“Mii-lo!”
The Fire Blast Monkey’s eyes were bloodshot, its rage meter at its peak, and it unleashed a million-ton kick.
BOOM!!!
“Pi…!”
Pikachu’s body flew backwards, crashing against the rocks outside the arena. The rocks were shattered, and Pikachu’s body was embedded within them. Its eyes were spinning.
“Pikachu!”
Ash immediately ran over and picked Pikachu up.
“Pika…!”
Pikachu opened its eyes, looking weak and unable to fight any longer.
“Misty, please take care of Pikachu,” Ash said, bringing Pikachu to Misty’s side.
“Alright.”
Misty took Pikachu and carefully checked its injuries. It was just lacking in strength and had no major injuries. She sprayed some healing medicine on it, and it would be fine after some rest.
“Gary, let’s continue.” Ash walked back to the command area. He hadn't lost yet.
“Are you sure you want to continue? Your starter Pikachu has been defeated, and Pidgeotto is poisoned. What else do you have? I suggest you just surrender. It’s better than having your Pokémon get hurt unnecessarily.” Gary suggested.
“I won’t surrender.” Ash wasn't going to give up that easily. He then took out a Poké Ball.
“Charmander, it’s your turn to shine.” Ash threw the Poké Ball with force.
Bang!
A crimson, upright-walking fire lizard appeared. This was Ash’s Charizard, but it was still just a Charmander now.
【LV32 Charmander♂/Champion Potential】
Seeing that Charmander had champion potential, Gary felt a pang of envy.
This Ash really is a master at picking up discarded Pokémon. All the Pokémon others abandoned turned out to be high-potential.
“Return.” Gary took back Fire Blast Monkey with his Poké Ball. He didn't intend to let Fire Blast Monkey continue fighting.
“Ash…!” Misty started to worry about Ash. She could see that Gary was switching Pokémon to have a fair fight.
Ash also understood this, so he couldn't surrender. He was also nervous about what Gary's third Pokémon would be.
Gary didn't rush to release his Pokémon but said, “Ash, remember when we left Pallet Town and chose our starter Pokémon? You wanted to know what my starter Pokémon was, right?”
“Yeah, I was curious. What did you choose?” Ash asked.
“My starter Pokémon is the strongest Pokémon I have. Let me show you the difference between us. Don’t be too discouraged.” Gary finished his sentence and threw a Poké Ball from his waist.
Bang!
“Kamee.”
A large Blastoise emerged.
“What! Blastoise!” Misty was startled. As someone who loved Water-type Pokémon, she naturally knew how powerful Blastoise was. She hadn't expected that Gary had already trained his starter Pokémon to its final evolution.
“It’s… Blastoise.”
Ash was also surprised and took out his Pokédex to aim at Blastoise.
The Pokédex immediately broadcast Blastoise's data.
“Blastoise, the Shellfish Pokémon, is the evolved form of Wartortle. Its huge body doesn't give it a speed advantage, but its strength is incredible. Its tough shell provides amazing defense, and the water cannons on its back unleash powerful attacks.”
Ash had seen Blastoise on TV before. He immediately reminded Charmander, “Charmander, you’re at a type disadvantage. Be careful.”
“Ne!”
Charmander nodded heavily, its eyes filled with fighting spirit.
“Good eyes. Let you guys go first.” Gary casually waved his hand.
“Damn, you dare underestimate us.” Ash gritted his teeth. “Charmander, use Flamethrower.”
“Ne!”
The flames on Charmander’s tail burned fiercely, expanding in size. It opened its mouth and blasted a stream of flames towards Blastoise.
Too simple…!
Seeing Ash choose a head-on confrontation, Gary couldn’t help but sigh. Ash was still too weak. There was no surprise in his fighting style.
The system must have given such good rewards because Ash is the protagonist.
Gary felt this battle should be over and commanded, “Hydro Pump!”
“Kamee!”
The cannons on Blastoise’s shell quickly adjusted their angle, and two Hydro Pumps shot out.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle…!
Fire and water collided, producing a lot of steam. But the Hydro Pumps still extinguished the flames and hit Charmander.
Super effective!!
“Ne~!”
Charmander fell directly, even the flames on its tail were weakened.
Although Charmander had champion potential and a decent level, it hadn’t evolved yet. It was far from Blastoise’s opponent, unable to even withstand one move.
After all, not all Pokémon could be compared to Pikachu. Pikachu was a special case.
“Charmander…!” Seeing Charmander defeated, Ash also had a pained expression. He had wanted to compete with Gary, but the gap was so huge.
【Ding! Mission completed. Reward has been sent to your Space Backpack.】
Then, Gary and the others handed Pikachu over to the staff of the hot spring town for treatment. They had healing machines here that could treat simple battle wounds, poisoning, etc.
After confirming that Pikachu and the others were alright, Ash walked up to Gary and said, “Gary, I lost to you this time. I’ll definitely win next time.”
“Then you better work hard. The current score for our Pokémon battles is 1:0 in my favor.” Gary said proudly.
Ash looked deflated.
They had been rivals since childhood. Even before becoming Trainers, they had often compared themselves. They had ultimately decided to determine the winner based on who would become a Pokémon Master.
So the score of their Pokémon battles naturally mattered. Gary was currently leading by one point.
“1:0, 1:0. I’ll get my revenge someday.” Ash insisted.
“Mhm, mhm, you’re right. I’m going to eat first.” Gary didn't say much. It was enough to just poke Ash a little bit now and then.
Hopefully, this battle will make Ash grow faster.
With the rewards Gary had accumulated, he could level up a Pokémon to level 50. That’s a standard peak gym-level strength.
Right now, because of their age, gym leaders wouldn't send out truly strong Pokémon. They would only send gym-level Pokémon when they had collected enough gym badges.
Dinner was a lavish hot spring town specialty, and the flavors were excellent. Then it was time to soak in the hot springs.
“Gary.”
After changing into a swimsuit, Nessa slowly walked up to Gary. She stood there awkwardly. Even an Ice Queen would be nervous about wearing a swimsuit in front of someone she liked. She wanted Gary to like it.
Nessa was relatively conservative, wearing a white one-piece swimsuit. However, her figure was great, and her unique Ice Queen aura gave her a different kind of beauty.