blueteamnovel Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Turns out, Professor Oak did forget his promise with Nina. It took a while before Nina gathered up the courage to ask Bill about it. In part, because she did not want to be a nuisance, and also because she wanted to give the old man the benefit of the doubt.
In the end, the younger Professor just laughed at Nina’s anxieties and sent a casual email over to his senior as a reminder.
“My apologies Nina,” began the regretful Professor. “I got too preoccupied with other matters, and well… my memory isn’t what it used to be.”
Nina was currently in the school’s meeting room facing a laptop with Professor Oak on the other end of a video call. She had released Tini and Espy to keep her company, with Ms Roxy seated from across her to monitor the proceedings, not that the latter was strictly necessary.
“No worries, Professor, I understand that you’re a busy man. I’m just glad that you remembered me at all.”
Oak chuckled. “Of course I remember you, my dear. You wrote quite a memorable essay.”
Nina blushed, not expecting her shoddy writing to be brought up so suddenly. “You’re being too kind, Professor. I’m sure you’ve probably seen better work in your day. And speaking of, I just reread ‘The World of Pokemon’ in anticipation of today and it truly is a timeless classic.
“I wanted to ask — do you still stand by what you wrote about Pokemon battles being the purest expression of a bond between trainer and Pokemon?” She added, in a clumsy attempt to change the subject.
Professor Oak gave the girl a wry smile as he lightly shook his head. “No, as a matter of fact, I do not. We lived in a very different time back then, an age of great violence and bloodshed. That was merely my immature attempt to divert the people's ire to less destructive means of competition, by glorifying battles as a sport and denigrating the taking of lives as savagery.”
The Professor carried on to say that there were much more peaceful means of showcasing the bonds between man and mon these days. “Mega Evolution is actually a great example of this. Without a strong bond between a trainer and their Pokemon, the phenomenon is simply impossible to achieve.”
“I’ve always wondered actually. Why is there a need for a Pokemon to link with a human to achieve Mega Evolution?” Nina asked, grateful that the Professor had so elegantly brought their conversation back on track.
“Ah, a very good question,” said Oak. “Previously you had speculated about the link between Mega and Alpha Pokemon. Now, the biggest difference between the two phenomena is that one is temporary while the other is permanent.”
The Professor explained that the temporary boost provided by Mega Evolution carries an immense mental strain on the Pokemon involved, hence why a failed Mega Evolution, more often than not, will result in said Pokemon going berserk.
“The link between a Mega Stone and their corresponding Key Stone helps to share that burden. But of course, that’s an oversimplification. In truth, we’ve found that there’s more to the connection than simply a mental one. The Mega Evolution process also deeply entwines the very being of the two parties involved.”
Nina tilted her head in confusion. “Do you mean it also connects a trainer and a Pokemon’s soul?”
Oak laughed out in amusement at the question. “The soul eh? I suppose that is one way of putting it. Souls are very abstract concepts after all, we know it exists but have no way of proving it. To be more specific, Mega Evolution also connects the aura and life force of trainer and Pokemon. To what extent? We do not know. Even Professor Sycamore who is the foremost expert of the field is still diligently conducting studies to unravel such mysteries.”
At this point, Nina chimed in with her own thoughts. “So that is to say, because the process of a Pokemon becoming an Alpha occurs gradually and over a much longer period of time, they can achieve empowerment wholly through their own means.
“But then what makes an Alpha Pokemon? Are there specific standards that need to be met to apply that label?” She asked.
Nina came to the realization that the games were never too specific outside of labeling Alphas as abnormally large Pokemon. Even the scientists of this world seemed to use fairly abstract means of identifying Alphas, mainly relying on the ‘feeling’ that a Pokemon gives off, or their aura.
“Another good question,” praised Oak. “I have a feeling that you’ll make an excellent re
Nina did not know what her teacher was thinking about, but she could recognise the face of regret when she saw one. “You know Miss Roxy, it’s never too late to go on a journey. A stagnant pool needs to be churned to enable life. Don’t just let yourself rot away in discontent.”
Journeys were integral to the culture here in the Pokemon world, and it truly is never too late to go on one, despite the common starting point being in a person’s teenage years. In fact, a lot of the current reigning champions did not achieve any sort of greatness until their twenties, which meant they had been journeying all the while.
It’s also fairly common for a person undergoing a midlife crisis to just abandon everything and go on a journey of self discovery. Pokemon society was pretty accommodating of this fact and it wouldn’t be odd for these journeymen to be welcomed back into their old jobs with open arms upon their return. Something that would be unthinkable in Nina’s old world.
Roxy held Nina’s gaze, sensing the girl’s sincere concern lurking underneath. Then smiled wryly to herself. “Oh Roxy… To think the day would come where you need to be comforted by a child. What a failure of an adult you are.” She mused.
“Thank you for the encouragement, Nina,” said the teacher. “You’re right, maybe I should venture out again one day. But for now, I’d like to put off any thoughts of journeying until you come of age. Someone has to keep you out of trouble after all.” She chuckled.
Nina beamed a bright smile at her teacher. “Yeap! Please don’t leave me yet, cause I won’t know what to do without your guidance, Miss Roxy.”
And with that, Nina and Roxy eventually left the restaurant feeling like they had developed a deeper bond with each other. One that goes beyond their status as teacher and student.