Chapter 38: A Teacher for a Day, a Father for a Lifetime

The trio headed toward the Sakuragi Institute. The journey was not particularly short, requiring a few dozen minutes of walking. Feeling bored, Ash couldn't resist the urge to take out his Pokédex again.

"By the way, I’m at the 2H level now. How do I upgrade to 10H?" Ash pondered for a moment, then declared loudly, "I can take on ten Team Rocket grunts!" It sounded significantly more prestigious than "I can take on two Team Rocket grunts."

"Beep. 10H Trainer requirements: Catch 12 Pokémon, obtain 8 badges," the Pokédex replied promptly.

"Eight badges, huh..." Ash frowned. He only had three badges so far; the road ahead was long. However, he had already caught seven Pokémon, so that side of the requirement seemed likely to be reached faster. Perhaps visiting the Sakuragi Institute would lead to gaining an extra new Pokémon? As everyone knew, research institutes were prime places for "freebies."

Bored on the road, the three curiously checked the Pokédex interface for unlocked achievements. It still showed three: [The Method Actor], [Food Chain], and [Long-lived Bond]. At the very top was [Pokémon King]. According to the system, once all the achievements below were unlocked, he would become the so-called "Pokémon King." Damn it, he wanted to be a Pokémon Master!

Perhaps because Ash’s level had reached the 2H realm, several new achievement prompts appeared below.

[Renaissance] achievement: Obtain a Fossil Pokémon.
[The Laying Rooster] achievement: Obtain a Pokémon egg and successfully hatch it.
[Great Yin-Yang Master] achievement: Catch a Machamp (specified gender: female), catch a Gardevoir (specified gender: male), catch...

There were a few more names he had never heard of, all sounding quite cryptic.

"They all sound like a hassle..." Brock’s eyes narrowed deeply. Misty leaned in for a closer look. While the Pokédex provided several achievement entries, there were almost none that could be completed in the short term.

"It seems there’s only this last one," she said, scrolling to the end. Ash quickly fixed his eyes on it.

[A Teacher for a Day, a Father for a Lifetime (Level 1)]: Teach a novice how to correctly capture a Pokémon.

"Teach a novice how to capture a Pokémon?" Ash pondered, his brow furrowing. He had been a clueless novice himself just a few weeks ago. But now, he was at least a man with seven Pokémon—though, if he excluded non-combat captures, that only left his HM slave bird and Bulbasaur... No problem, he knew how to catch things.

"That’s it! I’ll go to the Sakuragi Institute, and while I’m at it, I’ll see if there’s any novice I can teach. I’m going to fulfill the 'Teacher for a Day' requirement!" Ash gestured grandly, leading Brock and Misty toward their destination.

***

The Sakuragi Institute was located on the outskirts of Vermilion City, with moderate property values. The front featured a chic little villa that served as the main building for daily operations and receiving guests. Behind the villa lay a vast artificial park designed for the institute’s Pokémon to rest and live. While the size couldn't compare to Professor Oak’s backyard in Pallet Town—which, being in the countryside, was vast enough to house hundreds of Pokémon without feeling crowded—it was still respectable.

The gate was open, and the three walked in without hesitation, arriving at a room resembling a public lounge. They had already made arrangements in advance.

Three people were sitting in the hall, all wearing white lab coats and looking like scholars. The leader was a middle-aged man with brownish hair and a square face, looking very kind and approachable. This was the person they were there to meet: the head of the institute, Professor Sakuragi.

It was said that in his early years, he was half a student of Professor Oak, and his academic research had been highly acclaimed by the older professor. In autumn, Professor Oak often set up a grill in his backyard with Bill to eat plump Kanto crabs; in summer, he was more likely to be found with Professor Sakuragi in the backyard eating meaty Hoenn lobsters—after all, they both turned red when cooked. They were old dining companions.

"Finally, you’ve arrived! Let me introduce my two assistants, Pokémon researchers Kikuna and Renji. I am Professor Sakuragi, I suppose you could call me a fan of Professor Oak and half of a disciple," Professor Sakuragi said with a smile, extending his hand.

Ash didn't dare to be negligent and quickly reached out to shake it. "I’m Ash, and I’m currently traveling with my Pikachu to become a Pokémon Master."

"I’m Brock, a Pewter Gym Leader."

"I’m Misty, a Cerulean Gym Leader."

After the introductions, the gentle woman with long blue hair, Kikuna, and the messy-haired, bespectacled science nerd, Renji, approached with curiosity. According to Professor Oak, the visitors were the most outstanding trainers from their village. But looking at them now... they just looked like novice trainers, didn't they? However, Professor Oak was a remarkable figure and wouldn't make baseless claims.

"Haha, Professor Oak has been praising you to me. May I ask how long you’ve been a trainer, Ash?" Sakuragi asked tentatively.

"Three weeks..." Ash replied instinctively, but quickly added, "Three years. Today is exactly three years, haha." He realized he was representing the face of Pallet Town, so he hastily made up some tall tales to bolster his experience. Three weeks is almost a month, a month is almost half a year, half a year is not much different from a year, and a year is not much different from three years... Therefore, 3 weeks equals 3 years; it was logically sound. After all, ability was what mattered most!

Professor Sakuragi didn't doubt him—Professor Oak wouldn't lie to him—and smiled slowly. "Three years? You look very young..." Did people in Pallet Town start training three years early? Or did this boy just never grow up? He’d love to see if he still looked this young in twenty years.

***

After the pleasantries, they got down to business.

"As I mentioned on the phone, a wild Pokémon that we can't identify seems to have been living in the institute. It likes to cause trouble daily, but it’s nothing serious," Professor Sakuragi scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "Perhaps it’s just lonely and wants to attract attention. I actually quite like that feeling."

"But the Sakuragi Institute is about to open to the public... This is a port city with a lot of foot traffic. We don't mind, as we’re used to it, but the guests might not like this environment. Offending them would be troublesome. Plus, there’s that ridiculous news media in Vermilion City. Once they catch wind of anything unusual, they’ll blow it out of proportion, and that would be a huge problem..."

After all, they had to make a living, and the institute couldn't go bankrupt over such a trivial matter. Ash and his friends nodded solemnly. Having arrived less than a day ago, they had already deeply experienced the terrifying nature of the Vermilion City media.

"So, our task is to ferret out this Pokémon, right? I understand," Ash said, his expression brightening. Rephrased, this meant he had to catch this troublemaker. A massive win.

"Then I’ll leave it to you... The three of us have to go out for a while, so I’ll leave everything here in your hands, Ash," Professor Sakuragi said with a helpless smile, patting Ash on the shoulder. They were researchers, not combatants, so they had to awkwardly rely on outsiders. "Of course, we won't let you work for free. If you can solve this paranormal incident, I’ll give you three tickets for the S.S. Anne cruise departing the day after tomorrow."

Professor Sakuragi added this before leaving. The trio’s eyes lit up—this was exactly what they were waiting for!

***

Shortly after, the three researchers left. The large Sakuragi Institute was left to Ash and his friends. They began formulating a strategy to lure out the troublemaking Pokémon.

"If a novice appeared right now, I could catch the troublemaker and complete the Pokédex achievement at the same time..." Ash sighed.

No sooner had he said that than a voice came from the gate. "Hey, hey, hey! Is Koharu here? I’m here to play!"

The voice sounded quite young. When the visitor walked through the door, the trio stared. It was a young boy with short black hair and a few unruly curls, his skin so dark it could rival Brock’s. Seeing the three of them, he looked completely bewildered. Judging by his age, he was about the same as Ash.

"Who are you guys...?"

"I’ll ask first: are you a trainer?" Ash’s eyes widened like copper bells as he cut in.

"Um, I can't receive a Pokémon until a year from now..." the dark-skinned boy replied instinctively.

Hearing this, Ash’s gaze became brighter than ever, his tone dropping low.

"I choose you! I’m going to be your dad... I mean, I’m going to teach you how to catch Pokémon!"