"Gary sure has caught a lot of Pokémon," Professor Oak muttered to himself. "As for Ash… he's also caught quite a few. But every one of his is high quality."
Professor Oak was still cooking instant noodles over an alcohol lamp while thinking about the four Trainers who had set out from Pallet Town this year.
At the moment, the two working the hardest were clearly Gary and Ash.
As for the other two… they were honestly pretty disappointing.
Professor Oak glanced over at the Ghost comedy troupe performing another ridiculous skit in the lab. He was especially fascinated by that Gastly that could talk, wondering how exactly Ash had managed to trick—no, catch—such a Pokémon.
Gary hadn't sent back any Pokémon stronger than Ash's so far.
Was that kid slacking off and spending all his time flirting with girls?
While Professor Oak was deep in thought, the Pokémon transfer machine suddenly made a strange noise.
A flash of light appeared.
"Someone sent over a Pokémon again?"
It was probably Gary—he was the most diligent about transfers.
The group of Ghost Pokémon also crowded around excitedly, curious to see whether a new companion had arrived.
"Hey, stop pushing!"
The light faded, leaving a Poké Ball sitting on the machine.
"…Why does it smell weird?"
Professor Oak frowned suspiciously. He assumed the smell came from those Gastly—ever since they arrived, the lab had occasionally had strange odors.
…
"A Pokémon sent by Ash… It should be something excellent."
But as soon as he picked up the Poké Ball, Professor Oak smelled a strong, terrible stench.
"So the smell is coming from this Poké Ball…"
The scent felt strangely familiar.
After pondering for a moment, Professor Oak released the Pokémon inside.
"Ash, what on earth did you send me?!" Professor Oak wailed when he saw the enormous Muk in front of him.
"My instant noodles are ruined again…!"
Compared to Professor Oak's miserable cries, things were much more relaxed on Ash's side.
Since Muk had been captured and the Grimer underlings had scattered, the surrounding smell wasn't nearly as unbearable as before.
Misty no longer needed to cover her nose and mouth.
Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she said, "Ash, I think that Muk suits you perfectly."
"Why?"
"What do you think?"
Ash grinned.
Probably because it fits my battle tactics…
Once he finalized his team, he could use some extremely annoying stall strategies against anyone he disliked.
If he used a strategy like that against Gary, the guy might not even dare challenge him to a rematch.
Misty pouted. She could tell Ash was definitely plotting something again.
For some reason, remembering something made her fair face turn slightly red.
"That Muk really does suit Ash," Brock agreed.
Now that the Grimer had been dealt with, the Pokémon Center probably wouldn't lose power anymore, and the later events wouldn't happen.
Misty, however, wanted to wash up immediately.
After staying near Muk for only a short time, her body had already picked up a strange smell.
The three soon arrived at the Pokémon Center.
It was brightly lit, but extremely quiet.
In the huge building, only Nurse Joy and Chansey were present. There wasn't a single other Trainer in sight.
"Hello, how can I help you?" Nurse Joy asked gently.
Very few Trainers passed through Gringey City, so most visitors to this Pokémon Center came only in emergencies.
Ash registered for a room. Since there were no nearby shops, they could only eat a simple meal at the Pokémon Center.
"You caught a Muk?" Nurse Joy said in surprise.
Muk's appearance didn't exactly match most Trainers' aesthetic tastes, and it loved gathering in filthy places like sewage drains.
Ash nodded with a smile.
Sorry about this, Professor Oak…
Thinking about Muk terrorizing Oak's laboratory made Ash struggle to hold back his laughter.
Life was fairly quiet for the Nurse Joy of Gringey City. Since Trainers rarely visited, she finished her duties quickly and chatted with Ash and his friends.
The factories here caused serious environmental damage, frequently attracting large groups of Grimer.
They had damaged the power system several times. Only after the situation became serious did the factories make minor improvements—though the problems still remained.
Ash and his friends decided to rest for half a day and continue their journey the next morning.
During that time, Ash received a call from Professor Oak.
Oak spent the entire call complaining about how Muk had caused irreparable damage to his laboratory.
The whole lab now smelled like Muk, and even after washing everything multiple times, the pungent odor still lingered.
Ash apologized with a very serious expression and promised that it wouldn't happen again.
He also assured Oak that he would communicate more with Pokémon and catch more to send back to the lab.
Seeing how cooperative Ash seemed, Professor Oak decided not to scold him further.
After resting for half a day, nothing unusual happened in Gringey City.
It seemed that after Muk was captured, the remaining Grimer had scattered.
Before leaving the city, Ash—acting as a responsible citizen of the Kanto region—risked taking photos of the factories' illegal pollution and submitted the evidence to Officer Jenny.
With Pikachu by his side, most of the workers who tried to stop him were easily dealt with.
After finishing that task, Ash and his friends entered a nearby forest.
While walking along the road, Ash suddenly encountered an old acquaintance—
Gary Oak.
Gary was wearing flashy designer clothes, driving a cool sports car, and surrounded by several smiling girls.
"Ash, you were selected as one of the first Trainers too?" Gary asked, his voice tinged with surprise.
"I'm not interested in that," Ash replied.
Gary was probably planning to accept that Diglett-driving request.
Ash vaguely remembered that ahead of them was a construction foreman seeking help from Trainers, offering a generous reward.
The job was to drive away a large group of Diglett that kept causing trouble.
A reservoir was being built in the area, but the Diglett continuously sabotaged the construction. Because of that, the project couldn't be completed on schedule.
So the foreman had posted a request, hoping Trainers would help deal with the Diglett colony.
"Not interested?" Gary burst out laughing.
He slung an arm around Ash's shoulder and stuffed the mission poster into Ash's hands.
"What, did they not invite you?"
"Oh right, I almost forgot—"
"You're the last-ranked Trainer from Pallet Town."
"So it's only natural they didn't invite you."
Ash simply shook his head with an amused smile.
"Want a ride?" Gary asked.
But before Ash could answer, Gary stepped on the gas and drove off, leaving behind a cloud of exhaust.
"Let's go take a look," Ash said.
He planned to join the excitement—and tease Gary a little while he was at it.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.If you're enjoying the fic, even a little, supporting me would mean a lot. It helps a student stay independent .
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on Patreon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789
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