"Alright, please leave it to me!" Misty and Brock looked blankly at Nurse Joy.
"Hmm?? Hehe! You're not going to say you've seen me somewhere before, are you?" Nurse Joy smiled, looking at their expressions.
"That... that's right!" Misty said somewhat awkwardly, while Brock blushed, looking like a lovestruck idiot.
"Haha! The Nurse Joy in Pewter City is my cousin, and the Nurse Joy in Cerulean City is my older cousin! But don't you think I'm prettier than them?" Nurse Joy responded, smiling, to Misty's reply.
"Uh..." Ash and Misty were speechless. They all look exactly the same, don't they?
"It really seems so! Hehe!!" Brock said with a piggish grin.
Hearing this, Misty was once again speechless. She immediately dragged Brock away by the ear, while Ash was not surprised by the response. Brock seemed to actually remember the distinguishing details between these Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys; he just forgot which episode it was.
"Excuse me, please move aside, Nurse Joy, quickly look at my Rattata!" Just then, a voice came from behind, and Ash instinctively moved aside.
He saw a boy rushing in, clutching a blackened Pokémon, looking as if he was about to cry.
Misty, seeing this, released Brock's ear and looked over. Ash looked closely and realized it was a Rattata, but it was hard to tell because its whole body was charred black.
"Ah!! So severe! Chansey, quickly, take it inside first." Nurse Joy looked at the Rattata, her face immediately showing worry, then she quickly gestured to the Chansey behind her.
Chansey heard this and immediately pushed a stretcher over. The boy placed the Rattata on the stretcher, then pushed it into the emergency room.
"That Rattata looks so badly injured!" Misty said, covering her mouth in surprise.
"Yeah! Its whole body is burnt!" Brock also said seriously. It was clear it had suffered a powerful attack to be injured like that.
"Sigh... here we go again. This is already the 15th one this month." Nurse Joy frowned slightly and sighed, watching the scene.
"Huh? What happened?" Misty asked curiously.
"These trainers were all defeated by the Gym Leader Lt. Surge," Nurse Joy said, collecting Ash's Poké Balls.
"Ah! The Vermilion City Gym Leader is that powerful?" Hearing this, Misty was a bit worried, as Ash was about to challenge the Vermilion Gym.
"Yes! And he's not just strong; I heard he used to be a special forces soldier who retired from the army, so he never shows mercy to challengers." Nurse Joy was a bit helpless. After all, he hit so hard, and ultimately, it was her side that had the trouble.
It was very troublesome to have to medically treat those severely injured Pokémon every time. If the injuries were too severe and couldn't be saved, it would be a very painful experience for the trainer.
"So that's why those Pokémon were so severely injured, right?" Brock also spoke. He was also a Gym Leader and a breeder.
He knew that caring for and raising Pokémon was hard work, so when battling others, he always knew when to stop. That's why his style was completely different from Lt. Surge's.
As for Misty's Cerulean Gym, it went without saying. If they encountered a slightly stronger challenger, it was their Gym's Pokémon that would be in trouble.
It was his first time seeing a trainer who fought so ruthlessly. However, every trainer had their own style, so he couldn't say what the other person was doing was wrong. This was how it was when participating in the Pokémon League Conference, and the League Conference was inherently brutal.
"That's right. Your Pokémon will recover quickly. I still have other Pokémon to care for, so I'll take my leave!" Nurse Joy said goodbye to the three, then entered the emergency room.
"The opponent seems to be a tough character, Ash. Are you sure you're okay?"
Seeing Nurse Joy leave, Misty was a little scared and looked at Ash worriedly.
"Challenging Gyms isn't normal? Haven't I been training hard precisely to challenge Gyms? What's there to worry about?" Ash replied calmly.
Lt. Surge, to be honest, in Ash's eyes, was just a gatekeeper for a beginner's arena. He was a nightmare for new trainers, but for strong trainers, challenging him wasn't a huge problem.
"Let's go eat first!" Ash said to the two of them, as Pikachu and the others still needed some time to rest.
Seeing that Ash wasn't worried at all, the two stopped talking. Although they were a bit worried about Ash's rival in love, for now, after getting two badges, Ash hadn't shown any signs of conceit, so they were temporarily relieved.
They arrived at the restaurant, had dinner, and by the time they returned to the front desk, Pikachu and the others had fully recovered.
It was already dark, so Ash didn't immediately go to challenge the Gym. Instead, he stayed at the Pokémon Center for the night.
Along the way, he also saw many trainers sending their Pokémon in. Without exception, all were charred by electricity, all at the hands of Gym Leader Lt. Surge. Misty and Brock were a bit concerned, but Ash didn't think much of it.
He said goodbye to Brock and Misty and went back to his room to rest.
The next day.
Waking up early, the three gathered in the restaurant for breakfast. Pikachu also sat at the table eating with them. Misty spoke to Ash.
"Ash, I heard Lt. Surge uses incredibly powerful Electric-type Pokémon. Why don't you ask Professor Oak to send over Bulbasaur? That would make it easier."
Sitting beside Ash, Misty offered advice to Ash. Ash glanced at Misty upon hearing this.
"No need. The Pokémon I have now are enough." Ash shook his head slightly. He had trained them for so many days; of course, he wanted to give them a chance to show what they could do.
Although Bulbasaur continued its training at Professor Oak's, Ash didn't intend to do that.
"Ash, I'm doing this for your own good. Underestimating your opponent will make you suffer!" Misty frowned slightly, thinking Ash was too careless.
"I won't underestimate anyone. I just have confidence in my Pokémon. Hurry up and eat! We still have to go to the Gym after this!" Ash replied, then stopped talking and ate his breakfast.
Misty, seeing Ash's ungratefulness, puffed out her cheeks. She had a bit of a temper but didn't say more, just lowered her head and ate.
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