The cobalt-blue body, diamond-like patterns, the four-legged dinosaur-shaped Temporal Dragon—Dialga.
The pearl-white torso, pale purple markings, the bipedal Spatial Dragon—Palkia.
The holographic projection displayed the space-time distortion above Alamos Town. The two Legendary Pokémon roared at each other, casting the world into shadow.
The scholars present fell completely silent.
Within moments, the footage ended.
Cynthia, her golden hair partially obscuring her face with both hands tucked into her white lab coat pockets, smiled without speaking.
"That's it? Just that?"
"I was just getting into it!"
"Wait, is the rest paywalled content?" Natsume quipped.
Professor Oak cleared his throat, though his mind was equally turbulent.
He'd already heard about Natsume's legendary feat in Alamos Town.
The subsequent events had no relevance to academic research—omitting them would avoid unnecessary complications...
Yet from this precious footage, one could extrapolate data like the dragons' height and weight.
Sinnoh's Pokédex would undoubtedly require another update.
From the unrestrained gasps behind him,
Professor Oak could already imagine the seismic impact this presentation would have.
Let alone the consecutive shocks that left even him slightly breathless.
"Holy Arceus!" Professor Kukui, wearing his signature goggles, blurted out first.
Straightforward by nature—and with his alter ego as the "Masked Royal"—he never filtered his exclamations.
Other researchers turned to stare. Kukui's tanned cheeks reddened.
He'd forgotten he was attending as a respectable professor.
"Maybe that wasn't... professional," Kukui scratched his cheek.
Yet Sinnoh's Temporal and Spatial Dragons had struck him with indescribable awe.
Not fear—but the thrill of confronting the unknown as a scholar.
And as a trainer, seeing the mythic Dialga and Palkia made his blood boil.
"This is easily Gold Award-worthy material!" Kukui thought.
Professor Birch stared at the hologram, unconsciously muttering: "Bloody hell..."
"Huh?" Kukui's eyes widened as he turned to Birch.
The two professors locked eyes, both flushing crimson before falling silent.
Ahem! They coughed simultaneously. Birch gestured: "Shall we continue?"
"Quite right," Professor Kukui nodded.
On stage, Cynthia's presentation continued.
"Thus confirming that Sinnoh's mythological legends aren't baseless..."
"And in the Sinnoh Pokédex, they'll have their own designated numbers."
Cynthia glanced at Professors Rowan and Oak in the audience. The two foremost authorities in the Pokémon world wore approving smiles, nodding slightly.
"This will be the day they are officially recorded in the Pokédex," Cynthia said with a smile. "Sinnoh's mythological research will also turn a brand-new page."
Thunderous applause erupted, lasting far longer than usual.
Bill wore a dazed expression, as if overwhelmed by the sheer weight of knowledge. "I'm numb… completely numb…"
Natsume pinched the cheeks of his Gengar, which had emerged from the shadows, looking equally pained. "Numb… I'm numb!"
"Gengar~~!" Gengar's face stretched comically as it let out a muffled, mischievous laugh.
"I know you're excited," Carolina said calmly, casting a glance at Natsume. "But stay humble."
"After all, these results are the product of your and Cynthia's relentless efforts."
She reached out and patted Natsume's shoulder reassuringly. "You both earned this."
Natsume: "Ha… haha!"
"Look, Natsume-sensei is so thrilled he can't even speak," Bill joked.
Natsume's breath hitched as he turned his gaze to the stage.
The spotlight illuminated Cynthia's flawless, snow-white complexion—she was the center of attention. Their eyes met, and she gave him a faint, knowing smile.
Based on their team's private comms, Natsume-sensei guessed the exchange went something like—
Cynthia: Did I meet your expectations?
Natsume: Happy… today's a happy day!
The scholars in attendance were still reeling from the successive waves of groundbreaking revelations.
The next segment was Cynthia's Q&A, where any researcher could pose questions.
Yet, faced with such irrefutable evidence, the hall remained silent.
This silence meant one thing—Team Carolina's research had won near-unanimous recognition.
At the judges' panel, Professor Oak crossed his arms, reflecting on the day's events.
In truth, this conference had two Gold Awards up for grabs.
And beyond that, there was the even more prestigious "Most Valuable" award.
Given Natsume's team's achievements, a Gold Award was practically guaranteed—they might even contend for the top honor.
"This guy… really didn't let me down," Professor Oak mused cheerfully.
Meanwhile, the other professors had already affixed labels like "brilliant," "erudite," and "exceptionally composed" to Natsume in their minds.
"Is this what genius looks like…?" Professor Augustine Sycamore muttered to himself.
Professor Hale, scrutinizing the translated copies of the ancient tablets, sighed in admiration.
"Some people are born with talent far beyond the reach of ordinary minds."
"Perhaps this is one of the ways Arceus is… unfair."
Amid the hushed discussions, Natsume exhaled deeply, remaining silent.
Bill scratched his head but didn't disturb him, whispering instead to a colleague:
"There's more than one Gold Award… we still have a shot at the selection."
Natsume's ears perked up. He jerked his head up, voice trembling.
"More than one Gold Award?"
"Right. Typically, teams like yours and Professor Carolina's receive news about Gold Award nominations the same day," the colleague explained.
Natsume: "…"
Carolina's lips curved slightly. "Stay humble," she reminded him.
Perhaps sensing the tension from the lack of questions, a young woman with long purple hair stood up, adjusting her glasses.
"I—I'm Fennel, a professor from Unova researching dream energy."
"Since the theme is Sinnoh's Legendary Pokémon…" She hesitated shyly. "I've heard legends about Darkrai and Cresselia in Sinnoh—they're tied to dreams too. So I wanted to ask… about these two…"
Cynthia offered an apologetic smile. "Truthfully, our research hasn't covered all of Sinnoh's Legendaries yet…"
Suddenly, a cheerful electronic chirp cut through the silence.
"Beep… received, Rotom!"
All eyes turned toward Natsume as a Rotom Pokédex levitated into the air.
A blue beam projected images of Cresselia and Darkrai onto the stage—even a clip of Lunar Dance playing.
"Captured valuable footage, Rotom!" Rotom waved its mechanical arms proudly.
"Whoa!" Fennel's eyes widened as she instinctively clapped. "Th-That's amazing…"
Wait… did they leave out Cresselia and Darkrai because they weren't 'prestigious' enough?!
As a dream researcher, this is just unfair… o(╥﹏╥)o
Since Natsume-sensei and Cynthia were on the same team, it made sense for Rotom—a standard research tool—to have collected this data.
The audience turned to Natsume, realization dawning.
Could it be… he was the one who resolved yesterday's insomnia incident?
"Of course—Natsume is also an incredibly strong Trainer."
"Both of them are Champions and dedicated researchers… Hm… I can see it."
"See what? Explain yourself—"
Cynthia's gaze softened as she looked at Natsume.
Carolina: "I didn't expect you to have another card up your sleeve."
Natsume: "…"
Well played, little Rotom.
Just wait till I cancel your premium TV channels… First a detective, now a photographer?!
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