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"Pidgeotto, go follow them!"
Seeing Team Rocket escaping, Ash knew there was no way to catch up on foot right now. Besides, this location wasn't suitable for a battle—there were too many bystanders around.
Ash threw his Poké Ball, then signaled to Pidgeotto to pursue them. Looking at the hot air balloon in the distance, Pidgeotto nodded slightly before immediately taking flight and giving chase.
"Hmm? That's...?"
Among the crowd, President Charles noticed Ash's actions. His expression shifted slightly, and with his bodyguards' assistance, he climbed down from the tilted bus to the ground and looked toward Ash in the distance.
"I didn't expect something like this to happen. President, are you alright?"
After issuing the blockade order, Officer Jenny approached Charles and asked worriedly. If anything happened to President Charles, both the Kanto and Johto regions would fall into chaos.
"I'm fine, don't worry!" Although Charles held a position of great authority, he was a kind and gentle old man.
By all rights, the route had been carefully planned and should have been well protected, but this incident represented a failure on the part of the Viridian City police. However, he didn't blame them for it.
Officer Jenny followed Charles's gaze. When she saw who the president was watching, she paused slightly.
"Isn't that Ash?" Officer Jenny murmured quietly when she recognized him.
"Ash?!" Charles's expression changed when he heard that name. It had been appearing frequently in his reports recently.
After preventing Team Rocket from capturing the legendary bird trio, the boy had been defeated and captured by Team Rocket's four Executives, yet somehow managed to escape. In Rainbow City, he had teamed up with Lance to battle against Team Rocket and the legendary birds.
He had even defeated Giovanni in Viridian City and forced the Team Rocket boss to issue an order disbanding the organization.
These were major events—accomplishments that even the Elite Four and the Champion hadn't managed to achieve. It wasn't easy for him to forget about someone like that.
No wonder the boy had looked familiar when he first noticed him. Though they'd never met in person, he had seen photographs.
But even from just a photo, he'd felt a sense of familiarity. After investigating further, he'd made a surprising discovery that finally explained why even a photograph had seemed familiar to him.
"Does the president know that boy?" Officer Jenny didn't know much about the full situation. From Charles's words, it sounded like he was acquainted with Ash.
"Yes!" Charles nodded slightly, then walked in Ash's direction. Officer Jenny and the bodyguards quickly followed.
Having just sent Pidgeotto to follow Team Rocket, Ash had been looking up at the sky. He noticed someone approaching and lowered his head to see President Charles and Officer Jenny walking toward him.
"Brock, I have to ask—who is that old man? His identity seems pretty important," Misty whispered, leaning close to Brock's ear.
"You... your family runs a Gym, but you don't know?"
"That's President Charles! He's the manager of the Pokémon League's sacred fire and the head organizer of the Pokémon League Conference!" Brock said with surprise.
He couldn't believe that a Trainer from Cerulean Gym didn't know about President Charles. After all, he was essentially the direct superior of all Gym Leaders.
"Uh... now that you mention it, I think I have seen him on TV before..."
Misty sounded embarrassed. When she thought about it that way, the old man really was their boss, but she'd never paid much attention before. As for her sisters, they'd never bothered to educate Misty about such things.
"Ash, what brings you here?" Officer Jenny stepped forward and asked. She'd heard from Nurse Joy that Ash had challenged the Viridian Gym.
But that had been a month ago, so she'd assumed Ash would have left the city long ago.
"Well, we're heading to Indigo Plateau to participate in the Indigo League Conference," Ash replied.
"I see! I can't believe that not long after becoming a Trainer, you've already qualified for the competition. Congratulations, Ash!"
Officer Jenny smiled warmly after hearing his response. It felt nostalgic to think that just a few months ago, Ash had been a complete Rookie Trainer.
In only a few months, he'd already earned all eight Badges. As someone who had witnessed Ash's very first steps as a Trainer, she felt proud.
After all, while anyone could attempt to join the Pokémon League by collecting eight Badges, among Rookie Trainers, only about twenty to thirty percent actually managed to accomplish it—sometimes even fewer.
"Thanks!"
Ash wasn't being modest. Qualifying as a Rookie Trainer was genuinely something to be proud of.
When trainers gathered at the League, most of Ash's competitors were older than him. There were only one or two rivals around his age.
This showed just how rare it was for Trainers to qualify for the League Conference during their rookie year.
"From what I saw just now, did you send your Pokémon to follow Team Rocket?" Charles suddenly spoke up.
"Yes!" Ash responded in a calm, respectful manner. His composure surprised even Charles.
"Where do you think they'll go?" Sensing Ash's confident attitude, Charles didn't feel offended. Instead, he felt quite comfortable with the boy's demeanor.
"They'll probably head back to Viridian Gym," Ash said, glancing at the buildings in the distance. It was his best guess.
Upon hearing this, Charles's eyes narrowed slightly. Based on Ash's words, he wondered—could this incident really be connected to Giovanni?
"Ash, both Lance and Agatha have told me about you. First of all, I want to thank you on behalf of the Pokémon League."
Setting aside that concern for the moment, he looked at Ash with admiration and spoke kindly.
"It was nothing special—they're too kind!" Ash had suspected that Lance and the others might have mentioned him, so this didn't come as a surprise.
"It's far from 'nothing special.' Based on your previous encounters with Team Rocket, do you think Giovanni ordered them to steal the sacred flame?"
Expressing his gratitude to Ash was important, but ultimately this question was the crucial point.
Everyone else looked surprised, especially Charles's bodyguards. The president was now consulting with Ash as if he were discussing matters with a regular League official.
Normally, an ordinary Trainer would be so nervous just exchanging a few words with President Charles that they'd stumble over their speech, yet this young man had remained completely calm throughout.