"Pika!!!!!!!!"
In the backyard of the Pokémon Center in Nibi City, the occasional agonized scream of Pikachu echoed, drawing strange glances from passersby. They speculated if a cruel trainer was abusing their Pokémon inside.
"Excuse me, Mr. Natsume, is it really okay for your Pikachu to be like this?"
Nurse Joy, carrying a tray, passed by and looked worriedly toward the backyard.
At the far end of the backyard, near the Pokémon Center's wall, Pikachu was tightly bound and "locked" onto a chair wrapped in electric wires.
Among the tangled mess of wires, a thin wire extended and connected to a specialized ammeter, which led toward the Pokémon Center and plugged into an outlet.
It was clear that the terrible screams were coming from Pikachu.
"Mr. Natsume, this doesn't seem right…" Nurse Joy said, approaching, feeling guilty.
"Pika~"
Perhaps intentionally, Pikachu's screams grew louder.
With a sigh, Natsume took off his sunglasses, set down his newspaper, and walked over to the suffering Pikachu.
"Bang!"
Natsume tapped Pikachu's head, sending an electric current through his body. His hair stood on end. "Stop acting, this level of electricity wouldn't even hurt me."
The painful expression on Pikachu's face instantly disappeared, replaced by a look of embarrassment.
"Pikachu…"
"You'll follow my plan for electrical reinforcement training every day. The intensity will gradually increase. It will only be beneficial for you, not harmful. After a month, you'll understand," Natsume said, looking thoughtfully at the chair Pikachu was sitting on.
Hmm... with limited materials, this homemade chair only supports this level of electricity. The current strength is less than one-tenth of what the God of Thunder experienced yesterday.
"Pika~"
Pikachu seemed resigned, lowering its head.
It just wanted to stay inside its Poké Ball and sleep peacefully.
But alas, the devilish voice sounded again:
"Also, you'll train with Ash every day. I'll have him teach you. If you refuse, your electricity training time will double every day!"
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu immediately panicked.
No way—doubling the time? Sitting here, feeling numb and drowsy, was torture enough. But with the occasional electric shock, it couldn't sleep, which was pure torment for a Pokémon.
"I need to send something, Nurse Joy. Please look after this little one for me."
"Oh, okay."
Seeing Pikachu's face change expressions like a skilled actor, Nurse Joy nodded absentmindedly.
Natsume walked out of the Pokémon Center and headed toward the Nibi City Science Museum.
Ash had excitedly gone off to challenge Brock, and while the opportunity presented itself, Natsume was planning to mail a Wishing Star to Professor Oak and ask him to have Professor Mulan help him craft a Gigantamax Band.
If he did it himself, it would be too troublesome, and he'd have to go back to Oak's lab.
The normal post office wouldn't know how to properly store the Wishing Star, and it wasn't safe. So, Natsume planned to have the people at the Nibi City Science Museum help him forward it to Professor Oak.
Upon entering the museum, Natsume was greeted by countless fossil skeletons, a sight that might have frightened Misty.
"Ah, hello, can I help you with something?"
As soon as Natsume entered, he made his way upstairs, but a staff member in a white lab coat stopped him.
The young man had dry hair and a stubbly chin, suggesting he didn't take much care of his appearance.
"Hello, I'm a researcher at the Nibi City Science Museum, Garasu. The second floor is only for staff members."
The young man presented his ID and introduced himself to Natsume.
"Professor Oak's lab, Natsume."
Natsume also pulled out his ID.
However, as soon as the ID was shown, Garasu's eyes lit up.
"You're the researcher who proposed the Rotom-Natsume Law! I've read your paper. I didn't expect you to be so young!"
Garasu was unexpectedly excited and looked at Natsume with enthusiasm.
"Yeah, that's me."
Natsume scratched his head, staring intently at the young man in front of him.
Garasu, feeling uneasy under the gaze, shrank his neck and said,
"So, Mr. Natsume, what can I help you with? I'll take care of it!"
Garasu patted his chest proudly, giving off the impression that he could handle anything.
"I want to commission you to mail something."
"It must be an important research result, right? Please, follow me."
Garasu wasn't foolish. He knew that if Natsume had come here, he likely knew what the item was.
With Garasu's cooperation, Natsume quickly sent off the carefully packed Wishing Star.
"Mr. Natsume!"
Outside the Nibi City Science Museum, Garasu called out to Natsume.
"Is something wrong?" Natsume turned around, wondering why Garasu had been so unusually enthusiastic since the moment he entered, and now, it seemed like there was something he was holding back.
"I'm also researching Rotom-related topics. Could you give me some guidance?"
Garasu said, handing Natsume a stack of documents, looking at him with hope in his eyes.
Yes, Natsume was the pioneer in Rotom research.
Especially with his Rotom-Natsume Law, which was the foundation for assessing Rotom's fusion forms.
Professor Oak certainly wouldn't take on an ordinary researcher as a doctoral advisor.
"Here's the thing. My research direction is about the optimal circuit solutions for plasmaization when Rotom integrates into high-power electrical appliances, but I've been stuck in the theoretical phase because I don't have access to a Rotom."
After a glance, Natsume immediately understood Garasu's thoughts.
When Rotom enters various electrical devices, it becomes plasma and powers that device, creating a new fusion form.
However, the same Rotom, when faced with the same device, will show different power levels depending on how the circuit operates.
This was something Natsume had briefly mentioned in his top-tier journal paper, but to his surprise, Garasu had delved deeper into it.
As expected, there were likely subtopics like low-power appliances, overclocking power circuits, and the optimal circuit solutions, which could lead to several papers.
Realizing that his paper's origins had been figured out, Garasu's face turned slightly red.
"Mr. Natsume, you're now an idol for us mid-level researchers. With your breakthrough, you've opened up an entire field for us. We just need to explore some of the finer details for our graduation papers!"
Hearing this, Natsume was taken aback.
He had become an idol for mid-level researchers?
Thinking about it, it made sense. After all, most Pokémon research papers on general topics had already been published.
Natsume's breakthrough had created a massive gap.
He was working on a giant Rotom-powered mech, and the work involved was immense, especially in verifying theoretical experiments.
Could multiple Rotom work together to control a giant mech? Would normal materials change in properties when fused with Rotom?
Which Rotom fusion model would be the most efficient?
How should the electrical circuits be optimized in this collaborative state?
One big direction could be subdivided into countless smaller ones, and these smaller topics could keep branching into even finer details, just like Garasu's proposed topic: "Optimal Circuit Solutions for Plasmaization in Rotom-Fusion Electrical Devices."
Natsume estimated he could create over a thousand research topics.
If he did it all himself, he'd be exhausted!
"Mr. Natsume?"
Seeing Natsume silent, Garasu's excitement faded. He suddenly realized that in a way, he had been plagiarizing Natsume's ideas, which made him blush a little.
"Your idea is great. In fact, you can use Pokémon that can precisely control the intensity of electricity instead of Rotom," Natsume said, finally snapping back to attention and patiently explaining to Garasu.
He realized today that there were so many mid-level researchers across the region, and perhaps they were all just lacking insight like Garasu. They didn't have the direction for their research.
They couldn't find those directions themselves, but Natsume, as the pioneer, could. He could point them in the right direction.
Natsume decided he would have to hold a symposium... No, he was going to start a school. He was going to be the principal!