Pokemon: The Scientist’s Rebirth

---Time skip 2 years---

Walking into Professor Oak's office, Ethan cut an imposing figure, his transformation was nothing short of remarkable – no longer the scrawny, undernourished teenager, but a well-built young man who appeared closer to 18 than his actual 15 years. His muscles were defined, his posture confident, and his eyes carried a sharp, determined gaze.

Nestled in his arms was Bulbs, the Bulbasaur that had been his constant companion and research subject. Like Ethan, Bulbs had undergone a dramatic transformation herself. Where once she had been light green with occasional dark spots, she now boasted a flawless, almost midnight green skin. Her body had filled out, with additional fat deposits that spoke as a testament to Ethan's specialized care and diet regimen.

"Professor Oak," Ethan began, his voice steady and professional, "I'm here to present the findings of our research on Bulbasaur's poison."

Oak greeted warmly. "Come in take a seat. I've been eager to hear your findings."

Ethan settled into the chair opposite Oak, gently placing Bulbs on his lap. The Bulbasaur stretched briefly before sitting upright, her dark green skin glistening under the office lights.

"Professor," Ethan began, his voice steady, "I've confirmed my hypothesis about Bulbasaur's poison-based diet enhancing its poison-typing and improving the effectiveness of its poison moves. The results have been interesting."

Oak leaned forward, intrigued. "Do go on."

Ethan gestured to Bulbs. "As you can see, Bulbs's skin has taken on a darker hue due to the enhanced poison deposits spread throughout her epidermis. These deposits have not only increased in quantity but also in quality. For example, Bulbs's Toxic move has become twice as potent, and the cooldown period between uses has significantly reduced. Where a normal Bulbasaur might manage three uses of Toxic in a day, Bulbs can perform it eight to ten times before needing to replenish her poison reserves."

Oak's eyebrows rose in surprise. "That's remarkable. Does this mean Bulbasaur's poison reserves can be replenished faster with a specialized diet?"

Ethan nodded. "Exactly. While Bulbasaurs can naturally generate a small amount of poison from normal, non-poisonous food, the process is slow. However, after depleting their poison reserves, a Bulbasaur can significantly accelerate poison regeneration by consuming meals enriched with poisonous plants. Moreover, a consistent poison-based diet not only replenishes poison reserves but also increases their overall capacity. This gives Bulbasaurs a clear advantage in battle."

Oak's face lit up with excitement. "If these findings hold true for Ivysaur and Venusaur as well, this could redefine the potential of one of Kanto's strongest evolutionary lines. I'll assign an Associate Researcher to test this further on them, as you're still inexperienced to handle research on the evolutions of Bulbasaur. But don't worry, due credit will be given to your work—"

Ethan raised a hand, interrupting. "Professor, I'm not done yet."

Oak leaned back, intrigued. "There's more?"

Ethan continued, his tone confident. "I was curious if Bulbasaur's ability to store and process poison was limited to plant-based sources. So, I began experimenting by introducing poisons from other Pokémon species, such as Weedle, Ekans, and Koffing."

Oak's eyes widened. "You fed Bulbs poison from other Pokémon?"

"Carefully," Ethan clarified. "There were some initial setbacks—a few mild poisoning incidents—but once I determined the correct dosages, the results were promising. Over time, Bulbs developed a resistance to these external poisons. Not only that, but the poison she began producing herself was no longer typical for a Bulbasaur."

Oak leaned forward, his fascination evident. "What do you mean?"

Ethan's voice lowered. "Molecular analysis of her poison revealed that it had become a hybrid—a much deadlier combination derived from multiple species. Normal antidotes are no longer effective against her toxins. To counter her poisoning, you'd need a cocktail of different antidotes tailored to different species."

Oak's jaw dropped. "That's… remarkable. If this effect can be replicated with stronger Pokémon like Ivysaur or Venusaur…"

Ethan nodded. "Exactly. This result is just from feeding Bulbs poison derived from a few weaker, common poison-type Pokémon. I am confident that if we were to use poison from more powerful Pokémon like Beedrill, Arbok, Nidoking, Gengar, or Weezing, the effects would be even more dramatic.

But I don't think a Bulbasaur will be able to handle the intake of such potent poisons—it might overwhelm her system entirely before she can incorporate those poisons as her own reserves. However, an Ivysaur or Venusaur, with their more robust physiology, could likely handle these levels of toxicity and amplify their own poisons to extraordinary levels."

Oak's expression grew more interested. "Ethan. If this ability to process and amplify poisons translates to Bulbasaurs evolutions, it could elevate their power by several levels. The strategic significance of the Bulbasaur line could become much more significant.

Ethan leaned forward, a subtle smirk tugging at his lips. "Professor, I'm not done."

Oak blinked, stunned. "You're still not done?"

Ethan continued; his tone confident. "After experimenting with different sources of poison, I became curious if this ability of Bulbasaurs is just confined to poisons. So, I started feeding Bulbs a few medicinal herbs."

Oak's eyes widened as his mind churned with the possibilities of where Ethan might be going with this. "Medicinal herbs? But how did you fund all this? I don't remember sanctioning more funds beyond the initial limited budget you were assigned. And poison from other Pokémon and medicinal herbs must have cost a considerable amount."

"Well, not really, Professor," Ethan replied with a small smile. "I was able to help Miss Florinda of Xanadu Nursery with a problem of hers, so she gave me a permanent discount on plants from her greenhouse. Besides, Mrs. Delia was sweet enough to let me stay at her place without rent, so I saved most of my salary as a Research Intern. As for the poison from other Pokémons, it was essentially free. I traded some of Mrs. Delia's homemade snacks with a few employees here in the lab who own poison Pokémon in exchange for small samples of poison from their Pokémon. Most of them happily accepted the deal, saving me quite a bit of money. I invested all those savings into acquiring medicinal herbs for Bulbs to try out."

Oak nodded, impressed. "That is some excellent resourcefulness, Ethan. I just hope more of your colleagues could learn from your prudence. Oak Coral is depleting its funding much faster than it can produce results. But anyway, what did feeding medicinal herbs to Bulbasaur do? Did it improve its self-healing capacity? Can it heal from wounds faster?"

Ethan leaned forward, his tone thoughtful. "It does enhance self-healing. With the limited funds I had, I couldn't buy much medicinal plant material, but it was enough to confirm that incorporating them into Bulbs's diet improved her recovery rate by roughly 1.5 times. With a higher intake of medicinal plants, the results could improve significantly." He paused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small X-Acto knife. "But more importantly," he added with a hint of excitement, "I've developed something far more intriguing."

With practiced precision, Ethan made a shallow cut on his palm. Professor Oak gasped, startled, and moved to intervene, but the unwavering confidence in Ethan's gaze gave him pause.

"Bulbs, if you will do the honors," Ethan said, addressing the Bulbasaur perched on his lap. Holding his wounded palm just above Bulbs's bulb, he waited. Bulbs gave a short nod and released a small puff of shimmering powder that gently coated Ethan's wound. He rubbed the powder into the cut, then waited a few moments before scraping the excess powder away.

Ethan extended his palm to Oak, revealing its effect. The bleeding had stopped, and the wound had begun to close. Oak's eyes widened with astonishment.

"It instantly clots small wounds like this," Ethan explained. "If I leave the powder on longer, wounds this size can completely heal within an hour or two, leaving no scar. The effect isn't as powerful as a Chansey's Heal Pulse, but it's still groundbreaking for a Bulbasaur. I've named this new move Vital Powder. I believe it could be made much more effective with access to more medicinal plants. Unfortunately, those plants are costly, and my funds are almost gone. That's why I came to report my findings."

Oak stared at Ethan's hand, his mind racing with possibilities. The potential applications of such a move were much more then Ethan realised. His limited knowledge about the world of pokemon healing due to his low clearance level is limiting his imagination of how much more useful this move of Bulbasaur is in comparison to Heal Pulse of Chansey. But Oak had no such restrictions, he could clearly see how extraordinary such a discovery could be.

"Professor?" Ethan called, breaking Oak from his thoughts.

Oak didn't respond and glanced to his left, drawing Ethan's gaze. Suddenly, a tall, slender figure materialized in a shimmer of psychic light. An imposing Alakazam, holding two spoons in its spindly arms, stood before them. Ethan was awed; it was his first time seeing Oak's Alakazam in person, despite having communicated with it mentally on several occasions. The psychic glow in Alakazam's eyes pulsed faintly, and for a brief moment, Oak's eyes mirrored the glow. The two seemed to be exchanging thoughts mentally.

Within moments, Alakazam vanished in another shimmer of light, teleporting away. Ethan blinked, still processing the encounter.

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