Pallet Moss City, Mossdeep Gym.
Inside the Gym Leader's office, Red was currently telling Cynthia everything he knew regarding the super-ancient Pokémon.
When Cynthia heard that these ancient Pokémon were actually connected to the legendary Eternatus—
Even she couldn't help marveling in amazement.
"The imagination of the super-ancient civilization is truly unbelievable."
"They actually managed to make ordinary Pokémon become this gigantic."
"Yeah. Their technology really was incredible."
Red couldn't help recalling the petrification device that had once briefly sealed even Mewtwo.
Unfortunately, after petrifying Mewtwo, the device had completely exhausted its energy and become unusable.
Just as Red and Cynthia were chatting—
Someone suddenly knocked on the office door.
A moment later, Clair timidly poked her head inside.
But after realizing it truly was Cynthia, the excitement in her eyes could no longer be hidden.
Holding out a notebook, Clair hurried over and placed it in front of Cynthia.
"Champion Cynthia! Hello!"
"My name is Clair! I'm Lance's cousin!"
"Could I possibly trouble you for an autograph?"
Cynthia looked slightly surprised, but still nodded with a smile.
"Of course."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Watching Clair behave exactly like a Redirl meeting her idol, Red sighed helplessly.
"There's no helping it. Kids are just like this."
Hearing that, Cynthia laughed softly.
"I actually think Gym Leader Red is far too mature."
"You're only eighteen years old, yet you've already gained the friendship of a legendary Pokémon."
"Your future is practically limitless."
Hearing Cynthia's words, Red instead became somewhat puzzled.
"The Champion sure knows a lot about me."
"You even know my age?"
Cynthia's expression stiffened instantly.
She couldn't exactly say:
Not only do I know your age, I also know your zodiac sign, your favorite foods, and even that you snore when you sleep.
Of course, all of that information came from Red's unreliable father—
Cynthia had merely happened to remember it.
She quickly changed the subject.
"Right, then… what are you planning to do with those two super-ancient Pokémon?"
"With bodies that massive, there's no way they can simply be released back into the wild."
"Even ordinary Poké Balls can't contain them."
Although Red found it strange that Cynthia suddenly changed topics, he still replied:
"Could you leave those two super-ancient Pokémon with me?"
"I can already make ordinary Pokémon enter Gigantamax-like forms now."
"At the moment, I need more research materials."
"You can make ordinary Pokémon gigantify?!"
Cynthia widened her eyes in shock.
At this moment, the way she looked at Red changed once again.
Not only does he have a legendary Pokémon partner…
He's also extremely talented in research.
His own strength may still be lacking, but he's definitely a rare genius.
In Cynthia's mental evaluation of him, Red's score rose by another large margin.
After hesitating briefly, Cynthia nodded.
"Very well."
"I'll temporarily leave those two super-ancient Pokémon in Gym Leader Red's care."
"But regarding your gigantification research…"
Red immediately nodded.
"If the research succeeds, I'll give you the first device!"
Cynthia nodded slightly, revealing the composed smile of a mature woman.
"Don't worry."
"I won't accept it for free."
After discussing the gigantification research and the fate of the ancient Pokémon, Red looked toward Cynthia and asked:
"By the way, what brings the Champion to Kanto?"
"Do you need any help?"
Hearing the question, Cynthia nearly choked on her tea.
How am I supposed to answer that?
Tell him I came to inspect whether my arranged fiancé is qualified?
After thinking for a moment, Cynthia finally replied:
"Nothing in particular."
"I simply came to Kanto for a bit of sightseeing."
"You can think of it as a post-championship vacation."
"Oh, I see."
Red didn't think much of it.
After all, even if he racked his brain, he would never guess Cynthia's true reason for traveling all the way to Kanto.
While Red successfully dealt with the super-ancient Pokémon and turned them into giant batteries—
Ash and Gary continued their journey as well.
Although the two had obtained different numbers of Gym Badges, they still chose to travel together.
The original three-person party had now become a four-person group with Gary joining in.
After receiving Red's guidance, Gary decisively abandoned his absurd idea of traveling entirely by luxury car.
Instead, he began honestly experiencing the joys of travel on foot.
However, because of Gary's addition—
And because Ash's strength had more than doubled after Red's training—
Team Rocket's trio now stood absolutely no chance against them.
This left Jessie, James, and Meowth utterly furious.
"Blasted twerps!"
"We'll be back someday!"
Watching Team Rocket blast off into the sky yet again like shooting stars, Ash and Gary turned toward Brock.
"Brock, where are we heading next?"
Brock pulled out a map and studied it for quite a while before answering:
"Let me see…"
"Normally, we'd head toward Vermilion Gym to challenge Lt. Surge."
"But recently, there's apparently a newly-opened Gym in a town near Vermilion City."
"It was supposedly opened by Lt. Surge's cousin."
"We'd have to take a slight detour, though."
"And it's not one of the official League Gyms."
"Still, I've heard it's become pretty famous lately…"
"It's just that people say the Gym Leader fights a little too brutally."
"So its reputation isn't exactly great."
Unfortunately for Brock—
Ash and Gary immediately ignored all the concerns he raised.
To them, things like not an official League Gym and newly-opened Gym weren't drawbacks at all.
If anything—
Those were massive attractions.
"Let's go there!"
"Yeah! Let's go! Let's go!"
What Ash and Gary didn't know, however—
Was that not every small-town Gym Leader was as kind as Red.
Chapter 117: Lt. Surge's Cousin — An Unqualified Gym Leader
In a town not far from Vermilion City, Ash and the others stopped at the local Pokémon Center to rest for a while.
Although Ash was still the same hot-blooded boy as always—
He was no longer a reckless idiot.
At the very least, he wouldn't immediately charge into a Gym challenge the moment he arrived in a new city.
Instead, the group first planned to rest and recover at the Pokémon Center.
But just as they arrived at the entrance—
They saw a rookie Trainer girl carrying a severely injured Pidgey into the Pokémon Center.
"Hang in there, Pidgey!"
"We're almost at the Pokémon Center!"
Ash and the others immediately frowned.
Gary brushed back his hair and said coldly:
"Looks like this unseen Gym Leader battles exactly like Lt. Surge."
"As expected."
"Birds of a feather flock together."
The moment they entered the Pokémon Center, they were stunned.
Everywhere they looked were badly injured Pokémon.
Nurse Joy was so busy she practically couldn't stop moving for even a second.
And scattered around the lobby were rookie Trainers with utterly broken expressions.
"Seriously… this is way too much…"
Seeing the scene before her, Misty stared in shock.
The Pokémon Center looked less like a clinic—
And more like the aftermath of a disaster zone.
Ash's group had all served as acting Gym Leaders before.
Looking at this scene, all of them felt a growing sense of anger.
Watching the injured Pokémon suffering in pain, Brock immediately stepped forward without hesitation.
"Nurse Joy, let me help!"
"Me too!"
"And me!"
The four of them hadn't even had time to rest before immediately throwing themselves into treatment work.
Fortunately, thanks to Red's training, even Ash had learned some basic Pokémon treatment techniques.
The four of them, together with Nurse Joy, remained busy all the way until afternoon before finally settling all the injured Pokémon.
Nurse Joy looked at them gratefully.
"Thank you all so much."
At that moment, Brock immediately stepped forward dramatically.
"It's nothing at all!"
"I simply cannot bear seeing Pokémon suffer without proper treatment!"
Hearing that, Nurse Joy looked genuinely touched.
But the next second—
Brock immediately exposed his true nature.
"So… would you perhaps honor me with dinner tonight, my beautiful—"
Before he could finish—
Misty grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away violently.
Watching the scene unfold, Gary clicked his tongue in amazement.
This was his first time witnessing Brock's behavior firsthand.
After Brock was hauled away, Ash and Gary looked toward Nurse Joy and asked:
"Nurse Joy, why are there so many seriously injured challengers?"
"And most of them are beginners too."
Hearing the question, Nurse Joy sighed helplessly.
"It's all because of the new Gym Leader…"
"Machiki."
"Our city's Gym is called Rapid Gym."
"It was originally recommended by the League as one of the beginner-friendly Gyms."
"But ever since the new Gym Leader took over…"
"He's been getting harsher and harsher on rookie Trainers."
"At this rate, I honestly don't know what to do anymore."
After hearing Nurse Joy's explanation, Ash and Gary walked outside with complicated expressions.
Ash was the first to explode.
"I seriously don't understand how someone like that can become a Gym Leader!"
Seeing Ash's outrage, Gary patted him on the shoulder.
"That's exactly why our master is such a rare exception."
Still, there wasn't really anything they could do about the situation right now.
After venting a few complaints, they could only fall silent.
Just then—
Ash suddenly noticed the rookie Trainer girl from earlier.
She was crouching alone in a corner, silently crying.
"Are you okay?"
Ash stepped forward to comfort her.
"Don't worry."
"Pokémon are tougher than you think."
"At most, your Pidgey will be back on its feet in a week."
Gary also stepped forward reassuringly.
Faced with their comfort, the girl quickly wiped away her tears.
"T-Thank you…"
"If you all hadn't helped earlier…"
Her expression was filled with unwillingness and sadness—
But above all else, heartbreak for her injured Pidgey.
"Do you think…"
"…someone like me is completely unfit to be a Trainer?"
Ash and Gary were just about to say something—
But the girl suddenly wiped her eyes again and thanked them once more before quietly leaving.
Watching her lonely figure disappear, Ash felt an uncomfortable pressure build in his chest.
"She followed the League's recommendation…"
"She even chose a beginner Gym…"
At that moment, Gary sat down heavily as well.
It wasn't just Ash.
Even Gary felt a fire burning inside him.
As the grandson of Professor Oak and a second-generation elite Trainer, Gary had almost never suffered humiliation in his life—
Aside from when facing Red.
And because Gary had spent the longest time acting as a substitute Gym Leader at Mossdeep Gym—
He already understood what responsibilities a true Gym Leader should carry.
"Ahhh, I can't take this anymore!"
"We have to show this guy what a real Gym Leader is supposed to be!"
Seeing Ash ready to explode, Gary nodded in complete agreement.
"That's right!"
"He needs to learn a lesson!"
"Being a Gym Leader isn't just about having strength!"
The next day, Ash and the others headed toward the infamous Rapid Gym.
Looking at the lightning-bolt symbol above the Gym entrance, Gary couldn't help complaining:
"Isn't Rapid Gym supposed to specialize in speed-based Pokémon?"
"This place practically looks like an Electric-type Gym."
Ash, however, looked completely unconcerned.
"Who cares what type it is?!"
The moment they entered, they discovered the interior design really did resemble Vermilion Gym.
Even the Gym Trainers were all delinquent-looking punks with brightly dyed hair.
And after seeing Ash and Gary walk in—
The punks all looked at them mockingly.
"Another bunch of unlucky idiots!"
"Hahaha, wonder how many of them the boss is gonna make cry this time!"
"With strength like theirs, why even become Trainers?!"
…
Hearing the insults, Ash didn't respond.
He simply took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly.
Watching this version of Ash, Brock and Misty silently thought to themselves:
Ash really has grown up…
Ash stepped onto the battlefield.
At that moment, a man in his early twenties with spiky blond hair walked out.
This was Lt. Surge's cousin—
Machiki.
Machiki glanced at Ash and the Pikachu on his shoulder.
"Oh?"
"Didn't expect so many trash challengers today."
"Finally got someone with a bit of strength."
"Seriously, I'm getting bored to death playing house with all those weaklings every day."
Machiki looked at Ash provocatively.
"Kid."
"You're not bad."
"How about a 3-on-3 battle?"
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