Ash and his group returned to Viridian City once again.
This time, Officer Jenny was broadcasting reminders throughout the city, warning residents to stay alert for Team Rocket activity.
Ash and the others headed back to the Pokémon Center. Ash vaguely remembered that, right in front of this very building, there had once been a bicycle scorched black by electricity.
Inside the Pokémon Center, Ash handed his Pokémon—who had been training hard—to Nurse Joy for treatment.
At the same time, he began analyzing Giovanni's strength.
Golem… Kingler… Mewtwo…
That was the lineup Giovanni had used when battling Gary.
The first two weren't impossible to deal with.
But the real problem was Mewtwo, a legendary-tier Pokémon.
How am I supposed to fight that?
That's completely unwinnable…
Ash needed to find a way to challenge Giovanni without forcing him to use Mewtwo.
Winning the Earth Badge might be easy.
But completing the system mission would be far more difficult.
While he was organizing his thoughts, four trainers walked into the Pokémon Center looking utterly dejected.
They looked completely defeated.
Muttering to themselves, they swore they would never challenge the Viridian Gym again.
"Did you hear that?" Misty whispered.
"The Viridian Gym is much stronger than the other Gyms. You'd better prepare carefully."
Giovanni's Viridian Gym was widely known as one of the hardest Gyms in the Kanto region.
Simply obtaining the Earth Badge was already something trainers could brag about.
Many trainers in the Pokémon Center shared that same sentiment.
Unfortunately, Giovanni was not the type of Gym Leader who went easy on challengers.
Not even a little.
From what trainers who had challenged him said, Giovanni usually used:
Golem
Kingler
Machamp
But one trainer claimed to have encountered something different.
He saw a mysterious Pokémon wearing armor.
He didn't even know what species it was.
With just one move, that Pokémon defeated all of his Pokémon instantly.
[Ding! New mission triggered: Gather information about Mewtwo.]
Reward:
Increased initial affection from Mewtwo
Intermediate Psychic Power
Ash frowned.
How am I supposed to investigate that?
If Giovanni found out a trainer was targeting Mewtwo, he would probably dispatch the entire Team Rocket organization to eliminate that person.
Giovanni was the kind of man who acted ruthlessly and spoke little.
Then Ash suddenly thought of someone.
Gary.
His childhood rival.
Gary had once managed to defeat two of Giovanni's Pokémon.
He could have obtained the badge.
But Gary had a bad habit—his mouth.
He mocked Giovanni after winning the first two rounds.
So Giovanni sent out Mewtwo.
Gary was beaten so badly that he began questioning his entire life.
Ash stayed in the Pokémon Center for several days.
From time to time, he could faintly sense violent disturbances coming from the direction of Viridian Gym.
It must have been Mewtwo resisting Team Rocket's control.
And each time, the disturbance grew stronger.
If this continued, Mewtwo might escape ahead of schedule.
That afternoon, Ash finally saw his old rival.
Gary arrived in his familiar sports car, accompanied by several girls.
Apparently, once Gary heard that Ash was here, he skipped sightseeing on Cinnabar Island and rushed straight to Viridian City.
The moment he saw Ash, the sarcasm began.
"Ash, how many badges do you have now?"
Gary sat casually on the hood of his car, asking with a smug grin.
"Seven," Ash answered honestly.
"Only seven?"
Gary chuckled mockingly and opened his badge case.
"Master Gary already has ten badges."
"Impressive," Ash said calmly.
"So you're here to challenge the Viridian Gym too?"
Ash stopped Misty, who was about to defend him.
Instead, he began guiding the conversation.
After all, Gary would make perfect cannon fodder.
Maybe he could gather more information about Mewtwo.
If possible, he might even find a chance to help Mewtwo escape.
"Haha! I'm heading back to Pallet Town anyway," Gary said casually.
"So I thought I'd stop by and have a little match with the Viridian Gym Leader."
"Besides, I can give you a demonstration."
"After all, you're still far behind me in Gym badges."
Gary adjusted his hairstyle in the car mirror.
Ash stared at him silently.
You call that a hairstyle? It's just a spiky mess.
Of course, he didn't say that out loud.
If he did, Gary would unleash an entire barrage of sarcastic insults.
"Hahaha! Just wait and watch me crush the Viridian Gym."
"I don't believe you," Ash replied.
"Then I'll bring the badge out later and show you."
Gary was already fired up.
Full of confidence, he strode straight into the Viridian Gym.
In his mind, he was already imagining himself winning the Earth Badge and leaving Ash far behind.
Ash, Misty, and Brock watched him go.
They couldn't help remembering that many trainers over the past few days had also walked into that Gym smiling—
And walked out crying.
Hopefully Gary could survive it.
…
Before long—
A massive explosion-like sound erupted from inside the Viridian Gym.
But Mewtwo didn't escape.
Instead, the resistance seemed to be growing more intense each time.
"Gary won't be in trouble, right?" Brock said uneasily.
"He'll be fine," Ash replied.
"Gary's background isn't simple. The Viridian Gym wouldn't actually harm him."
The real problem was Gary's sharp tongue.
After defeating Giovanni's first two Pokémon, he had mocked him.
Otherwise, Giovanni might have simply let him pass.
He probably wouldn't have used the unstable Mewtwo.
After all, almost no one knew that Team Rocket was hiding inside the Viridian Gym.
Giovanni would never expose his identity unless absolutely necessary.
Everything depended on controlling Mewtwo.
A few minutes later—
Gary finally walked out of the Gym.
But the confident boy who had entered earlier was gone.
His head hung low.
His steps were heavy.
He looked completely defeated.
Clearly, Mewtwo had crushed his spirit.
"I… lost to a Pokémon I've never seen before," Gary said quietly.
"That armored Pokémon was incredibly powerful."
"With just one Confusion, it defeated all of my Pokémon."
"There was no way to resist."
It was the first time Gary had been completely overwhelmed by a Gym Leader.
Even worse—
The Pokédex couldn't identify the Pokémon at all.
Where did Giovanni even get a Pokémon like that?
Gary described the battle.
Just like the original storyline, he defeated Giovanni's first two Pokémon.
But the third Pokémon—
The armored one—
Defeated all three of Gary's Pokémon in a single move.
It shattered his confidence.
"You should probably challenge another Gym instead," Gary muttered.
"With your strength, it'll be even worse."
Even while depressed, he still found time to mock his best friend.
Ash's mouth twitched slightly.
What a great friend…
Even after getting crushed, Gary still had to throw in a jab.
Ash watched as his defeated rival left.
Then—
[Ding! Mission completed: Gather information about Mewtwo.]
Rewards granted:
Increased initial affection from Mewtwo
Intermediate Psychic Power
Suddenly, Ash shivered violently.
A low groan escaped his throat as an overwhelming sensation surged through his body.
First came a chilling energy rushing from head to toe.
Then a blazing heat followed the exact same path.
Seconds later—
Ash finally regained his composure.
Both his mind and body felt stronger than before.
His Intermediate Psychic Power was several times stronger than his previous level.
His ability to sense auras had improved dramatically.
Other psychic abilities had also grown stronger.
Ash exhaled slowly.
Then he smiled.
"Alright."
"Now it's our turn to challenge the Viridian Gym."
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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