Well, I was intending our protagonists to meet the Legendary Bird Pokemon in this chapter...but it appears that I droned on a bit and decided to have Chris battle Professor Oak instead. I'm sorry if you're disappointed.

Still, you get to watch Chris battle a Pokemon professor, which is rather unique in itself, wouldn't you say? Believe it or not, Professor Oak is still a powerful Pokemon Trainer...however, he doesn't actually typically battle anymore...he would rather try researching Pokemon instead.

As such, the only Pokemon he has to give to trainers are Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle...and of course failing that, Pikachu. You probably don't want to get stuck with Pikachu considering that Pikachu once refused to listen to Ash and liked to give him some nasty electric shocks...

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter

Chapter 51: Meeting Professor Oak

"I remember you! You want to head to the Sevii Islands again?" asked a sailor. He was happy that Pokemon trainers would like to continue to visit the islands. They seemed a popular tourist attraction these days, judging from how many people that were riding the boat. Perhaps they should start charging them some money...but the Poke Marts there were making enough as it was. People simply liked catching the Pokemon that was there.

Rumor had it that some of the Pokemon there were not typically native to Kanto and were instead native to Johto. He found that to be a rather interesting fact.

As it turned out, there was a line of people getting ready to head there as well. This annoyed Chris, who did not like playing the waiting game. Was it any surprise that she liked it when her battles ended quickly?

Fortunately, the line cleared before too long. It was just as well considering that Chris was getting grumpy.

"The Sevii Islands must be getting pretty popular." noted Lucy.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy. Perhaps there were a lot of Pokemon that they could catch there?

"We sure do. I heard that Mt. Ember is now open..." noted Ned.

"It certainly is." nodded the sailor.

"Then what are we waiting for! Let's get going!" exclaimed Chris.

"I'm with you there." agreed Jake. They wouldn't want to keep the last Legendary Bird Pokemon waiting.

"Alright then. We shall be heading off shortly." said the sailor.

"It feels nice getting to ride a ship again." noted Lucy. Personally the ship reminded her a bit of the S.S. Anne. Speaking of which, she wondered if it could take her to another continent if she asked. That seemed to be rather exciting.

On the other hand, this ship appeared to be a lot faster than that particular cruise ship.

Immediately, they decided to sit down, wondering who else was on the ship. Chris hoped that Jerry wasn't one of the passengers, though she doubted she would see him again for a while after that fiasco with the Voltorb. He was probably in his room sulking if he was.

Then again, it was possible that he had been banned from this particular ship considering what had happened on the S.S. Anne. Personally she decided that it would be best if she did not abuse Pokemon in the future.

Sure enough, it appeared that the ship was beginning to take off.

Looking outside, Lucy noticed that everything appeared to be a blur.

"I'm surprised we aren't crashing into anything..." noted Lucy. Granted, it appeared to be rather smooth sailing in these waters despite all the currents, but still.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy. Personally she wondered who would build a ship as fast as this. Maybe she could build a ship like that if she got the proper materials. However, she was aware that her Pokemon trainer did not want her to steal anymore, especially after the chaos it had caused when she had decided to pay her mansion a visit.

Curious, Chris wondered if there were any Pokemon trainers that would like to battle on the ship.

"Hmm..." thought the Pokemon trainer. Her Pokemon could really use the experience.

As it turned out, Professor Oak himself was on the ship.

"What were the odds?" questioned Chris. She was under the impression that he was still at his Pokemon Lab doing research, even after all this time.

But apparently he had decided to finally take a break from that so that he could do something else. Either that, or he was trying to research the Sevii Islands. It was probably the latter, really.

"Greetings! Have you come along with your Pokedex?" asked Professor Oak.

"I think I'll get my eighth gym badge soon, so yes." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

Immediately, Chris handed her Pokedex to Professor Oak.

"Let's see now...what's this? It appears that you've encountered more than 100 Pokemon!" exclaimed Professor Oak.

"I sure have." nodded Chris. She was under the impression that Professor Oak would be impressed with her now.

Though to be honest with him and herself, she did not become a Pokemon trainer so that she could fill out her Pokedex. She just wanted to become the Pokemon champion.

"Well, it appears that you've given me quite a bit of information. Is there anything else you wanted from me?" inquired the Pokemon professor.

"I was looking for a Pokemon trainer to face...though I heard that you've retired..." stated Chris.

"Well, I suppose you could spare you a Pokemon battle while we wait for the ship to reach Sevii Islands...I think that it will take some time." said Professor Oak.

"Yes!" cheered the female Pokemon trainer. Now she could train her Pokemon once more. At this rate they would be virtually unstoppable.

Well, maybe that was a bit of a stretch. But she would be able to do well in the Indigo Plateau Conference, at least.

Professor Oak decided to go first.

Immediately, he sent out his Alakazam.

"Alakazam!" exclaimed the psychic Pokemon, brandishing his spoons.

"What's so psychic about spoons?" questioned Chris to herself. She thought that she simply used them to eat soup and the like. Why would an Alakazam be interested in them?

"You're sending out an Alakazam, are you? Well then, I'll send out my Gengar." said the teenage girl out loud.

Sure enough, Chris did just that.

"Gengar!" bellowed the ghost Pokemon.

"Alakazam, use Psychic!" ordered Professor Oak.

Alakazam did so. Unfortunately, Gengars were weak against psychic attacks due to their poison typing. Sometimes Chris wished that there were pure ghost types. But to her knowledge there were not pure ghost Pokemon in Kanto. Maybe she should try exploring another region someday? Johto seemed rather nice.

On the plus side, Alakazams were vulnerable to ghost type attacks.

"Try using Shadow Ball!" ordered Chris.

Gengar did so, and Alakazam endured a critical hit.

"Alakazam!" exclaimed the psychic Pokemon. He almost dropped one of his spoons! Would that make him become a Kadabra? It would make him feel rather young again, to say the very least.

"Gengar!" cheered the ghost Pokemon. It appeared that he was doing well against Alakazam, even if that Psychic attack did a number on him.

However, it appeared that Professor Oak was deciding to play it safe by having his Alakazam use Recover, undoing much of Gengar's hard work.

Immediately, Gengar began to frown while Chris began to sigh. Something told her that was going to be a rather annoying technique. On the other hand, it might be handy if one of her Pokemon managed to learn it, though she preferred offensive Pokemon over defense. That was just how she rolled.

Now that she thought of it, she seemed to recall Gengar having a large Sp. Attack stat. Something told her that would come in handy if she was facing an opponent with low Sp. Defense.

Shrugging, Chris decided to have Gengar use Shadow Ball again.

This time, Alakazam collapsed on the floor, having lost his concentration. He struggled to regain it as he helped himself to his feet.

He tried using Psychic again, but this time it did not hurt Gengar much. Perhaps he had given Alakazam a headache...which was a psychic Pokemon's worst enemy, to say the very least.

Gengar hit Alakazam with another Shadow Ball, and he fainted.

"Not bad...I suppose I might have gotten inexperienced as a Pokemon trainer judging from how long it's been since I had my last Pokemon battle..." noted Professor Oak.

"You don't say?" answered the teenage girl.

"I suppose I'll just have to send out a different Pokemon..." acknowledged the professor.

Shrugging, Chris decided to see what Pokemon he was going to send out next. It might be in her best interest to try to prepare accordingly.

"Go, Parasect!" exclaimed Professor Oak.

Immediately, Professor Oak sent out his Parasect.

"Parasect!" bellowed the mushroom Pokemon.

Apparently, he was trying to research Parasect's mushrooms...either that, or he was hoping to sell them for some quick cash.

"Not bad, but I have a way to counter that..." stated Chris.

"Huh?" asked Professor Oak.

Immediately, Chris sent out her Charizard.

Professor Oak groaned. Why did Parasect have to have a double weakness against fire and flying? And as luck would have it, Charizard happened to be both, so neither grass or bug attacks would hurt him at all.

"Flamethrower!" ordered Chris.

Chris's Charizard used Flamethrower, and Parasect fainted.

Sighing, Professor Oak recalled his Parasect. On the plus side, he had an idea of what Pokemon to use next now.

"Go, Rhydon!" exclaimed the Pokemon professor.

"Rhydon!" bellowed the rock Pokemon.

"What's this? It appears that you're using a Rock Pokemon against me now, knowing that Charizard has a double weakness against rock. Whatever shall I do now?" asked Chris.

Professor Oak smirked in satisfaction.

"How about this!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

Immediately, Chris withdrew her Charizard and sent out her Shellder.

"Shellder!" cheered the water Pokemon. It was good to finally be out of that water tank. It felt like forever.

"Oh dear..." murmured Professor Oak.

Chris had Shellder use Water Pulse, and Rhydon fainted.

"Shellder!" cheered the shell Pokemon.

"Normally I'm the type of Pokemon trainer that prefers an offensive Pokemon...but I guess I'll make an exception for the Pokemon I caught while I was fishing..." noted the teenage girl.

Shellder blew raspberries at Professor Oak.

"Now you're just being rude! And to think after I made that fish tank for you too..." noted the professor.

Shellder frowned. Professor Oak did have a point...though she wished that Professor Oak would clean the fish tank every once in a while. As she had noted previously, she had been in that fish tank for forever. It was about time Chris had used her for a Pokemon battle.

"Alright then...it's time for me to send out my Raichu!" exclaimed Oak.

"Funny, I seem to recall you giving Ash a Pikachu since he showed up late for the lab appointment..." answered the teenage girl.

"Yes. But did you know that he and his Pikachu did not always get along?" inquired the professor.

"Oh, really?" asked Chris.

"Yes. Pikachu would simply not listen to what his Pokemon trainer had to say...unfortunately, it ended badly for Pikachu, which forced Ash to perform a heroic sacrifice to try to save him..." acknowledged Oak.

"Really?" inquired the teenage girl.

"Yes...nowadays he and Pikachu are the best of friends. I have no doubt that Pikachu will now be willing to help him catch a Pokemon...though he still seems hesitant to battle Misty, in particular her Togepi." answered the man.

"What's a Togepi?" questioned Chris. She had never heard of such a Pokemon. Of course, it seemed certain that there were still Pokemon left to be discovered. It appeared that the job of a Pokemon professor was never ending...which would probably explain how old Professor Oak was.

"It's a Pokemon that I've been researching as of late. Recent studies have indicated that it is from Johto, though I have yet to see one for myself. Perhaps I should consult Professor Elm on the matter." stated Professor Oak.

"Who's Professor Elm?" inquired the teenage girl.

"Just an old colleague of mine...according to him, he's going to start giving out starter Pokemon to Pokemon trainers once they open up the Johto Pokemon League...which will be in a few months." explained the professor.

"Intriguing..." murmured Chris. Perhaps she should consider signing up once she was done with the Indigo Plateau Conference. She was under the impression that she would make it far.

"You know, it's funny...my Jigglypuff and I used to be like Ash and Pikachu...only in reverse." noted the teenage girl.

"Oh really?" asked the man.

"Yeah...I used to not want to have her as a Pokemon, let alone my Pokemon starter...but then she helped me out against a particularly aggressive Tauros...I had decided to go look for high-level Pokemon when I didn't actually have any Pokemon myself yet...it was a mistake, I suppose." acknowledged Chris.

Unfortunately, it appeared that sometimes Chris's ego got the better of her and she ended up paying the price for it.

"Ever since then, she's been my starter Pokemon..." answered the teenage girl.

"I was wondering why a tough girl like yourself would choose a Jigglypuff to be her starter..." acknowledged the man.

"Now you know..." stated the teenage girl.

"Where was I? Ah yes." said Professor Oak.

Immediately, Professor Oak sent his Raichu to attack Shellder.

However, it appeared that her shell was protecting her from the electricity surprisingly well.

"Shellder!" cheered the shell Pokemon. She was glad that she found such a shell to protect herself...though sometimes she considered leaving it so that she could bite on a Slowpoke's tail. She had heard that Slowpoke tails were quite delicious.

Raichu attacked Shellder with electricity again, but this time she was fast enough to avoid it.

This time, she retaliated by trying to freeze Raichu, though she only succeeded in freezing his tail.

"Raichu..." murmured the electric Pokemon. All of a sudden, he was having a hard time attacking with electricity.

Taking advantage of this, Chris decided to have Shellder give Raichu a bath.

"Raichu!" exclaimed the electric Pokemon. First his tail was frozen, and now this!

Raichu tried hitting Shellder with Mega Punch due to the lack of electricity from his cheeks...but having a frozen tail was making it hard for him to move.

And of course, Shellder simply wouldn't stay still.

"Try using Clamp." suggested Chris.

Shellder nodded, and did so on Raichu's tail...which was his sensitive joint.

"Raichu!" exclaimed the electric Pokemon. Unfortunately, he was having difficulty shaking him off.

However, he managed to melt the ice around his tail which stored electricity.

"Darn it." murmured the teenage girl. Well, she figured that Raichu would find a way to thaw out the ice eventually...assuming that it didn't end up fainting first. So long as a Pokemon was frozen, they were a sitting Psyduck.

Of course, being frozen typically wasn't a problem for a fire Pokemon. They could just use a fire technique and they would be out in no time. It was part of the reason why they were so effective against ice Pokemon.

But since Shellder was a water Pokemon also, she had less to worry about against fire types than other ice Pokemon, such as her Jynx for example. It was good to be both a water and ice type Pokemon it seemed. It had decent type coverage...though of course Shellder typically still had to worry about electric Pokemon like the one it was currently facing.

Speaking of which, Raichu managed to hit Shellder with a Thunderbolt.

"Shellder!" exclaimed the water Pokemon. That stung like a Beedrill.

Thankfully, Shellder still had some HP remaining...otherwise known as health points. Apparently someone thought it would be a good idea to try abbreviating it so that it didn't make people's heads hurt, like Lucy's Golduck when he was still a Psyduck.

However, the next time Shellder got a Clamp in, Raichu ended up fainting.

"So, are we done yet?" asked Chris.

"Yes...I have to admit, I'm rather impressed how strong your Pokemon have become..." noted Professor Oak.

"Yeah...getting seven gym badges will do that to you..." answered the teenage girl.

"Are you aware that the Viridian Gym is going to open shortly?" asked the professor.

"I can hardly wait..." stated Chris.

"Personally you remind me of my former Pokemon traveling partner, Agatha...unlike me, she decided that it wasn't in her best interest to retire. That's why she decided to become a ghost Pokemon trainer..." acknowledged Professor Oak.

"You don't say?" asked the teenage girl.

"Speaking of which, she appears to be on this ship too..." noted the professor.

"Oh really?" questioned Chris.

"Not bad. I see that you managed to beat Professor Oak...but he's not nearly the Pokemon trainer he was in his youth. He decided that studying Pokemon was more for him. Personally I enjoyed battling more..." answered Agatha.

"So, he's like my friend Ned while you're like me..." stated the teenage girl.

Agatha nodded.

Immediately, she sent out one of her Gengar, and used it to scare Chris.

Oddly enough, she was actually successful.

"Aah!" exclaimed the teenage girl. Agatha's Gengar must have been quite frightening if it was able to scare even a hotblooded Pokemon trainer like her.

Of course, she had heard that she was part of the Elite Four, so perhaps that wasn't such a surprise. It felt kind of awkward actually getting to meet her in person.

Still, she was under the impression that Agatha would be at a retirement home rather than the Pokemon League...then again, there was an elderly man who offered to use his Abra to Teleport trainers back home in case they weren't ready to start the Indigo Conference yet.

At that very moment, the Pokemon ship stopped at its destination.

"I'll see you later...I've got some research to do..." stated Professor Oak. It was a good thing that Johnny and the Tough Tentacools weren't bothering the Sevii Islands anymore. They were scaring tourists.

"Goodbye, I guess..." answered Chris.

What's this? It appears that I might need to split this part into two chapters...oh well. I haven't covered everything on three of the Sevii Islands anyway.

Hopefully in the next chapter our protagonists will actually get to meet the last Legendary Bird.