Watching the Team Rocket trio disappear into the horizon like shooting stars, Red suddenly thought of something.
"Huh… if Team Rocket showed up in Songzao City, doesn't that mean Ash has probably arrived too?"
In Red 's mind, the relationship between Ash and Team Rocket was like—
Louis XVI and the guillotine, a boss and a helicopter, Brother Kun and his suspenders—
They were inseparable.
Rubbing his chin, Red muttered :
"Just taking Gary as a disciple already gave me such great rewards… If I can take Ash as a disciple too…"
"The rewards would be unimaginable."
———
Meanwhile, at the Pokémon Center in Songzao City—
Three "primitive men" were devouring food at the dining table.
"Waaah—Miss Joy, this omelet rice is amazing!"
"Indeed! To meet the Nurse Joy of Songzao City in this lifetime is truly the greatest—"
Before Brock could finish—
Misty kicked him straight in the stomach.
"Just eat your food!"
"S-sorry, Miss Joy…"
Seeing this, the Songzao Nurse Joy's lips twitched slightly, but she quickly returned to her usual composure.
After all, having worked here for years, she had long grown accustomed to the diversity of human behavior.
Still, she kindly reminded them:
"You're here to challenge the Songzao Gym, right?"
"But I should warn you—the Gym isn't what it used to be. If you underestimate the Gym Leader, you'll lose badly."
Hearing this, Ash looked up mid-bite.
"There's a Gym in Songzao City? Why have I never heard of it?"
Seeing his confusion, Misty and Brock—both Gym-affiliated—explained:
"The Songzao Gym was almost shut down before, but a few years ago, the Gym Leader suddenly started working hard and managed to keep it running."
Misty added while holding her spoon:
"Yeah, I remember hearing that the Gym Leader kept it going for the sake of his son."
"That's not quite right."
The Songzao Nurse Joy smiled.
"The previous Gym Leader has already stepped down. The current Gym Leader is Red ."
Hearing Red 's name, she couldn't help but smile.
She had heard of him before—
But today, she was especially curious.
What kind of person could attract Qiao Yixue's attention like that?
After all, she had only just learned that Qiao Yixue's identity was far more than just a Gym inspector.
Meanwhile, Ash suddenly stood up with one foot on the table, pulling open his collar proudly.
"What are you all talking about?! I already have the Boulder Badge from Pewter City and the Cascade Badge from Cerulean City!"
"And I've caught six Pokémon too!"
Seeing this, Misty and Brock immediately felt a wave of regret.
Why did we give him those badges so easily back then…
"Boulder Badge and Cascade Badge, huh…"
The Nurse Joy's tone turned slightly strange.
"Well… good luck."
With that, she turned and walked away, muttering to herself:
"Looks like I'll need to prepare another hospital bed…"
Meanwhile, Ash remained completely oblivious, raising his fist excitedly.
"Alright! Then next, I'll aim to get the—uh… what's the badge here called?"
Brock quickly answered :
"The Weather Badge."
"Right! Then let's go win the Weather Badge!"
...
Meanwhile, back at the Songzao Gym—
After driving away Team Rocket, Red was in a pretty good mood.
But unexpectedly, an unanticipated guest arrived.
"Qiao Yi… Xue…"
Seeing the Nurse Joy before her, Xiaowen struggled for a moment with facial recognition.
Qiao Yixue smiled.
"That's right, it's me."
"Where's your Gym Leader? I need to talk to him."
"Master's in the backyard," Gary said, currently training Eevee and Wartortle.
Qiao Yixue nodded and headed to the backyard.
Watching her leave, Gary stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"From my experience… it's pretty obvious—this Qiao Yixue has her eyes on Master."
"On him? Please. With how unreliable Red is, you think a Legendary trainer would fall for him? Don't joke around," Xiaowen shot back.
Gary just smiled and said nothing.
———
In the vast backyard of the Gym—
Only four Pokémon were currently training.
Tyranitar had been recalled and was now carried with Red at all times—
Both for protection and to keep it hidden as a trump card.
"That's it—just like that, Castform. Controlling weather is like commanding an army. Use your internal energy to leverage natural forces. That's how you maximize the effect."
"Mudkip, don't slack off! Keep sprinting! Your power is decent now, but if you can't get close to your opponent, it's useless. Learn from Poliwrath—especially how it moves in the rain!"
Meanwhile, Larvitar sat on a rock beside Red .
Instead of a milk bottle, it was now holding a metallic stone, chewing on it with crunching sounds.
Even for Larvitar, it took effort to bite through it.
At the same time—
Red himself was training.
Bare-chested, sweat dripping down his body as he exercised.
In the Pokémon world, humans couldn't compare to powerful Pokémon—
But with training, one could still subdue weaker Pokémon and improve personal safety.
Seeing Red like this, Qiao Yixue remained relatively calm.
As he turned around, she took a deep breath.
"I came to tell you something."
"I'm a League inspector—you've probably already guessed that."
"I did. The moment I saw your Chansey."
Qiao Yixue felt slightly embarrassed.
So he had seen through her all along…
Clearing her throat, she quickly changed the subject.
"But that's not what I want to talk about today."
"The people targeting the Songzao Gym have significant influence—likely holding high positions within the League."
Red frowned.
This didn't entirely match his previous assumptions.
"I came to that conclusion because… they were able to influence even the assignment of inspectors."
"My being sent here was a direct order from above."
"For a newly appointed Gym Leader, someone like me shouldn't have been dispatched personally."
"Not only that—the intelligence I received contained a lot of false and misleading information."
"If I had relied on those reports, your Gym would have already failed the inspection."
"In other words… even I was part of their plan."
Hearing this, Red realized just how powerful the forces behind the scenes were.
But he also noticed a key inconsistency.
If they had that much power… why go through so much trouble just to take over a Gym?
Still, looking at Qiao Yixue's serious expression, he said sincerely:
"Thank you for bringing me this information."
"Then… what about my Gym inspection results?"
He still cared about that.
Just as Qiao Yixue was about to answer—
A loud voice suddenly interrupted them.
"Excuse me! Is this the Songzao Gym?!"
"Ash from Pallet Town is here to challenge!"
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