Since the target was the notorious Team Rocket, before Red could even grow impatient, the familiar sound of police sirens echoed from afar. Seeing this, the Team Rocket members silently sighed and ultimately gave up resisting.
Only Yagawa, who had just recently been appointed as a squad captain, clenched his teeth in deep regret—but even more so in hatred toward Red.
"Thank you for your contribution to the Pokémon League!"
Officer Jenny friendly extended her right hand toward Red. Seeing this, Red also silently reached out his right hand.
"It was just something I happened to do..."
"You two brothers are truly rookie Trainers full of justice. I also heard about Ash from Officer Jenny in Viridian City!" said Officer Jenny of Pewter City.
"This is the responsibility every Pokémon Trainer should bear."
Red's gaze drifted aside. Thinking back to what happened that day, he suddenly felt embarrassed. Early that morning, when he woke up, he saw through the window that the Pokémon Center had been reduced to ruins—thanks to Ash and Pikachu's extraordinary performance.
"It's a shiny Pokémon!"
The other officers looked at Scyther with astonishment. They had never witnessed Beedrill's strength, so more of their attention was focused on Scyther instead. Scyther responded with disdain—it was nothing more than empty fame.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, Red had already recalled the giant Onix, saving these officers from being frightened.
"Just you wait—Giova… the Boss won't let you off!"
Yagawa threatened, but he was quickly subdued by the other officers. Fortunately, he shut his mouth in time. If Giovanni's real name were exposed here, Yagawa might be "cleaned up" by Team Rocket's assassination squad before even reaching the League prison.
After the Viridian Forest incident ended, Red left Viridian Forest and comfortably rode in a police car toward Pewter City. To avoid passersby mistaking him for being transported in a prison vehicle, under Red's strong insistence, he sat in the front passenger seat. Breathing in the faint fragrance emanating from Officer Jenny in the driver's seat, he slowly closed his eyes to rest for a moment.
Before long, Red finally arrived at Pewter City. Traveling by car was far more convenient than walking, and along the way he could leisurely enjoy the scenery. Of course, that was merely a fleeting thought. Relying too much on transportation would diminish the meaning of a journey—moderation was enough.
At this point, Red couldn't help but single out Gary for criticism. But with Gary's proud personality, he disliked listening to others' advice. Even Professor Oak's repeated warnings were useless. Only by personally experiencing the blow of failure could Gary truly grow.
For the upcoming Gym Challenge, Red first went to the Pokémon Center and handed his Poké Balls to Nurse Joy for Pokémon treatment.
Although Red possessed the Power of Viridian and could effectively heal Pokémon, the Pokémon Center's medical standards were superior. After all, the Joy family had served as the Pokémon League's "imperial physicians" for generations. Moreover, excessive use of the Power of Viridian would harm Red's body.
As usual, whenever Red arrived somewhere new, he called home to inform Delia that he was safe. After listening to her reminders, Red silently nodded in agreement. He then called Professor Oak to inquire about the origin of the experimental liquid.
"This experimental liquid clearly originates from the work of Professor Hemlock, the Pokémon Professor who disappeared a few years ago!"
Professor Oak showed no goodwill when mentioning Professor Hemlock. The two had been Pokémon Professors whose ideals diverged completely.
"The liquid is essentially a stimulant formula, but made far more harmful. Pokémon injected with it gradually degenerate into battle beasts. It's a product explicitly banned by the League. I never expected Hemlock to have created it anyway!"
Professor Oak was furious. Someone like Professor Hemlock, who recklessly altered Pokémon, did not deserve the title of Pokémon Professor.
"When I captured Scyther in Viridian Forest, I happened to encounter Team Rocket. The target they were chasing was called Test Subject No. 2—an Eevee capable of freely evolving into three forms: Flareon, Vaporeon, and Jolteon."
Although Red had not personally witnessed Eevee transform into Vaporeon, he carefully noticed the three stripes between Eevee's brows, symbolizing the red of flames, the blue of flowing water, and the yellow of lightning—representing its ability to evolve into three forms.
"Utterly insane! I never imagined there was more than just Gyarados as such an experimental subject!"
Professor Oak said in disgust, wishing he could arrest Professor Hemlock immediately. But now that Professor Hemlock had gained Team Rocket's protection, the League was temporarily unable to determine his whereabouts.
"As for the residual experimental liquid inside Gyarados, I will do my best to develop an antidote. I believe by the time you reach Cerulean City, you'll be able to collect the recovery medicine through the Pokémon Center!"
Professor Oak assured Red.
"I don't know what happened to that Eevee. After being so recklessly modified by Team Rocket, I think it has completely lost faith in humans,"
Red said softly.
When he first encountered Eevee in Viridian Forest, Red had personally seen the despair in its eyes. At the time, Eevee mistook him for a member of Team Rocket and despaired over what awaited it. Fortunately, Red defeated Team Rocket and granted Eevee a brief moment of freedom.
"By the way, why isn't Ash by your side?"
Professor Oak asked curiously.
"Ash has his own journey. Traveling with me may not be the best choice. Besides, his reckless personality doesn't quite align with mine. Traveling together wouldn't necessarily produce good results,"
Red explained.
Professor Oak nodded in agreement. Everyone had their own adventure story; there was no need to deliberately merge into someone else's team.
"Red, although you're pursuing an elite route, you should still capture more Pokémon! Participating in the League Conference with only a small number of Pokémon is very exhausting. Gary has already captured more than twenty Pokémon!"
Professor Oak advised. Efficiently rotating battle teams was also one path to winning the championship. Blindly relying on only six Pokémon in battle could easily cause excessive fatigue and allow future opponents to prepare counter lineups in advance—very unfavorable for later matches.
"Don't worry, Professor Oak. I won't limit myself to only six Pokémon. I believe I'll encounter some unique Pokémon again on my journey ahead,"
Red said confidently.
"Red from Pallet Town, your Pokémon have fully recovered. Please come to the counter to retrieve them!"
Hearing the announcement from the front desk, Red chatted a few more words with Professor Oak before hanging up and heading to the counter to collect his Pokémon.
As soon as he walked out of the Pokémon Center, Red was targeted by a middle-aged man with stubble. Before Red could react, the man began directly pitching his goods—some worthless stones.
"Don't leave, young man! These stones can not only be used to brew tea, they can even be mixed into dishes!"
The middle-aged man clearly had no intention of letting Red go and desperately promoted his products. But Red gave him no reaction at all, because he already knew that this man was Flint, Brock's father, who had long refused to return home.
Seeing Red heading toward Pewter Gym, Flint stopped selling and instead looked at Red seriously.
"You're going to challenge Brock at Pewter Gym? Let me warn you first—most rookie Trainers can't defeat Brock. You look like a Trainer who just started traveling not long ago. I advise you to give up!"
"Hm? How so?"
"Brock's strength shouldn't be confined to a small place like Pewter City. He has dreams of far greater ambitions. But because of his irresponsible father, who said he wanted to become some kind of Pokémon Master and abandoned his family without returning, Brock was left behind.
His wife, fed up with her husband never coming home, also left in anger. That left Brock, as the eldest brother, to take care of his younger siblings alone and to take over his father's position as Gym Leader. He simply cannot leave Pewter City!"
Flint told Red about Brock's helplessness, but even more about his own regret—hating how arrogant he once was, foolishly dreaming of becoming a Pokémon Master, only to fail so badly that he didn't even dare return home. It was utterly laughable.
"In my view, children don't need a father to be great. They just need him to stay by their side and spend a beautiful childhood together,"
Red said calmly. Without waiting for Flint's response, he waved goodbye and headed toward Pewter Gym.
Sensing something different about Red, Flint decided to personally watch Red's Gym Challenge.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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