"Hiss..."
Oak frowned deeply.
This feather looked somewhat familiar.
Judging from the color, it seemed to belong to a crow-like Pokémon. But based on the size and shape, it definitely was not from any local Pokémon in Kanto.
There was no way it belonged to Murkrow or Honchkrow. The body size did not match at all.
The only possibility was Corviknight from Galar.
And any Corviknight capable of leaving behind a feather like this was at least at Gym-level, perhaps even stronger.
As for a trainer who possessed such a powerful Corviknight… Oak did not even need to think to know it was Shiro.
There was only one person like that in the entire Kanto region.
"Where did you steal this feather from?" Oak did not open the letter. He simply did not believe Shiro would be so bored that he would personally recommend some random brat to him.
Red scratched his cheek awkwardly. "It was… given to me by someone."
"Someone?" Oak snorted coldly.
Kids these days had no manners. Sneaking in was one thing, but lying so casually too?
Most likely, this boy had heard of Shiro's reputation and happened to pick up a feather around the research institute. Now he was trying to scam his way in.
The audacity was unbelievable.
Oak personally recognized Shiro's handwriting. All he had to do was open the letter and glance at it once to expose the boy's lies.
Swish!
The letter was flicked open. The heavy black feather slowly drifted down through the air before landing on the stone floor.
Oak glanced at the letter once.
It looked somewhat familiar.
Then he glanced at it a second time...
Alright, alright. This letter was actually real!
The feather, the handwriting, and information that nobody except Shiro should possibly know.
Oak folded the letter back up neatly and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Ahem..."
He cleared his throat. After noticing the feather on the ground, he picked it up and returned it to Red while asking, "Where exactly did you meet Shiro?"
"Shiro? You mean that professor?" Red muttered before pointing in a direction. "Last night, in the forest over there."
"Come with me." Oak quickly walked toward a quieter area. "Tell me everything in detail."
* * *
A short while later.
"Team Rocket, Mew, and even Blue was there too?"
Oak's voice had become unstable. He stared at the curious Red in front of him while his expression gradually turned serious.
This red-clothed kid?
Aside from his name matching his grandson's, he did not seem particularly special at all.
Yet somehow he had coincidentally stumbled into Team Rocket's operation to capture Mew and even gained Shiro's approval.
Why?
Just because this kid named Red got lucky last night?
Oak fell into thought as he carefully sized Red up from head to toe.
"You want to become stronger, right?"
"That's right!" Red replied excitedly.
"Good, very good..." Oak slowly raised the corners of his mouth. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to become stronger. But if you want help, you first need to prove you have the qualifications for it. If you're not afraid of death, then follow me."
He was not going to think highly of this brat just because of one letter.
Shiro actually claimed this kid could at least grow into a Master-level trainer... Ridiculous!
The boy would first have to pass his, Samuel Oak's, test!
* * *
On the ship heading toward Sinnoh.
Shiro leaned against the railing on the deck and let the sea breeze brush across his face.
Wooooo!
The ship's horn sounded loudly.
Boom! Fwoosh!
A column of water shot out from the blowhole atop the Wailord beside the ship.
The droplets along the edges of the white spray scattered down like rain, but before they could touch Shiro, an invisible wave of psychic power gently pushed them aside.
"Waaaail!"
Wailord happily sped up.
It was the same Wailord from Galar.
Although Shiro had no intention of specially training or raising it, he would still let it out from time to time whenever there was a chance.
After all, if Pokémon stayed locked inside Poké Balls for too long, there was a high chance they would develop depression.
Professor Oak had personally said so.
As for how Oak had discovered and verified that, well, that was another story entirely.
'Sinnoh... My hometown is getting closer and closer.'
A crisp voice, soft like a young girl whispering, echoed beside Shiro's ear.
Mesprit floated beside him. Its bright yellow eyes gazed across the endless sea route as though it could already see Lake Verity in Sinnoh.
"I'll personally take you back," Shiro spoke seriously.
Mesprit slowly nodded before turning and disappearing from sight.
Shiro stretched lazily and began thinking about his plans once he reached Sinnoh.
Personally escorting Mesprit home… taking a slight detour was only natural.
First, he planned to visit the Hunters Guild and hopefully uncover some of their secrets, like the real reason they had gone through so much trouble to capture the Unown in Galar, or who the people funding them from behind the scenes were.
With Mesprit by his side, even if things became a little chaotic, there would not be much danger.
After sending Mesprit home, he could quickly head off to Hoenn.
Maybe he could also pay a visit to the Devon Corporation and discuss stone-related topics with Steven.
Right now, both Red and Blue had only just begun their journeys. The next Indigo Plateau Conference should still be about a year away.
With a whole year of time, once he reached Hoenn, he should be able to train his entire team to Elite-level.
As for Drakloak, it should probably be able to reach Champion-level by then, right?
Shiro was not completely sure.
'If it's Drakloak, it'll definitely reach Champion-level.' Unown A jumped onto his shoulder.
Shiro glanced sideways at it. "Do you think what Agatha told me before about Champion-level had any problems?"
'Mostly correct.' Unown A yawned, its single eye lazily half-opened. 'But those were only general directions. There weren't any actual fast training methods... I didn't expect the inheritance of ancient trainers to have already disappeared.'
Shiro could not help asking, "What do you mean?"
'I mean special training methods that help Pokémon rapidly alter and strengthen their type energy.' Unown A shook its body slightly. 'Ancient trainers had already compiled all those techniques into complete manuals.'
It sighed again. 'I didn't expect that old woman to figure things out on her own and only reach a rough conclusion.'
"Ancient trainers compiling manuals?" Shiro guessed. "Could those people have become the surviving remnants of ancient nobles or old bloodlines today?"
'...That does seem likely.' Unown A folded its tiny legs and lightly tapped its own head.
"Hauuuuunter~"
Haunter suddenly popped out from the shadows at some unknown moment. Its chubby body floated beside Unown A while grinning mischievously.
'That old woman really fed it plenty of good stuff…'
Unown A looked disgusted as it used psychic power to push Haunter's fat face away.
"Hauun~" Haunter looked pitifully toward Shiro.
It wanted food again. Apparently, it had not eaten nearly enough while staying with Agatha. After getting fatter, its appetite had increased too.
"Didn't you say Haunter had already stored enough energy?" Shiro helplessly took out some Pokéblocks and fed them to Haunter.
Unown A rubbed its tiny legs together, unable to understand the reason either.
From its senses, things should have been exactly like that.
Theoretically, Haunter should not have been this hungry anymore. It should have been fully focused on leveling up and making breakthroughs instead.
But… just what exactly had Agatha been feeding it?
**
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