"I took these photos that night, and I asked Professor Oak to develop them for me!" Ash said to Professor Masaki, holding the photos. These photos were taken that night when the giant Pokémon appeared and Ash was still by the sea.
He had almost forgotten about it after everything that happened. Later, he used his Pokédex to transmit the images to Professor Oak and asked him to develop the photos. Professor Oak was also surprised when he saw them and immediately developed the photos.
Then, he sent them back via Professor Masaki's phone. They were about to part ways, and this was originally intended as a thank you for Professor Masaki letting them stay.
"This is truly... Ash! Thank you very much." A few days ago, he had vaguely guessed that the Pokémon would no longer appear, and he felt a little sad about it. Although he had slowly recovered these past few days, he still had some regrets.
But he hadn't expected Ash to take photos and give him an unexpected surprise. He knew that when he saw that Pokémon, it wasn't his first time, and he was already too shocked to speak. Yet Ash had still managed to react and take photos.
"It's nothing. We should be thanking the Professor for his care. Well then, Professor, we'll take our leave!" Ash responded. Misty and Brock also bid farewell to Professor Masaki. Ash, with Pikachu, was the first to turn and walk down the cliff where the lighthouse was located. Misty and Brock immediately followed.
Professor Masaki waved in the direction the three had left, watching Ash and the others disappear. Then he lowered his head again to look at the photos in his hand. He looked at them one by one,
a smile unconsciously appearing on his face. Although he might never see it again, at least he had these photos. Even if their practical use was limited, for him, they still held commemorative significance.
"Hmm??" But just as Professor Masaki turned to the last photo, he paused slightly, then his eyes suddenly widened. "This... this is! Could it be!!" The last photo wasn't just a black silhouette like the previous ones.
To be precise, it had no relation to the previous ones at all. The photo was an image of a Pokémon. When he first saw it, Professor Masaki was slightly stunned, subconsciously thinking Ash had mistakenly put an unrelated photo in.
But as he looked at the image, he suddenly felt very familiar with it. He took this image out separately, then placed it next to the previous images. Looking at the silhouette of the huge black shadow, then at the last image Ash had placed, the silhouettes of the two figures were astonishingly similar.
"So that's it! So the true identity of that Pokémon is... Dragonite!!" On the image, a Pokémon was entirely orange-yellow, with a rounded snout and small nostrils. On top of its head were two long, slender antennae and a small horn. It had a pair of bat-like wings and a sharp tail.
It was indeed Dragonite. Dragonite was a very rare Pokémon, usually seldom seen, but some trainers still caught Dragonite. However, although Dragonite itself was already quite large, it wasn't that gigantic. But from the silhouette, it indeed resembled Dragonite very closely.
It seemed this Dragonite was different from ordinary Dragonite, no matter how it had grown to such a colossal size. He finally knew its true identity, finally fulfilling his long-held wish of many years.
"This young man, his future is truly limitless!" Carefully putting away the photos, he then looked up in the direction Ash and the others had left, unable to help but praise. He was a genius researcher praised even by Professor Oak,
but after so many years, seeing it so many times, he had never discovered that the true identity of the silhouette was Dragonite. Yet Ash, after only seeing it once, seemed to know. Ash hadn't explicitly said it, but he left the photo of Dragonite, undoubtedly allowing Professor Masaki to determine for himself if there was a connection between the two.
...
On the other side, Ash, continuing his journey, didn't know Professor Masaki's thoughts. He had indeed let Professor Masaki judge for himself, but in truth, he only knew it was Dragonite because he knew the plot. In fact, in the early settings of the Pokémon anime,
Dragonite was always positioned as a Legendary-level Pokémon. Due to its exceptionally high base stats, the concept of pseudo-Legendary gradually emerged. In each subsequent generation of games, pseudo-Legendary Pokémon with stats comparable to Dragonite would appear.
Whether it was Professor Masaki letting them stay these past few days or because he had waited so many years, Ash believed he had the right to know the truth, which is why he left a photo of Dragonite.
White Strait, Professor Masaki's lighthouse, was not far from Vermilion City. After the three of them set off again, they walked along the strait. Soon, they saw a road. The three walked along the road, looking at the map. This was the closest road to Vermilion City.
In the evening, the three finally saw the city. Besides the city, there were many people coming and going. Vermilion City, besides having a Pokémon Gym, was also an international port city with developed maritime trade and tourism. Therefore, there was usually a high flow of people.
"We've finally reached Vermilion City! We finally see a city." Misty exclaimed excitedly, raising her hands. From Cerulean City, except for their stay at Professor Masaki's, they had almost always camped outdoors.
Although they had stayed at Professor Masaki's for a while, it had indeed been a long time since they had seen a city. The three walked into the city with joy.
It was almost dark, but Vermilion City's streets were still filled with pedestrians coming and going, and one could see many faces of different complexions. It was indeed an international tourist city.
Many people were probably here for tourism. Besides ordinary tourists, one could also see many trainers. However, for Ash and his companions, the most important thing now was to rest. After walking all day, Ash was not like the Ash in the anime,
who would immediately challenge a gym upon arriving in a city. First, ensuring their Pokémon were in good condition was most important. Brock checked the map, and then the group headed to the Pokémon Center together.
"Nurse Joy, we're relying on you!" Arriving at the Pokémon Center, Ash placed his Poké Balls and Pikachu on the counter. Misty and Brock also took out their Poké Balls.
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