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"You and Miss Kyoko should go ahead!" Ash said calmly.
Misty nodded after hearing his words, then turned to address Kyoko.
Seeing this, Kyoko nodded and returned the hat to Ash before leaving. There was no point in wearing a disguise in this situation.
After Ash took the hat back, he placed it on his head. When he saw several Team Rocket members rushing toward them, Ash simultaneously released a Poké Ball.
"Squirtle, use Water Gun!"
After throwing the Poké Ball, Squirtle appeared and immediately shot a powerful blue water column from its mouth. The attack rushed forward, striking the Team Rocket members in front and sending them tumbling backward into several others behind them.
"Geodude, use Sand Attack!"
Brock also threw his Poké Ball. After Geodude emerged, it launched its own attack, releasing a large cloud of sand.
The Team Rocket members had just been hit by the Water Gun attack when the massive amount of sand came rushing toward them, completely engulfing them.
"Let's go!" Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ash recalled Squirtle and motioned to Brock.
Brock nodded immediately after hearing Ash's signal and recalled his Geodude to follow. Many passersby were startled by the commotion, while Misty ran ahead with Kyoko.
Because Kyoko was wearing high heels, Misty had to pull her along as they ran.
Several more Team Rocket members rushed over from ahead. Misty held Kyoko with her right hand while cradling Togepi with her left. She couldn't release her Pokémon and didn't know what to do for a moment.
"Pidgeotto, use Gust!"
But at that moment, Ash, who was coming from behind, suddenly threw a Poké Ball forward. It flew toward the sky above Misty and the others, and Pidgeotto emerged, beating its wings powerfully.
Whoooosh!
The fierce Gust attack was released, and the Team Rocket members rushing from ahead were blown around helplessly. Seeing this opening, Misty immediately pulled Kyoko and ran past them.
"Now!"
Ash and Brock followed closely behind and quickly turned down the street. When they reached the street below, there were many more people around. The group rushed into the crowd with Kyoko, which would hinder Team Rocket's pursuit.
Although using Pokémon to battle on public streets wasn't ideal, Ash didn't care about that now. Even if someone called the police, it would actually work in Ash's favor since he wanted to involve the authorities anyway.
The Team Rocket members watched the direction Ash and the others had fled. They knew the Celadon Gym was just ahead, and they gave chase, planning to capture them within the gym's grounds.
"Golbat, use Confuse Ray!"
At that moment, a voice echoed from an alley next to the street, and then a Golbat flew out.
A burst of strange, swirling light was released from its eyes, sweeping directly toward the Team Rocket members who were pursuing Ash and the others.
In an instant, everyone fell into confusion, their bodies colliding with each other uncontrollably as they stumbled and fell to the ground.
A large group of people collapsed unconscious with swirling eyes. At that moment, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows and murmured while looking in the direction Ash and the others had gone.
"Really, you cause trouble wherever you go!"
Ash and the others had no idea what had happened, but when they looked back, they found that no one was chasing them anymore. Ash glanced behind him and frowned slightly.
Without thinking too much about it, they quickly rounded the final corner and finally saw the Celadon Gym ahead. Misty and Kyoko reached the entrance first.
Ash and Brock followed closely behind. They looked around cautiously and breathed a sigh of relief when they found no trace of Team Rocket.
Kyoko was breathing heavily at this point, then looked at the recently renovated Celadon Gym in front of her. She realized in her heart that this was the safe place Ash had told them about.
"Let's go!" Ash walked toward the front entrance. Actually, if he wanted to contact the police, Kyoko didn't need to come here herself.
But now that they were here, they could definitely ask the people in the gym for help, and Erika would certainly protect Kyoko.
When they reached the entrance, the glass doors automatically opened as they entered the gym. At this point, the layout of the gym had changed somewhat from before.
After all, the previous fire had caused the Celadon Gym to undergo renovations, but it looked more luxurious than it had before.
"Welcome to the Celadon Gym... hmm? Wait... Ash?!"
When they walked in, the receptionist at the front desk began speaking immediately, but she seemed surprised when she saw who had arrived.
She might have easily forgotten other challengers, but she had a deep impression of Ash, who had protected Erika's Pokémon during the fire.
"Hello! Sorry for disturbing you! Is Erika here?" Ash greeted her politely and then asked his question.
"Erika is in the botanical garden. Let me take you there!"
Ash had already challenged this gym before. Although the receptionist didn't know why he was here again, she still warmly welcomed Ash and the others because of what had happened last time.
She led Ash and the others through the botanical garden. It had been burned down before, but now it had been completely rebuilt, and the surrounding trees had been replanted. They encountered many Pokémon along the way.
When the Pokémon saw Ash and the others, they all came over to greet them. They hadn't forgotten that Ash and his friends had protected them during the fire.
Soon they entered the battle arena, which had also been rebuilt. Next to the battle arena was Erika's research platform. At this moment, Erika was working on developing new perfumes as usual.
"Erika!" the receptionist called out, waving to get her attention.
Erika looked up after hearing her name called. She seemed surprised when she saw Ash and the others. She removed her safety goggles and quickly stood up, walking down from the research platform.
"Ash, Misty, Brock?! How did you come back?" Erika approached them with a surprised tone. Ash and the others had left Celadon City some time ago.
But because of what had happened during the fire, Erika had a good impression of all three of them and already considered them friends. She was naturally very happy to see her friends return.
"Erika!" At that moment, before the three of them could speak, Kyoko called out first.
"Sister Kyoko?" Erika's expression showed slight confusion.