The Pokémon's basic information appeared.
Pikachu – Lv.16
Ability: Static (The Pokémon is charged with static electricity and may paralyze opponents that make contact.)
Before Red could properly issue a command, Pikachu suddenly grinned mischievously and unleashed an electric shock at the ground beneath its own feet.
Boom!
A large cloud of smoke exploded outward, instantly covering the surrounding area.
When the smoke cleared, however, Charmeleon merely brushed some dust off its body. There was only a small scratch on its head, and its HP bar had barely moved.
Charmeleon – Lv.20
Red couldn't help but curl his lips into a confident smile. The results of his hard training were clearly paying off. Against Pikachu, this was pure level advantage.
"Ahem…"
Red cleared his throat and issued an order.
"Poliwhirl, use Hypnosis!"
The command was clearly not directed at the Charmeleon in front of him.
The spectators looked completely confused. Even Pikachu tilted its head in puzzlement.
At that exact moment—
Behind Pikachu, a round figure suddenly appeared with a mischievous "hehehe" grin.
The glow of Hypnosis landed perfectly.
Seizing the opportunity, Red threw a Poké Ball.
Pikachu was still the same Pikachu as before.
But Red was no longer the naive kid he once was.
His tactical style had inevitably picked up a bit of…
Well—
Dirty tricks.
As expected, the capture succeeded.
The crowd erupted in deafening cheers.
People who had been lying on the ground moments ago suddenly sprang back to life. They rushed forward and tossed Red into the air in celebration.
Immediately afterward, a flood of notifications began scrolling across the screen.
"Red received Leftover Berries from the fruit stall auntie!""Red received 300 Poké Dollars as payment from the restaurant uncle!""Red was groped by the shop girl!""..."
"Hehe, everyone's so enthusiastic~"
Red controlled Red and finally managed to squeeze out of the frenzied crowd. Just as he was about to leave, a red flash burst from the Poké Ball.
Pikachu jumped out on its own.
A bolt of electricity struck Red squarely in the forehead, making his hair stand straight up while smoke curled from his body.
"Ugh…"
Now Red was in trouble.
Back then, he had spent a huge amount of effort to win Pikachu's trust.
Now that Pikachu refused to obey him—even though he had already gathered three Pokémon—the thought of challenging a Gym Leader made his head ache.
Just then—
Before the person appeared, the voice arrived first.
A dialogue box popped up arrogantly.
Green: "Well, if it isn't you. I didn't expect someone whose own Pokémon won't even listen to him to be my opponent. Grandpa choosing you is honestly embarrassing…"
A moment later, Green finally walked onto the screen.
He casually tossed a Poké Ball in his hand, his chin raised higher than the sky, with Wartortle following behind him.
Blue's fists clenched instantly.
As a player accompanying Red through the game, he naturally projected himself onto Red. Being mocked like that—especially by someone with his own face—made a surge of anger rise inside him.
Blue absolutely refused to admit that the punchable brat in the game was supposed to represent him.
Before Red even reacted, Blue directly took over the command.
"Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage and knock Wartortle away!
Poliwhirl, aim Hypnosis at Green!
Pikachu—shock him with Thunderbolt!"
Green: "Let's see which of us can collect the Gym Bad—"
Before Green could even finish his taunt, Charmeleon rushed forward and slapped Wartortle away with Dragon Rage, the draconic energy blasting it flying.
Poliwhirl seized the opening and fired Hypnosis, the beam landing squarely on Green's face.
Green's body went limp, his eyes instantly becoming unfocused.
And it wasn't over.
Even Pikachu, which had refused to obey earlier, suddenly cooperated perfectly.
BOOM—CRACK!
A bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky, blasting the half-asleep Green.
His hair stood straight up, his entire body turned pitch black, and he collapsed stiffly onto the ground.
"Red defeated Rival Green!"
"Red received 5000 Poké Dollars in prize money from Rival Green!"
Only then did the Wartortle that had been blasted away recover its senses.
Crying pitifully, it ran to the charred and smoking Green, pointing accusingly at Red with tear-filled eyes.
Under the crowd's watchful gaze, it silently hoisted its unconscious Trainer onto its back and hurriedly fled the scene.
Red swallowed nervously. He slowly turned his stiff neck toward Blue, opened his mouth—
—but didn't dare say a single word.
Blue, meanwhile, was still simmering with embarrassment.
Instead, Blue (the girl) laughed smugly, ignoring the way Blue turned his head away.
"Wow~ As expected of Young Master Blue~ So rich! Just casually giving away 5000 Poké Dollars~"
"Shut up! That's not me! I'm not like that at all!"
Blue snapped back in frustration, his ears turning slightly red.
"Um…"
Yellow timidly raised her hand.
"Wasn't… Green not here to battle you? He didn't even finish what he was saying…"
Blue covered her mouth and snickered, then signaled Red to continue playing.
"Anyway, if Pikachu won't listen, just take it around the city and build some friendship~ I just saw a super cute clothing shop over there! Let's go check it out!"
Red had little interest in cosmetic outfits.
They didn't boost stats—what a waste of money!
But exploring the town and bonding with Pikachu was important.
Without hesitation, he made Red perform a dramatic spin—
…and marched confidently in the opposite direction of the clothing shop.
Blue: "Hey!"
The city was huge, with many places to explore. Red didn't intend to check every single building—that would waste too much time.
Instead, he chose the elite route.
He targeted only the most grand-looking houses.
After successfully "borrowing" a TM for Protect from a display cabinet inside a refined little villa, Red arrived in front of a magnificent building.
"Pewter City Science Museum"
"A museum, huh? I missed this place during my journey back then."
Red suddenly grew interested.
"Let's go inside and see what good stuff they have!"
Red entered the building.
Following the wide hallway to the front desk, he was stopped by a receptionist NPC.
Receptionist: "Alright, a child's ticket costs 50 Poké Dollars."
"What? It costs money?!"
Blue was still annoyed that Red had ignored her earlier. Now that it required money too, she became even more unwilling.
"Forget it. What kind of lousy museum charges money?"
She pretended she was about to grab the Pokédex from Red.
Red reacted quickly and paid the 50 Poké Dollars immediately.
What a joke.
Boss Blue had just donated a massive 5000 Poké Dollars moments ago.
That was enough to enter this place 100 times!
Exploring such a huge museum was definitely worth it.
Ignoring Blue's murderous glare, Red quickly slipped into the exhibition hall.
There weren't many exhibits on the first floor.
But two displays immediately caught Red's attention.
The first dominated the center of the hall.
It was a gigantic Pokémon fossil skeleton.
The enormous bones were carefully assembled into a complete skeletal structure, radiating an overwhelming presence.
The display plaque read:
"Fossil of Aerodactyl — a primitive and extremely rare Pokémon."
An elderly man nearby sighed in amazement.
Old Man: "Thank heavens I've lived long enough to see this. I never imagined I'd witness the fossil of a dragon with my own eyes!"
"Aerodactyl!"
Red recognized it instantly, his voice filled with excitement.
One of the Poké Balls on his belt began shaking violently as if responding.
Bang!
A flash of red light appeared, and Aerodactyl eagerly jumped out.
It was about to raise its head and roar toward the sky—
But Blue shot it a glare.
The roar immediately got stuck in its throat.
Instead, it rubbed its large head against Red's arm obediently.
"Look—fossils."
Red pointed at the massive skeleton on the screen with a smile.
Next to the Aerodactyl skeleton was another fossil with a very different shape.
The plaque read:
"Fossil of Kabutops — a primitive and extremely rare Pokémon."
"W-Wait!"
Yellow suddenly spoke up, sounding surprised.
"Look at that researcher in the corner… doesn't that look like Brother Rei Akagi?"
The other three immediately turned their attention to the corner of the screen.
There, a familiar figure wearing a white lab coat stood with his back to the camera.
He was quietly observing a strangely shaped spacecraft model on display.