Note: This scene is meant to celebrate reaching 100 chapters, not counting the movies, so what better way than giving Gary a lesson in humility. Get ready.
Battlefield, Vermilion City Harbor.
It might seem like a strange place for a battlefield, but everything had been carefully planned. Sometimes, while waiting for their ship to arrive, people would pass the time by battling here for entertainment, which in turn helped others enjoy themselves while they waited for their own departures.
The port wasn't particularly crowded today, and not many people were interested in watching the upcoming battle. A 1 vs 1 wasn't exactly the most exciting format—at the very least, people preferred 3 vs 3. Still, those who had nothing better to do decided to stay. Even if the match ended quickly, it was something to pass the time.
Celeste stood beside Ash instead of sitting in the stands. The reason was simple: Gary's fangirls. To both Roxanne and Celeste, those girls looked like hired actresses or empty-headed fans who cheered for Gary no matter what he did. Since neither of them could stand him, Celeste chose to remain at Ash's side, while Roxanne took on the role of referee—even though, realistically, it wasn't necessary. This was just a friendly match… although, deep down, both girls hoped Ash wouldn't show Gary any mercy.
His arrogant attitude, offensive words, and lack of manners had left a terrible impression on both of them, to the point where they had already started to hate him. How dare he look down on their Ash? If it weren't for Ash himself, they would've already beaten him up.
"The rules are simple. A 1 vs 1 battle. Whoever defeats their opponent's Pokémon first wins. That's it," Roxanne said.
"Don't worry, loser. I won't even use one of my strongest Pokémon. Just something average. Go, Umbreon!" Gary said.
A powerful-looking Umbreon appeared on the battlefield and immediately took a fighting stance.
His arrogance would've offended anyone else, but not me. Knowing Gary from the anime and having dealt with people like him before, I remained calm. His constant mockery couldn't shake my composure.
"Thanks for that, but I hope you can say the same after this battle," I replied.
After saying that, I took out a Poké Ball—the one I had just obtained. A Poké Ball with a strange flower engraved at its center.
"Floette, I choose you!" I said.
Floette appeared on the battlefield and calmly looked at the Umbreon in front of her, holding her flower without the slightest sign of intimidation.
"A Floette? Looks like you at least learned type advantages… but do you really think a simple Floette can beat my Umbreon?" Gary said arrogantly.
If it were a Florges, maybe he would've felt cautious. But a small Floette? What could such a weak-looking Pokémon possibly do? It wasn't even fully evolved. There was nothing to fear.
"Oh? Then you won't mind if my 'simple' Floette attacks first, right?" I asked with a smile.
"Of course not. You don't stand a chance anyway, so I'll at least give you the privilege of landing one hit. Be grateful," Gary said, his arrogance practically overflowing.
Seeing his confidence and ignorance, I simply smiled. He had no idea that this Floette possessed almost the same base stats as its evolution, Florges. And while base stats didn't technically exist in this world, that only meant she could be even stronger. Besides, while we were heading to the port, I had already checked her moves. They weren't bad at all: Moonblast, Synthesis, Protect, Energy Ball… and most importantly, her signature move—Light of Ruin. A devastating attack exclusive to this Floette, with overwhelming power. The only drawback was the recoil damage.
"Then don't regret it. Floette, show him your strength—use Light of Ruin," I said.
Floette nodded and pointed her flower directly at Umbreon, beginning to charge an immense amount of energy. Even Gary could feel it—his body tensing as his instincts screamed danger.
He tried to say something, but it was too late. Floette finished charging and unleashed her attack. Umbreon, sensing the incoming threat, attempted to dodge—but it was pointless. The attack hit it directly, sending it crashing to the ground, completely defeated in a single blow.
Floette, being smart, had reduced the power of her attack to avoid injuring the spectators. If she had used its full strength… Umbreon would've been blown away like paper.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Roxanne and Celeste were stunned. A small, adorable Pokémon like that had just displayed overwhelming power, enough to defeat Umbreon in a single hit.
The few spectators were equally shocked. It was just a tiny Floette, barely bigger than their hands. Where did that kind of power come from? Wasn't Floette a Pokémon that hadn't even reached its final evolution? How could it possess such strength? And if it evolved into Florges… how powerful would it become? Could it rival Legendary Pokémon?
But no one was more shocked than Gary himself. He stood frozen, unable to process what had just happened. As someone knowledgeable about Pokémon, he was familiar with Floette. But since it was a pre-evolution and looked weak, he had only briefly looked into Florges before dismissing it entirely. According to the data, Florges was durable but not particularly strong offensively, and it was slow. So he had ignored it. That's why, when he saw Ash using a Floette—not even its evolved form—he thought Umbreon could take the hit without issue.
But what was that attack?
Umbreon had been knocked out instantly.
One hit… and it was over.
Gary looked at the small Floette sitting calmly with her flower, her innocent gaze completely at odds with the power she had just shown.
Then he noticed something.
Her flower was different.
Frowning, he quickly took out his Smart Rotom—yes, he had one—and checked the Pokédex entry for the Floette in front of him.
"A Floette with a very peculiar flower. Further data unknown."
That was the entire description.
Gary was stunned. It was clearly a Floette… but why couldn't the Pokédex identify it? What kind of Pokémon was this? And more importantly… how had Ash managed to obtain it?
"Something wrong, Gary? You look… petrified," I said with a smile.
Seeing the power of my Eternal Flower Floette, Gary had completely frozen up, which was understandable. His Umbreon had been defeated in a single blow. Maybe I should use Floette in the eighth Gym… and in the Pokémon League.
"Petrified? Me? I admit your Floette is unusually strong—stronger than most of its kind—but don't get carried away. I didn't even use one of my best Pokémon. Umbreon is one of my weakest. Otherwise, your Floette wouldn't have stood a chance," Gary said arrogantly.
But deep down, he wasn't so sure. That kind of power was anything but normal. Even if Floette was slower, there were ways to compensate for that.
"Whatever you say," I shrugged.
"Anyway, I don't have time to waste. Did you know I've been invited to a prestigious party on the S.S. Anne? See you at the Pokémon League, loser. And next time, it won't be so easy," Gary said.
Without waiting for a response, he turned and left with his fangirls, who didn't even seem surprised by his defeat, as if they knew he hadn't gone all out.
"Flo," Floette said as she floated toward me.
"You did great. You're really strong," I said with a smile.
"Flo!" she replied happily.
She gently touched my cheek, and I returned her to her Poké Ball so she could rest.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu exclaimed.
Pikachu, who had been in Celeste's arms, broke free and jumped onto her favorite spot—my shoulder.
"Pikachu, what do you say we take down Gary's strongest Pokémon next time? Floette is strong, but so are you," I said, stroking her head.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu nodded.
Yes, Floette was stronger right now, no doubt about it. But Pikachu was still growing, and given time, she wouldn't be any weaker.
"That was incredible, Ash," Roxanne said, clearly impressed.
"Yeah… are you sure that's a Floette and not some Legendary Pokémon disguised as one?" Celeste asked.
"I think the only Pokémon capable of that is Mew… and it's already on my team," I replied.
"I guess…" Celeste said.
Still, that Floette didn't feel like a normal Floette at all. Not just because of her unique flower, but because of her strength—something that even surpassed Florges. How strong would she be if she evolved? Did she even need to evolve?
"Anyway, our ship is about to leave, so we should save those questions for later and board now. Otherwise, we'll have to wait another three hours," I said.
The girls checked the time and realized I was right. It was already late, so we hurried to board the ship before it departed.
Meanwhile, without our heroes noticing, Team Rocket had followed them all the way here and had watched the entire battle against Gary.
"Did you see that?" Jessie asked.
"Of course I did. I don't know what kind of Floette that is, but it's definitely another rare specimen-nya," Meowth said.
"Just imagine how the boss will reward us if we bring him that Pikachu and that strange Floette. A raise and a promotion won't just be dreams anymore!" James said.
"Yeah!" the three of them agreed.
Excited, and already wearing disguises worthy of professionals, they headed toward the same ship that would take our heroes to Cinnabar Island.