Under the moonlight, the figure came to a stop in the middle of the road. A red cap hid most of his face, and he wore a black sleeveless jacket with six Poké Balls clipped to his waist.
A Pikachu perched on his shoulder. Its entire body gave off a faint golden glow, and its gaze was intensely intimidating-a stark contrast to Lin Hao's half-retired Pikachu.
Lin Hao stopped in his tracks. "Red?"
The man lifted the brim of his cap and rested his gaze on Lin Hao. He said nothing, merely nodding once.
May poked her head out from behind Lin Hao. When she saw his face, she froze. "R-Red?!" she cried. "The legend of Kanto! The Red who defeated the Elite Four, crushed Team Rocket, and conquered Mt. Silver at ten years old?!"
Red nodded. May's chest heaved as she turned to stare at Lin Hao. "You know him?!"
"He's a neighbor," Lin Hao replied casually.
"A neighbor?!" May's voice cracked. "A legendary trainer is your neighbor?!"
"Yeah, from the next street over in Viridian City." Lin Hao yawned. "We've even gone fishing together."
May opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again, unable to squeeze out a single word.
Lin Hao took two steps forward. "What are you standing here for in the middle of the night? Waiting for a bus?"
Red looked at him, his lips moving slightly. "Looking for you."
"Me?" Lin Hao pointed at himself. "What for? Here to collect the money I borrowed for bait last time?"
Red shook his head. He pulled two tickets from his pocket and held them out to Lin Hao. "Vermilion City. The S.S. Anne." His voice was low, his delivery dry. "Come with me."
Lin Hao glanced at the tickets. Their gold-edged designs marked them as first-class tickets. "Free?" Red nodded.
"Is there a seafood buffet?" Another nod.
"All right, I'm in." Lin Hao reached out to take them.
"Wait, wait, wait!" May blocked his hand. "You're just agreeing like that? What if it's a trap? What if he has ulterior motives?"
Lin Hao looked at Red, then at May. "Does he look like someone with ulterior motives to you?"
Red stood in the road, his cap shading his eyes, an air of coldness about him. May faltered. Indeed, that face didn't belong to someone who schemed.
"But..."
"Comrade Investigator." Lin Hao patted her shoulder. "Free first class, a free seafood buffet. Do you understand what that means to an ordinary person?"
"What does it mean?"
"It means saving money," Lin Hao said solemnly. "And the money I save can buy more Pokéblocks on Pinduoduo."
"Enough already!" May stamped her foot.
As Red watched them bicker, his expression softened a little. He spoke again, this time in a complete sentence. "I want to be friends with you."
Lin Hao froze for a moment. So did May.
Red's Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder and ran up to Lin Hao, greeting the Pikachu dozing on his shoulder.
"Pika!"
Lin Hao's Pikachu lazily opened one eye, glanced at the other Pikachu, then closed it again.
Red's Pikachu stood dumbfounded for a moment, then awkwardly scratched its ear. "Your Pikachu is very strong." Red looked at the yellow ball of fluff on Lin Hao's shoulder.
"It just eats a lot." Lin Hao waved a hand.
"No." Red stepped forward and looked earnestly into Lin Hao's eyes. "I spent three years on Mt. Silver. I've never encountered an aura like this."
Lin Hao's eyelid twitched. Red continued, "So steady it's impossible to read."
"That's just the fishy smell on me from eating too much seafood yesterday." Lin Hao's expression didn't change.
Red studied him for a moment, then turned his head away. "Say what you like." He turned and headed toward Vermilion City. "Follow me."
"Hey, wait..."
Red didn't look back, walking steadily onward. His Pikachu jumped back onto his shoulder and flicked its tail.
May leaned close to Lin Hao's ear and muttered, "Has he figured out your secret too?"
"I don't have a secret." Lin Hao tugged at his collar. "I'm just an ordinary person."
"Lin Hao!"
"All right, all right. Let's go." Lin Hao strode after him. "He's treating us. We'd be fools not to go."
Ho-Oh's excited voice rang out in his mind. "Master! That human in the red cap is so strong! Let me out to compete with him!"
Groudon: "Roar! (I want to go too! I want seafood!)"
"Shut up, all of you. Nobody's coming out," Lin Hao snapped inwardly.
The three traveled together along the moonlit road, with Red in front, not saying a word. Lin Hao walked in the middle, yawning from time to time.
May brought up the rear, adding another line to the little notebook in her hand: [Subject Lin Hao has close ties to legendary trainer Red. Suspected to be on the same level.]
After roughly twenty minutes of walking, lights gradually appeared in the distance. Vermilion City's outline emerged in the darkness, and the harbor lighthouse cast an orange-yellow beam across the sea.
Red stopped and turned his head. "We're here." He thought for a moment, then added, "Be careful on the ship."
Lin Hao raised his eyebrows. "Careful of what?"
Red didn't answer, merely lowering the brim of his cap a little farther. His Pikachu's ears pricked up as it cast a wary glance toward the harbor.
"There are people who shouldn't be here." With that, Red continued forward.
Lin Hao stood where he was, watching the figure recede. May came closer. "What does he mean? What people shouldn't be here?"
"No idea." Lin Hao spread his hands, then tucked them into his pockets. "But there's a free seafood buffet waiting. Even if the ship's haunted, I'm filling my stomach first."
"Is food the only thing in your head?!"
"I'm an ordinary guy. Food and desire are human nature."
Before you continue