Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 290 Researchers' Party

Aluf Ruins.

"Why am I in a pre-exam interest class?!"

"Yeah, yeah, even Xiao Gang is an intern researcher!"

At the guest registration desk, Xiaoxia and Xiaozhi stared wide-eyed at Natsume, chattering excitedly.

"You're all so old, are we going to register you for doctoral degrees?"

Natsume rolled his eyes.

The next second, a strange voice rang out from the researchers at the Aluf Ruins.

"Mr. Natsume, what is the meaning of this professor with the middle parting?"

The researcher in charge of registration, carrying a Pikachu with a spiky middle part and wearing a white lab coat, looked at Natsume with a strange expression.

"Oh, this Pikachu is the old professor's Pokémon."

"The old professor has difficulty walking, which is really inconvenient. This Pikachu is amazing; it understands human writing and can use a mobile phone. It can transcribe the text to the old professor."

"It even took an online exam to get a forest ranger's certificate."

Without blushing or skipping a beat, Natsume handed over the forest ranger certificate that the man with the middle-parted hair had secretly obtained.

"Wow, as expected of Professor Oda's Pokémon, it's so powerful!"

The researcher exclaimed in surprise, and many people around also cast curious glances.

Ash shrank back and quietly approached Natsume, asking:
"Natsume-kun, can you get a forest ranger certificate if you're a Pokémon player?"

"Don't ask me." Natsume touched his nose.

He only recently discovered that many things in the League are also open to Pokémon.

Even if you're a wild Pokémon, you can come to work if you pass the League's entrance exam through self-study.
The most common type I see is the postal service's Pokémon deliveryman.
Of course, the vast majority are domesticated Pokémon that have been specially trained and tested by their trainers.

"Pica-"

With its middle-parted hair, it used its hands and feet to climb onto Natsume's head.

Now that it's the middle-parted professor, it cherishes the few moments when it has a higher status than the trainer.

Natsume pulled the middle-parted hair off and threw it into Jiaozi's arms.

Professor Oak from the Kanto region and Professor Oda from Rainbow University were publicly invited to this major fossil Pokémon discovery symposium in the Chengdu area.

Professor Oak can do it for him, but Natsume will have to figure out a way to deal with Professor Oda himself.

"Uh, what should we do?"

Xiaoxia suddenly came over and stood behind Xiaozhi, looking at Natsume with a helpless expression.

They are currently in the main hall of the ecological dome in the ruins of Aluf.

Although the place, as Natsume said, had been set up as a banquet venue with drinks, fruit, and cakes, the atmosphere was completely different from the banquets that Kasumi usually attended.

Xiaoxia wandered around for a while, feeling like a monkey who had mistakenly wandered into the Heavenly Palace, completely out of place.

After going around in circles, she returned to Natsume's side.

Behind Natsume's back, Jiaozi and Xiaogang remain unyielding.

They only needed to follow Natsume, but Natsume told Misty and Satoshi to wander around the banquet more.

“That’s normal. You two are in a pre-exam interest class, so go find someone else who is also in a pre-exam interest class.”

As Natsume spoke, he pointed to a group of children around ten years old not far away and said:

"That's the area reserved for you to communicate."

"I'm not a child!"

Instead of going to the place Natsume pointed out, Ash walked straight towards the two researchers who were talking.

"Haha, Xia, watch closely."

Ash was full of confidence, with Pikachu perched on his shoulder.

"Hey guys, what are you doing?"

Ash looked up curiously and saw two young researchers talking.

One wore thick glasses, the other had thinning hair and was bald.

"Oh? Little brother, that's amazing! You have a Pikachu!"

The bald researcher's eyes lit up, and he picked up Pikachu.

"Pickup!"

Pikachu puffed out his chest, never expecting he had such a social side.

"That's great! Are you a member of the pre-collegiate interest group or a Pikachu trainer? Let's test you."

Another researcher, wearing thick glasses, said:
"Little brother, do you think Pikachu's 100,000 volts is alternating current or direct current?"

When the thick lenses were brought close to his eyes, Xiao Zhi froze for a moment.

"Uh"

“Of course it’s direct current,” the bald researcher said bluntly.

"No, it should be alternating current," the researcher with thick glasses suddenly said seriously.

"Because Pikachu can communicate with its companions using electricity."

"Hahahaha-"

The two researchers burst into laughter at the same time, leaving Ash caught in the middle, completely bewildered.

He looked helplessly at Natsume, who gave him a thumbs up.

Ash looked up and saw his Pikachu pleading for help.

Pikachu shrugged; it couldn't understand either.

Why laugh?
Did someone just tell a joke?

Xiao Zhi completely missed the point.

After pondering for a while, Xiao Zhi gave up thinking.

"Hahaha, hahaha"

Xiao Zhi laughed along with him.

Natsume's manual says, "Laugh when others laugh, clap when others clap."

A moment later, the two researchers stopped laughing, and Ash also shut his mouth.

"Wow, little brother, you can understand. Let me test you again." The two of them lit up.

Ten-year-old Xiao Zhi doesn't know anything about sports.

Before the two researchers could finish speaking, Xiao Zhi reached out and touched the table next to him.

"Aww."

Xiao Zhi's cheeks puffed out after eating two small cakes in one bite.

He just watched the two researchers chew and chew.
"Uh, I think I'll go over there."

Seeing Ash's performance, Misty's lips twitched slightly, and she walked towards the direction Natsume pointed.

That's a place specifically set up for children in pre-college interest classes to chat.

They're at least the same age, so they might have some common topics to talk about.

However, when Xiaoxia got closer, she discovered that this place was not so simple either.

There are no alcoholic beverages here; everything has been replaced with milk and juice, and the cakes are also small.

However, no one started operating these things.

Nearly forty children, dressed in the same white uniforms as us, all had serious expressions on their faces.

Xiaoxia even had the illusion that her approach would make these peers nervous.

Xiaoxia turned around and looked helplessly at Natsume.

Natsume gave her a thumbs up.

"Uh..." Xiaoxia turned around and, forcing herself to speak, asked a person her age:
What are you guys talking about?

"Um"

People of the same age looked up, smiled, and nodded.

Xiaoxia asked several people, and they all gave the same response.

After a while, Xiaoxia realized what was happening. She suddenly understood, and the tension in her heart immediately subsided.

Yes, even though these people are genuine pre-college interest group members.

But what do kids that age know about sports?

When faced with questions from the outside world, their reactions are almost exactly the same as hers and Xiaozhi's.

Xiaoxia's mood suddenly improved a lot after discovering dozens of "comrades-in-arms" who had gone through thick and thin with her.

What should we do?

Ash carried Pikachu to Misty's side, chewing on a small cake, and asked indistinctly.

"Where's Natsume?" Kasumi asked.

Xiao Zhi pointed in a direction.

Upon closer inspection, only Natsume's back was visible; it seemed he had left with the manager here.

"It looks like it won't end until dark. We can't just sit here all day, can we?"

Xiao Zhi looked at Xiao Xia with a bitter expression.

"Well, we're actually doing alright; these people are the ones who are truly miserable."

As Xiaoxia spoke, she looked at the group of children who were sitting upright and tense.

Clearly, the "manual" they received was not as advanced as the one Natsume had given them.

(End of this chapter)