After eating breakfast, doing the daily rounds around his ranch, and letting all the pokemon know a guest was arriving soon, Ethan stood at the entrance to his home as he fiddled with his clothing, wanting to make a good first impression.

  “? Chaa-tooot? ?”

  Looking to his left shoulder, Ethan took in the curious expression from Chatot. “I’m just nervous. This meeting is a big deal and can make or break my future as a breeder. I’m also going an unorthodox route much different from the others, and I want to show that I am taking this seriously.”

  Chatot wrapped a wing around his head, giving him a gentle hug as she spoke. “Ethan okay.”

  He sighed as he heard his own voice parroted back to him. “I know.”

  Not thirty seconds ter, Chatot swiveled her head forward and patted Ethan’s shoulder with one of her talons, grabbing his attention as she pointed ahead with her beak. Coming up from the extremely rough trial was the man he’d been waiting for.

  The man was thin and nky, causing his white b coat to fp in the wind. Beneath his b coat, the man wore a casual blue colred shirt, zily half tucked into his off-green pants. He carried a small suitcase, which Ethan assumed was some magical Silph CO bag, and had a pair of thin framed gsses resting on his nose. He looked to be in his early forties, and his receding hairline did not help with that guess.

  The man, upon noticing Ethan and Chatot, visibly rexed as he fshed a big smile and waved energetically, appearing spry and healthy. “You weren’t kidding when you said you were out of the way and secluded! Ethan, I presume?” He said as he came across the threshold and onto his ranch with a hand extended.

  Ethan walked forward and shook the man’s proffered hand. “I’m surprised you got here so quickly, to be fair. Welcome to Berry Falls Ranch, Professor Elm.”

  “? Chaa-tooot! Hello! ?” Chatot greeted from his shoulder as she quizzically inspected the professor from head to toe. She was interested in the man who had him worried.

  Elm gazed around the entrance to his ranch, taking in the camp for trainers, the training grounds, and the long row of berry trees. A surge of pride filled Ethan’s chest as he noticed the approval in the professor's eyes.

  Professor Elm cpped, an awkward motion as he was carrying a briefcase. “Now! Where are these Oddish? I’ve been waiting far too long to begin my research!” Elm procimed jovially as he scanned around the ranch, adjusting his gsses as he did so.

  Ethan ughed as he tilted to look back down the path. “They’re off in the meadow on the other end. Weren’t you supposed to have some aides?”

  The professor waved off his concerns as he looked ready to just plow ahead to begin his work. “Bah! They were too slow! I rushed ahead once I knew I was close. By the way, have you seen my Furret around?”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, a long fluffy Ferret—No, a Furret bounded out of the forest and quickly sprinted towards the professor, creating a mirage as its brown and tan fur blurred together. It jumped and wrapped itself around its trainer, covering his face and shoving his gsses, causing them to tilt and nearly fall off the professor’s face. “Furrrrrr!”

  Ethan knew of Furrets, but seeing one in real life differed from what he’d imagined. First off, they were much bigger than he thought they’d be. The Professor’s Furret had to be six feet long from head to tail, and it looked very fluffy. It obviously had very long hair that hid its slender body, judging by the plomp given by the professor’s hand when he ran it all over the pokemon. The silky strands of fur fttened down at his touch as he tried to pry the ‘long-boi’ free.

  “Nevermind! He found me. Furret, behave yourself! We are guests here!” Elm mockingly scolded, unable to hide his smile as the fluffy pokemon buried his head into his trainer.

  “Oh, it’s fine. I got some rabble rousers as well. Furret, don't be afraid to grab some berries from the fields. If that’s alright with you, professor?”

  “? Chaa-tooot! ?” Chatot fluttered off Ethan’s shoulder, gliding off towards the fields in question. Furret, without waiting for permission, slithered off the professor with a shocking amount of grace and dexterity, then quickly barreled past, off toward the treats. It was shockingly nimble, betraying its rger size.

  The professor adjusted his gsses as he was free from his hairy prison. “Well, that’s one way to do introductions. Although, I must say, your berry fields are enormous. How many rows are there past this one? There must be hundreds of trees!”

  “That’s right. I think there’s slightly less than two-hundred in total, with an array of different types. It took a while for the first ones to grow, but once it all got started, it sped up quickly. Anyway, should we wait for your assistants?” Ethan asked, trying to get everything back on track but still nervous about meeting the famed professor known for breeding.

  “Oh! The Oddish! No, let’s get going. They can find their way over, I’m sure.”

  As Ethan led the professor down the cobbled path, he did a small tour of everything he owned. He even pointed out the various pokemon who often came by to partake of his berries—Which were mostly Starly and the occasional Wurmple or Caterpie. The rows of his trees as they were now in full view, Shuckle’s den, and his home.

  As they passed his home, Ethan had to hold out an arm to alert the professor of the Oddish in front of him. The Professor didn’t look surprised at being stopped, but did scan around with a more discerning eye—He still missed the Oddish who were less than a meter away from him, though. “Professor, look down.” Ethan said.

  When the professor finally saw the Oddish, he excimed. “OH MY ARCEUS! THESE BABIES ARE ENORMOUS! ALPHAS?!”

  Ethan winced at the loud noise and noticed the peeking eye of an angry Oddish being awoken. “No, professor. These are the normal Oddish who live on my ranch. The seedlings are off in the meadow over there. Gloom, their parent, should be waiting for us. Try to keep your voice down… these Oddish are sleeping.”

  Elm nodded along as he listened, then wiped his brow as he calmed down. He fully faced the Oddish and bowed at a ninety-degree angle. “Sorry, Oddish.”

  As he turned to follow Ethan out into the Meadow, he looked relieved. “I thought you had some super saplings… My heart nearly exploded.”

  Ethan patted the professor’s shoulder as he spotted Munchx exiting the berry fields, rubbing his belly with contentment. They both locked eyes, and Munchx froze in pce, guilt marring his face. Ethan narrowed his eyes, pointed at him, then crooked his finger in the universal, nguage barrier gesture of ‘Get over here. You’re in trouble.’ “One second, professor…. Munchx!”

  With a jolt, Munchx unfroze. Ever so slowly, he waddled over towards Ethan and the professor, rubbing his hands together guiltily as he did so. Ethan pced his hands on his hips and tried to give his ‘disappointed’ face a try. It worked, causing Munchx to kick at the ground, unwilling to meet his eyes.

  “Munchx… We talked about this. You ate breakfast less than two hours ago.” Ethan said calmly, but with disappointment leaking through his tone.

  “Munch….” Munchx nodded, still guilty about sneaking berries when he knew he wasn’t supposed to.

  “How many did you eat?” He asked, sternly.

  Munchx held up his hands, cupping them together, then made an imaginary line rounding off the top of his makeshift bowl. It was… a lot—probably half his size.

  Ethan sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Thank you for not lying to me. I’ll take that portion away from your lunch to keep you on track. As punishment, go wait for the humans near the entrance and lead them to the meadow when they arrive. Okay?”

  Munchx nodded, ran up and hugged Ethan’s leg, then sprinted off toward the entrance to his ranch. It wasn’t much of a punishment, all things considered. Munchx would have done that if Ethan had asked anyway. He’d gotten away with less than a sp on the wrist.

  “I don't envy you," the professor remarked as he came to stand next to Ethan, his tone losing some of its joviality. “Munchx are hard to take care of. Do you often have troubles with his dietary intake? “

  It was a little embarrassing to have this happen in front of the professor, but embarrassment wouldn’t keep Ethan from making sure the pokemon on his ranch ended up healthy. “No. Rarely. If he sneaks a handful, I usually look the other way. I just adjust his meals accordingly. He’s a good pokemon, he just gives into his desires once in a while.”

  The professor nodded as he watched Munchx run down the path. “He looks healthy. So, you’re doing a good job raising him. You’re a good trainer for him, I can tell.”

  Ethan sighed, disliking the need to have a stern talk with Munchx like that. “He’s still wild. He just lives here… Maybe I should catch him…”

  “Wait… That Munchx is wild? And he listened to you like that?”

  Ethan looked at the professor, seeing his shocked and disbelieving face, gaping mouth hanging open. The professional tone had faded away in an instant. “Uh, yes. There’s a lot of wild pokemon here. The Oddish and Gloom are wild as well.”

  “THOSE ODDISH WERE WILD?!” The professor reeled back as he yelled, and Ethan was beginning to worry if he was going to have some sort of aneurysm.

  “Yes… Those Oddish were wild.” Ethan said slowly and awkwardly, testing if that was the correct response.

  The professor adjusted his gsses with a shaky hand as he gazed into Ethan’s eyes with desperate interest. “The… The Chatot…?”

  “Oh, she’s my pokemon.” Ethan easily stated..

  “Oh, thank Arceus…” The professor held his hand over his heart as he took a deep breath.

  Ethan awkwardly stood there, unsure about what to do or say. Was it that surprising that wild pokemon lived with him? He didn’t think so, but maybe his view was more than a little skewed. Thankfully, someone saved him from the need to come up with something to say. Gloom waddled up through the tall grass and released a rge puff of Sweet Scent, the pink plume of sickeningly sweet smelling powder billowing away with the breeze. “Gloooooooooooooom.”

  “Hey, Gloom. This is Professor Elm, the man I was talking about. He’s here to check up on your kids. You can trust him.” Ethan said as he wafted the pink particles away.

  Gloom looked the professor up and down, then nodded once. “Gloooom.”

  “Professor, this is the Gloom who sprayed the seeds… I’m not sure if that makes it the mom or dad…” He trailed off, having never thought about Gloom’s gender before now.

  The professor nodded, completely understanding the situation. “This Gloom is a male, you can tell by the size of the bulbed leaves atop his head. The Oddish line can reproduce both asexually and sexually. During an asexual birthing, the offspring will essentially be mini-clones of the parent. This is only done during non-egg births. When they breed sexually, it’s just like any other pokemon. A Male and Female in the Grass egg group make an egg.”

  Ethan took in the information, then asked a question. “So… Like a pnt?”

  The professor wagged his hand side to side. “Specific types of pnts. It’s not like those that need Bug type pokemon to pollinate. It’s the other kind.”

  As all of that went over Ethan’s head, he decided to move along. “Anyways… Gloom, why don’t you show the good professor where your kids are?”

  Gloom waddled forward then grabbed the hem of Elm’s off-green pants then dragged him along. It took a minute of walking through the tall grass, but they eventually reached the staging ground for the seed-explosion. As soon as the professor id eyes upon a seedling, he flipped open his briefcase, which was of the Silph Co. magic variety, and withdrew a small tablet with two long antennas attached to the front. After leaning over to peer down at the tablet in the crouched professor’s hands, Ethan was lost. Graphs, numbers, and fshes of data zoomed across at inhuman speeds.

  “Oh?! Interesting…” Elm murmured, seemingly able to parse whatever super-collegiate information was passing by in the blink of an eye.

  After a solid five minutes of rambling, Elm suddenly stood up and nodded once to himself in satisfaction. “Fascinating! This is the first time I’ve been able to get data on growing Oddish saplings. From what I can tell from these beginning readings, they appear extremely healthy. No stressed birth… I dare say that they’re the healthiest Oddish saplings ever recorded!”

  Gloom smiled widely, a bit of drool-like nectar dropping from the corners of his mouth and drenching the sapling beneath him.

  “OOOOOOH!? Is this how you take care of them?” Professor leaned in for answers, very close to the wild Gloom.

  *PUFF*

  He received a face full of Sweet-Scent as a reward.