Elf: Rewriting the script, starting with Black Stocking Hanako

Jiang Chuan was pondering how to continue the conversation when the door to the reception room was pushed open.

Professor Oak walked in carrying three cups of black tea. The fragrant aroma, combined with the warm light from the lamp, softened the atmosphere of the room.

He had obviously overheard something outside the door, and the smile on his lips when he came in looked rather deliberate.

"You guys are talking about ancient fossils! By the way, Jiang Chuan."

Professor Oak placed cups of black tea on the coffee table one by one, his movements unhurried, as if he were organizing his thoughts.

He sat down on the single sofa next to Nanami, picked up his glass, took a sip, and then continued speaking.

"Didn't you leave those two fossil Pokémon with me, asking me to help you research breeding and training methods?"

Jiang Chuan nodded.

From the day he acquired Omanyte and Kabuto, he handed their Poké Balls to Professor Oak, asking the lab to analyze the habits, diet, and training intensity thresholds of these two ancient fossil Pokémon. Professor Oak had indeed been working on it, but progress was slow.

"But I have to tell you the truth." Professor Oak put down his teacup, shrugged, and said with a hint of helplessness, "My area of ​​expertise is the genetics and evolutionary mechanisms of Pokémon, the ancient and fossil plates. I can only help you work it out slowly. It's been almost two months, and I've only just gotten a first draft of the training plan for those two."

He paused, his gaze shifting to Nanami before returning to her, a glint of light flashing in his old eyes.

"Nanami is back now."

Jiang Chuan's gaze followed Professor Oak's and landed on Nanami.

She was holding a cup of black tea, the rim of the cup touching her lower lip, seemingly savoring it. Hearing her grandfather call her name, she looked up, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, her gaze calm as she looked over.

"Nanami is joining the archaeological team; she's a key researcher." Professor Oak's voice was now brimming with the urge to broker a deal, his tone light and cheerful, as if he were promoting something great. "Isn't this a great opportunity for you to gain practical experience?"

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"You can join Nanami and her archaeological team to study this fossil site. You might discover some interesting insights that will greatly benefit your future command of those two fossil Pokémon in battle or their training."

After Professor Oak finished speaking, he leaned back on the sofa, picked up his teacup, took another sip, and gave an expression that said, "That's all I can do to help."

Jiang Chuan understood.

He just received a mission.

Nanami's fossil farm is located near Pallet Town, and she's always kept the matter of those three ancient Pokémon in mind. This is indeed a good opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

"ah."

Jiang Chuan put down the teacup in his hand, looked at Nanami, his gaze straight ahead without flinching.

"I am naturally very interested in fossil Pokémon."

"The last time I saw that ancient Pokémon with Zheng Hui at the lighthouse, I still have a very strong feeling about it. Its size, its aura, and the texture of its ancient power still shock me when I think about it now."

He tilted his head slightly, as if organizing his thoughts.

"Now that there's another opportunity to study the fossils of ancient Pokémon, I naturally want to go."

He paused slightly, his gaze lingering on Nanami's face, a faint smile playing on his lips, carrying a hint of youthful honesty and tact.

"I don't know what Nanami-neechan means."

Jiang Chuan addressed her as "older sister," thus establishing a closer relationship.

When Nanami heard the word "older sister," her fingers holding the teacup tightened slightly.

The warmth from the cup traveled through her fingertips, mingling with the subtle restlessness in her heart.

She remained expressionless, only offering a slight smile, the curve of her lips barely visible, as if she were considering something.

Professor Oak, seeing that Jiang Chuan had already made a decision, immediately turned around and struck while the iron was hot.

"Nanami."

"Jiang Chuan is a trainer with a lot of ideas."

Professor Oak's tone now carried a stronger sense of recommendation, as if he were introducing a rare talent to an old friend.

"Don't let his path as a trainer fool you; he might have some really good ideas for research and discovery that could be a huge help to you."

He pointed at Jiang Chuan, then at Nanami.

"Have you considered taking him along?"

Nanami was silent for two seconds.

In those two seconds, a lot of things were actually going through her mind.

She now fully understood her grandfather's intentions.

This so-called "research collaboration" was a facade from beginning to end; the real purpose was to bring her and Jiang Chuan together.

The problem is, she doesn't dislike it.

Not only do I not dislike it, on the contrary...

She recalled her wild thoughts, the thought in her mind that she was "too young," and her concerns about older men dating younger women.

But those concerns had been somewhat diluted by something else during the observation just now.

Jiang Chuan, just standing there, is indeed a pleasant person to look at.

"It's great to have a genius trainer like Jiang Chuan join us."

Nanami spoke, her voice steady and carrying the composure unique to a mature woman. She put down her teacup, rested her hand on the sofa armrest, turned slightly to look at Jiang Chuan, and her eyes softened a little.

"I believe this archaeological research will definitely make great progress."

The words were perfectly appropriate and flawless. But all three people present knew that this was more than just an endorsement of academic collaboration.

Professor Oak chuckled and slapped his thigh.

"Okay! It's settled then."

He stood up, walked to Jiang Chuan's side, and patted him on the shoulder with considerable force.

"You kid, stick with Nana Aesthetics, she's an expert in this area. Don't come up with any weird stuff that will scare the archaeological team."

Jiang Chuan smiled but didn't reply.

Nanami stood up from the sofa, the hem of her pencil skirt cascading down naturally with the movement, clinging to her waist and hips. Under the warm light, her figure appeared exceptionally long and slender, her shoulders softly defined, and her waist sharply cinched. She raised a hand to brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear, a natural gesture, but Jiang Chuan's gaze was still drawn to her for a fleeting moment.

Their eyes met briefly in the air.

Nanami moved aside first, then bent down to pick up the magazine on the coffee table and casually put it back on the bookshelf.

"Then you should prepare in the next few days." She had her back to Jiang Chuan, her voice calm. "I still have some data to organize. I'll send you the meeting time and place before we leave."

"it is good."

Jiang Chuan responded.

Professor Oak seemed to suddenly remember something and turned to look at Jiang Chuan.

"By the way, when you came today, you just told me, was there anything else?"

Jiang Chuan nodded.

"I caught a pretty big Onix today. I also have Metal Coat on hand, so I thought I'd trade it for an evolution."

"A pretty big Onix?"

Professor Oak rubbed his hands together, his face showing the excitement a researcher would have when hearing about a novel sample.

"Let's go, let's go to the instrument room."

He turned to look at Nanami, his eyes almost revealing his ulterior motives.

"Nanami, you're here too. It's a good opportunity to see Jiangchuan's Pokémon."

Nanami was just looking for an excuse to follow, so she readily agreed.

"Okay. I'd like to see too."

The three walked through the corridor towards the instrument room deep within the research institute. Professor Oak walked in front, his steps quick, the hem of his white lab coat swaying. Jiang Chuan walked in the middle, with Nanami half a step behind, slightly behind him.

The corridor lights are motion-activated; they turn on when someone walks by and turn off when they pass. The light alternates between bright and dim, creating a play of light and shadow.

Nanami walked behind Jiang Chuan, her gaze unconsciously falling on his back. He had broad shoulders, a straight back, and walked with a steady rhythm, neither too fast nor too slow, each step solid.

She recalled the open and honest look in his eyes when he looked at her in the reception room. No avoidance, no fawning, no deliberate attempt to impress. He simply looked at her naturally, and then spoke naturally.

This sense of propriety was rare among the young men she had met.

Most of them were either too shy to look at her, or they were overly attentive.

Jiang Chuan belongs to the third type—when he looks at you, you feel that he is indeed looking at you.

Just that one word, "look," was enough to pluck a string in Nanami's heart.

The door to the instrument room opened, and a low-heat emanating from the running machinery and a faint metallic smell wafted out.

The room was very large, even more spacious than the reception room, with various instruments placed on both sides of the wall, leaving a large open space in the middle.

The ground was reinforced and covered with an anti-static dark gray material.

Rows of ring lights were embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the entire room with even and bright light, leaving no shadows.

"It's right over there."

Professor Oak pointed to a large machine in the center of the room. The machine was about two meters tall, its main body an oval-shaped enclosed chamber with a silver-gray alloy casing. A transparent observation window was on the front, and a row of control panels were attached to the side. This was a device specifically designed by the research institute to assist Pokémon evolution; it could increase the success rate of evolution by precisely controlling energy input and environmental parameters.

Jiang Chuan took out Onix's Poké Ball from his waist pouch, and then took out a flat metal film from another pocket. The metal film was silver-gray with fine texture on the surface, and it gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the light.

He opened the hatch and put the Poké Ball and the metal membrane inside.

As soon as the Poké Ball came into contact with the energy field inside the cabin, it began to glow slightly, and the outline of Onix appeared on the surface of the ball.

"Start it up." Professor Oak stood in front of the control panel, his fingers already typing a series of parameters on the keyboard, and pressed the start button.

The instruments began operating, a deep hum emanating from inside the chamber. Through the observation window, the Onix's Poké Ball glowed brighter and brighter, its silvery-white light almost filling the entire chamber. The metallic membrane began to melt, transforming into a liquefied metallic flow that gradually enveloped the Poké Ball and the Onix inside.

Evolution has begun.

Nanami stood slightly behind Jiang Chuan, looking up at the instruments.

Her gaze shifted from the observation window to Jiang Chuan's profile.

He was intently looking into the cabin, his jawline taut, his lips slightly pursed, and his eyes unblinking.

Nanami silently looked away.

You can't keep staring at it.

She reminded herself silently, then focused her attention back on the instrument.

A few minutes later, the buzzing gradually subsided, and the light inside the cabin began to dim.

"It's done."

Professor Oak pressed the stop button, and the hatch automatically popped open.

Jiang Chuan stepped forward and took out the Poké Ball. It felt a little heavier than before. Holding the ball, he didn't release it in the instrument room, but turned to Professor Oak and said:

"I'll go to the yard to relieve myself."

Professor Oak nodded, but then looked puzzled.

The instrument room is spacious enough to easily accommodate a slightly larger Steelix.

He specifically designed this room to be two or three times larger than a typical laboratory, just to make it easier for trainers to trade and evolve large Pokémon.

Why did Jiang Chuan specifically go to the courtyard?

Professor Oak thought of a possibility.

Could it be that the giant steel snake has a bad temper and tends to writhe wildly when released? Is this guy afraid I'll sue him if he smashes my equipment?

He chuckled and shook his head, dismissing the wild guess from his mind.

"Okay, go ahead."

He turned and called out to Nanami.

"Nanami, let's go take a look together."

Nanami naturally had no reason not to go.

She was already very curious about Jiang Chuan's Pokémon. Her grandfather had told her some "rumors" about Jiang Chuan before—such as how he fought giant Pokémon in the wild and how he captured very rare species.

Hearing all this made Nanami itch with curiosity and filled her with surprise.

........................

The three of them went through the back door of the research institute and came to the courtyard behind it.

Jiang Chuan walked to the center of the courtyard and stood still.

He looked down at the baby ball in his hand and pressed the switch with his thumb.

A flash of white light.

A giant steel snake appeared on the grass.

To be precise, it appeared on the grass with a "boom".

The ground shook. It really shook.

Jiang Chuan could feel the impact travel up from the ground, running from his feet all the way down to his calves. Professor Oak and Nanami, who were standing next to him, both instinctively took a step back.

Then they were stunned.

This giant steel snake is far larger than usual.

A typical Steelix is ​​about nine meters long and has a body diameter of about one meter, making it a large Pokémon.

But Jiangchuan's body is estimated to be over 20 meters long and nearly 3 meters in diameter!

Its head was held high, like a moving metal tower, taller than the second floor of the research institute. Its body coiled on the grass, occupying a large open space in the center of the yard. The silver-gray metal body gleamed with a cold luster under the starlight, and each joint of its body had intricate patterns, like the armor plates of some ancient machine.

Its eyes were dark red, like two lava gems, gleaming faintly in the night.

A nightjar was startled and flew away from a tree in the corner of the yard, flapping its wings.

The courtyard was quiet for two seconds.

Professor Oak opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.

"this……"