"Viridian Power..." Red whispered softly, releasing his healing energy to restore the severely injured Blastoise's stamina.
Standing nearby, Venusaur smugly used Synthesis in front of Blastoise, recovering all its stamina in moments as if it had never experienced an intense battle with the turtle king.
This calculated display by Venusaur made Blastoise further understand Venusaur's truly formidable nature.
Only then did Blastoise realize that this 'King of the Mysterious Garden' not only possessed tremendous raw strength but also possessed amazing recovery abilities that bordered on the miraculous.
To prevent Turtle Island from falling into chaos due to Blastoise's departure, Red called Lance and detailed the experiences on Turtle Island and the appearance of Team Rocket executive Archer.
However, Red deliberately glossed over the Mega Evolution matter, since not everything needed to be reported to the Pokémon League.
Constantly reporting everything unconditionally to the Pokémon League would only displease Red and make him feel like his precious freedom was being systematically restricted.
The departure of a king inevitably meant the emergence of a new ruler. To facilitate this new king's rise to power, Red accompanied Blastoise in training Wartortle. Coincidentally, this fortunate Wartortle was the same one that had come desperately seeking help from Red and the others.
According to Blastoise's brief description, everyone learned that this Wartortle was originally Turtle Island's second-in-command, whose strength and leadership qualities were deeply recognized by Blastoise and its companions, which was why Blastoise felt comfortable passing the critical leadership position to this trusted Wartortle.
However, Wartortle's current strength had not yet gained Blastoise's complete recognition, so Blastoise had to use harsh battles to temper Wartortle's will through rigorous training.
"Indeed, to become a leader protecting one side, one must endure training that ordinary beings cannot bear," Ash sighed with newfound wisdom, understanding Blastoise's difficult predicament. Even though Blastoise couldn't bear to be so cruel to Wartortle, for the continuation of this group, Blastoise had to use every available means to make Wartortle stronger quickly.
"I never expected you, Ash, to grow enough to perceive the deep meaning of this scene," Brock said with genuine relief, not expecting the usually rash and impulsive Ash to display such mature insight.
"Hey, hey, hey, are you praising me or insulting me, Brock?" Ash said with exasperated confusion.
"Pika pi..."
Pikachu just shook its head with a long-suffering sigh, looking completely accustomed to this routine.
"BANG! BANG!"
"Wartortle!"
After enduring two devastating Aura Spheres from Blastoise, Wartortle painfully touched its wounds and collapsed powerlessly to the ground, completely exhausted.
Seeing this, Red used his Viridian Power to heal Wartortle's injuries, helping it quickly adapt to the current harsh training regimen.
Then, under Blastoise's ruthless urging, Wartortle struggled to stand again and used Ice Beam toward its mentor.
Blastoise frowned with obvious displeasure, not using any moves but simply shattering Wartortle's Ice Beam with pure brute strength. Ignoring Wartortle's shocked gaze, it used Aura Sphere again, quickly striking Wartortle's body with precision.
'If your resolve is only this much, then I'm truly disappointed,' Blastoise shook its head helplessly with an attitude of deep disappointment, scolding Wartortle's perceived weakness.
"Squirtle!" "Wartortle!"
Seeing Wartortle hanging its head in dejected defeat, the watching Squirtles and Wartortles cheered it on enthusiastically, giving the fallen Wartortle courage to stand up once more.
Even Ash's Squirtle was excitedly shouting encouragement, supporting this rare friend it had made, almost wanting to shout itself hoarse with passionate enthusiasm.
After feeling its companions' heartfelt encouragement, Wartortle struggled to its feet and roared defiantly at Blastoise. Past memories surfaced in Wartortle's mind as it vaguely remembered why it wanted to become stronger. Wasn't it to assist its big brother and become as powerful as him?!
Then brilliant evolution light erupted from Wartortle's trembling body.
Under everyone's amazed witness, Wartortle's body gradually transformed. Though its size couldn't compare to the original Blastoise, its appearance gradually approached that majestic form.
The white light faded, and another Blastoise appeared before everyone, but compared to the King of All Turtles, it still seemed noticeably smaller.
Blastoise looked with profound relief at its younger brother's growth, gazing somewhat sadly toward the distant shore. Rather than celebrating with its subjects for its brother's evolution, Blastoise was more lost in melancholy thought.
'In the end, I'm still too selfish...'
To not delay Ash's trio's journey, Red chose to bid farewell to the three on Turtle Island and continued to stay with Blastoise to train the still-immature younger Blastoise.
Although he very much wanted to accompany Red on his adventures, considering Misty's feelings about wanting to go home, after a moment of careful thought, Ash ultimately abandoned this idea, since the journey didn't belong to Ash alone but to all three of them.
Thus, Ash's trio bid farewell to Red and continued their journey toward Viridian Gym. Although they had already gained qualification to challenge the Indigo Conference, Ash, whose strength was steadily growing, inevitably felt the burning desire to challenge Viridian Gym, the strongest in the Kanto region.
Upon learning of Ash's ambitious intention, Red didn't intervene too much, since blindly interfering with Ash's determination would only make Ash more curious about Viridian Gym.
As for safety concerns, Red understood Giovanni's character fairly well. He wouldn't stoop to harming a youth like Ash.
Moreover, since Giovanni didn't view Red as an enemy, he naturally wouldn't harm Ash, his younger brother, and would only give Ash an appropriate lesson at most.
However, for Ash's safety, Red would still arrive at Viridian Gym ahead of Ash.
Following several days of rigorous travel and training alongside Blastoise, Red set out for Viridian Gym. As dusk fell, he chose to spend the night at the nearby Pokémon Center.
Pewter City
A city located at the foot of a massive rocky mountain in the northwestern Kanto region, situated between Viridian Forest and Mt. Moon. Wild Pokémon living in Viridian Forest often came to Pewter City to cause trouble, but they were always carefully escorted back to Viridian Forest by Officer Jenny.
However, there are always exceptions. Recently, a mysterious Pokémon thief had suddenly appeared in Pewter City, specializing in stealing food and being actively wanted by police, causing a citywide commotion throughout Pewter City. Yet no one had been able to capture this elusive criminal so far.
Red, who had originally planned to enter his room to rest peacefully, was 'invited' to the police station for 'tea' by Officer Jenny and her officers under everyone's shocked gazes.
After a moment, Red also roughly understood what had happened, though he was somewhat dissatisfied with Officer Jenny's sudden 'tea invitation,' since the previous actions were quite misleading.
"I see, so you've come to me for help?" Red said flatly, drinking the tea Officer Jenny had graciously offered and casually blowing on the hot liquid.
Red was now seated in Pewter City's police station. If one didn't understand Red's character, they might mistake him for having committed some heinous crime, being surrounded by Officer Jenny and numerous officers as if they were afraid he might suddenly leave.
"Yes, because if we can't apprehend this Pokémon thief, Pewter City's shops and merchants will be very troubled, and it will indirectly affect the reputation of Pewter City's police force."