"Come! To celebrate Gu Yuan's successful conclusion of the Regional Battle Tournament, let's have a toast!"
In the evening, at Professor Oak's Laboratory, Professor Oak smiled as he raised his glass, offering Gu Yuan his belated congratulations.
"Cheers!"
Draining their juice in one gulp, Ash and Gary were the ones who actually managed to make drinking juice look like a proper toast, though it was hard to tell who they were imitating.
Immediately after, Ash and Gary couldn't restrain themselves any longer and began to dig into the table full of delicacies.
Naturally, Gu Yuan's culinary skills weren't enough to prepare such an extensive spread. However, fate had led him to run into Delia at the supermarket. Wanting to show off his skills, Gu Yuan ended up acting as her kitchen assistant, helping Delia prepare this grand dinner.
Compared to average children, Ash and Gary's "combat power" at the dinner table was undoubtedly staggering. By the time dinner concluded, the two little guys' bellies were noticeably bulging.
Too full to move, Ash and Gary began to pester Gu Yuan, begging him to tell stories from his travels.
Picking out a few exciting battle scenes from his experiences in the Regional Battle Tournament, Gu Yuan gave Ash and Gary a simple description. While Ash and Gary only saw these as thrilling adventures through Gu Yuan's words, Professor Oak could hear the underlying dangers.
Furthermore, Professor Oak had his own information sources; he was naturally aware of many things Gu Yuan had encountered during his journey. This included Gu Yuan's current goals and missions, as well as the reactions of other families.
This was precisely why Professor Oak felt for Gu Yuan. Despite still being a child, he had already experienced so much and had to shoulder such a heavy burden.
Unfortunately, I have chosen a different path. At most, I can only step in at critical moments. I just wonder how much help an old man like me and those other old fogies can provide for Gu Yuan.
The stories were long, and a mere hour or two wasn't enough to finish them, causing Ash and Gary's energy to start flagging. Around eight or nine o'clock, the two youngsters became drowsy. Delia then smiled and led Ash away, bringing the night's gathering to a close.
The next morning, just as Gu Yuan finished leading his Pokémon through their morning training, he saw Professor Oak looking at him again with that pitiful, pleading gaze. This time, Gu Yuan didn't say anything else and simply released Roaring Moon.
"So this is Roaring Moon? This is truly incredible!"
Seeing the massive Roaring Moon appear before him, Professor Oak's eyes were filled with shock. He immediately began using his trained observation skills to analyze Roaring Moon's general information. To get specific details, however, he would need the help of precision instruments.
Conversely, Roaring Moon felt somewhat uncomfortable under Professor Oak's intense gaze. It couldn't help but turn its head toward Gu Yuan, seemingly asking if it was allowed to strike the old man.
"Come, Roaring Moon. I specifically found him to give you a body checkup. Only then can I better help you grow."
"Furthermore, any hidden injuries you accumulated from past battles will be exposed during this checkup, allowing them to be treated and healed. This is all for your future growth, so you must be patient."
Stroking Roaring Moon's wing, Gu Yuan explained while soothing it. Hearing this, Roaring Moon nodded. Based on the knowledge it had learned from Charizard and the others recently, the old man in front of it was likely an "equivalent to a doctor" character.
Looking at the white lab coat and the gray hair, he indeed looked very much like the doctors Alakazam and the others had described. Roaring Moon gave a polite nod; it felt that, in doing so, it should be considered a very polite dragon.
Although Roaring Moon's attitude was relatively friendly toward its owner's circle, Professor Oak did not rush to make physical contact with it.
Even though Professor Oak's knowledge of Pokémon like Roaring Moon came almost entirely from records, he was well aware that this naturally ferocious Dragon-type Pokémon species extremely disliked strangers getting close. Moreover, in Roaring Moon's eyes, he was likely just a weak human with no strength to speak of. Thinking of this, Professor Oak couldn't help but admire Gu Yuan's ability to catch this Roaring Moon.
Leading Gu Yuan and Roaring Moon to a prepared room, Professor Oak began the examination. As a professional researcher, Professor Oak's checkup was naturally within proper bounds. Through simple scans or testing a small amount of Roaring Moon's blood or feathers, he could obtain the general information he desired. To make the data more precise, he would need a period of testing to compile the statistics.
Gu Yuan wasn't in a hurry. Since there were many powerful Pokémon at the laboratory, he could take the opportunity to "harvest" a wave of points here.
During the examination, Professor Oak also discovered some hidden injuries on Roaring Moon and formulated a treatment plan. Roaring Moon wasn't the only one getting this treatment; since it was rare to have a chance to "fleece" Professor Oak, Gu Yuan didn't give up easily and had Charizard and the others undergo similar checkups.
Professor Oak was much more familiar with Charizard and the rest, even smiling as he played with Ditto for a while. One could see the Professor's experience from this; he only had close contact with those he had built a rapport with, ensuring he wouldn't be truly harmed.
Usually, if he were to see a Moltres, Professor Oak would be overjoyed. Unfortunately, with the "brilliance" of Roaring Moon preceding it, his enthusiasm upon seeing Moltres was noticeably slightly less intense. Even so, he still gathered a lot of useful information while examining Moltres.
While Roaring Moon and Moltres received treatment, Gu Yuan began looking for Pokémon in the ranch to battle. Currently, Charizard and the others were still working hard toward the Elite Rank, while Ceruledge and the rest were getting closer to the Leader Rank.
On the other hand, Haxorus and its peers had also reached the point where they needed to break through to the Ace Rank. Unfortunately, whether it was in the spatial rift or after exiting it, Haxorus and the others hadn't been given many opportunities to fight, causing their growth speed to slow down.
Now that he had the time and the opportunity, Gu Yuan naturally wanted to help them take that final step.
"Haxorus, let's start with you."
Hearing Gu Yuan's voice, Haxorus walked out excitedly. The opponent Gu Yuan had prepared for it was a Scizor, which also specialized in close-quarters combat.
"Go, Haxorus! You can fight freely in this battle!"
As Gu Yuan's voice fell, Haxorus charged out with excitement. Sensing the burning battle spirit from Haxorus, Scizor also quickly entered a combat state, transforming into a red flash as it engaged in battle with Haxorus.