The entire hall fell silent. Lt. Surge had been defeated so quickly that no one had time to process it.
Even Lt. Surge himself was still dazed. His Raichu's Thunder had connected with great power; had it been any other Experienced-rank Pokémon with lower defensive stats, it likely would have been a one-shot knockout.
Eichi recalled Heracross into its Poké Ball and glanced toward Ryuichi in the stands.
The other challengers watched Eichi with expressions of pure shock. Defeating a Gym Leader this easily was a rare sight in any Gym.
"Phew."
Lt. Surge closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
Opening them again, he spoke with a look of admiration, "I didn't expect to be defeated so quickly."
He then took out a Poké Ball and recalled Raichu. He gestured to a nearby staff member, who understood immediately and approached holding a box.
Walking up to Eichi, the staff member opened the box and said, "Congratulations, challenger. This Thunder Badge belongs to you."
"Thank you, Leader Surge," Eichi replied as he took the badge.
Lt. Surge maintained his overbearing demeanor.
"Your name is Eichi, right? Very impressive."
Eichi didn't feel particularly excited by the praise. There was no pride to be found in defeating a Pokémon at a lower level than his own.
He walked calmly back to the stands and reached Ryuichi's side.
"It's your turn. Good luck. This shouldn't be hard for you, right?"
Ryuichi stood up, stretched his limbs to loosen his muscles, and patted Eichi's shoulder. "Just watch me."
He walked down immediately, drawing the gaze of the others. Since he was with Eichi, they assumed his strength must also be formidable.
Ryuichi stepped forward confidently to face Lt. Surge.
True to form, Lt. Surge released his Pokémon. It was that Elekid again; it looked high-spirited now, having likely recovered its stamina.
Ryuichi also released his Pokémon, which manifested in a flash of white light.
It was a blue, rectangular, rock-like Pokémon that looked as if it were made entirely of ore. It had very short limbs, but its most striking feature was its long, red nose.
Eichi's eyes lit up when he saw it. It was a Nosepass.
This was a very rare Rock-type Pokémon; even in the Pokémon anime, Nosepass was a rare sight. The most famous instances were Roxanne from the Hoenn region and the Probopass owned by the leader of Team Galactic in Sinnoh.
Activating the Eye of the Bug Emperor, Eichi saw that this Nosepass had an Outstanding talent grade and was at the Experienced (Peak) rank.
It was a truly excellent Nosepass. Eichi was curious where Ryuichi had managed to find it.
It was the first time Lt. Surge had ever seen a Nosepass. He looked curious, but the battle remained the priority.
With the shout of "Battle start," the fight officially began.
Eichi sat in the audience watching them compete. Honestly, Nosepass's defense was incredibly high. No matter how Elekid attacked, Nosepass took very little damage.
Furthermore, Elekid wasn't particularly fast, so Nosepass simply used its moves to steadily wear it down.
Lt. Surge had no solution for this strategy and looked quite frustrated.
Finally, after twenty minutes, the battle ended. Nosepass won, having completely exhausted Elekid. Lt. Surge's expression was quite sour.
The fight had been stifling to watch, but since Ryuichi had won, Surge had no choice but to give him the badge.
After receiving the badge from the staff and offering a word of thanks, Ryuichi walked back up. He even showed it off in front of Eichi, who simply shook his head.
"It's just a Thunder Badge. What's there to be proud of? It's not like I don't have one."
"Let's go. It's about time for lunch."
Ryuichi tucked the badge away and said, "Let's go, I'm hungry too."
The two walked out of the Gym together. On their way down, the others looked at them with a sense of reverence. Being so young and yet so powerful earned them respect wherever they went.
As they exited, Lt. Surge spared them one last glance before turning back. He had to continue accepting challenges. He had seen many young geniuses like Eichi, so it wasn't too extraordinary.
Once outside, the two found a restaurant that was rumored to be quite good. Eichi wasn't sure if the rumors were true, as he was just following the Vermilion City Travel Guide.
They ordered several signature sets. Eichi took a spoonful, took a bite, and chewed.
Mmm! It was delicious. The travel guide hadn't lied.
Opposite him, Ryuichi was already devouring his food, clearly finding it just as tasty. After finishing their meal, they didn't rush to leave but stayed to chat.
"Ryuichi, where do you plan to go next?"
Ryuichi crossed his arms and lowered his head in thought.
"Hmm, I haven't decided. How about I follow you for a bit until I figure it out?"
Eichi didn't refuse.
"Fine. You can follow me for now."
"Let's go, time to settle the bill."
"Waiter!"
After paying, the two stood up and left.
"By the way, Eichi, where is our next destination?"
"Celadon City. I'm planning to challenge the Celadon Gym."
"When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow. I want to spend this afternoon wandering around Vermilion City."
"Oh, I was planning to do some sightseeing too."
In Eichi's home back in Viridian Town.
"Uncle Yoshino, I'm home!"
The door opened, and Yuki walked in familiarly. She went to the bathroom to wash her hands before sitting at the dining table. Mr. Yoshino came out carrying a bowl of soup.
The two ate quietly for a while.
As she ate, Yuki puffed out her cheeks and said a bit unhappily, "Uncle Yoshino, when is Brother Eichi coming back?"
"I miss him a little."
Hearing this, Yoshino sighed softly and smiled. "Yuki, Brother Eichi will be back very soon."
Yuki's eyes immediately lit up.
"Really?"
"Really."
"That's great!"
"Tetsu!"
Walking back to the dormitory, Tetsu heard someone calling his name and turned to see Sato.
"Sato, did you need something?"
Sato walked over with a serious expression.
"I heard Eichi took another leave of absence, but no one knows what he's doing."
Tetsu realized what was happening.
"You look so serious, I thought something happened. So you're asking about that."
"It's nothing much, really. Eichi went to travel in Kanto."
"Oh, and he plans to participate in this year's Indigo League."
"Is that true?"
Sato looked at Tetsu intently, seeing that he didn't look like he was lying.
"Thanks."
With that, he walked away.
The next day, Tetsu heard the news that Sato and Konan had also applied for leaves of absence.