Elf: I Am a Farmer

Chapter 122 An Unexpected Encounter with Professor Birch

"Look, it's a howling whale!"

Ash saw several Wailords near their boat and roared loudly. ♡👽 ➅➈𝐒Ħ𝔲Ⓧ.ᑕ𝓸ᗰ 🍬🍬

"Maybe they're welcoming us!"

Xiao Yao said with a happy expression.

The whales followed their boat, interacting with them from time to time, before finally sinking into the sea and disappearing from sight.

"Charge!"

"Don't block my way!"

On the sea near Inoshima, Chiba and his friends spotted a group of children carrying schoolbags, riding cherry blossom fish and spotted fish, chasing each other as they raced forward. Before long, they passed the ship and headed towards the distant island.

After they passed by, Ash took out his Pokédex and began looking up information about the two Pokémon.

"Sharnax, a deep-sea Pokémon, is the evolved form of Clown. It lures prey closer with its fish-like tail and then swallows it whole with its large mouth."

"Sakura, a South Sea Pokémon, is the evolved form of Clamshell. It swims with great elegance and beauty, but if it spots its prey, it will use its thin mouth to pierce the prey's body and suck out its bodily fluids with a whooshing sound."

Just then, they spotted a girl who had been pushed into the sea by a boy. They quickly maneuvered their boat closer to try and rescue her, but the girl only needed a short rest before the spotted fish beneath her carried her onward. ♣☝ ❻➈รн𝓾𝓍.𝔠𝐨ϻ 🎀♦

After seeing that the girl was alright, the group breathed a sigh of relief and let the boat continue towards Inoshima. However, just as they were getting close to Inoshima, a boy and a girl, even smaller than the previous children, came riding on pedal boats and headed towards Inoshima, each trying to outdo the other.

"What are they arguing about?!"

Xiao Zhi then asked in confusion.

However, no one else had been here before, so they couldn't provide an answer either.

Before long, the group landed on Izu Island and headed straight to the Pokémon Center on the island, intending to rest there.

After arriving at the Pokémon Center, Ash's questions were answered by Nurse Joy.

As the only Pokémon center on the three islands of Iroha, this is also the location of the only school on the islands, and those children just now came here to study. Nurse Joy is also a teacher at the school.

Through Miss Joy's explanation, they learned that many pearl oysters live in the waters near the Iroha Islands. However, these pearl oysters only evolve into Spotted Fish on the Island of Waves, and only evolve into Sakura Fish on the Island of Lulu.

Because of this special situation, the people of Hōnoshima and Rōnoshima often argue about whether the Spotted Fish or the Cherry Fish is stronger. These arguments have led to escalating conflicts, and eventually, the children of both islands have also been influenced by the adults and started arguing whenever they meet.

Miss Joy really wanted them to make up, but no matter how many times she talked to them, the children wouldn't listen. They would only behave when she was around, but as soon as she left the classroom for a moment, the arguing would resume, which gave Miss Joy a real headache. ♢💚 ➅❾ѕħ𝐔𝓍.𝓬𝓸爪🏆😳

Afterwards, led by Miss Joey, the group arrived at the swimming pool used for outdoor classes, where many spotted fish and cherry fish swam.

Chiba Kaede also spotted a familiar face in the swimming pool, playing with cherry fish and spotted fish. This person was none other than Dr. Birch.

"Professor Birch, how did you end up on this island?"

Before Chiba Kaede could react, she saw Ash and his friends rush over and greet Professor Birch.

"Oh, it's you guys, Ash! Long time no see! And Maple too, I didn't expect to see you here!"

Professor Birch greeted Ash and his friends first, then noticed Kaede Chiba, smiled at him, and said something.

"Professor Tomato, what are you doing?"

After greeting him, Chiba Kaede asked with some confusion.

"Haha, I'm here on this island to conduct research on the branching evolution of pearl oysters."

Dr. Oda Birch answered with a smile.

"So, Doctor, were you doing research just now? How did it go? Did you achieve anything successful?"

Xiao Yao asked with some confusion.

"No, I was just playing around. But while playing with the elves, I was able to sense some things that I don't usually feel."

Dr. Oda scratched his head and said.

"Doctor, what conditions are necessary for the pearl oyster to evolve?"

Kikuma and Namiko raised their hands at the same time and asked.

They were the children who had just been riding the pedal boat. Kikuma was a child from Rono Island, but he preferred the spotted fish, while Namiko was a child from Namino Island, but she preferred the cherry fish. However, due to the atmosphere on their respective islands, they did not dare to express their preferences.

"The Pearl Shell needs a Deep Sea Fang to evolve into a Spotted Fish, while the Pearl Shell needs a Deep Sea Scale to evolve into a Cherry Fish."

After Professor Birch finished speaking, he took out a Deep Sea Fang and a Deep Sea Scale from his pocket and showed them to everyone.

"Then why can the Pearl Shells on our Wave Island only evolve into Spotted Slugs, while the Pearl Shells on Kikuma's Rokuno Island can only evolve into Cherry Fish?"

The little girl, Namiko, voiced the question that had been troubling her.

"Haha, well, I can't be sure of the exact reason right now, but we can go to your island later to investigate. Maybe we'll find something."

Dr. Oda Birch has provided a solution.

Of course, Ash and his friends wouldn't miss such an interesting opportunity. They strongly requested to follow Professor Birch to investigate the reason for the evolution of the Pearl Shells. Chiba Kaede thought that there wouldn't be any danger in investigating the two islands, so he quietly followed along.

Professor Birch's reputation as a renowned Pokémon expert is well-deserved. Under his guidance, the group quickly discovered a secret cave on both islands, where the islanders would place their pearl shells in the lakes of the caves when they wanted to evolve them.

Then, the group found the Deep Sea Scales and Deep Sea Fangs in the lakes of the corresponding caves, which is why the Pearl Shells on Wave Island and Lu Island can evolve.

The lake in the Wave Island Cave contains a large number of Deep Sea Fangs, while the lake in the Lu Island Cave contains a large number of Deep Sea Scales. As for why there are so many evolution items in the lake, no one can explain it clearly. However, they have finally figured out the evolution mystery of the pearl oysters on the two islands.

During this time, Chiba Kaede also collected a few Deep Sea Scales and Deep Sea Fangs. Although he knew that he was unlikely to raise the Spotted Fish and Cherry Blossom Fish, he planned to collect them to enrich his collection.

After returning to Izumi Island, Kikuma and Namiko frankly admitted their preferences. Finally, with the help of Professor Oda, Kikuma's Shellder evolved into a Spotted Slug, while Namiko's Shellder evolved into a Sakura.

This move also broke the preconceived notions of the two islands, making them less concerned about which Pokémon, Slug or Cherry, was stronger. Moreover, it is believed that in the future they will only evolve their favorite Pokémon based on their own preferences.

During this time, Team Rocket made another appearance, but they were defeated by Kikuma and Namiko's Slug and Sakura.

Chiba Kaede was completely convinced by this trio, which further solidified her image as an invisible nobody, because being stuck with these leeches would make her life miserable from now on.

After resolving the issue of the Iroha Islands, the group did not choose to spend the night on the islands. Instead, they boarded a ship bound for the next small island, Ganga Island, and continued their journey. Dr. Birch, on the other hand, would stay on the island for a while longer.

(End of this chapter)