Chapter 149: Ancient Pokémon

“This area is forest, and over there, the snowmelt from the mountain forms a small river, ending in a wetland,” Natsume explained to Giselle, describing the terrain around the snowy mountain and the Pokémon populations released nearby by Professor Oak’s lab.

“Understood, Mr. Natsume,” Giselle said, sweating under a large backpack, jotting down notes rapidly in a small notebook.

“All right, that should cover it. We can head back,” Natsume said after checking. The avalanche on the mountain had been stopped by Mewtwo in time, with negligible damage and no Pokémon injured.

As they walked back, they heard the clanging of digging from one side of the forest. Frowning, Natsume approached and saw a group of people in dark brown uniforms using heavy machinery to mine the walls on either side of the stream.

“Mr. Natsume,” Giselle asked, looking back, unsure how to handle the situation.

“Generally, without a League permit, this counts as illegal mining,” Natsume replied.

“Should we go check?” Giselle hesitated, but Natsume pulled out his phone and recorded for ten minutes, capturing close-ups of faces and machinery models.

“First, secure evidence. Then, verify the situation safely before intervening,” Natsume said, standing up.

“What if it’s unsafe?” Giselle asked nervously.

“Open the box,” Natsume said, pointing to the black box Giselle carried.

Giselle looked surprised, having wondered what the box was for. She had assumed it contained essentials, but Natsume hadn’t asked her to use it along the way.

“Oh, it’s for special situations,” she muttered. Opening the box, her face stiffened as she pulled out an RPG.

“Mr. Natsume, is this really okay?” she stammered, lifting the barrel onto her shoulder.

“It’s fine. That’s the ammunition,” Natsume said, pointing to the corner of the box, where three red-and-white Pokéballs lay.

“These used to be Professor Oak’s Pokémon, meant for special situations,” he continued, taking them out. Delia, Bill, and himself had all spent time on lab patrols. Now it was Giselle’s turn to inherit the responsibility.

“Currently, Professor Oak has taken the Pokémon, so these three Pokéball projectiles are custom-made, filled with Pokémon pheromone medicine,” Natsume explained.

He pulled out a small blue spray from the box. “This is the Calm Spray. Apply it to your Pokémon, and they won’t be affected by the pheromone medicine temporarily.

“When you act, you can shout, Eevee, use Charm! to make the opposing trainer think their Pokémon has been affected. Once their Pokémon is incapacitated, you can handle the illegal miners easily.

“Understood?” Natsume asked Giselle.

He left no detail untouched. With rare Pokémon in the lab, there would always be reckless poachers. Natsume had realized that Professor Oak’s Pokémon alone might not solve every problem, so he devised gadgets like this custom RPG.

“Oh,” Giselle nodded, still a bit confused.

Fortunately, they didn’t need to use any special measures this time. After speaking with the miners briefly, they discovered the group had a League-approved permit.

“Ah, you’re Mr. Natsume from Oak’s lab? We’re so sorry for not notifying you in advance—we misunderstood,” said a refined young woman, around Giselle’s age, apologizing repeatedly.

“What’s your name?” Natsume asked, sensing the group looked familiar.

“I’m White,” she replied shyly.

“White?” Natsume felt the name was familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

He studied the refined young woman intently. She wore an ivory high-collared explorer outfit, with multiple leather tool pouches hanging from her waist, containing magnifying glasses and imprinting tools.

Her face flushed under his gaze, yet he still couldn’t place it.

“Ahem, all right. Since there’s nothing urgent, let’s head back to the lab,” he said.

Giselle, carrying the large black box, blocked their path.

“Dr. White, we found something from the avalanche!”

Two helmeted workers ran up, one holding a golden spoon.

“Hmm, let me see,” White said happily, approaching them.

“Dr. White!”

Giselle stared, shocked. White looked about her age.

“I remember now,” Natsume said, clapping his hands. Finally, he understood why the name White sounded so familiar.

During his years studying in Pallet Town, Natsume had considered searching for the three ancient Pokémon. After all, they were near Pallet Town and must have been part of research projects. During that time, he had read many papers on ancient Pokémon.

“Miss White must be a PhD in ancient linguistics,” Natsume explained to Giselle.

Most of the papers he had studied were published by senior professors at various universities, but the second author on almost all of them was someone named White.

White carefully placed the golden spoon into a clear glass jar and carried it into a temporary tent nearby.

Curious, Natsume followed with Giselle.

“Mr. Natsume, Miss White is amazing,” Giselle muttered, looking down, a bit disheartened.

Natsume had just been praising her as a promising researcher, but here was someone her age already a PhD.

“She’s in a special situation. Ancient linguistics is a very niche field,” Natsume whispered. “Every year, there are zero applicants. A dozen senior professors struggle to find students willing to study it.”

White’s early PhD was thanks not only to her talent but also to being personally mentored by several senior professors.

Giselle nodded, partially understanding.

White examined the golden spoon closely with a magnifying glass.

“Such a shame… it’s too hard to see. We’d need specialized instruments,” she said disappointedly. The characters on the spoon were minuscule.

After a moment, she looked at Natsume with hope.

“Mr. Natsume, could we borrow the lab’s equipment for a bit?”

“Professor Oak locked it up. I can’t open it. We’d have to wait three or four days,” Natsume replied.

“I see,” White pursed her lips, thinking.

“But I can read the characters here,” Natsume added.

“You can read it?” White was surprised, turning to see a faint blue glow in Natsume’s eyes.

“Psychic,” she whispered. “Then could you help me copy what’s on this paper, Mr. Natsume?”

Delighted, White pulled paper and pen from her pocket and handed them to him.