Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command!

Pallet Town, Oak Laboratory

Luo Yuan pedaled down the main road through Pallet Town.

Compared to a few months ago, Oak's Lab seemed exactly the same as always.

Luo Yuan knocked on the door.

Professor Oak opened it, holding a bowl of instant noodles in one hand, and blinked in surprise when he saw him.

"Luo Yuan?"

…

Truth be told, Professor Oak hadn't expected to see Luo Yuan at his lab today.

He'd mentored many Trainers over the years.

Though most of them eventually returned to visit him, whether their journeys had gone smoothly or not, only one had ever shown up at this point in their journey: Luo Yuan.

As he walked into Oak's Lab, Luo Yuan observed a slight disorder inside.

Of course, this wasn't about items being out of place, but rather the abundance of Pokémon roaming the lab.

Several were familiar to him, including a few of Gary's Pokémon and, yes…quite a few of Ash's Pokémon, too. He even noticed Ash's undersized Kingler scuttling around.

"Ahem, as you can see, I'm researching Pokémon behavior. The lab's a bit messy," Oak explained, recalling a particularly headstrong Tauros back into its Poké Ball. Then he asked Luo Yuan offhandedly, "So, you've gathered all the Gym Badges?"

"Every last one."

Luo Yuan pulled back his jacket slightly to reveal the badges clipped to its inner lining.

All eight badges, neatly lined up in two rows, caught Professor Oak by surprise.

He'd only asked out of politeness and hadn't expected Luo Yuan to have gathered them all so soon.

Even though Oak and Luo Yuan didn't often stay in touch, he'd heard quite a bit about him from Gary, who saw Luo Yuan as a rival.

Gary had told him that just recently, he'd run into Luo Yuan at Clueless Valley, where Luo Yuan had just obtained the Fuchsia Badge. But now, in so short a time, he'd collected all eight badges. Professor Oak was genuinely astonished.

"Impressive!"

Professor Oak's praise was sincere as he looked at the badges, particularly the red Cinnabar Island Badge and the green one from Viridian City.

Oak wasn't familiar with Giovanni, the Viridian Gym Leader, but he knew Blaine well, both as a fellow Pokémon researcher and a renowned Gym Leader.

Oak knew Blaine's strength and character.

Blaine wasn't one to go easy on challengers.

The fact that Luo Yuan had taken on and won at two of the toughest Gyms in Kanto in such a short time spoke volumes about his abilities.

"Just luck, that's all," Luo Yuan replied humbly.

Oak just gave him a knowing smile—luck alone didn't earn achievements like these.

"So, what brings you here today?"

Professor Oak was curious.

From the day Luo Yuan started his journey, he hadn't sent any Pokémon back to the lab.

"Well…" Luo Yuan reached into his pocket and pulled out a Poké Ball. "I recently captured a wild Aerodactyl, and I'd like to use the lab's equipment to analyze it."

Luo Yuan, knowing Oak's character well, knew what would pique the professor's interest.

To justify his visit and intrigue Oak, he'd decided to bring along the Aerodactyl he'd caught in Clueless Valley.

"A wild… Aerodactyl?" Oak's eyes widened as he suddenly asked, "Did you say it was wild?"

Most Aerodactyls known to Trainers had been revived from genetic material extracted from Old Ambers.

But here was Luo Yuan, claiming to have captured a wild one?

"That's right."

He opened the Poké Ball, and in a flash of light, a fierce Aerodactyl appeared in the lab, exuding a primal, dominating aura.

Under Luo Yuan's care, Aerodactyl had grown even closer to the title of "Ancient Apex Predator," evoking awe and fear.

The moment Professor Oak saw Aerodactyl, any doubt vanished from his mind. Luo Yuan was telling the truth.

Though Oak didn't specialize in reviving fossil Pokémon, he had extensive knowledge of them.

Fossil Pokémon brought back to life through modern technology had personalities, but they were essentially blank slates with no memories from before their revival. Only with years of training, like Lance's Aerodactyl, could they develop such a menacing aura.

Oak ran a hand along Aerodactyl's wing, which immediately flicked him off irritably with a flap of its wing, causing him to pull his hand back with a chuckle.

Unfazed, Oak asked, "Where did you catch this Aerodactyl?"

"Near Clueless Valley. I suspect it might be a Pokémon that somehow survived from ancient times to the present day."

Luo Yuan conveniently left out that he'd found Aerodactyl in an underground cave in Clueless Valley, framing it as a chance encounter.

Professor Oak nodded, seemingly buying the story.

"I'd like to use your lab's equipment to study it," Luo Yuan requested.

"Of course! I'm very interested in studying a wild Aerodactyl as well," Professor Oak replied, visibly excited.

This wild Aerodactyl was the first of its kind to be discovered and would make a fascinating research subject, potentially even a solo research project.

In fact…

Though Luo Yuan hadn't sent a single Pokémon back to Oak's lab until now, the research value of this one Aerodactyl alone far surpassed all of Gary and Ash's Pokémon combined.

"Thank you, Professor Oak… Also, there's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"As a shareholder of Silph Co., I'd like to propose funding for your research. Would you be open to that?"

"Silph Co.… shareholder?"

Professor Oak looked at Luo Yuan, struggling to reconcile him with the image of a Silph Co. investor.

But then…

He recalled something he'd heard from Bill recently—how one of his long-delayed projects had suddenly gained approval at Silph Co.

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