"Buy a plot of land in Pallet Town?"
At Lu Chen's suggestion, Professor Oak rubbed his chin and hesitated for a moment.
But after weighing the pros and cons, Professor Oak finally sighed and said,
"Of course."
"Besides, buying it would be too much trouble. How about this? I have a bit of standing in Pallet Town. Why don't I just set aside a plot for you beside Professor Oak's Laboratory?"
Hearing Professor Oak's words, Lu Chen nodded and said gratefully,
"Thank you so much."
"Haha, not at all. It's nothing, really."
Professor Oak laughed and scratched his head.
After all, to Professor Oak, getting on good terms with Lu Chen, a powerhouse from ancient times, for just a little land was an absolute steal.
And... and...
Just looking at the unusual ancient Pokémon beside Lu Chen practically made Professor Oak drool.
Lu Chen's Pokémon-no, Lu Chen himself included-were simply too valuable as research subjects!
They were practically a walking encyclopedia of ancient times!
"Come along, Mr. Lu Chen. I'll take you to Pallet Town."
Professor Oak took the Poké Balls from his waist and recalled Kangaskhan, Arcanine, and the others.
After all, although Professor Oak's old companions were quite strong, in front of Lu Chen...
If Lu Chen really wanted to attack Professor Oak, these Pokémon would be no help. He might as well be more open.
"What's that?"
Seeing Professor Oak take out Poké Balls and recall his Pokémon, Lu Chen's gaze shifted.
Convenient tools like Poké Balls hadn't existed in ancient times.
"Oh, these."
Noticing Lu Chen's gaze, Professor Oak quickly explained,
"They're not weapons. They're Poké Balls. They can hold Pokémon for easy transport, and they're also what Trainers use to catch Pokémon, serving as proof of the bond between them."
"I see!"
Seeing the look in Lu Chen's eyes, Professor Oak immediately understood something. He quickly took six Poké Balls from his pocket and placed them in front of Lu Chen.
"If you don't mind, you can have these empty Poké Balls."
"Thank you."
Lu Chen accepted the empty Poké Balls Professor Oak offered him.
Looking at the Poké Balls in his hands, Lu Chen's eyes stirred with emotion, and he spoke so quietly that only he could hear.
"After all those twists and turns, I never thought I'd finally get Poké Balls after taking such a long way around."
Lu Chen was in no hurry to catch his companions.
He had shared life and death with them. Their mutual trust and affection had long since ceased to need something like Poké Balls to prove them.
Seeing that Lu Chen didn't use the six Poké Balls, Professor Oak said nothing. It never hurt to be cautious of others.
"Let's go, Professor Oak."
Lu Chen and Professor Oak rode Aerodactyl together to Professor Oak's Laboratory in Pallet Town.
To be honest, Lu Chen had long since grown used to riding his Aerodactyl.
Professor Oak clearly hadn't. The old man clung tightly to the rocky protrusions on Aerodactyl's back the whole way, his white coat snapping in the wind.
His legs were still trembling when they landed.
But the moment his laboratory came up, Professor Oak perked right up.
"Lu Chen, this is Professor Oak's Laboratory!"
Professor Oak proudly puffed out his chest and pointed ahead.
Lu Chen looked up.
Before him stood a sizable complex of white buildings. The main building spread out in an arc, its exterior painted a clean creamy white, with the words "Professor Oak's Laboratory" engraved on it.
"It covers quite a bit of land, doesn't it? And the research equipment inside is the most advanced in all of Kanto!"
Professor Oak walked inside as he spoke, the hem of his white coat lifting with each step, his voice full of undisguised pride.
"And there's a tremendous variety of Pokémon here. It's definitely among the best in the Kanto Region!"
Lu Chen followed behind, surveying his surroundings.
The corridors inside the laboratory were spacious and bright.
In the observation rooms on either side of the corridors, various Pokémon were separated into different areas. Some were nibbling on Berries, some were napping, and a few bolder ones were curiously studying the unfamiliar visitor, Lu Chen, through the glass.
A faint scent of disinfectant hung in the air, mingled with the fresh fragrance of Berries. It was a world apart from the mingled stench of blood and gunpowder on the ancient battlefields.
"What do you think?" Professor Oak looked back with a smile.
"Not bad." Lu Chen nodded, a hint of surprise in his voice. "It's really impressive."
Encouraged by Lu Chen's approval, Professor Oak fetched a map from the laboratory, spread it across a table, and swept his hand over it.
"Take a look! Whichever area you like, I'll set it aside for you!"
The map unfolded, its lines printed clearly, the distribution of mountains, rivers, and towns visible at a glance. Several flat plots suitable for farms had even been specially circled in red.
Lu Chen looked down at the map, his brows drawing together slightly.
He hesitated, then extended a finger and pointed to a spot near one corner of the map.
"Here will do."
"Here?" Professor Oak froze.
"But it's rather remote. Other than being large, it's practically wasteland."
"Why not choose this side? It's close to water, and..."
"There's no need to go to all that trouble." Lu Chen waved a hand indifferently.
"Any plot will do. I'm planning to start a farm and spend my retirement there anyway."
Professor Oak hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "All... all right. Of course, if you need anything, just let me know."
"Mm."
Lu Chen nodded, turned, and mounted Aerodactyl, immediately flying toward the land he had just chosen.
Professor Oak stood at the laboratory entrance, watching Lu Chen's receding figure.
Then he looked at the unusual ancient Pokémon leaving with Lu Chen and nearly drooled.
"These Pokémon have such tremendous research value. Pokémon that traveled here from ancient times..."
Still, Professor Oak was in no hurry to make any requests.
After all, as long as Lu Chen settled in Pallet Town, he would surely have opportunities to study these ancient Pokémon in the future.
He couldn't rush things now. He just needed to focus on getting on good terms with Lu Chen first.
Then, as though suddenly remembering something, Professor Oak grew serious and turned back into the laboratory.
"I should report my encounter with Lu Chen to the Pokémon League. Whatever else he might be, Lu Chen is a Champion-level powerhouse..."
As he wrote, he rubbed his chin, recalling how Aerodactyl had effortlessly suppressed his two ace Pokémon.
Then he thought of that even more mysterious and powerful Entei with its enormous yellow crown, and the other Pokémon that had yet to display their strength.
"Is Lu Chen really only Champion level?"
"Or is he... even stronger?"
A breeze from outside the window passed through the laboratory corridor, gently rustling a few pages of research notes.
Elsewhere.
Aerodactyl had already brought Lu Chen to the land Professor Oak had given him.
Just as Aerodactyl landed, Gouging Fire also swiftly arrived with the scar-covered Lapras.
Lu Chen jumped down from Aerodactyl's back and looked around.
The land was exactly as Professor Oak had described: rather remote, and one could even call it wasteland.
As far as the eye could see, knee-high weeds rolled like waves in the wind.
A few grayish-white stones lay scattered among the grass, interspersed with dry shrub branches.
Only a single dilapidated wooden cabin stood alone on the entire plot. The paint on its wooden walls had almost entirely peeled away, and several obvious holes dotted its roof.
It might even leak when it rained.
The air was good, though. The scent of soil and wild grass filled his nose, carrying a long-missed sense of tranquility.
In the distance, the outline of a vast forest was faintly visible, its verdant treetops forming an undulating green horizon beneath the blue sky.
Although it was only a guess, Lu Chen felt that it was probably the legendary Viridian Forest.
Although this was only wasteland, to Lu Chen and his companions, who had wandered the ancient battlefields and almost never had a proper rest, it was already as perfect a place as could be.
Lu Chen's gaze swept over the companions beside him.
First was Aerodactyl, one of his main fighters and also his starter Pokémon.
Back then, Lu Chen had put tremendous effort into catching Aerodactyl.
Once, he had even nearly died.
And unlike the Aerodactyl in Lu Chen's memories, which should also be those of the current era, seemingly because of the environment in ancient times...
All Aerodactyl in ancient times had a special form closer to a permanent Mega Evolution.
And the more rocks an Aerodactyl had on its body, the stronger it was.
Lu Chen's Aerodactyl was covered in sharp rocks, making it the undisputed king among ancient Aerodactyl!
After Aerodactyl, Lu Chen's second Pokémon was Lapras.
Ancient Lapras weren't actually very different from modern Lapras, apart from slightly different markings.
But the scars covering every part of Lu Chen's Lapras sent a chill down one's spine.
Generally speaking, Lapras were gentle Pokémon that usually served as the party's healer.
Lu Chen's Lapras did serve as the party's healer, but was also a top-tier fighter.
And when Lapras fought, its favorite approach was to trade injury for injury, using its healing abilities to wear opponents down to death.
As for where Lapras's scars had come from...
That had to do with Lu Chen's first encounter with Lapras.
Lu Chen's third Pokémon was a little unusual.
That Pokémon had been beside Lu Chen all along, but Professor Oak had never noticed it, because it had remained hidden in Lu Chen's shadow.
"Hehehe-"
A Gengar slowly emerged from Lu Chen's shadow, giving a peculiar laugh.
Gengar was also Lu Chen's Pokémon, but unlike Aerodactyl and Lapras, whose killing intent soared...
The Gengar that had been hiding in Lu Chen's shadow wore a grin. Apart from its unusual markings, it looked no different from an ordinary Gengar at first glance.
Then there was Lu Chen's ace, Gouging Fire, a legendary Pokémon that was a special Paradox Pokémon.
As a rare Paradox Pokémon, Gouging Fire possessed the prestigious Dragon/Fire typing and was terrifyingly powerful!
And Gouging Fire actually also had...
Lu Chen fell silent for a moment, his gaze slowly sweeping across the barren land before finally settling on the dilapidated cabin.
"It's a little run-down, but from now on, this is our home."
At Lu Chen's words, all four Pokémon looked delighted.
Lu Chen first turned to Lapras. "Lapras, use Rain Dance! Let's moisten this barren land first."
Lapras nodded.
It raised its head slightly, the crisscrossing scars on its body especially striking in the dim daylight.
In less than a second.
The entire sky abruptly darkened.
Thick clouds surged in from the horizon like spilled ink, layer upon layer rapidly swallowing the previously clear blue sky.
The air abruptly grew damp, and the weeds in the wasteland bent low together in the wind.
In Pallet Town.
A beautiful woman watering the flowers in her yard slowly raised her head.
Water from the watering can was still suspended in midair as she looked toward the sky in puzzlement.
The sky had been perfectly clear just moments ago, but now dark clouds loomed overhead, and it was so dim that evening seemed to have arrived early.
Beside her, a Mr. Mime frantically gathered the clothes hanging in the yard, panic written all over its face as it kept crying, "Mime, mime!"
The woman looked toward the gathering clouds, toward the edge of Pallet Town near Viridian Forest.
Somewhat puzzled, she murmured,
"Why is it suddenly about to rain?"