"Sorry for the fans outside, I always tell them not to come but they don't seem to listen. I guess I will need to take more strict measurements for the next time.", he talked to himself for a bit but quickly turned back to Arthur:

"So, you are that kid who thought to himself 'Why don't I go explore the Viridian Forest without any Pokemon and other precautions' ?", Gary asked him amused.

"Ehh, yeah?", Arthur wasn't sure how to respond to this.

"Just kidding, haha, I don't have much of an opinion actually. It was your decision after all. You do remind me of some other reckless fellow though ...

Well, you could have been more careful I guess. Lucky you that my brother found you."

"Yeah. Ehm, your brother told me to tell you to come visit him more often."

"Hmmm. Maybe I should do that. I have gotten a lot of work recently on my table. Coupled with the interviews and TV show appearances, it's hard to have time left for the family." Gary said with a complaining tone,

"My Brother stays cooped up inside his place most of the time. I ... I can understand him to a certain degree after all what happened in the past.

But I am not him! I like the attention! The people, my fans! I love them! It keeps me fresh and alive! Is that weird?"

"Ehh, no?"

"Exactly!"

"But didn't you take up your grandfathers work in his lab?", he remembered what Blue told him.

"Yeah! So much work but not enough time. I like you Anthony!"

"Arthur Sir. My name is Arthur."

"Arty! Good name! Well, you are here because my brother told you to come and see me right?"

"Yes, because of that ..."

"The Pikachu issue I know. The results of the DNA Test and the X-Ray Polarisation are already out. It's positive Mr.Lucky Guy. Congrats by the way. Isn't something you would cross by every single day especially when considering your unusual circumstances. The thing is, Blue already took care of everything necessary. He will give you a phone call soon enough I would guess."

"Ehh, what?", Arthur wasn't sure how to respond and his forhead creased uncertainly. He didn't want to sound rude but he couldn't help and ask:

"Excuse me Sir, what did you mean by positive?"

"Hmm?", Gary looked back at him suspiciously until realisation struck him,

"Ohh, he didn't tell you ...", then a wide smile appeared on his face,

"He didn't tell you hahaha!"

"Wait, what didn't he tell me?", Arthur got even more confused now.

"Then , you don't know it yet I assume ...", a frown appeared on Gary's face,

"I am sorry, but I can't tell you. I can kind of understand why Blue didn't want to tell you this, it could be dangerous to know more than necessary at certain times. Especially when it is really important. But don't worry, haha, it's a good thing for you. Like I said, Blue will take care of everything and probably contact your parents to discuss further issues."

"Then why are you here, you may ask? Good question. My brother didn't ask you to see me for some important procedure or anything like that. What he wants is ... me writing a recommendation letter for you!", he stopped walking and looked into Arthur's eyes during those last words.

"A, a recommendation letter?"

"Yes, a letter for the next term in the Pokemon Trainer Academy. You see, most official Trainers can only recommend a limited number of people. Even gym leaders follow that rule to maintain balance and equality. He has used up his chance already for my niece, his daughter Cecile, so he wants me to write one for you, get it?"

"Why, why would he want that?"

"Because he likes you obviously. I like you too, so that's why I wouldn't mind doing you a favour, but I have my conditions."

"I, I can't accept this-"

"It's fine. It's nothing big. It's not like I would give it to you for free anyway. What I want and more specifically what I need, is an assistant!"

"An assistant?", Arthur was confused.

"Yeah, not a manager, I have that already. What I mean is a lab assistant. My personal lab assistant. At least for a certain time until I find a fitting replacement. I always worked together with my sister even when my grandpa died.

After he passed some lab colleagues left and now my sister is going to start studying Pokemon medicine next semester. Most employees are working under leading researchers doing their own projects. We are understaffed and I urgently need someone to help me out with my research work. So, interested?"

"But, but I am not a scientist! How could I help you?"

"Don't worry, I have my uses for you, so deal or no deal?"

"I need some time to think about it ..."

"Why? Haven't you decided on going to the academy already? Then what keeps you from accepting my offer? You know, even if you are going to be rich, money isn't the only requirement for entering the academy. That would be ridiculous. My letter can smoothen the path for you. No need to be polite or shy, just take it!"

Arthur looked at Gary and couldn't fathom how strange this situation was. A star he barely knew was offering him a rare recommendation letter! Even if he needed to work for him, he wouldn't mind that work at all. And he didn't have any concerns actually it was just, this whole kindness Gary showed him overwhelmed him a little again. Just like Blue Oak, Gary Oak was a very nice person as well.

"Then I will accept your offer.", Arthur bowed earnestly.

"Hahaha, no need to be so formal, we are both quite young! Do you have a phone number? So that I can contact you."

Arthur admitted embarrassingly:

"I, I don't have a phone."

"You don't have a PhoneDex?"

"I, I only have an old PokeDex, nothing more."

"Show me."

He handed Gary his PokeDex over.

"Huh, that's really old. Like stone age old. Not sure if this model even has the wireless internet function ... Oh, wait. It has some apps actually! Ah, yeah, friend codes. I remember how people in the past exchanged their codes with one another. They were a bit more secretive and secure than our mobile numbers nowadays. I also have the app. Let's decide on a code, ok?"

"Ehh, what do you mean with that? I haven't had this PokeDex for long so ..."

"Ah, yeah. The codes are generated either randomly or decided on manually. If two people want to contact each other, they create a channel online but need that code to enter the channel. Convenient and relatively secure as long as you don't forget the code. Let's do it then. Yours is a bit older but I think it's still compatible with mine. Let's decide on

"GaryAndArtyTheDreamTeam", sounds perfect!"

Arthur thought it was a bit long but didn't voice out his opinion.

"Good! Well, now that you are already here, do you want to train a little?"

"Train? Where? What?"

"Haha, look around man, we are in a Martial Arts Center! Of course we are training some Martial Arts here!"

Unknowingly Arthur and Gary had already entered the main hall where all the people and Pokemon gathered and trained at.

Arthur saw people wearing different kind of clothes, dojo gi, boxer pants, or light jogging clothes. Sometimes people were sparring with other people, and then there were also people sparring with Pokemon!

He saw someone boxing against a Hitmonchan, sometimes being hit and others hitting back!

"Isn't this dangerous?"

"What?"

"Fighting against Pokémon I mean. Like in hand to hand combat, what if a Pokémon blew off a person's head!", Arthur asked worriedly. Pokémon were definitly capable of unimaginable strength. Enough strength to tear apart a human being at least he thought.

"What?! Hahahah, you are funny man, hahahha! Blowing off a head, hahahahah!", Gary had a hard time suppressing his laugh,

"Ha, ha, ha, ok, sorry, it was just too funny you know, haha.", Arthur felt a little embarrassed and his cheeks reddened a little,

"You don't have to worry about flying heads here pff, haha. Disregarding the fact that all Pokemon have formed pacts already, they are still only Rank 1. They aren't that dangerous towards humans if you don't behave like a punching bag, if you know what I mean. Just being a little careful is enough."

"Rank 1 only?", Arthur wasn't sure if he heard Gary correctly,

"But, isn't that a Hitmonchan over there? Isn't it already evolved? How can it be only Rank 1?", somehow this thought felt very weird to him.

"Why not?", told him Gary,

"I guess you have watched too many movies involving evolved Pokemon! In fact, many of those Pokemon used in movies have a rather low Rank because of risk assurance reasons.

Arty, don't think that evolution always means an increase in power! This is a huge mistake a lot of people make because of how the media present them to be.

Evolution is a field which hasn't been researched into a lot. Even though Pokemon have existed since time immemorial along with the development of the human race and a lot of ancient texts document the evolution process, there are still many mysteries left unsolved.

You can't always see an evolution as a natural growth process. Some Pokemon for example never evolve, others do early on, and then there are some that take a really long time. It also differs if they have been raised in the wilderness or in a human household and the way they live. It also isn't fixed by species. It is an individual process, but the factors remain a mystery.

But an interesting fact is that usually Pokemon species that originate from the wilderness are stronger in their evolved states than Pokemon that were bred and raised under human cultivation.

What I mean to say is that evolution and the battle prowess indicated by the rank don't really depend on each other.

A Tyrogue at Rank 1 or 2 could also pose a challenge towards its evolved form. In general the Rank indication isn't a precise tool to measure the might of a Pokemon.

To determine the battle prowess many different factors need to be considered like regular training, battle experience, right nutrition and body condition etc. A number doesn't show a meaningful representation of a living being. The Rank system is just an attempt to differentiate between powerful and dangerous Pokemon and harmless or docile Pokemon.

And the same goes towards the outcome of a battle. There is more to a victory during a Pokemon match than just a higher Rank."

"Then ... how strong is that Hitmonchan? What if ... what if one tried to measure the punching power of it? Wouldn't you gain a good numerical value this way? What if we compared it with others.", Arthur asked with a contemplating expression.

Gary's eyes lit up when he heard this and a grin spread across his face:

"I understand why Blue thinks highly of you know! You were practically born to become a scientist!", he praised him loudly. Arthur was delighted that he didn't say anything stupid again. At the same time he felt like he had heard something similar from Blue before ...

"Arty, no Arthur, we are going to become a perfect team, you and me! Back to your question now, you are definitely right. If we took this Hitmonchan as a test sample and measured its punching power it might be about the same as an adults. Yet, it could also be just as strong as a teenager if it didn't receive any formal training or right nutritious food! Sure, Pokemon have a kind of natural instinct when it comes to battling, much stronger than we humans do however raw power requires more than that.

But the core idea is basically right. There is a project going on right now in the world, the Pokemon Metabolism Project, short PMP. Leading international researchers are trying to use standardized tests to measure the individual metabolism of all kinds of Pokemon and calculate the average conditions each Pokemon species has and put these into perspective. We know that some Pokemon species are stronger than others, but we don't know by how much they are stronger. Yet at least.

This might even cause a revamp in the Rank system and change the way we treat and train Pokemon in the future!

But of course, this will take a lot of time till usable results are made. They will need to gather tons of specimen of all kinds of Pokemon. Imagine the chaos that can ensue, haha"

"Wow.", Arthur was astonished and fascinated by Gary's explanations. It really was interesting and made him see stuff from a totally different perspective. When he was about to ask another question:

"Arthur! Is that you?! Why are you here?", he heard a shocked female voice calling him.