Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

Ash greeted the Tauros, Grimer, and Mt. Dust that he encountered.

Led by Gengar, who was guided by its scent.

The three walked through the corridor, pushed open the half-closed door at the very back, and finally saw Professor Oak.

At that moment, Professor Oak was sitting at the lab table with his back to the door, intently fiddling with something.

Several sophisticated instruments were set up on the platform, with a stone fixed in the center.

Faint, colorful patterns flow across the stone, like some dormant energy breathing softly.

It was the Mega Stone that Ash obtained on his journey.

"Doctor! I'm back!"

"Pikachu!"

Ash and Pikachu shouted it out almost simultaneously.

Pikachu even stood up from Ash's shoulder, raising its two little paws high above its head.

"Oh?"

Professor Oak turned around, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

"It's Ash and Pikachu!"

"Of course!" Ash said with a grin. "We came to see you, Professor, after we finished eating."

"Pikachu pikachu~"

Pikachu nodded repeatedly and gestured with its little paws.

Upon hearing this, Professor Oak's face lit up with joy.

He immediately gestured for the three to sit down, and even turned around to retrieve the highest-grade hospitality items from the cabinet—

A box of beautifully packaged pastries and several cans of juice that didn't look cheap.

“Here, try this,” Professor Oak said, placing the item on the table with a smug look on his face. “Nanami bought this for me; I usually don’t even want to open it!”

"Thank you, Doctor!"

Ash took a can of juice, opened it, and handed it to Pikachu.

"Pikachu~"

Pikachu held the small jar, its two little paws just encircling the jar, and began to drink in small sips, its ears twitching contentedly.

"Thank you for your help, Professor Oak."

Xiao Gang nodded politely.

"Oh, this is troublesome!"

Xiaoxia also thanked them, but her eyes were already fixed on the box of pastries.

Gengar, who was already quite familiar with Professor Oak, didn't need any greeting.

It floated directly to the snack box, grabbed a piece in each of its two chubby hands, and stuffed a bite into its left hand and a bite into its right hand.

Even that's not enough.

He took a deep breath in front of Professor Oak, treating it as a "side dish" to accompany his snack.

Huh?

A gust of wind was sucked in, and Gengar paused in its movements.

Something is wrong!

Why does the food taste so bland today?

It looked at Professor Oak with a puzzled expression, its eyes full of questions.

Or perhaps you weren't studying diligently today? Didn't stay up late? Didn't you struggle with the experimental data?

That rich, mellow flavor, carrying the researcher's unique resentment, how come only the bottom is left?

Gengar looked heartbroken.

Hurrah!

You've actually learned to be lazy too! That's so disappointing!

Professor Oak was completely oblivious to Gengar's inner monologue.

However, he did study it seriously today.

But the resentment was minimal, purely because he was in an extremely good mood after hearing the news of Ash's return at noon.

Especially after learning that Xiao Zhi had come to her place immediately after returning home, even the wrinkles on her face smoothed out.

What does it mean to come here immediately?

This shows that Xiaozhi cares about him!

"By the way, Doctor."

Ash gave some Pokémon ingredients he got from the chef to Oak.

"Someone gave this to me on the way. I think it's pretty good for your health. You can take it and eat it."

"Good, good, good!"

Professor Oak took the package, weighed it in his hand, and his eyes welled up slightly.

Ash and Nanami, these two are really making things so easy for me!

"Xiao Zhi, you've come at just the right time."

Professor Oak pulled Ash over and made him stand in front of the instrument.

"I've actually figured out something about your megastone!"

He pointed at the mega stone, his mouth practically stretched to his ears in a wide grin, his eyes gleaming with the kind of light only a researcher would have.

"Is it!"

Xiao Zhi's eyes lit up.

"Can you guess what Pokémon's Mega Stone this is?"

Ash and Pikachu exchanged a glance.

Looking at the doctor's mysterious expression, she tentatively asked a question.

"All of them?"

Professor Oak's smile instantly froze on his face.

"?!"

How did you guess so accurately?!

It took a moment to react.

Professor Oak slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! As expected of Ash! As expected of the person I chose!"

"That's right!"

"Based on my experiments over the past few days, this Mega Stone can react to almost all Pokémon!"

Professor Oak pointed to the densely packed data waveforms on the instrument and said excitedly.

"Although the reaction intensities differ, this at least proves that its compatibility far surpasses that of any megastone described in existing literature!"

"This is a major discovery!"

"No wonder he's a PhD!"

Xiao Zhi sincerely praised him.

He said a PhD is reliable!

Professor Oak was very pleased and waved his hand.

"However, whether we can actually communicate with Pokémon normally remains to be seen."

“But it’s okay,” he patted Xiaozhi on the shoulder, “I’ve already asked someone to get me a Super Bracelet. Once they send it over, I’ll study it for a while, confirm the usage conditions, and then return it to you.”

Xiao Zhi waved his hand.

"No rush, no rush, Doctor, you can take your time with your research."

Professor Oak was taken aback, looking into Ash's clear eyes, and was speechless for a moment.

He knew exactly how precious this super stone was.

If it were out there, it would be enough for some people to fight tooth and nail for.

After all, they are researchers; there are plenty of people who fight tooth and nail over the same research topic.

Ash clearly knew the importance of this Mega Stone.

He handed it over to me to study without even frowning, and now he says "no rush".

Professor Oak's eyes were a little sore.

good boy!

"Hey Ash, you're only one badge away from getting your eight badges, right?"

"correct."

Xiao Zhi nodded.

"So you're planning to challenge the Evergreen Dojo?"

After all, we've come back here.

With a little deduction, Oak knew what Ash's next target would be.

"The doctor understands me best!"

"Then you'd better be prepared." Professor Oak's expression became more serious. "Gary just finished challenging the Viridian Gym, which is no easy gym."