"Hello Sister Caroline, I would like to visit Mr. Norman. I wonder if it's convenient?"
Caroline was startled at first, then covered her mouth and chuckled: "Oh ho ho, I'm already in my thirties, calling me sister is really flattering. Come in quickly~ Norman is right at home." After speaking, she turned and entered the door.
Marcus rubbed his nose and followed.
As expected, calling this kind of creature 'Sister' is the most effective...
"Norman, a young man is looking for you!"
Amidst Caroline's call, Norman returned from the backyard carrying a bucket of Pokemon food. Seeing Marcus, he raised an eyebrow: "Excuse me, is there something I can help you with?"
Seeing the man before him, Marcus became a little nervous.
His purpose for coming here was simple: to find a way to obtain a Slakoth with outstanding talent from Norman, while also trying to get his method for raising Slaking.
As an experienced Pokemon fan, Marcus knew very well that Norman's Slaking could overcome its Truant ability to a certain extent, and this was his secret technique that he didn't pass on.
Therefore, to achieve his goal, he needed to gain Norman's trust.
"Hello Norman-sensei, my name is Marcus. My goal is to become a Normal-type Pokemon Master, so I hope to study by your side for a while. I hope you can accept me!"
Marcus said, deliberately lowering his posture, and bowed deeply.
"..." Norman didn't speak. Instead, he quietly observed him for a while before asking: "You said your goal is to become a Normal-type Pokemon Master? That's quite a boast. Where are your Pokemon? Let me see them."
"Uh..." Marcus twitched the corner of his mouth and said somewhat dejectedly: "I haven't captured any Pokemon yet..."
Norman frowned: "Looking at your age, you're almost 20, right? It's a bit late to start on the path of a Trainer now. I advise you to find a stable job instead, it would be more suitable."
"..." Marcus fell silent. He knew that what Norman said was the truth; the possibility of success on the path before him was indeed very small.
However, dreams should never be limited by possibility.
Marcus's eyes became firm. He bowed deeply again: "Please give me a chance, I will definitely study hard!"
Of course, he could have brought up his past experiences to gain sympathy, or even mentioned his relationship with Whitney to get help.
But he didn't do that.
Perhaps this was a man's ridiculous pride... or rather, it was Marcus's stubbornness.
Norman's eyes flickered. He saw a glimmer of possibility in Marcus's resolute expression, but he was actively preparing for the Elite Four Challenge and didn't want to spend too much time teaching a disciple. He shook his head slightly: "Please go back..."
Before he finished speaking, Caroline on the side interrupted: "Marcus, your accent sounds a bit familiar. Where are you from?"
As she spoke, she gave Norman a look.
Norman felt helpless. He knew his wife was a little soft-hearted.
Marcus looked gratefully at Caroline; she had preserved his last shred of dignity. He said, "Ah... I'm from Goldenrod City in the Johto region."
"What a coincidence! We also lived in Goldenrod City for a while before moving here. You could say we're from the same hometown..."
Caroline pulled Marcus along and chatted about everyday things, and Marcus echoed her.
But he knew very well that this attempt to become a disciple and study had likely failed. Caroline simply didn't want to hurt him too much, so she was trying to subtly resolve his awkwardness in this way.
Norman shook his head, about to turn around and continue working in the greenhouse, when a small pink cat darted out from the backyard.
Seeing a stranger appear in the house, the naturally lively and playful creature leaped onto Marcus's shoulder.
"Skitty~!" It jumped twice on Marcus's head, then missed a step and tumbled into Marcus's arms.
"Skitty, that's rude, come down quickly!" Caroline said, about to take the little one back.
Marcus was stunned. He recognized it; this Pokemon was exactly the Skitty that the original female protagonist May captured. Its playful and active personality was its characteristic.
"It's okay, it's quite cute~" He smiled and was about to tease the little one.
However, Skitty skillfully dodged his hand, leaped onto Marcus's backpack, sniffed lightly, and its eyes sparkled slightly; it smelled food!
"Skitty~!" A shower of starlight immediately floated from Skitty's tail; it was Swift!
"Vigoroth, stop Skitty!" Norman threw a Poke Ball in time, wanting to block the attack.
The next moment, a red light shone from Marcus's backpack, and Miltank pressed a hoof on the little one's forehead, stopping its attack.
"Moo~!" It smiled slightly, took out a bottle of Moomoo Milk, and handed it to the little one. Then Skitty happily opened the cap and began to lick.
"This is... Howard's Miltank?" Norman recognized Miltank's identity at a glance.
"Howard, you mean our Howard?" Caroline also reacted.
Howard is Whitney's grandfather's name.
"Young man, what is your relationship with Howard?" Norman asked with a frown.
As Howard's most capable Pokemon, it shouldn't have been given to an outsider so casually. And he didn't remember Howard having such a grandson.
Marcus gave a wry smile and had no choice but to explain Miltank's origin.
Upon hearing that it was temporarily borrowed from Whitney, the couple were relieved and also expressed sadness over Howard's passing.
"Norman-sensei, Sister Caroline, I'm sorry for the intrusion today. I will take my leave now."
Marcus bowed slightly and was about to leave.
At this moment, Norman spoke up and stopped him: "Wait a moment. Since you are someone Whitney trusts, I will give you a chance."
"Hmm?" Marcus looked up, waiting for him to continue.
"You have Miltank battle my Vigoroth. Regardless of the outcome, if the process satisfies me, I will take you as a disciple. How about that?"
Hearing this, Marcus looked at the Vigoroth beside him.
[Vigoroth ♂ Lv54 (Gym Leader Middle Stage)]
Its level was one higher than Miltank's, but it wasn't impossible to battle.
"Okay!" An unprecedented confidence appeared on Marcus's face. Although he hadn't commanded a battle in this world, in his previous life, he was also a gaming master who had spent thousands of hours on Pokemon games. Battling was absolutely his area of expertise!
A moment later, Marcus and Norman stood on opposite sides of the battle arena, and Caroline stood at the referee's stand.
"Next, Marcus from Goldenrod City will battle Norman from Petalburg Gym. The rule is 1v1, let the battle begin!"
Both sides threw their Poke Balls simultaneously:
"Vigoroth, prepare for battle!" "I'm counting on you, Miltank!"
Marcus recalled the battle rules of this world in his mind.
Similar to the game settings and the later generations, specifically from Diamond and Pearl, formal duels would require both sides to use a maximum of 4 moves. If they exceeded this number, they would be disqualified.
Before coming to this world, Marcus was very confused about this.
After all, Pokemon can learn so many moves. If they are limited to only 4, the intensity of the duel will inevitably be reduced.
It wasn't until he arrived here that he understood the reason behind it.