Misty responded, unable to stop herself from yawning, "I know."
Ash also nodded. "Yeah, let's look around properly tomorrow."
They bade each other goodnight and went to their respective rooms.
The corridor fell silent, leaving only the slight hum of the central air conditioning.
Outside the window, Maiden Gorge had completely sunk into sleep.
Only the rhythmic rising and falling of the distant ocean tide remained, like the long and steady breathing of this city.
However, Ash did not sleep.
The dramatic change in that Thousand-Year Gastly earlier and the fragmented information revealed by "Mengmeng"... made him extremely curious.
Ash simply sat up, turned on the computer in the room, and connected to Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Beep... Beep...
After a few ringing tones, the screen lit up.
What appeared was Professor Oak's face, slightly weary but carrying a smile, the background appearing to be a lab bench piled high with data.
...Professor Oak seemed to live inside the laboratory all year round, rarely even returning to his own bedroom.
He was truly fanatical when working.
"Oh? Is that Ash? What's the matter contacting me so late?" Professor Oak's tone was as kind as always.
"No, I'm currently at Maiden Gorge," Ash couldn't wait to speak, his voice sounding somewhat loud in the quiet room, so he subconsciously lowered his volume.
"...This time of day... Maiden Gorge?" Professor Oak seemed deep in thought. "Oh—it's the temple festival!"
"How are you enjoying Maiden Gorge? I heard the temple festival there is very interesting." Professor Oak had a teasing, knowing grin on his face.
If Lt. Surge and Brock knew about it, Professor Oak definitely knew.
"...I always feel like there is a hidden meaning in your words, Professor..." Ash looked at Professor Oak's face, full of suspicion.
This bad old man was slippery as an eel and very crafty.
"What nonsense are you talking about? That's all your illusion!" Professor Oak adjusted his sitting posture with great interest.
"Hurry up and tell me about it~~" He just wanted to hear jokes... oh no... stories~
"..." Ash decided not to pursue it further.
Professor Oak's lips were very tight; he absolutely wouldn't say what he didn't want to say.
"We met a Gastly here that is said to have lived for two thousand years!"
"It seems... particularly afraid of you?"
Ash organized his thoughts.
"As soon as it heard your name, and the message you left in the Pokédex, its attitude changed instantly, and it slipped away incredibly fast!"
"Professor, did you... have something happen with it in the past?" Ash wanted to figure out the specific situation.
After all, even though everyone said this Thousand-Year Gastly had a good temper.
But what if the two sides really had a grudge, and this Gastly lost its mind?
On the other side of the screen, Professor Oak was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.
Then, as if recalling something extremely distant and interesting, he couldn't help but let out a pfft and laughed.
The fatigue on his face was swept away, replaced by an expression mixed with nostalgia and a bit of playfulness.
Professor Oak rubbed his chin, as if savoring the years back then, his tone as relaxed as if talking about what he ate for dinner yesterday:
"Hahaha!"
"You're talking about that old slippery fellow?"
"He's been running temple festivals for so many years, yet unexpectedly hasn't let go of the past matters..."
"Afraid of me?"
"Hmm... saying it that way isn't wrong either."
Professor Oak leaned back slightly, resting against the chair, a sharp glint of disdain for the world flashing in his eyes.
That was a kind of confidence and unruliness belonging to the once strongest Trainer.
"Back then, I was young and aggressive, my goal was to defeat all strong opponents and prove my own path."
"Kanto wasn't very peaceful at that time. Everywhere there were some guys who relied on their powerful strength and didn't submit to control. Some were Trainers, and some were... Pokémon that had lived for a long time like it."
Oak's tone carried a matter-of-fact calmness, slightly embellishing his past experiences.
"My method of handling them was very simple—"
"Just beat up everyone who didn't submit, one by one."
"Once beaten into submission, they naturally listened to reason."
"As for that Gastly..." Professor Oak smiled. "It had a pretty good relationship with Agatha back then, considered one of that fellow Agatha's 'old friends'."
"You should know, Agatha is now one of the Elite Four of Kanto, specializing in Ghost-types, her methods... hmm, relatively weird and unpredictable."
"At that time, the two of us were rivals, seeing each other as eyesores, and competed for many years."
"One time, I happened to run into it helping Agatha in a battle."
"The two... oh no, one person and one ghost joined hands, and the battle array was quite large."
"Illusions, poison mist, and whatnot made a foul atmosphere."
Professor Oak spoke lightly.
But the Samuel Oak of that time... could be said to be a powerhouse who beat the whole world without an equal.
His lightness... did not mean it was truly light.
"And then?" Ash listened entranced, unable to help but ask.
This domineering aura of defeating the whole damn world with one's own power.
Listening to it just felt really satisfying.
Whoa—I want to be like that too!
Ash: I want to fight through all the regions, get all the conference trophies, and defeat all the Elite Four and Champions!
"Then?" Professor Oak raised an eyebrow, a brilliant smile that was almost "arrogant" appearing on his face.
That smile was filled with the absolute confidence and power belonging to his era.
"Then I just beat them both up together."
"Couldn't help it, I went full power back then and didn't hold back my hand. Maybe... I really beat it a bit too hard?"
"I guess I left a psychological shadow, right?"
"Hahahahaha!"
Professor Oak laughed after finishing speaking.
He spoke of it as an understatement, as if he had just tidied up two disobedient troublemakers.
But Ash could imagine what an earth-shattering great battle that was back then.
The young, aggressive, and sharp Professor Oak, facing the alliance of the Ghost-type Elite Four member Agatha and a Thousand-Year Gastly, and achieving victory with an absolutely domineering stance.
This was simply... too cool!
"So that's how it is..." Ash suddenly realized. No wonder that Thousand-Year Gastly looked like a mouse meeting a cat when it heard Professor Oak's name.
"It's all old stale history." Professor Oak waved his hand, his tone returning to his usual gentleness.
"That old Gastly's nature isn't bad, it's just that having lived for a long time, it's a bit naughty and likes to prank people."
"It guarding that legend and the temple festival is also quite good, considered a kind of... hmm, training for it, I suppose."
"The lifespan of Ghost-type Pokémon is greatly related to the firmness of their obsessions."
"You guys have fun over there, just pay attention to safety."
"If it pranks you again, just mention my name, hahahaha, I estimate it will still have to walk around you to avoid you."
Although Maiden Gorge seemed a bit far from Pallet Town.
But Professor Oak had a Dragonite.
Dragonite circling the earth once only takes 16 hours.
Flying from Pallet Town to Maiden Gorge wouldn't take much time at all.
If the Thousand-Year Gastly really didn't know how to behave, it would absolutely be chased by Professor Oak with no escape in heaven or on earth.
After chatting a few more sentences about recent developments, the communication ended.
Ash put down the Pokédex and lay in the darkness.
His mind was still recalling Professor Oak's understated yet domineering past events.
A real man should be like this.
______
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