Pokémon: The Genetic Researcher Just Wants to Slack Off.

"We could try to win over Anthony. Maybe the league used some tough measures to force him to give up some results. I reckon the old guy is quite resentful of the league right now. We could give it a shot."

"Thanks to our methods, the number of online opponents is actually increasing. Those ordinary people are indeed like headless sheep, easily manipulated and guided. I suspect it's these discussions that are hindering Xia Ye's promotion."

"Is Natsuno still trying to collaborate with him?"

"No, let's hold off. Since his value isn't as great as we thought, what if he agrees to cooperate with us but wants us to fund his follow-up research?"

"Yes, our money doesn't grow on trees. We can't just dump it into the stomach of the Gluttonous King like garbage. We need to make money, not waste it. We can't get it backwards."

"Yes, yes, everyone, cheers! Let's celebrate this victory of online tactics! May money last forever!"

"May money live forever!"

...

The team achieved a five-game winning streak, and even Gadalia found Xia Ye much more agreeable: "I think you, Xia Ye, are not bad at all. You are a top gamer in the world, and you are a match for me and Ya'er!"

After escorting Zhu Lan back to her room and chatting with Jie Zi Lan for a while, Xia Ye returned to her room to pack her luggage.

The academic conference is over. Tomorrow I'll be heading back to Pallet Town with Professor Oak.

Actually, there's not much to pack. The only thing is that I need to keep the Key Stone and Mega Stone that Daigo dropped safe. I don't even feel safe keeping them close to my body.

"Pallet New Town, your emperor has returned!"

Chapter 17 Pallet Town, Your Emperor is Back!

Pallet Town, the town where things begin.

Although the town is small and has a small population, it is very famous in the Kanto region.

After all, this town has produced many Kanto League champions in the past.

Fifty years ago, the Kanto Alliance was established, adopting the Kanto tradition of fighting without rules, commonly known as open battle.

It wasn't until twenty years ago that the ruleless system was abolished and the existing standardized battle system was adopted, which prohibits attacking trainers, limits the number of moves a single Pokémon can use in each battle to four, and so on.

In the thirty years of unregulated history, seven or eight people from Pallet Town have won the championship.

Professor Oak dominated the championship for several years during the No Rules era in his final days, and also dominated for ten years after the rules were changed to Fighting Rules.

A single Mega Kangaskhan was unbeatable throughout the game. Later, Oak chose to step down and become a researcher, eventually becoming a Doctor.

Unfortunately, after Oki stepped down, no one could take the lead. Although Lance was the strongest among the current Elite Four, he was unfortunately hampered by his lifelong nemesis: Lorelei, the Water (crossed out) Ice Elite Four member.

In other words, the Kanto League currently has no champion; Wataru is only temporarily acting as the champion as the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings.

If a newcomer wins the Quartz Conference and then triumphs in the Four Kings' no-rest gauntlet, they will become the new champion. If there is already a champion, they must challenge and defeat the previous champion.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Natsuno, since he was just an ordinary intermediate researcher who had returned to his loyal Pallet Town.

Natsuno got off the air taxi with her luggage, glanced at the red capital letter R on the driver's plain uniform, and then looked at the Pidgeot's chest advertisement, which had the word "Rocket" written in paint.

This strong sense of déjà vu... If it weren't for this rocket air rental company that Boss Sakaki set up, he would have taken my surname!

After putting down her luggage, Xiao Cai couldn't wait to run out of the ball.

Xiao Cai gets airsick, as she's already experienced on Shark's back, so whenever it's a flight, Xiao Cai sits in a ball and hibernates inside.

Several neighbors nearby noticed Xia Ye and gathered around.

"Oh, Natsuno, you're back! You're even on TV! You've really made it big! Will you still be sending peas from now on?"

"Oh my, Xiao Cai, I've missed you so much these past few days! You've gotten so thin from hunger."

Xia Ye and Xiao Cai could only respond warmly to their neighbors; they were all just casual acquaintances, and were very enthusiastic.

A single pea plant is a seed, and once planted, it produces many pea pods. The yield of peas per acre can be several hundred kilograms.

With the help of grass-attribute energy, it can be harvested in just 20 days. The more you plant, the more there is, and you simply can't eat it all or deal with it.

Later, Natsuno had a brilliant idea and started distributing them for free at the entrance of the research institute. The neighbors didn't take them for free; they would exchange them for other crops or meat. This is how the peas became friends.

Xia Ye realized that the last batch of experimental peas was still piled up in the cold storage because he had to rush to attend an academic conference, so he quickly called his neighbors to stop.

"Dear brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts, there is only one last batch of peas left. Everyone hurry up and call the others to come and collect them. After this batch, there will be no more. I have already planted all the peas in my life."

Natsuno entered the research institute and saw that the backyard looked neat and tidy. He couldn't help but sigh, "That kid is really useful. I'm a little reluctant to see him start challenging the League soon."

They called over a few Machamp from the backyard to help carry the peas to the door, and then Natsuno and the others started distributing the peas on the street.

Those who came to collect their supplies were all holding other fresh ingredients, and they lined up in an orderly fashion.

Perhaps because the front yard was too lively, a young man walked out of the research institute.

With a hairstyle exactly like Professor Oak's and a similar name, the boy is called Oak Blue.

"Natsuno-nii, you're back! Congratulations on your promotion!"

Upon seeing the scene at the door, Qinglu quickly walked over to help distribute the peas. Her movements were very practiced, and it was clear that she had helped Xia Ye quite a bit before.

"Thank you, Little Green. You deserve some credit for this too, as you helped take care of the peas."

"I didn't help much, but I learned a lot from Natsuno-nii."

After distributing the peas, the group returned to the research institute. Natsuno didn't forget to give the Pokémon who helped out an energy cube as a reward.

"Brother Xia Ye, I've decided to start the Challenge League in this batch. The application has been approved."

A glint flashed in his green eyes, and his voice betrayed barely suppressed excitement.

"That's true. You were only 14 when I first came to the research institute. Two years have passed in the blink of an eye. You've reached the age where you should be traveling."

League law stipulates that you must be 16 years old to travel and challenge the League.

Furthermore, one must pass a field survival test in the wild before registering as a trainer.

This law was formulated through lessons learned in blood and tears.

The initial rule was that trainers could travel at the age of 10, but every year there are many cases of new trainers going missing, which are not caused by human error or natural accidents.

It's important to know that not all Pokémon are friendly to humans, and wild Pokémon are more dangerous due to their stronger wildness.

It's utterly inhumane to make a 10-year-old child trek through mountains and across valleys, enduring wind and rain and facing unknown dangers.

Furthermore, raising the age requirement forces children to attend school and learn more about Pokémon.

Since the age requirement for travel was raised, the relevant qualities of new trainers have been improving year by year.

If you ask Natsuno, he should simply adjust the age to 18. Those who can achieve something within a year can go straight to the path of a trainer. If they can't make it into the top 16 of the tournament, they should decisively choose another path and not waste their time.

"What's the exact time, and when will the breeding center send over the new starter Pokémon?"

"Grandpa asked me to make the contact. The Crystal Breeding Center will send six starter Pokémon from the Kanto region over in the next couple of days. I estimate they'll set off a day or two after they arrive."

Natsuno nodded, thinking to herself: Ruri Breeding Center? I think it's run by Tomohiko's family, right? Speaking of which, I haven't seen my two college roommates for two years. I wonder how they are doing now.

"Okay, so there aren't any requirements for giving away starter Pokémon, right? Can I do it for Professor Oak? I've never done this before, it sounds like it would be fun."

"Um, there are no requirements. Even an assistant can post it on your behalf. Just keep a record after it's posted. I've helped post before when Grandpa was busy. There's nothing special about it."

"I'm relieved now. I'll give you your starter Pokémon and be your guide, hehe."

While laughing, Natsuno was thinking: Crimson must be in the same batch as Azure. I haven't been to Pallet Town much in the past two years, so I haven't met Crimson. This is a good opportunity to get to know her.

And I'll have plenty of bragging rights later: You know Red Legend, right? I was the one who gave him his starter Pokémon, and I'll never tell anyone that I was his mentor.

As Natsuno was lost in thought, the tablet on the table rang.

Research Institute Notice: Someone is visiting at the front gate, please proceed.

"I'll go, Xiao Lü, you can rest."

Chapter 18: Checking the starter Pokémon, is there an idea?

Upon arriving at the front gate, one sees a young man wearing a breeding institute uniform, a baseball cap, and with his head down.

The other party took out a delivery slip and handed it to Xia Ye, deliberately lowering their voice: "Hello, this is from the Liuli Breeding Center. Six Kanto starter Pokémon are here. Please sign for them."

Xia Ye took it and noticed that the other person kept their head down. He asked curiously, "Brother, what's wrong? Why are you keeping your head down?"

Xiao Cai, who was standing next to her, looked up and saw the other person's face clearly because of her height, and exclaimed in surprise: "Tururu Tu, Turu (Ruri Tomohiko, it's you)!"

The other person quickly squatted down and hugged Xiao Cai tightly: "Surprise! Xiao Cai, it's been so long! Did you miss your Grandpa Fu Yan?"

Upon hearing the other person's voice, Natsuno angrily slapped off their hat, revealing a familiar face.

"Ruri Tomohiko, get lost! You're more like Tomohiko's younger brother!"

The visitor was none other than Ruri Tomohiko, one of Natsuno's college roommates, whose family owned a breeding center. Natsuno and her other roommate were used to calling him by his name, Tomohiko.

Because the other two roommates felt that Xiaocai was being cared for by Xia Ye more like his daughter, and based on the conjugate father-son relationship in the male dormitory, they considered themselves to be Xiaocai's grandfathers, and then suffered beatings from Xia Ye.

"You almost confused me. I should have checked the Pokémon's condition before confirming receipt. Otherwise, what if I had been cheated by you, you heartless breeder?"

"Come in with me. If you dare to try and trick me, you'll be in big trouble later."

Natsuno handed the signed receipt back to Tomohiko, switching to a fierce expression.

Xiao Cai thoughtfully picked up the hat that had just been knocked off and put it back on Fu Yan.

A diamond-encrusted luxury ball flew out of Fuhiko's pocket, and a long, pink, snake-shaped Pokémon appeared.

As soon as it came out, it gently wrapped its tail around Natsuno and Aya, its big nose touching Aya's nose, and made a happy cry.

Xia Ye touched the other's smooth body and smiled: "Little Pink, it's been a long time. I've missed you too."

Then Natsuno turned to Tomohiko and said, "You brought the Everstone, right? You absolutely can't let Pink evolve to the third stage, you have to remember that!"

Fuyan nodded repeatedly: "I brought them. A dozen Everstones are a must when I go out, since shiny Dragonite just doesn't suit my taste."

"The important thing is that Little Pink doesn't want to become that ugly color either; he likes his current color very much."

That's how kids from wealthy families are; their starter Pokémon are all late bloomers. Cynthia's starter is Gible, and Richmond's is even more outrageous—it's a shiny Dratini.

However, since his family runs a breeding center, getting exotic colors is indeed easier for him than for the average wealthy family.

Natsuno gestured for Pink to release them, and inwardly he grumbled, "Who would name their male dwarf dragon Pink? They don't care about other people's feelings at all! Unbelievable!"

On the way, Fu Yan asked a strange question: "By the way, what about that girl from your research institute?"

Natsuno asked, puzzled, "What little girl?"

"It's just a young girl. She came to our Changqing branch a couple of days ago to inquire about the order. I saw how much she was urging us, so I delivered it ahead of schedule."