Chapter 31

【"If everyone agrees, I have no objections."】

【The opinions are unified; now we just need to consult Dragonite's opinion, and we'll be good to go.】

【There were no surprises in this step either. Dragonite was practically going crazy wanting to find a friend; as long as it could have a companion, it would be willing to do anything.】

Lance: "What do you think, can Ash and the others succeed?"

Drake: "I think it's pretty unlikely. In all my years, I've never met a single Dragonite that could use Minimize."

Lorelei: "Then, in all your years, have you ever seen a Pikachu that could use Sacred Sword?"

Drake: "Uh, no, I haven't."

Diantha: "We can only hope that the miraculous Mew works its magic once again."

【This household really would fall apart without it. It just transformed into Giratina to clear the thick fog, and now it has to transform into Chansey to teach Dragonite Minimize. Sigh, it really is too busy.】

【Since it's so busy, wouldn't it be a loss if it only ate one portion of food a day? Alright, from today on, its meals will be doubled!!!】

【Under the tireless, day-and-night instruction of Teacher Mew, Dragonite actually learned the move Minimize.】

【Looking at the giant Dragonite before him, which had now shrunk to the size of an ordinary Dragonite, Bill couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of nature. Indeed, there was still so much for him to learn.】

【"Well then, see you next time, Dragonite, Dr. Bill."】

【With matters mostly resolved, Ash and his friends were ready to set out on their journey once again.】

【"I'm planning to go with Dragonite to search for the legendary Dragonite Island. Once we find it, I'll contact you all!"】

【Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Bill decided to set off with Dragonite and, while he was at it, study why this particular Dragonite had grown so enormous.】

Bill: "Good luck, me from another world. Perhaps you can use this opportunity to become the world's greatest researcher."

Professor Elm: "The world's greatest researcher? Oh, Bill, you've finally exposed your wild ambitions!"

Professor Juniper: "Tell us, Bill, how long have you been eyeing Professor Oak's position?"

Professor Birch: "Whenever we meet, it's 'Professor Oak this' and 'Professor Oak that.' You practically have the words 'I am Professor Oak's fan' plastered on your face, but behind his back, you've actually been wanting to step on him all along."

Professor Sycamore: "A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier, and a researcher who doesn't want to be the world's number one isn't a good researcher. I support you, Bill! Of course, I don't have such thoughts myself; in my heart, Professor Oak will always be number one."

Bill: "..."

Drake: "So, even professors have so many hidden agendas."

Lorelei: "Heh, the academic world is even more ruthless than the battling world."

Bruno: "Is that because of the academic cliques?"

Professor Oak: "Hey, hey, hey, aren't you all getting more and more outrageous? If you keep going like this, you'll have me painted as the ultimate villain behind the scenes of the research world."

The video with the black border gradually dimmed, and in its place, the video with the white border slowly lit up.

【After leaving Bill's lighthouse and enduring several twists and turns, the trio of Ash and his friends finally arrived in Vermilion City.】

【Ash had originally planned to head straight to the Vermilion Gym to capture the Thunder Badge in one go. However, this proposal was instantly vetoed by Misty and Brock.】

【They had been wandering aimlessly in the forest for several days, and Pikachu hadn't eaten anything for two or three days. In this state, how could they possibly challenge a gym?】

【"It's useless, Pikachu. You can't lose a duel just because you're hungry." Ash picked up the exhausted Pikachu and said righteously.】

【It was just a pity that Ash's stomach betrayed him. *Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle*—he was actually starving himself.】

(Fifth update! There will be one more before twelve o'clock. Please send flowers, evaluations, monthly tickets, and tips—please, please, please, please, please!)

49: The St. Anne, and the Traded Butterfree

【At the Vermilion City Pokémon Center, Ash and his group discovered a strange scene. The center was incredibly busy; basically, every half hour, a severely injured Pokémon was brought in.】

【After consulting Nurse Joy, they finally understood that these injured Pokémon had all been defeated by Lt. Surge, the Vermilion Gym Leader.】

Drake: "Lt. Surge, you're being way too heavy-handed."

Lt. Surge: "I can't help it. Kids are always coming to bother me. To keep that from happening, I have no choice but to be ruthless."

Lorelei: "Pidgey, Rattata, Oddish, Spearow... uh, I'll be fair here: these challengers are a bit excessive."

Lt. Surge: "Right? Right? What do they think my Vermilion Gym is? The Cerulean Gym?"

Misty: "Hey, are you looking down on our Cerulean Gym?"

Lt. Surge: "Yeah, so what?"

Misty: "Damn it!!!"

Once this quiz ended, she would definitely take the Omastar she received from the system and go teach this arrogant Lt. Surge a lesson.

【After learning of Lt. Surge's brutality in the infirmary, Ash couldn't help but feel a sense of fear. However, after being provoked by Misty and Brock, Ash still braced himself to challenge Lt. Surge.】

【A crushing defeat. Facing the powerful Raichu, Ash's Pikachu had no way to fight back.】

【This failure left Pikachu severely traumatized, not just physically, but mentally as well.】

【Just as everyone was agonizing over how Pikachu could defeat Raichu, Nurse Joy arrived, and she brought a Thunder Stone with her.】

【Even after suffering an unprecedented defeat, Ash remained rational. He didn't rush to force Pikachu to evolve with the Thunder Stone, choosing instead to ask for Pikachu's opinion.】

【Pikachu swatted the Thunder Stone out of Ash's hand with its tail. It didn't want to evolve. It wanted to defeat Raichu in its Pikachu form—that was its answer.】

【This time, Team Rocket, who had been following Ash and causing trouble from time to time, uncharacteristically didn't come out to stir up trouble. When Ash and Pikachu went to challenge Lt. Surge for the second time, they even went out of their way to disguise themselves and cheer them on.】

Drake: "Looking at it this way, these three guys aren't beyond redemption."

Lorelei: "If they're taught properly, perhaps they can turn over a new leaf."

Bruno: "Those three are actually quite interesting."

Jessie: "Interesting? What are you talking about?! We are Team Rocket, the fierce and cruel Team Rocket!!!"

James: "Turn over a new leaf? We are going to carry out evil to the end!"

Meowth: "That's right. We're going to take over the whole world for the Boss."

Ash: "May I ask, who is your boss?"

Meowth: "Our boss is, of course, the brave and fearless..."

Seeing that Meowth was about to expose him, Jessie acted quickly, stepping up and kicking Meowth, sending it flying.

Jessie: "Meowth, have you lost your mind? You almost exposed the Boss."

Meowth: "I'm sorry, Boss, I didn't mean to."

At this moment, Giovanni at Team Rocket headquarters was also startled.

Although the League had always suspected he had ties to Team Rocket, it was only suspicion, not hard evidence.

"These three are just too unreliable!"

Giovanni said helplessly.

Sigh, as expected, he shouldn't have recruited people with connections into Team Rocket.

He was still too young.

【Choosing not to gain power through evolution, Pikachu chose to strengthen its advantage in speed.】

【In the world of martial arts, only speed is unbeatable. Relying on speed far exceeding Raichu's, Pikachu ultimately succeeded in defeating Raichu and washing away its shame.】

【After defeating Lt. Surge and obtaining the Thunder Badge, Ash and his friends arrived at the port of Vermilion City, where they saw luxury cruise ships from all over the world.】

【Originally, they didn't have the money to buy tickets for a luxury cruise, but Team Rocket disguised themselves as promotional staff and gave them three party tickets for the St. Anne.】

【Just like that, the three of them foolishly fell into Team Rocket's trap.】

Gary: "Hey, Ash, didn't you realize something was wrong back then? Tickets for the St. Anne are very precious; how could they just give them to you?"

Ash: "I was too excited back then; my head was full of thoughts about the luxury cruise."

Misty: "So, we didn't realize anything was wrong at all."

Brock: "We were completely scammed."

【On the cruise ship, Ash had a battle. He was about to win, but at the critical moment, the opponent interrupted the match and cunningly claimed it was a draw.】

【That wasn't all. He found Ash again later and used his words to trick Ash into trading his Butterfree for his Raticate.】

【The gentleman's smooth theories completely confused Ash, and with Brock, who had fallen for the beauty trap, helping the other side, Ash's brain didn't turn fast enough, and he actually agreed to the trade.】

(Sixth update, please send flowers, evaluations, and monthly tickets—please, please, please, please, please, please!!!)

50: Dark Ash is here, he's here to help Ash get revenge!

Gary: "Ash, are you stupid? Why would you trade the Butterfree you worked so hard to raise for a Raticate that lost to it?"

Gary just didn't understand Ash's move.

Ash: "That time, I was in the wrong."

He rarely didn't get into an argument with Gary.

This incident had always been a pain in Ash's heart. Fortunately, he eventually realized his mistake and made up for it.

Misty: "You can't blame it all on you; Brock had some responsibility too."