Black Cloud City wasn't very large. After Ash used his Aura to pinpoint the power plant's location, Gardevoir used Teleport twice in quick succession, and the two arrived on-site almost instantly.
The moment they landed, Ash approached the exhausted staff clustered near the plant's entrance. A short exchange told him everything he needed to know, a horde of Grimer had clogged the drainage system, causing the generators to seize up.
Worse still, the Grimer weren't content just to block the pipes. They had begun to pour directly into the facility itself.
Since it was a problem caused by Pokémon, Ash knew this was something he could handle.
He told the staff to open the access gates and assured them calmly, "Leave it to me. I'll drive them out."
But the instant the Grimer came slithering into view, something unexpected happened, Gardevoir, of all Pokémon, quietly floated behind Ash and stayed there.
Ash blinked in surprise. "Gardevoir?"
Through their telepathic link, a small, embarrassed voice reached his mind.
'The smell… it's unbearable.'
Only then did Ash realize the situation. The Grimer weren't just a little slimy, they were incredibly foul, their combined stench thick enough to sting the eyes.
Gardevoir's elegant fingers pinched the air as if she could hold her nose, and she shook her head vigorously.
Ash couldn't help a helpless smile. He understood completely, girls cared about cleanliness, and apparently, that included psychic Pokémon.
"Well, it can't be helped," Ash sighed. "Then, Wartortle, Bulbasaur, come on out!"
The two Poké Balls burst open, revealing his steadfast partners.
Although the number of Grimer was daunting, none of them were particularly strong, most hovered around Low to Mid-Intermediate levels. For Wartortle and Bulbasaur, it was an easy warm-up.
The two worked seamlessly together, blasting Grimer after Grimer out of the power plant with Water Guns and Razor Leafs. Yet despite their efforts, the plant still couldn't resume operation. The drainage system remained hopelessly clogged.
Ash frowned and expanded his Aura perception, sweeping through the facility. What he sensed made his stomach tighten.
'There aren't just a few dozen of them… There are over a hundred inside, and another hundred blocking the drains outside?!'
Two hundred Grimer. No wonder the system had collapsed.
Even with his team's level advantage, clearing that many could take hours, and the Pokémon Center didn't have hours.
Then Ash detected something else, among all those foul, chaotic Auras, there was one that pulsed brighter and stronger than the rest. A leader.
"If I take out that one, the rest should scatter," Ash muttered.
He ordered Bulbasaur and Wartortle to keep the swarm busy, then turned to Gardevoir. "Teleport us to the strongest Aura's location."
Gardevoir hesitated, then reluctantly obeyed. In a flash of green light, they appeared deeper inside the plant.
And there it was, towering over the rest, its body darker, thicker, and somehow even smellier than the others.
A Muk.
"So that's the leader…" Ash murmured. The Aura radiating from it was dense and oily, unmistakably stronger than its underlings'.
He glanced at Gardevoir again. Her reaction was immediate: she shook her head so fast it was almost a blur.
"Hey, normally you and Charizard fight each other for a chance to battle," Ash teased. "Now you're hiding behind me?"
"Gardevoir~" She shuddered.
Ash sighed, half-amused, half-defeated. "Alright then… Charizard, I choose you!"
A roar split the air as Charizard burst onto the field, wings spread wide, tail flame burning brighter than ever.
"Flamethrower!"
One scorching blaze later, the battle was over. Muk melted into a sticky heap, utterly defeated.
Still, Ash considered for a moment, then tossed a Poké Ball.
The ball clicked shut almost instantly.
Catching Muk served two purposes: first, he needed its authority to command the Grimer to withdraw and return to their original habitat. The plant had been fine before; clearly, they'd only migrated here recently.
Second, Muk's Ability Values were surprisingly good. Despite its revolting odor, its stats were well-rounded, and its toxicity could make it a nightmare opponent for anyone unprepared.
And honestly, Ash didn't mind the smell. He'd trained alongside far worse.
After restoring Muk's health with a touch of Tokiwa Power and registering it in his Pokédex to keep it temporarily on hand, Ash had Gardevoir Teleport them back to the main plant floor.
There, he released Muk again.
"Muk, tell the others to leave this place and return home," Ash instructed gently.
Muk blinked, then gave a gurgling roar. The Grimer responded almost immediately, slithering away in groups until the floors and drains were clear.
Within minutes, the air began to lighten, and the generators hummed back to life.
The staff broke into relieved applause, thanking Ash over and over.
Ash just smiled, brushing off the gratitude. "No problem. I'm just glad it's fixed."
After a final nod, he turned to Gardevoir. "Alright, let's go back. Pikachu's probably exhausted by now."
Gardevoir nodded in agreement, and with a flash of psychic light, they vanished from the power plant, reappearing moments later at the Pokémon Center.
As expected, by the time Ash and Gardevoir returned, the Pokémon Center had already been restored to normal.
The Trainers who had mocked him earlier were nowhere to be found.
No one knew whether they'd slipped away out of embarrassment, ashamed that Ash had single-handedly restored power, or if they simply couldn't bear to stay after watching a tiny Pikachu keep an entire Pokémon Center running on his own.
Either way, they'd vanished before Ash got back.
Nurse Joy, on the other hand, greeted Ash the moment he walked in, overflowing with gratitude. After thanking him repeatedly, she insisted on giving him something tangible in return.
Having learned that Ash's next destination was Fuchsia City, where he planned to challenge Koga, the Fuchsia Gym Leader, Joy handed him a confidential file about Koga, the kind of information ordinary Trainers could never access.
Ash accepted it with a nod of thanks.
By the time everything was settled, it was already close to three in the morning. Misty and Brock had tried their best to wait for him, but exhaustion finally caught up.
When they saw him safe and sound, both muttered quick good-nights and went straight to bed.
Ash, however, wasn't tired. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he flipped open the file. Even without turning on the lights, his Aura-honed eyesight made the text perfectly readable.
Ten minutes later, he closed the folder, his expression thoughtful.
Koga's strength was far beyond what he'd expected.
According to the file, Koga was a true Elite-rank Trainer, commanding six High-level Pokémon. Among them, his ace had already reached Professional Advanced Level, placing him in the upper tier of the region's Elite Trainers.
To put it bluntly, even if Ash used his entire team at once, he wouldn't stand a chance against even one of Koga's main Pokémon. The level gap was simply too wide.
At present, Ash's strongest partner was Pikachu, who had only just reached Professional beginner Level. With Aura Fusion, his Partner Form, and the Light Ball amplifying him, Pikachu could fight on par with most Gym-level Pokémon.
Thankfully, Koga wouldn't use his main team against an opponent who'd only been traveling for two months. He wasn't that kind of fool.
What Ash needed to focus on were the reserve Pokémon, Koga's non-main lineup. The file detailed them too: Pokémon ranging from Professional and lower-Elite Levels.
Unlike other Gyms, though, Fuchsia's lowest challenge tier began at Elite level. No wonder rookie Trainers were terrified to even apply for a match here.
After careful consideration, Ash decided on his target: Professional difficulty.
A one-on-one match at that level would be fine. Even a three-on-three should be manageable.
His three strongest Pokémon, Pikachu, Charizard, and Gardevoir, all had the strength to take on Professional-class opponents without even needing Aura Fusion… as long as Koga's Pokémon weren't secretly hiding S-rank stats.
Satisfied, Ash set the file aside and lay down.
Beside him, Pikachu was already fast asleep, his little body rising and falling with each peaceful breath. He smacked his lips, rolled over, and mumbled something in his sleep.
Ash smiled, reached out to ruffle Pikachu's fur, then finally closed his eyes and drifted off.
The Next Morning
After washing up, the first thing Ash did was call Professor Oak to report the situation with Muk, explaining how he'd caught it, what had happened at the power plant, and what kind of care Muk needed.
Training Muk, as expected, was quite different from raising an ordinary Pokémon. In addition to standard nutrition, Muk had to consume certain types of garbage and industrial waste to maintain its toxicity and sustain growth.
But the hardest part was enduring its stench.
Ash could handle it. Whether Professor Oak could… was another matter entirely.
On the video call, Oak looked delighted, right until Muk enthusiastically leapt on him.
Ash winced. "Yeah… he's definitely happy."
Moments later, the professor was pinned flat on the floor, his face barely visible beneath the writhing sludge.
"Ah...Muk, wait! I can't breathe!"
Ash watched in silence, then smiled sheepishly and hung up.
Misty, who had been watching over his shoulder, twitched at the corner of her mouth. "Uh… are you sure Professor Oak won't actually be crushed?"
Ash waved a hand casually. "Don't worry. He's a professor, he's been through worse. Muk's just saying hello."
With that, he slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Alright, time to hit the road. Fuchsia City's waiting."
The group left the Pokémon Center and set off once again.
Five Days Later
At long last, they reached the gates of Fuchsia City.
The journey hadn't been uneventful. Along the way, they'd encountered Team Rocket again, and to Ash's mild surprise, Jessie and James' Pokémon had both evolved.
Ekans and Koffing were now Arbok and Weezing, and their power had risen all the way to Advanced Peak.
Facing Ash's Professional Level Pikachu, Jessie's Arbok and James's Weezing, both only Advanced Peak, didn't even last a single attack before being launched sky-high in a blinding flash of lightning.
So much for their "grand comeback."
Once the smoke cleared, and Team Rocket had twinkled out of sight, the group continued their journey toward Fuchsia City.
Along the way, Ash unexpectedly ran into Gary.
The two hadn't seen each other in quite some time, and after a brief catch-up, Ash learned that Gary already had six badges. He was now planning to head to the Cinnabar Gym next.
Gary's mood during their conversation was… complicated.
Ash's name was beginning to spread across Kanto; his battles, his wins, even his miraculous saves like the Black Cloud City incident, all of it was starting to draw attention.
On paper, Gary wasn't behind. He had more badges, technically speaking.
But the quality of those badges was another story.
While he too had defeated the Saffron Gym, the version he fought clearly hadn't been the same level of difficulty Ash had faced.
And when it came to his fifth badge, at Celadon Gym, Gary had chosen a mixed difficulty between Elite and Advanced, barely scraping out a win.
It was there that Erika, recognizing his hometown, mentioned another challenger from Pallet Town, Ash, and told him that Ash had actually defeated her Professional-Level Pokémon.
That revelation had crushed him.
Sure, Ash's earlier victory at Saffron City had relied on that mysterious Gengar, which wasn't part of his usual team. Gary could still rationalize that as "different circumstances."
But defeating Celadon Gym's Professional Pokémon with his own team, using Pokémon he'd raised from scratch, Charizard and Gardevoir, that hit differently.
Those were Pokémon Ash had trained personally, and they were already capable of challenging Professional opponents.
Meanwhile, Gary's own partners were still stuck around Elite level.
Being left behind like that… it burned.
When Ash mentioned that his next goal was Fuchsia Gym, Gary's expression turned grim.
He knew full well what that meant.
The Fuchsia Gym's lowest difficulty tier was Elite Level, and its Pokémon weren't simple beginners at that rank either.
That was exactly why Gary hadn't gone there himself.
But hearing that Ash planned to challenge Fuchsia lit something inside him.
Gary clenched his fists and silently made up his mind:
"Once I earn my seventh badge… I'm going to Fuchsia too. I won't let Ash get too far ahead."
After chatting for a while longer, the two rivals parted ways, each heading down his own path once more.
By the time Ash finally reached Fuchsia, Gary was probably already in Cinnabar Island.
Fuchsia City
Despite its name, Fuchsia City wasn't exactly a bustling metropolis.It felt more like a small, scenic town.
There were no skyscrapers here, just low, traditional houses with tiled roofs and wooden walls. In a region filled with modern cities, Fuchsia stood out with an almost old-world charm, like a place untouched by time.
The Gym Leader here, Koga, was famous not only as the leader of the Fuchsia Gym but also as a candidate for the Johto Elite Four.That title alone was enough to scare off most challengers.
So naturally, Ash and his friends expected the Gym to be quiet, maybe even empty.
But when they entered Fuchsia City, what they saw was a bustling crowd. This was not a place with no challengers; this was a freaking sea of people!!
...
Bonus @400 PS
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