CH18 (382), First Project

I spent the rest of Grouday relaxing with my Pokemon and we held the party I promised them. I saw no reason to delay it any further since I had nothing important to do for the rest of the day anyway.

Well, except maybe crafting the dual-type ball I was planning to create for Toedscruel but I simply decided to push that to the period after dinner since that was the point I decided to stop the party.

Unfortunately, my evening crafting efforts did not produce the results I was hoping for. By the end of the 5-hour long crafting session I had managed to produce 7 successful ground and grass dual balls, but none of them ended up being C-Class like the Forest Ball he was currently linked to.

I was blaming the fact that this was the first time I was working on this particular combination since each type combination required a different approach, and even among the same type and/or type combinations, there could be a difference depending on what kind of environment/effect one was aiming for while crafting the ball.

In this case, I was deviating from the only "blueprint" example of a ground and grass ball I had in my ballcrafter knowledge pool. That one was based on Torterra, the hitherto only one with this particular typing.

Well, at least until I discovered Toedscruel, not sure if discovered was the right word due to my theory that there were a lot more of them out there somewhere. Regardless, that one was designed for Torterra, so I decided to tweak its blueprint a bit to adjust it to be closer to the ideal environment Utopia designed for Toedscruel.

I obviously could not replicate the thing anywhere close to the same level, but the closer I was, the better the ball would be for Toedscruel since the environments created by Utopia were basically the wet dream of any researcher and ecologist due to them representing the ideal habitat of any species they were created for.

Anyway, as I said I had to experiment a bit to recreate that feeling as much as possible and I was thankful that I had a basis to work with.

I started out by creating 60 blank balls, and then I began experimenting by adjusting, replacing, or adding pictograms, symbols, words, and/or letters while transcribing the ground/grass-type blueprint.

The ink I used in the process was also a freshly made one that used some willingly given blood from Toedscruel, some Mystic Water, ground Leaf Stones, Big Root juice, and some ground Ground Gems. Yeah, I was crushing money like it was going out of fashion.

Ballcrafting was an expensive occupation to learn and especially advance in. However, the potential gains were enough to offset that. Yet, I would advise anyone without sufficient financial support/backing from starting on the path.

If I had learned one thing during my time working on this, it was that each progress on this path was paved by countless failed tries, which meant wasted materials, which also meant wasted money.

Well, if one only focused on how to craft a single type of Pokeball instead of the whole assortment, then one could still stand to earn enough for a living as long as one did good work.

Actually, that was a good idea and could be something to offer the orphans as a career/job option. I had to remember that one for the future.

Anyway, out of the 60 blanks, only the last 10 ended up as viable balls, even if I was being careful using that word for the first three of the ten balls because they ended up being F-Class ones.

That meant that they were barely usable, or even functional by the way, at least according to ballcrafter standards. The next four were E-Class, and after that, I managed to produce a D-Class ball, before crafting another E-Class.

The last two also came out as D-Class balls, but I was reckoning that I would likely still need tens of crafting sessions before I manage to produce a single C-Class ball.

Not to mention doing so consistently, even if there is no real reason to do that since there were currently no Pokemon available that would require a batch of those.

Nonetheless, while I had failed to produce a C-Class ball, I did create 3 D-Class ones, so I chose the best one among them and showed it to Toedscruel to ask him for his opinion. Well, I did that after apologizing for calling him over at midnight.

He ended up deciding that the new ball, which I was now dubbing Toedscruel Ball, felt more comfortable than his current higher-grade Forest Ball, so I directly transferred him to the Toedscruel ball before accompanying him back to his habitat.

There I pulled out another Toedscruel Ball and proceeded to transfer the sleeping Toedscool to it. He slept through the process and I left after bidding farewell to Toedscruel and Vileplume, who had been waiting for Toedscruel to return.

Happy with the momentary success at crafting, I went to sleep while setting my biological as well as a digital alarm to 6:30 a.m. and I opened my eyes the moment the alarm began ringing. I went through my morning routine and left the room only 20 minutes later in the direction of the main lab.

It was only 7:00 a.m. when I arrived there, even after leisurely walking there while eating my breakfast/sandwich and drinking some chilled juice. Yet, I still had 30 minutes until the start of my actual shift.

The reason I came early was to talk with Professor Oak about Toedscruel and Toedscool, as well as my suggestion to start a research project that focused on them.

A quick talk with Lidya, the receptionist, confirmed that the professor was in his office and after some polite remarks she phoned him on my behalf to ask if I could go over for an impromptu stop.

Thankfully she told me that I could go ahead since the professor had agreed to see me, and I thanked her for her help, even if she just did her job. I gave her a bottle of chilled oran/orange juice before I made my way to the office.

Once I arrived in front of the office, I took a deep breath before I knocked on the door, and entered after being called inside.

"Good morning Professor," I greeted Professor Oak and he smiled at me.

"Good morning my boy," he returned kindly before he put on a curious look.

"What can I do for you this fine morning? If it is about your assignment, James was supposed to tell you which project you have been assigned to. Though I guess I can do that as well since you are already here," he said with a genial smile while slightly shrugging at the last bit.

It was always impressive how approachable and amiable the professor was despite his venerated standing/reputation. He gave one a reassuring feeling and the wish to reciprocate his kindness. It was no wonder that he had such a stellar reputation.

"I'm not here about my assignment," I denied before amending it a bit, "even if the subject will probably influence my assignment." I saw his curiosity grow at my proclamation, so I began my explanation.

"Professor, I'm sure you've heard the rumors going around the lab regarding sightings of a peculiar Tentacruel being seen in the area around Fuchsia City," I began and he nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, I have heard the rumors," he confirmed, "and like many others, I believe that there is a high probability that the Pokemon in question is a variant if the rumors are true."

"Well, I decided to use the second part of my vacation to investigate those rumors," I admitted and he looked happy at my researcher's spirit, at least that was the impression I got.

"I spent two weeks exploring the area between Fuchsia City and Rose City, trying to track down the suspected Tentacruel variant by investigating any bodies of water as well as their surroundings in that particular area for their presence or any traces they could have left behind," I shared while thinking back on the 11 or so days I spent doing that without any results.

"That seems like a reasonable approach considering the species you were looking for, even if the Pokemon in question is suspected to be a variant," he affirmed looking proud at the method I used.

"Yes, I thought so as well, but I failed to find the target even after checking all the water bodies in the area," I resumed while shaking my head in disappointment.

The professor looked even more curious at my admission, and I did not keep him waiting.

"On the contrary, I ended up finding my target in a medium-sized forest with no real water body close by. Moreover, it ended up being so much more than just a Tentacruel variant," I declared and he looked at me with anticipation as well as expectation at my declaration.

The professor no doubt noticed what I was implying with my words, but he did not interrupt me and chose to wait for me to continue instead.

"Professor I ended up finding a Pokemon that, even though it resembles Tentacruel, is actually a whole new species. Not only that, but there was even its pre-evolution present as well, and it also looks remarkably similar to Tentacool," I heard the professor take a deep breath when I said that and he might even have released a quiet gasp, at least I think I heard one, but he kept quiet and kept listening to my narration.

"The two were together with a group of the Oddish line. The target which I learned is called Toedscruel had at some point in its life gotten together with a Vileplume which had resulted in the Oddish, Gloom, as well as the Toedscool that made up their group.

I engaged Toedscruel as well as Vileplume in a conversation after a standoff and managed to persuade them into joining me. I had to promise him that I would take in the rest of his family as well, but I saw no problem with that," I revealed and the professor released a pleased laugh.

"Brilliant, you did an absolutely brilliant job," he praised me and I could not help but feel happy as well as proud at his acknowledgment as well as praise.

"Have you learned anything from this Toedscruel as you called him?" he inquired and I nodded.

"Yes, as I said, the Toedscool is the son of Toedscruel and Vileplume. I asked him about his origin, but he told me that he remembered hatching at the beach along the coast somewhere between Fuchsia City and Aero City.

However, due to the typing of the two, which are ground and grass, I do not believe him to be an egg that ended up being a mutation of a Tentacruel that happened to wash up on the beach.

I believe that the difference in typing is too much for a single variation not to mention that the type change could be considered a complete contrast of the original.

On the contrary, I think that his egg originated from some unexplored part of the world where more members of this species live and that his egg somehow ended up in the ocean before it washed up on the beach in Kanto.

Toedscruel does not show any of the signs I had read about in legends and transcription regarding any first members of a species, which aside from the stark contrast in their typing is another reason I think the idea of a whole tribe of the species being out there," I shared my conclusion and the things I learned from Toedscruel during the party yesterday.

Multiple legends stated that Mew approached the progenitor of a new species once it became mature and created a partner for him or her so that they could propagate. Besides, he did not have the mutant gene, but I could hardly use that as my argument, so I used the legends instead.

"Interesting, you've come to me with something truly interesting, my boy," he said sounding delighted. "Your assumptions do make sense," he gave me a nod.

"However, I can't say that they are true without some extensive research on the topic, even if I'm inclined to agree with you that such a stark change is unlikely to happen at once. Yet, it is not impossible," he said thoughtfully before turning serious.

"I guess the reason you mentioned this and your assignment is because you have plans regarding your Toedscruel," he asked and I nodded in agreement.

"I talked with both Toedscruel as well as Toedscool, and they have agreed on participating in a research project as long as the tests are not too invasive.

Since they are a hitherto unknown Pokemon species, their categorization, as well as documentation, is an outstanding research project and I would like to offer the chance to Oaks Lab while personally participating in the project as well," I professed and the professor beamed at my admission.

"No problem. I'm thankful that you have chosen our lab for this honor and I will ensure your participation in the research," he responded and I felt happy that my plan worked.

"I'll organize everything we need to start the research, in the meantime, you can go to the area assigned to your Pokemon and show it to Toedscruel. I'll try to join you there as soon as I can since I want to take a look at this new species with my own eyes," he told me and I followed his request/order.

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