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After taking off its vest, Charmeleon jumped in place, a never-before-felt sense of lightness surging through it. Is this what it feels like to not carry a burden? So refreshing!
"Good! Use Fire Punch!" Ash, seeing this, once again commanded Charmeleon to attack.
Avoid its sharp edge? Now it should be a tit-for-tat battle!
"Roar!" Charmeleon's claws ignited with roaring flames, a hint of seven-colored light within the fire, its temperature even making the surroundings scorching hot.
The next moment, Charmeleon's feet pushed off with force, its body darting out like lightning, the flames on its hands whistling past, drawing a brilliant fiery line in the air!
"Hoo-cha!!"
Primeape, seeing this, didn't retreat or give way, continuing to throw its fists—Close Combat!
"Bang bang bang!!"
The two sides' fists intertwined,
One punch from you, one punch from me, neither giving an inch!
Blazing flames burned in the air, and the Fighting-type energy attached to Primeape's fists also resisted the burning flames. However, in the clash, Primeape gradually began to fall into a disadvantage!
Normally, at the same level, Charmeleon's close-range combat could not be compared with the Fighting-type Primeape.
Moreover, Close Combat is a major Fighting-type move, and Fire Punch's attack frequency is far inferior to Close Combat, but Ash's Charmeleon is different!
This is a Charmeleon that loves physical training!
Unlike other Charmeleon who prefer special attacks, Ash's Charmeleon likes physical attacks!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have mastered Fire Punch and Dragon Claw so perfectly!
And Charmeleon's flames also have something different about them, which is that they contain a bit of Ho-Oh's power!
That's right, it's the power of Sacred Fire!
Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire can be a healing flame that saves the dying and brings rebirth, or a destructive flame that burns everything in the world!
The current Charmeleon cannot use true Sacred Fire, but it can incorporate a bit of Ho-Oh's power, which it comprehended from the rainbow wing, into its own flames.
Even if it's only one ten-thousandth, for Charmeleon's current flames, it can produce a qualitative change!
Therefore, Primeape, using Close Combat, was at a disadvantage in every clash, and in the continuous collisions, it gradually felt the pain of its body being scorched by flames.
Charmeleon's flames passed through Primeape's energy and poured into Primeape's body, and many charred marks appeared on Primeape's body surface.
After a moment, this clash finally drew to a close, both sides stopping their attacking fists in unison.
The flames on Charmeleon's tail burned even more fiercely, and the temperature of the Fire Punch on its hand increased by another notch!
Primeape, on the other hand, accumulated all its strength in its fists; this strike would definitively decide the winner!
"Whoosh—"
"Bang!!"
Both threw punches simultaneously, the sound of air breaking rang out, and their fists intersected!
This punch landed directly on the opponent's face, and the Pokémon that ultimately fell was—Primeape.
As Primeape crashed to the ground, Charmeleon also let out a long roar to the sky, spewing a pillar of flame. In Ash's eyes, Charmeleon's ability value, which had just dropped to A-rank, returned to S-rank at this moment.
This close-quarters battle allowed Charmeleon to fight to its heart's content, and also enabled Charmeleon to break through its existing ability value bottleneck. In terms of level progression, Charmeleon once again surpassed Kirlia.
It probably won't be long before he can advance another level.
"Well done, Charmeleon... Go, Poké Ball!"
Ash first encouraged Charmeleon, then threw a Poké Ball, hitting Primeape, which was immediately drawn into the Poké Ball.
The ball on the ground shook symbolically three times, then made a click sound.
"I caught Primeape!!"
"Pika Pikachu!!"
"Roar!"
Ash walked to the Poké Ball, raised it with an excited expression, Pikachu also ran over to celebrate, and Charmeleon once again roared to the sky, spewing joyful fireworks.
After catching it, Ash first pressed the Pokédex to prevent Primeape from being immediately sent back, then released Primeape and used Viridian Power and his unique massage techniques to help Primeape recover.
He had said before that win or lose, he would treat Primeape to a meal, so he couldn't send Primeape back just yet.
With Ash's treatment, Primeape gradually regained consciousness and felt the comfort brought by Ash's massage techniques, as well as the powerful healing effects of Viridian Power.
With both combined, Primeape, who was already convinced by Ash, became even more convinced.
This Trainer not only has some special Pokémon, but he also has some special abilities himself!
Compared to the humans he used to ambush, he was not only agile but also incredibly strong, and he possessed such powerful massage techniques and a special power that could restore their Pokémon's bodies. All these mysterious aspects showed that this human was no ordinary human.
Although he considered himself an extremely outstanding and gifted Mankey, he had to admit that becoming this Trainer's Pokémon was actually a gain for him.
Later, Primeape joined the others for a hearty meal. He quickly integrated into this joyful big family, and Ash noticed something during the meal: Primeape had a move he had never seen before.
Rage Fist.
Ash curiously opened his Pokédex and searched for information about Rage Fist. The Pokédex showed no record of this move.
"Ash, what's Rage Fist? Why are you suddenly looking up this move?" By this time, everyone had finished eating, and Misty was clearing the dishes nearby. She couldn't help but ask curiously when she saw Ash searching for the move Rage Fist.
"Uh... Primeape just told me he knows a special move called Rage Fist, but he just evolved and isn't very familiar with his moves, so he didn't use it. I was thinking of looking up what that move was, but it's not in the Pokédex."
Ash skillfully shifted the blame to Primeape.
Primeape, who was still bonding with its other companions, tilted its head, and three question marks seemed to appear above it.
When did he tell Ash he knew Rage Fist? He did seem to know that move, but it didn't feel as useful as Close Combat, so he never bothered to use it.
Moreover, although that move was a Close Combat move, it didn't quite match his own attribute; instead, it was an attribute that made him uncomfortable.
So Primeape never even thought of using that move, but Ash said he didn't use it because he wasn't familiar with it after just evolving... He just made that up on the spot!
However, Misty and the others couldn't understand what Primeape was saying, and Primeape didn't refute it, so Primeape naturally took the blame.
They also shifted their attention to the problem itself.
"What kind of move is Rage Fist? I don't think I've ever heard of Primeape knowing such a move. Is it a type of Fighting-type move?" Even the well-informed Brock said he had never heard of the move Rage Fist.
It sounded like a Fighting-type move, but he had never heard of any Mankey or Primeape being able to possess this move.
Ash shook his head even more: "I don't know, even the Pokédex can't find it. But this broken piece of junk often malfunctions, it doesn't even recognize Ho-Oh, so there's no point relying on it."
When Ash first saw Ho-Oh, he immediately used Insight Eye to observe it, and then used the Pokédex to scan it. The Pokédex, however, reported it as an unknown Pokémon.
Good heavens, Ho-Oh's existence, if not universally known in Kanto, should at least be known by over ninety percent of people, right?
He was a Rookie Trainer, so it was understandable if he didn't know, but for this Pokédex, touted as a Pokémon encyclopedia, to not detect it, Ash had given up hope on this thing ever since then.
His own eyes were more useful!
Ash had quite a strong opinion about this Pokédex given by Professor Oak.
"Forget it, don't think too much, Ash. Have you decided which Pokémon to send back to Oak's Laboratory?" Misty patted Ash's shoulder, indicating that he shouldn't overthink it; it was just a move, not important.
What was important now was which Pokémon Ash would send back to Oak's Laboratory. Currently, all his Pokémon seemed to need training, and there was nothing he could send back.
Hearing this, Ash was also a bit troubled. He wanted to keep every one of his Pokémon for training, including the newly caught Primeape. Everyone was in a high-speed development phase.
The only candidate might be Pidgeotto, but Pidgeotto, as a Flying-type Pokémon, had many uses in daily life. Moreover, after Pidgeotto evolves into Pidgeot, it can carry people in flight, which was one of the main reasons Ash caught Pidgeotto in the first place.
In addition, Pidgeotto's improvement was not slow now. If he were to send it to Oak's Laboratory, who would train Pidgeotto? Professor Oak? He himself was swamped with work, where would he find the time to help him train Pokémon?
"Let me think carefully..." Ash said, closing his eyes and putting on a thoughtful expression, but in reality, he had gone to the group chat for help.
He might not know what to do, but the experts in the group chat would definitely know. At times like this, it's important to make good use of the experts' knowledge!
After Ash explained the situation to the experts in the group chat, they quickly offered their advice.
[Champion Ash: Send Primeape back.]
[Rookie Ash: Huh? Why? Primeape just evolved, now is the time it needs to be nurtured, right?]
[Champion Ash: Because your Primeape is a bit different. You just said it knows Rage Fist, right?]
[Rookie Ash: Yes, senior, do you know what this move is? Neither Brock nor Misty, nor even that Pokédex, has any information about Rage Fist.]
[Champion Ash: That move doesn't belong to your world... at least not yet, because the Paldea Region hasn't appeared in your world, and the energy of Area Zero hasn't spread throughout the world yet.]
[Rookie Ash: Paldea Region? Area Zero?]
[Champion Ash: Don't worry too much about that, it's not something you can investigate right now. In short, all you need to know is that once Primeape has the move Rage Fist, it can evolve one more time.]
[Rookie Ash: Huh? Evolve again? That's impossible, Primeape is already its final form!]
Champion Ash's words greatly surprised Ash. Primeape could actually evolve further? Isn't this already the evolutionary endpoint that Mankey-type Pokémon can reach?
[Rookie Ash: Could it be an evolution similar to MEGA Evolution?]
MEGA Evolution is an evolution that allows Pokémon to reach an even higher level in their final form, but they will revert after a certain period of time. Could Primeape also have a similar evolution?
[Champion Ash: No, that's a normal Pokémon evolution.]
[Rookie Ash: But if it can evolve normally, how come Primeape's evolution hasn't been discovered yet?]
[Champion Ash: Didn't I say that Primeape can only evolve to a higher form after possessing Rage Fist? However, this move theoretically shouldn't appear in your region right now. As for why it's like this... perhaps it's due to various accidents.]
[Champion Ash: But that's not important. What's important is that Primeape's evolved form, Annihilape, is a Ghost-type and Fighting-type Pokémon. For Primeape to evolve in its current state, one aspect is to skillfully use Rage Fist, and the other is for Primeape to learn to apply Ghost-type power.]
[Champion Ash: So, sending Primeape back to Oak's Laboratory to learn from the Millennial Gastly you caught will be more beneficial for its future. That's an old monster that has lived for a thousand years, and it's also skilled at training Pokémon. Have you forgotten how your Butterfree learned Tailwind?]
Since Ash usually shared the real-time status of his various Pokémon in the group, Champion Ash was also aware of Gastly teaching Butterfree.
Based on this, he could infer that Gastly possessed the ability to teach Pokémon.
This was also the reason he suggested Ash send Primeape back.
[Rookie Ash: There's such a thing? Thanks for the insight, senior, I'm logging off!]
Ash finished speaking and exited the group chat.
Back in the real world, he immediately proposed sending Primeape back, stating that he had found the best teacher for Primeape.
Primeape was a bit confused, but hearing that it could become stronger, it had no objections. As long as it could become stronger, that's all that mattered!
He was going to get his revenge on Charmeleon sooner or later!
Subsequently, Primeape was sent back to Oak's Laboratory. Misty asked somewhat confusedly, "Where in the lab is there a teacher suitable for Primeape?"
"There is, isn't Gengar?"
Misty: ...Are you serious? Letting a Ghost-type Pokémon teach a Fighting-type Pokémon? These two types are naturally at odds, aren't they!
"Oh, come on, trust me. Gengar has lived so long, he's seen so much more than us, and he can transform into any Pokémon, which means he's adaptable to teaching any Pokémon. So don't worry, Primeape will definitely become stronger if he goes back there than if he stays with me. But we need to quickly go to the Pokémon Center in Celadon City and tell Professor Oak and Gengar."
Ash said, gazing into the distance. From this position, the tall buildings of Celadon City could already be vaguely seen. They would probably reach Celadon City tonight.
Misty and Brock, hearing this, could only temporarily observe Ash's statement. They packed their belongings and continued on their journey.