"So you're Ash, huh?"
"I'll make sure you remember today for the rest of your life!"
Machiki stared coldly at Ash.
But Ash paid no attention whatsoever to the threat.
He reached up and flipped the brim of his cap backward.
Taking a deep breath, he gently patted Pikachu's head.
"I'm counting on you, Pikachu!"
"Pika—Chu!"
Pikachu leapt down from Ash's shoulder and stared seriously at Machiki.
Clearly, Pikachu also disliked this so-called Gym Leader's behavior.
"Hah! A mere Pikachu dares to challenge my Gym?"
"Kid, you've got a death wish!"
The moment they saw Ash send out a Pikachu, the Rapid Gym underlings all sneered mockingly.
Meanwhile, the Trainers who had come to watch were utterly stunned.
Because they all knew—
Machiki possessed an incredibly powerful Raichu!
Its strength was so overwhelming that it could defeat the strongest among them in a single hit.
And now Ash had sent out a Pikachu?!
That immediately gave everyone a bad feeling.
Machiki took a deep breath and finally released his true ace.
"Go! Raichu!"
Pikachu vs. Raichu.
"The Gym Challenge initiated by Ash from Pallet Town officially begins!"
"The battle format is one-on-one!"
"Battle—start!"
"Iron Tail!" ×2
Ash and Machiki issued the exact same command simultaneously.
When you don't know whether the opponent's Ability is Lightning Rod or Static, testing the waters with non-Electric attacks first was the standard move.
On the battlefield—
The clash between the two electric mice sounded less like Pokémon combat and more like blacksmithing.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Pika—Chu!"
Pikachu's Iron Tail collided repeatedly against Raichu's.
Yet despite being slightly disadvantaged, Pikachu was not being overwhelmed.
Seeing this, the rookie Trainers around them were dumbfounded.
"How is that possible?!"
"His Pikachu actually isn't getting crushed?!"
"Could Ash's Pikachu be a higher level than Raichu?!"
As rookie Trainers, they couldn't estimate Pokémon levels just by looking.
"What's going on?!"
"Boss's Raichu is way higher level than that brat's!"
"How can this happen?!"
Even Machiki's followers were shocked.
They simply couldn't understand why Raichu—who held advantages in level, species stats, and overall strength—couldn't completely dominate Pikachu.
"Because of the bond between Ash and Pikachu, obviously!"
"Exactly! Pikachu's Ash's starter Pokémon! It's super strong!"
As someone who had witnessed Ash's journey from the beginning—
And someone who had personally seen Pikachu wipe out an entire flock of Spearow at the start of their travels—
Misty knew very well just how terrifying the power hidden inside Pikachu really was.
"Of course that twerp's Pikachu is the strongest!"
"Otherwise we wouldn't have spent our entire lives trying to catch it!"
"Exactly, meowth!"
Somewhere in an inconspicuous corner of the Gym—
Team Rocket had somehow already disguised themselves and infiltrated the venue.
Originally, they had only come to earn some money through odd jobs.
Who would've thought they'd get to witness this scene instead?
"Go, twerp!"
"Your Pikachu is the strongest!"
"Only your Pikachu is worthy of being our Team Rocket's lifelong target!"
"That's right, meow!"
Team Rocket instantly switched sides and began cheering passionately for Ash and Pikachu.
Even Gary looked surprised as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"This isn't right…"
"When Ash fought me before, Pikachu wasn't this strong."
"Could becoming a reckless idiot actually make you stronger?"
Just as Gary seriously considered whether he should go challenge random Gyms himself—
Machiki, as an experienced Gym Leader, had already noticed the problem.
There was only one explanation for a Pikachu being able to battle evenly against Raichu.
His eyes narrowed.
"Kid…"
"Your Pikachu is holding a Light Ball, isn't it?"
[Light Ball: A Pikachu-exclusive held item that doubles Pikachu's Attack and Special Attack.]
In terms of raw amplification, Light Ball was arguably the strongest held item in the Pokémon world.
Unfortunately, it only worked on Pikachu—
A Pokémon whose base stats were otherwise mediocre enough to resemble a roadside stray.
Perhaps this was Arceus rewarding Pikachu for its tremendous contributions to the Pokémon world.
Hearing such an obscure item name, the rookie Trainers all looked confused.
Even Machiki's followers only vaguely understood.
Only Gary, Brock, and the others suddenly slapped their foreheads in realization.
"Oh right!"
"The Light Ball!"
"That item's so obscure I completely forgot about it!"
But right after realizing that, Gary suddenly thought of something else.
"Wait a second, Ash…"
"When you battled me before, you weren't using held items at all?!"
Ash replied blankly:
"Yeah."
"Master only gave me the Light Ball right before I left the Gym."
Hearing that, Gary suddenly felt a bit emotionally wounded.
"Then why didn't Master give me one…"
To this, Red would probably answer:
"You're Professor Oak's grandson."
"Do you seriously lack ordinary held items?"
After all—
Every single one of Gary's Pokémon already carried held items no lower than Blue-grade quality.
Completely unlike Ash, who had bulldozed his way through everything from start to finish.
Held items?
Ash had only just barely memorized the type chart.
His understanding of battle items was still at beginner level.
Gary took a deep breath.
Then inwardly asked himself:
If Ash had a full held-item setup…
And Charizard evolved…
Could I still beat him?
Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Gary stood up.
As the chief senior disciple of Mossdeep Gym, he knew this wasn't the time to overthink things.
Raising his voice loudly, he shouted:
"Ash! Go win this!"
Machiki stared at Pikachu, irritation finally appearing on his face.
"Damn it…"
"You really think one held item is enough to win?"
"Raichu! Knock Off!"
[Knock Off: A Dark-type move that removes the opponent's held item, nullifying its effect.]
Ash's expression turned serious.
"Dig!"
Pikachu's tiny paws rapidly clawed at the ground before diving underground headfirst.
"It even learned Dig?!"
Watching Pikachu disappear underground made Machiki even more irritated.
Raichu's Knock Off missed completely and stared blankly at the hole in confusion.
The next second—
Pikachu burst out from underground like a missile, one paw extended forward like a superhero punch.
"Dodge it!" Machiki shouted immediately.
But Pikachu's fist, wrapped in surging Ground-type energy, still slammed hard into Raichu's jaw.
If Machiki hadn't reacted quickly enough, that single punch would've dealt massive damage.
"Rai… Rai…"
Raichu winced painfully while rubbing its jaw.
Looking at the battlefield, Gary could clearly see something unbelievable—
Ash and Pikachu were actually the ones holding the advantage!
Seeing this, Machiki felt furious.
But even he had to admit—
If this continued, his chances of winning were extremely low.
At this moment, Machiki deeply regretted choosing Raichu purely to humiliate his opponent—
Instead of sending out his strongest Pokémon.
"You damn brat…"
Machiki took a deep breath.
As a Gym Leader, there was no way he could accept being successfully challenged by another Gym's disciple.
If he truly lost today—
How could he possibly continue calling himself a Gym Leader?
Forget competing for a position among the Eight Great Gyms.
"I have to win."
"No matter what it takes… I have to win!"
◇ You can read 60+ chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/ElaraVance1
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter