Ursaring lumbered closely behind the pair, a perfect pack mule. It carried Kai's backpack, held Ivy's luggage in its left paw, and clutched a bottle of Soda Pop in its right.
The main research institute building wasn't particularly large, but the attached nature reserve was vast, stretching from the hillside all the way to the coast. The Orange Archipelago is composed of numerous islands, and for a long time, the region's unpredictable weather created isolated ecosystems. This led to ecological differences not just from the mainland but between each individual island.
As a major attraction for the Orange League, the pink Pokémon of Tangelo Island are quite famous in the academic community. The probability of encountering a differently colored Pokémon is already extremely low, but on that magical island, every Pokémon is pink. Researchers from the League Headquarters conducted preliminary explorations long ago, concluding that the Pokémon's unique coloration was due to their diet of the local Tangelo fruit.
However, due to the Orange League's historical lack of Pokémon scholars, its distance from the League Headquarters, and the treacherous waters surrounding Tangelo Island, many research projects were delayed. It wasn't until the new Orange League President began to vigorously develop the archipelago and introduce talent—like Professor Ivy from Celadon University—that many research projects, some shelved for over a century, were finally restarted.
"Actually, it's not just Tangelo Island that has special pink Pokémon," Ivy explained, recalling information she had reviewed. "Mikan Island also has many Pokémon with unique Orange League patterns. That's an important reason why the research institute was built here."
"Haha, if they tried to establish a research institute on Tangelo Island, it would probably be a bit difficult," Kai said. He had attempted to approach the island from its outer waters several years ago, but the astonishing range of the tidal vortexes had forced him to abandon the idea.
"Yes, but this time our survey plan allows for helicopter transport. As long as we get accurate information from the weather station, it should be relatively safe."
Walking behind them, Ursaring quickly finished the last of its soda. It shook the bottle vigorously, ensuring not a single drop remained.
"Roar!" With a grunt of satisfaction, it forcefully crushed the bottle in its right paw and casually tossed it into the roadside bushes.
"Chirp?"
A Raticate suddenly darted out of the bushes, its entire body glowing with a faint white light as it charged toward Ursaring at high speed.
Quick Attack is incredibly fast.
It slammed into the circular pattern on Ursaring's abdomen and was immediately bounced back.
A large 💢 symbol seemed to materialize on Ursaring's forehead, its normally docile gaze turning fierce.
What's with this little mouse? Ursaring seemed to think. How dare you attack me?
"Roar, roar, roar~" It set down the luggage, and a dangerous white light began to glow from its claws. Before being caught by Kai, Ursaring had been a tyrant in its own forest; it wasn't about to endure such disrespect.
The sudden appearance of the orange-red mouse startled Ivy, and even Kai found it somewhat novel. This Raticate looked like it had only recently evolved, yet it had the audacity to attack an Ursaring so much higher in level.
"Don't use Slash; use Fury Swipes. Just one hit!" Kai commanded. Ursaring's combat level was too high; a more powerful move could have crippled the smaller Pokémon.
Ursaring retracted the glowing light from its claws and swiped casually. The Raticate was sent flying, falling unconscious in mid-air.
"It doesn't seem to have any special abilities, so why would it attack a higher-level Pokémon?" Kai wondered aloud, looking at the unconscious Raticate on the ground with a perplexed expression.
Ivy walked forward, surprised, and examined the fainted Pokémon. "This fur color is completely different from a normal Raticate. And with this fur, its teeth seem even whiter. This must be the unique Raticate species of Mikan Island."
"It seems to have a lot of impact marks on its body," Ivy noted, nudging the Raticate over with her foot.
Kai turned to Ursaring. "What did you just do?"
"Roar? Roar, roar." Ursaring gesticulated wildly, acting out a small one-Pokémon play of its earlier actions.
"Oh! You mean you threw the empty soda bottle into the bushes, and then this Raticate rushed out?"
Ursaring nodded affirmatively. All it did was throw a bottle.
"Who's been throwing things at it, making it so stressed?" Kai speculated.
"It could be the Mankey on the island; they love throwing things at people. And those guys are annoying; usually, a dozen of them show up to cause trouble at once," Ivy said, agreeing with Kai's deduction.
"So what do we do with this Raticate now?"
"There should be Forest Rangers here, right? I'll have Ursaring call them over to deal with it."
"Huh?" Ivy didn't understand what Kai meant. "How can we call the Forest Rangers from here? If we were at the research institute, we could use the broadcast."
Kai just smiled mysteriously and patted Ursaring, who was standing beside him. "Use Hyper Voice. Full power."
Ursaring had long understood and prepared. After a brief charge, it let out a deafening roar toward the dense forest, the powerful sound waves shaking the surrounding trees. The method was primitive, but the effect was excellent.
Before long, a Forest Ranger riding a Dodrio arrived.
"What happened here?"
"It's like this…" Ivy quickly explained the Raticate's situation to the ranger.
"I see, I understand. I'll send it to the research institute later. They need a large number of local Pokémon for observation and research." The Forest Ranger used a special camouflage Safari Ball to capture the unconscious Raticate.
"Damn, did it just land itself a job?" Kai muttered, turning to Ursaring. His partner had already picked up the luggage again and was standing beside him, grinning foolishly.
After the short interlude, the two continued down the mountain.
"Furr!" A Butterfree blocked the middle of the road, flying excitedly toward Ivy.
"Huh? What's going on now?" Kai looked at the Butterfree fluttering around Ivy, his head full of questions.
"Furr!" The Butterfree looked very excited. This was a Butterfree with the special Mikan Island pattern. Normal Butterfree have white wings with black markings. This one, however, had creamy yellow wings, not only with black patterns but also with a striking red spot on each side.
"Maybe… it's the perfume I'm wearing?" Ivy said, a bit unsure.
"Huh? You even wear perfume?" Kai leaned in, trying to catch the scent.
The action made Ivy blush. "What are you doing?!"
"There really is a scent. How unique!"
"Of course. It's a special blend from Celadon City." Celadon City was indeed famous for its perfumes, which were blended using a unique technique involving Gloom nectar.
"Ivy! Didn't you say you wanted to try and catch a Pokémon? Look, this Butterfree likes you so much, and it can help with your research on the special patterns of Orange League Pokémon."
"Huh?" Although her tone was questioning, Ivy was clearly intrigued.
"Here! Take this, and remember to reimburse me." Kai took out a pure white Premier Ball and handed it to her.
"If you hadn't said that last part, I might have been very touched," Ivy deadpanned, taking the Premier Ball.
"Butterfree! Do you want to be with me?"
Kai couldn't help but laugh at Ivy's straightforward approach.
"Furr?" The Butterfree tilted its head, a bit confused by the situation.
The white Premier Ball was gently tossed out. The Butterfree curiously approached it.
Ding!
The ball didn't even shake once; it was a successful capture.
***
(End of Chapter)
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