Elf: Rewriting the script, starting with Black Stocking Hanako

Professor Oak took a step forward, then stopped, adjusted his glasses, and carefully examined the enormous creature in front of him.

Light shone through the back door of the research institute, falling on the metal shell of the Steel Serpent and reflecting patches of silver light.

"This is more than twice the normal size." Professor Oak's voice was filled with disbelief. "No, three times. The body length is almost three times the normal size, and the weight... I estimate it to be over 800 kilograms."

He turned to look at Jiang Chuan, his expression complex.

"Hey kid, where did you get this thing from?"

Jiang Chuan shrugged and made up an excuse.

"Deep in the nearby rocky mountains. It was hiding in an underground cave due to the unusual earthquake. It took me some effort to lure it out."

The phrase "spent some effort" was used to describe the situation casually.

But Professor Oak knew that encountering such unusually large Pokémon in the wild usually meant extremely high danger and difficulty. These individuals were often stronger, more ferocious, and more territorial than their peers.

Professor Oak glanced at Steelix again, then suddenly remembered something.

He turned his head sharply towards the direction of the instrument room, a look of lingering fear on his face.

"fine."

He patted his chest, secretly relieved.

Luckily, this kid came to me and evolved on his own.

If you threw Onix at me like before and asked me to help you evolve, I would definitely release it right away in the lab.

This thing is so big, if you move its tail even slightly, all my instruments will be gone.

He counted on his fingers.

That machine is one of the few devices in the entire Kanto region capable of precisely controlling the parameters of fossil evolution. Repairing it requires calling in experts from the Alliance, and the cost…

He shook his head, not daring to think about it, and then glared at Jiang Chuan.

From now on, I'll just release all his Pokémon in the yard.

Professor Oak sighed, glanced at the Steelix in front of him, and muttered something.

"How come this kid always manages to tame these rare creatures?"

He remembered the Pokémon that Jiang Chuan had previously left at the research institute—Mr. Mischief, Singer, and Grimer.

During that period, the institute's maintenance budget was severely over budget.

"Fine." Professor Oak waved his hand, his tone filled with resigned helplessness. "You can collect whatever you want. My yard is big enough; you can keep them here from now on."

A very soft inhalation came from the side.

Professor Oak and Jiang Chuan looked over at the same time.

Nanami stood rooted to the spot, her hand unconsciously rising to her feet, her fingertips lightly touching her lower lip. Her eyes were wide open, staring at the massive steel snake before her, her lips slightly parted, her entire being in a state of utter shock.

Her heart skipped a beat.

This giant steel snake was enormous. So enormous that standing before it, she felt like a small animal perched beneath the roots of a giant tree. The oppressive feeling—from its size, from its metallic sheen, from its dark red eyes—made her breathing quicken.

Nanami's voice was slightly shaky, carrying an involuntary gasp of amazement.

"So big..."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the steel snake's thick body, from its head to its coiled torso, and then to its tail, which was thicker than her entire body.

"...So thick."

After the words left her mouth, she seemed to realize what she had said. Her expression stiffened slightly, and a faint blush rose to the tips of her ears, but it was not very noticeable under the cover of night.

She quickly composed herself, removed her finger from her lips, and coughed lightly, as if to cough up the slight lapse in composure she had just made.

But Jiang Chuan still heard it.

He glanced at Nanami, his lips curving into an almost imperceptible smile, but he didn't reply. Instead, he turned his gaze back to Steelix.

Nanami glanced at Jiang Chuan again without realizing it.

The ability to tame a Pokémon of this size demonstrates a strength that is far more concrete and tangible than the "rumors" her grandfather had previously relayed.

Jiang Chuan walked up to the Steelix, raised his hand, palm facing outward, and paused in mid-air. The Steelix lowered its head, stared at him with its dark red eyes for two seconds, and then slowly brought its head closer, its nose almost touching his palm.

Jiang Chuan placed his hand on the Steelix's cold metal shell and pressed it against it. After a moment, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the light in his eyes flickered slightly.

He used his Aura to communicate with Steelix for a few seconds, then lowered his hand and turned to look at Nanami.

"Would you like to touch it?"

Nanami paused for a moment, then nodded almost without hesitation.

"May I?"

"Yes. It's stable now."

Nanami stepped forward, her pace neither fast nor hesitant. She walked to the side of Steelix, where a section of its torso lay horizontally on the grass, reaching about chest height.

She raised her hand, her fingertips gently touching the metal shell of the Steel Serpent.

It felt cold, hard, and smooth to the touch, like touching a massive, polished metal ingot. But upon closer inspection, one could detect extremely subtle vibrations beneath the cold surface—traces of energy flow within the Steel Serpent's body. Her fingers slid down the texture of the metal surface, feeling the precise yet rugged seams, the seamless connection between each armor plate.

The feel is peculiar; it's extremely hard, yet it possesses a rugged, primal sense of power.

"Jiang Chuan, yours is really hard."

Nanami murmured, her voice filled with pure curiosity and admiration. She tapped the Steelix's shell lightly twice with her fingers, producing a crisp metallic sound.

"And it's very smooth, but not entirely smooth. The surface has very fine textures, like some kind of natural armor pattern."

She turned to look at Jiang Chuan, her eyes filled with the excitement of a researcher discovering a new sample.

"Jiang Chuan, the density of your Steelix's metal shell is probably much higher than that of a typical Steelix. I've never seen this combination of density and hardness in any literature before."

She turned back, placed her palm on the giant steel snake's body, and slowly felt it.

"Even ancient records don't contain such large figures."

She raised her head, shifting her gaze from the giant steel snake to Jiang Chuan.

His gaze held undisguised admiration.

This appreciation is multi-layered—an interest in the Pokémon itself, an appreciation for the trainer's abilities, and a more personal fondness that she herself hasn't fully figured out.

It is possible to tame this unusually large Pokémon.

Wild and fierce.

He possesses an understated yet solid sense of strength.

She looked at Jiang Chuan, and a thought floated into her mind, faint but clear: his body must be as thick, big and hard as his giant steel snake!

The moment the thought crossed her mind, she was startled.

Nanami inwardly gasped, but outwardly remained calm as she withdrew her hand from the Steelix, placed it behind her back, and gently curled her fingertips.

Why would she have such a thought at a time like this?

Having done research for so many years, she'd encountered at least eighty or a hundred male researchers, and they'd always been purely professional, never entertaining any romantic advances. But today, from the moment she met Jiang Chuan, her mind hadn't been fully focused on business.

Could it be that I've been suppressing my true self all this time because of my studies and research?

Nanami's idea was not unfounded.

The Oak family's achievements speak for themselves; her grandfather was the most famous Pokémon researcher in the Kanto region, and people in academia would think of him first when they heard the name "Oak." As a descendant of the Oak family, she had always felt a hidden pressure—she couldn't bring shame to the Oak family.

Nanami is like that in her research, and Gary is the same in his Pokémon training.

So Nanami worked incredibly hard when she was studying and when she was doing research, burying herself in piles of literature and data, day after day, year after year. She always put relationships last, because "there's no rush," because "I need to focus on my career first," and because "I'll think about it when I meet the right person."

The right person.

She thought the right person would be a peer, someone who could engage in academic dialogue with her and resonate with her on data. But most of the peers she met were indeed rigid, inflexible, and lacking in vitality. She tried to connect with a few well-qualified peers, but each conversation ended up devolving into a paper discussion, which was utterly uninteresting.

Then today, Grandpa introduced her to Jiangchuan.

Strong academic ability – He has published papers with Zheng Hui.

The trainer has a bright future – praised by his grandfather himself as having "a limitless future".

Good character and willing to endure hardship—these are my grandfather's exact words.

Then she met the real person.

He has broad, flat shoulders, a straight back, and skin that's a healthy tan from his outdoor training. When he smiles, the corners of his mouth turn up slightly.

Standing there, he looked like a tree that had grown out of the wild and had deep roots.

A chord in her heart was struck.

Moreover, the force with which it was turned was considerable.

Nanami glanced at Jiang Chuan again. He was discussing Steelix's size data with Professor Oak, his voice calm and measured, occasionally nodding or pointing to a specific part of Steelix. His composed demeanor gave her the impression that this man possessed a maturity beyond his years.

But age itself is the "only problem" in her mind.

She was considerably older than Jiang Chuan. She knew exactly how much older, but was reluctant to calculate it. In short, it was the kind of age difference that, if known in social situations, might lead to gossip behind her back.

But at this moment, this concern is rapidly fading.

When she looked at the Steelix just now, after that thought popped into her head, her first reaction was surprise, but her second reaction was a strange excitement.

This kind of excitement is different from the rational satisfaction of achieving results in research.

It is more primal, more direct, and more impulsive.

Like an undercurrent that had been blocked for a long time, it finally found an outlet and surged up from the depths, making her feel a little hot.

She found that she didn't reject the feeling.

I even enjoyed it a little.

Those concerns about "older men dating younger women" seem less important in the face of this undercurrent.

There's nothing wrong with an old cow eating young grass.

She even started joking with herself in her mind.

I'm not that old, at most I'm a big shot.

At worst, you can just be gentle when you eat it.

The thought made the corners of her mouth unconsciously curve slightly, a very faint curve that was almost invisible in the darkness.

She looked at Jiang Chuan again, her gaze now carrying a layer of something more—a tentative, curious, and womanly look.

Jiang Chuan seemed to sense something and looked up at her.

Their eyes met under the starlight.

Nanami did not move away.

She smiled slightly, a very natural smile.

"Jiangchuan."

She spoke, her voice a little softer than before, but also more casual.

"Does your Steelix have any special habits? Like its favorite food or preferred training methods? I'm very interested in its data and would like to make a detailed record."

Jiang Chuan looked at her, paused for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yes. But it might take some time to explain."

"fine."

Nanami raised her hand to gather her hair, her long hair sliding down her back from her shoulders, revealing the lines of her neck.

"I have plenty of time."

Professor Oak stood to the side, watching the brief exchange between the two, and then seeing the smile on Nanami's face, and finally felt relieved.

Things seem to be going well, he thought to himself, giving himself a thumbs up.

The three of them stayed in the courtyard for a while longer, discussing some data about Steelix. Nanami asked very detailed questions, and Jiangchuan answered them in detail as well.

The conversation between the two gradually became more natural from the initial politeness. Occasionally, they would look at each other at the same time because of a movement of Steelix, and then turn back at the same time. When their eyes met, Nanami no longer looked away as quickly as she had at the beginning.

The night breeze grew cool, and Steelix was returned to its ball. Jiang Chuan checked the time; it was getting late.

"Professor Oak, Nanami-neechan, I'm going back now."

Professor Oak nodded.

"Okay, be careful on the road."

Nanami stood at the back entrance of the research institute, watching Jiang Chuan's figure disappear into the night until he was out of sight, before slowly turning her gaze away.

Professor Oak coughed beside him.

Nanami turned to look at him, her face expressionless.

"Grandpa, why are you coughing?"

"It's windy tonight, can't I even cough?" Professor Oak replied with a chuckle, then walked into the lab. "Let's go back and work on the data. Didn't you say you had plenty of time?"

Nanami didn't reply, and followed her into the corridor. Her steps were neither fast nor slow. As she passed the door of the instrument room, she subconsciously glanced inside. The observation window of the evolution device was still open, and the cabin was empty.

She looked away and walked towards her office.

She sat down, turned on her computer, and a bunch of data to be processed popped up on the screen. She picked up her pen, ready to start working as usual.

Then she realized that she had been staring at the screen for five minutes without reading a single word.

She put down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes.

In the darkness, the Steelix's silver-gray metallic body overlapped with Jiang Chuan's sun-kissed face, then slowly separated, leaving only Jiang Chuan's face in the end.

She opened her eyes, looked at the ceiling, and sighed softly.

"Grandpa, you're really going to make things difficult for me this time!"

He said that, but the smile on his face was impossible to hide.

She picked up her pen, sat up straight again, took a deep breath, and forced herself to start working. But the thought had already been planted in her mind, and it was growing rapidly.