Golden sunlight streamed through the glass windows of Professor Oak's Laboratory, scattering mottled patterns of light across the floor.
Ash and his companions pushed open the lab's door, dusty from their long journey. Pikachu cheerfully jumped down from Ash's shoulder and, as if returning to a familiar home, dashed straight toward the food bowl in the corner.
"Professor, we're back!" Ash's voice echoed through the spacious laboratory.
Professor Oak was standing before a massive holographic projection screen, which displayed complex charts of fluctuating energy readings.
Hearing the voice, he turned around, and a pleased smile immediately spread across his face.
"Ah, Ash! You've arrived just in time." The professor pushed up his glasses. "Gary got here not long ago as well."
Following the professor's gaze, Ash saw Gary leaning casually against a workbench, idly tossing a Poké Ball in his hand.
When he noticed Ash, Gary gave a small nod of acknowledgment, the familiar confident curve still resting on his lips.
Misty stepped closer to the holographic screen curiously. "Professor, what are you researching?"
"These are abnormal energy fluctuations recently detected near the Indigo Plateau." The professor's expression turned serious. "But now isn't the time to discuss that. You're here to learn about the Pokémon League's arrangements, right?"
Professor Oak led everyone into the meeting room. The electronic map on the wall immediately lit up, displaying a detailed topographical map of the entire Kanto region. A red marker blinked at the location of the Indigo Plateau.
"The Indigo Plateau Pokémon League Conference will officially begin in two weeks." The professor pointed at the map with a laser pointer. "Notably, this year Pallet Town has only two trainers who qualified to participate."
Gary elegantly adjusted his collar. "That's only natural."
"And those two are you." The professor smiled as he looked at Ash and Gary. "As representatives of Pallet Town, I hope both of you achieve excellent results."
Brock studied the map markers carefully. "Professor, has the tournament format changed this year?"
"Yes, a new grouping system has been adopted." The professor brought up the competition rules. "One hundred and twenty-eight trainers will compete in preliminary rounds to determine the top sixty-four, after which the official knockout matches will begin."
At that moment, an emergency notification suddenly appeared in the corner of the screen. Professor Oak quickly skimmed through it. His expression grew slightly grave, but he soon returned to smiling.
"Speaking of which, besides being a trainer, Ash actually has another identity that many people might not know about." The professor's words immediately caught everyone's attention. "He is my special research assistant and has provided critical data for several of my research projects."
"What?" Gary showed an undisguised expression of shock for the first time. "You're the professor's research assistant?"
Ash scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I just help record some ecological data about Pokémon."
"Don't be so modest." Oak brought up several research reports. "The ecological data you provided on the living fossil Pokémon, as well as your observations on new attributes and Eevee's new evolutionary forms, have caused quite a stir in academic circles. Just now an old friend of mine sent confirmation. Everything checks out perfectly!"
Misty leaned closer to the screen, staring at the complex charts displayed above. "Ash did all this?"
"Of course. Collecting this kind of data requires professional observation and recording skills." The professor patted Ash on the shoulder approvingly. "To be honest, when you first offered to assist with the research, I was quite surprised. I never expected you to persist for so long, and to complete the work so excellently."
Gary's expression grew complicated. For the first time, he realized that the boy he had always viewed purely as a rival might be far deeper than he had imagined.
At that moment, the professor suggested comparing the Pokémon each of them had caught. Gary immediately regained his confidence and pulled up his Pokédex data.
"I've already caught more than two hundred Pokémon! That number alone proves my strength."
However, when Ash's Pokédex data appeared on the large screen, the entire meeting room erupted in surprise.
Although the total number was only a little over eighty, less than half of Gary's, the variety of Pokémon within it was dazzling: a shiny Ponyta, a group of living fossil Pokémon, the pseudo-legendary Pokémon Dratini, and various rare individuals. Each one had its detailed ecological data meticulously recorded.
"Numbers are imMirandant," Ash said calmly, "but I think what matters more is building a deep bond with every Pokémon. Training Pokémon should focus on quality over quantity. If you have too many, you won't be able to properly care for them all. After all, true strength doesn't come from how many you possess, but from how much of their potential you can bring out."
Gary fell into silence.
He recalled his crushing defeat at the Viridian Gym and thought about Ash's record throughout his journey. For the first time, he seriously began to consider the meaning behind those words.
While the atmosphere inside the laboratory remained harmonious, a completely different scene was unfolding outside Team Rocket's headquarters on the outskirts of Viridian City.
Jessie, James, and Meowth paced nervously in front of the base's main gate, their faces filled with anxiety.
"What do we do, meow… The Viridian Gym was destroyed like that. Is the boss going to throw us to the Gyarados, meow?" Meowth scratched his head, his tail twitching nervously.
Jessie irritably kicked a pebble on the ground. "It's all that brat's fault! If it weren't for his Charizard and Pikachu..."
James glanced worriedly toward the base entrance. "I heard Boss Giovanni is in a terrible mood today. Maybe it's not the best time for us to report…"
Suddenly, a deafening explosion erupted from inside the base, followed by the sound of continuous structural collapse.
The ground began to shake violently, and the base's alarm system emitted piercing sirens.
"What's happening?" James stared in horror at the thick smoke and flames rising from inside the base.
A dazzling purple light burst through the alloy roof of the headquarters, and Mewtwo's figure slowly rose within the glow.
It had completely broken free from the armor that had restrained it, revealing its true form. Powerful waves of psychic energy spread outward from its body, and wherever they passed, reinforced concrete and steel shattered like paper.
"It's… that Pokémon!" Jessie cried out in shock, instinctively stepping back. "It's even stronger than it was at the Gym!"
Mewtwo hovered in midair, its eyes shining with cold indifference.
It slowly raised one hand, and a single blast of Psychic instantly destroyed the base's command tower. Team Rocket agents inside the facility fled in panic and chaos, yet none of them could get anywhere near Mewtwo.
Amid the confusion, they saw Giovanni boarding a vertical takeoff helicopter under the protection of several executives.
The black helicopter bore a striking red "R" symbol on its hull.
As he passed by the Team Rocket trio, Giovanni paused briefly, his cold gaze sweeping across the three of them.
"Do what you were doing before."
Leaving behind those meaningful words, Giovanni quickly boarded the aircraft. The helicopter roared as it ascended into the air, speeding in the direction Mewtwo had disappeared. Soon it became nothing more than a tiny black dot on the horizon.
The Team Rocket trio looked at each other, then at the base, which had already been reduced to smoking ruins.
"So… does this mean we're fine? The boss isn't blaming us?" James asked uncertainly, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
Jessie placed her hands on her hips, quickly regaining her usual arrogant attitude. "Since the boss said that, we'll just keep going after Pikachu and rare Pokémon! This time we'll come up with a perfect plan!"
"That's right, meow!" Meowth perked up as well, waving his claws excitedly. "Team Rocket can't be defeated, meow! Let that brat be smug for a little while longer!"
The three of them slapped hands together, their confidence restored, and left along the small path beside the still-smoldering ruins of the base.
None of them noticed that in the distant sky, a streak of purple light was flying toward the southern seas. There, an island known as New Island was quietly waiting for its master.
*
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