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he knowes pokemon more than i know _Chapter_038_en
Chapter 38
Chapter 38: A Teacher for a Day, a Father for Life
The three of them headed toward Professor Cerise's Laboratory. The journey wasn't short; it was a walk of several dozen minutes.
Bored with nothing to do, Ash's hands started to itch, and he couldn't help but pull out his Pokédex again.
"Speaking of which, I'm already at Level 2H. How can I upgrade to 10H?"
Ash thought for a moment and shouted, "I can fight ten Team Rocket members!"
That was obviously a much higher level than "I can fight two Team Rocket members."
"Pokédex Beep. 10H Trainer Requirements: Catch 12 Pokémon, obtain 8 Badges."
The Pokédex replied promptly.
"Eight badges?"
Ash frowned. He only had three badges right now; the road ahead was very long.
But he had already caught seven Pokémon. It looked like he would achieve that goal much faster.
Maybe he could even get a new Pokémon by going to Professor Cerise's Laboratory?
As everyone knew, laboratories were places to get Pokémon for free.
Bored on the road, the three of them curiously switched the Pokédex interface to the unlocked achievements. It still showed that three achievements had been unlocked.
【Path of the Actor】, 【Food Chain】, and 【Longevity Bond】.
At the very top was 【Pokémon King】. According to its description, he figured that once he unlocked all the achievements below it, he would become the so-called "Pokémon King."
Damn it, he wanted to become a Pokémon Master!
However, perhaps because Ash's level had risen to level 2H, several new achievement notifications had appeared below.
"【Renaissance】 achievement: Obtain a Fossil Pokémon."
"【The Egg-Laying Rooster】 achievement: Obtain a Pokémon Egg and successfully hatch it."
"【Great Onmyoji】 achievement: Catch one Machamp (specified gender: female), catch one Gardevoir (specified gender: male), catch..."
After that were a few more Pokémon that Ash had never even heard of, looking very cryptic.
"They're all so troublesome."
Brock narrowed his eyes in deep thought.
Misty also leaned in for a closer look. Although the Pokédex had provided several pieces of achievement information, there were almost none that could be completed anytime soon.
"It seems there's only this last one."
She scrolled the screen to the very bottom, and Ash quickly focused his eyes on it.
"【A Teacher for a Day, a Father for Life (Level 1)】: Teach a newcomer how to correctly capture a Pokémon."
"Teach a newcomer... to capture a Pokémon?"
Ash pondered for a moment, his brows tightly knitted. Just a few weeks ago, he himself had been a newcomer who knew nothing.
But now, at least, he was a man who owned seven Pokémon. Although, if he excluded non-battle catches, it seemed only the Tool Bird and Bulbasaur remained...
No big deal. When it came to catching Pokémon, he knew what he was doing.
"I've decided! We're going to Professor Cerise's Laboratory! I'll see if there are any newbies there I can teach. I'm going to achieve 'A Teacher for a Day'!"
Ash pointed with his thumb and led Brock and Misty forward in that direction.
Professor Cerise's Laboratory was located on the outskirts of Vermilion City, in an area where property prices were moderate.
In the front was a quaint little villa, which served as the main building of the laboratory. It was used for daily office work and for interacting with visitors.
Behind the villa was a large, man-made park, which served as a place for the laboratory's Pokémon to rest and live.
Although in terms of size, it was nowhere near comparable to the backyard of Professor Oak's Laboratory in Pallet Town.
After all, the latter was located in the countryside where property prices weren't high, yet its grounds were still incredibly vast; it wouldn't feel crowded even if it housed a hundred or so Pokémon.
The main door was unlocked, so the three of them walked right in without hesitation, arriving in a room that resembled a public reception hall.
They had already called ahead to announce their visit.
Three people were currently sitting in the hall, all wearing white research lab coats and looking like scholars.
The one in the lead was a middle-aged man with brownish hair and a square face, but he had a very kind and friendly appearance.
He was their contact for this visit, the director of Professor Cerise's Laboratory.
Professor Cerise.
It was said that in his early years, he was considered half a student of Professor Oak, and his academic research had received Professor Oak's enthusiastic endorsement.
In the autumn, Professor Oak would often be in his backyard with Bill, setting up a rack to feast on plump Kanto Region crabs.
In the summer, however, Professor Oak was more often with Professor Cerise, eating fragrant and meaty Hoenn Region lobsters in the backyard.
After all, they were both red-shelled when caught.
They were old dining companions, after all.
"You've finally arrived! Allow me to introduce you. These are my two assistants, the Pokémon researchers Chrysa and Renji. And I am Professor Cerise. I suppose you could call me a fan of Professor Oak... and half his disciple."
Professor Cerise smiled and extended his hand.
Ash dared not be disrespectful and quickly extended his own hand to shake it.
"My name is Ash, and I'm currently training with my Pikachu to become a Pokémon Master."
"I'm Brock, the trainer from Pewter Gym."
"I'm Misty, the trainer from Cerulean Gym."
After the round of introductions, Chrysa, the gentle woman with long blue hair, and Renji, the bespectacled science-type guy with messy yellow hair, also approached curiously.
According to Professor Oak, this visitor was supposed to be the most outstanding trainer from his village.
But looking at him now... he just seemed like a novice trainer.
They knew Professor Oak was a remarkable person; he wouldn't praise someone groundlessly.
"Hehe, Professor Oak has been singing your praises to me. May I ask, young Ash, how long have you been a trainer?"
Professor Cerise asked probingly.
"Three weeks..."
Ash answered subconsciously, but quickly added:
"Three years. Today is my third anniversary, as a matter of fact. Hehe."
He suddenly realized he was now representing the honor of Pallet Town, so Ash brazenly spouted nonsense, inflating his work experience.
Three weeks is almost a month, a month is basically half a year, there's not much difference between half a year and a full year, and the difference between one year and three years is negligible...
Therefore, 3 weeks = 3 years. The logic was sound.
After all, ability is what's most important!
Professor Cerise didn't doubt him—after all, Professor Oak would never lie to him—and said with a slow smile:
"Three years, is it? You look so young..."
Do they start trainers three years earlier over in Pallet Town?
Or does this youth simply not age?
I'd really love to see if he still looks this young in twenty years...
After some small talk, the group finally got down to business.
"As I mentioned on the phone, there seems to be a certain wild Pokémon living inside our laboratory that we can't seem to identify. It likes to cause daily mischief, which in itself isn't a huge problem."
Professor Cerise scratched his head and said with some embarrassment:
"Perhaps it's just lonely and wants to get people's attention. I'm actually quite fond of the feeling."
"However, Professor Cerise's Laboratory is about to have its official public opening. This is a port city with a lot of noisy foot traffic. It doesn't bother us, as we're used to it, but our future guests might not like this kind of environment. It would be troublesome to offend them."
"Furthermore, Vermilion City has those absurd news media outlets. If they sniff out anything unusual here, they'll seize on groundless rumors and blow a small incident completely out of proportion. Then the problem will be huge..."
After all, they still had to make a living, and the laboratory couldn't very well go out of business because of a little thing like this.
Hearing this, Ash and the others nodded gravely.
Having been here less than a day, they had already keenly experienced the terror of the Vermilion City news media.
"So, our mission is to draw this Pokémon out? Understood."
Ash's expression brightened. In other words, he was being asked to catch this little troublemaker.
What a steal.
"Then I'm counting on you... The three of us have to step out for a while, so I'll leave this place in your care, young Ash."
Professor Cerise gave a helpless smile and patted Ash's shoulder.
They were researchers and not strong fighters, so they could only awkwardly entrust this task to outsiders.
"Of course, we won't have you do this for nothing. If you can really resolve this 'paranormal incident', I'll give you three tickets for the S.S. Anne cruise, which sets sail the day after tomorrow."
Professor Cerise added before he left.
Upon hearing this, the trio's eyes lit up. That was exactly what they'd been waiting to hear!
A short while later, Professor Cerise and his two assistants departed.
In the massive Professor Cerise's Laboratory, only Ash, Brock, and Misty were left.
They began formulating a strategy to lure out the troublesome Pokémon.
"If only a newbie would show up now," Ash suddenly remarked, "I could catch the troublemaker and complete the Pokédex achievement at the same time..."
He had barely finished speaking when a voice called out from the entrance.
"Hey! Is Chloe here? I came to play!"
The voice sounded rather young; its owner probably wasn't very old.
When the newcomer walked through the door, the trio got a good look at him.
He was a youth with short black hair and a few curly cowlicks. His dark complexion was almost a match for Brock's. Upon seeing the three of them, his expression became one of utter confusion.
Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be around the same age as Ash.
"And you are...?"
"Let me ask first, are you a trainer?"
Ash's eyes went wide as saucers as he beat him to the punch with a question.
"Um, I can't receive my Pokémon for another year..."
The dark-skinned youth replied subconsciously.
Hearing this, Ash's gaze began to shine with an unprecedented light, and his voice dropped.
"I choose you! I'm going to be your dad... I mean, I'm going to teach you how to capture Pokémon!"
——
..
..
..
(end of chapter)
The three of them headed toward Professor Cerise's Laboratory. The journey wasn't short; it was a walk of several dozen minutes.
Bored with nothing to do, Ash's hands started to itch, and he couldn't help but pull out his Pokédex again.
"Speaking of which, I'm already at Level 2H. How can I upgrade to 10H?"
Ash thought for a moment and shouted, "I can fight ten Team Rocket members!"
That was obviously a much higher level than "I can fight two Team Rocket members."
"Pokédex Beep. 10H Trainer Requirements: Catch 12 Pokémon, obtain 8 Badges."
The Pokédex replied promptly.
"Eight badges?"
Ash frowned. He only had three badges right now; the road ahead was very long.
But he had already caught seven Pokémon. It looked like he would achieve that goal much faster.
Maybe he could even get a new Pokémon by going to Professor Cerise's Laboratory?
As everyone knew, laboratories were places to get Pokémon for free.
Bored on the road, the three of them curiously switched the Pokédex interface to the unlocked achievements. It still showed that three achievements had been unlocked.
【Path of the Actor】, 【Food Chain】, and 【Longevity Bond】.
At the very top was 【Pokémon King】. According to its description, he figured that once he unlocked all the achievements below it, he would become the so-called "Pokémon King."
Damn it, he wanted to become a Pokémon Master!
However, perhaps because Ash's level had risen to level 2H, several new achievement notifications had appeared below.
"【Renaissance】 achievement: Obtain a Fossil Pokémon."
"【The Egg-Laying Rooster】 achievement: Obtain a Pokémon Egg and successfully hatch it."
"【Great Onmyoji】 achievement: Catch one Machamp (specified gender: female), catch one Gardevoir (specified gender: male), catch..."
After that were a few more Pokémon that Ash had never even heard of, looking very cryptic.
"They're all so troublesome."
Brock narrowed his eyes in deep thought.
Misty also leaned in for a closer look. Although the Pokédex had provided several pieces of achievement information, there were almost none that could be completed anytime soon.
"It seems there's only this last one."
She scrolled the screen to the very bottom, and Ash quickly focused his eyes on it.
"【A Teacher for a Day, a Father for Life (Level 1)】: Teach a newcomer how to correctly capture a Pokémon."
"Teach a newcomer... to capture a Pokémon?"
Ash pondered for a moment, his brows tightly knitted. Just a few weeks ago, he himself had been a newcomer who knew nothing.
But now, at least, he was a man who owned seven Pokémon. Although, if he excluded non-battle catches, it seemed only the Tool Bird and Bulbasaur remained...
No big deal. When it came to catching Pokémon, he knew what he was doing.
"I've decided! We're going to Professor Cerise's Laboratory! I'll see if there are any newbies there I can teach. I'm going to achieve 'A Teacher for a Day'!"
Ash pointed with his thumb and led Brock and Misty forward in that direction.
Professor Cerise's Laboratory was located on the outskirts of Vermilion City, in an area where property prices were moderate.
In the front was a quaint little villa, which served as the main building of the laboratory. It was used for daily office work and for interacting with visitors.
Behind the villa was a large, man-made park, which served as a place for the laboratory's Pokémon to rest and live.
Although in terms of size, it was nowhere near comparable to the backyard of Professor Oak's Laboratory in Pallet Town.
After all, the latter was located in the countryside where property prices weren't high, yet its grounds were still incredibly vast; it wouldn't feel crowded even if it housed a hundred or so Pokémon.
The main door was unlocked, so the three of them walked right in without hesitation, arriving in a room that resembled a public reception hall.
They had already called ahead to announce their visit.
Three people were currently sitting in the hall, all wearing white research lab coats and looking like scholars.
The one in the lead was a middle-aged man with brownish hair and a square face, but he had a very kind and friendly appearance.
He was their contact for this visit, the director of Professor Cerise's Laboratory.
Professor Cerise.
It was said that in his early years, he was considered half a student of Professor Oak, and his academic research had received Professor Oak's enthusiastic endorsement.
In the autumn, Professor Oak would often be in his backyard with Bill, setting up a rack to feast on plump Kanto Region crabs.
In the summer, however, Professor Oak was more often with Professor Cerise, eating fragrant and meaty Hoenn Region lobsters in the backyard.
After all, they were both red-shelled when caught.
They were old dining companions, after all.
"You've finally arrived! Allow me to introduce you. These are my two assistants, the Pokémon researchers Chrysa and Renji. And I am Professor Cerise. I suppose you could call me a fan of Professor Oak... and half his disciple."
Professor Cerise smiled and extended his hand.
Ash dared not be disrespectful and quickly extended his own hand to shake it.
"My name is Ash, and I'm currently training with my Pikachu to become a Pokémon Master."
"I'm Brock, the trainer from Pewter Gym."
"I'm Misty, the trainer from Cerulean Gym."
After the round of introductions, Chrysa, the gentle woman with long blue hair, and Renji, the bespectacled science-type guy with messy yellow hair, also approached curiously.
According to Professor Oak, this visitor was supposed to be the most outstanding trainer from his village.
But looking at him now... he just seemed like a novice trainer.
They knew Professor Oak was a remarkable person; he wouldn't praise someone groundlessly.
"Hehe, Professor Oak has been singing your praises to me. May I ask, young Ash, how long have you been a trainer?"
Professor Cerise asked probingly.
"Three weeks..."
Ash answered subconsciously, but quickly added:
"Three years. Today is my third anniversary, as a matter of fact. Hehe."
He suddenly realized he was now representing the honor of Pallet Town, so Ash brazenly spouted nonsense, inflating his work experience.
Three weeks is almost a month, a month is basically half a year, there's not much difference between half a year and a full year, and the difference between one year and three years is negligible...
Therefore, 3 weeks = 3 years. The logic was sound.
After all, ability is what's most important!
Professor Cerise didn't doubt him—after all, Professor Oak would never lie to him—and said with a slow smile:
"Three years, is it? You look so young..."
Do they start trainers three years earlier over in Pallet Town?
Or does this youth simply not age?
I'd really love to see if he still looks this young in twenty years...
After some small talk, the group finally got down to business.
"As I mentioned on the phone, there seems to be a certain wild Pokémon living inside our laboratory that we can't seem to identify. It likes to cause daily mischief, which in itself isn't a huge problem."
Professor Cerise scratched his head and said with some embarrassment:
"Perhaps it's just lonely and wants to get people's attention. I'm actually quite fond of the feeling."
"However, Professor Cerise's Laboratory is about to have its official public opening. This is a port city with a lot of noisy foot traffic. It doesn't bother us, as we're used to it, but our future guests might not like this kind of environment. It would be troublesome to offend them."
"Furthermore, Vermilion City has those absurd news media outlets. If they sniff out anything unusual here, they'll seize on groundless rumors and blow a small incident completely out of proportion. Then the problem will be huge..."
After all, they still had to make a living, and the laboratory couldn't very well go out of business because of a little thing like this.
Hearing this, Ash and the others nodded gravely.
Having been here less than a day, they had already keenly experienced the terror of the Vermilion City news media.
"So, our mission is to draw this Pokémon out? Understood."
Ash's expression brightened. In other words, he was being asked to catch this little troublemaker.
What a steal.
"Then I'm counting on you... The three of us have to step out for a while, so I'll leave this place in your care, young Ash."
Professor Cerise gave a helpless smile and patted Ash's shoulder.
They were researchers and not strong fighters, so they could only awkwardly entrust this task to outsiders.
"Of course, we won't have you do this for nothing. If you can really resolve this 'paranormal incident', I'll give you three tickets for the S.S. Anne cruise, which sets sail the day after tomorrow."
Professor Cerise added before he left.
Upon hearing this, the trio's eyes lit up. That was exactly what they'd been waiting to hear!
A short while later, Professor Cerise and his two assistants departed.
In the massive Professor Cerise's Laboratory, only Ash, Brock, and Misty were left.
They began formulating a strategy to lure out the troublesome Pokémon.
"If only a newbie would show up now," Ash suddenly remarked, "I could catch the troublemaker and complete the Pokédex achievement at the same time..."
He had barely finished speaking when a voice called out from the entrance.
"Hey! Is Chloe here? I came to play!"
The voice sounded rather young; its owner probably wasn't very old.
When the newcomer walked through the door, the trio got a good look at him.
He was a youth with short black hair and a few curly cowlicks. His dark complexion was almost a match for Brock's. Upon seeing the three of them, his expression became one of utter confusion.
Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be around the same age as Ash.
"And you are...?"
"Let me ask first, are you a trainer?"
Ash's eyes went wide as saucers as he beat him to the punch with a question.
"Um, I can't receive my Pokémon for another year..."
The dark-skinned youth replied subconsciously.
Hearing this, Ash's gaze began to shine with an unprecedented light, and his voice dropped.
"I choose you! I'm going to be your dad... I mean, I'm going to teach you how to capture Pokémon!"
——
..
..
..
(end of chapter)
