22: encounter.

it was a huge earthquake.

Jayden was shocked, he didn't think that this rhydon actually knew the move earthquake, this made things harder.

the ground all around him shook, Jayden was even nearly knocked off his bike, he could only hold on and continue pedaling.

seeing as even Pidgeotto was scared shitless of the rhydon, Jayden returned it to his PokeBall, this rhydon was really too scary.

while Jayden was pedaling away with all his might, he realized that the rhydon was actually faster than his bike and was increasingly getting faster.

even while trying to use the environment to his advantage, the rhydon would just blitz its way through any obstacle, whether it be trees or rocks.

what was even more absurd was the huge herd followed behind like an angry mob.

Jayden suddenly heard the sound of a car engine in the distance, hw released a sigh of relief and continued pedaling, he really thought he would die today.

a off-road vehicle could be seen driving on the dirt road, the person inside the vehicle looked out and noticed Jayden before saying.

"haha, hey kid, do you perhaps need some help?" an old voice was heard.

it was an old man at the age of 50, wearing a lab coat, his face was wrinkly but he seemed very intelligent and youthful.

it was actually professor oak inside the off-road vehicle.

seeing who it was, Jayden wanted to get excited but he couldn't, he was being chased by the reaper himself.

Professor oak stopped by Jayden for a moment, after throwing his bike into the back of the vehicle, Jayden hopped into the passenger seat and professor oak drove off fast.

the angry rhydon watched as this happened, it could only stomp its feet in anger before roaring out into the sky.

"phew"

Jayden released a sigh of relief after seeing that the rhydon was returning back to the herd behind it.

"it sure is scary isn't it" professor oak said with a laugh.

"Have you seen this rhydon before?" Jayden decided to ask.

"sure I have, I am one of the only few Pokemon researchers around here afterall" professor oak said while he continued driving.

" a Pokemon researchers?, are you perhaps professor oak?" Jayden asked in confusion, acting as if he was clueless.

"hoho, so you have heard of me then? that's wonderful" professor oak said before changing the subject.

"now that you know my name, what's your name"

"my name is Jayden, thank you for saving me back there" jayden said thankfully, he was actually glad someone had been driving around here.

"well you wouldn't need any saving if you didn't run off with that young Rhyhorn" professor oak said before laughing loudly.

"w-wait you knew about that?" Jayden became shocked, and then embarrassed for a second.

"I saw the whole thing, hahahah, I was out here looking at some Pokemon since this morning afterall" professor oak replied before making a turn.

-----

Professor oak drove all the way to pallet town with Jayden, since Jayden had promised to help professor oak with something, for saving his life back there.

pallet town was a very beautiful town, the building styles looked significantly different from what one would see in pewter city or cerulean city.

soon they reached professor oak's lab which stood atop a smooth hill and was surrounded trees at the bottom.

after driving up, professor oak parked his car before Jayden took his bike out from the trunk.

Jayden saw many Pokemon running around the front yard of the laboratory, most of them were actually young pokemon who acted just like children.

"come on in" professor oak said as he opened the door into the laboratory.

Jayden could hear the sound of humans talking inside the lab the moment he entered.

the whole place looked very well built and equipped with a lot of high-tech equipment that he had no clue about.

Professor oak and Jayden found somewhere to sit in the lab.

"so the thing I wanted you to do is, as you probably know, the galar region champion is actually ash Ketchum who I had studying pokemon for me" Professor oak said solemnly while sighing.

"as a champion, ash can't really do what he used to do for me anymore, and that was filling out my Pokedex, I still need a lot more pokemon to get registered, especially those from the paldea region"

professor oak continued talking non-stop, without waiting for Jayden to reply.

"so I was wondering, if you would like to continue after ash, of course you don't have to rush to the paldea region right now, you can still travel through all the other regions before heading to paldea one day, at the same time, I'll support your pokemon journeys and offer my assistance with anything you need help with in the future" professor oak said one last sentence before waiting for Jayden's reply.

Jayden kept a calm face and took a sip of the drink in his hand.

"hmm, but why me though? I'm sure there are many stronger trainers in Kanto" Jayden replied.

professor oak sighed before saying "of course there are, but I do have an eye for talents, and you caught my eye when I saw you back then, plus you're young with a bright future ahead of you, why would I go to those old trainers for help" professor oak laughed.

"well that's true, and sure, I'll help you complete your Pokedex of the paldea region in the future then"

Jayden replied and shook professor oak's hand.

"that completes it, you're basically like my apprentice now" professor oak said with a smile.

"you can treat my laboratory like your new home, and if you need my assistance with anything be sure to call me from anywhere" professor oak continued talking.

Jayden had agreed immediately because he felt like having a connection with professor oak or any professor to be exact would be crucial during his journeys.

not only did they know more about Pokemon and other things, if Jayden discovered anything Unordinary he could immediately go to professor oak about it.

"grandpa who is this?" a female voice was heard before a figure entered the living room of the lab.