I'm popularizing ecology in the Pokémon world.

The next morning, Chen Mu and his students set off together to conduct random interviews with citizens in various parts of Tokiwa City in order to collect preliminary data.

They mainly interviewed elderly people, asking them about their past impressions of Viridian Forest.

The result was unexpected, yet also exhilarating.

Most older people's impressions of Viridian Forest are indeed quite different from those of today's young people.

"You mean Viridian Forest? Ah, when I was little, it was a real treasure trove. My second uncle's nephew's aunt's cousin's third aunt caught a Zubat in the forest back then, and it later evolved into a Crobat."

"Viridian Forest? Let me tell you, there were so many Pokémon there decades ago! Nidoran, Nidoran, Bellsprout, Arbok, Koffing, and many other Pokémon. Back then, even trainers from Pewter City and Cerulean City came here to catch Pokémon. But it's all the fault of those outsiders; they ruined the forest's feng shui."

"You've come to the right person to ask about Viridian Forest. I used to go exploring the forest a lot when I was young. It's just a pity that, starting about forty years ago, there have been fewer and fewer Pokémon in the forest. In just four or five years, many species that used to be common have disappeared."

At noon, the research team was organizing the information they had gathered from the morning's interviews at a coffee shop.

Everyone seemed exceptionally excited at this moment.

"These elderly people have a completely different view of forests than the mainstream view, so Professor Chen's prediction was indeed correct! There must have been a very large and magnificent ecosystem in the past in the Evergreen Forest!"

Confirming this means they are on the right track.

Sakura was also summarizing.

"Several interviewees mentioned the time point between forty and thirty-five years ago. It seems that from this period onwards, the ecological environment of Evergreen Forest deteriorated rapidly, and biodiversity declined drastically."

Moreover, many of them mentioned feng shui. Could it be that some unusual climate change has occurred in the area over the past five years?

At this moment, Chen Mu's spiritual power once again brought him a mysterious revelation.

He had a sudden realization, and immediately opened his phone to search online for past news reports about Tokiwa City.

After confirming, he spoke.

"No, I think this may not be related to climate change. Feng shui is just a superstitious belief among the locals, or perhaps a subconscious avoidance."

"A subconscious avoidance?" the students wondered.

Chen Mu first showed everyone the interface on his phone.

"You see, in the year 2044 of the Alliance calendar, which is 40 years ago, the security situation in Viridian City was actually very bad, with local gangs running rampant and numerous factions.

The influx of explorers and trainers from all over Kanto at the time further exacerbated the conflict and chaos.

His phone was displaying a news report published in March 2044.

The above describes a large-scale gang war that occurred in Viridian City, involving a large number of trainers. The Pokémon moves used by both sides caused severe damage to the city, resulting in staggering losses.

Moreover, many trainers from other regions participated in the event.

Then Chen Mu continued to swipe the phone screen backward.

"Just a few years later, the security situation here quickly improved, and I think you understand why."

As Chen Mu spoke, he glanced at the Tokiwa Dojo in the distance.

Sakura immediately understood what he meant.

"Was it the Rockets' rise to power, their unification of the local underworld, and their establishment of rules for all gangs that turned the tide?"

Chen Mu nodded, "That's right, which is why most locals in Viridian City don't dislike the Rockets."

Although the Rockets' rise to power wasn't exactly honorable, they did bring a long-lost sense of order to the city.

But then he changed the subject.

"But there is one question that the locals have been subconsciously avoiding, or rather, afraid to mention—that is, in the early years of Team Rocket's rise, where did the Pokémon that armed their operators and executives come from?"

In the early years of Team Rocket's rise to prominence, they didn't have the massive scale and assets they have now, nor did they have Pokémon breeding facilities spread throughout Kanto and even Johto.

The students then completely understood.

"Viridian Forest! Their initial armed forces' Pokémon were all caught in Viridian Forest!"

"Everything matches up, the timing matches up, and even the types of Pokémon match up!"

"During our interviews, the older locals mentioned that the most common Pokémon in Viridian Forest used to be Poison-type, and the Pokémon most frequently used during Team Rocket's rise to prominence in those years were also Poison-type!"

"Arbok, Weezing, Victreebel, Nidoking, and also Golbat and Crobat are all iconic Pokémon from Team Rocket's early days!"

At this moment, a boy in the team with obvious tear stains on his cheeks angrily clenched his fist and slammed it on the table.

"Damn it, those inherently evil Team Rocket!"

Chen Mu couldn't help but glance sideways, afraid that the child might accidentally unleash some forbidden technique in the next second.

He reassured them, "Don't get excited. This discovery may be beneficial to our research—the ecological environment that has been damaged by human activities is more likely to be restored through human means in the future."

Conversely, if climate change truly renders the forests here unsuitable for most Pokémon in the Kanto region, that would be a real problem.

The students immediately looked at Chen Mu again.

"Teacher, what should we do next?"

Although the research group only met yesterday, the students are already increasingly trusting and relying on Mu Chen.

"Let's write a proposal and send it back to the academy, including our hypotheses and plans. We should also send a copy to Tokiwa Dojo via email to gauge their attitude."

Chen Mu made the arrangements accordingly.

If you want to conduct research in Viridian City, you can't avoid visiting the gyms here.

However, just to be on the safe side, Chen Mu gave one more piece of advice.

"After you finish writing the report, don't leave the hotel tonight unless you have something else to do, especially don't go out alone. Remember to set up one-click emergency call on your phone."

Although the possibility was slim, he still took precautions to avoid being ambushed by the Rockets while walking at night.

Stable, needs no further explanation.

Everyone obediently agreed, and this time they were all exceptionally well-behaved.

The following day at noon, inside the Construction Group, the key lobbying target for Chen Mu and his team's project, the representative who had previously received the students from the project group was leisurely leaning back on the sofa in his personal office, feeling quite content.

"These past few days have been really quiet. Strange, where are those students? They haven't come for days."

"They might have given up," a colleague from the nearby office chimed in.

"No way! If they don't come, who's going to make up for the lack of fun I'm missing?"

It's easy to see from the representative's flippant attitude that he didn't take Chen Mu's research group's lobbying seriously at all.

They were just something to pass the time.

"Is it fun to tease a group of students?" Even his colleagues couldn't stand it anymore.

"Of course it's interesting. It always reminds me of my innocent yet foolish college days."

"..."

Just as this representative was calmly reminiscing about his youth, the office door was suddenly pushed open in a hurry.

"Something terrible has happened!"

"What happened?"

"Our project's engineering review is stalled!"

"What?!"