Greetings trainer! My name is Professor “Quaking” Aspen. ‘Aspen’ is my family name while ‘Quaking’ is just a nickname given to me because of my muscular physique… and because I have had tremors since I was a boy. “Why do all professors in this world have tree names” you ask? I have no idea what you are talking about…
Anyways, welcome to the vast and phenomenal world of Pokemon! Pokemon are incredibly powerful creatures, each with their own story to tell and each one eager to make your acquaintance. But you don’t need me to tell you that, you are a Pokemon trainer are you not? As a trainer, you are probably anxious to set out on your own and catch Pokemon companions. Well before you go out on your own and waste all of your Pokeballs trying to catch a Bidoof, your mother told me to put you to work in my science research lab to help you earn money. She is worried you will run off into Eterna Forest without purchasing antidotes, which will lead to you and your Pokemon suffering from severe neurotoxic envenoming from wild Pokemon in the forest. Finally, just as you see the entrance to the forest in sight, the neurotoxins take over and you die… all because you were too cheap to buy antidotes. No worries, I have plenty of work for you to do in my Torterra Research Lab! Torterra has been teaching us a lot about Ecology. Let me give you the tour of the lab and put you to work right away!
Before entering into the lab, it’s important to know of a unique behavioral adaptation Torterra possesses. Being a giant, walking grass-type Pokemon, Torterra is constantly in search of pools of water like the one depicted in the image above to sustain its life. Anciently, Torterra lived happily isolated in the Crimson Mirelands of the Hisui Region where there was an abundance of water pools for them to live off of. But active volcanism created a quickly changing landscape and the Torterra were forced to leave the Mirelands in search for a safer home and more water pools. This, the great Torterra migration, is what created an array of unique, mobile Torterra ecosystems as they wander the Sinnoh region in search for life-sustaining resources. To learn more about the history of Torterra from Hisui region to Sinnoh region, see the infographic below.
(*A special thanks to my friend Professor Wormwood for writing up the fascinating scientific history of the Hisui region evolving to the Sinnoh region in my infographic below. He is a fantastic and entertaining writer, check out his YouTube channel here!)
Now it’s time to enter the lab and explore the unique Torterra ecosystems that have been discovered. Torterra is an amazing Pokemon and as long as it continues to roam, more and more unique Torterra ecosystems are bound to be discovered. Now, it’s time for you to earn some money! (For the best experience, click the maximize screen button in the bottom right corner of the presentation below)
Thank you for joining us! Professor Aspen’s Research Quests are an extension of the Natural History Museum of Video Game Characters. Please come back to our Natural History Museum of Video Game Characters (NHMVG for short). We are hard at work building more exhibits that you can enjoy. As always, please leave us a review so we know how we are doing and if you found your stay at our museum educational and enjoyable. See you soon!
Visit any of our other Museum Exhibits by clicking on the slides below!
***NOTE: I do not own the rights to the characters and video games depicted above. Nintendo owns the rights to the characters and video games. I am merely a science writer trying to connect science and video games into one in an entertaining way. Also, a huge THANK YOU and shout out to some amazing artists from deviantart.com whose art is depicted throughout this post: eldrige whose art is my title photo for this blog post and his art is seen in the Hisui/Sinnoh region infographic. Latis2454 (Firespit Island Background), KaihatsuYT (Mt Coronet), and rajewel (Heatran) whose art is also seen in the Hisui/Sinnoh region infographic. Flama-foxangel (Torterra looking into water pool) whose art is seen in by blog post above. Xous54 (Torterra in ecosystem images), and suikuzu (Torterra with headstone and various Pokemon on its shell) whose art is seen in “The Torterra Ecosystems” interactive presentation above. Please visit deviantart.com to find more of their amazing art. Finally, Professor Wormwood who wrote the historical piece in the infographic above. Again, you can find Professor Wormwood’s fascinating work here.
Thank you!
Life through green tinted glasses 