Pokémon: Trainers Returning from Monster Hunter

Chapter 60 A genius was born in the Pokémon research world!

Inside an impenetrable metal fortress on an isolated island southeast of the Sinnoh city.

J, dressed in a light and breezy outfit, was scrolling through her phone in the lounge.

There was a good-looking man behind her and at her feet, giving her a massage.

"ah--"

J opened his mouth, and the man behind him tactfully placed a lychee branch inside.

"Ugh... I'm so bored. Let's look at Growlithe."

J opened "Pikachu" and skillfully typed "Oriki" into the search bar.

"Tch, you've blocked another account of mine."

But next second.

She suddenly stood up and kicked away the man who was giving her a foot massage.

"Is Sinnoh really coming?"

The phone screen clearly displayed the IP address: Sinnoh.

"Have someone search the internet for me and find out why he came to Sinnoh, even just a clue will do."

J tossed his phone to the person behind him, stepped directly on the face of the man lying on the ground, and walked into the changing room.

soon.

J appeared in the operations room after changing into his combat trench coat.

A girl wearing square-framed glasses bowed her head and reported, "Reporting to the leader, we've found out that Mr. Oreki may have gone to Shinwa Town to attend an exchange meeting."

Is the news reliable?

"Reliable" refers to the meeting organized by Zhulan in the name of the alliance.

"..."

Upon hearing the name he least wanted to hear, J clearly hesitated.

After hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth.

"Summon three A-rank hunters and come with me."

A-rank hunters are hunters whose strength is comparable to that of League Gym Leaders. They are often away on high-value capture missions commissioned by clients.

"yes!"

Seeing the leader's decisiveness, the woman with glasses couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.

"Just who is this guy named Oreki? Why does the leader remember him so well, and even now want to go head-to-head with Takeran?"

"Hmm... I just searched and saw it, he really is handsome, that look is exactly what the leader likes."

I wonder if I'll get any...

Just then, J suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

Has Team Galaxy contacted us again?

"Ah, yes!"

The woman with glasses answered hastily.

"A woman named Jupiter said she wanted to talk to us about a collaboration to capture legendary Pokémon."

"Huh, the legendary Pokémon?"

J chuckled coldly. This guy, Chi Ri, has quite the scheme.

"Going back, cooperation is possible, but the price must be right, otherwise there's no point in discussing it. Go on."

"I see."

The woman with glasses bent over and stepped back.

Sitting in the command seat, J muttered under her breath, her high heels crossed and propped up on the table.

"Growlithe, now that you're in Sinnoh, I'll find a way to keep you here."

"That woman Zhulan is a bit troublesome. It would be safer to make a move when she's not around."

...

Inside the Shinwa Historical Research Institute in Shinwa Town.

There was thunderous applause.

This round of applause was much louder and lasted longer than the first one.

After the Oreki system explained the meaning of the unknown totem, a Q&A session lasting an hour followed.

He answered all the questions from the researchers in the audience fluently.

Some researchers even repeated the same common phrases multiple times at intervals to confirm that Oreki was not making things up but that there was a real underlying logic.

The result was that Oreki's answer, reproduced using the unknown totem, was exactly the same.

It was as if this brand-new version of the language had been imprinted in his mind, one-to-one correspondence!

At this moment, everyone present completely believed in the young researcher in front of them, and their hearts were filled with admiration and... nostalgia!

Because of Oreki's occasional "disappointed" expression, they were reminded of their youth, of being criticized by their respective teachers during their school days.

To be honest, if any Pokémon professor were in charge of today's exchange, they wouldn't think they could have done a better job than Oreki.

After all, they knew better than anyone the difficulty of creating a new language based on 26 unknown totems.

What was that saying again?

When you surpass others by a little bit, they will be jealous of you; when you surpass them by a lot, they will admire you.

While most researchers have their own pride and wouldn't go to such extremes, they will more or less experience similar emotions.

"call!"

Seeing that everyone in the audience was applauding and no one asked any more questions, Oreki bowed politely and let out a long sigh.

That should be fine, right?

The meeting has concluded successfully!

But just as he stepped off the stage and handed the microphone back to Dr. Yamanashi, the doctor pulled him back onto the stage.

What does that mean?

The final boss is actually you, Yamanashi?

Oreki glanced at Takeran below the stage.

Well… Zhu Lan is deep in thought, standing in front of the freezer in the rest area, looking at the different flavors of ice cream.

"Before the meeting concludes, I have one more announcement to make."

Oh, so it was an announcement. Then it's alright.

Oreki breathed a sigh of relief again, as long as he didn't ask about that English word again.

Headache!

No, there's still a problem!

Why are you grabbing my hand like you're about to announce that I've won the boxing championship?

After the audience calmed down, Dr. Yamanashi continued.

"After discussions among Dr. Mustard, Dr. Blatano, Dr. Solans, and myself, we reached a consensus and jointly recommended Oreki as a Level 2 Researcher."

As he spoke, Yamanashi magically pulled a Level 2 Researcher badge from his pocket and raised it high along with Oreki's right hand.

"Effective immediately!"

So that's what happened!

Oreki instantly understood everything.

A smile immediately appeared on his face.

Once the two-year period is over, I might be able to level up again and start earning a living from the "League"!

clap clap clap! !

An even louder round of applause followed.

At that moment, a similar thought inexplicably arose in the minds of the researchers in the audience.

—A genius researcher has been born in the Pokémon scientific community!

...

By the time the meeting was completely over, the sun had set and night had fallen.

Shenhe Town, on the outskirts of the town.

Looking at the detached villa in front of him, which had a distinct Japanese garden feel reminiscent of his past life, Oreki felt a long-lost sense of tension.

"You mean, I'm staying at your place tonight?"

Zhu Lan, holding a scoop of ice cream with three different flavors, replied shyly upon hearing this.

"I forgot to book a hotel for you, so you'll have to make do for one night."

"It's not so much about settling..."

With the mindset of "since I'm already here," Oreki walked into the courtyard.

"I wonder if that girl, Cattleya, knew she'd have the chance to stay at Zhu Lan's house, would she be yelling 'I can't take it anymore' as soon as the meeting ended and have Shi Lan pick her up in a helicopter?"

"How about we use this to provoke her and see how well she's controlling her superpowers?"

"Tsk, why am I so mean? Oh well, never mind."

"The bet can't go wrong; it wouldn't be good if it got back to Zhu Lan."

"What's wrong, Cattleya?"

As I was pondering, Zhu Lan's voice came from ahead.

"Yes, I'm home too."

"Oreki-sensei? He's staying at my place tonight."

"Nothing will happen, there are plenty of rooms in the villa."

"Huh? Gadria, are you stuck? Why is the screen frozen?"

"strangeness."

Zhu Lan licked a scoop of ice cream and turned to show her phone.

Above is a frozen image of Cattleya's face—a complex mix of emotions, including shock, astonishment, and regret, that defies description.