Gold

"Sorry to trouble you, Miss Joy."

Heiduo stood in the lobby of the Pokémon Center. Before him was a beautiful woman with pink hair, dressed in a nurse's uniform.

A large pink duck egg with arms, legs, and eyes, with an egg protruding from its belly, pushed a small cart carrying three Poké Balls.

Joy smiled in return and handed Heiduo a white card. "It's nothing. If you run into any trouble, come find me!"

"But if your girlfriend gets angry, you need to coax her. You can't keep arguing all the time!" Joy suddenly leaned close and whispered, discreetly pointing at Shuangye.

Heiduo was taken aback, then laughed. "You're overthinking it, Miss Joy. She's not my girlfriend."

"Is that so?" Joy gave Heiduo a doubtful glance, but he fearlessly met her eyes.

Joy awkwardly looked away. Playing matchmaker at random was not good behavior. "Well... it's not right for friends to argue either." Her voice grew softer, clearly lacking confidence.

Heiduo couldn't help laughing. This Miss Joy was just too adorable. No wonder Brock was so obsessed with her—

No, Brock liked any pretty older girl.

"Don't worry, Miss Joy. I understand what you mean." Heiduo bade the adorable Joy farewell, took back his three Poké Balls, and gave Chansey's fluffy head a pat.

"Lucky!"

Chansey wiggled the little feelers on either side of her head and hopped away.

A Pokédex was not a mandatory requirement for entering a Regional Conference, but for rookies just starting out, its importance needed no explanation.

In truth, Heiduo had deeper reasons for choosing to enter the Silver Conference.

Now that Team Rocket's special training camp in Johto had been uprooted, Team Rocket's headquarters in Kanto had to be in a frenzy, dealing with the aftermath and calculating its losses.

Heiduo did not believe Johto had mobilized so many police officers just for one tiny training camp.

Secret Bases elsewhere must have been destroyed as well.

With the Johto Branch almost completely purged, Team Rocket had lost vast sums of money and countless internal secrets.

After suffering such a massive loss, Team Rocket would most likely launch retaliatory attacks against the Pokémon League.

Suicide trucks, "wild" Pokémon attacks, robberies of shops and gold stores—such incidents would probably emerge one after another.

There were only thieves who stole for a thousand days; there were no guards who could stay vigilant for a thousand days.

So Kanto was not a place to visit right now. He might end up caught in some unpredictable terrorist attack.

Not even the Elite Four could stay tense all day, guarding against sneak attacks.

People got tired.

And right now, Johto was the safest place of all.

Since the Johto police had the nerve to invite Lorelei to help them, they certainly would not let Team Rocket take root on this land again.

Unlike Kanto.

In Johto, Team Rocket had no powerful backer behind it.

Choosing to enter the Silver Conference was the safest option Heiduo could make.

As an aside, Heiduo had looked into Professor Oak's background and discovered that Professor Oak had a ten-year-old grandson named Blue Oak.

That meant that around spring next year, this boy born with a golden spoon in his mouth would begin his journey.

Of course, Blue was not what Heiduo truly cared about.

From the information that Green would begin his journey tomorrow and become a Pokémon Trainer, Heiduo learned that the main protagonist—whether he should be called Ash or Red—would also become a Pokémon Trainer.

When that time came, he would become an inescapable nightmare for Team Rocket.

Thinking of that, Heiduo couldn't help laughing as he considered whether he needed to get involved.

For one thing, he was curious about Red's—Ash's—team in this world. For another, when a wall fell, everyone pushed it. He could not miss a chance to earn some goodwill with Red.

Seeing Heiduo grinning foolishly, Shuangye made a disgusted face.

Heiduo could not be bothered with her. After Team Rocket collapsed, the Pokémon it had sold could not all be released immediately. Most would likely be kept in captivity until they relearned survival skills, then released back into the wild or sent to nature reserves. During that time, many Pokémon would surely be caught by Pokémon League members and become new fighting power for the League.

As for Team Rocket members, those with serious crimes would rot in prison, while those with lighter offenses would undergo ideological and labor reform. Many high-ranking executives would likely be recruited and made to atone for their sins through various missions and punishments. That was more valuable than simply locking them up, and they could still contribute to humans and Pokémon.

As for Boss Giovanni... He wondered whether Giovanni had a son named Silver.

Right! He should check whether New Bark Town had a place called the Pokémon House!

Heiduo remembered the boy named Gold from Pokémon Adventures. In the story, Gold had grown up with countless Pokémon, and because there were so many Pokémon in his home, people called it the Pokémon House.

He opened his navigator and entered the words Pokémon House. If Gold's home was truly that famous, it should appear on the map.

The facts proved that there was no place called the Pokémon House on the map.

Heiduo walked out of the Pokémon Center and happened to notice a young boy wearing goggles and a baseball cap on the battle field to the left, commanding an Aipom in battle against a Furret.

"No way?" Heiduo clicked his tongue. Could there really be such a coincidence?

He hurried over, standing beside the sparse crowd of spectators to watch the battle while activating the Detection System.

[Pokémon: Aipom / Gender: Male / Level: 18]

[Ability: Run Away / Type: Normal / Trainer: Gold]

[Moves: Tickle lv2 / Sand Attack lv2]

[Astonish lv2 / Fury Swipes lv2 / Fake Out lv2]

It really was him!

As expected of a Pokédex Holder, the Hatcher.

He was only this old, yet he had already raised Aipom so well!

Looking at Gold's youthful face, Heiduo could not help sighing.

Come to think of it, he was almost a full generation older than Gold, wasn't he?

If he had transmigrated here as a baby, he probably would not have been any worse. Unfortunately...

"Hey! You're a new face, aren't you?"

Someone from the crowd approached Heiduo and asked with a smile.

Heiduo turned and found a boy with light blue hair, around twelve or thirteen years old, followed by a Chikorita.

"Chiko!" Chikorita raised his head and let out a cheerful cry.

As expected of an iconic cutie, the designated adorable one beside Ash.

[Pokémon: Chikorita / Gender: Male / Level: 9]

[Ability: Overgrow / Type: Grass / Trainer: Zhan]

[Moves: Razor Leaf lv1 / Tackle lv1]

[Poison Powder lv1 / Growl lv1]

A rookie Trainer?

Heiduo took in Zhan's outfit and Chikorita's level, immediately realizing that Zhan was probably a beginner who had just received his starter Pokémon and was about to set out on his journey.

He wondered whether Zhan had a Pokédex.

In Pokémon Adventures, Pokédexes should have been rare items.

"Hello. I'm Heiduo, from Sinnoh." Heiduo nodded at him as a greeting.

Zhan froze for a moment, then smiled. "Hello! I'm Zhan! I'm from New Bark Town!"

"I didn't expect you to be from Sinnoh. Coming all the way here from such a distant place must have been a lot of trouble, right?" Zhan wore a friendly smile and acted as though he had known Heiduo for ages.

Heiduo followed the principle that one should not harm others, but should always guard against them. He answered blandly, "It was fine. Flying is fast."

He was clearly trying to kill the conversation, but for some reason, Zhan did not take Heiduo's cold expression to heart. Instead, he excitedly said, "Then you must have Pokémon from Sinnoh with you! Could I ask you to use a Sinnoh Pokémon in a Pokémon battle against me?"

...So he was a battle maniac?

Heiduo watched Zhan's eager movements without commenting.

It was perfectly normal for someone who had just received a Pokémon to crave battle in their excitement. Otherwise, Zhan probably would not have come here.

The people standing here to watch were either interested in Pokémon battles or Trainers themselves.

"Sure!" Heiduo agreed. He wanted to see what surprise a Gible with one hundred Friendship would bring him.

Zhan happily replied, "Thanks!"

While the two arranged their Pokémon battle, Gold's battle on the other side had already ended.

His Aipom, Longtail, was using its tail to pin Furret's head down while giggling and tickling Furret.

Furret laughed until it passed out.

"Furret!"

Furret's Trainer rushed forward, heartbrokenly picked Furret up, and carried it to the nearby Pokémon Center.

One advantage of battling near a Pokémon Center was that any serious or minor injuries could be treated immediately.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Gold triumphantly waved to the spectators. Judging by his practiced manner, this was far from the first time.

Aipom jumped onto Gold's shoulder, wearing exactly the same expression as him.

To be honest, Heiduo envied the two of them.

They had grown up and become stronger together. Their bond was like Ash and Pikachu's; they were comrades and family who could entrust their lives to one another!

"Gold!"

Zhan stepped forward and greeted Gold.

Gold saw Zhan, then tilted his head at the Chikorita beside him. "Yo! Brother Zhan! Where's your Donphan?"

"Oh, I let him rest today. I'm giving his junior a little help!" Zhan walked up to Gold and put a hand on his shoulder. "Clear the field for me! Today, I'll broaden your horizons!"

He pointed his thumb at Heiduo and whispered, "See that handsome guy? He's from Sinnoh! He's got Pokémon you've never seen before!"

"Seriously?" Gold gave Heiduo a suspicious look and whispered back, "Are you sure he's from Sinnoh?"

People from other regions were not uncommon, but they generally went to big cities like Goldenrod City. New Bark Town had no tourist attractions, was not a habitat for rare Pokémon, and did not have a Gym. Why would anyone come here for no reason?

"Hey! You don't trust other people, but you can trust Brother Zhan!" Zhan patted his chest with complete confidence. "Just look at his aura. You can tell at a glance he isn't from Johto! And I heard his accent—it was perfectly standard."

One particularly obvious trait of Johto people was the accent that came naturally when they spoke. Heiduo did not know about others, but he thought it sounded quite pleasant.