“So what exactly are you guys talking about! Riddlers, get out of Vermilion City!”
Xiao Xia was a bit helpless; these people kept talking about things she didn't understand.
“It’s good that you don’t understand. All I can say is, those who know, know. Those who don’t, don’t ask.”
Yu Feng shook his head and mysteriously pointed at Pikachu. Ash would have to figure this out on his own.
If he told him, it would lose its meaning. Ash had to realize this himself.
Hearing Yu Feng’s words, Ash seemed to ponder. Raichu evolved as soon as it was caught, missing something Pikachu should have: stamina… Ash, having thought of something, called up Raichu’s detailed information again and looked at it. His face became incredibly excited. He had figured out how to defeat Lt. Surge’s Raichu.
“Hey, hey, what’s that?”
Xiao Xia didn’t understand what Ash had seen to make him so excited. She looked at Raichu’s body data and couldn't make anything out of it.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s enough that Ash knows. You, a Water-type Pokémon user, won’t need it.”
Yu Feng stopped Xiao Xia, who was about to press for details, as Water-type Pokémon generally don’t need this skill.
Ash waited excitedly until Pikachu had rested, then pulled Pikachu along to go out and train properly.
“Pikachu, do you see it? That star of victory!”
Stepping out of the Pokémon Center, Ash pointed to the distant sky and confidently said to Pikachu, that distant point represented their hope of victory.
Hearing Ash’s words, a huge question mark appeared above Pikachu’s head. Where were there stars in broad daylight? Stars appearing when Team Rockets were blasted off? But Team Rockets didn’t even show up today.
“Let me see, where are the stars in broad daylight right now?”
Xiao Xia, who came out behind, voiced Pikachu’s current thoughts, and at the same time, interrupted Ash’s hard-won mood.
“I was trying to create an atmosphere! Pikachu, follow me!”
Ash pushed away Xiao Xia, who had interrupted his mood, and called Pikachu to prepare for their special training.
For some reason, an inspiring piece of music started playing as they walked forward.
Everyone stopped and looked at Yu Feng, who had pulled out a recorder at some point. Seeing their gazes, Yu Feng silently put the recorder away.
He was just trying to add some fun for everyone; why did it look like he had done something wrong?
Yu Feng thought with a hint of dissatisfaction. As if hearing his displeasure, the inspiring music played again as they continued to walk forward.
Everyone looked at Yu Feng again, seemingly trying to find the recorder he had on him, but Yu Feng spread his hands, indicating he wasn't playing music.
Everyone also confirmed that the music wasn't from Yu Feng, so they could only walk while ignoring the strange music.
The music only stopped abruptly when Team Rockets appeared.
After receiving encouragement from Team Rockets, Ash was filled with confidence in his decision to challenge Vermilion Gym again.
After they had gone, a small pink cat suddenly appeared in the air, holding the recorder Yu Feng had put away earlier and laughing incessantly.
Then, it cautiously peeked around and happily followed Ash and the others… The subsequent Gym battle went as they expected. Pikachu leveraged the fact that Lt. Surge’s Raichu had evolved hastily, losing the Agility it should have learned. After Pikachu used its tail as a lightning rod to divert most of Raichu’s electricity to the ground, it took advantage of Raichu’s temporary inability to discharge electricity and finally achieved victory.
“Congratulations on your victory, Ash and Pikachu.”
“This is the orange badge, proof of defeating me.”
Lt. Surge sincerely congratulated Ash. To be thoroughly defeated in the morning and then defeat him in the afternoon of the same day—what incredible talent!
Raichu, despite its injuries, sincerely applauded Pikachu. Although Pikachu’s raw power was inferior to its own, its tactical application was leagues ahead.
This was much more interesting than the battle with Yu Feng, where he was completely outmaneuvered. Although it was thrilling, the frustration was unavoidable.
“This is the orange badge! Thank you so much, Pikachu!”
Ash put away the orange badge and, amidst everyone’s congratulations, hugged Pikachu tightly.
Pikachu, always true to its nature, instantly covered Ash’s entire body with electricity.
“I really did see the star of victory!”
Ash was shocked so hard that he saw stars in broad daylight. For some reason, Pikachu’s eyes also saw the star of victory that Ash saw.
“Those two really have great chemistry.”
Ash, who wouldn't let go of Pikachu even while being shocked, made Xiao Xia exclaim sincerely.
These two must be the ones Nurse Joy was talking about having great chemistry.
“I say, are we really not going to do anything about him?”
Yu Teng Sheng Dai had never seen such a scene. Rather, what kind of behavior was Pikachu shocking Ash? And Ash being shocked yet still hugging Pikachu and laughing—what was that?
Had he become immune to Electric-type attacks?
“Don’t worry about it. This is a testament to Ash and Pikachu’s love.”
Yu Feng waved his hand, signaling Yu Teng Sheng Dai not to worry so much. This was Ash and Pikachu’s business. Didn’t she see Ash now, hugging Pikachu and refusing to let go, still laughing heartily… “That Pikachu is indeed amazing.”
Kojiro walked towards the distance, facing the sunset, and couldn’t help but marvel at Pikachu’s strength, to be able to come up with such a solution.
“If it weren’t like this, it wouldn’t be worth stealing.”
Musashi was quite open-minded. After all, if it weren’t for this particular Pikachu, they wouldn’t have followed Ash for so long.
“And then we can make a name for ourselves, Meowth.”
Meowth was quite excited. After all, they had chased Pokémon all day, and it was a live show. What wasn't there to be satisfied with?
And so, they walked further and further into the sunset.
Further and further… “Oh, right, besides watching, it seems we didn’t do anything this time!”
Suddenly, Kojiro seemed to remember that they had originally planned to cause trouble today, but for some reason, they got addicted to watching the show.
They really just watched all day, Ash challenging Vermilion Gym, and they even went to cheer Ash on.
“Would you die if you didn’t say anything! I had already forgotten!”
Musashi clutched her head in pain. She had forced herself to forget about this, but Kojiro still had to tear open her wound.
“Let’s just consider today a day off, Meowth.”
Meowth, on the other hand, was very open-minded. After all, they also needed rest; they weren’t robots or anything.
“I think that’s great.”
“Me too. Then let’s just consider it a day off.”
