please, be very careful with your sense of proportion."
Hikaru said, "Go easy on them? That's bad for my reputation going forward. Hm? Wait, no!"
At that moment, all four members of the Elite Four instantly understood exactly what Geeta was planning.
"You..." For some reason, Larry was the first to say it. "You're planning to use Hikaru for publicity. If he beats Unova's Champion Road - no, actually, whether he wins or not doesn't matter - placing someone like him as the second hurdle will massively increase student enthusiasm..."
Geeta maintained her smile. "At present, selection for Champion rank can also be regarded as selection for a Frontier Brain-type role. Publicity is important, wouldn't you agree?"
"Hah." Hikaru glanced at Geeta, then suddenly gave her a very peculiar smile, causing her sentence to stop midstream.
"What would happen if I said, 'When it comes to Pokémon battles, that is the one thing I absolutely cannot compromise on'?"
Geeta: "..."
That was her own line.
She had not expected someone to use her own words to hit back at her.
This newly recruited powerhouse really did enjoy punching upward.
Then again, if you were assigning work to people, enduring your subordinates' complaints was only natural.
Hikaru chuckled. "Let the challenger feel some pain first. Let me do my final bit of work."
And just like that, the assessment began.
As for saying it wouldn't waste much time, that really was true.
There were several challengers in total, but every single one of them failed at Rika's stage. None of them even managed to take out two of Rika's Pokémon, which left Hikaru shaking his head over and over.
What happened to "keeping a sense of proportion"?
"I'm Rika, the one standing at the front of the Elite Four! I'm gonna show you plenty of love, so you'd better give it everything you've got~!"
That was what she told the challengers.
And then she beat them senseless.
Rika's own explanation was:
"Trainers who can make it through the skill assessment are rare as phoenix feathers! Newcomers have no idea what they're really up against. You've got to understand, if they beat me, then what they face next is hell!"
Even so, she did still hold back a little in the end and let one challenger break through to the second stage.
"Sir, you're the new Elite Four member? Nice to meet you. I challenge you!"
The challenger was a male student. He still looked to be in decent shape. Even after Rika's brutal beating, his eyes were still full of determination.
Very spirited. He could not disgrace Naranja Academy!
"I am the second Elite Four member guarding this Pokémon League..." Hikaru had never expected the day would come when he got to say something like that himself.
Honestly, it felt pretty good.
This strange sensation of being a gatekeeping boss really was something no other job could compare to.
Sure, he had technically been the boss of the Black Tower before, but he had taken the post and then quit almost immediately, so he had never actually guarded anything. But as an Elite Four member, he ought to have some sort of entrance line...
Hikaru thought about it for a moment.
"In the end, I'm number one, strong and cool"?
Too much like copying Steven. No originality.
So he settled for saying something simple.
Hikaru: "Steel is forged through fierce heat and sudden cooling. That is why it becomes hard and fears nothing. Ancient smiths learned from Steel-type Pokémon and invented ironworking, and in doing so, pushed the world forward."
"Steel is the power of progress. Now then, let's begin forging."
Hikaru threw out a Beast Ball, leading with Princess Kaguya.
The enormous Celesteela appeared, frightening both the challenger and his Pokémon half to death!
Kaguya: [W-wait, wait, wait! We're battling all of a sudden?! A-and the opponent's just a kid. The opposing Trainer is staring at me. What if my thrusters are overheating? What if he thinks I look lame...? Honestly, space junk suits an existence like me better... Or maybe I should pretend to malfunction...]
When in doubt -
Hikaru: "Kaguya, use Heavy Slam!"
Kaguya's engines roared thunderously!
Intimidation! (X)
But regardless, the opponent really was scared pale.
He had never seen a Pokémon that huge before.
It was like facing a giant wall.
Since when did Paldea have rockets?!
[I'm terribly sorry!]
In the room after Hikaru's, about half a day later,
Larry opened his eyes and woke up from sleep, feeling completely refreshed.
"Mm. It's still not my turn... actually, I guess it's never going to be my turn."
"By the way, does this count as a day off? What should I eat later..."
(End of Chapter)
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