Everything happened so smoothly that, aside from Andy himself being confused and lost, everyone else felt it was perfectly reasonable.
This was the perfect use of psychic power. Simply have Unown A use telekinesis to press the questioner back down, or just shut him up physically…
A faint smile curved on Shiro's lips. After finishing the memorized script, he bowed together with Dale and Bria, then stepped down from the stage.
For something like friendship, there was no need for a live experiment. The report was just a formal presentation of prepared material.
As Shiro returned to his seat, others went up to give their reports.
Half an hour later, the host stepped onto the stage, bowed, and announced, "Thank you to all the Pokémon professors and researchers... Next will be a break. After the break, we will proceed to the Professor title conferment segment of this year's Academic Summit..."
The host then stepped down, and the entire hall became lively in an instant.
* * *
In a dim room inside the research institute, Oak stood by the window with his hands behind his back. After a moment, his low voice sounded.
"Go coordinate with the other research institutes. Try to get things done quickly. We do not have much time..."
Hearing this, the five researchers standing behind him straightened up, yet none of them responded.
They neither agreed nor refused.
"What are you doing?" Oak frowned deeply and turned to look at them.
These were people he trusted, his confidants. He had already briefed them long ago about everything that needed to be done during the conference. There should have been no mistakes, yet now, their expressions were calm, and they still said nothing.
Oak's face darkened as he scanned them one by one.
Finally, one of them could not hold back anymore and spoke. "Professor Oak, what you said... about making all the candidates for the conferment of Professor title fail... it is a bit..."
"A bit what?" Oak snapped, glaring. "Have any of you been bought off by someone?"
"No, Professor." Another quickly explained, "We just feel it is not right. No one succeeded last time or the one before. If all seven candidates fail again today, that would make nearly ten years—"
"Then ten years it is! That only proves how strict the evaluation is!" Oak strode up to him and shouted.
"Are you still afraid it will affect the reputation of the Oak Research Institute?"
"We..." Another researcher tried to speak, but someone beside him pulled him back.
After a few more seconds of silence, the five of them could only nod in reluctant agreement.
* * *
"So this is Professor Oak's idea again?"
Back in the hall, Sycamore looked at the researcher in front of him with a faint smile.
"Y-yes..." the researcher replied hesitantly.
Sycamore did not refuse outright, but he still expressed his stance in a tactful way. "I will see how things go."
* * *
"Professor Oak has gone a bit too far."
Rowan tugged at his beard and shook his head.
"It was one thing before, but this time Shiro has so many achievements. Not granting him the professor title would be unreasonable."
"Well..." The researcher hesitated, clearly caught in a difficult position.
Rowan waved his hand, signaling the man to leave.
The reason he had previously warned Shiro about how difficult the conferment process would be was precisely because of Professor Oak.
In the past two conferences, Oak had already hinted to the other professors not to let newcomers rise too quickly. Yet at the same time, he acted like a kind old man, personally helping those newcomers. It made it seem as if the other research institutes were the ones suppressing them.
Rowan did not want to believe that Oak was jealous of talent, but he truly could not understand what he was trying to do.
* * *
"I understand."
In the courtyard, Birch remained calm, as if he had expected this all along.
The researcher who delivered the message looked a bit surprised, but still nodded and left.
'That counts as agreeing... right?'
* * *
"Alright, alright. Of course I will follow Professor Oak's wishes."
At a corner in the corridor, Juniper stood with her arms crossed, smiling as she nodded.
The researcher who came to inform her bowed, then quickly ran off.
* * *
"I know. There was no need for Professor Oak to send someone personally."
Elm held a stack of research materials without even looking up.
"Yes, but we still felt it was better to inform you..." the researcher said in a low and careful tone.
Elm raised his eyes slightly. "The ones who raised their hands earlier were all from your institute, right?"
The researcher nodded. "It was under Professor Oak's instruction."
Elm understood at once.
Thinking back to earlier, that young man had first asked basic breeding questions to test Shiro. Then he gradually increased the difficulty, clearly trying to make things hard and force him into embarrassment.
After that failed, the next one had taken a different approach. He tried to make Shiro's assistants fail instead, hoping to stain his reputation through them.
"Professor Oak is truly ruthless," Elm could not help but sigh. "Alright, I understand what he wants. Do not worry."
After that, the researcher hurried away.
* * *
In a dim room of the institute, Oak examined the researchers who had quickly returned, suspicion growing in his heart.
"You all delivered the message?"
"Of course..." one of them replied sincerely. "We followed your instructions and informed all the professors. We also explained the situation to the researchers in each institute along the way..."
"Good."
Oak's face remained dark as he chose to believe them for now.
"This matter is important. I trust you would not lie to me."
With that, he led them back toward the conference hall.
* * *
"Respected professors and researchers, the Professor title conferment segment of this year's Academic Summit is about to begin. Please prepare yourselves."
On stage, the two hosts finished speaking. One of them stepped down, leaving the male host to glance at the card in his hand before calling out loudly, "Please welcome the first candidate applying for the Professor title... Alden! Come to the stage and present an overview of your research achievements!"
As soon as he finished, a tall young man with short brown hair stood up from one side of the hall. He strode confidently toward the stage with a stack of documents in hand. After stepping up, he immediately began organizing his materials.
"My name is Alden. My main research focus is on ruins and ancient Pokémon..."
As he spoke, excitement spread across his face, and his expression became animated as he explained his recent findings.
"I discovered traces of two super ancient Pokémon in Hoenn. Inside the related ruins, there are clear murals depicting these two beings..."
He activated the projection device and displayed his prepared materials on the large black screen behind him.
One red and one blue.
Two enormous, terrifying beasts appeared before the entire hall.
**
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