Chapter 382: Weather Institute
After leaving the Shroomish forest, Ash's group traveled over mountains and through valleys to a forest not far from Viridian City.
Feeling the breeze on his face, Ash exclaimed, "The weather is exceptionally nice today!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a raindrop landed on the tip of his nose.
"Is it raining?"
May also felt the sensation of raindrops falling on her head.
"No way..."
Before Brock could finish his sentence, a strange, heavy downpour poured down from above them.
"It really is raining!"
Ash and the others started running to find a place to shelter from the rain.
"There is a large tree in front!" May said, grasping at straws.
"Wait a second!" Ash hurriedly reached out to pull her back.
The next second, a bolt of lightning struck that large tree.
"How did it turn into Thunder?" Brock asked, puzzled. "Ash, is there some kind of Pokémon making mischief?"
The weather changed again, turning from heavy rain to snow.
Ash pushed his Aura to the maximum. "Hmm... there is a Pokémon I haven't seen before in front, but it's not a Legendary Pokémon."
May was shivering from the cold and asked, "So what exactly is going on here?"
"Bubble Bubble~"
At this moment, a strange Pokémon with a cloud wrapped around its head appeared in front of them.
[Pokémon: Castform (Snow Cloud)]
[Type: Ice]
[Gender: Male]
[Level: Elite Beginner]
[Ability: Forecast (Changes to Water, Fire, or Ice type depending on the weather)]
[Potential: Gym]
[Moves: Tackle, Ember, Water Gun, Powder Snow...]
"That is... a Castform!"
Hearing this, May took out her Pokedex to scan it:
"Castform, the Weather Pokémon..."
"Bubble!" (Please follow me!)
The Castform shouted at Ash and the others.
Brock guessed, "It seems like it wants us to follow it!"
"Castform, please lead the way!" Ash shouted.
The group followed the Castform for a distance, and the weather suddenly turned into a clear, sunny sky.
In the sunny weather, the Castform, which had originally been surrounded by clouds, changed back to its initial form.
May looked at the suddenly clear sky, "What is going on here? Why does the weather in this place change so drastically?"
"Everyone!"
At this moment, a young man and woman wearing white lab coats ran over. The girl had a Ditto standing on her shoulder.
The girl said apologetically, "I'm sorry!"
"The abnormal weather change just now was caused by our research institute!" the young man explained.
"Research?"
Ash and the others looked at them with confusion.
"Changing the weather, how did you manage to do that?" May asked curiously.
"Beautiful big sister, my name is Brock..."
Seeing Brock acting up again, Jirachi flew up from the top of Ash's head, just about to hang Brock on a tree, but realized that for some reason, Brock was stunned.
Seeing this scene, a faint smile appeared on Ash's face, and he thought to himself, "Damn, is this guy Brock's simp illness self-equipped with a detector? Even if the young woman last time didn't react, now even this guy who is disguised to the maximum can be discovered by his passive skill. Pretty impressive, squinty-eyes!"
Yes, Ash's Aura detected that the girl with the Ditto was actually a man in disguise. If he remembered correctly, this person was a Team Magma executive.
"Eh, strange, is Brock's routine a bit off today?" May wondered.
Jirachi's raised little hand hesitated, not knowing whether to put it down or continue with the previous plan.
"I'm a bit confused myself, how should I put it, it seems like I can't get motivated." Brock was also a bit puzzled.
"Sorry for the trouble just now. I am Baru, the director of the Weather Institute, and this is Mili." The young man introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you, I am Ash..."
Ash and the others spoke up one after another.
"If you don't mind, everyone can come to our institute to sit for a while. Of course, if you are interested in learning about the work of our institute, I would be very happy to explain it to everyone." Baru said with a hint of apology.
"Thank you for your invitation, Mr. Baru!"
Ash certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity to broaden his horizons.
Moreover, Ash also wanted to see what kind of scheme that Team Magma executive disguised as Mili was up to.
Led by Baru, Ash's group soon arrived at the Weather Institute.
Baru pointed to the white dish antenna set up high inside the institute, "That huge instrument is the core of our institute — the Weather Control Machine!"
"Mr. Baru, was this machine developed based on the characteristics of the Castform?" Ash asked.
Baru nodded: "That's right, that machine is a device we created based on the Forecast ability of the Castform, but it is still in the experimental stage and can only control the weather in a small area. For example, the bad weather like heavy rain and Blizzard you experienced just now."
"Wow, Mr. Baru, you are really amazing to be able to build such a magical machine." May exclaimed.
Baru smiled, turned his head to Mili and said: "Mili, please take them to visit the institute next!"
"Okay, Mr. Baru."
Mili gestured for Ash and the others to follow: "Everyone, please come this way!"
Not long after Mili walked away, Ash heard Baru and a certain researcher expressing their expectations for Mili.
Regarding this, he could only shake his head and sigh that they were overthinking it.
Inside the institute.
Mili first took Ash and the others for a tour of the first floor, and then took them to the computer room on the second floor.
"The computers here can receive information from all over the world, and among them, there is even information about so-called 'natural disasters'..."
Mili pretended to be proud.
"Natural disasters?"
Ash understood; it turned out this guy was here for the information stored in this institute about the one that doesn't fly and the fat fish.
Led by Mili, Ash's group was soon brought to a room with a large number of unknown instruments.
"This is the central mechanical room, and also the core hub of the research institute." Mili said.
"Wow, how amazing!"
"The equipment here is very advanced and complete, right?"
Just as everyone was visiting, Ash sensed a wave of familiar Aura approaching again.
This Aura was exactly the same as Izumi from Team Aqua that he had met on Yantotsu Mountain.
And this time, it seemed that some unlucky guy had also been brought by Team Aqua.
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