After thoroughly tornting Gary, Elias naturally collected his Pokédex and officially embarked on his journey.
With Gengar by his side and his own psychic abilities, everything went smoothly along the way.
However, Elias had yet to capture any new Pokémon. He had never subscribed to the belief that more is better.
In the gas, it might not matter, but in reality, capturing a ton of Pokémon would only lead to neglect. Rather than leaving them in Poké Balls or dumping them at Professor Oak's lab to fend for themselves, Elias preferred a more elite approach.
...
"We finally made it to Pewter City."
Stepping off the vehicle, Elias stretched his body and turned to Gengar, gazing at the rock-thed city before them.
"Ha-ha!" Gengar nodded in agreent.
"Alright, let's head to the Pokémon Center!"
After checking into a room for the night at the Pokémon Center, Elias unexpectedly received a call from Professor Oak.
"Elias, where are you right now?"
Professor Oak looked busy, talking through the video call while handling so experintal equipnt.
"Just arrived in Pewter City. Why?" Elias had a bad feeling.
From years of assisting Professor Oak, he knew this kind of tone usually ant trouble was coming his way.
Sure enough, Professor Oak's eyes lit up at his response.
"Pewter City? Perfect."
"You know Mt. Moon, right? There seems to be a criminal group searching for a Pokémon there, and I might need you to check it out."
Professor Oak gave an apologetic look.
"Technically, this isn't sothing a rookie trainer should handle, but unfortunately... you're the only one nearby who's both capable and available."
It wasn't like Professor Oak was just dumping a random task on him. Before Elias left, Oak had run a test on Gengar's abilities, and the data was astounding.
That's why he felt at ease entrusting Elias with dealing with these criminals.
Elias was well aware of this too.
Knowing he couldn't escape, he sighed and nodded.
"Alright, I got it."
Even without going, he could already guess who the so-called criminal group was.
After all, the only ones who'd act so brazenly in Mt. Moon were Team Rocket—that organization obsessed with raiding w's nesting sites.
"Oh, right." Professor Oak suddenly rembered sothing. "This request actually ca from one of the Elite Four—Lance."
"I'll send you his contact info in a bit. You can coordinate with him directly."
That bit of information piqued Elias's interest.
Even though Lance likely had no idea who he was in this world, he was still soone Elias was curious to et.
However…
"Is the Investigation Bureau really that short on people?" Elias asked, puzzled.
Back in the simulated world, when he left the Investigation Bureau, it was still a thriving, well-resourced departnt.
So how had it deteriorated so much that they had to ask Professor Oak—a scientist pushing sixty—for help?
Professor Oak shook his head.
"I'm not entirely sure."
"But there's a rumor that the departnt's cursed. Every ti soone gets promoted to deputy director, they end up being forced out for one reason or another."
"It's as if sothing is guarding that position."
"Because of that, the Bureau experiences constant personnel changes, and over ti, it's been steadily declining."
Elias listened to the urban-legend-like explanation without paying it too much mind.
Though, now that he thought about it—when he resigned, he had just been promoted to deputy director.
If that rumor were true, then… maybe it was a "curse" after all.
After chatting with Professor Oak for a while longer, Elias ended the call.
"Co on, Gengar. We've got a job to do."
Looking at the midday sun, Elias figured that should be plenty of ti to deal with Team Rocket.
With Gengar's strength, regular grunts wouldn't pose any threat.
But before anything else, he needed to contact Lance and confirm Team Rocket's exact location.
Mt. Moon was huge—without proper intel, even he wouldn't be able to track them down quickly.
With that in mind, Elias pulled out his phone and sent a friend request to the contact Oak had provided.
---
anwhile, in an office at the Pokémon League…
A red-haired young man sat at his desk, rapidly signing docunts.
Just then—
Ring-ring~
His phone vibrated, forcing Lance to set down his pen and stiffly reach for the device.
Ever since he had traded his sword for a pen, he realized that paperwork was far more exhausting than Pokémon battles.
If not for his ambitions of becoming Champion, he would never choose to spend his days cooped up in an office.
Unlocking his phone, Lance saw a ssage from Professor Oak, and his eyes lit up.
"As expected of an academic giant—his connections are insane."
Seeing that Oak had already found soone to handle the job, Lance couldn't help but admire him.
Out of courtesy, he replied:
[Thank you for the help, Professor Oak. Who is this 'friend' you've found for ?]
Given Oak's elite social circle, Lance was genuinely curious.
---
Back at Oak's lab, the professor hesitated upon receiving Lance's ssage.
He had instinctively prepared to send Elias's na, but…
After considering how desperately short-handed the Investigation Bureau was, along with Elias's outstanding talent in both Pokémon battles and research, Oak hesitated and deleted the ssage.
No way. Elias was a rare, promising student who could one day carry on his legacy.
If Lance sohow managed to poach him into the Investigation Bureau, Oak would have no one to cry to.
To avoid piquing Lance's curiosity, Oak replied as casually as possible:
[Not really an old friend, just a student of mine. Here's his contact info—just call him "Sumrs."]
He deliberately used the alias Elias used when publishing research papers.
---
Elsewhere, Lance had been sowhat disappointed upon reading the first part of Oak's ssage.
But then—
That alias.
"Sumrs."
The mont Lance saw it, he froze.
A flicker of nostalgia flashed through his crimson eyes.
For a long while, he remained silent.
Then, the corners of his mouth lifted into a rare, gentle smile.
Softly, he murmured:
"If only you were still here… I wouldn't have to bear all of this alone."
---
T/N: WHAAAAAAAAAAAT I THINK THE SIMULATION JUST DID HIS PAST?? LIKE HELLO
also uhh i didnt tell anyone but Elias' full na is Elias Sumrs
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