Successfully obtaining the Green Badge, Red was naturally in an excellent mood. Although he was unable to defeat Giovanni's Beedrill, it allowed both himself and Beedrill to understand what true strength really meant.
It was precisely because of this lesson in failure that Red and Beedrill were able to grow further. After all, back in Pallet Town, most of his training had been with Mew, and he had rarely encountered other powerful opponents.
"It's just the matter of the red Gyarados…" Red muttered thoughtfully. This Gym challenge had informed him of the connection between the blood-red Gyarados and Team Rocket. Clearly, Giovanni was not curious about his arrival at all, which confirmed that he had likely been under Team Rocket's surveillance the entire journey.
(Looks like I'll have to use Aura abilities to observe the surroundings!)
Red silently heightened his vigilance, preventing all of his information from falling into enemy hands.
After challenging the Viridian Gym, night had already fallen over Viridian City. Not wanting Ash to worry, Red immediately set off for the Pokémon Center to meet up with him.
...
A moment later
Upon entering the Pokémon Center, Red immediately spotted Ash sitting in a chair with his head lowered in dejection. Clearly, he was blaming himself for his recklessness. He had just been scolded by Nurse Joy, which had even caused him to doubt whether he was truly qualified to become a Pokémon Trainer.
"The Ash I know doesn't look this pathetic."
Hearing the familiar voice, Ash looked up and saw his older brother standing before him, wearing an expression of stern disappointment.
"I…" Ash tried to explain, but Red cut him off first.
"What you need to do now is pray for Pikachu's safety and call Mom."
Following the direction Red pointed, Ash saw the phones placed inside the Pokémon Center. Notably, most phones in this world came equipped with video functions, so there was no need to worry about not seeing the other person during the call.
Ash sat before the phone and dialed home. Red quietly walked over to stand beside him. The call connected quickly. Upon learning that it was her two sons, Delia excitedly tore off the towel and facial mask from her face.
"Hello! Is that Red and Ash? Where are you two right now?"
"Mom, we're already at the Pokémon Center in Viridian City," Red replied.
"You got to Viridian City that fast? Back in the day, your father took a full four days just to get there! I can't believe you made it in one day—you're both far better than your father!"
Perhaps because Delia was too excited, she forgot that she shouldn't mention their father in front of Red.
Sure enough, Ash turned his head and saw Red's expression gradually darken. Delia also realized something was wrong and quickly changed the subject.
"I have no good feelings toward a father who disappeared from our lives since I can remember," Red said coldly before walking away, leaving Ash to continue the conversation alone.
"Brother still feels that way about Dad…" Ash said sadly. Although he was dissatisfied with their father's departure as well, he didn't reject him as openly as Red did.
"These years have been hard on Red…" Delia murmured softly. As the saying goes, the eldest brother is like a father. Though Red and Ash were twins, the former was clearly far more mature. Since childhood, he had worked hard to help support the household, which was one of the reasons Delia always felt she owed him.
"Mom, Brother and I will take care of ourselves. Don't worry too much!"
After hanging up, Ash turned and ran toward Red, asking what he had been doing earlier.
"I challenged the League Gym in Viridian City and obtained this Green Badge." Red took the Green Badge from inside his clothes and held it before Ash.
"A League Gym?" Ash asked in confusion.
"If you want to participate in the Pokémon League Conference, you must defeat eight League Gyms in the region and obtain the official League Badges granted by the League. Only then will you qualify to enter the regional conference," Red explained.
"Alright! Once Pikachu recovers, I'm going to challenge the Viridian Gym too!"
Ash truly was a hot-blooded boy. The moment he heard about challenging a Gym, his earlier dejection vanished, replaced by eager anticipation of obtaining a Green Badge like his brother's.
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
Red sighed helplessly, pouring cold water over Ash's excitement.
"The Viridian Gym is the strongest Gym in the Kanto Region. Very few people can truly defeat the Gym Leader Giovanni. My Green Badge was only obtained after earning Giovanni's recognition. With your current strength—and Pikachu's—you're far too weak. Forget challenging the Viridian Gym; you probably wouldn't even make it past the gatekeeper."
Red reprimanded Ash's ignorance. Challenging the strong was admirable, but charging in blindly was foolish. Pikachu had struggled just to defeat a flock of Spearow—how could it possibly handle the Viridian Gym?
"But Ash, don't feel too discouraged." Noticing Ash's unease, Red reluctantly decided to offer him some praise. "Do you know what you have that I don't?"
"Uh… recklessness and ignorance?" Ash replied helplessly, looking as though he had long grown used to it.
Red froze for a moment. While Ash wasn't exactly wrong, that wasn't what he meant. Clearing his throat, Red straightened himself.
"Your love for Pokémon. That's something I can't surpass. I love Pokémon too, but I know I can't truly devote everything without reservation. That's one of your strengths."
Seeing his brother's serious expression, Ash began reconsidering himself with doubt, trying to recall whether he had truly done what Red described.
Among many Pokémon Trainers, Ash was the only one who would rush to save his Pokémon without hesitation—even at the risk of his life. That was something Red admired. But the current Ash was still far too immature and needed proper cultivation.
At that moment, the Pokémon Center received a call. Since Nurse Joy was treating Pikachu's serious injuries, Ash answered the call in her place. A screen suddenly emerged from the frame behind them, displaying Professor Oak's back.
"Is that instant noodles, Professor Oak?" Ash asked in confusion.
"Oh no, I didn't switch the camera!" Professor Oak said awkwardly, quickly adjusting it to face himself.
"I just heard from your mother about where you are. I didn't expect you to reach Viridian City so quickly!" Professor Oak said.
Red sighed at the sight of Professor Oak eating instant noodles as usual. Though he often invited him over for meals, whenever Professor Oak was too busy, he still chose the simplicity of instant noodles. Such was the helplessness of a research professor.
"So, how many Pokémon have you two captured?"
At the mention of Pokémon, Professor Oak immediately perked up and eagerly questioned them.
"Not even one…" Ash answered awkwardly. Professor Oak's excitement instantly turned to dejection as he lowered his head.
"I'm already used to it… As the one who issued your Pokédex, I still hope you can learn from Red and Gary!"
Ash nodded vaguely, clearly not taking it to heart.
"And you, Red? How many Pokémon have you caught?" Professor Oak asked, looking at him expectantly.
"I've caught three so far. They all have good potential," Red said with a faint smile, deliberately avoiding detailed data to prevent Professor Oak from pestering him for research and delaying his training schedule.
"Professor Oak, do you recognize this kind of experimental liquid?" Red took out the liquid that had once lurked inside the blood-red Gyarados and held it before the screen for Professor Oak to examine.
"I can't see it clearly through the screen, but this liquid obviously carries dangerous properties. You can ask Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center to send it to Pallet Town!" Professor Oak said. Upon seeing the experimental liquid, he seemed to recall someone…
"Professor Oak, we also saw the Pokémon on the mural!" Ash pointed at the mural of Ho-Oh above the screen. "It flew toward the other side of the rainbow!"
"That's impossible. It's a legendary Pokémon that no one has ever encountered. You probably mistook a Fearow for Ho-Oh," Professor Oak teased.
"No, Ash and I really did see Ho-Oh!" Red took out his Pokédex and pulled up a photo of Ho-Oh. Though the image quality wasn't very clear—after all, secretly photographing Ho-Oh wasn't exactly encouraged—it was enough. Red had also gained Ho-Oh's recognition as a Trainer.
"This photo does match the mural above. Could this truly be Ho-Oh's real appearance?" Professor Oak exclaimed excitedly, eager for Red to transmit the photo. Clearly, he was extremely curious about researching Ho-Oh.
"Ahem. Three Master Balls." Red named his price boldly, giving Professor Oak no time to react. After half a minute, Professor Oak finally processed it and shoved his face close to the camera, startling Ash into stepping back.
"Red! Three Master Balls would cost me my life! Who negotiates like that? At most, one!"
"Professor Oak, I understand the function of Master Balls. You don't need to worry about me doing anything wrong. You know what kind of person I am," Red assured him. He simply needed Master Balls to capture Legendary Pokémon. After all, Ultra Balls could barely contain the power of secondary-tier Legendaries—let alone primary-tier ones.
After three minutes of verbal sparring, Professor Oak finally relented, agreeing to send Red two Master Balls. However, it wasn't immediate—he first needed to apply through the League authorities.
Although some Master Balls were stored at Professor Oak's Laboratory, Professor Oak himself could not move them freely.
After all, the method of producing Master Balls had long been destroyed, leaving only a limited number in the possession of high-ranking League officials.
Therefore, the League had to strictly monitor the movement of Master Balls to prevent any incidents.