Chapter 33

【"Actually, before coming to the Vermilion Gym, I already booked a bed for you at the Pokémon Center," Ash suddenly said.】

【"What? Baby, you're very arrogant." Ash's retort completely enraged Lt. Surge. He was going to use his full strength to make Ash and Pikachu look good.】

【"Raichu, Thunderbolt!!!"】

【This was the most destructive move Lt. Surge's Raichu had mastered. Starting with Thunderbolt told everyone how much Lt. Surge wanted to win this match.】

【In an instant, electric currents raced through the room, and a bolt of lightning struck Pikachu.】

【"Hahahahaha, taste the feeling of being struck into lightning slag!"】

Drake: "Lt. Surge, looking at your arrogant self in the video, do you feel even a little bit embarrassed?"

Lt. Surge didn't reply, because he really didn't know how to reply.

Of course he was embarrassed; he was so embarrassed that his toes were curled up.

Moreover, he knew this wasn't the most embarrassing moment yet. Once he was defeated by Ash, that would be the peak.

To avoid being whipped by everyone, Lt. Surge disconnected directly.

At this time, it was better to learn from Will and play dead.

【The black smoke from the explosion slowly dissipated. Lt. Surge thought Ash's Pikachu was already unconscious and was just about to throw out a few lines of trash talk, but he saw a shocking scene.】

【Pikachu, struck by the lightning, was unharmed and kept flashing with golden light.】

【Lt. Surge was shocked: "What's going on?"】

【"Thanks for Raichu's electricity. All of Pikachu's electric sacs are fully charged. Now it's our turn."】

【"Pikachu, Thunderbolt."】

【Lightning several times stronger than what Raichu had used earlier descended from the sky, instantly knocking Raichu unconscious. From the release of the lightning to Raichu losing its ability to battle, not even half a second had passed. By the time Lt. Surge reacted, all he saw was Raichu lying on the ground.】

【"Gym Leader Lt. Surge, do you need me to give you Nurse Joy's phone number?"】

(Second update, please send flowers—we're only 50 away from 15,000. Also, please send evaluation tickets and monthly tickets. There's been no data for a day; I'm so afraid of failing. Thanks to the big boss 'Death Melody' for the 1,000 tip yesterday.)

52: Giant Tentacruel attacks! (Please send flowers, evaluations)

【Lt. Surge's face flushed red; he didn't know whether to respond or not.】

【At this point, two of his subordinates jumped out to complain for Lt. Surge: "What are you being arrogant about? Do you think that Raichu is our Gym Leader's strongest Pokémon? Our Gym Leader didn't use his full strength at all!!!"】

【"Why didn't you use your full strength? Is it against the law?" Ash asked, pretending to be confused.】

【"You!!!"】

【"Alright," Lt. Surge called his subordinates to stop. "Isn't it embarrassing enough?"】

【Lt. Surge was, after all, one of the eight Gym Leaders of Kanto; he had the necessary spirit. The battle was over, and Ash's Pikachu had earned his recognition, so he didn't play any more dirty tricks. He readily took out the Thunder Badge and handed it to Ash: "This is the first time I've seen such a powerful Pikachu. Next time there's a chance, let's have a duel with my Raichu!"】

【"No problem," Ash readily agreed.】

Drake: "I feel sorry for Lt. Surge; I guess he's never lost so miserably in his life."

Lorelei: "And being taught a lesson by a newcomer, I guess Lt. Surge won't be able to sleep tonight."

Gary: "I feel even more sorry for the Ash and Pikachu of our world. They worked so hard and went through so many difficulties to barely defeat Lt. Surge's Raichu, but look at Dark Ash—he won in seconds. The gap is too big. Comparing people really makes you angry."

Misty: "There's no way around it. You reap what you sow. What is Dark Ash's training intensity, and what is Ash's training intensity? It's normal for there to be a gap."

Ash: "What do you mean? My Pokémon's training intensity isn't low either, okay?"

Misty: "Then may I ask, why hasn't your Pidgeotto evolved after being caught for so long?"

Ash: "Because, because, because."

Brock: "Because Ash focuses on happy education!"

【After obtaining the Thunder Badge, Ash didn't leave immediately but instead conducted special training in Vermilion City.】

【The target of this special training was mainly Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander.】

【After training them hard for a week in Vermilion City, Squirtle was the first to evolve into Wartortle. As for Bulbasaur and Charmander, they were also on the verge of evolution, just one opportunity away.】

【At the port of Vermilion City, Ash and the others didn't encounter any messy things like tickets being delivered to their door; instead, they spent money to buy tickets for the cruise ship.】

【Things you pay for are a bit better than things delivered to your door—they're safe. After enjoying a wonderful time on the cruise ship, they arrived at the yacht harbor.】

Delia: "Look at what Dark Ash did, Ash. Being greedy for cheap things never ends well. There's no such thing as a free lunch in the world."

Her son was good at everything, but he was just too naive and too easily scammed while traveling.

Professor Oak: "It's one thing for Ash and Misty to be scammed, but why would Brock be scammed too? Logically, that shouldn't happen."

In Professor Oak's impression, Brock was still very reliable.

Misty: "Because Brock was only thinking about beautiful older sisters back then."

Brock: "Ahem, ahem, Misty, stop talking."

Amidst everyone's conversation, the black-bordered screen slowly dimmed, and the white-bordered screen lit up.

【In Porta Vista, after helping Old Man Dervish solve all his troubles, Ash and his group also arrived at the yacht harbor.】

【Here, they met a scarred Horsea. Horsea sprayed ink on the sea surface in the shape of a Tentacruel, seemingly wanting to tell Ash and the others something.】

【Misty wanted to catch Horsea and take it to the Pokémon Center for treatment, but a huge explosion suddenly occurred on a nearby ship.】

【To save the crew members who had fallen into the water, Ash and the others brought out all their Water-type Pokémon. With everyone's concerted effort, the crew members were all rescued to the shore.】

【After talking to the president behind the crew, they learned that the ship was attacked by nearby Tentacool. As for why the Tentacool were attacking humans, that was the sin of Old Lady Dervish. To build a unique floating restaurant, she had occupied the coral reef where the Tentacool lived.】

【Upon learning that Ash and the others were trainers, Old Lady Dervish made a request to hire them, asking the three of them to help her drive away the Tentacool.】

【The three of them had no good feelings for Old Lady Dervish, who hurt Pokémon, so they refused her request.】

【They thought this matter had come to an end, but who knew that something even more terrifying would happen.】

【Old Lady Dervish offered a reward of 100 million to recruit heroes to deal with the Tentacool. Trainers blinded by money all flocked to the seaside, competing to win the reward.】

【The most eye-catching bounty hunters were the Team Rocket trio. They drove a motorboat into the Tentacool swarm and poured out their secret weapon—three cups of vinegar.】

【What Team Rocket didn't expect was that the three cups of vinegar not only didn't eliminate the Tentacool, but also gave birth to a terrifying monster—a Tentacruel thirty or forty meters long.】

Lorelei: "Is the power of three cups of vinegar that great?"

Bruno: "Tell me, is it possible that the giant Dragonite also became so big after drinking three cups of vinegar?"

Steven: "But there was no vinegar in the ancient times; how did Groudon and Kyogre grow so big?"

Professor Oak: "Vinegar is just a trigger; this is the ocean's revenge on humans."

Diantha: "I just want to know how this disaster was solved. A Tentacruel with such a huge body is not easy to deal with."

【Seawater poured into the city, and the whole city turned into a living hell. Just like when Old Lady Dervish destroyed their home, led by the Tentacruel, the Tentacool also began to crazily destroy the humans' home.】

【In the end, Misty ignored the danger to her life and took the initiative to talk to the giant Tentacruel. After feeling Misty's sincerity, the Tentacruel finally retreated.】

【Misty saved the city.】

Flannery: "Wow, Misty, you're really cool. If it were me, I probably wouldn't have the courage to face the Tentacruel alone."

Korrina: "It's really super dangerous; if the Tentacruel had launched an attack, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Lorelei: "Misty is nothing like her three cowardly sisters."

Drake: "By the way, where is that Old Lady Dervish now? She did so many bad things; we absolutely cannot let her go!"

Chairman Goodshow: "Her? She's already in prison."

Destroying a city is such a serious crime that no one can save her.

(Flowers, evaluation tickets, and monthly tickets—please, please, please, please, please, please!)

53: How will Dark Ash handle the Tentacruel incident?

【After saving the city, Ash and his group took a ferry to the port of Maiden's Peak, where they met a strange Gastly.】

【It could transform into various shapes through hypnosis and could even speak human language. Fortunately, the Gastly's ultimate goal was just to promote the legend of Maiden's Peak and it had no interest in Ash and the others; otherwise, they would definitely have been in trouble.】

Flannery: "Wow, what an amazing Gastly. I really want to catch it!!!"

Flannery was tempted.

Such an excellent Gastly, if caught, would definitely become her new trump card.

Phoebe: "I advise you not to disturb this Gastly. It's clear that it has no interest in becoming a human's Pokémon; it prefers to promote the maiden legend to passing tourists."

Drake: "Making Pokémon engage in work that doesn't fit their wishes is not the behavior of a gentleman."

Flannery: "But I'm not a gentleman anyway; I'm just a little lady."

【Before arriving in Saffron City, another thing happened: Ash's Butterfree left to pursue its own love.】

【Although reluctant, Ash still chose to respect Butterfree. He let Butterfree go, allowing it to freely pursue its own happiness.】

Gardenia: "Butterfree is the only Pokémon Ash has evolved to its final form at this stage. You just let it go like that?"

Unlike Dark Ash, the Ash of their world was still lacking in combat power at this stage. Butterfree's strength was at least in the top three of Ash's team; letting it go was really a pity.