Chapter 116. The Meaning of a Researcher
Natsume lifted his leg and looked at his pant cuff.
When Wartortle rammed into him just now, Natsume had wrapped his pants in telekinesis.
Unexpectedly, the cushioning worked very well, and he barely felt anything.
By contrast, Wartortle's forehead was red from the collision.
"Did your Wartortle just evolve?" Brock rubbed his chin, thoughtful.
"I heard some Pokémon become disobedient after evolving."
"Could it be… could it be that my Wartortle refuses to listen to me?" Gary pressed the Poké Ball to his chest, looking hurt.
"Uh, that's not what I meant." Brock waved both hands, trying to console him.
"Zzap~" A red light flashed.
Wartortle appeared again.
"Kaaah—" Looking at Gary, Wartortle rolled its eyes.
It stepped forward, cupped Gary's cheek that had been reddened by its tail, and gave it a kiss.
"Wartortle, I knew we're the number-one pair in the world!"
Gary, moved to tears, took the Pokémon Relationship-Promoting Poetry Recitation Compendium that Natsume handed him and prepared to wax lyrical.
"Smack!"
Gary's other cheek swelled up too.
The poetry compendium was blasted into a sloppy mess by Wartortle's Water Gun.
"Could it be…"
Gary cradled the Poké Ball, deep in thought, and Wartortle slipped back inside, unwilling to come out.
"Everyone, look—none of our Pokémon want to come out!" Misty's voice rang out.
Looking over, the open ground was already piled with Poké Balls.
The Diglett, unhurried, were balancing the Poké Balls one by one on their heads and returning them to their Trainers.
"Uh… thanks?"
The Trainers took the Poké Balls from the Digletts' heads, a little embarrassed.
Gary stood up, staring blankly at the scene before him.
"Here's a reminder: you can explain it from an ecological point of view."
Natsume's hand suddenly rested on Gary's shoulder.
Gary blinked, glanced at the unfinished dam, then at the field of Diglett.
"Everyone, listen to me!"
His voice rose.
The previously awkward Trainers, who had been staring at the sky with nothing to do, turned to Gary as if seeing a savior.
On the other side, Wister was trying to whack Diglett with a small hammer, failing and gasping for breath.
Seeing Gary speak up, he looked over too.
"In the world of Pokémon, Diglett are an indicator species akin to earthworms and play an important role in ecosystems."
"Since they're raising a cry, there must be a problem."
Saying this, Gary stretched out his hand and pointed to the dam behind him.
"Once that dam is completed, water will be impounded behind it, and countless Pokémon living here will lose their homes."
"That's why our Pokémon are unwilling to battle the Diglett."
"Tak!"
Gently, Natsume draped a lab coat over Gary's shoulders.
Gary turned his head, looking at Natsume in puzzlement.
"Keep it up. One day, the ecological restoration of Kanto will be in your hands, and a doctorate in ecology will surely have your name on it!"
Natsume gave Gary a thumbs-up.
Gary was even more dumbfounded.
He looked back and saw Ash and the others also giving him a thumbs-up.
Turning again, the Trainers present were all giving him a thumbs-up.
Don't go dumping heavy responsibilities onto his still-immature shoulders, you jerk!
…But this feels pretty great.
"But! I promised my father's colleagues I'd get them clean drinking water!"
Wister's voice rang out unwillingly.
At that moment, both Ash and Gary and the Trainers present fell silent.
They had all been invited by Wister and more or less knew why he was so set on building a dam here.
Both sides' intentions were good, but…
"See? There will always be conflicts between humans and Pokémon." Natsume patted Honora on the head.
"Then, Mr. Natsume, what should we do?" Honora looked up at him.
Last time, Natsume had said that resolving conflicts between humans and nature and between humans and Pokémon was one of the reasons researchers exist.
But Natsume hadn't said how to do it.
"Study. Study without end." Natsume spoke and walked forward.
With all eyes on him, Gary still wanted to say something, but his Adam's apple bobbed and he didn't know how to begin.
He suddenly realized this wasn't like confronting an evil organization, where you could simply divide black and white.
A voice sounded behind Gary.
"I'll take it from here."
The lab coat was lifted off his shoulders, and when he turned around, he saw it had been draped on Natsume.
Countless gazes gathered.
Natsume wouldn't say who was right or wrong.
That had no meaning—he was here to solve the problem.
Natsume's unhurried voice sounded.
"Diglett are lauded by League scholars as ecological indicator Pokémon, contributing incalculably across many types of ecosystems."
"Generally speaking, in areas with large Diglett populations, soil is stabilized, land is fertile, and groundwater reserves are abundant."
Everyone listened intently, and at this point Natsume paused.
The crowd blinked, then turned to look at Wister.
"You mean I don't need to build a reservoir at all, and can sink wells to draw groundwater?"
A hint of delight showed on Wister's face—he hadn't expected Natsume to have a way that satisfied both sides.
"In theory, absolutely."
"You can even negotiate with the Diglett, have them help dig out the well bottoms to save costs, and leave a few wells for the Pokémon here to use."
"Also, before that, bring in specialized researchers to calculate the sustainable limit of groundwater extraction for this ecosystem."
"Forget it—this is getting too complicated to explain."
"I'll write you a project plan."
With that, Natsume waved his hand.
"I'm deeply grateful, Mr. Natsume!" Wister bowed to him.
Natsume nodded slightly to Wister, returned to Honora's side, and looked at her little head.
"Understand now? The more knowledge you have, the more ways you'll have to solve problems."
"Mr. Natsume, I'll redouble my efforts!" Honora nodded solemnly.
Behind them, Gary looked at Natsume in the lab coat, lips slightly parted, dazed, not sure what he was thinking.
At dusk, everyone ate in the site cafeteria.
Wister came looking for Natsume.
"Mr. Natsume, a small token of thanks—please accept it."
Wister handed Natsume a black card printed with a Master Ball.
"Don't give it to me. Give it to him." Natsume pulled Gary over.
"Huh?" Gary was bewildered, the little sausage in his mouth forgotten.
Natsume's voice followed.
"In future, Gary is likely to be responsible for surveying and maintaining these well shafts."
"Hey, hey—don't go assigning big jobs to me on your own!"
Gary lowered his voice, but Natsume had already taken off the lab coat and draped it over him again.
Gary froze, fingers rubbing the cloth, lost in thought.
"In any case, thank you."
Wister stuffed the black card into Gary's hand and bowed to Natsume again.
That afternoon, he had brought in professional surveyors.
The groundwater reserves here were astonishing—about three times what he had projected for the reservoir.
"However, Mr. Natsume." Wister looked at him.
"It seems the Diglett population here is a bit too large."
He remembered that, during the afternoon survey, a researcher had mentioned it in passing.
"Too many Diglett? Then they're probably about to split off." Natsume ate his tea over rice, not even turning his head.
"Split off? What's that?" Ash and Gary both looked over.
"Honora." Natsume glanced at her.
She understood, immediately set down her bowl and chopsticks, and began to explain.
"Diglett are social Pokémon."
"When a population exceeds a certain threshold, a portion migrates to other places."
"In most cases, the migrating Diglett choose places where they can survive but where the ecosystem is relatively weak."
"In just a few years, those places will be bursting with life."
"Wow, they even go elsewhere to restore ecosystems."
"What amazing Pokémon!"
Misty couldn't help praising them.
Natsume slurped his tea over rice and, hearing this, nodded.
He thought of Zygarde—what it deals with are overwhelming ecological crises.
Diglett colonies, on the other hand, can maintain everyday stability.
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