Suddenly, the Dratini wrapped around Ash's neck burst out with a dazzling white light. Its body began to crack apart, and after the light completely shattered, a beautiful Dragonair appeared before Ash and the others.
"Miwoo~"
The newly evolved Dragonair affectionately rubbed against Ash's cheek, as if thanking him. The vitality radiating from Ash's body had instantly fulfilled Dratini's evolutionary requirements.
"T-This..."
Joe looked at Dragonair in confusion. She also trained Dragon-type Pokémon herself, so she naturally knew that her Dratini should not have evolved for at least several more hours.
Although the Stone family specialized in Steel-type Pokémon, Joe had grown up around her mother's Dragonite since childhood, causing her to adore Dragon Pokémon just as much as Lance did.
Even though the Stone family had already fallen from the ranks of the top families, they were still an influential clan. Obtaining Dragon-type Pokémon was still possible for them, especially since her mother was originally from the Draconis family.
Ash was not sure exactly what position Joe's mother held within the Draconis family, but considering that Samuel Oak was willing to arrange a marriage between him and Joe, their relationship was clearly still very close. Naturally, obtaining a Dratini was not difficult.
"Your Dratini absorbed the vitality radiating from my body. Since its evolutionary requirements were fulfilled, it evolved ahead of schedule."
After hearing Joe's question, Ash gently touched the crystal orb on Dragonair's forehead.
"So that's what happened. I almost forgot that you're also a Psychic."
Although Joe did not know Ash very well, she had heard many rumors about him. Some of them sounded exaggerated, but the part about him possessing psychic powers was something she believed completely. After all, she herself possessed Aura abilities.
"Hmph! Ash's strength is not something a woman like you could understand."
Sabrina seemed completely incompatible with Joe. The two argued like natural enemies and could never see eye to eye.
"Enough, Sabrina. Let's get moving already. We need to reach Blackthorn City before afternoon. There's only one Gym left."
Seeing Sabrina and Joe starting another argument, Ash immediately stepped in to stop them.
"Are you planning to challenge the Blackthorn Gym?"
Ash had not lowered his voice, so Joe and the old butler naturally heard him clearly.
"Master, what a coincidence. Our young lady is one of the trainers of the Blackthorn Gym. Please allow us to invite you to rest at our residence."
The old butler Kabu immediately seized the opportunity and stepped forward respectfully.
"She's a Blackthorn Gym trainer?"
"Her strength is already at the Champion level. Looks like I really neglected researching the Blackthorn Gym properly."
After hearing Kabu's words, Ash looked at Joe in surprise.
From his perception, Joe's strength had already reached the peak of the Champion level, though she was still noticeably weaker than Lance. As mentioned before, even trainers of the same rank could possess vastly different combat abilities.
During the Gym battles throughout the Johto region, Ash had encountered many Gym Leaders and Champion-level trainers, but most had obvious weaknesses. Some Champions could not even defeat the Elite Four of Kanto.
The main reason was the difference in training philosophy. Trainers like the Kanto Elite Four developed their Pokémon with balanced overall capabilities, while some Champion trainers focused excessively on one area, such as speed or offensive power, creating major weaknesses elsewhere.
"That's right. I'm one of the trainers of the Blackthorn Gym. So, do you still want to challenge it?"
Joe proudly puffed out her chest in front of Ash.
In her eyes, Ash was still too young. Achieving such accomplishments at his age had to be the result of massive support from his family.
But she had forgotten one thing. Even if Ash was backed by both the Draconis family and the Oak family, it would still be impossible for him to gain such fame and prestige through status alone.
She also noticed something strange. Although Ash appeared to be at the same Champion peak level as her, the Pikachu sitting on his shoulder was unconsciously suppressing Ash's aura.
There was no helping it. Pikachu looked far too cute and harmless. No matter how anyone looked at it, they would never think it possessed overwhelming offensive power. Especially in Kanto, Ash's Pikachu had barely appeared during the conference battles.
"Hmph, don't cry after you lose."
Hearing Joe's sarcasm, Ash merely snorted before following Kabu and Joe toward the Blackthorn Gym.
The Blackthorn Gym itself was not located inside Blackthorn City, but rather outside the city limits. Fortunately, it was not far from Ash's current location.
After several days of training, nearly all of the Pokémon Ash currently carried had reached the peak of the Champion level. Only Croconaw and Grovyle still had room left for evolution.
If one were to compare the number of Champion-level Pokémon among all Champions, Ash would undoubtedly rank first. At the same time, he was also recognized as the strongest among them.
"ROAR!!!"
As Ash and Sabrina followed Kabu and Joe toward the Blackthorn Gym, a dragon's roar suddenly echoed through the sky.
Ash's pupils instantly contracted.
He was far too familiar with that roar.
"BOOM!!!"
A scorching stream of flames descended from the sky, instantly covering the area in front of Ash and the others. Just as the flames spread outward, a violent gust of wind erupted and extinguished the fire in an instant.
Then, Charizard descended before them.
"It's really you, Charizard! Why are you here?"
Seeing that his guess had been correct, Ash spoke excitedly.
Charizard was one of Ash's absolute strongest main Pokémon.
As mentioned before, the difference between Ash's main team and his other Pokémon partners was the level of skill mastery they possessed. His core Pokémon had all been trained using Memory Discs, allowing their techniques and combat proficiency to far surpass his secondary partners.