Vance felt the resistance around him slacken, and his old freedom came back.
He turned to look at this Professor Oak who had appeared out of nowhere.
Much as he was in the anime — white coat, hair going grey — except that the eyes were no longer kindly but cold enough to cut to the bone.
He had heard the girl call Professor Oak grandfather a moment ago, which meant that she was his granddaughter.
Following the thought, Vance dimly recalled that Professor Oak did have a granddaughter — and a grandson too, of course, one everybody knew: Gary.
In the original series he was Ash's great rival, no mean talent, forever needling Ash and firing up his fighting spirit. Sworn enemies, the two of them, of the sort who love and fight in the same breath.
But he lost to Ash at the conference later on, and after that he turned to research and did not go on travelling and adventuring, giving up his life as a Trainer.
Professor Oak's granddaughter, by contrast, left a far fainter impression.
Vance still remembered that Professor Oak's granddaughter was called Daisy Oak, or so he thought. Whether this was the girl he did not know, though by the look of it she must be.
"Awooo—"
The Dragonite opened its mouth on a dragon-cry, and the sound shook through them. The men brought up blood on the spot, their presences wilting away, and they came down together with their Pokémon and lay on the ground, alive or dead nobody could say.
One move — hardly even a move — and a party made up of one Gym-class and any number of Elite-class Pokémon was beaten in an instant.
The strength of this Dragonite was terrible.
Its control of that power was masterly. Nothing on Vance's side was touched by it, nor even the thief in his hands, who did not end as his companions had, alive or dead nobody could say.
"So that's Professor Oak's Dragonite."
Professor Oak had been a Trainer in his youth, and a powerful one, a former League Champion. Retired these many years, his strength would not have fallen far.
Vance turned his eyes on the Dragonite, and the system panel laid out its information.
> **Name:** Dragonite (male)
> **Type:** Dragon / Flying
> **Ability:** Multiscale
> **Aptitude:** Champion-class
> **Level:** 90
> **Moves:** Twister, Extreme Speed, Thunder Wave, Fire Punch, Wing Attack, Thunder Punch, Dragon Tail, Dragon Rush, Dragon Rage, Rain Dance, Dragon Dance, Surf, Ice Beam, Hyper Beam, Fire Blast, Protect, Substitute...............
What the system panel showed was the Dragonite's data, the moves listed close and thick, and its level was the highest Vance had yet seen: a full 90.
And its aptitude stood at the Champion grade.
But even within Champion aptitude there are earlier and later stages, and this Dragonite's had been brought to a peak; whether, given the right chance, it might break through to Grandmaster, there was no telling.
In short, as things stood the Dragonite was the strongest Pokémon Vance had seen since coming to this Pokémon world.
Level 90, Champion aptitude, and a pseudo-legendary Dragonite into the bargain.
Advantage piled on advantage; you could see from that how strong this Dragonite was.
No wonder one roar had struck those thieves down so hard.
If the Dragonite had not held its hand with him, he would have gone much the same way.
Vance thought well of himself, but he understood too that against moves at that level, even if he drew up his whole order of battle and played every card in his hand, he would still lose.
A level-90 energy level was too wide a gap.
However gifted the Gyarados and the rest were, fighting above their grade would get them nowhere at all against it.
And this Dragonite was gifted in itself; it was no dud.
Gym-class meant a person of standing in a city. Elite-Four-class meant an important power in a region, a name known across it.
And Champion-class meant a name known throughout the League — even the League next door would know it.
And the old man in front of him was one of those figures known throughout the League, and one of the very first among them at that.
"Awooo—"
The Dragonite's imposing gaze came round. On Vance it had caught the sense of being looked into.
It studied him for a few seconds, then turned back and made a few low sounds to Professor Oak.
"An Advanced Psychic, and an Advanced wielder of the Viridian Power as well."
Hearing the Dragonite out, even Professor Oak, who had seen a great deal in his time, showed surprise.
So young, this boy, and with power like that already.
Vance's concealment could hide nothing at all from the eyes of a level-90 Dragonite; it had seen straight down to the foundations.
"Young Trainer, what is your name?"
The Dragonite carried Professor Oak and his granddaughter over to stand in front of Vance.
Professor Oak had recovered his old bearing towards the young, and asked it kindly.
"Good day, sir. My name is Vance, from Celadon City."
Vance gave his particulars. It was his official identity, so there was nothing there to trip over.
As he spoke he took out the League Pokédex he had put away long ago and opened it, and the voice of Erika of the Celadon Gym came out of it, with Vance's information shown on the display.
"So you're the Trainer Vance. Thank you for stepping in just now and getting Daisy out of trouble."
Professor Oak heard him out, smiled, and thanked him.
"It was nothing."
Vance said it with a smile. He had struck back because the business had come round to him; otherwise he might well not have lifted a finger.
But in fact he had acted, and acted he had. Whatever the truth of it, in Professor Oak's eyes Vance had come to the rescue.
"Thank you, Vance. And I'm sorry — I dragged you into it just now."
Daisy Oak spoke up as well, to offer her apology.
"It's all right."
Vance answered. She had turned back at the time and blocked for him, even if it had done no good.
That blocking might have let a Trainer of equal strength get away, but where the gap in strength was too wide it made no difference at all.
Still, you could see that the girl had a good heart.
That was Vance's impression of her.
To keep a kind heart out in the field, she could hardly have seen the dark side of society, or how Trainers at the bottom claw at one another.
Which stood to reason: with her birth and position she had no need to go in for any of that.
Her circumstances were what they were, and so was her nature; there was nothing to fault in a little kindness.
"You look very familiar to me, sir. You'd be Professor Oak."
Vance named Samuel Oak for what he was.
"Ha ha ha. I hadn't expected to be found out. Quite right, I'm Samuel Oak, a researcher from Pallet Town."
Professor Oak laughed aloud, hearty with it.
His forbearance and his warmth were kept for the young people he thought well of; the cold and the hardness were kept for his opponents.
Perhaps it was Vance's conduct that had raised him in the old man's regard. He was counted among the young now, so there was no cold face for him but a warm welcome, just as Professor Oak had always given the young.
"You're too modest, Professor. I've admired your name for a long time, and I've read no small number of your works — they gave me a great deal to think about. In the field of Pokémon you can fairly be called a master of the first rank."
Vance said it respectfully, and it was not mere flattery either. Given the work Professor Oak had done, calling him a master of the first rank was not going too far.
"Ha ha ha. Empty titles, all of it. So you have an interest in research as well?"
Professor Oak laughed very happily and asked it.
"A little. Though for the moment I'm a Trainer first. To my mind a Trainer isn't only about fighting; he has to range over a great deal of knowledge as well, to give a theoretical grounding for raising Pokémon and for Pokémon battles, so that theory and practice work together and improve one another. A Trainer who can only fight is not a good Trainer."
"Good, good. With views like that, no wonder you can raise Pokémon as strong as these at your age. The young are to be reckoned with."
Professor Oak was full of appreciation. He looked round the circle and came to rest at last on the Gyarados.
With an eye like his he could see that the Gyarados had been raised extremely well, and that its potential was ample too; in time it might even reach the Champion grade.