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Looking at the enormous figure before him, Professor Oak now understood why Ash had mentioned it would be somewhat troublesome to care for this Pokemon. Anyone would find it challenging to look after such a massive creature.
However, it wasn't too serious of a concern for Professor Oak. There were so many Pokemon living here already, and caring for Ash's fifteen Tauros was arguably more demanding.
In reality, the Pokemon here didn't require extensive hands-on care. The Laboratory had been designed and built based on natural ecological principles from the very beginning.
The Pokemon living here experienced conditions not much different from living in the wild, and they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.
So after Professor Oak's initial surprise wore off, he found himself genuinely impressed that Ash had managed to capture such an incredible specimen.
Not long after, he also spotted another remarkable figure—that was Haxorus.
Professor Oak naturally recognized Haxorus as the evolved form of Ash's Fraxure.
However, the coloration of this particular specimen was different from a typical Haxorus. The standard body scales of a Haxorus should be olive green in color.
But this specially-colored Fraxure had evolved with jet-black scales covering its entire body. This was the first time Professor Oak had ever seen such a variation.
Although Fraxure had been at the Laboratory for some time and his basic research on it was essentially complete, he remained extremely interested in studying this evolved Black Haxorus. He wanted to find an opportunity to examine it more thoroughly.
Unaware of what Professor Oak was thinking, Ash headed straight home.
He greeted his mother Delia, then took a refreshing shower and changed into clean clothes. After packing his luggage, he said his goodbyes to Delia.
Setting out once again from Pallet Town, the Pokemon Ash carried with him were Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Charizard, Scizor, Venusaur, and Electivire.
It didn't really matter much which Pokemon he brought at this point. After arriving at Indigo Plateau, the Pokemon he used could be swapped out with those at the Laboratory at any time. Ash simply brought the same core lineup he'd been traveling with recently.
The Kanto Alliance, located at the highest point of Indigo Plateau, served as the official alliance headquarters for Kanto Region Pokemon Trainers. It was also where every Indigo Plateau Conference was held.
Indigo Plateau was situated west of Viridian City. This route was normally quite desolate, but at this time of year, Trainers from all over gathered there like salmon swimming upstream.
Regardless of whether they were qualified to participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference or not, even those without proper qualifications would come.
Trainers who hadn't earned enough Badges naturally wanted to see how they measured up against these qualified competitors.
Many spectators would also rush to the venue to watch the matches in person. So this barren wilderness became incredibly lively during this time each year.
Route 23, the only road leading to the Kanto Alliance headquarters, was a path steeped in history.
Trainers passed through here every single year. Some would rise to the top and become Champions, while others would face defeat and have to start over from scratch.
Even the current Elite trainers and Champions had all walked this road before. That's why Route 23 was also known as Victory Road.
Ash and his two companions set out and arrived at Viridian City first. They checked into the Viridian City Pokemon Center, rested for a day, and then departed again the following morning to embark on this road that all Trainers dreamed of traveling.
"Ash, what's wrong?"
After checking in at the Pokemon Center, Ash sat down on a bench outside and stared at the buildings in the distance.
Misty, holding Togepi in her arms, walked out with Brock. She noticed Ash sitting outside by himself, so she walked over and sat down beside him.
"It's nothing," Ash replied, shaking his head slightly and pulling his gaze away.
"Are you nervous about attending the Indigo Plateau Conference?" Misty asked, looking at Ash's thoughtful expression with deliberate concern.
"Even if I were going to be nervous, it wouldn't be right now," Ash responded with a slight smile. He leaned back against the bench, folding his hands behind his head as he gazed up at the sky with a calm demeanor.
When he'd met Bruno, he'd heard that the Viridian Gym had apparently been shut down by the police. Several weeks had passed since then, and he wondered what the current situation was.
The news had reported Team Rocket's disbandment, but there had been no information about whether Giovanni, the mastermind behind it all, had been captured.
Ash wasn't quite sure what he was feeling at this moment. Logically speaking, Giovanni's arrest had nothing to do with him personally.
But he found himself thinking that if there truly was someone capable of competing with Giovanni at that level, he wouldn't want to see him captured. It would be disappointing if such a formidable opponent was no longer around in the future.
After sorting through his emotions, Ash was about to stand up when suddenly the pedestrians on the road seemed to move with urgency. Everyone began running toward a street not far away.
At that moment, the three of them noticed that on the street ahead, people were already gathering on both sides of the road, as if waiting for something important.
"What's happening over there?" Misty asked, looking in that direction with confusion.
"It looks like they're waiting for something," Brock observed.
"Let's go check it out!" It was in a woman's nature to be curious about commotion. Without waiting for Ash and Brock to respond, Misty hurried over with Togepi cradled in her arms.
Ash and Brock exchanged glances and had no choice but to follow. They made their way to the roadside. The street itself was completely empty of people—everyone was standing along both sides of the road instead.
Not only were there pedestrians, but there were no vehicles either. The entire street was vacant. Uniformed police officers could be seen stationed on both sides of the road, maintaining order.
"What's going on?" Brock found a nearby passerby and asked.
"You don't know? The Sacred Flame used for the Indigo Plateau Conference will be passing through here soon. Everyone came to see it," the passerby explained after hearing the question.
"Sacred Flame?" Misty looked puzzled after hearing this.
"It's a ceremony for the opening of the Indigo Plateau Conference. Every year before the Conference begins, the torch is relayed starting from Indigo Plateau."
"It starts from Indigo Plateau and tours through every city in the Kanto Region. Then it's sent back to the Kanto Alliance to light the ceremonial flame during the opening ceremony."
This ceremony wasn't unfamiliar to Ash. It was just like the Olympic Games from his previous life. In fact, the Alliance Conference could essentially be understood as this world's equivalent of the Olympics. Ash thought it was a very meaningful tradition.