"Tyranitar is unable to battle! Pikachu is the winner! And so, the victor is the challenger, Ash from Pallet Town!"
The result was so absurd—the giant beast Tyranitar losing to a little yellow mouse—that the referee was dumbfounded. Thankfully, he had good professional integrity and quickly waved the flag to make his call. Still, the referee couldn't believe it; the Gym Leader's ace Tyranitar had been completely dominated by a Pikachu. A Pseudo-Legendary, defeated by a Pikachu. Does that even make sense?
He didn't know, however, that this little yellow mouse had a "physical cheat."
"Come back, Tyranitar. It was my fault." Roark gave a bitter laugh, looking at the Premier Ball in his hand and then at the Pikachu celebrating with Ash in disbelief. This level of power was a total blowout. Tyranitar and the opposing Pikachu were not in the same league.
"You are very strong. This Coal Badge is yours!" Roark forced a small smile and placed a badge in Ash's hand. He then left with his three badly injured Pokémon without paying any mind to Ash's expression.
"Thank you..." Ash was about to politely thank him, but saw that Roark's face was very grim as he walked away. Ash felt a bit awkward, scratching his head. Defeating his opponent's aces one after another was one thing, but Pikachu's overwhelming victory over Tyranitar was the real reason for Roark's grim expression. After all, it's bound to hurt when a giant beast you've spent a fortune raising is defeated by a single Pikachu.
So Ash just quietly watched Roark leave and didn't say anything else, though he trusted that Roark's mindset would recover quickly.
"Yay! Ash, Pikachu, you guys are amazing!" Dawn ran onto the battlefield. She started praising Ash and Pikachu, who had delivered such a shocking and dominating performance that it made her voice hoarse from shouting.
"Haha, well, it was nothing!" "Pika~" Seeing the admiration in her blue eyes, Ash and Pikachu synchronously scratched their heads, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Congratulations, Ash. That was a truly magnificent battle!" Brock slowly walked onto the field and sincerely congratulated Ash. Although he had seen Pikachu defeat Regice before, the way it completely dominated Tyranitar filled him with excitement.
"Thank you!" Ash humbly replied again, then looked around for that cold, purple-clad figure. He couldn't find Paul in the stands.
"Ash, are you looking for that annoying guy, Paul?" The clever Dawn saw the look on Ash's face and immediately knew he was searching for the person she disliked so much.
"Yeah, Dawn, do you know where Paul went?" Ash nodded.
"Hmph, that annoying guy already ran out of the gym the moment he saw you were about to win!" The girl pouted adorably, her cheeks puffed out like buns. She clearly did not care for Paul at all.
"Haha, so that's what happened!" Ash thought back to Paul's personality and figured it was likely he would do such a thing. He had a few more questions for Dawn, but seeing her cute face and realizing how much she disliked Paul, he decided not to bring him up anymore.
"Was it because of his comment that 'gym leaders are weak'?" The observant Brock, who had been watching from the side, stroked his chin and guessed. Thinking back to what happened at the Pokémon Center lobby, that was the only possibility he could think of. However, seeing the two awkward teenagers, Brock didn't ask any more questions and quietly followed them out of the Oreburgh Gym, heading back to the Pokémon Center. Although Ash's Pokémon weren't badly hurt, to be safe, they still wanted to have Nurse Joy take care of them.
The most famous part of Oreburgh City is undoubtedly its natural mineral deposits, which are the foundation of the citizens' wealth. However, after each mining operation, the mines are often abandoned.
Fortunately, after Gym Leader Roark's arrival, he observed the hard, durable nature of the area and realized it was perfect for trainers to practice. So, he renovated the abandoned mines, turning them into a training ground for Pokémon.
It was here that Paul was training with his group of Pokémon, which included his powerful Torterra, the mischievous Elekid, the imposing Ursaring, his newly caught Flying-type Murkrow, and Azumarill, which he caught specifically to deal with the Rock-type gym. And of course, the "senior student" Chimchar, who had not yet left Paul's team.
Upon closer inspection, Paul's training method was unique. At that very moment, his other five Pokémon were using long-range attacks to relentlessly assault the small and weak-looking Chimchar. With no way to fight back, Chimchar could only bite its lip and desperately dodge the incoming attacks. Paul stood to the side, his expression cold and grim, watching the scene.
The moment he saw Ash's Pikachu use the massive Gigavolt Havoc, he quietly left and came here to train. He knew the gap between him and Ash was too wide. Forcing a challenge would only bring him shame. His training subject was the extraordinarily promising Chimchar. If that power could just be unleashed, its strength would be greatly increased.
"Keep going! Don't let up!" Paul saw that Chimchar still had some energy left and didn't hesitate to order his other Pokémon to intensify their attacks.
"Chimp~" Chimchar panicked as the attacks became more and more frequent. Its stamina was not limitless. Though it was used to Paul's brutal training, its stamina would eventually be depleted by five Pokémon attacking it relentlessly.
Chimchar gave Paul a pleading look, hoping its trainer would show some mercy. But the only response was Paul's cold, emotionless stare.
"Chimchar~" A few more minutes passed, and Chimchar finally couldn't hold on. It got hit by Azumarill's Hydro Pump when it wasn't paying attention, and its body went limp as it collapsed on the ground.
"That power..." Paul didn't care about Chimchar's well-being. He was only concerned with the power that was supposed to be inside it.
"Chimchar~ (Why...)" Chimchar looked at Paul's cold yet hopeful expression, pointed a finger at its trainer, and asked a question. Then its eyes rolled back, and it fainted.
"Useless thing!" Paul coldly turned away, his voice laced with disdain. However, his gaze couldn't help but drift toward the Oreburgh Gym. He thought back to the Pikachu covered in lightning with a Gigavolt Havoc-sized tail. A hint of doubt surfaced in his heart: Even if Chimchar unleashes its power, can it really defeat that Pikachu?