Pokémon: Did you play Pokémon today?

Chapter 272 Handsome Researcher... Sir?

"Actually, besides participating in the Pokémon All-Round Championship in the Johto region, there is another very important thing I need to accomplish."

Bai Zhou straightened his clothes, trying to make himself look more serious.

"And this matter requires the assistance of all the gym leaders."

Hearing the seriousness in his tone, Asu, Abi, Songye, and Ami subconsciously suppressed their smiles and became focused, listening attentively.

Although they didn't know exactly what Bai Zhou wanted to ask for, they were all very willing to help.

After all, they already admired Bai Zhou's character and abilities.

However, the thought of Bai Zhou's current status as a "Doctor of Mythology" and their mentor-student relationship made them feel nervous again.

He was afraid that he was not capable enough to handle the matter entrusted to him by Bai Zhou, which would be a great betrayal of his trust.

This invisible pressure made the young museum owners hold their breath slightly, their eyes filled with a barely perceptible sense of unease.

"Relax, it's not some top-secret mission concerning the survival of the world."

Bai Zhou found it somewhat amusing to see them all so tense, and took the initiative to ease the overly serious atmosphere with a relaxed tone.

"It's something—well, something that's closely related to you all, and it's quite interesting."

He paused for a moment, then got to the point.

"You all know Pokémon, right? It's the game released by The Pokémon Company, and it's quite popular among trainers."

"Is it Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen?"

Abi immediately chimed in excitedly, her eyes sparkling as if she had found a kindred spirit.

He even took the opportunity to look at the crimson and green beside him, who returned his smile and nod.

"A game made with the love and adventure story of Crimson and Green Seniors! I'm a huge fan! I've played it several times already! The ecology and battle system are fantastic!"

"I also really enjoy playing this game."

Songye also showed an appreciative smile, his tone carrying a professional level of recognition.

"Whether it's the ecological simulation of Pokémon, the depth of battle strategies, or the meticulous depiction of the training system, it does an excellent job."

"It really is that kind of—the kind that's very rare—"

"A work that is both entertaining and rigorous in its depth."

As he said this, a hint of envy unconsciously crept into his tone.

"Honestly, sometimes when I'm playing games, I can't help but get completely immersed in them."

"Sometimes I can't help but fantasize about whether we, as Gym Leaders, will also have the chance to step onto the Pokémon stage, become a part of the game, and be challenged by countless Trainers from all over the world —"

He smiled and shook his head.

"Haha, sorry, sorry, I got a little carried away."

Asu and Ami did not speak immediately.

It's not that they don't know or like the game; on the contrary, they are all loyal Pokémon players in private.

It's just my personality.

Asu felt that as a gym leader, it seemed a bit out of character for him to seriously say that he liked playing games.

As for Ami, it's simply because she's shy and reserved by nature, and she's not used to expressing her preferences in front of so many people.

But as they listened to Song Ye's description of the scene, their eyes lit up, and their hearts were filled with longing.

Those museum owners in the Kanto region are incredibly lucky!

Or rather, it's entirely thanks to the legendary figures of Crimson and Blue-Green!

After the release of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, their names, their gyms, and their stories spread throughout the world with the game, and their fame and influence increased many times over!

How could this not make the Johto dojo owners, who are their neighbors and also diligently run their dojos but are rarely known to the outside world, envious?

For a moment, the atmosphere in the reception room became somewhat awkward.

Feeling the almost tangible, burning gazes in the eyes of the four people, Bai Zhou felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

Since they don't dislike Pokémon itself, and even have great interest in and approval of it, the rest is much easier.

"If you like it, that's good. If you like it, that's good."

Bai Zhou spoke with a smile, glancing at the four people in turn.

He decided to first solemnly reveal his other identity to them, as a prelude to obtaining their authorization for his persona.

"Well then, please allow me to reintroduce myself. Besides being a professor, I am also the founder of The Pokémon Company and the chief producer of the Pokémon game series —"

"Hiss!"

Before Bai Zhou could finish speaking, he heard the four guys in front of him gasp in unison, the commotion making the air in the reception room feel a bit warmer.

The one that reacted the most was Aso.

He even disregarded his carefully maintained image as a serious museum owner, acting like a fervent fan who had successfully met his idol.

He stepped forward excitedly and grasped Bai Zhou's hands tightly.

"Senior Shirafusa! You...you're the legendary Salty Fish Teacher?! The producer of the Pokémon games?! Ah! I knew your voice sounded familiar, just like in the live stream—"

Seemingly noticing the slightly strange expression on Bai Zhou's face, Asu instantly realized his lapse in composure.

His handsome face flushed red, and he quickly let go of her hand.

Then he took a step back, tried to compose himself as he became increasingly agitated, and apologized.

"I'm sorry, senior! I was too excited and couldn't control my emotions. I... I'm truly your biggest fan!"

"It's alright, it's alright, I understand, I understand—"

Bai Zhou responded with an awkward laugh, but inwardly he was thinking to himself.

What a load of rubbish!

It's just a pseudonym for a game producer, why is Asu reacting so enthusiastically?

Is the identity of "game producer" more attractive to trainers than "mythology professor"?

Look at Ami and the others, nothing happened to them at all.

Just as he thought of this, his gaze turned to Ami.

Ami's cheeks suddenly turned bright red.

She nervously covered her mouth with her hand, her large eyes fixed on Bai Zhou's handsome face, and murmured in a voice barely audible, "Handsome, handsome researcher—sir?"

"So, the handsome researcher is Dr. Shirafusa—that means—ah!"

She seemed to recall some scene from the game, letting out a short gasp, and shyly lowered her head, her ears turning bright red.

My favorite game character, coming to life or something —

in the corner.

Azure, who was secretly plotting a big plan with Little Yellow and Christal, suddenly stopped, as if she had noticed Ami's unusual reaction.

She glanced at Ami discreetly, then glared at Bai Zhou quickly, secretly making a "pui" sound.

That despicable man who exudes charm everywhere!

He's clearly incredibly cunning! He's a master scheming manipulator! How come everyone idolizes him wherever he goes?!

Noticing Ami's shy reaction and the fact that her title of "teacher-like researcher" was pointed out to her face.

Bai Zhou now truly felt like he could dig a three-bedroom apartment out of his toes.

Although the "handsome researcher" in the game has some differentiated designs in terms of appearance, the character model is indeed optimized based on his appearance.

It was fine before when I wasn't recognized by acquaintances, but now that Ami says it with such an admiring tone...

Even though Bai Zhou wasn't shy, he was still somewhat uneasy at this moment.

Naming a character after something like "cool" — it really sounds a bit too narcissistic!

"Hahaha————"

Bai Zhou could only cover up his embarrassment with an even more awkward laugh. Not knowing how to respond to Ami, he could only turn his pleading gaze to Abi and Songye, who hadn't reacted much yet.

It's not fair to say that the two of them had absolutely no reaction.

They were completely stunned, in a state of information overload, temporarily unable to process it.

Bai Zhou's series of self-disclosures of his alternate identities had a significant impact on the two of them.

The Pius version of the bug-catching boy, Abi, is now completely absorbed in his own world.

Salty Fish Teacher — Dr. Shiraishu —

Is Professor Xianyu the same person as Dr. Baizhou?! The gaming guru I follow and the academic guru I admire are actually the same person?!

He would carefully watch and learn from every single one of Bai Zhou's live streams!

After all, in his eyes, "Salted Fish Teacher" is a top trainer with extremely tricky tactical thinking and great strength!

Now, this "Teacher Salty Fish" has actually overlapped with the identity of Dr. Shiraishu, whom he greatly admires—one surprise has suddenly turned into a double super surprise!

He felt he needed some time to reboot his brain.

As for pine needles—

He, on the other hand, had his eyes on the fat Gengar in "Teacher Salty Fish's" live stream, whose strength was growing at an absurdly fast rate!

As a Ghost-type Gym Leader, he knows Gengar, a Pokémon, very well!

Needless to say, the mainstay of his team is a Gengar that he has carefully bred for many years!

In every live stream by Teacher Xianyu, his highly distinctive Gengar makes an appearance.

However, each time it appeared, its strength had made a qualitative leap compared to the last time!

This rate of growth is simply incredible for him!

The strength of Ghost-type Pokémon mainly comes from the accumulation of years and the sedimentation of negative energy; it takes time to build up.

In his mind, only "Teacher Salty's" Gengar broke this rule, changing every day!

Now that Bai Zhou has personally admitted that he is Teacher Xianyu, doesn't that mean that the amazing Gengar was personally bred by Bai Zhou?!

This nurturing ability is terrifying!

Ultimately, being the more mature and composed person, Songye was the first to recover from the overwhelming information shock.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his inner excitement and the myriad "whys" about Gengar, and rescued Bai Zhou from the awkward atmosphere.

"Dr. Shirafuru! That—"

Song Ye's voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"Although this request may be very presumptuous and impolite, I still want to beg you—could I, could I see your Gengar with my own eyes? Just once!"

"Gengar?"

Bai Zhou hadn't expected his topic to jump around so drastically, but he was now eager to break the strange atmosphere.

He had no choice but to go along with the other party's wishes and readily agreed to the request.

"It's no big deal, Gengar. Come out and say hello to everyone."

He tapped his shadow lightly with his heel.

One second, two seconds, three seconds —

The shadow did not react.

Instead, the shadow beside Pine Leaf's feet wriggled, and his Gengar, clutching its head which had been punched and bruised, slowly floated out with teary eyes.

It was making whimpering sounds, as if it had suffered a terrible injustice.

Matsuba: "???"

Bai Zhou narrowed his eyes slightly, instantly understanding something, and a vein seemed to throb on his forehead.

He stomped on his shadow again, his tone carrying a hint of danger.

"Geng! Ghost!"

Only then did his shadow begin to move slowly.

Soon, Gengar, a chubby boy dressed in a flashy black dragon robe pajama, slowly floated out.

It pouted its chubby lips, its eyes darting around, avoiding eye contact with Bai Zhou.

Its two chubby little hands were even unusually "obediently" placed on top of each other in front of its round belly, looking guilty as if to say, "I'm very honest, I didn't do anything."

Bai Zhou didn't even need to use his super-power; just by looking at this, he knew that this brat was itching to bully the kids again!

He grabbed Gengar's bouncy, chubby face and pulled it apart, hissing menacingly, "Tell me the truth! What were you doing in the shadows just now? Why does Gym Leader Pinewood's Gengar look like you've bullied it terribly?"

"Gen, genga~ (Father, Father, please calm down~ Your son, your son only had a friendly sparring session with it in the shadows~ It really was just a sparring session!)"

Gengar, its face being pulled, obediently "admitted its mistake" with indistinct speech, but its eyes still darted away.

Bai Zhou glanced at the Gengar, who was still sobbing under Song Ye's comforting words, with snot bubbles coming out of its nose.

He glanced at his chubby son, whose face seemed to say, "I did nothing wrong, but I'll do it again next time," and his lips twitched involuntarily.

"You call this a friendly sparring match? Look at the state you've left them in!"

Gengar also turned its head to look at the crying Gengar in the pine needle, its big eyes darting around as if it had come up with an idea.

It waved its chubby little hand at Bai Zhou, signaling him to relax.

"Gengga! Gengga~ (Father! Leave it to me~ Watch me!)"

As it spoke, it floated lightly to the front of Pine Leaf and his Gengar.

Then, under the wary gaze of Pine Leaf and the fearful gaze of its own Gengar, it reached its chubby hand into its belly, which connected to another dimension, and began to rummage and rummage—

A moment later, a huge pile of high-grade energy cubes, emitting an enticing aroma, was dumped in front of Pine Leaf's Gengar.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

The Gengar, which had been sobbing pitifully, stopped crying the moment it saw the small mountain of energy cubes!

Although he was still instinctively sniffling, a big smile had uncontrollably spread across his crying face, and his eyes had turned into stars!

Unfortunately, these energy cubes weren't the "absolutely perfect" quality of Bai Zhou's peak craftsmanship, but they were still top-quality items he made himself.

The taste was already considered unpalatable by its own Gengar, which had become extremely picky, but for other Pokémon, it was undoubtedly an irresistible delicacy and supplement.

Gengar slowly floated back to Bai Zhou's side, patted its big belly proudly, and gave Bai Zhou a chubby thumbs up.

"Look! (It's all set! Father, see? It's smiling now! I told you it was just friendly interaction!)"

Bai Zhou was even more speechless at its attempt to "win over the devil's heart," and decisively gave it a light but not heavy "love chop."

It doesn't mean anything special, I just felt an itch to tap it.