Pokemon: I Transmigrated Twice

"Alright, that's all for today. Professor Oak, let's start developing the Pokédex."

After briefly explaining to the four brothers of Pallet Town and the group of kids who had a fateful connection with Ash, Stephen turned to Professor Oak and said.

If possible, Stephen hoped to get the Pokédex up and running before leaving Pallet Town. He would still need it later.

"Alright, alright. Then, kids, today's originally planned activity of 'Making Friends with Pokémon' will be led by my granddaughter, Daisy."

As Professor Oak spoke, Daisy, who had been taking care of a large group of Pokémon in the backyard, walked over quickly with a warm, intellectual smile.

"Come with me, kids, and be careful not to get lost~"

Saying this, Daisy took Rosa's hand and led the group of children toward the backyard.

"Who would get lost on such a short path?"

Chloe, walking in the back, pouted.

Gary raised an eyebrow slightly, instinctively wanting to roll up his sleeves.

Damn, how dare you talk to my sister like that?

But after thinking about it, Gary held back. After all, there were many outsiders here, and he didn't want to embarrass his grandfather and sister.

Stephen glanced toward the backyard and noticed that although Ash's journey was still several years away, Professor Oak's backyard was already home to quite a few Pokémon.

"Professor Oak, did you catch all those Pokémon?"

Stephen asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, no, most of them were caught by trainers from Pallet Town and left here with me. Since I want to study Pokémon from all over the world, I ask trainers from Pallet Town to leave any new species they find here when they travel—especially if they have more than six Pokémon on hand."

Professor Oak smiled as he explained:

"This way, they solve the issue of exceeding their carrying limit while also providing me with new research subjects. It's a win-win situation."

At that moment, Stephen finally understood why Professor Oak kept so many of Ash's Pokémon in the original series.

Back then, many fans had speculated that Oak had some kind of secret relationship with Delia Ketchum, which was why he treated Ash so well.

Ah, how embarrassing.

But honestly, even with Professor Oak taking care of them, Stephen didn't approve of Ash's habit of switching out his entire team whenever he entered a new region.

Not only did this approach hinder the development of a strong core team, but it could also emotionally hurt the Pokémon.

It was fine if a Pokémon like Bulbasaur or Muk voluntarily stayed with Professor Oak.

But some Pokémon wanted to travel with Ash, and yet he just left them with Oak without checking in on them.

Wouldn't that break their hearts?

Yeah, I'm looking at you, Greninja, who's been left alone for who knows how many years.

"But the backyard seems to be getting full. If more Pokémon move in later, won't it be too crowded?"

Stephen pointed out another issue.

Right now, Professor Oak's backyard was just a backyard—not the vast mountain reserve it would later become in the original timeline.

"As expected of you, Dr. Stephen. I've noticed that problem too, but it's fine."

Professor Oak chuckled.

"I'm planning to apply for permission from the real estate developers to buy the entire mountain behind us. Though after that, I'll probably have to live on instant noodles for a while."

Stephen blinked, thinking, That didn't happen in the original story, did it?

But within half a minute, he figured out the reason—

In the original timeline, Professor Oak invented the Pokédex. Though it was pretty much his only invention, it was a revolutionary product on par with Poké Balls and TM machines.

Almost every new trainer had one.

Professor Oak made a fortune just from the Pokédex royalties.

But now, the inventor was himself…

Stephen pondered for a moment and made a decision.

...

After the summer camp activities ended that day, Iono immediately borrowed the computer from Professor Oak's lab. She edited the footage of Stephen's explanation and uploaded it.

Remembering Iono's future as an internet celebrity, Stephen got curious and said:

"Iono, you should try adding more of yourself into the video so people can get to know you better."

"Ohhh! (o゜▽゜)o☆ Great idea! As expected of the League's genius scientist… ummm, but what should I say?"

Iono's eyes lit up at first, but then she looked puzzled, resting her chin in her hand.

Stephen tried to recall Iono's future catchphrases and suggested:

"Maybe you could try a pun, like 'Who's here to tell the story? Iono is here!'"

"Ohhh~~~"

Iono's big, bright eyes sparkled as if she were about to unleash a Thunderbolt attack.

This was good!

This was really good!

That night, a video titled "Dr. Stephen's Legendary Pokémon Lecture! Who's here to tell the story? Iono is here!" was uploaded by a user named "Iono's Stories".

Many viewers still remembered this video creator and, seeing that she had uploaded another video so soon, clicked out of curiosity.

As soon as they hit play, Iono popped into the frame like a cute little bird, flashing her signature shark-toothed grin.

["Hehe~ Welcome to Iono's Stories! Who's here to tell the story? Iono is here!"]

["Guess what, everyone? Iono is currently in Pallet Town, attending a summer camp hosted by Professor Oak. And guess what? I met an important person here… Can you guess who?"]

["Now, time to reveal the answer—ta-da! It's none other than the genius scientist of the Alola League, Dr. Stephen!"]

["Now, let's dive into Dr. Stephen's Pokémon lecture! Watch this~"]

This intro was filmed separately and edited into the original footage.

Even though she was still young, Iono already showed great potential as a top-tier internet personality.

She wasn't completely comfortable in front of the camera yet, but she wasn't shy at all. Many viewers, after just watching her introduction, flooded the comments with things like ["So cute!"]and ["Awww!".]

Among these viewers were also the internet police who had previously taken down Iono's videos.

To be honest, if it weren't for the name "Dr. Stephen" in the title, considering what she had uploaded before, they wouldn't have even bothered watching and would have just taken it down again.

...

"Chairman, take a look at this."

The same Officer Jenny who had reported to Chairman Goodshow in the morning and taken down Iono's first video now brought her phone to his office.

Originally, Goodshow wasn't interested—he was already stressed out with all the messes he had to deal with.

But as he watched, he unknowingly became engrossed.

When he finally finished watching, Officer Jenny asked:

"President, should we take this video down too?"

Even with his usual gentle personality, Goodshow couldn't help but feel the urge to fire someone after hearing that question.

"Are you stupid?

How could this kind of video get taken down!?"

"Push! Push hard!"

Goodshow passionately declared:

"Give this video the most traffic!"

He felt like he had found a solution to the Veridian incident.

...

Meanwhile, on another floor, inside the Elite Four's room,

 Lorelei was also holding her phone, watching Stephen passionately explain in front of a blackboard on the screen.

She muttered to herself in a low voice:

"Stephen, how many more surprises do you have that I don't know about?"

...

The next morning, the kids attending the summer camp gathered once again.

Iono, like a scholar who had just passed the imperial exam, jumped around excitedly among the children while holding up her phone:

"I went viral today!"

"Huh?"

Rosa, Hilda, Serena, and the other girls all looked at Iono curiously.

"It exploded in popularity!"

Iono proudly held up her phone, unable to stop bragging.

A few girls who got along well with Iono gathered around to take a look.

Whoa!

Overnight, 3 million views!

This level of popularity was even crazier than the Joker video that had been taken down before!

The overwhelming success left Iono completely stunned.

Clap, clap!

At that moment, the sound of applause came from nearby.

The children turned their heads and saw Delia approaching with a warm smile, clapping her hands.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Delia. You can just call me Mrs Delia. Today is the second day of Professor Oak's summer camp, and I will be guiding you all…"

"Mrs. Delia, wait a moment!"

Before Delia could finish speaking, Iono impatiently rushed into the research lab, leaving Delia momentarily stunned.

...

"Sorry, Stephen, I need to take this call."

Inside the lab, the Pokédex development was still ongoing.

A research assistant called out, "Professor, you have a call."

Professor Oak gestured to Stephen, signaling that he needed to step away, and walked over to the video call station.

"Dr. Stephen! It blew up! It blew up!"

Just as Professor Oak stepped away, Iono came rushing into the lab like a whirlwind.

"Huh?"

Stephen raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"Look, look! Check out this view count!"

Iono held out her phone like a treasure.

Seeing the numbers, Stephen was also stunned for a couple of seconds.

In this era, people's understanding of legendary Pokémon was still quite limited.

He had expected that his educational content yesterday would spark some discussion, but he hadn't anticipated it would blow up this much.

Something… felt off.

"Dr. Stephen, can you give more lectures in the coming days? And of course, let me record them!"

Iono's little scheme was so obvious, that they probably could hear it across the ocean in Unova.

"And what do I get in return?"

Stephen asked with amusement.

Spending a little time every day teaching these future protagonists wasn't a big deal.

But unfortunately, among these kids were a few problematic ones.

They weren't annoying enough for Stephen to want to eliminate them, but… they were still a bit of an eyesore.

"Wuuu X﹏X"

Iono pouted so hard that it looked like she could hang a kettle from her lips.

In the end, she dug into her pocket and took out a few small coins, giving Stephen a pitiful look:

"Here, here! I'll pay you, okay~?"

Stephen couldn't help but chuckle.

This little girl was even cuter than he had imagined.

"Dr. Stephen."

At that moment, Professor Oak returned.

When Stephen turned his gaze toward him, Professor Oak continued:

"Old Tama just called me. He hopes your educational series can continue."

"Huh?"

Stephen was momentarily taken aback.

"Oh, I mean Goodshow, that old guy."

Professor Oak explained:

"Old Tama just contacted me. He said yesterday's video was fantastic and that it helped the general public better understand Pokémon. He hopes you can keep making more. He also said he'd fully support you. I think it's a great idea too—it'll help the kids learn more about Pokémon."

Hearing this, Stephen immediately understood why the video had gained so much traction.

So the Pokémon League Chairman himself was secretly pushing it.

But that wasn't surprising—after all, Goodshow had dedicated his entire life to developing the Pokémon League.

"Alright then."

Stephen wasn't particularly excited about seeing certain people, but since they had gone this far to request it, and considering his previous promise involving Ho-Oh, he decided not to refuse.

...

Half an hour later, Iono, sitting in the front row, opened a new video.

The Four Brothers of Pallet Town, Serena, Rosa, Hilda, and the others had formed a neat little group, sitting properly.

Stephen picked up Sylveon and placed it on the prepared podium and then faced the group and the camera to begin his lecture:

"This is the newly discovered evolution of Eevee—Sylveon."

"So beautiful!"

Serena, a self-proclaimed beauty enthusiast, was immediately captivated by Sylveon's elegant posture.

Iono, Rosa, Hilda, and the other girls were just as excited.

Even the power-focused trainers like Green and Gary were impressed.

"It's really beautiful."

"Its typing is just like the Dark type that Professor Oak discovered a few years ago—it's a brand-new type. I have named it the Fairy-type."

"Many well-known Pokémon have this typing. However, Fairy-type moves are difficult to awaken, so for a long time, many trainers didn't realize their Pokémon had this attribute."

"Here's the simplest way to identify Fairy-type Pokémon—"

"Use a Dragon-type move to attack the target. If it's immune to Dragon-type attacks, just like Ground-types are immune to Electric-type attacks, then it's a Fairy-type."

...

There was no doubt about it—Iono's second educational video featuring Stephen had gone viral once again.

 It was even more popular than the last one.

As Stephen had pointed out, many people go their whole lives without ever encountering a Legendary Pokémon.

 So, while learning about Legendary Pokémon might be interesting, it wasn't particularly useful for most trainers.

However, Stephen's revelation of the new Fairy-type attribute completely overturned the balance of battles in the Pokémon League.

For years, Dragon-types had been one of the most dominant typings.

 This was especially true after Stephen invented TM, which allowed Dragon-type Pokémon to learn powerful moves from various other types, further boosting their strength.

A prime example was Lance, the Dragon-type Elite Four member.

If, in the past, Lance's win rate against Lorelei was about 6:4. Now, it had become 7:3 or even 8:2 in his favor.

But with the introduction of the Fairy type? Everything changed.

Not only did Fairy-type moves deal super-effective damage to Dragon-types,

 But Fairy-types were also completely immune to Dragon-type attacks.

This new typing was practically the Dragon-slayer.

Alola's Manalo Daily spared no praise for their local genius:

["Dr. Stephen's discovery of the Fairy-type has fundamentally altered the balance of Pokémon battles worldwide. He is undeniably the greatest genius in the League—no, in the world! And it is only thanks to President Lusamine's support that Stephen has been able to fully showcase his brilliance!"]

Upon seeing Alola's report, Goldenrod TV from the Johto region couldn't sit still.

Their top news anchor fired back:

["A simple background check would tell you that Dr. Stephen is from Johto. The only reason he chose to stay in Alola is because a certain older woman used some... unspeakable means to keep him there. We don't want to comment on anyone's love life, but we do feel the need to remind certain individuals to respect ethical boundaries. A relationship with someone nearly the same age as your children? That's not something to flaunt."]

For Johto residents, the fact that Stephen—a Johto native—chose to work in Alola had always been a sore spot.

To make matters worse, Stephen's public confession to Lusamine from two years ago still frequently resurfaced in trending videos.

Naturally, people from Johto believed that Lusamine, that cunning seductress, must have used underhanded tricks to ensnare him.

And just like that, the whole affair between Stephen and Lusamine was back in the spotlight, trending once again after two years.

Suddenly, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the Viridian City Incident that had happened less than two weeks ago.

"Oh, I see what they're doing."

Stephen glanced at the top trending search terms on the news sites:

[Fairy Type]

[Legendary Pokémon Guide]

[Dr. Stephen Romance]

[Older Widow x Younger Boy]

...But there wasn't a single trending topic related to Masked Man or The Battle of Viridian City.

At that moment, Stephen understood exactly what Goodshow was trying to do.

A diversion tactic, huh?

To be honest, this kind of move had been overused back in his past life.

Shifting public attention with gossip and sensational news.

Even after reincarnating twice, he was still witnessing the same tactics at play.

"These people are disgusting."

Karen clenched her fists, her face dark with anger as she stared at the trending topics—

 So trashy, yet so insanely popular.

"There's nothing we can do. Gossip is embedded in human DNA."

 Stephen shrugged and casually joined in on the gossip.

"Honestly, I used to suspect that Professor Oak and Mrs. Delia had something going on..."

Karen: "..."

Stephen continued, "Think about it—Professor Oak has done so much for human-Pokémon relations, made countless contributions to our understanding of Pokémon... but what does everyone care about the most? His rumored affair with Ash's mom."

"And yeah, I was one of those people too."

After hearing Stephen's "Your mom is home alone? Here, take this Pikachu and go become a Pokémon Master" joke about Professor Oak, Karen rolled her eyes beautifully and scoffed:

"You guys are seriously disgusting..."

Since arriving in Pallet Town, Karen had never even spoken to Professor Oak,

 But she still had immense respect for him as a scholar who had contributed so much to Pokémon research.

And yet, these people?

All they cared about was his love life?!

"Can't help it. This is just what people love to focus on."

 Stephen admitted openly.

Just like how some dog-tier authors love writing about multiple love interests...

 Just like how they always pair the protagonist with every beautiful girl from the original story...

At first, they at least tried to be subtle.

 But now? They weren't even hiding it anymore.

As they continued chatting, Stephen suddenly realized—

 At some point, the two of them had gotten very close.

He could feel Karen's breath on his face.

 She closed her eyes slightly, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.

Stephen: "..."

Thinking back to her birthday celebration just earlier this year,

 Then looking at her now, with her eyes shut, waiting...

For a brief moment, Stephen hesitated.

He wasn't one of those morally upright protagonists who could resist even when the girl had been drugged.

But the atmosphere was already this perfect.

If he didn't make a move now...

 Was he even human?!

After a short internal struggle, Stephen made up his mind—

 Even if it meant risking the FBI knocking on his door, he had to go for it.

With that thought, he slowly lowered his head.

Karen's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest.

 She could feel his breath growing warmer, closer, closer...

And then—

BAM!

The door slammed open with brutal force!

"Stephen! Someone's looking for you!"

One minute later...

From the inn where Stephen's group was staying, loud, agonized screams echoed through the night—

"Karen, stop hitting me! I swear I won't interrupt you guys next time, okay?!"

Hearing that, Karen hit Will even harder.