"Well done!" Red praised.
"Roar~"
Hearing Red's praise, Charmeleon let out an excited roar, flames burning from its mouth as a sign of its exhilaration.
"I didn't expect even Gabite to lose…" Giselle said dejectedly, while still observing Charmeleon's condition. She noticed that Charmeleon showed no signs of fatigue, which meant that even in the battle against Gabite, Charmeleon had maintained the upper hand.
"Gabite's talent is quite good. I assume its Ability is Sand Veil. Otherwise, you wouldn't have used Sandstorm at the start to influence the environment. Unfortunately, your blind aggression wasted the opportunity. Your strategy didn't match Gabite's Ability. I hope you'll grow during your future journey."
If Red had been commanding Gabite, he would have first used Sandstorm to raise its evasion rate, then ordered it to use Sand Tomb to bind the opponent. After that, he would have worn the opponent down with Dragon Breath, and finally finished the battle with Dragon Claw.
"I'll challenge you again at the Indigo Plateau Conference!" Giselle said seriously. The determination in her eyes slightly changed Red's opinion of her. In the end, Giselle had simply been overly pampered. She just needed someone like Red to teach her a harsh lesson to truly bring out her potential.
"What a splendid battle. As expected of a Pokémon Trainer recognized by Oak and Lance!" Principal Yuto applauded, not surprised by Giselle's defeat at all.
"Grandpa, how can you be like this!" Giselle puffed up her cheeks in anger. Her own grandfather kept praising Red, making her feel utterly wronged.
"What you need to do now is properly apologize to Red. You've been overly supported by others for too long. You didn't even realize when your personality became so arrogant and conceited. If you had used tactics like Red did, Charmeleon wouldn't have defeated Gabite so easily!"
Principal Yuto sternly criticized Giselle's arrogance. In the end, he had spoiled his granddaughter too much. At Pokémon Tech, most students couldn't defeat Giselle, and the few who could compete with her often held back because of her appearance. Living in comfort for so long had inevitably affected her mindset.
"I'm sorry. I was wrong!"
After reflecting on her mistake, Giselle finally apologized to Red. This indirectly proved her change in mindset. Seeing this, Principal Yuto smiled slightly, satisfied with her growth.
"Red~ Allow this old man to formally thank you for changing Giselle's way of thinking. This is the Dragon Fang Lance entrusted me to give you. It's said to stimulate the dragon bloodline within your Charmeleon!"
Principal Yuto instructed the butler to present an exquisitely decorated gift box. Inside lay a tooth radiating a powerful aura. The appearance of this high-grade Dragon Fang immediately caught Charmeleon's attention. It turned its head, staring at the Dragon Fang with blazing eyes, wishing it could absorb it at once.
"It's nothing." Red smiled faintly as he accepted the gift. There was no need for repeated refusals. The Dragon Fang was something he deserved. After all, he had acted as half a teacher to Giselle—how could he not accept some compensation?
...
After leaving Pokémon Tech and traveling for several days, Red crossed the forest and finally arrived at a beach by the sea, suitable for long-term intensive training. Not far away stood a towering lighthouse, guiding the occasional traveler who wandered here.
Red naturally knew who owned that lighthouse. It was Bill's Lighthouse. Bill was a Pokémon Professor no less accomplished than Professor Oak—a truly outstanding young scholar.
From afar, the lighthouse seemed small, but only upon approaching did one realize its true height. Looking up, one couldn't even see the top. Red walked to the lighthouse and pressed the doorbell. An eerie bell sound echoed throughout the structure. Soon, Bill's voice came from the receiver at the entrance.
"May I ask who it is?"
"Red from Pallet Town."
"Oh! So it's Professor Red! What an honor, what an honor. Welcome to my humble abode!"
Ever since Red published three research papers, many Pokémon Professors in the academic world had begun calling him "Professor Red," recognizing his profound scholarly knowledge.
"Professor Bill, I hope to stay here for a while. I'd like to arrange intensive training for my Pokémon."
"It would be my honor! We can also discuss On Eevee's Multiple Evolutions. A friend of mine even managed to evolve his Eevee into Umbreon thanks to your paper!"
The large door, engraved with patterns of various Pokémon, creaked open, revealing its age. When Red stepped inside, it was pitch dark. Only after his arrival did the lights gradually turn on, revealing a Kabutops standing before him. Red showed no concern, as the Kabutops was merely a costume worn by Bill.
Upon seeing Red, Kabutops pressed a button below, and Bill emerged from the costume, explaining why he had been inside it.
"I think that being inside a Pokémon costume helps me understand how Pokémon feel. I want to better understand the feelings of these fossil Pokémon!"
When two Pokémon Professors met, countless academic topics naturally arose, often revolving around Eevee's multiple evolutions.
At this time, the Kanto Region had long believed that Eevee had only three evolutions. So when they first saw Red's paper, their initial reaction was that he was being deliberately mysterious. However, some couldn't resist their curiosity and tried it themselves, which caused a sensation in the research community and confirmed that Red's paper was correct.
Red's later publication, On Hidden Abilities of Pokémon, also explained why two Pokémon of the same species could have such a vast difference in combat power. The most typical example was Beedrill—one with Swarm and one with Sniper were practically two entirely different beings, with the latter easily overpowering the former.
During their academic discussion, Bill also revealed why he had been staying at the lighthouse. He was waiting for a mysterious giant Pokémon to appear.
The mysterious Pokémon was something Bill had discovered by chance not long ago. The loneliness and mournful cries it emitted pained him deeply. He wanted to understand its feelings, which was why he remained at the lighthouse.
"I want to see it! I really want to see it again!"
Based on the original story's depiction, Red knew that the giant mysterious Pokémon was most likely Dragonite—probably an ancient species that had awakened by chance. After all, such a size defied common sense, similar to the ancient Pokémon sleeping behind Pallet Town.
After finishing his conversation with Bill, Red called home to reassure Delia of his safety. From their chat, he learned about Ash's current location. Ash had just challenged the Cerulean Gym. Compared to Red's journey progress, the gap was enormous—after all, Red didn't get lost.
Then Red called Professor Oak to ask when the Pokémon enhancer he had commissioned would arrive. From Professor Oak, he learned it would arrive tomorrow. That meant today could be used to let the Pokémon relax appropriately and prepare for tomorrow's intensive training.
"I say, Red, why haven't you sent even a single Pokémon over yet?" Professor Oak nagged. "That child Gary has already caught nearly forty Pokémon. Even Leaf occasionally sends a few over. You two brothers are far behind!"
"I'll send you a few Pokémon to study when I get the chance."
Unable to endure Professor Oak's nagging, Red finally relented. He planned to catch one or two Pokémon sometime later just to satisfy Professor Oak. After all, what Red couldn't stand most was being nagged.