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"What I just said, if you've been traveling for two months and have four Gym Badges, I can take you in. Actually, this is a rule my brother set, and it's even posted at the entrance of Fuchsia Gym."
Aya's words made Ash pause, then his expression became incredibly strange.
Traveling for two months and having four Gym Badges—besides himself, Ash only knew one other person who could meet this standard: Gary.
This rule, no matter how he thought about it, seemed to be aimed at the two of them, right?
"Why set such a rule?"
"Because my brother guessed you might come to Fuchsia Gym to challenge him, but you've seen the state of Fuchsia Gym. If you were to challenge normally, you might not even get in after waiting three days. So, he set this rule: anyone who meets this condition can cut in line."
This wasn't a rule for two people; it was purely a rule for Ash.
"Word of you has reached the ears of all the Gym Leaders. My brother also wants to see what kind of person can obtain five Badges in two months and even defeat the Trainer of Saffron Gym."
Aya said, while sizing up Ash.
From his appearance... aside from being a bit handsome, he was otherwise unremarkable. His Pikachu also looked harmless, without any aura of a strong Pokémon. Could such a person really have defeated Saffron Gym?
"Hehe, I didn't expect to be so famous already, even Mr. Koga has heard my name." Ash chuckled, rubbing the tip of his nose. Becoming famous and making a name for himself at a young age—wasn't that one of the things he wanted to do after starting his journey?
He didn't expect that in just two short months, he would already be famous throughout Kanto!
"Let's go, I'll take you to my brother first." Aya waved her hand, leading Ash and the others through the back entrance of Fuchsia Gym... "Venonat, dodge to the left, then use Tackle!"
On the outdoor field of the Gym, Koga, dressed as a ninja, commanded his Venonat on the field to dodge the opponent's Sandshrew's attack, then finished off the opponent with a Tackle.
This challenger's challenge ended in failure.
However, Koga still handed over the Badge to the opponent. In Gym battles, it wasn't always necessary for the challenger to defeat the Gym Leader to obtain a Badge.
Otherwise, facing Koga, an Elite Trainer, unless your strength was a whole tier above Koga's Pokémon, it would be virtually impossible to defeat him.
Therefore, as long as you fought with style in your battle against Koga, he would give you a Gym Badge.
And regardless of victory or defeat, Koga would provide some guidance after the match. Those who lined up to challenge him were precisely after this post-match guidance!
After Koga evaluated the pros and cons of the opponent's battle, he had a staff member escort the person away.
He also placed Venonat's Poké Ball on a portable Pokémon healing machine nearby.
Using this machine, combined with the dozen or so Pokémon he had for general challengers, was enough to allow him to battle for over twelve hours a day in rotation!
Originally, Koga only spent a few hours a day dealing with challengers, and occasionally he would let Aya handle some challengers to build up her battle experience.
After all, once he became an Elite in Johto, this Gym would be passed on to Aya. Even if he wasn't there, the reputation of Fuchsia Gym couldn't be tarnished.
However, recently, his time on duty had significantly increased. He was basically handling all the challenges himself, all to build momentum for his upcoming appointment as an Elite.
Besides strength, reputation was also very important for an Elite Trainer.
For example, if an unknown Trainer suddenly took an Elite position, how would outsiders view the League?
So, to become an Elite, besides meeting the strength requirements, fame was also very important. This is why the position of 'Elite Four Class' existed, to give outsiders time to accept the change in Elite.
If an Elite was parachuted in for no apparent reason, it would certainly be difficult for the Trainers of that region to accept. Every Elite had their fans, and seeing their favorite Elite inexplicably replaced by someone else...
Their fans would surely explode!
Then the League would be criticized, and so on... This era, after all, was still an era that valued democracy, at least on the surface.
Therefore, Koga was now building momentum for his upcoming appointment as an Elite. Otherwise, would he be so bored as to endlessly accept challenges and guide those challengers?
Working so hard was all to gain a good reputation after becoming an Elite.
After guiding this challenger, Koga waved his hand, allowing a staff member to bring in the next challenger.
Just then, a clear voice called out: "Brother, wait a minute!"
Along with the voice came Aya's figure.
"Aya? Where were you just now?"
"Just out for a stroll, but that's not important. Look who I brought!"
Koga followed Aya's hand and saw three figures emerge from the Gym building. When he saw the leading figure, Koga's expression clearly froze: "You are... Ash?"
"Yes, Mr. Koga, I've long heard of your reputation as one of the four great Gym Leaders of Kanto. Ash from Pallet Town is here to challenge you!"
Ash cupped his hands and spoke very politely, though his posture was somewhat awkward, and the smile on his face looked very forced.
Because Aya had forced him to do it... In Aya's words, since they were already making an exception and letting him in through the back door to challenge, he should still have the proper etiquette.
Before entering, Aya taught him the gestures for greeting a challenge, the sentence structures to use, and the expression he should maintain on his face.
Ash was originally very resistant, as he was all about doing things his own way. But when under someone else's roof, one must bow their head. Those who came in through the back door had to obediently listen to others, so Ash still did as Aya said.
It's just that his actions looked very forced.
"Haha, your name has been on everyone's lips recently. As a new Trainer, you not only consecutively earned five Gym Badges, but one of them was even from Saffron Gym. That's the Gold Badge obtained when Gym Leader Sabrina was in charge. Just how strong are you...?" Koga said meaningfully.
"Just good luck. The Pokémon that defeated Sabrina wasn't one I trained; I could only say it was captured through special means. As for my strength, Mr. Koga, wouldn't you know if you had a battle with me?" Ash waved his hand modestly.
He was right. Gengar was captured through a real-life battle, not a normal capture. Without using Gengar, his strength couldn't compare to an Elite.
"Brother, didn't you set a rule at the Gym entrance? As long as someone has been active for about two months and has more than four Gym Badges, they can skip the line and directly challenge the Gym. So, I brought him over." Aya interjected, explaining why she brought Ash and the others.
Since the Gym battle was held outdoors, many Trainers and curious onlookers were watching the battle from the surrounding buildings. Moreover, the battles these past few days were being broadcast live via on-site cameras.
So, when Aya brought Ash and the others, she naturally had to explain why she brought them. Otherwise, cutting in line for no reason would surely cause public outrage, and even lead to a barrage of criticism online.
However, as soon as Aya said this, many people realized that the rule Koga had set was probably specifically tailored for Ash.
After all, Trainers who had been active for two months and obtained four Badges were not unheard of, but they were definitely rare. It was too coincidental for one to suddenly appear after the rule was established.
As for why Koga would specifically set this rule for Ash, perhaps Koga anticipated that Ash would come to challenge him, and he also wanted to test Ash's skills, so he set this rule with foresight.
And now, Ash had indeed arrived at Fuchsia Gym.
"That's right, I set the rule, and Ash meets this rule, so he can come directly to challenge. So Ash, what level of Gym battle do you want to challenge? Superior, Professional, Gym, or... Elite?"
Upon hearing this, Ash pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Let's go with Elite Four Class."
"Hmm, Elite Four Class, that's a good choi... What did you say?!" Koga subconsciously nodded, but immediately reacted to Ash's words. His eyes instantly widened, and his face showed a dumbfounded expression.
"Ash must be joking, but brother is asking you very seriously. This isn't the time for jokes, Ash." Aya stepped in to smooth things over. She also didn't believe that Ash was serious about choosing Elite Four Class difficulty.
Even if Ash defeated Sabrina of Saffron Gym, that didn't mean he had Elite Four Class combat power. One should know that Fuchsia Gym battles were three-on-three. If Ash chose Elite Four Class difficulty, it meant he had to defeat three Elite Four Class Pokémon.
Haha, being active for two months and having a lineup capable of battling three Elite Four Class Pokémon—if even Leon said that, it would probably be considered a huge joke.
"Are you going to do a one-on-one?" Koga pondered for a while after his shock, then looked at Ash and asked.
A three-on-three was indeed unlikely, but if it was a one-on-one, Ash should have that strength.
Regardless of Ash's Trainer level, in terms of Pokémon level, Ash definitely had an Elite Four Class Pokémon; otherwise, he couldn't have defeated Sabrina.
Ash also said that the Pokémon he used to defeat Sabrina was captured through a special method. Whatever the method, as long as he could capture and command it, it was Ash's Pokémon.
So Ash now genuinely possessed an Elite Four Class Pokémon, and could also participate in a one-on-one Elite Four Class battle.
Gym rules were not set in stone. As long as the challenger and the Gym Leader negotiated, the number of battles could naturally be changed.
Therefore, Koga thought that Ash might want to do a one-on-one Elite Four Class battle. In that case, Ash still had a good chance of winning.
"No, I want to do a three-on-three Elite Four Class battle." Ash shook his head, once again rejecting Koga's suggestion.
Koga couldn't maintain his composure again. His face showed a very comical expression, and his gaze towards Ash was like looking at a monster. Aya and the staff members beside him also reacted the same way.
Some Trainers and spectators watching from a distance couldn't hear Koga and Ash's conversation very clearly, but those watching the live broadcast on TV at home heard everything perfectly.
"He's gone crazy. A rookie dares to challenge Elite Four Class difficulty. He wouldn't think Elite Four Class Pokémon are like the weaklings he challenged before, would he?"
"Laughable. Now anyone dares to try and compare themselves to an Elite. This rookie seems to be a genius, but who among the Elites isn't a genius? Spouting such big words in front of an Elite Four Class candidate, I want to see how badly this guy gets beaten later!"
"..."
Such comments echoed in various places throughout Kanto, and even Johto.
Koga's live broadcast had been announced in advance, so there were many people watching on TV and computers, with the largest numbers in Kanto and Johto, and fewer but still some from other regions.
Therefore, Ash's 'arrogant' action was heard by all regions, which also made him famous in an indirect way... Gary, who had already obtained the Blue Smoke Gym Badge, was walking down the street when his gaze inadvertently caught the screen of a nearby TV. Gary, who had already walked past, immediately pulled himself back, staring intently at the TV screen.
He wasn't mistaken; the guy on TV was definitely Ash!
Wait, are Gym challenges live-streamed now? If he had known, he, Gary, would have gone to challenge Fuchsia Gym too!
Regardless of winning or losing, his reputation would definitely soar!
Right now, outsiders only knew Ash from Pallet Town as Kanto's super rookie; no one knew that he, Gary, was also a peerless genius Trainer who had been active for two months and obtained seven Badges!
However, after hearing Ash on TV say he wanted to do a three-on-three Elite Four Class battle, Gary's mouth twitched, and he immediately gave up the idea of appearing on TV.
Haha, what if he did appear on TV? Could he, like Ash, propose a three-on-three Elite Four Class battle against Koga?
What kind of international joke was that? Forget three, even if Koga only used one Elite, he could spin him like a top!
He knew Ash had an Elite Four Class Gastly. Even if he couldn't win a three-on-three, he could at least show some combat power and wouldn't be completely shut out or crushed by the opponent.
As for him... haha, battle an Elite? Dream on!
"That annoying Ash, making a big splash again. I'll let you take the lead for now. When the Indigo Plateau Conference comes, I'll get everything back... Hmm, I have to make sure that guy can't use Gengar, otherwise, what's the point of battling?"
Gary was already thinking about getting even at the Indigo Plateau Conference.
And he would have to seal Ash's Elite Four Class Gengar.
Otherwise, let alone getting even at the Indigo Plateau Conference, even in two years, he might not be able to get his revenge.