Authors'Note : I generally dont write before the chapter but felt this was needed , I want to really thank you guys as we have reached a milestone of 100 power stones which is great news hence this bonus chapter , as I was going to upload on sunday but decided to do it now , I also appreciate the encouraging comments and the supports I read most of the comments and appreciate it and take ideas at time from it if I can, I also take in negative comments with some sense or logic to improve If I can and have the time to implement it , what I dont like is negative comments for absolutely no reason with no basis those comments that are just there to spread a bad word I ignore such comments after one read anyway luckily there arent from this platform ,but wanted to inform about this part: I take 2 days to write up a chapter , 1 day for writing a draft and second is to edit it and then make the chapter and I do it at night after work when I am dead tired so you can understand why there might be errors and I am not a proffesional writer nor have an editor, this is just a hobby for me , that said I am going to continue it at least until the indigo league after that I will think about it if I get support from my mind and the viewers to continue , with all this out of the way thank you again for your support and enjoy. Grey's POV
After my Pokémon were finally healed—which took a considerable amount of time given the state they were in—I headed to the front desk to secure a room.
I managed to book a stay at the Pokémon Center for a week. Despite the massive crowds currently flooding Vermilion, I got lucky; it turns out Nurse Joy back in Celadon had put in a good word for me.
The Vermilion Nurse Joy held a room that had just become vacant, keeping it reserved specifically because of that recommendation.
With my lodgings settled, I headed straight to the Vermilion Gym to register for a match.
I wanted to give myself three days of preparation. When I arrived, the attendant behind the counter looked dead tired, like she'd been staring at the same paperwork for a century.
There was a massive line just to get to the registration desk. When it was finally my turn, I scheduled the battle for the 3-badge tier.
The attendant wished me luck, but her tone was hollow—she'd probably said the same thing to dozens of trainers who proceeded to get their spirits crushed by Surge.
Once the paperwork was finished, I made a quick stop at the Poké Mart to replenish my supplies. With my bag restocked, I headed to the outskirts of Vermilion to catch up on the daily training we'd skipped during the travel and the battle with Blue.
I decided on the roster for the upcoming gym match: Axew and Meowth would be the primary focus this time, stepping in for Shellder.
While Shellder has the Counter Shield, a high-volume barrage of electric attacks could potentially overwhelm his defenses. Because of that, I pushed Meowth to train twice as hard as usual.
For Exeggcute, I paired him with Shellder for a specific exercise. The goal was for Exeggcute to learn how to stop Shellder's spinning using Confusion—the exact same tactic Blue's Kadabra had used to shut us down.
To make it harder, I had Shellder initiate the Counter Shield during the attempt. Exeggcute had to find a way to project psychic force through the centrifugal barrier to halt the rotation.
It was the only way to rapidly increase his psychic output. I made sure to tell Exeggcute that he was the key to this gym; his Grass typing would be the clutch factor we needed to secure the win.
While the team ran their drills, I dove into the Pokénet to gather intelligence on Surge's current rotations.
The forums were filled with rage posts. According to the latest data, Surge has significantly amped up the difficulty for 3-badge challengers.
He's currently using at least one—and if your luck is truly rotten, two fully evolved electric types.
His roster is deep. He typically closes with a Raichu, or an Electabuzz if he really wants to make a point.
For his second slot, he rotates between Magneton and Electrode, though he sometimes uses them as finishers if the challenger is clearly struggling. He generally starts with something unevolved like Pikachu, Voltorb, or Magnemite.
However, searching deeper into the archives revealed some rare outliers: he has been known to pull out an Alolan Geodude or a Charjabug. It seems Surge spent some time in Alola and brought back a few regional specialties.
I realized I'd need to formulate counter-strategies for those rare cases just in case they made an appearance.
As the sun began to set, we moved into the final phase of training.
Exeggcute worked on refining the activation speed of Sunny Day and the potency of his Synthesis.
Meanwhile, Axew took Meowth under his wing, teaching him some close-range combat principles. Meowth began incorporating these into his own nimble style, significantly improving his technical skill.
Shellder played a vital support role, pushing his spinning speed to the limit to test Exeggcute.
He clearly hadn't forgotten the indignity of Kadabra stopping his spin, and he was determined to make sure his speed was high enough that no psychic grip could ever catch him again. The competitive fire between the two was exactly what we needed.
After our training session concluded, I fed the team their usual rations. I noticed that my stock was starting to dwindle, and I made a mental note to restock the supply after the gym battle and the S.S. Anne event.
My Pokémon have been showing massive growth lately I'm not sure if it's the quality of the food or the influx of experience from these increasingly tough matches, but they love the meal plan, so I'll keep buying it. Even if it cuts into my funds, survival is less of an immediate worry now that I've built up a decent nest egg.
That said, I'm going to have to spend big eventually to get high-quality Leaf and Water Stones to evolve the team.
I still have that high-quality Dusk Stone, which is significantly more expensive; if I could find someone to trade with, that would be ideal. I could even sell the Hard Stone I found, though I'm holding onto the Rock Essence liquid for now that stuff seems way too valuable to just toss away for quick cash.
Once the team had rested up, I headed to the outskirts of Vermilion to pick some fights.
The local trainers here are noticeably stronger than the ones I encountered previously at this level.
I suspect the S.S. Anne tournament has attracted the more competent trainers in the 3-badge bracket, or perhaps Surge's brutal reputation has forced everyone in the area to level up just to survive.
I fought five trainers today. The first was a brat named Kenji who ran a bug-themed team of Venomoth and Pinsir.
Meowth and Axew handled them effectively. Meowth, in particular, really showcased his growth in close-quarters combat. He's fully mastered Shadow Claw now and has even started working on Shadow Ball. After getting a handle on the physical side of ghost energy, he's starting to understand how to project it as a special attack.
Three of the other trainers specialized in Rock and Ground types. Despite having the type advantage against Surge, they had all lost to him and were training to evolve their Pokémon for a rematch.
They used a mix of Geodude, Mankey, Nidorino, and Nidorina. Shellder and Exeggcute made quick work of them. The trainers weren't exactly happy about the outcome—they wanted a "challenging" match—but I had used Axew and Meowth earlier and wanted a quick victory to test my secondary rotation.
My hunch was right; they weren't nearly as technical as the bug trainer, and I won with ease.
The final trainer was a girl named Sansa who—no joke—looked exactly like Sansa from Game of Thrones. She had a Mightyena she called "Lady." I have no idea how she got a Hoenn native out here, but I let Meowth take the lead to gain more experience before the gym.
It was a grind; Shadow Claw and Night Slash weren't very effective against another Dark-type, and Mightyena's Bite and Take Down were heavy hitters.
Meowth played it smart, using his superior speed for hit-and-run tactics. He peppered the "mutt" with Pay Day attacks just to be annoying. Despite the name "Lady," the dog was anything but lady-like once she lost her temper.
Meowth goaded her into making mistakes until she started ignoring Sansa's commands entirely. Once she became impatient and reckless, Meowth moved in with precise Fury Swipes and slashes, hitting spots where she couldn't counter-attack before slipping away. By the time it ended, Meowth stood victorious. I didn't offer any "encouragement" or lecture the girl about her Pokémon's disobedience;
I could tell by her expression she already knew she had a control problem. I just took the prize money and moved on.
On the way back, I stopped at the Poké Mart to check for TMs.
Apparently, standard Marts only sell TMs to VIP customers, and the prices are astronomical if they aren't sourced directly from a Silph Co. outlet in Saffron. I'll have to head there eventually to pick up utility moves like Protect.
I ended up selling off some excess Nuggets and Potions I'd accumulated through Meowth's "Pickup" antics and left.
Back at the Center, I checked the Pokénet one last time for any hidden info on Surge or creative ways to ground electric attacks, but I came up empty.
I briefly considered teaching Counter Shield to the rest of the team, but they aren't quite ready for it.
Exeggcute lacks a physical leaf move to create a solid barricade, and while Axew has a "Dragon Rage barrage," it's more of an omnidirectional blast than a sustained shield. Meowth just doesn't have the specific move pool to pull it off yet.
I guess I'll just have to trust in the training we've done. No more tricks just a straight-up battle to take Surge down. With that thought, I finally drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note : This was more of a breather chapter , as I cant give tough battles each chapter , that said next 2 chaps are the gym battle so wait for it