"Not here?"
After leaving the League building, Gengar emerged from Ace's shadow, delivering bad news.
"Tsk, this is an office building. It really doesn't look like a research lab."
Ace leaned against an alley wall, deep in thought. Gengar stood beside him, looking at Ace with a puzzled expression.
"It seems my approach was wrong."
Ace quickly realized he had misunderstood. When he asked passersby for directions, they naturally pointed him to the League building where administrative tasks were handled.
However, the place Ace was looking for was the research lab studying Rayquaza, and the League certainly wouldn't place such a sensitive facility there.
"Norman... he went to apply for a Gym Leader position to enter that place... I'll find Norman first and see what's going on."
His thoughts became clear, but then he faced a troublesome question:
Where was Norman?
Ace sighed. He had too few clues. Relying solely on memories from the plot, he couldn't pinpoint the lab's location.
As for a carpet search, that was a last resort. Goldenrod City was too vast to search for a research lab in such a large city...
"Wait!" Ace suddenly exclaimed, a flash of inspiration hitting him, startling Gengar who stood nearby.
Ace suddenly realized he was overthinking things.
Why was he looking for the lab's location by searching for people?
Why not start with Pokémon?
Ace changed his approach and quickly thought of Salamence.
Lisanna's Salamence was mistaken by Ruby for a wild Salamence, which meant Ruby and Sapphire were in the wild.
Furthermore, to break into the lab, they couldn't be too far from it.
"It's probably near the wild areas... which means the outskirts of Goldenrod City!"
Ace's eyes gleamed. He immediately recalled Gengar, then strode towards the outskirts of Goldenrod City.
It turned out that changing his approach was indeed correct.
After almost circling the entire perimeter of Goldenrod City, Ace finally found a large building belonging to the League.
"This must be it." Ace surveyed the building's surroundings, noticing that the security here was far more stringent than at the previous League office building he visited.
There were nearly a hundred security personnel patrolling the exterior, divided into over a dozen small teams. Their patrols were continuous, with no discernible shift changes.
"With such tight security, I'd be foolish to believe there's nothing important inside." Ace shook his head, planning how to infiltrate the building.
Soon, Gengar was sent out again by Ace. When it came to stealth and concealment, Ghost-type Pokémon surpassed any human or Pokémon.
Gengar quickly merged into the shadows, then moved rapidly using them, leaping from one shadow to another, swiftly entering the League building.
Once inside, Gengar became a bit more cautious, doing its best to avoid the patrolling personnel's sightlines, and quickly entered the building by staying in shaded areas.
After searching the building once, finding nothing, Gengar changed direction and moved towards another structure.
Twenty minutes later, Gengar quickly returned, reappearing before Ace, gesturing to him.
"The lowest building is where Rayquaza is... That's a bit troublesome." Gengar confirmed Rayquaza's location. Ace looked at the inverted U-shaped building complex.
To enter Rayquaza's research lab as quickly as possible, he would have to go around the back.
However, when Ace attempted to go around, he found that the back of the lab was not only blocked by a wall but also abutted a mountain.
Looking at the barren, rocky mountain, Ace gave up on the idea of a concealed approach from the rear.
"I can only sneak in through the front door..." Ace returned to his starting point. It seemed that, apart from a direct frontal assault like Salamence's—catching them off guard to release Rayquaza—there was no possibility of a covert infiltration!
Just as Ace was racking his brain, he spotted a man walking towards the League building.
"Is that... Norman!" Ace's eyes lit up. With such an important character, the "scapegoat king," making an appearance, Ace had to befriend him!
Recalling Gengar, Ace released Crobat, then tidied his clothes, emerged from his hiding spot, and also walked towards the League building.
Norman had been in good spirits recently. His application for the Gym Leader assessment had been approved, and as long as he passed the assessment soon, he could officially assume the position of Gym Leader.
But as Norman walked towards the League building, preparing for some inquiries, a boy wearing a trench coat, with a Crobat perched on his shoulder, appeared out of nowhere, landing not far in front of him, looking somewhat travel-worn.
"League building... This must be it."
Norman heard the boy murmur. The boy looked around, saw him, waved, and called out loudly, "Hello, excuse me, if I want to apply for a Gym Leader position, is this where the assessment takes place?"
"Gym Leader assessment?" Norman stopped, sizing up the boy. The Crobat perched on his shoulder was well-trained, but Norman didn't think the boy had the strength to be a Gym Leader.
"Little friend, the Gym Leader assessment is very strict; it's not just ordinary Pokémon battles." Norman walked to the boy's side, squatted down, and asked, "Where are you from?"
The boy was, of course, Ace. Ace looked at Norman with a smile and said, "I know the Gym Leader assessment is difficult, but I just want to try. I'm from the Kanto region. I just want to ask for some details to see if I can do it. If not, at least I'll have an idea, right?"
Norman chuckled. He hadn't expected the boy to have such an idea.
However, seeing that the boy's Crobat was well-trained, perhaps he would indeed become a very good trainer once he matured.
"If it's just information, I can tell you," Norman told Ace. "After all, I'm about to take the Gym Leader assessment myself."
"You?" Ace said with a disdainful look, "I don't believe it. Besides, even if it's true, aren't you not a Gym Leader yet? I'll just ask myself."
"Haha, alright then," Norman said, not annoyed. "Come with me. I'll show you what the Gym Leader assessment is like, to dispel your unrealistic notions."
With that, Norman stood up, signaling Ace to follow him.
Ace's eyes were filled with disbelief, but after a moment of "hesitation," he followed in Norman's footsteps...
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