After two days of hard traveling, Mark and Giselle finally arrived at the seaside near the Bill's Lighthouse.
"The sea! The sea!" Giselle, exhausted from the journey, suddenly perked up at the sight of the ocean. She kicked off her shoes and socks and began hopping along the shore like a sprite fallen into the human world.
"Alright, Giselle, you can play later. Let's visit Professor Bill first," Mark said.
Mark and Giselle approached the lighthouse and rang the doorbell. A voice called out, "Who's there?"
"Hello, Professor Bill. I'm Mark from Pallet Town. Professor Oak sent me here."
"Oh, Mark! Yes, Professor Oak mentioned you. Alright, I'll open the door for you now. Come on in," the voice replied. Moments later, there was a click as the lock disengaged, and Mark pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Professor, are you here?" Mark asked.
"Ah!" Suddenly, Giselle screamed and hid behind Mark.
"What's wrong, Giselle? What did you see?" Mark asked, alert.
"A Kabuto! Such a huge Kabuto!" Seeing a Kabuto as tall as a human, Giselle was terrified. But Mark realized that it wasn't a Kabuto at all—it was Professor Bill himself trapped inside a Kabuto costume! That meant Ash and the others should be arriving soon, or else in the original story, Professor Bill wouldn't have been trapped for days.
"That's not a Kabuto—it must be someone wearing a Kabuto suit," Mark reassured Giselle.
"Professor, is that you?" he called out.
"It's me! Sorry for scaring the young lady. I just wanted to experience what it feels like to be a Kabuto, so I slipped into this suit. But because Kabuto's arms are so short, I can't reach the switch to open it. Mark, could you please help me unlock it? The switch is on the lower right side of the suit," Professor Bill explained.
"Sure," Mark said, helping him open the suit. Out stepped a handsome young man—it was Professor Bill!
"Ah! Finally out! Thank you so much, young Dr Mark!" the professor beamed gratefully.
"No need to call me that! I wouldn't dare call you 'Professor' in front of you," Mark chuckled. Professor Bill was a legendary figure in the research community. He invented the Pokémon Transport System used in every Pokémon Center, and even Professor Oak admired his studies on ancient Pokémon.
"Every field has its specialty. When it comes to Pokémon evolution and abilities, I'm no match for you!" the professor responded.
"Enough with the pleasantries," Giselle interrupted, frowning. "Mark, didn't you say you came for something? Why are you chatting so happily and ignoring me?"
"Oh right!" Professor Bill smiled and handed over an invitation letter. "Mark, here's an invitation from your sister. Take a look—it's for the Young Scholars' Exchange Conference. Most of the participants are from the Kanto region, but some are from other areas too."
"Okay, thank you, Professor. And, if possible… could we stay here tonight? We've been traveling a long way and are very tired," Mark asked politely. His real reason, however, was to wait for Ash. One, he had promised Giselle she'd see the little Charmander again—she was still uneasy and wouldn't feel at peace until she did. Two, Ash's arrival also meant that giant Dragonite would soon appear.
"That's no problem! I've been alone here anyway—it's boring. I'd love to have a young doctor here to exchange ideas with," Professor Bill said cheerfully.
"Thank you so much. Giselle, you must be tired from the journey as well. Go rest for a bit; I'll prepare lunch for you and the Professor. I'll call you when it's ready," Mark told her.
"Mm," Giselle nodded. She was indeed exhausted—after all, she hadn't walked such long distances before.
That afternoon, while Giselle rested, Mark headed to the beach to train his Pokémon. Feebas, wearing the beautiful scale he'd given it before, now looked much more confident and graceful—not like the bullied little Pokémon it had been. It was waiting for the right moment to evolve and continued practicing using Scald.
Grovyle sparred against Scyther. Charmeleon, still new to the team, felt a little out of place, but Mark hadn't forgotten it. His plan was clear—he wanted Charmeleon to learn Sunny Day so its Dream Ability could fully awaken. Beldum was the most carefree of them all—it couldn't learn new moves for now, but its strength improved steadily every day without training. Its natural potential was truly astonishing.
"Ah, isn't that Mark?" A familiar voice came from behind him—it was Ash's arrival.
"Yo, Ash! Misty, good to see you! Brock, you're traveling with Ash now?" Mark greeted them with a smile.
"Yeah! I'm working hard to become a Pokémon Breeder!" Brock replied.
"Mark, are these your Pokémon? Only five! I just caught a krabby—I have seven now! How cool is that?" Ash bragged.
"Nice! Looks like you've made good progress! But krabby… your seventh Pokémon should've been sent to Professor Oak already. Hope it doesn't end up as King Crab in soy sauce," Mark teased. Ash, ever literal, immediately believed him.
"What should I do! I need to contact Professor Oak quickly! I can't let him eat my Krabby!" Ash panicked.
"Relax, I was just joking! But if you're really worried, you can use the phone in Professor Bill's lighthouse over there," Mark said.
"Oh! There's a phone in the lighthouse?! Let's go!" Ash dashed off without waiting.
Inside the lighthouse, they found that Giselle had already rested and recovered. Since she arrived early, she hadn't met Ash and the others before, so she didn't recognize them.
"Mark, who are they?" she asked.
"They're my friends—Ash, Misty, and Brock."
"Wow, such super pretty girls!" "You'll be a beauty yourself in ten years!" Ash and Brock gushed like love-struck fools.
"What the heck, Ash!" Misty scolded from the side, clearly bothered by their attention.
"Alright, Ash, you've already got one beauty beside you—no need to look at others! Besides, don't you want to call Professor Oak?" Mark intervened before Misty lost her temper.
"Oh right!" Ash snapped back to reality—Krabby was more important.
After connecting the call, they found Professor Oak cooking something. Ash's heart sank. "Professor! You're not cooking my Krabby, are you?" he blurted.
"No, no! Your Krabby's right here—just undernourished. If it had been Gary's Krabby, I might've eaten it myself! Let me show you." Professor Oak showed him the Krabby sent by Gary, which was twice as big as Ash's!
"How's that? My grandson Gary has already caught 45 Pokémon!" Professor Oak proudly declared.
"45?!" Ash's eyes widened in shock, though he recovered some confidence after remembering Mark only had five. "Mark, how come you haven't sent any back yet? With your skills, that shouldn't happen!"
"I'm like Ash—catching Pokémon depends on fate. I also prefer to focus on training a few elite ones," Mark explained.
"Alright then. Seeing your background, I guess you're staying at Bill's lighthouse, right? He's a great researcher—feel free to ask him for help! Well, see you later!" Oak hung up.
"Oh, by the way, Ash, you've caught a Charmander, right? Let's see it!" Mark prompted.
"Aha! How'd you know I caught one?! Sure! Charmander, come out!"
The little Charmander ran excitedly toward Mark and Giselle—it recognized them from the time they helped it before.
"Charmander! It's really you! Are you okay? Do you know how worried I've been since that day?" Giselle beamed.
Charmander nodded happily—it looked much healthier than when they last saw it, its body stronger, clearly cared for.
"You know Charmander?" Ash asked, surprised.
"Yeah, we've met before," Mark replied without elaborating. His purpose was simply to ease Giselle's mind.
"Um, Mark… I'm sorry. I misunderstood you before. I've been uneasy these past few days, but now that I see Charmander safe and sound, I know everything you said before was true," Giselle admitted, embarrassed.
"It's alright, Giselle. That's just proof of your kind heart!" Mark smiled warmly. His sunny expression made her blush unconsciously.
But suddenly she thought of something. "Wait… how did you know that Charmander would definitely be caught? And why did you immediately ask to release it? You clearly anticipated this… do you have some kind of future sight?"
Oh no! Mark's hidden point had been exposed. He quickly shifted the topic.
"By the way, Ash, let's go find Professor Bill. Since you're here, you should greet him."
"Yeah, that's right! Let's go say hi. Professor Oak told us to learn from him too!" Ash agreed.
Seeing that Giselle no longer pressed the issue, Mark breathed a sigh of relief. Ash was simple-minded—perfect for changing the subject.
In truth, Giselle wasn't lacking in curiosity—she simply trusted that everyone had their secrets. She believed Mark would tell her one day, but for now, she didn't want to ask.
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