"Ah! My ramen!"
After the photo of Ho-Oh was successfully transmitted, Professor Oak hastily gave a few brief instructions to the two brothers before hanging up the phone.
Just then, an orange-haired girl stormed in through the door, her face full of irritation as she carried the wreckage of a completely unusable bicycle on her shoulder. She walked straight up to Ash.
"So you really are here!"
"What happened to that bicycle?!" Ash asked in shock, completely unaware that he and Pikachu were the cause.
"Does this look like a bicycle to you? It looks more like fish bones someone left behind—no, the kind that's been burned into charcoal!"
Misty had no intention of letting Ash off the hook. Just as she was about to unleash a barrage of scolding, the exhaustion from carrying the bicycle all the way here caught up with her. The moment she saw Ash, she relaxed and collapsed to the ground.
Ash hurried forward to help her up, but she shook him off. Fortunately, Red, who had been silent until now, stepped forward and helped Misty up instead.
"Sorry, Misty. This guy will definitely compensate you."
"It's you?!" Misty exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't expected to run into Red here. After carefully comparing the two brothers' appearances and outfits, she revealed an incredulous expression. "You two aren't twins, are you?!"
"Don't we look like it?" Red asked curiously.
(Not at all…)
Misty complained inwardly. Though they were about seventy percent alike, their clothing and presence made it hard for anyone to immediately recognize them as twin brothers.
"You're clearly brothers—how can the gap between you be so big!" Misty said sharply. Knowing he was in the wrong, Ash lowered his head silently, feeling dejected.
At that moment, Nurse Joy and Chansey wheeled out the recovered Pikachu. Ash immediately ran over, ignoring Misty who was still complaining.
Seeing Pikachu safely discharged, Red quietly left the Pokémon Center, planning to stay at a nearby hotel for the night. He had no desire to get tangled up with Team Rocket. Besides, Ash's journey had indeed benefited quite a bit from their interference. Red had no intention of disrupting this part of the storyline. After all, it was precisely because of Team Rocket's harassment that Ash could grow more quickly.
The events unfolded as expected. First, an emergency alarm rang throughout the Pokémon Center. Then the glass ceiling was shattered by two Poké Balls. Ekans and Koffing appeared one after another inside the Pokémon Center, and Koffing released Smokescreen, obscuring Ash and the others' vision.
"What's going on?!" Ash asked.
"Since you have asked so sincerely!
We shall answer you with utmost generosity!
To prevent the world from being destroyed!
To protect the peace of the world!
To unite all peoples within our nation!
To denounce the evils of truth and love!
The adorable and charming villains!
Jessie!
James!
We are Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!
White hole! A white tomorrow is waiting for us!
That's right! Meowth!"
As the smoke cleared, the three members of Team Rocket appeared before Ash in a dazzling debut.
Upon learning that Team Rocket had come to steal the precious Pokémon, Ash nervously shielded Pikachu, who was still recovering. He was immediately mocked—they had no interest in an ordinary Pikachu. With no one stopping them, Team Rocket quickly commanded their Pokémon to begin wreaking havoc in the Pokémon Center.
To prevent Team Rocket from getting the Pokémon, Nurse Joy led Ash and Misty to the storage room containing the Poké Balls, which was connected to the Pokémon Center in Pewter City, and began transmitting the Poké Balls.
But Team Rocket soon discovered them. To protect the Pokémon Center, Ash sent out a random Poké Ball from the storage room. Unexpectedly, it contained a Pidgey and a Rattata. They were immediately frightened away by Jessie's Ekans. Misty, in a comical fashion, sent out Goldeen in an attempt to buy time, but it clearly had no effect.
In the end, Pikachu called upon its fellow Pikachu to channel electricity into it. Restored, Pikachu forcefully unleashed a powerful electric current, blasting Team Rocket away. Due to absorbing excessive electricity from its own kind, Pikachu began to master abilities that surpassed those of its species.
After being blasted off, Team Rocket retreated into their hot air balloon, discussing how an ordinary Pikachu could have defeated them.
"That Pikachu is no ordinary one!"
"A normal Pikachu doesn't have such powerful electricity!"
"Could it be that Pikachu is…"
From that day on, Ash's journey would never again lack Team Rocket's companionship.
...
Waking up at dawn, Red's long-term training caused him to wake automatically at six o'clock. To avoid being disturbed by noise the previous night, he had specially worn earplugs. After washing up, Red comfortably enjoyed his breakfast before setting off toward Viridian Forest.
Viridian Forest was a woodland where Bug-type and Flying-type Pokémon were abundant. Most of those wandering here were young Bug Catchers who loved Bug-type Pokémon. In order to fill his initial team of six Pokémon, Red planned to capture a gifted Scyther here. Its evolution, Scizor, conveniently possessed a Mega Evolution form as well.
"Come out, Charmander. Pidgey."
Red threw two Poké Balls. Charmander appeared before him, while Pidgey soared into the sky.
Among Red's five Pokémon, Charmander and Pidgey were currently the weakest. To help them evolve as soon as possible, Red didn't mind letting them carry out a 'slaughter' in Viridian Forest.
"Your task now is to defeat every Pokémon you encounter," Red instructed. Charmander and Pidgey nodded. It was the perfect chance to demonstrate the results of their recent training. Charmander was already eager to defeat opponents with the flames from its mouth.
At that moment, a plump Caterpie slowly crawled into Red's view. Before it could react, Charmander engulfed it with a Flamethrower without the slightest hesitation.
"Be careful about wildfires. You can't use flames recklessly in a forest," Red reminded. He then used his psychic power to disperse the remaining flames. Seeing Red effortlessly dissolve its fire, Charmander looked at him with admiration, clearly longing for its trainer's strength.
"Be good~ When you grow up, you'll be the one protecting me." Red smiled and gently patted Charmander's head.
Pidgey, watching from above, grew jealous and quickly descended into Red's arms, rubbing its face against his cheek. Red chuckled and stroked Pidgey as well, preventing it from sulking.
Because of Charmander and Pidgey's presence, the surrounding Pokémon fled in panic. They had witnessed their companions being effortlessly defeated. The two Pokémon had become demons in their eyes, frightening them into leaving the area.
Perhaps the disturbance had caused quite a commotion. A young samurai clad in ancient Japanese armor was currently hiding in the grass, observing Red's every move. Ever since the incident at the Viridian Gym, Red had passively activated a portion of his Aura abilities for detection. The moment the samurai stepped within his sensing range, Red became aware of his presence.
Seeing Red's back turned, the samurai seized what he thought was an opportunity. He rushed behind Red, raised his katana, and attempted to strike. But Red seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. With a slight sidestep, he dodged the sneak attack and followed up with a horizontal kick that sent the samurai flying. He then caught the fallen katana between two fingers and looked at the fallen samurai with displeasure.
"Sneaking up from behind with an unsharpened blade—how fitting for a 'samurai,'" Red mocked disdainfully. The samurai flushed red with embarrassment.
"You're the one causing chaos in this area! I challenge you!" the samurai shouted.
"If you think I've damaged Viridian Forest's environment, you're mistaken," Red said calmly. "Most of the defeated Pokémon can recover on their own. For serious injuries, I treat them personally. I extinguish any remaining flames immediately. Aside from temporarily calming this area's Pokémon, I've caused no lasting harm."
Red's explanation left the samurai speechless. Recalling what he had witnessed earlier, he realized Red wasn't wrong.
"The wild is far harsher than books make it seem. If wild Pokémon don't want to become experience points, they must consciously train and grow stronger. What I'm doing indirectly promotes their growth."
Red's earnest words made the samurai fall into deep thought. In the end, Red was simply training his Pokémon—there was nothing inherently wrong. The sudden unrest had simply led the samurai to misunderstand the situation.
"Charmander? You're the Red that Gary mentioned?!" The samurai stared at him, his eyes burning with fighting spirit. It seemed a battle was unavoidable.
"If you're looking for Red from Pallet Town, that's me," Red replied calmly. Charmander stepped forward knowingly, ready to battle.
"I'm counting on you, Pinsir!" The samurai threw a Poké Ball and sent out Pinsir. He quickly regretted it—after all, he had struggled greatly against Gary's Squirtle. How could he fare any better against Charmander, which had the type advantage?
"You make the first move," Red said, noticing the samurai's awkwardness.
"Pinsir, use Vice Grip!" the samurai commanded.
Pinsir brandished its sharp horns and charged fiercely toward Charmander. Charmander, however, showed no sign of nervousness. Upon receiving Red's command, it unleashed a single Flamethrower, engulfing Pinsir instantly.
"Just one move…"
The samurai fell to his knees in despair, unable to accept his defeat. After winning with a single attack, Charmander happily ran back to Red, rubbing against his palm.
"My younger brother will also pass through Viridian Forest later. Why not have a Pokémon battle with him?" Red suggested. "Oh, and I should mention—he's quite the hot-blooded kid~"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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