Time flew by, and soon, the two-month period Ace had agreed upon with Professor Oak was over.
Late summer had passed, and in the increasingly cool autumn days, Ace dressed warmly, put on his windbreaker, left Mewtwo and Aerodactyl to guard the house, and, led by Crobat, flew towards Pallet Town.
Bored, Ace checked his training results from the past two months.
Host: Ace Smith
Trainer Level: 29 Chef Level: 20 Researcher Level: 24 Fighter Level: 3 Body Enhancement: +10
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Pokémon: Crobat Level: 50 Aptitude: Excellent
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Pokémon: Victreebel Level: 49 Aptitude: Good
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Pokémon: Aerodactyl Level: 50 Aptitude: Excellent
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Pokémon: Lapras Level: 48 Aptitude: Average
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Pokémon: Gengar Level: 46 Aptitude: Below Average
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Pokémon: Blissey (Mutated) Level: 51 Aptitude: Excellent
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Pokémon: Blastoise Level: 47Aptitude: Excellent
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Pokémon: Mewtwo Level: 31Aptitude: Excellent
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Except for the recently captured Mewtwo, all other Pokémon had reached levels close to 50. In Ace's opinion, with Pokémon of this level, winning a top-three spot in the Indigo League should be no problem.
However, Ace had very little interest in such competitions, so he wouldn't participate in the upcoming Ninth Indigo League, nor would he bother with the excitement. After all, without his involvement, the plot shouldn't deviate. Ace had decided that after meeting with Professor Oak, he would head directly to Johto to try and complete the three side quests related to Rayquaza. These three quests were heavily linked to later plot developments, and time was tight; they needed to be completed quickly, or Ace would lose the initiative in future events.
Recalling the system panel, Ace raised his hand and patted Crobat's body. Crobat instantly understood, rapidly flapping its two pairs of wings, accelerating its speed again, and carrying Ace towards Pallet Town.
Ace slowly descended near the outskirts of Pallet Town.
Recalling Crobat, Ace looked at the nearly completed new laboratory and remarked, "Professor Oak certainly has a lot of influence; the Alliance's speed is incredible!"
Professor Oak's original laboratory was located in a very remote area on the outskirts of Pallet Town. The current laboratory, though still near the outskirts, was now within Pallet Town's boundaries. As for the actual outskirts, the Alliance had directly allocated 500 acres of land to Professor Oak for his Pokémon research ecological park.
Compared to his own Berry Orchard, which cost him 30,000 gold coins to build just over an acre, Ace silently shed tears of envy.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Ace knocked on the large new laboratory's door, which spanned over 300 square meters. Soon, the door was pulled open, and a familiar female voice asked, "Who is it?"
"...Cynthia? What are you doing here at Professor Oak's?"
Ace was stunned. The person who opened the door for him was Cynthia, who had parted ways with him on Mount Silver.
"Ace!"
Cynthia was also somewhat excited to see Ace. Then her expression returned to calm, and she sighed, "I'm temporarily staying at Professor Oak's. I'll tell you the details later."
Ace nodded, a bit bewildered as to why Cynthia hadn't returned to Sinnoh.
Closing the door, Cynthia led Ace into the laboratory. Ace was brought to the research area, where he met Professor Oak. Professor Oak was currently using an instrument to scan a Fearow's entire body, intently examining the data displayed on the screen.
"Healthy body, fully developed energy organs, strong wings. It probably inherited winged-type attacking moves from its parents. This is a Fearow with excellent aptitude."
Ace walked to the instrument. Through the books Professor Oak had left behind previously, Ace could easily understand the data displayed on the machine.
"Oh, you understand this?" Professor Oak turned and looked at Ace when he heard his voice.
"After the lab was destroyed, I collected some of the data. I'm very interested in these things, so I looked at some without your explicit permission, and I've learned a bit." Ace said, neither humble nor arrogant, "Professor Oak, is there something you need me for?"
After the Saffron City incident, Professor Oak clearly had something to tell him, but Ace had also been busy, so it had been delayed for two months.
"Indeed, I need your help." Professor Oak recalled the Fearow and said to Ace, "I'd like you to do me a favor and help restore some vitality to my somewhat aged body."
"Because of Blue?" Ace looked at Professor Oak, who smiled and nodded.
He knew from Gary that Ace was the one who told Gary to contact Blue, and Professor Oak understood that Ace had already guessed Blue's identity.
"Blue's parents and I were friends. That Squirtle was originally meant for her, but I never expected that girl to steal it." Professor Oak pointed to the Pokédex on the table and said, "I want to see if she's worthy of getting a Pokédex from me."
"Understood. Then you must also know Blue's weakness, right?"
Professor Oak nodded, saying helplessly, "Ornithophobia. She's a pitiful child."
After Professor Oak finished speaking, Ace flicked his wrist, and a Poké Ball slid into his hand. Ace said to Professor Oak, "Where?"
"Outside will do," Professor Oak said, pointing to the still-under-construction ecological park. Its area was large enough for a battle.
Ace nodded, then he and Professor Oak walked towards the ecological park. Cynthia followed behind them, slightly speechless.
"By the way, Cynthia, why haven't you returned to Sinnoh?" Ace suddenly asked Cynthia as they walked outside.
Seeing this, Cynthia quickly explained to Ace.
After parting ways with Ace, Cynthia found that flights to Sinnoh were unavailable. She then went to several coastal cities to inquire, but all she got were replies that there were no ferries going to Sinnoh anymore. Unconvinced, Cynthia then gritted her teeth and had Dragonair carry her, hoping to fly to Sinnoh alone.
But reality was harsh. The first day went smoothly; she used the sun's direction to determine if she was off course. But on the second day, a heavy rainstorm erupted at sea, almost drowning Cynthia.
After this incident, Cynthia could only accept her fate. Carried by Dragonair, she struggled in the sea for two days before finally returning to Kanto. She couldn't return to Sinnoh for the time being. With no relatives in Kanto, she tragically discovered that she had lost many items in the last storm, and more importantly, her bank card was also missing.
Penniless, Cynthia could only think of Ace, who she had traveled with, and Professor Oak in Pallet Town. With Ace having vanished without a trace at the time, Cynthia had no choice but to seek refuge with Professor Oak.