"Boom—"
At that moment, a loud explosion suddenly came from the circus behind Red.
Red turned his head and saw that Team Rocket, riding in a hot air balloon, had kidnapped a "Pokémon." Coincidentally, that "Pokémon" was actually Ash disguised as Mr. Mime.
"Ash really has a fate of constantly running into Team Rocket, huh~" Red joked.
Although Ash had been kidnapped, Red wasn't worried at all. With Ash's current strength, dealing with Team Rocket was more than easy.
What's more, Charizard had already reconciled with Ash, so there wouldn't be any more conflicts. This alone was enough to significantly boost Ash's strength again.
Right now, the most important thing was properly resolving the concerns between the two Pikachu brothers.
"Gengar, you've been watching long enough. Time to come out," Red said calmly, stepping on his shadow with slight annoyance.
The shadow beneath Red awkwardly revealed a grin. Then, Thousand-Year Gengar emerged from it and slowly floated to Red's side.
"I'll leave the communication to you."
After saying that, Red turned and left, giving the two Pikachu brothers space alone.
...
In a short while
After going back and forth analyzing both sides, Thousand-Year Gengar roughly understood what each Pikachu wanted to express.
The older brother on the left felt guilty for abandoning his younger brother, selectively ignoring the truth that he couldn't return because he had to battle Pinsir.
The younger brother on the right understood his brother's thoughts but was angry about his sudden departure. If they had communicated properly, Ash's Pikachu wouldn't have been so upset.
According to Ash's Pikachu, it was indeed time for him to grow independently. Watching Red's Pikachu struggle to feed both of them had always made him feel guilty.
What he wanted more was his brother's acknowledgment—not this kind of forced growth through cold indifference.
(These two have way too many issues…)
"Good thing my master and Ash aren't this troublesome."
Thousand-Year Gengar muttered, looking speechlessly at the two Pikachu.
(With so many problems, why not just fight it out!)
At this moment, Ash—who had freed himself from Team Rocket—returned home using their hot air balloon. By chance, he ran into the Mr. Mime that had escaped earlier. Even more absurdly, Delia mistook the wild Mr. Mime for Ash and even prepared a delicious curry meal for it.
But it was precisely because of Delia's actions that Mr. Mime fully accepted her and began to want to stay in the house.
...
In a short while
"As expected, fighting really is the best way to reconcile!"
Thousand-Year Gengar said leisurely, somehow having acquired popcorn from who knows where, watching the Pikachu brothers about to fight with eager anticipation.
According to Ash's Pikachu, as long as his brother could defeat him, he would forgive him for leaving without a word.
After all, Ash's Pikachu also felt guilty toward his brother and didn't want him to continue starving just to raise him. Yet Red's Pikachu had foolishly chosen the most distancing approach.
Fortunately, Ash's Pikachu had a personality similar to Ash's—he didn't care much about details. Right now, he only wanted to reconcile with his brother.
High-voltage electricity burst from both Pikachu simultaneously, turning into serpentine lightning that devoured each other's power.
But in just a moment, as the elder brother, Red's Pikachu easily suppressed the younger with stronger electricity, and a fierce Thunderbolt struck Ash's Pikachu head-on.
Red's Pikachu didn't hold back, displaying his true strength—because only by doing so would he not disappoint his younger brother.
Fighting with full strength was the greatest respect for an opponent.
"Pika!" x2
Both Pikachu used Iron Tail at the same time, clashing against each other's power. However, after Red's strict training, Red's Pikachu had grown exponentially stronger and was no opponent Ash's Pikachu could defeat at this stage.
In moments, Red's Pikachu knocked Ash's Pikachu to the ground with Iron Tail and followed up with Electric Net, restricting his movement.
Seeing this, Red's Pikachu unleashed a terrifying surge of electricity, covering his entire body before charging fiercely toward Ash's Pikachu.
'Watch closely—this is the ultimate move that only a few talented individuals can master!'
Wrapped in high-voltage electricity, Red's Pikachu instantly reached Ash's Pikachu and had already unleashed Volt Tackle.
"Damn, that's intense!"
Thousand-Year Gengar exclaimed excitedly, stuffing popcorn into his mouth.
Just as Red's Pikachu was about to slam into Ash's Pikachu with Volt Tackle, he forcefully stopped his attack, taking some recoil damage instead.
Because the outcome had already been decided—Ash's Pikachu had no strength left to escape the Electric Net. There was no need to continue attacking.
After this battle, the relationship between the two brothers clearly eased. After all, both carried guilt and misunderstandings toward each other. As long as they communicated properly, they would naturally reconcile.
"Not entirely satisfying, but still pretty good."
Seeing this, Thousand-Year Gengar felt happy for their gradual reconciliation.
In the distance, Red smiled and nodded in approval.
Afterward, in order to regain Giovanni's "favor," Team Rocket set their sights on the circus Pokémon.
They then drove their self-developed rubber-coated tank and advanced toward the circus.
Because of Team Rocket's attack, the circus's Mr. Mime—wanting to protect his beloved Stella—rekindled his fighting spirit and was no longer as lazy as before.
Later, together with Ash's Mr. Mime, they cooperated to block Team Rocket's actions using Light Screen.
Finally, Ash decisively threw out Charizard's Poké Ball and ordered it to use Flamethrower to destroy Team Rocket's tank.
Unable to withstand the high temperature, the tank exploded in moments, sending Team Rocket blasting off into the sky like a shooting star.
After the incident, under Mr. Mime's persistent urging, Delia was "forced" to use a Poké Ball to capture it.
However, since Delia used Ash's Poké Ball, technically the "ownership rights" still belonged to Ash.
That said, Mr. Mime currently listened to Delia and mostly ignored Ash.
...
The next day
Filled with fighting spirit, Ash stood at the long-awaited Indigo Plateau, enjoying the cheers from the entire audience.
"I've finally made it! I'm going to win all the way and become a Pokémon Master!"
After saying that, Ash threw the Poké Ball at his waist—only to find it immediately returned to him, strangely enlarging several times before opening a "mouth" and attempting to suck him inside.
"What's going on?!" Ash exclaimed in shock.
Just as he was about to be pulled in, he suddenly woke up from the dream. He had been awakened by Mr. Mime, who came to clean the room—using the simplest and most brutal method: shoving a vacuum cleaner right into Ash's face.
Seeing that Ash still looked sleepy, Mr. Mime decisively pressed the vacuum against his face again, making Ash cry out in pain,
"Stop it! Mr. Mime!"
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