Pokemon: This Trainer is Too Cautious!

Lapras's speed was much slower than Aerodactyl's.

However, Vermilion City was quite far from Pallet Town's sea area, and Ace's backpack was new and heavier. He estimated that Aerodactyl carrying him would be a huge challenge to its stamina.

So, after Lapras carried Ace and Shirona for a while, Ace checked the map on his watch. When Lapras had covered half the distance, he recalled it and switched to Aerodactyl.

Shirona also released her Dragonair, changing from sea travel to flight. Finally, with Aerodactyl and Dragonair almost completely exhausted, Ace and Shirona arrived at the outskirts of Pallet Town.

It was already late, so Ace and Shirona weren't in a rush to enter Pallet Town. Instead, they set up camp in the wild, allowing Aerodactyl and Dragonair to rest properly.

Aerodactyl was exhausted due to the heavy load.

Shirona's Dragonair, on the other hand, was tired both physically and mentally because it was its first time carrying Shirona for such a long distance, and it had to fly with a stiff body for so long, being careful not to shake Shirona off.

After a night of rest, Ace and Shirona entered the vicinity of Pallet Town early the next morning.

However, Ace's target was Professor Oak, and Professor Oak's lab wasn't in Pallet Town itself, but on its outskirts.

Ace asked a Pallet Town resident for directions. Following his instructions, Ace and Shirona found Professor Oak's Laboratory located outside the town.

When the two arrived, they saw Professor Oak feeding his Pokémon.

With a large number of Pokémon, their daily food expenses were a significant sum. If not for the support of the Pokémon League, Professor Oak would probably have gone bankrupt long ago.

"And you two are...?"

Professor Oak looked at Ace and Shirona approaching him, somewhat confused.

But upon recognizing Ace's face, Professor Oak seemed to recall something. He said to Ace, "I think I've seen you before, in Saffron City."

"Hello, Professor Oak, my name is Ace. My apologies for this sudden visit, please forgive my presumption."

Ace's demeanor was extremely humble. It wasn't that Ace felt lowly, but rather that a smiling person is hard to hit; having a good attitude generally wouldn't leave a bad impression.

More importantly, although Professor Oak hid it well, Ace had kept his attention on the Professor the entire time, so he was well aware.

Before Professor Oak identified him, he had glanced at Shirona, and showed no signs of confusion regarding her.

It was as if... he had already met Shirona!

Recalling the unfinished side quest, Ace was certain that the pursuer must have met Professor Oak and learned about Shirona from them.

It was even more likely that the pursuer had also mentioned Ace to Professor Oak, and possibly learned Ace's direction from the Professor.

This wasn't an impossible scenario; it was highly probable.

Once Ace's conjecture proved correct, the path ahead for Ace would be extremely difficult.

Ace didn't believe for a second that the pursuer would have said anything good about him. He probably assumed that in Professor Oak's impression, Ace and that poacher were two of a kind.

"Professor Oak, I'm Shirona."

Shirona also politely greeted Professor Oak. Professor Oak's reputation was quite well-known in many regions.

Professor Oak nodded at the two, then said, "Is there something you two need from an old man like me?"

"Indeed, we have a favor to ask."

Ace said with a smile, but inwardly, he sighed. From Professor Oak's words, he already knew his guess was correct.

However, what the pursuer likely didn't expect was that Shirona would be with Ace.

With Shirona speaking on his behalf, there was still hope of changing Professor Oak's initial impression.

"Oh, what is it?"

Professor Oak stood with his hands behind his back, smiling at Ace.

"I've been trying to register for a Trainer's License with the League, but I haven't been successful."

Ace sighed, "So I thought I'd seek out a titan in the research world like yourself, hoping you could help me. I've traveled all the way from Sinnoh with no one to rely on. I hope you can show some mercy."

"Is it difficult to get a Trainer's License?"

Shirona was a bit stunned hearing Ace's words, then quickly said, "Ace, you should have told me about this trivial matter earlier! I can handle it for you. It's not a big deal, after all."

Shirona's words made Professor Oak subtly furrow his brow.

Immediately after, Ace shook his head at Shirona: "No need, Shirona. Your family is in Sinnoh. If you help me register, it would definitely be a Sinnoh registration. The Sinnoh League surely knows about my past. Registering there would be too difficult and would drag you down."

"You weren't willing, to put it bluntly, you were just forced by your parents... Forget it, let's not talk about them. As long as the League investigates thoroughly, getting a Trainer's License shouldn't be a problem."

"Ahem..."

Listening to Ace and Shirona's conversation, Professor Oak cleared his throat.

His implied meaning was probably: I'm still here, you know. It's not good to ignore me like this, is it?

Watching Ace and Shirona look at him, Professor Oak scratched his head and said to the two, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's go inside."

With that, Professor Oak recalled his Pokémon, opened the lab door, and let Ace and Shirona enter.

Ace thanked Professor Oak, but inwardly, he felt a slight relief.

The situation was currently unfolding according to his plan, gradually.

His mention of the Trainer's License was actually to induce Shirona to bring up the matter.

Through Shirona, he wanted to tell Professor Oak that he wasn't the kind of person the Professor imagined him to be.

The most crucial point was that Shirona was completely unaware of Ace's scheme.

When she was completely unaware, what Shirona said would allow Professor Oak, who was already a sharp judge of character, not to see through the cracks.

After all, these were Shirona's genuine feelings.

Undoubtedly, Ace had succeeded.

This was evident from Professor Oak's change in attitude—from talking to them at the door initially to inviting them inside to talk now.

It also meant that Professor Oak was willing to give Ace a chance.

A chance to convince him!

The two entered the lab. The current lab only had two small floors, covering an area of about two hundred square meters, not yet having the scale it would later achieve.

Ace glanced at the rows of Poké Balls containing Pokémon on the wall, secretly guessing if there were any Kanto starters among them.

"Have some water first."

Professor Oak poured the two glasses of water, found two chairs for them to sit on, then pulled over a chair for himself and sat down.

Looking at the two drinking water, Professor Oak spoke, "Can you tell me about your experiences?"

"...Can I not?"

Ace's face showed a struggling expression, making it clear to anyone that the experience was an extremely painful memory for him.

"Child, while the experience may be painful, the League's scrutiny is also very strict."

Professor Oak comforted him, "This is a necessary process."

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