Another point worth mentioning—
When Ash first sent out Pidgeotto and Pikachu, a small portion of the audience outside the arena still quietly questioned whether those two Pokémon truly belonged to him—or if they were perhaps his mother's Pokémon.
That doubt only completely vanished during the third battle.
The moment Ash sent out Frogadier—the very same starter Pokémon that many viewers clearly remembered from the televised Pokémon Summer Camp—
Only then did the audience finally put all suspicions to rest.
At that moment, everyone truly believed that these three Pokémon had all been personally trained and nurtured by Ash himself, that they were entirely and unquestionably his Pokémon.
Training Pokémon to such a terrifying level in just one month—
The spectators were left deeply impressed, and Ash's reputation as a genius Trainer was no longer in doubt.
…
"Thank you, everyone!"
With one match ending and another already about to begin, Ash didn't linger in the arena. He waved toward the cheering audience in thanks, then left the stadium with Pikachu in his arms.
The moment Ash exited the arena, a youthful, bright-looking female staff member approached him at the exit corridor.
"Trainer, congratulations on winning your first match at the Urban Arena.
Your 3,000 Poké Dollars prize has already been credited to your Identity Crystal Card.
You can withdraw it from any League-affiliated bank counter or ATM."
She handed Ash his crystal card back with a warm smile.
"Alright, thank you," Ash replied politely.
"Oh, by the way—could you tell me where the Pokémon Center inside the arena is?"
"Little Ash, are you going to help your Pokémon recover? I can take you there."
"Would that be okay? Won't it interfere with your work?"
"It's no problem at all."
By the time the match ended, it was already 4:00 PM.
Though sunset was still hours away, Ash had no intention of continuing to battle today.
Today had been about testing the waters and getting familiar with the Urban Arena.
From now on, Ash planned to officially add both 'training at Viridian Gym' and 'battling at the Urban Arena' into his regular routine.
In Ash's mind, a rough plan had already taken shape.
Most of his original schedule would remain unchanged—
morning training, midday practice, evening study.
But his afternoons would now be divided into three possible arrangements:
An entire afternoon of self-studyHalf self-study, half visiting Viridian Gym to consult GiovanniSpending the entire afternoon learning at Viridian Gym
Which option he chose would depend on whether Giovanni had time.
If Giovanni was available, Ash would go to the gym without hesitation.
After all, apprenticeship wasn't just for show—
Giovanni, a Champion-level powerhouse, was a walking encyclopedia of priceless experience.
As for Urban Arena battles, Ash decided to fix that time slot between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM.
During the day, most people were busy.
Only in the evening did crowds gather to watch or participate in battles.
At the Urban Arena:
Evenings were the busiestWeekends were the liveliestSaturday and Sunday nights even had a special name—"Battle Night"
But none of that mattered much to Ash.
No matter how crowded or lively it was, he would only come during that two-hour window.
And unlike many Trainers, Ash wasn't here to make money—
His true goal was tempering his Pokémon through real combat.
Under the staff member's guidance, Ash skipped the waiting lounge and went straight to the arena's Pokémon Center.
The earlier 3V3 match hadn't taken much effort. None of his Pokémon were injured—only mildly fatigued.
After a brief recovery session, Pidgeotto, Pikachu, and Frogadier were all back to full spirits.
"Alright, let's go buy a few things and then head back."
After thanking the staff member again, Ash carried Pikachu and walked toward the arena exit.
"Pika—? Buying what? Something tasty?" Pikachu tilted its head curiously.
"You little glutton—always thinking about food," Ash chuckled.
"I'm going to buy a bike."
"We'll be coming to Viridian City often. Even if not every day, at least once every two days.
Borrowing Gary's bike all the time isn't convenient—what if he needs it himself?"
"And besides, we're not short on money anymore."
"Pika—(O_O) Then after buying the bike… can we buy some snacks too?"
"Eat too much and you'll get fat," Ash teased.
"When you run into a faster opponent, they'll catch you and smack your butt."
"Pika!? That won't happen! I'm super fast!"
Just as they exited the Urban Arena—
A group of people who had clearly been waiting rushed forward and surrounded Ash.
"Eh—!"
"Um… may I ask who you are?" Ash asked in surprise.
"Well, Ash, we're your fans!" one girl said excitedly.
"We came to watch matches at the arena and happened to see you.
So we refunded our tickets, bought seats at your venue, and went in to cheer for you!"
"Yes, yes! We waited here after the match ended just to see you!"
"We want photos with you!"
"And autographs!"
"Is that okay?"
A circle of girls surrounded Ash eagerly.
"Thank you for coming to cheer for me," Ash said with a smile.
"Autographs and photos are no problem."
It took nearly ten minutes for Ash to finish signing Poké Balls and taking group photos with over a dozen fans.
During that time, the girls bombarded him with questions—
What kind of girls he liked,
his favorite food,
favorite sports,
favorite colors,
and when he would come to Viridian City again.
"Ash, why don't you register a microblog account?" one girl suggested near the end.
"We can follow you!"
"You could share bits of your daily life there."
"And as your fans, we could learn more about you too!"
"When you plan to come back to the Urban Arena, you can post in the group chat so we can come cheer for you in time!"
"Please—okay?"
As they pleaded adorably—
The cheers and excitement surrounding Ash showed no sign of slowing down.
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T/N:
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