Rope's words have not yet fallen, the bottom of the brush brush up pieces of hands. Rope's mouth twitched, and then he saw Whitley's hand raised in the air as well, and it was quite high.Rope passed a questioning look.
He and Whitley hadn't discussed any interaction before class. What was Whitley doing, then?
Rope and Whitley exchanged glances.Whitley met Rope's gaze seriously and firmly.
[Looks like she really has something to ask...]
Although she couldn't quite understand why Whitley had to pick the present occasion to ask a question but since she wanted to ask, she did.
"Which one of you in the fourth row, in white with a Chimchar sitting on your shoulder, you go first."
That's right, Chimchar is still standing on Whitley's shoulder even now. Incidentally, he bounced from Cynthia's shoulder to Whitley's.
The little guy is clingy as hell. Good thing it's basically unfussy...
Whitley got up in response and took a microphone from the presenter at the front of the stage. Then said, "Professor Rope, I'd like to ask about the role of the Legendary Pokémon you speak of. We can actually all more or less understand it amongst the literature. But therein lies our problem. The average person has no access to Legendary Pokémon at all, and even for most people throughout their lives, legends remain legends. So how can we, who are interested in devoting ourselves to the same research as you, get close to these Legendary Pokémon?"
Needless to say, the question was asked with a real level of sophistication. And it's also critical.
It's clearly a question about practice. And it asks the biggest shortcoming of all.
Legendary Pokémon were called Legendary Pokémon precisely because they existed in the eyes of most, if not the vast majority, of people.
Not everyone is Rope or Ash, and many people have searched for them for a long time without finding them.
They seem to exist only in the legends of this world. In literature, in murals, in old men's stories. Passed down by word of mouth like a nebulous symbol. They don't exist in this world, they only exist in thought. If it weren't for the reports of sightings that appear in front of the public every few years. Then Legendary Pokémon might not even be able to keep the word Pokémon at the end.
It's just a legend.
So, researching the significance of Legendary Pokémon's existence wasn't the issue, the key was... how to find Legendary Pokémon?
The students below the field began to whisper even after this question was posed, and the whispers of a group of people became a massive hum. While it was annoying, it was also panic-inducing.
And the professors in the front row and Blue and the others began to think about it.
"Oak, is this kid...really Rope's assistant?" Professor Rowan asked suspiciously as he looked at Whitley, who was standing there, looking at Rope with his head held high.
"Good question isn't it? I was really looking forward to seeing how Rope was going to interpret that." Professor Oak said rather appreciatively.
Professor Carolina also nodded her head, indicating that she agreed with Professor Oak's statement.
On the other hand, Fennel on the other side looked at Whitley and then at Rope on the stage, and a worried look appeared in her eyes.
And Professor Burnet, who was sitting beside her, patted her on the shoulder to signal her reassurance.
"Don't worry, this question has been answered by everyone here, hasn't it? Is there a need for large-scale research on the Z-moves that are prevalent in the Alola region? Can large-scale research be carried out on the Mega evolution in the Kalos region?"
Professor Burnet smiled at the girl who had also become a professor at a young age and said, "Every one of us has answered this question, which in essence asks about nothing more than the popularity of research. It's just the demarcation between popular and niche research."
Fennel thought carefully about the kernel of the question and realized that this was indeed the case. The question exists only to characterize. Not to determine the survival of the discipline.
Cynthia offstage looked at Rope onstage, not looking worried at all, but instead watching Rope's relieved expression with interest.
Obviously, Rope had already had a plan for Whitley's question, but it seemed that Whitley hadn't greeted him in advance.
Cynthia looked at Rope's face and instead of worrying about it, she was ready to hear Rope's next answer.
"That's a pretty good question." Rope breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled.
His words once again drew the attention of everyone in the arena to himself. The auditorium, which had been in an uproar as if a large swarm of flies had arrived, was once again silent. Obviously, most of the people present were full of anticipation for what Rope was going to say next.
"My theory was originally a niche study."
The words filled the room with silence.
The students' brows furrowed. Then there was another round of whispers.
And Daisy frowned too.
Obviously, Rope's statement didn't count for much in his own development.
"Rope's telling the truth." Blue's voice suddenly rang out.
Daisy and everyone nearby looked at the Viridian Gym's Gym Leader to hear what he had to say.
Blue didn't pay attention to the looks of the people around him. He just looked at his sister and said, "You know, Legendary Pokémon, that is, the existence of Legendary Pokémon is rare and scarce. Those who can see them are rare, and those who can come back alive after seeing them are rare among the rare. And if you want to conduct Rope research, you must have such people. The ability to protect yourself, the luck to find them, and the mentality to be recognized by them. All three are indispensable. Such people are rare."
"Rope's research can be said to be a niche field of research within a niche. It's not like you don't know this. You're just concerned about it." Blue looked at her own sister rather helplessly, too.
And then there was that Red guy, who was actually still mad at Rope. But it was outrageous that he hadn't resolved it after it had come and gone for so long. Until now Yellow and Misty are still on the mountain, if not he often go to see, know where the situation, he really thought Red guy is not these two women are fixed.
The anxious Red naturally ignored Rope, but that's why he trusted Rope. In his words, "Rope doesn't let little things like this get in the way."
Rope was silent on stage, and when the stage was slightly quiet, Rope spoke, "Those who can communicate with Legendary Pokémon on an equal footing will always be in the minority, and this discipline is not afraid of being passed down from generation to generation, as long as it exists."
Once again there was silence.