Chapter Seventy-Nine: Dr. Kodama’s Commission

Zhao Fang smacked his lips. Regardless of anything else, with its current pool of moves, the Aurorus was undoubtedly the Pokémon under his command with the most techniques. Not only that, it had even mastered moves like Thunderbolt, which broadened its range of attacks. Zhao Fang happily stroked Aurorus’s elegant, slender neck.

“So, where do you plan to go next? Are you heading to Dewford Town to challenge the Fighting-type Gym?” Professor Birch looked at Zhao Fang and his Aurorus, inquiring.

“Hmm... Dewford Town is definitely on my list, but before that, I want to take Aurorus to Canalave City for a while.” Zhao Fang hesitated. He had enough money to buy a ferry ticket to Dewford Town, but he still wanted to check out the area where he’d heard a Froslass had appeared—he hoped to find a Dawn Stone there.

“I heard you’ve already partnered with the Devon Corporation to develop a new software?” Professor Birch handed Zhao Fang a steaming cup of coffee. There weren’t many beverages in the lab, but there was always plenty of coffee and tea.

“Yes, I had an idea and asked Miss Mayumi to help develop an app for me. Devon Corporation is handling its promotion and distribution.” Zhao Fang nodded. Professor Birch knowing about this wasn’t strange—after all, he was the most renowned researcher in Hoenn.

“Mayumi, huh? She’s a computer expert. You made a good choice. By the way, there’s something I’d like to ask you to help with.” Professor Birch took a sip of his coffee before continuing.

Zhao Fang paused for a moment, then nodded. No matter what the request was, he would certainly do it. Professor Birch had helped him so much, after all.

“When I was investigating Pokémon habitats on Mt. Chimney, I accidentally got lost at night and fell into a cave...” Professor Birch’s gaze became distant. Zhao Fang listened patiently, not interrupting.

“It was a peculiar cave, very hot inside. I saw a Pokémon there, repeatedly attacking the wall ahead. As soon as it noticed me, it fled. I only caught a glimpse, but I’m certain it wasn’t a Hoenn Pokémon.” Professor Birch looked at Zhao Fang, his expression turning grave.

“Later, I returned to the lab and spoke with some colleagues. Eventually, I found information on this Pokémon from Professor Kukui in Alola.” Professor Birch’s voice grew quiet, barely above a whisper.

“A Pokémon from Alola—a Jangmo-o. I don’t know how it ended up in Hoenn, let alone on Mt. Chimney, but I’m certain: it was a Jangmo-o.” Professor Birch spoke softly.

Zhao Fang was dumbfounded. He certainly knew Jangmo-o—the pseudo-legendary Dragon of Sun and Moon, whose final evolution, Kommo-o, was phenomenally powerful. But why would a Jangmo-o be on Mt. Chimney?

“Professor, are you sure you didn’t see another Trainer’s Pokémon?” Zhao Fang asked, a bit skeptical. After all, it was common for Trainers to travel the world, and it wasn’t news for Alolan Trainers to visit Hoenn.

“I’m a Pokémon Professor! Do you think I can’t tell the difference between a wild Pokémon and one with a Trainer?” Professor Birch glared at Zhao Fang, clearly annoyed.

Zhao Fang scratched his head. If what Professor Birch said was true, then somewhere on Mt. Chimney, there was a wild Jangmo-o from Alola. But what was so special about it? There were many Jangmo-o in Alola—why did Professor Birch want to send him?

A possibility occurred to Zhao Fang—could it be a shiny Jangmo-o?

“Was it a shiny Jangmo-o?” Zhao Fang asked quietly. He knew Professor Birch had a fascination with shiny Pokémon—he’d heard May mention that the professor was working on a paper about them.

“No,” Professor Birch shook his head. Shiny Pokémon weren’t that easy to encounter.

Zhao Fang was a little disappointed; he’d hoped he might run into a shiny Jangmo-o.

“That Jangmo-o... it’s unique, that’s all I can say. Maybe it was my imagination, but when I saw it, its head... was missing that signature scale.” Professor Birch took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Zhao Fang, who glanced at it.

It was indeed a Jangmo-o, but strangely enough, this Jangmo-o was bald.

Normally, Jangmo-o had a large, distinctive scale on their foreheads, one of their most notable features. But this Jangmo-o’s forehead was bare, the large scale nowhere to be seen. No wonder Professor Birch said it was unique—this was certainly unusual.

It was like waking up in a big family where everyone had a thick head of hair, only to find you’d lost more and more until you were bald—impossible not to notice.

“Professor Birch, do you remember the location?” Zhao Fang was intrigued now; he wanted to see such an unusual Jangmo-o for himself.

“Of course I do. I’m not senile yet. I’ll have my Pidgeot take you there shortly.” Professor Birch sounded very confident.

“But how long ago was this? Are you sure the Jangmo-o is still there?” Zhao Fang worried about another issue—if too much time had passed, someone else might have caught it.

“How long ago? I saw it just the day before yesterday. It’s definitely still there.” Professor Birch looked at Zhao Fang curiously.

Zhao Fang’s mouth twitched. He could have sworn the professor had said “a while ago” earlier, only to find out “a while ago” meant just the day before yesterday. By that logic, could he also say, “I once challenged the Rock-type Gym a long time ago”?

Still, Zhao Fang accepted the task. Partly out of gratitude for the professor’s help, and partly because he was genuinely curious about this peculiar Jangmo-o. He wanted to find out why its forehead scale was missing.

After returning Aurorus to its Poké Ball and heading outside, Zhao Fang saw May packing her backpack.

“Are you going on a journey?” Zhao Fang asked, feeling a strange sense of watching over a younger sibling.

“Hmph! If you can go on a journey, why can’t I? I’ve got my Combusken with me, and I’ll build an even stronger team and beat you!” May waved her little fists at Zhao Fang, who smiled. It seemed May had made him her rival now.

“All right,” Zhao Fang agreed cheerfully.