Chapter 12: Dr. Oak—What Did You Just Say?? (4k)

Under the spotlight inside the dry-aging cabinet, the dark red beef revealed exquisite marbling patterns. As the steak on the cast iron grill was flipped, oil droplets splattered, and the aroma of meat mingled with black pepper filled the air. A white-gloved waiter carried a silver platter through the old elevator gate, while soothing piano music echoed throughout the restaurant.

Serena picked up a piece of white bread and dipped it into the meat juices on her plate.

“So, according to you, this person’s information is protected by the League?” The young man opposite her took a sip of the juice in front of him and nodded.

“Exactly. I couldn’t find any information about him in the League’s database. At first, I thought he might be an unregistered individual with no records, but then I realized that couldn’t be the case.”

“Because, as you said, he developed that game all by himself. When uploading it, the League officials would have required him to provide identification, so he can’t be unregistered.”

“In that case, the only possibility is that his identity is protected by the League and does not exist in the regular database but is stored in the Hidden Registry.”

Serena’s beautiful eyebrows lifted instantly at this, confirming what she had suspected all along.

The game’s creator, “Feng,” was no ordinary person!

The Hidden Registry was a special database designed by the League to protect individuals who needed to conceal their identities. Even Serena’s own status as the Sinnoh Champion, including her origin information, was not stored there.

Only geniuses who caused world-shaking breakthroughs in the scientific community or individuals of critical significance in certain fields could receive such treatment. It was for their safety.

As Serena pondered quietly, the young man spoke again.

“I could try to hack into the Hidden Registry. Though I can’t guarantee success, I’d say there’s about a 30% chance...”

“With some extra effort, maybe up to 40%, but that’s the absolute limit.”

Serena put down her bread and shook her head gently.

“No need, Xiao Mai.”

“I really appreciate your willingness to go that far for me, but hacking into the Hidden Registry is too risky.”

The young man was clearly taken aback.

“Why? Isn’t the contact information for that person very important to you?”

He knew well that as a mythological archaeologist, Serena’s passion and thirst for information on divine beasts were unparalleled.

To others, as a Champion, Serena was flawless in both conduct and strength.

But whenever it came to ancient mythology, she seemed like a completely different person.

Moreover, this time the divine beast in question was the legendary “Sky Dragon”—Rayquaza!!

The young man felt puzzled, and Serena’s voice rang out again.

“The risks and costs of probing the Hidden Registry are too great. Remember when you tried to check the Advanced Registry for me before? You got caught once. If the League discovers it again, it won’t just be a matter of writing a self-criticism report.”

“Cough, cough!”

Hearing this, the young man nearly choked, patting his chest to calm himself.

“Serena, didn’t we agree not to mention that incident? I was young and inexperienced then, and my skills weren’t good.”

“But it’s different now! Even if I can’t hack in, they can’t catch me!”

“Forget it, really no need.”

Serena’s tone was firm this time.

“I’ve thought it through carefully. Since he holds such a high-level identity, I should respect his rules and wishes.”

“His rules?”

The young man looked curious, chewing on a piece of steak.

“Right, it’s that game, Emerald. Whoever becomes the first player to clear it will get his contact information.”

Serena nodded.

“Hey! You should’ve said so earlier—I’m good at games. Leave it to me; I can clear it in no time.”

The young man swallowed the steak, confidently patting his chest.

“What kind of game is it? Racing? Strategy? Card game?”

“If it’s shooting, I might be a bit weaker, but finishing first should be doable.”

Serena glanced at him but said nothing.

She had thought the same at first.

—A game centered on Pokémon battles, how could it possibly be difficult for her?

But not long after, “Strawberry Ice Cream” was soundly beaten twice in a row by the “Black-Haired Boy”… and instantly sobered up.

After a while, she spoke.

“No, this game isn’t what you think. It’s like a battle simulator, but with a very high difficulty.”

The young man was stunned.

A battle simulator?

Very high difficulty?

Keep in mind, this was Serena—the Sinnoh Champion and top competitor in the Trainer hierarchy.

It was hard to imagine that a battle simulator game could be so difficult that she would say that.

As he was still stunned, Serena spoke again.

“How about this? I’ll send you a copy later. Play it when you have time and you’ll see.”

The young man shrugged but immediately backed down.

“Alright, but I’ll warn you—I’m busy lately and might not have time to play for a while!”

Serena saw through him but didn’t challenge it, instead changing the topic.

“The black holes have been spreading faster again recently?”

“That’s right. Although the last one was relatively easy to handle, another appeared this afternoon in the Hoenn region, and its energy fluctuations were quite abnormal. I have to head over tonight.”

The young man sighed helplessly.

“Thanks for your hard work.”

Serena nodded lightly.

“You too, Serena. I heard the Spirit World hasn’t been peaceful lately either.”

This time Serena didn’t respond immediately but was silent for a moment before speaking again.

“No matter how difficult the situation or circumstances, everything will eventually pass.”

“All we need to do is fulfill our duties and have no regrets.”

“To protect those ordinary and kind people, all this effort is worth it.”

Having said that, she raised her glass, nodded at the young man, drank the last sip of her wine, and stood up.

“Well, I’m heading back. Take care, and don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Sure, let’s meet again when we have time.”

The young man nodded, watching Serena’s graceful retreat with a deep sense of admiration.

No wonder she had been his role model since childhood...

One day, he vowed silently, he would become as formidable as she was.

But the next moment, a waiter approached.

“Excuse me, sir. Your companion has already left the restaurant. May I take your payment now?”

The young man was taken aback.

“She left without paying?”

“No, sir. She just walked out directly.”

The waiter shook his head.

“Your total is 13,250 yen. Would you like to pay by scanning a code or by card?”

The young man was dumbfounded.

—Wasn’t Serena supposed to treat me?

Why did she skip out on the bill?!

If only I hadn’t ordered such expensive dishes...

He glanced down at his wallet and gave an awkward smile.

“Um... is it possible to put it on credit?”

...

What he didn’t know was that Serena hadn’t intentionally avoided paying.

At that moment, high above, atop a Garchomp, a sudden look of realization dawned on Serena’s face.

Huh?

Why did she feel like she had forgotten something?

Never mind, it wasn’t important.

The most important thing now was to go home and play that game!

—The game called Emerald, if she was right, was probably already being played by many, but the chance to be the first to clear it and get the creator’s contact was only one.

She might have to go out on missions soon, so she had to use all her time to fully focus on clearing the game!

...

Two hours later, Serena returned to her villa in Little Wave Bay. Entering her room, she turned on her computer and launched Emerald.

She also started her livestream and greeted her viewers.

“Good afternoon, everyone, I’m back.”

“Today we’ll continue playing Emerald.”

As the game loaded, a flood of comments poured in.

“Nana, you’re finally back! Good job on the mission!!”

“Missed you so much, every second without you was agony 555.”

“Streamer, hurry up! Kishu next door is already beating the first gym!”

Serena paused at the last comment.

Of course, she knew Kishu—the Electric-type Gym Leader from the Paldea region, somewhat famous both online and offline, and known as a talented young trainer.

So young yet already almost at the Elite Four level!

She hadn’t expected him to have started playing Emerald, even challenging the first gym?

She took out her phone and smoothly entered Kishu’s livestream, seeing that he was indeed challenging the first gym.

At this moment, Kishu’s face was bright red.

Not a shy redness, but a flushed, heated one.

He waved his sleeves nervously, his expression tense and hopeful, hands clasped as he muttered:

“Damn, damn, damn!!”

“Ahhh, he healed again!!”

“Damn it! Try again!”

Watching Kishu quit and restart the game skillfully, Serena was slightly stunned.

From her impression, the girl was lively and optimistic, but not like this...

—Why does she seem a little off mentally now?

Apparently, the first gym of this game was no easy challenge.

As Serena pondered, Kishu resumed the challenge against the Roselia.

When the moment the Tentacle Lily appeared, Serena paused again.

“Hm?”

Wait!

This Pokémon called Tentacle Lily... she was sure she had never seen it before.

So why did it look so familiar?

The more she looked, the more she felt she had seen it somewhere...

After a brief thought, Serena suddenly realized something.

She opened Kishu’s livestream on her computer, took a screenshot of the Pokémon, and sent a message on social media with the photo attached.

“Doctor, could this be one of the fossil Pokémon you mentioned?”

On the screen, the contact name was none other than Professor Oak!

Indeed, the world-renowned Pokémon professor from the Kanto region and someone Serena had a good relationship with.

Two months ago, Professor Oak’s research team had discovered a batch of ancient fossil Pokémon bodies at a historical site, suspected to be relics of ancient Pokémon.

It was a major discovery. Professor Oak immediately led his team to attempt reconstructing their appearance and habits.

Knowing Serena’s interest in ancient Pokémon, he sent her the data for review one day.

Serena’s sudden familiarity with this Pokémon was because this Tentacle Lily closely resembled one of the fossil Pokémon in the data Professor Oak had sent her.

After sending the message, Serena glanced at the time in the upper right corner.

3:30 PM.

If she remembered correctly, Professor Oak should be in the middle of an important meeting at this hour and unlikely to reply immediately.

So she turned off her phone screen and prepared to watch Kishu’s livestream to study the gym challenge strategy.

However, her phone suddenly vibrated.

—Professor Oak was calling!

After answering, Serena muted her livestream microphone and asked curiously:

“Professor? Aren’t you supposed to be holding the League’s world scientific conference? How do you have time to call me?”

Professor Oak’s hurried voice came through, heavy with breathing.

“This is more important than the conference! Serena, where did you find this picture?!”

“Although it’s a pixel image, it matches the shape of the fossil Pokémon we predicted almost perfectly. Some details are even better restored than our models!”

Serena hadn’t expected Professor Oak to praise a pixel image so highly but answered truthfully:

“Professor, I saw it in a pixel game called Pokémon: Emerald.”

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, standing outside the conference room, Professor Oak held his phone with a bewildered expression.

“A game??”

He had assumed the pixel image came from another research lab studying fossils and had planned to visit those “colleagues” to learn their techniques.

Even as the top Pokémon professor, there was always more to learn.

But now, Serena’s answer almost caused his mind to short-circuit.

What did she mean... it’s from a game??

...

A minute later, after Serena’s explanation, Professor Oak finally understood the situation.

His voice carried a hint of regret.

“So, you can’t contact the creator now. You have to be the first to clear the game to get his contact info?”

“That’s right. You know how strict the League’s hidden database is. I’m currently trying to clear it.”

“You’re trying to clear it already... So you’re interested in this person too?”

Professor Oak sounded curious.

“Sort of. He used Rayquaza’s image and scenes at the start of the game. I suspect he holds clues about Rayquaza.”

Serena answered honestly.

“Oh, that explains it.”

Professor Oak nodded.

But the next moment, his eyes widened, and his tone sharply rose by eighteen degrees!

“Wait!”

“What did you just say???”

“Rayquaza???”