By the stone path ahead lay an orange, chubby Dragonite, fast asleep with its arms wrapped around its belly. Not far away, two Venusaur sat together under the shade of a tree, quietly watching the people coming and going.
A Blastoise slowly walked over, its light blue face carrying a faint smile. It then lowered itself to the ground, turning its head as people passed by.
Shiro also spotted a Dugtrio popping its heads out of the ground from time to time.
"Are these Professor Oak's Pokémon?" he asked softly.
"It seems so." Rowan glanced warily at the orange Dragonite in the distance and gently pulled him a step aside, as if it were some dangerous beast.
Shiro focused and checked the Dragonite's information.
[Name: Dragonite
Type: Dragon/Flying
Level: 68 (Champion)
Ability: Multiscale
Held Item: Leftovers
Moves: Hurricane, Roost, Extreme Speed, Twister, Thunder Wave, Fire Punch, Wrap, Wing Attack, Thunder Punch, Leer, Dragon Tail, Agility, Slam, Aqua Tail, Dragon Rush, Outrage, Safeguard, Rain Dance, Dragon Dance…]
Its level was incredibly high.
After a brief moment of surprise, Shiro looked at the Venusaur and Blastoise as well. All of them were Elite-level Pokémon.
These Kanto starters had clearly been raised with great care. Their battle strength would easily surpass that of ordinary regional Elite Four members.
After observing the Pokémon, the group soon entered the research institute.
The place was huge, more like a grand mansion with simple decorations. At a glance, it had about three floors, with three red-roofed buildings closely connected.
They were led by waiting researchers into a separate lounge. There were still about three hours before the conference began, so there was plenty of time.
While everyone was settling their luggage, a voice called out from outside the room.
"Professor Rowan! Professor Rowan!"
A brown-haired middle-aged man stood at the door. He had a short brown beard and wore a dark blue T-shirt with loose shorts.
"Professor Birch!" Rowan quickly stood up and greeted him with a smile.
Beside Birch stood a slender girl. Her brown-black hair hung down on both sides as she bit her lip and hid behind her father, looking a little timid.
"Professor Rowan…" Birch said as he peeked into the lounge. "Where is Dr. Corviknight?"
"Oh!"
Rowan suddenly remembered.
Shiro had already walked over with one hand in his pocket and greeted Birch. "Hello, Professor Birch. My name is Shiro. I'm the one known online as Corviknight."
"Hello, hello, Shiro… this is great!" Birch said hurriedly as he pulled his daughter forward. "This is Sapphire."
Sapphire, one of the protagonists from the special series, also resembled May from the anime.
Birch seemed to be in a hurry. After pushing his daughter forward, he quickly thanked them and left.
Sapphire's eyes followed her father as he ran off, though she did not seem too scared.
"Hello, Sapphire," Shiro said as he crouched down to greet her.
The girl nodded, then suddenly ran past him into the lounge and sat down on a sofa in the corner by herself.
Rowan stroked his beard, looking a bit surprised. "This child…"
"Has quite a personality," Shiro added.
He then saw Rei's two children, Lucas and Dawn, rush over at once, eager to meet their new companion.
Sapphire did not resist being around kids her age, and in no time, they began to laugh and play together.
Shiro stood by the door for a moment, watching. Just as he was about to step inside, his gaze shifted to the corner of the corridor.
There stood a hunched, eerie old woman.
It was Agatha.
Leaning on her cane, she stood there without expression, staring straight at him.
A chill ran down Shiro's spine, but he still walked over.
Since she had come to find him herself, there was no need to contact Lorelei anymore.
The old woman said nothing and led him to an open area in the institute's courtyard. Aside from a few Grass-type Pokémon resting nearby, there was no one else around.
"Your money." Agatha held out a League card and handed it over. "Three hundred million Pokédollars. Not a single dollar missing."
Shiro had no reason to refuse. He took it and slipped it straight into his pocket.
"That two billion wasn't for me," Agatha continued, then turned and cast a gloomy look toward the research institute. "It was money Goodshow wanted to use to make a move against those people in Sinnoh. I'm sorry. It may have caused you some trouble."
"That was more than just a little trouble." Shiro shook his head.
If Rose had not stepped in midway, things would have turned out badly. If he had refused to pay, those people in Sinnoh would have found ways to keep him at their headquarters.
At that point, a Pokémon battle would have been unavoidable, and he would have had to run around dealing with the fallout.
He asked directly, "Grandma Agatha, can you really persuade Professor Oak to fully support me?"
She fell silent for a moment before speaking in a hoarse voice.
"No."
"No?"
Shiro's tone shifted. He had only asked out of habit and never expected that she could not persuade Oak at all.
"Oak has been stalling. He never answers me directly. He keeps finding excuses to avoid it."
Agatha tapped her cane, her voice filled with displeasure and anger.
"He's using these petty tricks to brush me off. Who knows what nonsense plan he's cooking up."
Shiro paused, still trying to process it.
So Oak had truly refused her request. In other words, he was firmly against granting him the professor title.
Why?
He was sure he had never offended Oak. Aside from that one time when Oak asked about the origin of Dynamax and Macro Cosmos made demands, they had barely even spoken.
And even then, that was a negotiation between the company and Oak. As a middleman, he had nothing to do with it.
So why was Oak opposing him?
Jealousy? Just disliking a young newcomer?
That made no sense.
Given Oak's contributions to the research world over the years, he had always supported young researchers. There was no reason for this kind of behavior.
"I can't figure out what Oak is thinking either. Maybe he has some plan, and you happen to be in his way," Agatha said, then snorted. "He's always been the type to do whatever it takes to carry out his plans."
Shiro took a deep breath and sorted through his thoughts.
Since the biggest obstacle was Oak, then to complete the conferment, he would have to rely more on Macro Cosmos's power.
Based on what Oleana had said before about their preparations, there should not be any problems.
Those researchers would not suddenly back out at the last moment.
As long as Oak had not already coordinated with all of them, he was confident he could secure the title.
**
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