Chapter 71

Vermilion Gym stood along the street, the golden sloped roof shimmering with warm light in the autumn sun.

Hanging directly below the eaves was an orange-red Lightning Badge—that was the symbol of Vermilion Gym, and both sides of the badge were decorated with two metal lightning shapes taller than a person, looking sharp and fierce from afar, characteristic of an Electric-type Gym.

Huo La stood at the door for a full few minutes, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the Poké Ball at his waist, his mind repeatedly going over Lt. Surge's data and the intelligence sent by Team Rocket.

Not until Xiao Gang beside him lightly touched his arm: "Huo La, are you ready? The Gym is open." only then did he come back to his senses, took a deep breath, and stepped into the Gym.

"Yo, it's rare to have someone not afraid of death, daring to come and challenge my Vermilion Gym."

Just stepping over the threshold, a sturdy and rough voice crashed into his ears, carrying a bit of military-style competence and arrogance. As the voice fell, the lights in the Gym suddenly lit up, the blinding white light sweeping across the field, and Lt. Surge's figure finally became clear—he was wearing a camouflage combat uniform, his pant legs tucked into military boots, a head of golden short hair neatly pasted to his scalp, but compared to the impression of "sturdy build" in Huo La's memory, the Lt. Surge in front of him was much leaner, but his shoulders and back were still straight, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's.

Huo La didn't speak immediately, but calmly sized up the interior of the Gym and Lt. Surge himself.

The interior of Vermilion Gym was like a small sports field, the ground and the surrounding railings were wrapped in thick black rubber—obviously to prevent electric shock and cushion impact, after all, not everyone had Ash's "extraordinary resistance" to withstand 100,000 volts, the basic protection was done quite well.

Scattered around the field were several metal piles used to test electricity, and the air seemed to be filled with a faint smell of ozone.

And Lt. Surge's gaze was also circling on Huo La, from his height, backpack, to the four Poké Balls hanging at his waist, his eyes full of scrutiny, as for Xiao Gang standing to the side, he was automatically ignored by him.

"A ten-year-old kid, just the age to go out traveling." Lt. Surge muttered to himself, his fingertips tapping the communicator in his pocket—last night he received news from Team Rocket headquarters, asking him to "focus on" this teenager named Huo La, and even vaguely mentioned "it's someone Boss Sakaki is personally paying attention to".

This left him completely puzzled.

A novice Trainer who had just gone out, neither had a prominent background, nor had he heard of any astonishing battle record, how could he be targeted by Boss Sakaki?

Could it be that this kid had some secret? Or was it related to the "super-ancient Pokémon" that headquarters had been investigating recently?

Huo La keenly captured the inquiry in Lt. Surge's eyes, and immediately knew in his heart—it seemed the Team Rocket trio's intelligence was correct, Lt. Surge not only was a member of Team Rocket, but also indeed received instructions about him.

He withdrew his gaze, nodded slightly, his tone calm: "Gym Leader Lt. Surge, I am a Trainer from Pallet Town named Huo La, here today to challenge the Vermilion Gym."

"Challenge?" Lt. Surge raised his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth curling into a playful smile, "Kid, I have to remind you, the badge of my Vermilion Gym isn't so easy to get. My Electric-type Pokémon won't show mercy."

"I know." Huo La took off a Poké Ball, his fingertips pressing lightly on the ball's body, "But to become a top Trainer, there are no hurdles not to cross. My Pokémon are also ready."

"Hmph, ambitious, just don't know how much strength you have." Lt. Surge opened his mouth, "The rule for the Vermilion Gym challenge is a 1-on-1 battle, until one side's Pokémon loses the ability to battle, do you have any questions?"

Huo La shook his head.

"Since that's the case..."

A flash of ferocity crossed Lt. Surge's eyes, and he shouted abruptly: "Let you see the power of Electric-types! Come out, Raichu!"

"Pika!"

As Lt. Surge's words fell, a sturdy Raichu descended from the sky and landed steadily on the rubber ground; its ears stood straight, the electric sacs on its tail flickering with crackling electric sparks, its eyes filled with fighting spirit.

Huo La watched Raichu's data emerge in his mind:

Pokémon: Raichu

Gender: Male

Level: Lv28

Aptitude: B

Status: Healthy

Nature: Calm

Attribute: Electric

Ability: Static (When attacking a Pokémon with this ability with a contact move, there is a 30% chance of paralysis.)

Height: 0.9m

Weight: 38kg

Carried Item: None

Skills: Quick Attack (Proficiency 100%), Agility (Proficiency 31%), Thunderbolt (Proficiency 69%), Thunder Shock (Proficiency 66%), Iron Tail (Proficiency 54%), Thunder Wave (Proficiency 44%), Mega Kick (Proficiency 29%), Mega Punch...

Improvement Count: 0

A whole set of Electric-type combined with Fighting-type skills, and also had 100% proficiency in Quick Attack, truly a tough nut to crack.

But there was no panic on his face, instead, he curled his lips into a shallow smile and threw out his Poké Ball: "Your opponent is it. Come out, Nidoqueen!"

"Nido!"

With a low roar full of power, the blue-yellow figure brought a slight tremor when it landed, the spikes on Nidoqueen's back shimmering with cold light under the Gym lights, its sturdy hind limbs firmly rooted in the rubber ground, that pair of amber eyes locked straight onto Lt. Surge opposite, carrying an intimidation of its own.

Lt. Surge raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised that Huo La sent Nidoqueen out first, but soon returned to that arrogant expression: "Poison and Ground dual attributes, huh? A bit more brains than I thought. But here, attribute advantage is useless!"

"I won't show mercy, little guy! Raichu, give it a little color, use Thunderbolt!"

Dazzling electric light surged around Raichu instantly, a thick bolt of lightning rushing straight toward Nidoqueen.

"Nidoqueen, use Dig to dodge!" Huo La's command was crisp and neat.

Nidoqueen didn't hesitate at all, its sturdy forelimbs digging into the ground like a shovel, the soil under the rubber layer was instantly turned up, its figure disappeared into the ground in the blink of an eye, Thunderbolt slammed into the ground, exploding with blinding white light and a burnt smell, but didn't even touch the corner of Nidoqueen's clothes.

"Dodged fast, huh." Lt. Surge sneered, "Raichu, stay put, use your ears to listen for its position!"

Raichu immediately tensed its body, its long ears trembling slightly, focusing on capturing the movement underground. The field fell into a brief silence, only the sound of subtle soil turning spreading quietly.

Huo La's gaze was fixed on the field, suddenly opening his mouth: "Right now, Nidoqueen, come out from directly under Raichu, use Superpower!"

"Boom!"

Nidoqueen suddenly broke through the ground from under Raichu's feet, the massive power accompanied by violent tremors sweeping the entire field, Raichu was caught off guard and shaken into the air, its body swaying violently in the air.