"Hey, isn't that Caleb? Long time no see."
"Y-Yeah, long time no see."
Caleb tried his best to calm himself down…
Nope, not happening!
"Maybe we should call the police," he blurted out.
"The police? Why would we do that?" Professor Elm asked, puzzled.
"N-No reason…"
When will I ever stop saying things before I think?!
Just then, Professor Oak staggered over, clearly exhausted.
Professor Oak, full name Samuel Oak, 55 years old. Resident of Pallet Town in the Kanto region. A world-renowned Pokémon professor, former Champion of the first Indigo League… currently imprisoned for organizing mass indecency. Sentence: life in prison!
That line of text flashed unbidden through Caleb's mind.
Looking at Oak now—covered in unknown sticky substances and barely able to stand straight—Caleb felt like even life imprisonment was too lenient. Should've been the death penalty.
"Caleb, Caleb…" Green nudged him and whispered, "It's rude to stare at Professor Oak like that."
Sure, the professor looked like a walking health violation at the moment, but that didn't mean Caleb could look at him like he was literal trash.
The man was still a giant in the academic world.
"Bido~"
Just as Caleb was debating whether to pull out his phone, a Pokémon cry echoed from inside the lab.
Moments later, a Muk made entirely of sludge lunged at Professor Oak.
"Not again, Muk! Today's already been too much, stop it!"
Oak tried to run, but Muk had already grabbed his ankle.
It began climbing him—slowly, steadily—until it completely swallowed him up.
"M-Muk… let go… I… can't… breathe…"
And with that final gasp, Oak fell silent.
Only then did Caleb realize.
Oh—it's Ash's Muk. That makes more sense. No way someone like Professor Oak would really drag his junior into something so messed up.
"Professor Oak! Shouldn't we help him?" Green asked anxiously.
Did he just… die?
"It's fine. He's just playing with Muk," Caleb explained, completely relaxed now that the misunderstanding was cleared up.
Come on—if anything, death is the least likely outcome for Professor Oak.
This is the man who used a Charizard's 4,000-degree flamethrower as a facial, and got scalp massages from Marowak's bone club—strong enough to shatter boulders.
Even Regigigas, which can move continents, looked like a rookie compared to him.
The original Super Pallet Trainer. The stuff of nightmares.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Three minutes.
...
After five full minutes, Gary finally walked over, returned Muk to its Poké Ball, and put an end to it.
"We've got guests, enough messing around."
"Haha, Muk's gotten a bit heavier lately—harder to push away," Oak said cheerfully as he straightened his disheveled clothes.
Gary—Professor Oak's grandson, Ash's childhood rival and longtime friend.
He once dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Master like Ash, but after losing to him at the Silver Conference, he changed paths and decided to pursue research instead.
Now he was likely apprenticing under Oak.
Seeing Gary, Green greeted him enthusiastically, "Gary! Long time no see! Is Blue not home again?"
At the question, Gary quickly replied, "Green, Blue's probably up on Mt. Silver right now, training with Red."
Ever since he lost to Ash, Gary had noticeably matured—no more arrogance or over-the-top competitiveness.
"Tch, those two are always together," Green muttered under her breath.
They're already ranked first and second in the world. Why are they still training so hard? There's literally no one left to challenge them!
Once Oak finished fixing his clothes, Professor Elm introduced Caleb, "Oak, this is the Caleb I told you about..."
Before he could finish, Gastly floated out from the shadows, dictionary in hand, practically vibrating with excitement as it hovered toward Oak.
"Gaaaastly!"
Caleb reached out to pull it back, but Oak's expression had already turned strange.
There was nostalgia in his eyes. And regret. And sorrow...
Then, as Gastly stared back, confused, Oak gently patted its head.
"Thank you, Gastly."
???
Gastly looked even more confused.
Thank you? For what? Is this old guy senile?
It turned to Caleb, clearly asking for help.
What am I supposed to do now?
"And thank you, Caleb," Oak added.
Caleb froze, just as he was about to give Gastly a helpless shrug.
What? Dude, we don't even know each other.
So he was brain-damaged by Muk, right?
Just as Caleb opened his mouth, a loud noise rang out from the backyard.
"Seriously? I turn my back for one second and they start trouble again," Gary muttered as he shook his head.
Professor Oak's backyard.
It housed more than 3,000 Pokémon—one of the largest facilities of its kind among all research labs.
Probably only rivaled by the backyard at Caleb's house.
And even his few Pokémon gave him constant headaches. Three thousand? That had to be chaos incarnate.
No wonder Oak lived off instant noodles.
Soon, Caleb and the others followed Gary to the source of the commotion.
A crowd of curious Pokémon had gathered.
At the center of it all stood a Pokémon with a triangular head, brown body, and twin scythe-like arms. It walked upright.
Kabutops.
A fossil Pokémon, Rock and Water-type. The evolved form of Kabuto. Technically extinct in modern times—only resurrected through special means.
Facing it was another Pokémon with similar scythe-like arms, green all over, looking like a giant mantis.
Scyther.
Bug and Flying-type.
Both had maxed out their Swords Dance and were slashing through the air like bolts of lightning—one green, one brown.
"Kabutops was a top predator in ancient times. After revival, it's often hard for them to adjust to modern ecosystems," Gary said as he pulled out a Poké Ball, preparing to subdue the two.
But Caleb, using the power of Viridian, had already picked up on their conversation. Roughly translated, it went like this—
Scyther: Identify yourself! (Modern speech)
Kabutops: Am I lost again? Damn… Hey, are you from around here? Which way's the ocean? (Ancient dialect)
Scyther: You trying to steal my prey?! (Modern)
Kabutops: What are you yammering about? (Ancient)
Scyther: Enough talk. Prepare to die! (Modern)
Kabutops: I just asked for directions! What's your problem?! (Ancient)
A complete mismatch of context and language.
That's the problem when you don't speak the same dialect.
Luckily, Caleb's Viridian Power worked more like telepathy—language barriers weren't an issue.
He stopped Gary from throwing the Poké Ball and said, "Let me handle this."
Caleb stepped between the two Pokémon. A faint light shimmered in his palms, forming a bridge-like aura that connected the two hostile creatures.
Psychic power?
No—this felt more like...
The Power of Viridian!
"But I thought Viridian Forest already chose Green?" Elm said, confused.
Those blessed by the forest could not only heal Pokémon but communicate directly with them.
They were born to be breeders.
But Viridian only chose one Trainer every ten years. It had already picked Green five years ago, so how could Caleb…
"Heh, who knows?" Oak said quietly, watching Caleb with a calm, almost nostalgic look in his eyes.