Pokemon: The Scientist’s Rebirth

---Time Skip: 2 weeks---

The morning sun cast a golden glow through the windows of Professor Oak's office as Ethan approached the sturdy door, datapad in hand. Straightening his posture, he knocked confidently.

"Come in," called Oak's familiar voice.

Ethan entered the office, greeted by the warm, cluttered space filled with books, Poké Balls, and various scientific instruments. Oak sat behind his desk, adjusting the contents on his table.

"Good morning, Professor," Ethan greeted with a smile.

"Ah, Ethan! Come in, come in. How are the classes going? Catching up alright?" gesturing to a chair Oak asked referring to the Pokémon Preparation Program Ethan joined two weeks ago.

"Yes, Professor. I've managed to make up for the missed sessions," Ethan replied. "The instructors were very helpful, and I stayed up late a few nights, but it's all worth it."

"That's good to hear," Oak said, nodding approvingly. "Dedication is key for success. What brings you here today?"

Ethan placed his datapad on the desk. "I wanted to submit my research report on the Bulbasaur Thick Fat Ability confirmation test."

Oak raised an eyebrow, a flicker of concern crossing his face. "Already? You've barely had time to settle in. Are you sure it's ready? You still have two-weeks' time till the deadline of 1 month."

"Yes, Professor. I triple-checked everything," Ethan assured him.

Oak's eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced at the notification on his monitor. Submission Received: Bulbasaur Thick Fat Ability Confirmation Report. He tapped the screen, pulling up the document, but his thoughts lingered on the early submission.

"Two weeks early," Oak murmured to himself, leaning back in his chair. His brow furrowed as he steepled his fingers, lost in thought. It was almost impossible for a 12-year-old like Ethan, to complete a comprehensive research report in such short time that he had. And while Ethan had shown a spark in research—Oak couldn't ignore the possibility that this early submission might signal a lack of effort.

"Is this just a token attempt to impress me?" Oak wondered, a flicker of disappointment tugging at him. When the boy had arrived at Oak Coral, battered but determined, his eyes had brimmed with a rare hunger for knowledge. That passion was why Oak had given him this test—a task challenging enough for a beginner to reveal his true commitment.

"All I needed was effort," Oak thought, rubbing his temples. He had tempered his expectations, knowing Ethan's age and the short time he'd been in the program. Even a flawed but earnest attempt would have sufficed to grant him the Research Intern position. But now, this rapid turnaround felt more like a red flag than an achievement.

With a resigned sigh, Oak started reading the document, preparing himself for disappointment. "At least he submitted something", Oak mused, clicking through the pages. "Let's see how much effort he put in".

However, as he delved deeper, Oak's frown morphed into wide-eyed amazement. The report was meticulous—clear, concise, and comprehensive. Every test was documented with precision, from the setup to the results. The depth of Ethan's analysis was staggering.

Oak looked up. "Did you do this entirely on your own?"

"I took help from Jacob and Elsa to use their Pokemons, and the staff assisted with operating the equipment's like the MRI machine," Ethan explained. "But everything else, including the methodology and data analysis, was my own work."

Oak leaned back in his chair, clearly impressed. "This is phenomenal, Ethan. The clarity and thoroughness… Honestly, many experienced researchers would struggle to present their findings like this."

Ethan beamed. "Thank you, Professor. I wanted to be sure I left no room for doubt."

"Walk me through your process," Oak requested, his curiosity piqued.

Ethan nodded. "I started by forming two groups: a test group with the Bulbasaur I suspected of having the Thick Fat ability, and a control group of five other Bulbasaur of similar age and sex. I incentivized their cooperation with berries and extra PokéBlocks—"

Oak chuckled. "Smart move."

"Once they were on board, I used bioelectrical impedance analysis, followed by underwater weighing to estimate their body fat composition. For safety reasons, I opted for MRI scans instead of CT to visualize the body fat distribution, avoiding unnecessary exposure to X-rays, since the Bulbasaur's are all still very young."

Oak's eyes gleamed with approval. "Good call on that."

"Then came the fire and ice resistance tests. I had Jacob's Flareon use Heat Wave and Elsa's Cloyster use Icy Wind. I captured thermal images of how Bulbasaur's body heat changed when exposed to the attacks. Mapping these thermal images to the visualized fat distribution data from MRI, I confirmed that the Bulbasaur with its higher fat deposits were significantly less affected by temperature changes, reducing vulnerability by about 50%."

Oak leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. "Incredible. You didn't just confirm the Thick Fat ability—you quantified its effects. Many wouldn't have gone that far."

"I figured it was worth doing properly," Ethan shrugged modestly.

Oak then quickly extended a hand. "Congratulations, Ethan. You're officially the youngest Research Intern in the history of Kanto."

Ethan shook his hand, grinning ear to ear. "Thank you, Professor!"

Oak continued, "As a Level 1 intern, your primary role is to familiarize yourself with our research facilities and assist senior researchers when needed. Typically, interns don't undertake independent projects until they advance to Level 3 Junior Researcher. However…"

Ethan's eyes lit up.

"I believe limiting you to basic tasks would be a waste of your potential," Oak said thoughtfully. "If you have any research ideas, submit them to me. If approved, you can proceed—within certain constraints, of course. Limited budget, no disturbing others unless they are free or willing. I really want to see what surprises you might have in store."

Ethan hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Actually, Professor, I do have another research direction in mind."

Oak raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to continue.

Ethan's eyes sparkled as he explained, "I've been curious about the dark green patches on Bulbasaur. I suspect that they're related to its Poison typing, I think the larger the patches, the stronger its Poison-type moves. And… I also have a theory that the amount of poison intake in a Bulbasaur's diet during its early development directly correlates to the strength of its poison type moves."

Oak leaned back in his chair, his expression shifting between surprise and intrigue. "The first part of your theory is accurate," he began. "The dark green patches are indeed subdermal poison deposits. Other researchers have confirmed this through tissue sample analysis. However, the second part—your idea about dietary poison intake—is novel. How did you arrive at this hypothesis?"

Ethan's with a serious tone replied. "While I was analyzing the morphological data on the Bulbasaurs give to me for the last test, I noticed something unusual. The Bulbasaurs with the largest dark green patches were all caught in the wild. In contrast, the ones bred in captivity had much smaller patches and consequently weaker Poison-type moves. The only difference I could think of was their diet. In the wild, Bulbasaurs are often found near areas with poisonous plants. I suspect that consuming these plants while young strengthens their Poison typing, whereas captive Bulbasaurs, fed PokéBlocks without any poisonous content, miss out on this development."

Oak steepled his fingers, deep in thought. "That's a compelling observation, Ethan. It has merit and certainly warrants further research. However," he continued, his tone turning serious, "as you know, Bulbasaur is an endangered species. I can't have you experimenting recklessly with a population that's already vulnerable."

Ethan nodded quickly. "Of course, Professor. I wouldn't want to harm them either."

"Good," Oak said firmly. "Here's what I'll allow: you may conduct this experiment, but only on a single Bulbasaur. We need to minimize risk. Besides, with no prior Pokémon training experience, handling more than one for an extended period would be challenging for you."

Ethan's enthusiasm didn't waver. "That's fair. Thank you, Professor."

"You'll need to select one Bulbasaur and carefully monitor its progress as you introduce changes to its diet," Oak continued. "If your hypothesis proves correct, we can consider replicating the experiment with others and preparing a formal research report."

Ethan grinned. "I won't let you down."

"One more thing," Oak added, his expression stern. "Working with poison is dangerous. Always have an antidote on hand while handling anything toxic. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor. I'll be extremely cautious."

"Good," Oak said with a nod, his tone softening. "I look forward to seeing where this leads. Keep me updated on your progress."

"I will," Ethan promised, clutching his datapad tightly.

Ethan then left the office, the gears in his mind already turning as he began planning his next experiment.