Chapter 115: The Meaning of a Researcher
Natsume lifted his leg and glanced at his pants.
When Wartortle rammed into him earlier, he had used psychic power to cover his clothes.
Surprisingly, the buffer effect worked well—he hardly felt a thing.
Instead, it was Wartortle whose forehead turned red from the impact.
"Did your Wartortle just evolve? I've heard some Pokémon become disobedient right after evolving," Brock said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.
"Could it be… my Wartortle refuses to listen to me now?"
Gary clutched the Pokéball to his chest, looking deeply wounded.
"Uh—no, that's not what I meant," Brock quickly waved his hands, trying to comfort him.
*Fzzzt!* A flash of red light.
Wartortle appeared again.
*Warto!* It rolled its eyes at Gary.
Stepping forward, it held Gary's face—still red from the tail slap—and gave him a kiss.
"Wartortle, I knew it! We're the best partners in the world!"
Gary burst into tears of joy, taking the **Pokémon Relationship Poetry Recital Collection** from Natsume, ready to pour his heart out.
*Smack!*
The other side of his face swelled up.
The poetry collection was blasted to pieces by Wartortle's Water Gun.
"Could it be…"
Gary stared at the Pokéball in his hand as Wartortle slipped back inside, refusing to come out again.
"Look! None of our Pokémon want to come out either!" Misty's voice rang out.
They looked over—the clearing was already piled with Pokéballs.
The Diglett calmly pushed the Pokéballs back, one by one, balancing them on their heads as they returned them to their trainers.
"Uh… thanks?"
The trainers awkwardly accepted their Pokéballs.
Gary stood up, stunned by the scene.
"Reminder—you can explain this from an ecological perspective."
Natsume suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.
Gary froze, glanced at the unfinished dam, then at the Diglett spread across the ground.
"Everyone, listen to me!"
His voice rang out loud.
The trainers, who had been awkwardly staring at the sky with nothing to do, now turned to him as if they had found a savior.
Even Walter, exhausted from failing to whack Diglett with a small hammer, looked up at him.
"Diglett, in the Pokémon world, are indicator species like earthworms. They play an important role in the ecosystem.
If they're making a stand, something must be wrong."
He pointed to the dam behind him.
"Once it's completed, water will flood behind it. Countless Pokémon living here will lose their homes.
That's why our Pokémon refuse to fight the Diglett."
*Rustle!* Softly, Natsume draped a researcher's lab coat over Gary's shoulders.
"?"
Gary turned, staring at him in confusion.
"Do your best. From now on, the ecological restoration of the Kanto region will be in your hands. The title of Doctor of Ecology will surely belong to you!"
Natsume gave him a thumbs-up.
Gary was even more bewildered.
He turned and saw Ash and the others also giving him thumbs-up.
Then he turned again—the trainers present were all giving him thumbs-up.
*Don't just dump such heavy responsibility on my young shoulders, damn it!*
*Still… this feeling isn't so bad.*
"But! I promised my father's colleagues I'd give them clean water to drink!"
Walter's unwilling voice echoed.
At that moment, Ash, Gary, and all the trainers present fell silent.
They had been invited by Walter, and more or less understood why he was so determined to build a dam here.
Both sides had good intentions, but…
"See? Conflicts between humans and Pokémon are inevitable," Natsume said as he patted Giselle's head.
"Then, Mr. Natsume, what should we do?" Giselle looked up at him.
Natsume had once said that solving conflicts between humans and nature, and between humans and Pokémon, was one of the reasons researchers existed.
But he had never said how to do it.
"Knowledge. Never-ending knowledge," Natsume said as he stepped forward.
Under everyone's gaze, Gary wanted to say something, but his throat tightened. He didn't know what to say.
He suddenly realized—this wasn't like fighting evil forces, where right and wrong could be drawn so easily.
Behind him, a voice rang out.
"I'll take it from here."
The lab coat draped on Gary's shoulders was lifted away. He turned and saw Natsume wearing it again.
Countless eyes turned to him. Natsume didn't say who was right or wrong.
That meant nothing—he was here to solve the problem.
Slowly, his calm voice spread:
"Diglett are praised by League scholars as ecological indicator Pokémon. In many ecosystems, their contributions are immeasurable.
Generally speaking, where Diglett live in large numbers, the soil is solid, the land fertile, and groundwater reserves abundant."
Everyone listened intently. At that point, Natsume paused.
The crowd turned their eyes toward Walter.
"You mean… I don't need to build a reservoir? I could drill wells and draw groundwater?"
Walter's face lit with surprise. He hadn't expected Natsume to find a win–win solution.
"Theoretically, yes. You could even negotiate with the Diglett, have them dig the well shafts for you. That would save costs and leave extra wells for the local Pokémon.
But first, a specialist researcher must calculate the sustainable extraction limit for this ecosystem's groundwater."
"Forget it, that's too complicated to explain now. I'll just write you a plan," Natsume said with a wave of his hand.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Natsume!" Walter bowed deeply.
Natsume gave him a slight nod, then walked back to Giselle and gently patted her head.
"Do you understand? The more knowledge you have, the more solutions you'll find to problems."
"Mr. Natsume, I'll work twice as hard!" Giselle said firmly.
Behind them, Gary stared blankly at Natsume in the researcher's coat, his lips parted as if lost in thought.
By evening, everyone was eating in the construction site's cafeteria.
Walter approached Natsume.
"Mr. Natsume, a small token of thanks—please accept it."
He handed him a black card printed with a Master Ball emblem.
"Don't give it to me. Give it to him," Natsume said, pulling Gary forward.
"Huh?!" Gary froze, forgetting to chew the sausage in his mouth.
Natsume continued, "From now on, Gary will likely handle the surveying and maintenance of these wells."
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't just dump responsibility on me like that!" Gary muttered.
But Natsume slipped off the lab coat and draped it over him again.
Gary froze, touching the fabric absentmindedly.
"In any case, my deepest thanks!" Walter pressed the black card into Gary's hand and bowed to Natsume again.
That afternoon, he had already invited professional surveyors. They discovered the groundwater reserves here were terrifyingly vast—three times what his planned reservoir could have provided!
"But, Mr. Natsume…" Walter frowned.
"The Diglett population here seems too large."
He recalled the researcher who came to survey had casually mentioned it earlier.
"Too many Diglett? That probably means they're about to split off," Natsume said, eating his ochazuke without looking up.
"Split off? What's that?" Ash and Gary both turned to him.
"Giselle," Natsume glanced her way.
She understood immediately, set down her bowl and chopsticks, and began explaining.
"Diglett are social Pokémon. When their population exceeds a certain limit, part of the group will migrate elsewhere.
Normally, the migrating Diglett choose places where they can survive but where the ecosystem is relatively weak. In just a few years, that area becomes full of life again."
"Wow, they even go to restore ecosystems in other places? That's amazing!" Misty couldn't help but praise.
Natsume slurped his ochazuke and nodded at her words.
He thought of Zygarde, who acted when ecosystems faced overwhelming threats.
The Diglett, on the other hand, could quietly maintain day-to-day balance.
You can read more (around 100+ free chapters) of Natsume's adventure ad-free at [https ://ravenarchives .com/book/pokemon-who-let-him-leave-pallet-town]. Bulk uploads is a mess here, so updates here might be irregular.