Chapter 268

Chapter 268: Chapter 268

Once Oleana had left, Professor Oak turned toward Mike and shook his head.

"You really do take good care of your own people, don’t you?"

Mike grinned.

"Well, they’re going to be working at my research institute, aren’t they? I figure we should all build it together and learn as we go, starting from scratch."

Professor Oak smiled and shook his head again.

’Perhaps this is simply the Mike I know.’

A young man who genuinely didn’t seem to care very much about academic fame or personal recognition.

Meanwhile, Snivy had been sitting quietly beside Mike, peeling peanuts.

She finished removing the shells, placed the peeled peanuts into a small bowl, and pushed it toward him.

Then she looked at her Trainer.

Mike was wearing an expression of extraordinary generosity, as though he’d just made some noble sacrifice for the advancement of Pokémon research.

Snivy silently rolled her eyes.

’Oh, please.’

’Professor Oak might not understand you, but I certainly do.’

She knew perfectly well why Mike wasn’t particularly interested in publishing academic papers.

It wasn’t because he was above seeking recognition.

And it certainly wasn’t because he possessed some profound indifference toward fame and fortune.

He was simply lazy!

Writing research papers sounded like an enormous amount of work, and Mike couldn’t be bothered doing it.

That was all there was to it.

"Thanks, Snivy!"

Mike reached over and gently stroked her head.

Then he picked up a handful of shelled peanuts, tossed them into his mouth, and began chewing happily.

"Snivy~"

Snivy’s eyes immediately narrowed with pleasure.

A gentle smile appeared on her face as she leaned into his hand, thoroughly enjoying the affection.

Her earlier criticism of his laziness could wait.

After all, he was giving her head pats.

That was far more important!

...

"So booooooooooring..."

Mike sat around for a little while longer before finally deciding he’d had enough.

He stood up and stretched.

"Professor Oak, I’m heading out for a bit."

Professor Oak glanced toward him.

"Where are you going?"

"I’m going to find the Mamoswine and play with them for a while."

"Make sure you stay safe."

"Don’t worry!"

Mike waved casually before leaving the research area.

He wandered through the snowy landscape until he reached a relatively open clearing.

Then he raised his hands to his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"ARTICUNOOOO!"

"ARTICUNO!"

A clear, piercing cry immediately answered him.

Moments later, a magnificent crystalline-blue figure descended from the sky.

Articuno spread its enormous wings and landed gracefully in front of Mike.

The Legendary Pokémon looked down at him.

[Human, why have you summoned me?]

Mike smiled.

"Articuno, do you know anywhere on Mount Coronet where we might find traces of other Hisuian Pokémon?"

"Articuno?"

[Hisuian... Pokémon?]

"You know, Pokémon you saw back during the Hisuian era. The ones that looked noticeably different from the Pokémon living here today."

Articuno fell silent.

Its crimson eyes narrowed slightly as it searched through its memories.

After a while, it shook its head.

"Articuno."

[It was far too long ago. I no longer remember.]

"Really? That’s a shame."

Mike sighed.

He had a strong feeling that Hisuian Avalugg couldn’t be the only ancient regional form whose traces remained hidden somewhere in Mount Coronet.

The mountain range was enormous, and countless areas had remained largely undisturbed for centuries.

Surely there were other discoveries waiting somewhere within it.

Unfortunately, Articuno didn’t seem to remember anything useful.

Mike considered the problem for a moment.

Then an idea occurred to him.

"Hey, Articuno."

The Legendary Pokémon looked at him.

"Could you take me farther into the mountains? Somewhere deeper than the areas I’ve already explored?"

Articuno stared.

"Articuno?"

[You wish to ride upon my back?]

Mike didn’t answer, he simply smiled.

Articuno’s expression changed immediately.

Its magnificent wings spread wide, and an indignant cry echoed through the clearing.

"ARTICUNO!"

[Human! How dare you make such an outrageous request?! Do you even understand that I am the sovereign of ice and snow, the majestic ruler of—]

"I’ll cook whatever you want for dinner."

[Climb aboard sir!]

"..."

Mike stared at the Legendary Pokémon.

Articuno had already lowered its body, offering him a convenient place to climb onto its back.

The sudden change in attitude was so dramatic that Mike’s mouth twitched.

"Seriously, I think I liked you better when you were acting all proud and untouchable."

"Articuno?"

[Whatever are you talking about? I haven’t the faintest idea what you mean.]

"..."

Mike looked at the completely shameless Legendary Pokémon.

Then he couldn’t help laughing.

"Nothing. Forget I said anything."

He recalled his other Pokémon into their Poké Balls and carefully climbed onto Articuno’s back.

Once Mike was seated securely, Articuno spread its enormous wings.

With one powerful beat, it launched itself into the air.

The ground rapidly fell away beneath them as the magnificent Legendary Pokémon soared higher and higher, carrying Mike toward the distant reaches of Mount Coronet.

...

"Ah, what a shame." Mike pulled his scarf tighter around his neck and sighed. "All right, let’s head back."

The deeper regions of Mount Coronet were so cold that he couldn’t stop shivering.

He’d originally hoped to take advantage of Articuno’s strength and ability to fly, allowing him to explore parts of the mountain that would otherwise be far too dangerous for him to enter.

If he was lucky, perhaps he’d discover another Hisuian Pokémon that had somehow survived since ancient times.

Unfortunately, his expedition had produced absolutely nothing.

He wasn’t sure whether Articuno’s overwhelming presence had frightened away the local Pokémon or whether there genuinely weren’t any surviving Hisuian Pokémon in the area.

Either way, throughout their journey, they’d encountered very few Pokémon at all.

Forget discovering an ancient Hisuian species.

Even ordinary wild Pokémon had been a rare sight.

Mike reluctantly climbed onto Articuno’s back and gave its neck a gentle pat.

"Let’s go."

Articuno spread its magnificent wings and launched itself toward the sky.

"WHOA! SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN! IT’S FREEZING!"

Mike’s miserable screams echoed across the snowy mountains as the Legendary Pokémon soared higher.

Far below, deep within a secluded cave, something stirred.

A snow-white figure cautiously emerged from the darkness.

Its amber eyes remained fixed on the crystalline-blue Pokémon flying overhead.

For a while, it simply stood there, staring.

Then, as though suddenly making up its mind, the mysterious Pokémon began running across the snow.

It accelerated toward a nearby rock, sprang onto it, and leaped high into the air.

As it jumped, its body began changing.

Its snow-white figure transformed into a magnificent crystalline-blue bird, complete with enormous wings that resembled those of Articuno.

The transformed Pokémon spread its wings and began flapping them vigorously.

For a brief moment, it actually managed to fly.

Unfortunately, that was as far as it got.

After struggling through the air for a short distance, the Pokémon abruptly lost altitude.

It plummeted toward the ground, crashed into the snow, and tumbled several times before finally coming to a stop.

By then, the magnificent blue bird had disappeared, leaving the mysterious Pokémon in its original form.

...

"I’m freezing to death..."

The moment they returned, Mike practically fell off Articuno’s back.

He hurried into the rest area, poured himself a large cup of hot tea, and drank the entire thing in several enormous gulps.

The warmth spreading through his stomach finally made him feel a little more alive.

Snivy stood beside him, using her vines to brush the frost from his clothes.

Lucian, who happened to be sitting nearby, looked at him curiously.

"Where on earth did you go? You’re practically covered in ice."

"I went exploring deeper into Mount Coronet with Articuno," Mike explained, still shivering. "I wanted to see whether there might be any other Hisuian Pokémon hiding out there, but unfortunately, we didn’t find anything."

He rubbed his hands together.

"Seriously, though, the deeper parts of this mountain are absolutely freezing. Hardly anyone ever goes there, and there aren’t even many Pokémon around."

Oleana approached with another cup of hot tea.

Mike accepted it gratefully, holding it between both hands to warm his fingers.

Then he suddenly looked toward Lucian.

"Wait a minute. Didn’t you go to Lily of the Valley Island? How come you’re back already?"

"I finished arranging everything over there and handed the remaining responsibilities to Aaron and Bertha."

Lucian set down his own teacup.

"Besides, the Bergmite research is about to enter its final stage. How could I possibly miss the birth of the first Hisuian Avalugg?"

Mike gave him a knowing look.

"If you wanted to slack off, you could’ve just said so."

Lucian adjusted his glasses with perfect composure.

"I’m a researcher now, you know. Research is extremely important work."

"Eww, listen to you."

Mike made an exaggerated face.

Once he’d finally warmed up enough to stop shivering, he stood.

"Anyway, I’m done talking to you people. I’m going to make myself something delicious for dinner."

With that, he headed off to prepare the evening meal.

...

Three Days Later

The weather was bright and sunny.

Mike emerged from the Jynx’s cave and looked up at the sun shining overhead.

He closed his eyes, enjoying his daily dose of sunlight while listening to the Jynx singing nearby.

The beautiful weather and their enthusiastic voices made for a pleasant morning.

After listening for a while, Mike began applauding.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Excellent!"

He smiled at the Jynx, who were practicing their singing with remarkable dedication.

"You’ve pretty much mastered that song already. How about I teach you another one tonight?"

The Jynx immediately raised their arms and began jumping excitedly.

"Jynx! Jynx!"

[Loyalty! Loyalty!]

"..."

Mike decided to ignore whatever the Jynx were getting so excited about.

After eating the breakfast the others had saved for him, he gathered Gengar and his companions and made his way toward the research area.

"Good morning."

Professor Rowan greeted him with a cup of hot tea in hand.

"Morning, Professor!"

Mike returned the greeting before heading into the rest area and taking a seat.

Oleana immediately poured him a cup of tea.

"Thanks."

Mike accepted it, took a sip, and looked toward the training area.

"How’s everything going?"

Oleana consulted the records in her notebook.

"All the Bergmite in the first group have successfully learned Mountain Gale."

She turned a page.

"However, the four Bergmite in the second group still haven’t mastered the move."

"Second group?"

Mike looked surprised.

"When did we get another group?"

"Perhaps our training methods have been more effective than we realized," Professor Rowan explained from nearby. "Four more Bergmite living in this area decided to join the research the day before yesterday."

"Oh, so that’s what happened."

Mike glanced toward the Bergmite currently practicing with one another.

After watching them for a moment, he fell into thought.

Then he looked toward Professor Rowan.

"Professor, the weather’s pretty nice today. Why don’t we go ahead and attempt the evolution?"

"Today?"

Professor Rowan stroked his nose thoughtfully before turning toward Professor Oak.

Professor Oak considered the suggestion.

"I don’t see any problem with that. The weather really is quite good today."

"In that case, let’s do it."

Professor Rowan made his decision.

He called the researchers and Trainers back from their respective assignments.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves. Today, we’ll begin testing the second method for evolving Bergmite into Hisuian Avalugg."

He turned toward the Trainers.

"Cynthia, Lorelei, Lucian, and Candice, I’ll leave the task of helping the Bergmite gain enough experience to evolve to you."

"Understood," Cynthia replied.

Professor Rowan then looked toward Kukui.

"Kukui, I’d like you to continue supervising the four Bergmite in the second group while they learn Mountain Gale."

"No problem!"

Kukui nodded enthusiastically.

"Mike, you can stay with Samuel and me and help monitor the evolution."

"All right."

Mike nodded.

Once Professor Rowan had finished assigning the main responsibilities, Mike turned toward Oleana.

"Oleana, I want you to work with Kaito and the others to carefully record the energy fluctuations throughout the evolution process."

"Yes, Boss."

Oleana immediately acknowledged the instruction.

Mike nodded approvingly and began searching for suitable camera positions around the research site.

He first selected a location with a clear view of the training area and set up his main camera.

Then he launched his drone, guiding it around the surrounding rocks and cliffs while looking for an additional filming angle.

As the drone passed over a rocky ledge, something caught his attention.

Articuno was lying lazily on a large rock, watching the humans and Pokémon below with apparent curiosity.

When the drone approached, the Legendary Pokémon lifted its head.

Its crimson eyes followed the unfamiliar little machine with an unusually innocent expression.

Mike studied the image transmitted to his screen.

’Huh?’

He tilted his head.

"That’s strange. Is it just me, or does Articuno look unusually adorable and clueless today?"

"What was that, Boss?" Oleana asked from nearby.

"Nothing."

Mike shook his head.

Once he’d found a satisfactory angle for the drone, he attached portable cameras to Gengar and Beedrill and asked them to find suitable positions as well.

With every camera ready, Mike returned to the rest area and sat down.

From there, he could comfortably watch Cynthia and the other Trainers directing their Pokémon through battles with the Bergmite.

He picked up his Rotom Phone and activated its photography function.

Then he began taking pictures like crazy.

After all, how often did anyone get to see the ace Pokémon of Champions and Elite Four members being chased around by little Bergmite?

This was definitely worth photographing!