Pokemon: Behold the Father of All Pokemons

Over the past week, news of meteorites landing above Tarvok City had sparked curiosity and alarm. Many wondered about their origin and composition, speculating that they might carry exotic metals or alien microbes. 

In reality, these stones contained a space-warping power that only Ethan understood, thanks to his system's cryptic guidelines. He had managed to gather dozens of them from the villa district, relying on Mew's Confusion (a Pokémon move similar to Telekenesis) to lift the heavier pieces. After locking up most of his haul in the basement, Ethan kept a single fist-sized sample in the lab, submerged in a large sealed container of water.

That same night, several more Pokémon hatched in the lab-Growlithe, Audino, and Happiny, all carefully documented by the staff. 

Their successful arrival marked the crucial tenth species developed by Ethan, triggering the meteor shower as predicted. Now, with a basement full of meteorites, he was ready to begin the next phase: growing plants called Cone Trees, which would bear fruit that would form actual Poké Balls.

Early the next day, Ethan awoke around ten. Exhausted from the previous night's frantic search, he scrounged together a simple breakfast of sliced bread and orange juice, sharing a few scraps with Pikachu, Mew, and a handful of other companions who followed him. 

He scanned online forums and news sites to see if anything unusual had been reported. One post mentioned a meteorite narrowly missing a parked car, while another described a person who nearly fainted when a glowing rock fell near him, but was rescued in time. Fortunately, there were no life-threatening injuries.

Most reports treated the rocks as standard meteor fragments. The government of Tarvok City had collected some for research, but at face value they seemed harmless. 

Ethan suspected it would take them a while to notice any space-warping properties, assuming they noticed any at all. He made a mental note to buy up meteorites from local finders if they tried to sell them. The chance of someone stumbling upon their hidden power was small, but it wasn't impossible.

Satisfied that no major crisis was brewing, Ethan made his way to the lab. As soon as he arrived, James Hunt beckoned him over. "We just finished feeding the three new Pokémons from last night," James said, gesturing to where Growlithe was playing with an older Squirtle. "They're settling in well."

Ethan nodded. "They look healthy enough. Good. Let's check out the meteorite sample in the sealed drum we set up."

Together they walked to the storage room. A tall plastic container, half filled with water, stood against the wall. Ethan had placed a chunk of meteorite inside, hoping that the space-distorting energy would dissipate. He lifted the lid. The water looked clear, no sign of turbulence or color change.

James peered inside. "Looks ordinary." He tapped the side. "Is something supposed to happen?"

Ethan shrugged. "It could take some time for the power to dissipate. Let's keep it sealed for another day or two. Then I'll try injecting the water into some plant cells I'm designing."

James cocked his head. "Plant cells?"

Ethan smiled faintly. "I have an idea for a new kind of plant. Something that can harness the energy of the meteorite to produce a fruit with unique properties. It's a bit experimental."

James laughed. "Everything here is experimental. Good luck anyway."

---

Later that afternoon, Ethan holed up in a small side office with a console connected to the gene editing system. He had already seen that the "cone tree" was unlocked in his interface. Tapping a few keys, he reviewed the basic parameters. The tree was supposed to produce fruit resembling a simple sphere, but Ethan wanted them to match the iconic red and white pattern he remembered from the Pokemon series.

He mentally poked at the interface, imagining a fruit with a red top half, a white bottom half, and a small button-like mark in the center. The shape on the console updated in real time, changing from a generic sphere to a stylized object reminiscent of a Poké Ball. He also set the tree's growth rate to ensure that it wouldn't arouse suspicion by maturing overnight. In two or three days, he was able to show the staff how he "designed" the cones, claiming to have derived the concept from meteorite studies.

Once the shape was finalized, Ethan tapped "Save. The system displayed a note: "Cone seeds ready for extraction. He needed to wait a few days to maintain the illusion that he couldn't present fully grown trees the next morning without raising eyebrows. So he planned to take it one step at a time.

"That's that," he murmured, closing the console. "The next big challenge is when the rest of the lab wonders why I'm messing around with a special plant. But they're used to me revealing new projects." He got up and walked back to the main lab area.

---

As he crossed the hallway, Ethan noticed a group of employees, including James, standing around the wide-screen TV showing a local news broadcast. 

The anchor was reporting on the meteor shower in town: "Authorities believe all the fragments pose no immediate threat. Curious residents are collecting them as souvenirs. Some scientists claim they're more iron-rich than usual, but no official statement has been made."

"Looks like the town is none the wiser," James remarked, glancing at Ethan. "That sample in our water barrel could be the real key. Everyone else just sees random rocks."

Ethan nodded calmly. "If they think it's harmless, that's better for us. We won't have any competition in collecting them."

He heard a few employees whispering about whether they should go meteorite hunting, but Ethan said nothing further, wanting to keep the power hidden. He stepped away to check on Mew, who was resting in a side room. 

Mew responded with a slight tilt of her head and a flicker of telekinetic power, apparently sensing Ethan's tension and returning a calm, soothing wave of psychic energy.

---

Over the next two days, Ethan left the meteorite in the sealed container of water, turning it occasionally with metal tongs. He confirmed that it was slowly losing its faint glow, presumably leaking space energy into the water. 

Meanwhile, talk of meteorite fragments died down in the city, replaced by the usual hustle and bustle. Only a few local collectors kept the story alive, showing off chunks of rock that shimmered faintly in the sunlight.

At dawn on the third day, Ethan quietly told James and a few trusted associates that he had a new project related to the meteorite sample. He wanted to develop an experimental plant that could incorporate trace minerals from the meteorite. They gave him quizzical looks, but agreed to help him set up a small greenhouse corner.

"It's going to be a quick experiment," Ethan said to James. "Just to see if these minerals can enhance a new fruit concept I'm working on."

James raised an eyebrow. "You like to push boundaries. Another round of puzzle solving, I suppose?"

Ethan just grinned and led them to the water barrel with the meteorite still inside. He filled a smaller container with the infused liquid. "That should be enough for the first tests. Let's inject it into some seeds I'll grow in a nutrient solution and see if anything unique comes out of it." James nodded, digging for the lab's plant gene editing kit, which was rarely used since Pokémon Biotech focused mainly on creatures. But with Ethan, anything was possible.

Once alone, Ethan loaded the "Cone Tree" seed blueprint into the console, glancing at the system text that reminded him that watering it with meteor-infused liquid would trigger the fruit's space-warping effect. He placed a small tray of prepared soil in the greenhouse, then dropped the cone tree seeds into it. He poured some of the special water over them. "Let's see how this goes," he whispered. "If it works, we get real Poké Balls."

He paused, thinking of possible dangers. When the staff asked how he'd come up with the idea, he planned to say that the meteorite compounds offered a new dimension for storing data or energy, which he'd discovered by hunch after analyzing the sample's composition. People had long accepted Ethan's unusual instincts. He also expected that no one else would be able to replicate them easily, since they lacked the system interface that guided his designs.

After completing the preliminary planting, Ethan stepped back and exhaled. "I've got everything set up. I'll pretend to be surprised that they grew so fast, but the cones should sprout in a few days." He locked the greenhouse door and tucked the key in his coat. "No point having passersby poking around," he muttered.

Now came the waiting game. Each day he would feed the seeds more meteorite-laced water, watch for sprouts, and cultivate them until the plants bore their distinctive red-and-white fruit. When that happened, the next phase of the Pokémon Biotech revolution would begin. It could store Pokémon in portable spheres that could expand and contract at will, bringing a whole new level of convenience to trainers and owners everywhere.

Ethan looked through the greenhouse window at the faint silhouette of seeds below the soil. "We're on the verge of something groundbreaking," he said to himself. Outside, the staff scurried about, tending to the newly hatched Pokémon. 

None of them had any idea how important these little seeds might be. But Ethan had never been more certain that the entire concept of Pokémon ownership would soon evolve dramatically, thanks to the space power of the meteorite and the Cone Tree he had begun to grow.