Even though she'd already mentally prepared herself a little, when she heard the exact news, Nanami still couldn't help feeling shocked.
A Pokemon Doctor under twenty?
The youngest Pokemon Doctor in the entire Pokemon Realm right now?
She didn't know about the latter, but he was definitely unprecedented.
She knew exactly at what age her grandpa, the authority of the Pokemon research world, Professor Oak, had become a Doctor.
Granted, that was because being a Trainer had delayed him for a long time.
But Natsuhiko hadn't fallen behind as a Trainer either.
He was still a top-tier figure among the younger generation.
Precisely because she understood how hard it was to become a Researcher, to become a Pokemon Doctor, Nanami was so stunned now.
"Nanami, your little brother seems quite interested too," Flint teased.
Nanami glanced at the very serious Gary Oak.
Knowing Gary Oak's goal, Nanami also understood the unusual maturity her brother had for his age.
But she remembered Professor Oak had once given an assessment of Gary Oak.
"This kid is excellent. But exactly because he's too excellent, too smooth-sailing, it'll be very easy for him to collapse completely when he runs into difficulties and setbacks in the future. Compared to Gary Oak, that Ash Ketchum kid actually has stronger adaptability."
Thinking of this, Nanami looked over at Ash Ketchum.
She saw him standing between Lance's Dragonite and Salamence, looking left, looking right, eyes full of little stars, not the slightest hint of fear.
On the other side.
"Not bad. Your targets over this period have been much clearer than before. Keep strengthening Umbreon's physical training; every bit of foundation is built on physical ability," Natsuhiko summed up Gladio's efforts over this period.
At the same time, he guided him on the direction from here on out.
Hearing Natsuhiko's approval, Gladio secretly let out a breath of relief and quickly nodded. "Okay, Teacher."
Then Natsuhiko turned to Lillie, unable to resist pinching her soft, chubby cheeks. "Got it memorized?"
Lillie's little face tensed up.
With so many key points of knowledge, she was still just a little girl—how could she possibly remember them all at once?
Luckily, Natsuhiko hadn't actually planned for her to memorize everything right away. He just flicked her nose and added, "It's fine. I'll sort it into a document later, send it to your mom, and you can have her give it to you."
"Okay~~" Only then did Lillie finally relax as well.
"Mr. Natsuhiko, in your paper you mentioned that Umbreon is a very outstanding support-type Pokémon, good at breaking buffs, counter-controlling the field, chasing down enemies, and passing momentum, but..."
Gary Oak, who'd been standing behind Natsuhiko silently for a long while, finally spoke up.
Just from listening, you could tell he'd definitely read Natsuhiko's several Eevee-related papers more than once.
He might even have done a bit of his own investigation and research.
Hearing Gary Oak confidently lay out his question, Gladio and Lillie both looked at him with some surprise.
The questions Gary Oak posed were fairly high-level.
But that was only for these kids. For Natsuhiko, this soon-to-be Doctor and "Tactical Master," it was of course just child's play.
Believe it or not, just on tactics for Umbreon alone—things like compatibility, Pokémon lineup-building, tactical planning, training directions—he could talk their ears off for a whole day.
And then—
Having earned "recognition" from Gladio and Lillie, Gary Oak joined in on their discussion as well.
When Natsuhiko finished speaking, the three of them nodded repeatedly.
During this, after watching all the Pokémon, Ash Ketchum finally noticed that, among the four kids present, three had all gathered around Natsuhiko.
He was the only one left standing out.
So he tried scooting over, wanting to listen in together.
Gladio and Lillie, having seen how different Gary Oak was, assumed that Ash Ketchum, who was with Gary Oak, would be about the same, and they proactively made room for him.
The result...
"What's 'Mean Look'?"
"Wait, what's 'Roar'?"
"Are Scattering Nails and Scattering Rock Techniques?"
"Oh~~ Umbreon is an evolved form of Eevee, that part I get!"
Gladio: "..."
Gary Oak: "..."
Ash Ketchum truly living up to his name.
Natsuhiko had originally planned to only spend half an hour.
But thanks to Ash joining in, it was forcibly extended by another half hour.
Thankfully, Natsuhiko didn't care about that extra half hour and patiently explained everything to them.
After it ended—
Gary Oak and the other two still looked like they hadn't had enough, heads lowered, deep in thought.
Ash Ketchum, however, stretched lazily and said with a confident grin:
"So that's how it is. I get it now. It's really simple."
Gladio and Gary Oak very much in Momentum cast him a "looking at an idiot" kind of stare.
Lillie covered her mouth and giggled.
It was obvious—now that she had two more little companions, Lillie's shy personality had gotten a lot brighter.
Especially with someone like Ash Ketchum, a textbook "happy-go-lucky clown," around.
"Mr. Natsuhiko." Gary Oak suddenly called out, quite solemnly.
"Hm?"
"I want to study under you, Mr. Natsuhiko!"
Gary Oak looked at Natsuhiko a bit nervously, both hands clenched tight, as if afraid Natsuhiko would refuse.
"Sure."
To his surprise, Natsuhiko agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Then Natsuhiko turned his head, smiling as he looked at Ash Ketchum.
"What about you, Ash? Do you want to be my student?"
"Eh?!"
Ash Ketchum froze.
Gary Oak also looked at Natsuhiko in surprise.
He didn't know why Natsuhiko wanted to take Ash Ketchum on as well.
He figured Teacher Natsuhiko probably didn't want Ash to feel left out... Gary Oak quietly found a "proper" reason for Natsuhiko in his heart.
Then he immediately shot Ash Ketchum a look.
Signaling him to hurry up and say yes.