Chapter 101

"So another new project huh?" asked Professor Oak, looking at Alex who had just walked in and asked him to start a new project.

"Yes Professor. This time I want to study the random stat variation in Pokemon of the same species" said Alex.

"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Professor Oak.

"I want Alakazam's help to talk to the Pidgeot who is currently in the northwestern part of Pallet Town. Every year, they stop for 2 months here while migrating, waiting for the Pidgey eggs which just hatched to learn flying. I want to offer the flock food and shelter for the two months they stay here if they help us with the research" said Alex.

"What are the other requirements for this?" asked the Professor.

"I want food for Pidgey and its evolution, doesn't have to be the best, just has to taste the best. I would also like some data measurement machines. A lot of berries too are required, to test a theory of mine. And the time may be between half a year to one year" said Alex.

"I am surprised that you would be willing to spend half a year on research. Your Charmeleon may be still at a bottleneck, but it along with Magneton and Lapras are still in the rapidly growing stage. I thought you would spend some time on them to get them to the Elite stage. Not to mention your Happiny. You need to spend more time with it, considering it's still a baby Pokemon" said the Professor.

Charmeleon was still at level 39. This bottleneck was more difficult to cross, and Charmeleon was stuck in it for a little over two months. Magnemite was level 46. It had improved 2 levels in 2 months. It only makes to get past the bottleneck because he evolved it when it was stuck. The energy from the evolution propelled it past its bottleneck. But sadly, Charmeleon's training was insufficient to evolve it. Lapras was level 36, having increased by 5 levels in two months.

Happiny, given by the Nurse Joy Academy 2 months ago, and hatched a month after, was at level 9, the peak of the Baby stage. Other than the regular moves it learned by level up, it knew both Gravity and Aromatherapy. As it was still in the Baby stage, Alex allowed it to play around while bonding with it. Even in the future, he never meant for it to be used as a battle force. Happiny, or Chansey, or Blissey's use was for healing, support, and by the use of Gravity, training. It was never meant to be used in battle.

The first few months after a Pokemon was born was the best time to bond with it. Charmeleon and Lapras were inseparable from Alex because of the time he spent with them when they just hatched.

"It's not a problem Professor. I will take it with me when I am doing this research. It is not heavy. Also, Charmeleon is improving a lot by being with the Charizard colony. Instead of forcing it to break the bottleneck, maybe giving some time for that to naturally happen would be better for it. Magneton is slowly improving, and mastering its moves. I am not concerned about it. Lapras is also not a concern. I have been focusing on training it for the past two months, and it's now time for it to relax with its buddies. Plus, I will occasionally check on them in between my research" said Alex.

"I won't tell you how to train your Pokemon. If you believe that it is fine, I shall agree with you. Now tell me a bit about this year long research project you are planning" said Professor Oak.

"Well you see Professor, it is a well known fact that some Pokemon will have stats that are randomly either better than the average for their species at their level, or a little worse. I believe it is not random. A Pokemon, if it has a stat better than the average, should have one worse. Of course, this is just an educated guess at this point. Hence, I want to research a large number of Pidgey from the flock near Pallet Town. Among the thousands in that flock, there are hundreds in the first bottleneck at the Noice stage. I would like to test them on all their stats, and find any pattern regarding the seemingly random increase or decrease in stats. Afterwards, I will try to find a way to detect what stat is increased and what is decreased by some metric, and attempt to enable others to do the same" said Alex.

"So your ultimate goal is to let people determine what stat their Pokemon has more than the average of their species, and what stat it has less. This so that they can make its training targeted towards its advantage or deficiency effectively?" asked Professor Oak.

"Sure. It can be said like that" said Alex.

"This will be a big deal if successful. But I don't see any way to profit off this" said Professor Oak.

"The money I have is enough for now Professor, not to mention that I have a stake in the Oak Corall. Now, I am researching this Project to increase the fame of Researcher Burns and promote the reputation of the company I have stocks in" said Alex.

"Very well!" said Professor Oak. "You convinced me. This will be a big deal if you find results. I would have worked with you, but I have some other issues to deal with. So I will send Alakazam to not only negotiate the deal, but also as its enforcer. I will have some black silhouette appear near the research area, to convince the sneaky peepers that your 'father' is the researcher and you are just helping out. I also approve the expenses for all the food and berries you requested. I wish you the best in this endeavour!"