The next day, Outside the Lighthouse Laboratory in Area One, home to Paldea’s renowned husband-and-wife Pokémon Professors.
Dressed in casual clothes, Michael knocked on the laboratory’s front door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
His three gentle knocks were answered almost immediately.
A voice came from behind the door.
“Coming!” Michael had fairly sharp hearing.
He could tell it belonged to a young boy, who was currently running toward the entrance.
A moment later, the laboratory’s front door swung open.
Standing there was a boy of about ten years old with soft, light brown hair.
Michael raised an eyebrow.
The boy’s identity instantly came to mind.
Batman—Paldean Form.
(×) One of the protagonists from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Arven.
“Welcome home…
Dad?” Arven had opened the door with an excited smile.
But the instant he saw Michael, his entire expression froze.
A blush instantly spread from his neck to the tips of his ears, turning them bright red.
He’d been so excited that he’d mistaken the wrong person for his father.
“Mmm…” Embarrassment escaped him in a series of muffled noises.
As for Michael, he couldn’t believe he’d somehow become someone’s father overnight.
Even his normally composed expression became rather strange.
Before either the awkward adult or the mortified child could recover, another set of hurried footsteps echoed from deeper inside the laboratory.
Only a few breaths later, a small figure came charging straight toward Michael with a low growl.
Looking closer, Michael saw that it was a Mabosstiff.
Its hostility was clearly directed at him.
It had apparently mistaken him for someone with ill intentions toward Arven.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Arven didn’t even have time to stop Mabosstiff from attacking.
By the time he opened his mouth, Mabosstiff was already only a single leap away from Michael.
Unable to do anything else, Arven shut his eyes in guilt.
A sudden ambush like this wasn’t anything new to Michael.
During the past year, he’d often camped out in the wilderness to save money for his Pokémon’s training expenses.
He’d long since lost count of how many attacks had come out of nowhere.
But this time, things were a little different.
He didn’t even bother trying to dodge.
Instead, he quietly said, “Don’t hurt it, Mimikyu.” A chilling giggle suddenly echoed from beside Michael’s feet.
A gigantic Shadow Claw, overflowing with Ghost-type energy as though it had emerged from the deepest abyss, shot upward in an instant and effortlessly caught the fiercely protective Mabosstiff in midair.
The aggressive Mabosstiff froze.
(When had that Mimikyu wrapped in a rag appeared?) It couldn’t understand.
But it knew one thing.
Its little master needed protection.
Roaring furiously, Mabosstiff struggled with all its strength.
Yet no matter how hard it fought or what moves it used, the massive Shadow Claw remained completely unmoved.
It was almost as though the Dark-type Mabosstiff were the one being naturally countered by a Ghost-type.
Mabosstiff’s furious barking caused Arven to open his eyes.
Seeing what had happened, he immediately realized that Michael was a Pokémon Trainer and that Mabosstiff wasn’t even close to being a match for the Mimikyu that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
Looking pleadingly at Michael, Arven said, “Mister…
could you please not hurt Mabosstiff?
It—” “What on earth is all this commotion—What do you think you’re doing?!” Apparently hearing the noise outside, a woman with an imposing presence strode out of the laboratory.
She had only gotten halfway through her sentence before noticing Mabosstiff suspended helplessly in midair and the anxious expression on Arven’s face.
The anger of a mother erupted instantly.
Without hesitation, she pulled a Poké Ball from the pocket of her white lab coat and glared threateningly at Michael.
No matter who this man was, Sada would never tolerate anyone bullying her son or Mabosstiff.
Besides, she also remembered the unpleasant rumors that had been circulating recently.
At this point, Michael felt the misunderstanding would only grow worse if this continued.
Who knew what unexpected situation might arise?
It was better to clear things up immediately.
For the record, he wasn’t afraid of the standard Poké Ball in Sada’s hand.
Even if there was a chance it might release one of Paldea’s legendary cover Pokémon.
“I don’t mean any harm.
This is all just a misunderstanding.” As soon as he finished speaking, Michael instructed Mimikyu to release Mabosstiff as a gesture of goodwill.
Then he looked toward Sada.
Although she wore a white lab coat, underneath was an outfit made of what looked like animal hide, emphasizing a rugged, primal charm.
Her sharp eyes remained fixed on him.
Sada gently touched the fang necklace around her neck.
The vigilance in her eyes eased ever so slightly.
Like a mother hen shielding her chicks, she stepped protectively in front of Arven, who had been trying unsuccessfully to speak this whole time, and the startled Mabosstiff.
Then she slowly asked, “Would this Trainer kindly explain why you attacked my son and his Pokémon outside my laboratory?” Michael didn’t feel offended by Sada’s reaction.
Everything she’d done was exactly what any mother should do.
And when he thought about what this family would eventually go through a few years from now, he simply couldn’t bring himself to resent her.
After organizing his thoughts, Michael calmly explained, “Chairwoman Geeta is the one who introduced me to your laboratory.” After hearing his account, Sada was mostly convinced.
Still, she turned to Arven, who had clearly been trying to explain everything from the beginning but had never managed to get her attention.
“Arven, is that true?” Finally being noticed by his mother, Arven nodded vigorously.
He quickly explained that the entire incident had been nothing more than a series of unfortunate misunderstandings.
“Honestly, you little rascal.
You scared the hell out of me.” Sada let out a long sigh of relief.
Immediately afterward, her demeanor became much more carefree.
As punishment, she thoroughly ruffled Arven’s smooth hair.
The boy instantly squatted down beside Mabosstiff, hugging it while sulking in silence.
After that, Sada turned back to Michael with an apologetic expression.
“I’m very sorry.
The three of us overreacted.
Please allow me to apologize properly.” As she spoke, Sada immediately prepared to bow.
“That’s really not necessary.” Michael hurriedly stopped her.
Since he’d already stopped her, Sada didn’t insist.
Her way of doing things had always been straightforward and efficient.
Naturally moving past the subject, she smiled.
“Miss Geeta already told my husband and me about your request.
You can leave the Tera Orb to us.” “However, my husband happens to have something he needs to take care of and has gone out.
With only me working on it, what would normally take seven or eight days will probably take around half a month.” “Would that be a problem?” Michael shook his head.
He wasn’t in any hurry.
Since he’d already come all this way, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the laboratory of the two legendary professors who would one day develop a time machine and who had already pioneered Terastallization.
So he asked directly, “Would it be alright if I looked around your laboratory?” He was genuinely curious about the workplace of the two brilliant professors who, despite playing such an important role in the game’s story, never actually appeared in person.
Sada paused for a moment before smiling warmly.
“Of course.
Please, follow me.”