Ash patted A.J.'s shoulder.
"Your Sandshrew is very well-trained, it's not its fault."
"Yeah..." A.J. was dejected.
"Normally, your Sandshrew should have no problem getting the first three Badges," Brock said suddenly. "This isn't your fault. Lt. Surge is the one breaking the rules."
"Huh?" A.J. knew Brock was just trying to comfort him, but he couldn't cheer up.
"Trust him, he's a very skilled Gym Trainer from the Pewter Gym," Misty said.
Although Brock's former identity was Gym Leader, there was no need to say it out loud.
Hehe~
"Ah?!" Hearing Misty say that, A.J.'s mood improved considerably.
Just then, Nurse Joy came out.
"This Sandshrew... it's the most severely injured."
"You should come inside with me first."
In front of everyone, Nurse Joy led A.J. into the emergency room first.
Currently, there were two treatment windows here: one for minor injuries, and one for emergencies.
"Goodbye..." A.J. said politely.
Ash watched as the dispirited A.J. clutched his Sandshrew and followed Nurse Joy, disappearing behind the emergency room doors. He was silent for a moment.
He turned, his gaze sweeping over the Trainers and their Pokémon sitting or lying in the Pokémon Center lobby, all listless. The charred wounds and helpless expressions were as sharp as needles.
"I hope he can get through this," Brock said.
"It's so sad... why is Lt. Surge being so brutal?" Misty muttered.
"Let's check in here first. We'll stay for the night."
Ash's voice broke the heavy atmosphere. He tipped the brim of his hat, but his eyes were exceptionally bright:
"Let's get registered."
The trio passed through the lobby, which smelled of disinfectant and a faint scorched odor, and completed the check-in procedure amidst the slightly noisy environment.
The Pokémon Center had quite a few medical staff; it wasn't just Nurse Joy handling everything alone.
Nurse Joy was the head director, but she was often working on the front lines.
After being assigned a temporary room, Ash immediately sat down in front of the communicator.
The screen first connected to his home in Pallet Town, and his mother Delia's gentle, concerned face appeared.
"Ash! It's so good to see you've arrived safely in Vermilion City!" Mom's voice always brought a measure of comfort. "Was the journey smooth? Have you been eating on time? Is Pikachu okay?"
"Everything's fine, Mom." Ash put on a relaxed smile and briefly recounted his travels, omitting the more thrilling parts, especially the encounter with the Giant Dragonite.
There was no point in telling her.
It would only make Mom worry unnecessarily.
It was enough to report the good news and not the bad.
"Oh, right, Mom," Ash said as if he just remembered, his tone casual, "I met Bill on the road. I stayed a few nights in his cool lighthouse and learned a lot."
"Oh my, was it the Bill? What a rare experience!" Mom smiled delightedly. "Make sure you thank the Professor for his hospitality!"
Delia had once been a student of Professor Oak's, and she was very talented and capable.
But she later chose to return home to inherit the family business—a very famous restaurant.
After ending the warm but reserved call with his mom, Ash took a deep breath and skillfully dialed the number for Professor Oak's Laboratory.
The screen lit up.
The background was a laboratory piled high with books and instruments.
Professor Oak was eating instant noodles while looking through some documents.
Seeing Ash, he immediately put down his chopsticks, his eyes lighting up:
"Oh! It's Ash!"
"You've reached Vermilion City?"
"So, did that kid Bill show off his new discovery to you?"
Obviously, Professor Oak already knew about the Giant Dragonite.
"Yes, Professor." Ash's expression turned serious. "We saw it."
"It's truly incredible."
"When I saw that Giant Dragonite..."
"I finally felt the wonder of the Pokémon world."
Just thinking about the Giant Dragonite's size.
Ash felt like he should be calling the Ultraman film set.
Damn, being up close to a beast like that... it's a truly unforgettable and impressive feeling.
Professor Oak instantly sat up straight, the casual look on his face vanishing completely:
"You've grown, Ash..."
Professor Oak had always thought Ash was a bit flighty... there was a strange sense of frivolity about him.
But that feeling was gone now.
"...I don't know if you can understand how I feel, Professor..." Ash said, a little troubled.
"It was right outside Bill's Lighthouse."
"A huge Dragonite. It... it answered Bill's call."
He concisely described the previous night's encounter, including the soul-shakingly colossal figure, the peaceful and ancient method of communication, and the riddle about being 'neither living nor dead'.
Professor Oak listened with extreme focus, occasionally gasping in amazement and asking follow-up questions, his instant noodles long since gone cold.
"...So many years of hard work have finally paid off," Professor Oak said with a sigh.
"That Bill, he actually did it!"
"To speak directly with such an entity!"
"And 'neither living nor dead'... Misty must be so happy!"
He looked sharply at Ash, his gaze fervent.
"Ash, you've witnessed history!"
"Has Bill sent me the detailed data?"
"No, he must still be analyzing it... I have to hurry him up!" Professor Oak began muttering to himself excitedly.
Watching the professor descend into a research frenzy, Ash gave a helpless smile and waited for him to calm down a bit.
Only then did he bring up another matter:
"Professor, here in Vermilion City... something's not right."
Ash roughly described the scene he saw at the Pokémon Center entrance and Lt. Surge's unusually harsh, even brutal, methods.
Hearing this, Professor Oak's excited expression faded slightly, and his brow furrowed:
"That Lt. Surge... his style has always been tough, but this time it really seems excessive."
"Is he under a lot of pressure lately? Or..."
Professor Oak paused thoughtfully, not finishing his sentence. Instead, he said:
"Since you're in Vermilion City, you should go visit Professor Cerise."
"He's a student of mine, currently in charge of the laboratory in Vermilion City. He'll know more about the local situation."
Professor Oak had many different students in various regions.
Many of them had achieved enough to become Pokémon Professors themselves.
"Professor Cerise..." Ash committed the name to memory.
"That's right." Professor Oak nodded, his tone returning to its usual gentleness. "He's an excellent researcher, and a good person."
"It's just that the Cerise Laboratory just opened not too long ago, so he's probably very busy... he doesn't have time to manage every little thing."
"Just tell him I sent you, he'll welcome you."
"Perhaps... he can give you some advice on facing Lt. Surge."
The call with Professor Oak ended.
Ash leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.
Outside the window, the neon lights of Vermilion City began to flicker on one by one, painting the industrial port city in a hazy glow of light and shadow, yet failing to conceal the undercurrents stirring beneath.
"Professor Cerise, huh..." Ash muttered to himself.
Pikachu jumped onto the table and nudged the back of Ash's hand with its small paw:
"Pika-pi?"
(What should we do now?)
Ash snapped back to reality and rubbed Pikachu's little head, a sharp curve forming on his lips:
"What else can we do?"
"Now that we're here, we can't just turn tail and run."
"Let's rest up. Tomorrow, we'll go visit Professor Cerise."
____
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