Chapter 68

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the courtyard of the lighthouse was still covered in dew, and snoring sounds were still coming from Ash's room, but Huo La had already shouldered his backpack and set off on the road to the next stop with Xiao Gang, who was carrying a breeding box.

After returning from Mount Podoro last night, Dragonite, with Meowth's translation, made an appointment with Huo La to "come to the lighthouse again when the ruins start to be developed", and then flapped its wings and disappeared into the night.

And as soon as Meowth landed, it disappeared; even with its toes, one could tell it went to rendezvous with Musashi and Kojiro, just didn't know if these three guys would immediately leak the news of the "super-ancient Dragonite" to Sakaki.

Ash and Pikachu were so excited they had no sleepiness, pulling Xiao Gang, Xiao Xia, and Lilian, gesturing and talking about the experience of riding Dragonite, from "Dragonite's skin felt like hard rubber" to "how cool the wind on Mount Podoro was", chattering for half the night.

Huo La was pulled into the research lab by Zheng Hui, and the two of them talked until the second half of the night, facing the video and notes of the super-ancient Dragonite.

Regarding the discovery of super-ancient Pokémon, Zheng Hui's excitement hadn't faded at all, repeatedly finalizing the details of the thesis with Huo La: "Directly stating Dragonite's origin and the battle between Dialga and Palkia will likely cause panic in the League, and even attract forces with ulterior motives. It's better if we omit these, only make public the fact of 'discovering a super-ancient Dragonite', and attach your guess about 'the size and rune characteristics of super-ancient Pokémon', this way it's both safe and can attract the attention of the research community."

Huo La had no objection to this; he didn't want to expose the secret of the space-time rift too early anyway.

Only after pondering for a moment, he added a small request: "Doctor, can you add my name to the affiliated signature of the thesis? Doesn't need to be too conspicuous, just having a name is fine."

Zheng Hui was stunned, then laughed loudly: "What's the problem with that? I was just about to propose you as the lead author! Your insights into super-ancient Pokémon are much deeper than mine, this thesis should have been published in your name!"

"Doctor, absolutely not." Huo La hurriedly waved his hand, his tone carrying a bit of helplessness, "If I become famous as a 'ten-year-old super-ancient Pokémon research expert', I'll be watched wherever I go in the future, it's too much trouble. I just want an affiliated signature, to increase my insignificant popularity—after all, maybe I'll have to rely on this fame in the future to get in touch with more clues related to the super-ancient era."

What he didn't say was that this "popularity" was for Team Rocket to see.

Only by letting Sakaki notice his "value" in the super-ancient field would he have the opportunity to delve into investigations using Team Rocket's resources in the future, accelerating his speed to become an executive, rather than being dismissed as an ordinary peripheral member.

Seeing Huo La refuse so firmly, Zheng Hui had to give up, but the look in his eyes when he watched Huo La carried a bit more solemnity, and he secretly made a decision in his heart—after the thesis was published, he would personally write a letter to Professor Oak to properly talk about this "unassuming but sharp-eyed" teenager.

At this moment, the morning light sprinkled on the path through the leaves, Xiao Gang looked at Huo La and asked with a smile: "Where to next? Go to Vermilion City to challenge the Gym first, or take a detour to see other places?"

Huo La looked up in the direction of Vermilion City, the figures of the Team Rocket trio flashed in his mind, thought for a moment and said: "Go to Vermilion City first. After getting the badge, just wait for Dr. Zheng Hui's thesis to be published, and see the reaction of the League and... other forces."

Xiao Gang nodded in understanding, the two walked side by side, their footsteps exceptionally clear in the silence of the morning.

In the distance on the sea, a morning sun was slowly rising, dyeing the sky golden-red—Huo La knew that with the publication of that thesis, new points of pursuit would inevitably explode among the major forces in the Pokémon world.

————

Vermilion City, famous for the golden withered leaves flying all over the sky in autumn.

Just stepping into the city boundary, one could see the plane trees on both sides of the road already covered with pale yellow leaves, and when the wind blew, a few would fall in swirls, paving a thin layer of "golden carpet".

And what was more famous than the autumn scenery was the bustle here as the largest port distribution center in the Kanto region—the tower cranes at the distant port were lined up, the whistles of various cruise ships and cargo ships rose one after another; it was said that starting from here, one could reach any corner of the world where Pokémon inhabited.

"Finally arrived in Vermilion City!" Xiao Gang stood under the stone gate engraved with the three vigorous characters "Vermilion City", looked up at the plaque on top, then turned to look at Huo La beside him, and couldn't help but ask, "But having said that, Huo La, you only have four Pokémon, is it really okay to challenge the Vermilion Gym?"

"Sigh, should... be okay." Huo La raised his hand to brush off the plane tree fluff stuck to his head, his voice weak, and even his eyes revealed a sense of lethargy—where was there any of the calmness he had when facing the super-ancient Dragonite before.

Seeing him like this, Xiao Gang laughed immediately; compared to the calm and collected appearance when facing the super-ancient Dragonite, the Huo La in front of him who revealed unwillingness and lethargy looked more like a teenager.

He reached out and patted Huo La on the shoulder: "Alright, alright, still thinking about that Arbok? It's been two days! I told you at the time, why not just throw a Poké Ball to capture it, you insisted on waiting for it to 'choose independently', and as a result, it didn't even look back and dived back into the forest, it's useless to regret now."

Two days ago, on their way to Vermilion City, they encountered a rare shiny Arbok—its scales shimmering with a faint cyan-green halo.

Huo La's eyes lit up at the time, relying on Nidoqueen's intimidation, he squatted by the grass and "negotiated" with the Arbok for a long time, handing over energy blocks and showing his breeding notes, wishing he could carve the four words "I will raise you well" on his face.

But what was the result? The Arbok smelled the energy block, glanced at his notes, turned its head and dived into the bushes, not even leaving a tail tip for Huo La.

"I didn't expect it either..." Huo La's head hung lower, his tone filled with grievance, "I was so sincere, it turned and left, as if it had made up its mind, not even a bit of hesitation... not a bit of attachment."

"A Poison-type Arbok, if raised well, can indeed become a powerful combat force." Xiao Gang also put away his joking expression and said seriously, "Especially since you've just explored your own direction and have the idea of specializing in Poison-types, this shiny Arbok is indeed a pity. But don't be discouraged, in the forest near Vermilion City, maybe there are other rare Poison-type Pokémon, after challenging the Gym, we can go try our luck."

Huo La nodded sullenly, but his heart still felt a bit uncomfortable—he wasn't missing a Pokémon, but regretting that opportunity for "two-way choice".

He had always felt that there should be a bond of willingness between a Pokémon and a Trainer, rather than relying on forced capture; this point was exactly the same as Ash.

"By the way, the Gym Leader of Vermilion Gym, Lt. Surge, has a notoriously fiery temper. Famous for being good at using Electric-type Pokémon, the power of his Raichu's Electric-type moves is very astonishing, ordinary Trainers wouldn't dare to visit easily without five or six main Pokémon."

"Although your Pokémon are fast, Bug-types and Flying-types are both afraid of electricity, so you have to be careful."

Mentioning the battle, Huo La's eyes finally lit up a bit, he straightened his body and patted his cheeks: "Don't worry, I've been prepared for a long time, after all, my Nidoqueen isn't a vegetarian either!"