A short while later, Gengar floated over to Ray Chu and called out twice as if claiming credit. Then it spat out a shriveled, shrunken Ditto that looked as though it had been wrung completely dry.
The starter trio exchanged glances at the sight, their legs beginning to tremble a little...
Ray Chu put on the benevolent smile of an old master, cupped Ditto in his hands, and asked the same question again.
This time, Ditto didn't claim ignorance. Instead, it drooped dejectedly and chirped its answer.
As a Pokémon that had always stayed by Lt. Surge's side, Ditto knew quite a lot. And after what had just happened, it was clearly terrified. It spilled everything it knew in one breath.
Ray Chu stroked his chin and muttered to himself, "Lt. Surge is actually a high-ranking Team Rocket executive? Now that's big news. How did someone like that manage to become a League Gym Leader? Or are the League and Team Rocket basically one and the same...?"
"Why did he have you disguise yourself as him?" Ray Chu asked.
Ditto looked somewhat aggrieved. If that host hadn't pressed it so relentlessly, it could have gotten through without a problem. How would it ever have ended up like this?
Still, as a Ditto that knew when to give in, it obediently revealed everything it knew.
Lt. Surge had probably never imagined that one day his own Ditto would expose all his secrets.
"Zapdos! So a Legendary Pokémon has been hiding in Vermilion City, and Team Rocket got the information first."
Ray Chu couldn't help whistling. He had heard of the Legendary Birds before, though so much time had passed that some of his memories were already rather vague.
Still, these so-called Legendary Birds seemed to be underlings of Lugia, guardian of the sea—the one they had encountered not long ago. Ray Chu did remember that much.
He wondered how Lugia would react if one of its underlings was captured by Team Rocket.
Before long, a report was delivered to the Pokémon League's defense division in Vermilion City. It stated that Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge was actually one of Team Rocket's three executives, and that his purpose in hiding in the city was to obtain the legendary Zapdos.
And judging by the way Captain Arang had acted earlier, that hidden Team Rocket executive had very likely already succeeded!
Not long afterward, Ray Chu received word that Officer Jenny and the others had been attacked by an unknown group while escorting the Team Rocket members back to the police station.
Every Team Rocket member who should have been locked up had been rescued, and the leader of the attackers had apparently used the legendary Zapdos.
The incident sent shockwaves through the Pokémon League.
By the time the League's personnel arrived, however, all they found was shattered ruins.
Team Rocket had clearly evacuated long ago...
From the branches of a nearby tree, a yellow Pikachu watched everything unfold and couldn't help sighing.
No wonder Team Rocket had infiltrated the League so thoroughly. Before the League could even set out, Team Rocket had already gotten word.
What a pity.
He had originally wanted to test himself against that Zapdos...
After watching unnoticed for a while, Ray Chu suddenly leapt down from the tree and raced into the forest.
He soon reached a clearing at its center, where Sirfetch'd was fighting the trio of starter Pokémon alone.
"Sirfetch'd!"
By the time Ray Chu arrived, the battle was already nearing its end.
Dapple cried out as fierce currents of air surged around her. Within those swirling winds, she thrust the leek in her left hand toward the three Pokémon at astonishing speed. A shining shockwave like a meteor blasted all three high into the air.
[METEOR ASSAULT]
It was a new move Dapple had learned after evolving into Sirfetch'd.
The move unleashed an astonishing number of thrusts in a single instant and was tremendously powerful, but it also placed a heavy burden on the user. Even with Dapple's physical capabilities, she was unable to move for a short while after using it.
Simply put, the recovery time was far too long. It was best suited as a finishing move.
And the result did not disappoint.
The three Pokémon, all of whom ranked among the strongest at their level, completely lost the ability to continue fighting after taking the attack.
Seeing this, Ray Chu seized the opportunity to offer both encouragement and a warning.
They shouldn't think they were strong just because they had made some progress. Compared with truly powerful opponents, they were still little more than infants. They were already no match for Dapple as she was now, let alone the Legendary Birds.
The sunglasses Wartortle suddenly called out, arguing that the Legendary Birds were legendary Pokémon while they were just ordinary starter Pokémon. Of course they couldn't compare.
The honest and straightforward Ivysaur covered its eyes with a leaf and sighed mournfully, wondering how it had ended up with a teammate like this.
Sure enough, Ray Chu's Pikachu face broke into a kindly smile.
"All of you, ten laps around the surrounding forest..."
As soon as he finished speaking, lightning burst from both his hands and struck the ground beside Wartortle, leaving a bead of cold sweat on its forehead.
By the time the trio came puffing and panting back after completing all ten laps, the sun was already close to setting.
Gengar returned to report with Ditto perched on its head, confirming that none of the three had slacked off and that they had completed the entire route as ordered.
Only then did Ray Chu nod and end their extra training.
Strangely enough, the newly joined Ditto liked spending most of its time with Gengar, and Gengar also took very good care of it.
Perhaps it was because both of them had once belonged to someone else.
Naturally, Ray Chu himself would never admit that.
Suddenly, white light enveloped Charmander.
It was the light of evolution!
Within the glow, Charmander's body shifted from orange to crimson. A slight backward-pointing horn formed in the center of its head, its claws grew sharper, and the flame burning on its tail became even stronger.
"Rooar!"
After completing its evolution, Charmeleon breathed flames into the air and let out an excited roar.
Its intense desire to become stronger, combined with the experience it had gained from several battles in succession, had finally allowed it to evolve.
As teammates, Ivysaur and the sunglasses Wartortle promptly applauded. After all, they had both seen how hard it had worked lately.
"Good. Charmeleon, use your strongest move on me."
Charmeleon had already learned Fire Blast while it was still a Charmander. Now that it had evolved, the move should be even more powerful!
Charmeleon nodded and opened its mouth wide.
But this time, instead of flames, spiraling currents of air gathered inside its mouth. The air compressed to its limit, then suddenly blasted toward Ray Chu.
[DRAGON PULSE]
Charmeleon caught Ray Chu completely by surprise.
It wasn't simply a stronger Fire Blast, but Dragon Pulse—a high-level move that only stronger Pokémon could learn.
"But... it's still not enough!"
Instead of retreating, Ray Chu charged forward.
Facing the incoming compressed shockwave, he abruptly swung his right hand. A flash of lightning struck the incoming blast and sent it flying far off into the sky.
BOOM!
A Fearow happened to be passing overhead and was struck squarely by the redirected blast. It was instantly scorched black and plummeted from the sky.
Naturally, no one cared about some stupid bird.
The starter trio, along with Gengar, Ditto, Dapple, and Lala, all stared at the perfectly calm Ray Chu in shock.
They already knew he was strong, but being this strong was a little excessive.
"That was just the basics. As long as you train hard, sooner or later, you'll become as strong as me."
Ray Chu said it as casually as could be.
---
T/N: HI IM BACK HAPPY 2 YEAR ANNIVERSAY ONLY UHHH 7 DAYS? 8 DAYS LATE!!!
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