The high-tech city of LaRousse City, located near Lilycove City, was a marvel of advanced technology.
After nearly two hours of flight, Hayato finally arrived above LaRousse City.
Peering down from the cabin window, he could clearly make out the city's geography.
LaRousse was built at the confluence of two rivers in northern Hoenn, situated atop a massive island. The entire island was encircled by a monorail line, allowing visitors and tourists from outside to arrive conveniently by train.
As the plane neared its destination, it began to descend gradually, before finally touching down in front of a spectacular research facility.
Hayato and Brendan stepped off the boarding stairs, their eyes immediately greeted by spotless sidewalks and several floating cube-shaped robots.
The style of LaRousse City was entirely different from any city Hayato had visited before.
Rustboro City emphasized culture and harmony with Pokémon, but LaRousse embodied the peak of technology—a city overflowing with futuristic facilities.
For both Hayato and Brendan, it was their very first time in such a place, and the novelty left them awestruck.
Dr. Lund removed his gloves, walked up beside them, and smiled as he admired the scene together with the boys.
At that moment, one of the floating cube robots drifted over and stopped in front of Hayato and Brendan.
"Welcome to LaRousse City!"
Its mechanical voice rang out cheerfully as its cube-shaped modules rotated like a Rubik's Cube.
Finally, its display screen lit up with large, bold letters:
"Welcome!!"
"What is this?!" Brendan exclaimed in surprise.
Excited, Tory quickly explained to his companions, "That's a LaRousse City Cube Robot! They serve as patrol officers here!"
Dr. Lund nodded with a smile, adding, "LaRousse is a city without Officer Jenny. All of her duties are handled by these robots."
"I see…"
As Tory and Dr. Lund explained, the cube robot floated upward until it was eye level with Hayato and Brendan.
One of its square panels opened, revealing a camera that focused directly on their faces.
Click!
The flash went off, and at the LaRousse command center, the boys' images instantly appeared on a massive monitor.
"Confirmed: two entrants. Birthplaces and data uploaded successfully!"
At the same time, another compartment on the robot opened, and a mechanical arm extended, holding out two cards resembling ID passes.
"What's this?" Brendan asked blankly, taking the card.
The robot replied in its chirpy tone, "Beep! This is your city passport. Please carry it with you at all times while staying in LaRousse! It also functions as a shopping card!"
Hayato chuckled inwardly. Wasn't this just an all-in-one card system?
Once their registration was complete, the robot rolled away.
After the boys safely stowed their passports, Dr. Lund said, "Come, let's head to the research institute."
The group, carrying their gear, entered the towering facility.
Inside, a bespectacled female assistant quickly approached Dr. Lund, appearing to have urgent news.
After hearing her report, Dr. Lund frowned in thought, then turned to another aide. "An, I'll leave showing these kids around the institute to you."
The assistant named An nodded with a smile. "Of course, Doctor."
Dr. Lund looked back at Hayato. "Go have some fun today. We'll be departing for the Arctic first thing tomorrow morning."
Hayato wasn't in any rush. All he had to do was follow the flow of events, so he nodded easily. "Got it."
With that, they officially parted ways with Dr. Lund.
"Please follow me," An said warmly.
Guided by her, Hayato and Brendan began touring the Pokémon Research Institute.
From the outside, the facility resembled a luxurious skyscraper, but the interior was a world of its own.
Beyond the main laboratories and data-analysis rooms, each floor contained ecological zones designed for specific types of Pokémon—lush forests, grasslands, and rivers for Grass-types, or specialized energy fields for Electric-types.
The research conducted here went far beyond analyzing Pokémon body data or environmental needs.
Hayato even spotted researchers studying branch evolutions of Pokémon.
Evolution was a natural phenomenon in the Pokémon world.
Some Pokémon, under certain conditions during growth, would evolve into entirely new species.
But not all evolutionary paths were fixed.
Certain Pokémon had multiple branching evolutions.
For example, Snorunt could evolve into Glalie or Froslass.Clamperl could evolve into Huntail or Gorebyss.And Wurmple could evolve into either Beautifly or Dustox.
When Hayato arrived at one section, he found a group of lab-coated researchers locked in heated debate.
Listening for a while, he finally pieced together the subject of their discussion—"Can Wurmple's branch evolution be controlled?"
Seeing their guests watching, An gave an embarrassed smile and said, "Apologies for letting you witness this scene."
As Professor Birch's son, Brendan knew a bit about Wurmple's evolutions. After a moment's thought, he said, "Wurmple's evolution doesn't really follow a pattern, does it?"
"That's right." An nodded, frowning slightly. "But in recent years, we've seen an unfortunate trend in the city—many Beautifly and Dustox being abandoned by their Trainers."
Beautifly and Dustox.
Because of appearances, far more Trainers preferred to raise Beautifly.
So when a captured Wurmple evolved into Dustox instead of Beautifly, some Trainers couldn't accept it—and chose to release their Pokémon.
An didn't spell this out, but everyone present understood immediately.
"That's why we're hoping that if we can discover a pattern in Wurmple's evolutions, and inform the public, we can reduce these tragedies," she explained earnestly.
The group fell silent.
Even Hayato wasn't sure about this one.
In the games, Wurmple's evolution was determined by something called a "personality value," essentially random.
But this was reality. Forget personality values—these people didn't even have the concept of base stats or IVs…
"Still…" An's eyes shone with determination. "I believe that as long as we keep researching, one day, we'll find the answer!"
That was the conviction of a true Pokémon researcher.
Beyond Wurmple, Hayato also spotted researchers studying the various evolutions of Eevee.
An Eevee sat obediently on a desk, allowing a nearby researcher to carefully examine its body.
(End of Chapter)