"Poké Ball..."
"Does it work with normal genetic organisms?"
"Can it store items, if so..."
Jamissa continued to pepper Ethan with questions. She held a Poké Ball in her hand and attempted to throw it at a passing Caterpie, which scurried away in alarm.
"That's not how you use it," Ethan gently scolded. "See that white button in the middle? You press it, then you throw it." He added, "It's not a guaranteed catch; if a Pokémon really doesn't want to go in, it can escape within a few seconds before it's sealed."
"Oh..." Jamissa picked up the Poké Ball from the ground.
"As for storing other things, it won't work. If it's not a Pokémon, it won't get sucked in." Ethan demonstrated by activating a Poké Ball and rolling it toward a nearby rock. It simply fell into the grass. "See? It only activates when it touches a Pokémon."
Ethan picked up the red-and-white ball and smiled. "We don't have a lot of Cone Trees right now. When we get back from Japan, if we have enough money, we'll plant a big orchard for them. Then we can sell Poké Balls far and wide, making it easier for people to transport Pokémon."
His smile widened. "You know how it's a nightmare to transport larger genetic creatures, especially if you're traveling far or by plane? If people have our Pokémon, they can just use a Poké Ball and summon them whenever they want. The demand will be huge."
Jamissa nodded eagerly. "Yes! Some genetically engineered creatures can be massive and difficult to move, so having a ball for that is so convenient."
Although no Pokémon were truly giant yet, Jamissa believed that day would come soon enough.
Ethan added another point: "Even if a buyer gets a Pokémon from us, shipping becomes trivial. Put the Pokémon in the Poké Ball, no sedation, no bulky boxes. That would drastically reduce shipping costs. Dangerous Pokémon wouldn't need tranquilizers, and large Pokémon wouldn't need special freight."
"The shipping savings alone are reason enough to want these orbs," Jamissa said admiringly.
Ethan nodded. "Exactly. I'm proud to say that a single orchard of these cones can yield thousands of Poké Balls."
Currently, they had nearly 100 Cone Trees, each bearing about 20 fruits. Under Ethan's direction, the staff packed these Poké Ball fruits into hemp sacks and baskets, transporting them to a lab warehouse for storage.
"Timmy, Hydro, and Igneel each took one," Ethan counted, "and I'll do the same for Suicune, Caterpie, Ditto..."
He paused. "Magikarp can't go ashore. Meanwhile, the Victoria Show needs 18 Pokémons, so I'll need 18 Poké Balls." He glanced to the side. "I'm not sure Suicune will agree to be in one."
Putting 18 Poké Balls in a bag, Ethan thought. Recently, Snivy, Igglybuff, and Pidgey had also hatched. Maybe he'd bring one to the Victoria event. At first, he'd reserved an expensive private jet because he'd been worried about transporting so many Pokémon, and the Poké Ball orchard hadn't matured yet. Now it felt like wasted money, but it was too late to undo it.
Ethan divided the tasks among the staff, leaving only Jamissa behind. She was holding an Igglybuff, a small, pink, round creature that was very popular with the female employees of the lab. Igglybuff's body was soft, and it bounced happily. After exercising, it emitted a sweet scent that tended to lift people's spirits.
"If you want an Igglybuff, go for it," Ethan told her. "It's mischievous, but it seems to have learned Sing, which seems to make everyone sleepy."
Jamissa rubbed its chubby cheeks. "If it weren't for that Hoothoot fiasco, we never would have suspected its song could be hypnotic. Now we know why we get so sleepy."
"This song is basically a lullaby with hypnosis. In time, it could develop a full hypnosis technique, risky if left loose in the lab."
Ethan tapped Igglybuff with a Poké Ball. A flash later, the small Pokémon disappeared inside. The ball wiggled in his hand before standing still. Ethan grabbed more balls from the table, capturing Pokémon one by one with minimal resistance.
"What about Hoothoot and Pidgey?" Jamissa asked. "They're out flying?"
"Yes, Pidgey has newly mastered flight and is wandering around. A whistle will bring them back."
"And Snivy? Are the Bulbasaur sunbathing?"
They stepped outside to see many young Pokémon playing in the courtyard. In a few days, many would be shipped off to new owners. For now, only a fraction of the Pokémon species had been released to the public; the majority remained in the lab.
"They're over there..." Jamissa pointed.
Ethan looked across the courtyard and saw several Pidgeys fluttering overhead, occasionally diving for insects. Down below, Bulbasaur, Snivy, and Chikorita were soaking up the sunlight that was vital to the Grass-types, especially Snivy. If it stayed in the shade too long, it would become lethargic.
Ethan gathered the Pokémon he needed.
"Safe journey, Mr. Grave!" Jamissa called after him at the park gate.
He looked back with a smile. "Not 'goodbye' yet. I might stop by in the morning."
"What?" She blinked, surprised.
He just waved. "See you tomorrow."
That night, the system dice cooled down again, meaning Ethan could unlock more Pokémon before the big trip. With an empty breeding tank at hand, he decided to hatch some new creatures quickly.
Back at home, he released his Pokémon from their eggs and let them run around his mansion. As the clock ticked, the system interface showed that the dice were ready.
He tapped them. The dice rolled...
Finally, it landed on "3."
"Torchic, Treecko, Mudkip unlocked!"
No lucky mechanism bonus was triggered this time, leaving Ethan a bit disappointed. He sighed, suspecting he had used up his luck on the previous rolls, but still grateful for these three new species. They would wait in the culture tanks until he returned from Japan. Soon, he would show the world that this time, Pokémon and Poké Balls would usher in a new era, cleaning up a toxic mess that had baffled global science for years.