After checking in, Delia looked at Ash and gave him her final instructions.
"Remember to brush your teeth, morning and night. Good night, then."
She hung up the phone as soon as she finished speaking.
Kai, who was just about to say his own goodbyes, was interrupted by a girl's loud shout coming from the doorway.
Oh no, what is it now? Kai thought. He and Ash turned around together to see what was happening.
Standing there was a girl, fuming with rage, carrying a pitch-black bicycle as she marched toward them.
"So, you're here after all!"
Kai tilted his head toward Ash and whispered, "Ash, is she looking for you? And why is she carrying a piece of charcoal on her shoulder?"
"Probably... I guess... maybe she is," Ash stammered, looking extremely guilty.
A few minutes later, after Kai finally understood the whole story, his shoulders began to tremble. He clamped both hands over his mouth, doing his absolute best to keep his laughter from escaping.
Kai: ( థ ౪ థ)... So that "charcoal" was actually her bicycle.
Looking at Ash, who was completely at a loss, Kai managed to calm himself for a moment before stepping forward to intervene.
"Hello there. I want to apologize on behalf of my friend Ash for turning your bicycle into... well, charcoal." He sighed, then added, "But could we possibly discuss this later? My friend's Pikachu is currently in emergency care."
Hearing this, Misty's tone softened, and her expression shifted to one of concern. "Is it really that serious?"
"Maybe... I don't know what to do," Ash said, his mood plummeting again at the thought of Pikachu.
Ding!
The emergency room doors slid open. Nurse Joy and Chansey wheeled Pikachu out on a stretcher. The group immediately rushed over.
"Pikachu, are you okay?" Ash asked, his face full of worry.
Seeing how anxious he was, Nurse Joy smiled reassurringly. "Pikachu is out of danger. Now, it just needs to stay in the hospital until it fully recovers."
"Thank you, Nurse Joy!" Ash exclaimed happily. He then turned to Misty with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry about before, but you see how it is..."
"What are you still standing here for? Go take care of it!" Misty's shout startled Ash.
"Oh! Right, right, I'm going!"
Standing off to the side, Kai watched the two of them and nodded thoughtfully. Even the Ralts in his arms mimicked his gesture, nodding right along with him.
Suddenly, the Pokémon Center's alarm blared. As the siren wailed, two Poké Balls were tossed in through the glass doors, followed by a thick cloud of black smoke.
"What is this smoke?"
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
Kai heard the familiar lines and realized, So, it's these guys. Since he wanted to hear the famous motto in person, he decided to let them finish.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!" "James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!".
After watching the performance, Kai thought: The live version really hits different. He even felt a strange urge to try a dramatic entrance himself sometime.
Jessie and James scanned the room, but their eyes locked onto the Ralts in Kai's arms.
"It's a Shiny Ralts!"
"If we give a Pokémon like that to the Boss... hehehe!"
The trio began snickering foolishly to themselves..
Well, they've set their sights on me, Kai thought. Let's see how they like this. He released his own Pokémon.
"Froakie, full power Water Pulse! Ralts, use Confusion!"
Froakie emerged and immediately launched a Water Pulse at the villains. Simultaneously, Ralts used Confusion to pin them in place. Though Ralts was still at a relatively low level, Kai had trained her in Confusion since she was very young. Combined with Kai's own psychic abilities, Ralts's training was twice as effective.
Boom!
The Water Pulse scored a direct hit. By the time Jessie and James managed to react, Koffing and Arbok had already taken the brunt of the attack.
"Drat! They ambushed us!" Jessie glared fiercely at Kai.
Kai simply spread his hands, his expression saying: I'll ambush you all day if you try to touch Ralts.
Then came the legendary finish courtesy of Pikachu...
"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"
After watching Team Rocket take their "free flight," Kai sighed as he looked at the ruined Pokémon Center.
I just wanted a good night's sleep. Is that too much to ask?
He had no choice but to find a nearby hotel for the night. Early the next morning, since Pikachu still needed time to recover, Kai decided to continue his journey ahead of Ash and the others.
"Ash, I'm heading out first," Kai said, waving goodbye.
While on the road, Kai made short work of a Bug Catcher who challenged him. Through the battle, Froakie reached level 15, while Ralts climbed to level 22.
By noon, the sun was high in the sky, radiating intense heat. Kai finally arrived at the outskirts of Pewter City. As he walked through the city streets and passed a merchant's stall, Ralts's Poké Ball began to vibrate.
Because of his psychic powers, Kai immediately understood what Ralts was feeling. Is there an energy over there attracting you?
He followed the sensation to a stall run by a rugged-looking man wearing a hat. Kai looked closely and recognized him—it was Flint, Brock's deadbeat dad.
Seeing a potential customer, Flint said enthusiastically, "Hello there, young man! Take a look at my stones. I guarantee you won't find a better deal."
"Alright, let me look," Kai said. He quietly activated his system's appraisal skill.
[Useless stone] ... [A piece of coal] ... [Common rock] ... [Gardevoirite]
Kai's eyes widened. Good heavens, Flint actually has a Mega Stone here!
"Sir, I'll take this one," Kai said, pointing to the stone that looked like a dusty, useless pebble to the naked eye.
Flint looked at the stone Kai picked. Perfect, a sucker, he thought, and secretly quoted a price slightly higher than usual.
Kai didn't mind the price at all. Between his research grants from Professor Oak and his various bonuses, he was doing well for himself. Both of them walked away thinking they had made a massive profit—though it was clear who the real winner was.
After leaving the stall, Kai headed straight for the Pokémon Center. Since things had been too chaotic in Viridian City, he officially registered for the Indigo League and booked a room.
Once inside, Kai released Froakie and Ralts. He pulled out the stone he had just purchased. The moment it appeared, Ralts became visibly excited, drawn to the powerful energy resonating within the stone.