Following behind Lusamine were two assistants, one male and one female.
The man had short curly green hair and a matching beard, along with oversized translucent green goggles. His white research uniform clearly identified him as a scientist.
This was Faba — one of the Aether Foundation's lead researchers and the creator of Type: Null.
He was an extremely ambitious man who would resort to almost anything for advancement.
In the anime, in order to fulfill Lusamine's increasingly obsessive dream of encountering Ultra Beasts, he recklessly opened an Ultra Wormhole, attracting the Ultra Beast known as Nihilego.
(PS: Ultra Wormholes are unstable spacetime tunnels connecting the Alola region to Ultra Space. Ultra Beasts are rare and extremely powerful Pokémon species that inhabit Ultra Space.)
Nihilego attempted to abduct the young Lillie while she was playing. Although it was ultimately driven away by Type: Null, the incident left deep psychological trauma on her, causing her to lose memories and develop a fear of touching Pokémon.
Faba, afraid the truth would come out, placed a control mask on Type: Null and imprisoned it. At the same time, he repeatedly obstructed Lillie's recovery of her memories.
Of course, he eventually failed. Once Lusamine learned the truth, she demoted him from head of the research division to an ordinary employee.
Standing beside Faba was a voluptuous woman wearing frameless glasses.
She had fluffy shoulder-length hair cascading freely behind her. A pink turtleneck sweater hugged her upper body tightly, while a fitted white skirt and knee-high white heeled boots emphasized her curvy figure even further.
Her mature figure was impossible to ignore.
She was Wicke, one of the executives responsible for Pokémon protection within Aether Paradise.
"Tsk…" Peter shook his head internally.
No wonder she was a fan-favorite back in my previous life…
While he was silently reminiscing, the group disembarked from the ship under the escort of several employees.
The library director immediately stepped forward.
"President Lusamine, welcome to Canalave City."
"Thank you for having us." Lusamine smiled gracefully before turning toward the man behind him. "You must be Professor Rowan?"
"Hello, President Lusamine." Professor Rowan nodded politely.
Judging by the exhaustion on his face, he had clearly stayed up all night again.
"Oh? Professor Rowan, you're here too? What a coincidence~"
Peter approached with Whitney, pretending they had just met by chance.
"Hm? Peter? If I'd known you were here, I wouldn't have bothered making this trip."
Rowan leaned over and whispered a few words into Peter's ear.
Apparently, Lusamine had paid a hefty sum to invite him here to explain Sinnoh mythology and legends. Since the library director was an old friend, he couldn't really refuse.
Unfortunately, he had stayed up too late "studying materials" last night, and his aging body was suffering the consequences.
Peter glanced at the professor's heavy dark circles and twitched slightly.
"Professor… didn't I tell you to exercise some restraint?"
"I was being restrained!" Rowan defended himself awkwardly. "But the teacher in yesterday's new disc was just too experienced! I pulled an all-nighter and still haven't finished watching…"
Peter covered his face.
The shy grin from the elderly otaku was simply too much to look at.
Nearby, Wicke stared at Peter and Whitney thoughtfully.
"Peter… why does that name sound familiar?"
At that moment, Lusamine also noticed Peter speaking quietly with Rowan.
"And this young man is…?"
"I remember now!" Wicke suddenly shouted. "You're Dr. Peter—the one who discovered the Fairy type and Mega Evolution, and who developed controllable Dynamax technology, right?!"
"A doctor?" Faba froze, his eyes filled with disbelief as he looked Peter up and down.
"At his age? He probably hasn't even memorized the eighteen-type matchup chart yet."
"Ahem." Rowan cleared his throat.
"That's correct. He is the League's newest Pokémon Professor—Peter."
"So young…" Lusamine's golden eyes lit up with interest. She walked directly toward him and grabbed his hand.
"Professor Peter, have you ever considered joining the Aether Foundation? I can offer you double the annual salary the League provides!"
The burning enthusiasm in her eyes made Peter instinctively take half a step back.
"Thank you for the offer, President Lusamine, but I still have my journey to complete. Perhaps I'll visit in the future."
"Ah… what a pity." Lusamine looked genuinely disappointed.
Behind her, Faba quietly let out a breath of relief.
"So this is Miss Whitney!" Wicke suddenly grabbed Whitney's hands with sparkling eyes.
"I'm a huge fan of you and Professor Peter as a couple! Please, absolutely, definitely, no matter what, stay lovey-dovey forever!"
"Ah… o-okay…" Whitney was completely overwhelmed by the woman's enthusiasm.
"Ahh To meet my idols here in beautiful seaside Canalave City… this must be fate itself"
Wicke spun dramatically in place, completely immersed in her own romantic fantasy.
Everyone else: "…"
This assistant… seemed a little airheaded.
"How about this?" Rowan suddenly interjected. "Cynthia once mentioned that Peter is extremely knowledgeable about Sinnoh mythology. Why not let him handle the explanation duties this time?"
At the moment, the old professor's heart was entirely occupied by the educational videos he still hadn't finished.
Every time he closed his eyes, he could practically see the teacher on-screen swaying her waist and beckoning him back.
"Professor, you—"
Peter had barely opened his mouth when Lusamine interrupted him.
"Would that trouble you, Professor Peter?"
"…Not at all." Peter forced a smile.
Then he shot Rowan a glare.
While approaching Lusamine and the Aether Foundation had been his goal from the beginning, being used as a replacement by the old man still felt annoying.
Rowan laughed awkwardly before whispering again.
"I owe you one for this. If I don't see that teacher within half an hour, my entire body starts feeling uncomfortable. Please, please…"
He even clasped his hands together and begged shamelessly.
Peter rolled his eyes.
This old man was hopeless.
"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up and leave before you ruin my appetite."
"Hahaha! Excellent! Then I'll take my leave first!"
Rowan immediately fled at surprising speed.
After some brief greetings, Peter and Whitney accompanied the group toward the Canalave Library.
Along the way, Lusamine enthusiastically discussed the Aether Foundation's "BKP Project" with Peter.
BKP — Beast Killer Produce.
The Ultra Beast countermeasure project.
Officially, the project existed to create Pokémon capable of combating Ultra Beasts.
But Peter knew the truth.
Lusamine's real goal was likely to use Type: Null's power to enter Ultra Space itself.
The fanaticism hidden in her words made it obvious.
She possessed an overwhelming obsession with everything related to Ultra Beasts.
And perhaps…
Part of that obsession stemmed from her missing husband.
Mohn.
After all, Professor Mohn had disappeared after opening an Ultra Wormhole years ago.
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T/N:
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