A few days later.
Ash woke up in the guest room of the Celadon Gym.
Sunlight filtered through the window lattice, casting warm spots of light upon the tatami-covered floor.
"It's another fine day today." Ash reached out to grasp the sunlight, letting it shine through his fingers and onto his face.
Pikachu lay quietly beside him, adopting almost the exact same posture as Ash.
Sunbathing together was still very comfortable.
Outside the window, Pidgeotto was flying freely—"Pidge!"
Normally speaking, the interior of the Celadon Gym was quite safe, so Ash's Pokémon had all been released.
Gyarados was also in a pool within the gym—Ash had emphasized to Gyarados many times that it was absolutely forbidden to hunt the Pokémon inside the gym.
Under Ash's emphasis, Gyarados naturally remembered this, but this mischievous fellow liked to intimidate the Grass-type Pokémon in the gym... which was a bit hard to keep a straight face about.
"Maa maa~" Misdreavus darted out from the side.
*[ Miss Erika is receiving a challenger today~~ ]
[ Let's go watch the battle together~ ]
Misdreavus's state appeared somewhat hyperactive.
Theoretically speaking, Ghost-type Pokémon should hide by day and come out by night.
But Misdreavus had completely adjusted its biological clock.
"Okay, okay~" Ash stood up and began to get dressed. "Let's go together~"
"Pika?" Seeing Ash and Misdreavus preparing to head out, Pikachu, who had been lying on its stomach sunbathing, also darted onto Ash's body.
With a creak, the door opened.
Leaving the room, they walked towards the gym's battlefield.
Crossing through the corridor.
Even before getting close, the unique scent of damp earth and plants from the Grass-type field wafted toward them.
Perhaps this was the smell of nature.
On the spectator seats at the edge of the field, two familiar figures were already in position.
"Misty, Brock, you guys are here too?" Ash smiled and greeted them, walking over quickly.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu also hopped happily from Ash's shoulder, darting to Brock's side.
"Maa maa!" Misdreavus looked around curiously, finally choosing to float beside Ash, its gaze quickly attracted by the object held in Brock's arms.
Brock was sitting on a bench.
In his arms, he held a Vulpix with fur as reddish-brown as autumn maple leaves.
The little fellow was curled up in the crook of Brock's arm, its six fluffy tails swaying gently every now and then.
Its brown, amber-like eyes carried a hint of the shyness and vigilance of a newcomer, appearing both elegant and cute.
Misty was half-crouched to the side, holding a piece of Pokémon food in her hand, trying to tease it.
Although Misty preferred Water-type Pokémon, that didn't mean she didn't like other types of Pokémon.
A fluffy little fox is also very cute, okay?
"Yeah, I heard there was a challenger, so I came to watch Miss Erika's battle." Brock looked up, a gentle smile on his face.
He lightly stroked the soft fur on Vulpix's back.
"As for this child, it was given to me by the Senior Breeder, Miss Suzy, when I visited her a few days ago."
"She said this Vulpix was a bit different from her other partners; it seemed to prefer the hardness and steadiness of rock, and she felt it was very compatible with me."
Don't think Brock is bragging.
Judging by the overall standards of this world, Brock is an extremely outstanding talent.
Brock not only has very good abilities, but his personality is also great... he truly possesses the qualities of a Breeder.
"It's so beautiful!" Misty exclaimed, carefully handing the food over.
Vulpix sniffed it before eating it in small, reserved bites.
"It looks so well-behaved, much quieter than a certain little fellow who is always making a fuss," Misty said, glancing pointedly at Misdreavus, who was floating in the air and making a ghost face at Vulpix.
Although Misdreavus was also cute, it wasn't quiet at all—it was too mischievous.
"Maa maa maa maa!" Misdreavus cried out in dissatisfaction, sticking out its little tongue.
Although the events of that day had put Misdreavus under a lot of pressure, the little guy was somewhat heartless.
It recovered after two days.
"Hehe~" Ash laughed, his gaze also falling on Vulpix. "Congratulations, Brock."
"This is a wonderful partner."
Ash knew how rare it was for Brock, as the inheritor of a Rock-type Gym, to obtain a non-Rock-type Pokémon that matched his temperament.
When Trainers choose companions, they don't choose Pokémon arbitrarily.
Of course, if it's purely for capture research, that's another matter.
If a person with lofty ideals wants to step onto the peak of being a Trainer, then they will inevitably consider the compatibility between themselves and the Pokémon.
"Thanks." Brock nodded, his eyes full of affection for this new partner. "It still needs some time to adapt, but I believe we will get along very well."
The three exchanged a few pleasantries.
Then, they turned their attention to the battlefield below.
Erika was already standing in the Gym Leader's position, still wearing that dignified kimono, her temperament gentle as water.
Opposite her stood a teenage trainer with an arrogant expression—Cross.
"Now then, Challenger Cross, the rules are 3-on-3. Only the challenger may switch Pokémon freely. Do you understand?" Erika's voice spread clearly across the field.
She had been in a slightly bad mood these past two days, so just like Lt. Surge, the frequency of Erika taking action personally had increased.
However, Erika wasn't as brutal as Lt. Surge, so it didn't count as a violation.
"Of course, let's start!" Cross responded with overflowing confidence, raising his hand to throw the first Poké Ball. "Go, Charmander!"
White light flashed.
A Charmander with a vigorous flame burning on its tail appeared on the field.
It looked very healthy, and the flame on its tail also showed that it was full of vitality.
However, when it faced the tall Victreebel sent out by Erika, which wore a sinister grin, its body trembled imperceptibly, and a trace of fear appeared in its eyes.
Victreebel: You think I'm afraid just because you're Fire-attribute?
Victreebel: You flightless gadget!
Victreebel: Keh keh keh! [evil laughter]
Victreebel felt quite wronged about losing to Pidgeotto a while ago.
That bird flew dozens of meters, even over a hundred meters high, and its movement speed was extremely fast...
Under normal conditions, there was simply no suitable way to deal with it.
But in a standard Gym battle, it was impossible to use one's true power.
This wasn't a question of a gap in hard power, but a question of compatibility.
It's like an ordinary person encountering a few sparrows constantly flying overhead and pooping; there's actually no good way to deal with it.
Anyway, fighting them bare-handed is definitely impossible.
But if you sparrows dare to fly down... Heh heh heh.
"Charmander, use Ember!" Cross commanded.
Charmander took a deep breath and sprayed out scattered bits of flame from its mouth.
There was no problem with the move itself, but the speed and intensity seemed somewhat hesitant and sluggish, as if it dared not truly anger the opponent across from it.
...This Charmander lacked subjective initiative.
Victreebel didn't even move; it simply waved its huge leaf casually, and the wind pressure it generated easily batted away the sparse embers.
The premise for Grass-type Pokémon fearing fire is—the intensity of this fire must exceed the strength of the Grass-type Pokémon.
It's easier to ignite plants after drying them with a large fire.
It's not easy for a small fire to set a plant ablaze.
"Too slow! Didn't you eat? Rush up and use your sharp claws!" Cross shouted in dissatisfaction.
But this approach was quite stupid.
When dealing with a Pokémon like Victreebel that isn't good at high-speed movement, the best approach is to keep a distance and grind down its health with ranged attacks.
Victreebel's Chlorophyll ability can only revitalize its body, gaining stronger energy activity.
Although there is some bonus to movement speed, it mainly strengthens attack speed.
But don't think that just because Victreebel's positioning is close to a turret, it isn't good at close-quarters combat.
It's similar to... the melee level of most archers is actually quite good.
Archers being squishy is game balance, or malicious nerfing in certain works.
But in reality, an archer of the same level is generally stronger in melee combat than a grunt of the same level.
Charmander shrank its neck at the scolding, mustered its courage to rush forward, but its steps seemed somewhat stumbling.
Victreebel seized the opportunity. Its Vine Whip lashed out quickly like a green viper, precisely binding Charmander's feet and tripping it to the ground.
"Now, Victreebel, Little Acid!" Erika's command appeared gentle.
There is actually no [ Little Acid ] in Pokémon skills; Erika meant for low power here, asking Victreebel to dilute the Acid slightly.
Animal-type Pokémon do not have as strong a vitality as Plant-type and Inorganic-type Pokémon.
Erika felt that this little dinosaur's strength wasn't quite up to par, so she couldn't accidentally beat it to death.
Victreebel opened its large mouth full of mucus, and a stream of pungent solution sprayed toward the fallen Charmander.
Charmander let out a cry of pain, struggling to climb up, but the stinging pain and binding sensation brought by the dissolving fluid made its movements sluggish.
"Stand up quickly! Don't dawdle!" Cross shouted impatiently from the sidelines.
He hadn't actually captured this Charmander for very long.
He had only captured it after coming to the Kanto region from the Kalos region.
Charmander tried hard to prop up its body; even the flame on its tail flickered due to the pain.
It tried to use Ember again.
But this time, Victreebel didn't give it a chance.
Its huge leaf thrust forward abruptly, and a vine flew out, executing a Power Whip that whipped Charmander heavily, sending it flying.
Charmander crashed into the edge of the field and lost the ability to battle.
"Sigh, what a pity." In the spectator seats, Misty sighed softly. "That Charmander actually has a good foundation, it's just that its courage seems a bit small; it was scared."
Brock stroked Vulpix and commented, "Yeah, facing an opponent superior in both type and size, it has already done its best."
"The bigger problem is this trainer..."
"This Charmander's strength isn't up to par, and it hasn't been trained well... Is he sending out this Charmander to test how it reacts when facing a strong enemy?"
Brock had been a Gym Leader; he had seen many types of trainers.
There were indeed some trainers who, relying on the fact that the Gym side wouldn't strike to kill, would use the Gym to test newly caught Pokémon.
"...Doing so is indeed a bit too excessive..." Ash rubbed his chin. "But this also implies he has other trump cards, and his Pokémon will be stronger..."
"Does he feel he can definitely beat the Gym?"
"This isn't very good."
Ash knew very well that although Erika didn't show her resentment towards Giovanni, she was actually unhappy in her heart.
It was just that Erika could control her emotions well and not show them.
But if someone touched Erika's bad luck at this time... the outcome might not be very pleasant.
You really think Gym Trainers are made of clay?*
Erika: I can't beat Giovanni, but I can't beat you?
On the field.
The referee waved the flag: "Charmander is unable to battle, Victreebel wins!"
Cross's face instantly darkened.
He made no move to comfort his defeated partner, nor did he even give that weak, fallen Charmander a second glance; he simply threw out the Poké Ball cold-heartedly.
He didn't really want this trash anymore.
Then he took out another Poké Ball, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile carrying a hostile air.
"Useless trash, I still have to rely on you... Go, Incineroar!"
____
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