Pokemon: I'll Exchange Everything

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Time passed swiftly, and before he knew it, the agreed-upon time had arrived—it was time to set out for Mt. Moon.

After refusing Delia and the others' offers to accompany him, Liam brought along his Pokémon. Under the worried gazes of Delia and Lorelei, he climbed onto Aerodactyl's back and soared into the sky, quickly flying toward Mt. Moon.

Mt. Moon wasn't too far from Pallet Town, but it wasn't exactly close either. Aerodactyl maintained a steady flight speed. Liam had already calculated the time—at this current pace, they would arrive at Mt. Moon right on schedule, and Aerodactyl wouldn't be too fatigued. 

Any minor exhaustion could easily be recovered by feeding it a Sitrus Berry or something similar, which wouldn't affect their upcoming battle.

Even with its speed intentionally reduced, Aerodactyl was still incredibly fast. Before long, dense forests began appearing below them—it was clearly the outskirts of Viridian City. 

That, in turn, reminded Liam of Team Rocket, who had a stronghold there. He wondered how Giovanni was doing now.

Still, he didn't stop. Now wasn't the time for distractions. The battle ahead was what truly mattered. He could visit Giovanni another time.

By midday, Liam could already see the sprawling mountain range of Mt. Moon in the distance. Aerodactyl let out an excited cry and accelerated toward it. Liam's heart began to race slightly, a mix of anticipation and nerves stirring within him.

Ever since the Clefairy incident, Mt. Moon had been under tight surveillance by Pewter City's police. Guards were stationed at all access points across the mountains, meant to prevent anyone from disturbing the Pokémon inside.

But that wasn't a problem for Liam. No one controlled the skies.

Riding high on Aerodactyl's back, Liam descended openly into Mt. Moon from above.

Aerodactyl landed smoothly on a flat mountaintop. Liam leapt down and pulled out the hand-drawn map that had come with the golden envelope last time. In the center of the map was a large red X—clearly the location for the scheduled battle.

"Jeez… who the heck drew this thing? Looks like chicken scratch. No average person could read this mess. If I didn't have GPS to cross-reference it, I wouldn't have the faintest idea where this is supposed to be…"

Liam grumbled as he examined the chaotic map. After confirming the direction, he put it away, climbed back onto Aerodactyl, and flew swiftly toward the indicated location.

"Achoo!! Huh? Someone talking bad about me? I wonder who it is..…"

"I wonder where Liam is by now. Ugh, standing out here for so long—it's actually kind of chilly. Don't you feel it, Dragonite?"

At the heart of the Mt. Moon range, atop a flat peak marked with a battle arena, stood a middle-aged man in a gray trench coat. Sniffling, he turned to the Dragonite behind him and spoke.

"Draa~"

Dragonite chirped cheerfully, flapping its tiny wings, entirely unbothered.

"…If only Charizard were here, I could use its flames to warm up. Sigh, I wonder how Max is doing now…"

The trench coat-clad man rubbed his hands together and reminisced aloud.

Just then—

A swirl of black ghost mist materialized behind Dragonite, quickly taking the shape of a Gengar.

"Ge~genggeggeng!"

The newly appeared Gengar waved its little arms and made a few cryptic gestures, letting out a string of creepy giggles.

"Oh! He's here? Heh, Dragonite! Let's go greet Liam!"

"Roar!!"

The man's eyes lit up with excitement. He leapt onto Dragonite's back and gave the command.

Dragonite let out a thunderous roar and beat its wings with force. Its plump body turned into a golden blur, shooting forward through the sky.

Meanwhile, Liam was sitting cross-legged on Aerodactyl's back, comparing the crude map to his GPS and realizing they were getting close. At that moment, Aerodactyl suddenly paused midair, its wings fluttering to a halt as its eyes locked onto something in the distance.

"Hm? You see something?"

Liam knew from Aerodactyl's body language that it had sensed something. Just as he finished speaking, a golden Dragonite rapidly closed in from the horizon, stopping directly in front of them in a blink. The burst of wind generated from Dragonite's arrival sent Aerodactyl staggering back slightly. It beat its wings quickly to stabilize, fixing a hostile gaze on Dragonite.

"Well, hey there, Liam! You finally made it!"

From Dragonite's back, a familiar man in gray stuck his head out and shouted with a warm smile.

"Haha, this time I'm not late, Professor Oak."

Upon seeing the man, a smile broke out across Liam's face as he responded cheerfully.

That's right—the person in front of him was none other than his opponent for today's battle: the former Champion of the Kanto League, his current guardian… Professor Oak!

"Right on time. Come on, I'll take you to the battlefield. Make sure you keep up—I'd hate for my Dragonite to leave you in the dust!"

With that, Professor Oak patted Dragonite's back with a laugh. Dragonite threw Aerodactyl a provocative glance and gave a mocking smirk before whipping around. Its wings flapped powerfully, and it vanished once again into the sky.

Liam watched Dragonite disappear and smiled faintly. He placed a hand on the slightly trembling Aerodactyl and spoke softly:

"Aerodactyl, use Tailwind! Let's fly at full speed!"

"Roooar!!"

Aerodactyl let out a joyful roar. It flapped its wings fiercely, generating a strong wind behind it. Catching this gust, it turned into a streak of purple light, speeding off in pursuit.

"Oh? He's catching up? Heh… typical of Liam—not letting his Pokémon be treated unfairly. Dragonite, we've got a battle ahead. Save your energy."

Professor Oak glanced behind him, smiling at the rapidly approaching Aerodactyl. He gently patted Dragonite, signaling it to hold back.

Dragonite looked back at Aerodactyl, a trace of unwillingness in its eyes, but it ultimately gave a soft growl in response and stopped accelerating, maintaining its current speed toward the battlefield.

"Roar!!"

Just as they neared the battleground, Aerodactyl caught up and flew side-by-side with Dragonite.

Aerodactyl turned to glance at Dragonite, then looked away, letting out an excited cry with its mouth wide open.

The two Pokémon slowly descended onto the platform, with Professor Oak and Liam hopping down afterward.

The moment Liam's feet hit the ground, he shouted excitedly at the professor.

"Professor Oak! Can we start now? I've been waiting for this battle!"

But Professor Oak only smiled mysteriously and shook his head.

"Not yet. How could this battle only have the two of us? We need some witnesses. Just wait—they'll be here soon."

And just as his words fell, a strange rumbling echoed from the mountainside…