Chapter 215 Grens, Altered Types, Variants
A vast and spacious dome in the middle of the city was the Research Lab of the Nichijou Region, exclusively owned by one of the most famous researchers of the continent, Professor Oakland.
Professor Oakland is huge in stature, always wearing a lab coat and his pleasant smile. His whole being exudes a kind atmosphere, which was probably what separated him from other Lead Researchers. Despite his towering figure of six foot six or a hundred and ninety-eight centimeters, he was a gentle soul, able to befriend any and all beasts tamed by other assistants like Ash or Jean.
"Good morning," He yawned as he entered the dome, greeting every personnel on-site as well as the beasts that freely roamed inside the dome. There were bags under his eyes
"Good morning, Professor Oakland," The personnel simultaneously greeted with a light salute before they proceeded to take care of the reserves inside the dome.
"Now then," Professor Oakland relaxed on his chair in front of a huge monitor where anyone could see what he was working on. Professor Oakland is a firm believer in shared knowledge and that's why he never hid his works from everyone no matter how important it was. Even the current situation about the new Dimensional Portal appearing in the nearby forest was already known by everyone in the region, and that's because he was the first one to confirm and announce its existence.
Slide.
The door to the dome slid open and Professor Oakland turned around to smile at the newcomers. Usually, those who enter the Dome super early were up-and-coming Beast Tamers and he wanted to be the most friendly with them. That way, they won't be hostile when it comes to Beast Taming and it would also nourish an overall healthy relationship with their fellow Beast Tamers. This is probably one of the few underlying reasons why Beast Tamers in the Nichijou Region are more peaceful and easygoing compared to other Regions.
"Good morning! Oh! If it isn't our very own Master Beast Tamer, Jean Grey, and his son the rising star of Nichijou, Ash Grey!"
"Good morning, Professor." Jean Grey casually waved. As for Ash, he was already deep inside the Dome, playing with the plethora of Beasts that resided therein.
"Let me guess, you're here for the... " Professor Oakland twirled his thumbs in the air.
"Yes, for the new Dimensional Portal. We all know that this is not a new phenomenon and most of the time, these Dimensional Portals would lead to places with new species of Beasts. Legendary and Mythic Beasts even appear here, that's why we can't miss exploring it."
"That's right! Take the Beast Dimension for example." Professor Oakland got up from his chair and walked side by side with Jean Grey. "The Dimensional Portal to the Beast Dimension only appeared a couple of years ago and yet it has completely changed our world. And not only that, it even changed the very core of our beliefs, pretty much altering the traditions of how we tame Beasts."
"And you believe that this Dimensional Portal is something to that extent?"
"Yes, I believe such is the case." Professor Oakland cleared his throat before he continued talking. "And that's why I'm assigning the exploration to you first, Master Beast Tamer Jean Grey."
"Come on, Professor, I'm way too old to be called that." Jean Grey scratched his head in embarrassment. "If ever, someone from the next generation should claim that title."
"Indeed, there are a lot of promising new Beast Tamers today, huh," Professor Oakland chuckled. "All right then, I'll leave the Dimensional Portal in you and Ash's hands."
"You got it! Ash, let's go." Jean Grey turned towards his son who was snuggling one of the Lussios in the reserves.
"Right!"
.....
A few minutes later, Jean and Ash got to the middle of the Urass Forest, one of the most notable forests in the Nichijou Region. Based on the professor's reports, it is said that the Dimensional Portal could be found somewhere in the middle of the forest.
Since the location of the Dimensional Portal was yet to be pinpointed, Professor Oak handed Jean a special device that detects waves of energy. With this, Jean Grey would easily get to the Dimensional Portal.
Just in case, Jean Grey also brought one of his Grens with him.
Grens, short for Grenades, are spatial compartments for Beasts that a Beast Tamer has tamed. Well, it was more like a portable portal wherein tamed Beasts could be summoned from. The Beasts aren't actually with the Beast Tamer in his or her journey unless it's summoned out. For many a time, the Beasts would usually stay in the Beast Tamer's property, waiting to be called via Grens that they carried.
This particular Gren that Jean Grey carried has access to one of his most powerful Beasts, the Azure Blue Tiger, also called Pheross. The Azure Blue Tiger is one of the few tamed beasts from the Beast Dimension, and it also belonged to the family of Blue Lightning, an electric-type variant that produces blue lightning, which is twice more powerful than normal electric types.
The Azure Blue Tiger is rare as it is, but Jean Grey managed to catch an Altered Type in the Blue Lightning Family. (Altered types are basically shinies for crying out loud.)
Just like what the news implied, the Dimensional Portal was in a small clearing in the middle of the forest. It was a stable portal, just as Professor Oakland had predicted. But still, that didn't stop Jean and Ash from being cautious as they approached it.
That's when Ash noticed it, a huge figure right by the foot of the portal.
"Dad, do you see that?" Ash asked, pointing right by the base of the portal. "It seems like."
"Whoa~! Isn't that an Alpha Red Salamander?!"Jean exclaimed at the top of his lungs, his eyes sparkling. "It's the first time I've seen one in person! And what's more, it's even an Altered Type!"
"I'm going to tame it!" Ash called out. "Go! Sarugaso, I choose you!"