Chapter 037

Alex walked along the route he remembered right up to the aroma section, and followed the sign to the ranch.

As soon as he stepped out of the building, he felt energized for some reason. The field seemed to be teeming with vitality. He saw a worker clearing raking some leaves on the side and asked him, "Excuse me! Could you please tell me where the others having a tour of the ranch are?"

The man pointed at a direction, after which Alex thanked him and walked towards the direction he was pointed in.

He suddenly saw heard a rustling sound in the trees above him. He looked up, and saw a Poliwag leaping down from the tree into his arms.

"How did the Poliwag get up the tree?" thought Alex. He observed the Poliwag's stats.

Poliwag

Gender - Male

Lvl - 7

Type - Water

Held item - None

Ability - Swift Swim

Moves - Water Sprout, Water Gun

Nature - Timid

Training - 2%

Potential - Yellow

"This Poliwag has Swift Swim, its line's hidden ability according to my previous life's knowledge. Here, it's just a rare ability. It seemed to have begun training, but then stopped. Probably the trainer who encountered it during a heavy rain caught it thinking it was special because of how fast it was for its level. After learning the real reason, however, he may have just left it here in the Corall. Did a bully Pokemon put it up a tree or something?" wondered Alex.

Suddenly, Alex felt a strange sensation. It felt like he was being watched intently. And somehow, he could feel that gaze, clearly.

He turned around to look at the direction the gaze was coming from, and then immediately turned back. But not before he caught the yellow fox-like face.

"Alakazam!" thought Alex in panic. "Did the Professor find something weird and decide to search my mind? Or will I be put under a psychic suggestion that makes me eternally loyal to Professor Oak?" wondered Alex, recalling all the different scenarios in the wuxia novels he had previously read.

He slowly and subtly tried to turn his head to sneak a look at the Alakazam. He saw it with its eyes closed and sitting very still, like it was sleeping or meditating. He then warily pulled up its stats

Alakazam

Gender - Male

Lvl - 89

Type - Psychic

Held item - Unable to determine

Ability - Unable to determine

Moves - Unable to determine

Nature - Unable to determine

Training - N/A

Potential - Unable to determine

Alex stilled. This was the first time he saw 'unable to determine' as using his cheat.

"The highest Pokemon I recall seeing is Roger's Vileplume, at level 49. Is my cheat unable to scan any level higher than that maybe?" he wondered.

He tried hard to ignore the feeling of being stared at, and decided to walk away from the line of sight of this Alakazam, but he found out that he couldn't control his legs.

Again, the various scenarios he remembered from the wuxia stories started flashing through his mind.

Then the creepy feeling of being watched suddenly intensified, and it felt like the line of sight was becoming a tentacle that was stirring his brains. Alex felt like he was about to faint, but the feeling abruptly stopped. The Poliwag jumped out of his arms and ran towards a stream on the side.

Alex looked at Alakazam suspiciously. This should be one of Professor Oak's champion Pokemon. Why was it here, in the outer parts of the lab? Did it come to have a look at him? Did it come of its own accord or was it instructed by Professor Oak? Regardless, he decided to pretend like this never happened.

He quickly rushed forward, until he was out of sight of the Alakazam.

"It can't be an idea of a practical joke by this Alakazam can it?" he wondered aloud as he was walking forward.

He soon came across the 13 other children of this batch led by a researcher.

"Hey, Alex! You missed the tour. We saw some cool stuff inside the laboratory and we roamed most of the ranch. There are so many amazing Pokemon here. And, I met the Crobat I captured! It seemed to be listening to me! The researcher said I would have to talk to Professor Oak, and he would decide if it was safe for me to take Crobat with me" said Joseph.

Alex nodded and said, "Well best of luck! I hope it goes smoothly!"

"Alright! Let us break for lunch now" announced the researcher leading the group.

All the children followed him back to the guest room.

"Hey, Alex! Tomorrow, after getting our Pokemon, shall we travel together?" asked Joseph.

Alex shook his head. Joseph looked kind of disappointed.

Alex said, "It's not because I don't want to. It's just that I won't be starting an adventure tomorrow."

"I accepted a job as a research fellow at Oak Corall, and will be staying here in Pallet Town" said Alex.