Pokémon: Who let him leave Pallet Town?

Chapter 573 Dr. Yew Will Be Proud of You

"I'm sorry, Dr. Yew is not at the research institute."

After a somewhat difficult conversation, Natsume frowned slightly.

From the female researcher who stayed behind, he learned that the entire Yew Research Institute was currently deserted except for her.

"Where did you go?" Natsume raised an eyebrow slightly, leaned forward, and unconsciously tapped the lab bench next to him, which was covered with reagent stains.

"It seems to be a place called 'Beishang Township'?"

Xin Yi pushed up his slightly thick-rimmed black glasses, his eyes wandering as if he were struggling to search for the place name in the corners of his memory.

"You don't even know where they went?" Natsume's tone was tinged with disbelief.

"Uh," Xin lowered his head, subconsciously fiddling with a stain on his white coat that he couldn't wash off.
"The notice seems to have been posted last month, no, that's not right."

She raised her wrist, glanced at the calendar on the watch face, and her empty eyes briefly focused for a moment. "It seems like half a year has passed."

Natsume stared at her silently, a dark line seemingly sliding down his forehead.

This researcher certainly doesn't seem very bright.

“In that case,” Natsume patiently pressed on:
"Do you know the specific purpose of Professor Yew's trip to Kitakami Township? Or, where exactly did they stay? Did they have a temporary contact point, such as a Pokémon Center?"

"The purpose...it seems to be because I heard some very special Pokémon appeared over there,"

Shinichi vaguely recalled, twirling a tuft of hair that had stuck up in the air with his fingers.
"The doctor was very interested, so he took most of the institute's staff and equipment there. I don't remember the exact location." Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost a murmur.

Natsume's hand, which was hovering over the keyboard, paused.

"."

A suffocating silence spread between the two.

"Dr. Yew," Natsume took a deep breath, trying to make his tone sound calm.
"How could anyone entrust the entire research institute to you?"

He tried to turn the computer chair he was sitting in to face Shinichi, but found that the chair made a piercing creaking sound and did not move an inch.

“That chair,” Shinichi weakly reminded him, “was broken last week… well, maybe last month, or maybe half a year ago. Anyway, it’s been broken for a long time, the gears are rusted shut.”

Natsume: "."

Ta1 glanced down and saw that the hinge was covered in rust and even had cobwebs, which could not have been formed in a short time.

“You,” Natsume turned his gaze back to Shinichi, scrutinizing him, “were you admitted through the entrance exam?”

He guessed that the other party might have some extraordinary background, such as some kind of financial power to bring in capital.

“I’m the deputy director.” Shinichi tilted his head, his face filled with pure confusion, seemingly completely oblivious to the subtext in Natsume’s words.

"What did you say!?" Natsume was genuinely stunned this time, his body instinctively leaning forward, almost bumping into a beaker on the corner of the table.

"Aren't you an intern or something?"

In Natsume's mind, there was no position more fitting for the disheveled and dazed researcher in front of him than "intern".

“No.” Xin Yi shook his head, a few unruly strands of chestnut hair swaying with him.

"I am a student of the teacher. If I successfully lead a major project and publish a paper in a top journal, I will meet the graduation requirements."

She explained, her eyes still clear yet blank, as if she were stating something perfectly natural.

The teacher's student?
In the Yew Research Institute, there is only one person who can be called a teacher—Dr. Yew himself.

Professor Yew and Professor Oak are on the same level.

"So, graduating from their tutelage is what you mean?" Natsume slowly stood up, placing his hands on the table and staring intently at Shinichi.

"You're about to become a Pokémon Professor!?" His voice was filled with disbelief and shock.

“Yes.” Shin-il nodded blankly, seemingly not understanding what was so surprising about it.

"Sss—" Natsume gasped, narrowing his eyes as his sharp gaze swept over Shinichi's seemingly blank face.

At the same time, his fingers flew across his portable terminal, quickly searching for the name "Xin Yi" in academic databases.

The Historical Fault Line Hypothesis of the Antimatter World

A fundamental model of the antimatter world derived from real-world physical laws.

On the possible impact of Pokémon moves at the microscopic particle level.

One after another, papers with difficult titles and covering extremely niche and cutting-edge fields emerged.

The name "Xin Yi" is clearly printed after the author's name.

Physics?

Moreover, it's an intersection of theoretical physics and Pokémon science?

This is a rather niche and extremely difficult research area, but the quality and depth of the paper are impeccable.

Natsume's gaze darted back and forth between the dense academic terminology on the terminal screen and the dazed-looking, slovenly-dressed researcher in front of him, finally settling on her thick glasses and heavy dark circles.

Does becoming a genius in a certain field always come at the cost of sacrificing common sense and life skills?

A perfect opportunity flashed through Natsume's mind in an instant.

“Um…” Natsume’s tone instantly became incredibly warm, and a very friendly smile even appeared on his face.

If Professor Oak saw that signature smile, he would probably shudder.

Natsume's displeasure at missing his target had long since vanished.

"Actually, the main reason I came here is to discuss a strategic agreement on scientific research cooperation with Dr. Yew."

"Since you are the deputy director, you should be able to fully represent the Taxus chinensis Research Institute while the doctor is away, right?"

He stared into Shin-ichi's intelligent eyes and nodded to himself.

"A contract?" Shinichi looked at Natsume with a puzzled expression as he pulled a beautifully bound document out of the inner pocket of his trench coat as if by magic.

"Yes, just sign here."

Natsume smiled gently, flipped directly to the last page of the contract, pointed to the signature area, and handed over a pen that looked quite expensive.

"Let me take a look at the contents first." To Natsume's surprise, Shinichi did not sign immediately. Instead, he took the contract, adjusted his glasses, and began to carefully read through it.

However, just seeing the overview on the first page made her frown deeply.

Pointing to one of the clauses, he asked, "Mr. Natsume, what does this 'Rotom Standardization and Multi-Field Application Expansion Plan for Red and White Balls' mean? Could you explain it in more detail?"

“This is it.” Natsume snapped his fingers.

With a flash of red light, the figure of Rotom, the Phantom Master Ball, silently appeared, the patterns on the surface of the ball shimmering with light.

Natsume then took out the classic red and white sphere prototype machine that had been gathering dust for a long time and gestured for Rotom-2 to crawl inside.

(End of this chapter)