After the battle at Fuchsia Gym, the gap between Charizard and Gardevoir's levels had widened significantly.
When Gardevoir used Teleport to send Ash and the others outside, she couldn't resist glancing at Charizard, and her emerald eyes immediately turned resentful.
She had sensed Charizard's energy spike the instant they emerged from the arena.
Pikachu had gotten his turn, Charizard had gotten his, yet she hadn't even set foot in the ring.
It was simply unfair!
Ash noticed her pout and could only give an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, Gardevoir. I promise, next time there's a battle like that, you'll be the one to fight."
He meant it too.
Not letting her battle against Koga hadn't been favoritism; it had been necessity.
Charizard had Sacred Fire, a trump card powerful enough to ignite hope of victory against even a Champion-level opponent.
Pikachu had the bond resonance and the raw willpower to clash head-on.
But Gardevoir…
Her moves were versatile, her control refined, but her level was still too low. Against foes of similar rank, she could dominate the field with telekinetic precision and flawless tactics.
Yet, against someone several levels above, all that elegance meant little.
No matter how graceful the trick, brute strength could still smash through it.
Sending Gardevoir out in that battle would've been the same as throwing her into a storm bare-handed, a waste of potential, and a needless risk.
Still, Ash believed that wouldn't always be the case.
If she just had a little more time, say, until after the Indigo Plateau Conference, she'd be able to stand against even Champion-level Pokémon without relying on her psychic flair.
He smiled faintly at the thought. Yeah… she'll shine soon enough.
After healing Pikachu and Charizard, Ash, Misty, and Brock set out once again, heading toward their next destination.
After Fuchsia came Cinnabar Gym, or at least, that's what the map said.
According to a local they'd met earlier, though, the Gym itself was closed. If they went there now, they might only find an empty building.
Viridian Gym, on the other hand, was out of the question.After the struggle against Koga, challenging a stronger Gym right away would be nothing short of suicide.
Ash might have the potential to contend with an Elite, but Champion-level opponents? Not yet.
Even Champion Ash and the other "big shots" in the group chat had advised him not to challenge Viridian right now.
Their advice was simple: grow stronger first.
Besides, the Cinnabar Gym Leader was still said to be on Cinnabar Island.
Even if the Gym was closed, he'd find his opponent there eventually.
Trusting their guidance, Ash made his next target Cinnabar Island, and along the way, he'd search for the garden, the place crucial for Bulbasaur's evolution.
Even if he couldn't find it, Bulbasaur could still evolve, but the effect, and his future potential, wouldn't be nearly as great.Finding that sacred place would make all the difference.
Twenty Days Later
Time flew quickly.
Nearly twenty days had passed since the Fuchsia battle, and Ash's name had spread across the entire Pokémon world like wildfire.
A rookie Trainer, only two months into his journey, had defeated not one, but three Champion-level Pokémon.
It was the kind of feat that only appeared in myths.
Pokémon were miraculous creatures, yes, but even miracles had limits.
And this wasn't a single miracle, it was three in a row!
Even setting aside the Elite-level victories, the fact that a rookie could raise a Pokémon to Elite Level in just two months was beyond imagination.
According to multiple sources, Ash hadn't owned a single Pokémon before setting out from Pallet Town, he had started completely from scratch.
That meant he had truly trained his Pokémon to that level in two months… and that Pokémon was Pikachu.
Another miracle.
The deeper people dug into Ash's record, the more impossible stories they found.
Defeating the feared Saffron Gym, toppling Sabrina, the psychic prodigy who had terrified Kanto Trainers for years, and afterward, that same Sabrina had resigned and vanished.
Under Ash's influence, Saffron Gym had reverted to a normal Gym, its oppressive aura gone.
Each new revelation only deepened the mystery surrounding him.
As for the Fuchsia battle, Koga himself publicly clarified what had happened.
According to his statement, Ash's Pokémon had temporarily unleashed power far beyond their levels because they had been aided by Victini, the God of Victory.
Why Victini appeared in Kanto, why it chose Ash, no one could say.
"If you ask, it's coincidence," Koga had said with a tired smile."If you ask again, it's because Ash's burning desire for victory called out to Victini."
It was an explanation wrapped in myth, yet strangely satisfying.The Kanto League even released a brief summary of Victini's lore afterward, describing it as a benevolent Mythical Pokémon that empowered Trainers of pure heart.
Most people half-believed it, half-doubted it, but there was no better explanation.
After all, what other reason could there be for a Advance-level Pokémon to completely crush a Champion-level one?
So, Koga's story became the "official truth."
Of course, that meant Ash's victory wasn't fully recognized.To most Trainers and League officials, it wasn't Ash who had defeated, it was Victini.
Ash was acknowledged as a rare genius, yes, but the credit for the miraculous win was attributed to divine intervention. No one believed a rookie could cross such an absurd gap on his own.
As one commentator put it:
"Defeating an Elite with the help of a Mythical Pokémon doesn't prove your strength, it proves your luck."
After all, no one could just happen to run into a Mythical Pokémon offering power whenever they pleased… right?
If someone truly could meet a Mythical Pokémon like that, then perhaps counting Victini's blessing as one's own strength wouldn't be too far-fetched.
But obviously, things like that couldn't keep happening. Victini wasn't Ash's Pokémon; it had merely passed by, lending power for a single moment in time.
So, the miracle that took place at Fuchsia Gym could never be replicated.
Even so, Ash's name had spread through every corner of Kanto.Wherever he went, crowds would form.
In the end, Ash and his friends had to start wearing masks just to walk around in peace.
Fortunately, a new craze had swept across the region, a Pikachu fever triggered entirely by Ash's battle.
Trainers everywhere began catching Pikachu, letting them walk proudly by their side, hoping to recreate the same miracle. Many began to wonder if they had underestimated Pikachu's potential all along.
Maybe, they thought, if we don't evolve our Pikachu into Raichu, they could grow as strong as Ash's in just two months!
Of course, reality was cruel.
No matter how many people tried, none could replicate the bond or the strength of Ash's Pikachu.
Still, their imitation brought one small advantage: Ash could now let Pikachu ride on his shoulder without drawing attention, he was just another Trainer with a Pikachu.
That small relief, at least, allowed them to travel without being mobbed.
Even so, Ash quickly realized the downside of fame, he could barely train in peace.
Crowds gathered wherever he went, questions were constant, and privacy had become a luxury.
Thankfully, the craze wouldn't last forever.
When the fever finally cooled, even if his name remained known, people would no longer chase him down the street to ask how to train their Pokémon.
During the following twenty days, the trio passed through many cities and met all sorts of people and Pokémon:
a timid Parasect that refused to battle, a local Pokémon sprint competition, a forest teeming with Pikachu, and a strangely artistic Jigglypuff with a mic-pen obsession.
Their journey eventually brought them to the famous Safari Zone.
There, Ash caught a single Pokémon, a Tauros with remarkable potential.
Beyond that, he didn't capture anything else.
Misty, however, struck gold.
She caught a Dratini.
Yes, that Dratini. The pseudo-legendary Pokémon of Kanto!
Dratini had always been a legend in the Safari Zone.
Years ago, rumors of its existence had caused a stampede of Trainers across Kanto.
People from every region poured in, searching day and night, digging up fields and draining lakes in their obsession to find it.But after all that destruction, no one ever found a single Dratini.
The habitat was ruined, and strict new regulations were put in place, limited entry, limited Poké Balls.
Still, the truth was that Dratini had been there all along. Only Kaiser, the warden of the Safari Zone, knew their true habitat.
This time, Team Rocket's interference had accidentally changed everything.
They had kidnapped Kaiser, forcing him to reveal the location of Dratini's hidden lake. Their plan was to blow up the entire area with a bomb to flush Dratini out.
Ash and his friends arrived just in time.
Together, they fought Team Rocket, defused the situation, and even uncovered the bomb beneath the lake.
Ash personally destroyed it with Charizard's flames, preventing the entire valley from being obliterated.
Grateful beyond words, Kaiser's attitude toward the trio completely changed.
The Dratini from years ago, now a majestic Dragonair, had a child, a new Dratini who curiously peeked out from behind its mother.Wanting her child to see the wider world, Dragonair entrusted the young Dratini to one of the group.
Ash and Brock both stepped back.
Ash smiled, shaking his head.
"I already have too many Pokémon to train. And with Dratini's long growth cycle… it'd be tough to balance everyone's training."
He had only captured Tauros because they'd bonded during their time in the Safari Zone, and the Pokémon had taken a liking to him.Otherwise, he wouldn't have caught anything at all.
Brock had already caught a Rhyhorn, so he too declined.
For him, this trip was also fruitful, but Misty hadn't caught any Pokémon, so in the end, this Dratini was given to Misty.
This was a pseudo-legendary Pokémon!
For an ordinary Trainer, just the sight of one could spark fights, rivalries, even betrayals among friends. Battling over a pseudo-legendary wasn't unheard of, brothers might well turn against each other for the chance to own one.
But Ash and Brock had chosen to give that Dratini to Misty.
How could she not be moved by such genuine friendship?
In the end, Misty accepted the young dragon, tears shimmering in her eyes.
With that, the number of Pokémon she carried rose to five.
Thus ended the twenty-day stretch since Fuchsia Gym, a period filled not just with adventures, but with growth, both for the Trainers and their partners.
Team Progress
Misty's team had grown the most balanced.
Her Starmie had broken through to Professional-level Advanced.
At that tier, even a single minor increase normally took a month or more of constant training.
But Starmie had done it in barely twenty days.
Her Staryu reached Professional Intermediate,
Wartortle hit Superior Peak, Horsea advanced to Superior Advanced, and Psyduck… remained an enigma.
Ordinarily, Psyduck only displayed Ordinary Intermediate strength.But during a recent scuffle with Team Rocket, when they grabbed its head, Psyduck unleashed power equal to a Professional-level Pokémon!
From that day on, Misty realized just how unpredictable Psyduck really was.
Still, that explosive strength couldn't be summoned at will. Most of the time, Psyduck was just… Psyduck, vacant, clumsy, hopelessly dazed.
He couldn't even focus long enough to train, gaining experience only from meals, naps, and the occasional accidental victory.
As a result, despite his potential, Psyduck's growth was painfully slow.
Brock's team had also made remarkable strides.
His Onix had advanced to Superior Advanced, and his Graveler evolved into Golem, reaching the same level and nearly catching up to Onix.
His Zubat and Wartortle had both climbed to Superior Peak, generally gaining two minor levels across the board.
Under normal circumstances, such rapid progress in under a month was impossible.
Even a Gym Leader pouring all their resources into a single Pokémon couldn't achieve this.
But traveling with Ash came with mysterious advantages, like basking in some unseen "blessing."
Ash's presence seemed to amplify everyone's growth.
His Tokiwa Power, the balanced, nutrient-dense meals he prepared, and the restorative massages he gave his Pokémon after training all worked together to accelerate their improvement.
With such resources, even a Pokémon of ordinary talent could grow steadily.
As long as they kept training diligently, there would be no bottlenecks, not until they reached Gym Level at least.
Brock's newly caught Rhyhorn started at Ordinary Advanced, a typical level for wild Pokémon in the Safari Zone.
Misty's Dratini, meanwhile, was already Ordinary Peak. Clearly, Dragonair had trained her daughter well before parting with her.
For a pseudo-legendary to reach that stage took far more effort than for a regular Pokémon, it was a sign of exceptional nurturing.
.....
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