After lunch, David greeted his father and, just like in the morning, rode in the car driven by Gallade to his mother's research institute.
In the car, David used the system's Pokédex query function for the first time, and it was then that he finally understood how strong Gallade was, and to what extent.
[Name: Gallade]
[Type: Psychic/Fighting]
[Gender: ♂]
[Energy Level: 76 (Champion)]
[Potential: Red]
[Ability: Justified]
[Held Item: Muscle Band]
[Moves: Disable, Destiny Bond, Confuse Ray, Misty Terrain, Memento, Assurance, Imprison, Calm Mind, Leaf Blade, Swords Dance, Sacred Sword, Aqua Cutter, Teleport, Confusion, Psycho Cut, Heal Pulse, Close Combat, Brick Break, Bulk Up, Drain Punch...]
A Champion-level Pokémon!
David was not concerned with the extensive move pool on the panel that could barely fit on the screen. Instead, he fell silent when he saw Gallade's level. No amount of adjectives could compare to the simple two words: Champion.
David, who had gradually adapted to this world, naturally understood the weight of these two words. It meant that as long as the Gallade in front of him was willing, it wouldn't take long for him to easily destroy an entire city.
"This is truly..."
Soon after, the car arrived at its destination.
Research institutes in the Pokémon world are somewhat different from those in his previous life. Because there are a large number of Pokémon living inside the institutes, with various types of Pokémon populations, they require specially constructed areas with different types of simulated environments that meet the requirements. Therefore, research institutes in this world are basically super-large ecological parks, which can only be built on the outskirts of cities.
Some research institutes are even built at the connection points between secret realms and the real world, placing the Pokémon's living areas within the secret realm, which saves space and makes it convenient to study the secret realm at any time.
The Imperial Capital Research Institute, one of the largest Pokémon research centers in the Donghuang Alliance, has produced many world-shaking research achievements, such as the discovery of the Fairy type, the eighth evolution method of Eevee, and so on. It is a place of aspiration for many Pokémon researchers in the Donghuang Alliance.
Arriving at the entrance of the research institute, David quickly passed verification. Because of his mother's work, David's childhood holidays were often spent here. Coming here was like returning to his own home.
Holding the little fox, which had transformed back into its normal form, David walked inside with familiarity and soon arrived at his mother's laboratory.
As soon as he pushed the door open, he immediately heard a familiar voice.
"Little David is here! Isn't today the day you registered as a Trainer? How was it? No problems, right?"
Seeing David's arrival, a young woman who looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old and was wearing a lab coat greeted him warmly.
"Of course there were no problems, Sister Lucy. Look, I've even captured my starter Pokémon. Also, Sister Lucy, I'm already grown up, so please don't keep calling me that like before!"
David said helplessly to the person while holding up the little fox he was carrying.
The person in front of him was Lucy, his mother's star student. When David used to spend his holidays here, Lucy had just become his mother's intern and was doing her internship in the laboratory.
At that time, his mother was quite busy, and Sister Lucy had just arrived and spent most of her time getting familiar with the laboratory. She was relatively free, so she often took him to play around the research institute.
Several years passed, and he was now at the age to become a Trainer, while Sister Lucy had already become a somewhat well-known Pokémon researcher. And if he remembered correctly, he had heard his mother mention it before—if all went well, Sister Lucy would be eligible to apply for a senior researcher title after this year.
"Hehe, I'm just used to calling you that. Is this your starter Pokémon? A Zorua, how cute! Just by looking at the luster and development of its fur, I can tell it's a wonderful Pokémon."
There's a saying that if you want to compliment a Trainer, the best way is to praise their Pokémon. Listening to Lucy's praise, not only did the little fox proudly raise its head and respond happily twice, showing an expression that meant 'you have good taste,' but David also smiled.
"By the way, Sister Lucy, where is my mother? I have something to talk to her about."
After exchanging pleasantries with Lucy for a while, David stated the purpose of his visit today.
"Ah, so Little David didn't come specifically to see me! My heart aches~ You've changed, Little David. You're not the same cute little boy you used to be."
"Alright, Sister Lucy, stop teasing me. I'm not a child anymore, and I really have something to talk to my mom about."
'Sister Lucy is still the same as I remember,' David thought with a helpless expression on his face, but he was still very happy inside.
"Alright! Alright! Little David is really not cute at all now. Teacher should be in Lab 7. Come with me, I'll take you there." Hearing this, Lucy's expression instantly returned to normal, putting away the tearful look she had just had, and seriously led David toward Lab 7 inside.
At the door of Lab 7, David finally saw his mother.
"Teacher, look who's here?"
"Mom!"
Hearing the familiar voice, David's mother slowly put down the documents in her hand and turned around.
"Son, why are you here? How was it? No surprises with the registration today, right?"
At this moment, David walked in and gently shook the little fox in his hand.
"Of course there were no problems! You don't even need to ask who your son is. Here! This is my first Pokémon, Zorua. How about it, isn't he amazing?"
He then said to the little fox, "This is my mom. She's my family, and she's your family too!"
Zorua responded with two soft calls to David's mother.
"Hmm, very impressive. Your dad already told me over the phone. He's a cute little fellow," David's mother took the little fox from David's hand and gently stroked him.
"By the way, Mom, I have something I want to tell you both. It's guaranteed to be a surprise, but it needs to be kept secret for now. Can you and Sister Lucy come out with me for a bit?" David looked at the other busy staff in the laboratory and said to his mother and Lucy.
"You all continue to record the changes in the experimental subjects. I'll be out for a while."
David's mother, who had spoken to her husband on the phone, naturally understood David's meaning. After giving instructions to the staff nearby, she then led David and Lucy to an empty lounge nearby.
"Come on! Show us what surprise you have."
"Hehe, first things first, don't be too surprised later, okay?" After saying that, David set Zorua down from his hands.
"Zorua, release illusion."
"Zorua~"
The little fox lightly jumped down from David's arms. Then, a pink light flashed across his body, and the little fox, who had just been black and red, suddenly turned pink and white.
"Oh! Zorua changed his appearance! What happened? Is it a color change caused by the living environment? Or is it a regional form of Zorua?" Seeing Zorua's change, Lucy was surprised at first, but quickly accepted it and began a professional analysis.
"Your dad did mention it briefly in the previous call, but I didn't expect it to be so different from a normal Zorua," David's mother said after stepping forward and touching him.
"That's right. Zorua is not only different from a normal Zorua in appearance, but his types are also completely different. My Zorua is Normal and Ghost-type," David explained.
"This is incredible. It doesn't seem like a simple color or appearance mutation caused by environmental or dietary factors. It's more like a special regional form, completely independent of the normal form, similar to the Alolan Vulpix discovered in the Ice Field Secret Realm before. There's no record of this yet. Could it be that he accidentally wandered out of an unknown secret realm that hasn't fully merged?" David's mother said, pushing up her glasses as she analyzed.
"Mom, I mainly came this trip for this little guy. When I go out now, I let him transform into his normal form, just in case someone sees him and causes trouble. But I still want to take him to participate in the rookie competition. What if he reveals his true form then?" David said helplessly.
"You've done very well. How about this—you let him temporarily maintain his normal form, and I'll record a set of his data here and log it into the research institute's confidential files. When it's time for the competition, if he absolutely has to show his true form, after the competition, you can just say that this might be a newly discovered regional form of Zorua, and the Imperial Capital Research Institute is still researching the specific situation." After thinking for a moment, David's mother said.
"That's great! Zorua, we can battle with peace of mind now."
"Zorua~"
David said happily, hugging Zorua after hearing that the problem was solved. Zorua also responded twice, giving him face.
"Alright, but still remember, try not to expose him for now."
After speaking, David's mother took David and Zorua to an unused testing ground, where she meticulously measured his physical data. Only after obtaining samples of the little fox's fur and blood did she allow them to leave.