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Celadon City in the Kanto region boasts the largest department store in all of Kanto, and perhaps even the entire world!
The surrounding commercial shops are countless, making it a true central hub of the Kanto region.
When Ash and his two companions arrived in Celadon City, they were dazzled, like country folk visiting the city for the first time.
Everything imaginable was here, and... incredibly expensive!
"Wow! This hair tie is so pretty... one thousand?! What kind of hair tie costs one thousand?! Is it made of gold?!"
"This pot looks good... two thousand???"
Brock and Misty looked at the prices on their desired items and, for a moment, fell into a state of existential doubt.
Even as Gym Leaders, they didn't have an abundance of money, as they had many Pokémon and mouths to feed at home, especially Brock, who was actually penniless during his time as a Gym Leader.
After he left, his father would regularly give him some money—which was actually just a salary subsidy for Gym Leaders.
But that money was enough for Brock, at least he didn't have to support ten younger siblings and a large number of Pokémon; the expenses for Professional Level Pokémon's food, drink, and supplies were quite terrifying, though the few Advanced Level ones he currently had were manageable.
However, no matter how much surplus they had, they couldn't spend money in such a place!
Wasn't this just a pure waste of money?
The consumption in Celadon City was truly terrifying; even a glance for an ordinary person would be overwhelming.
Even Ash's mouth twitched involuntarily when he saw all sorts of luxury goods in Celadon City.
He had initially been smug, thinking he had earned a lot of money from wild battles during this period and could spend freely after coming to this big place, Celadon City.
But after seeing it, damn it, the money he had could barely buy one item of the lowest quality.
Ash casually looked around the department store, then quietly backed out.
Couldn't buy a single thing!
After wandering around, Ash and the others first went to the Pokémon Center, then explained to Professor Oak about Gengar teaching Primeape.
Professor Oak, upon hearing this, showed a very strange expression (old man, subway, phone.jpg).
He initially wondered if he had misheard, Gengar teaching Primeape? What kind of bizarre operation was this?
Never mind Pokémon teaching Pokémon, but what kind of genius idea is it to have a Ghost-type teach a Fighting-type? Can these two types even be mentioned in the same breath?
"...I sensed with Aura that there's a Ghost-type energy within Primeape, and perhaps there's an even higher evolution beyond Primeape, which is related to that energy within Primeape. That's why Gengar's teaching is needed. Anyway, Professor Oak, just tell them. Goodbye."
Ash finished speaking and hung up the phone directly, ignoring Professor Oak's horrified face pressed against the camera.
He had already anticipated that Professor Oak would have countless questions for him upon hearing about Primeape's higher evolution, and the only excuse he could find now was the all-purpose Aura.
It was quite tiring to think about; ever since he obtained the chat group, he had learned many things that people in this world didn't know, but he could only use various excuses to deflect, unable to speak the truth.
The existence of the chat group absolutely could not be exposed; his current actions were a last resort!
However, after hanging up the phone, Ash was met with persistent questioning from Misty and Brock.
After all, the idea of Primeape having an even higher evolution was simply too incredible, and for Aura to even detect that, wasn't it a bit too miraculous?
Ash insisted that it was due to Aura. Besides Aura, what other explanation could there be?
Moreover, it was only a conjecture at present; Primeape hadn't evolved, and the Ghost-type energy within it hadn't been confirmed, so there was no need to dwell on it so much.
Now, what they needed to do was challenge the Gym in Celadon City, the Celadon Gym... Around five in the afternoon, Ash and the others arrived at the Celadon Gym, where they were greeted by a pretty young woman. After hearing Ash and the others' request, she opened the Celadon Gym's door and said, "You've come at just the right time; the Gym Leader happens to be free today. If it were tomorrow, it might not be the case. Come in."
Ash was speechless. Did challenging a Gym now depend on whether the Gym Leader was available?
Are you saying you get paid for nothing? You don't have to be at your workstation every day?
Inside the Celadon Gym were many fresh flowers and green leaves, decorating the entire Gym in a vibrant array of colors. It must be said, this was the most beautifully decorated Gym Ash had ever challenged.
"Are you the challengers?"
A beautiful woman walked out from the depths of the Gym. She had short, flowing black hair that barely touched her shoulders.
Dressed in an elegant kimono, a sense of Yamato Nadeshiko emanated from her, giving off a gentle and graceful beauty.
Upon seeing this, Brock immediately darted in front of Ash, his dark face slightly flushed, and he smoothly declared, "This humble one is the challenger! I've come to challenge the position in your heart~"
"Don't cause trouble here!!" Misty's mouth twitched. Annoyed, she directly grabbed Brock's ear and, amidst his cries of pain, dragged him back behind Ash.
Ash looked at Brock with some helplessness, feeling that Brock's demeanor was drifting further and further from the reliable and mature older brother he initially seemed to be.
"Hello, I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and I'm here to challenge the Celadon Gym."
Erika, who had been showing an awkward but polite smile due to Brock's impudence, instantly became serious upon hearing Ash's name.
"You're Ash?"
"Uh... you've heard of me?"
"Heh heh, your reputation must have spread among the Gym Leaders by now. A Trainer who debuted less than two months ago actually defeated Sabrina, the Gym Leader of the Saffron Gym, and is suspected of having Elite Four level strength. When I first heard this news, my initial thought was that the League was telling some kind of bad joke."
Erika said with a light chuckle, covering her mouth, but there was no hint of a smile in her eyes, because this news was not a joke, but true.
A young man who debuted less than two months ago had utterly destroyed the Saffron Gym, which was considered a nightmare-level difficulty in Kanto.
Such a thing was simply incredible. Even if there were genius Trainers, they wouldn't be geniuses in this way, would they?
Among the four major Gyms in Kanto, the Saffron Gym was definitely not the strongest, but it was absolutely the hardest to beat, because the new Gym Leader Sabrina simply didn't know how to go easy.
Her deeds had already spread among the Gym Leaders, and only newly appointed Gym Leaders like Misty were unaware.
Since the new Gym Leader took office, the Saffron Gym's badge had never been given out, not once!
The Indigo League itself was for Trainers who had been traveling for less than two years. Even Trainers who were at the very limit, having traveled for nearly two years, had no chance of winning when challenging the Saffron Gym.
While the Fuchsia, Crimson, and Viridian Gyms were also strong, they would adjust their difficulty based on the challenger's level, so those three Gyms would occasionally give out one or two badges.
But the Saffron Gym... heh heh.
Therefore, when Erika heard that someone had taken down the Saffron Gym, her first reaction was disbelief.
To defeat the Saffron Gym, one would need at least Superior level Pokémon or higher. Trainers who could achieve this level within two years of travel were not nonexistent, but almost so.
Yet, someone had done it, and according to rumors, that person also possessed Elite Four level strength.
After confirming the veracity of the news, Erika, besides being endlessly shocked, was also very curious as to who this divine being was, capable of having Elite Four level Pokémon and defeating the Psychic Sabrina after only two months of travel.
This must require starting Pokémon training at five years old to accomplish, right? Or perhaps inheriting family Pokémon and gaining their approval. Besides that, Erika couldn't think of any other possibilities.
She also hadn't expected the person from the rumors to appear before her so quickly, so Erika, unable to suppress her curiosity, asked Ash, "How did you do it? Do you really have Elite Four level strength? You've only been traveling for less than two months, haven't you?"
"Uh... it was just a coincidence on the road that I caught an Elite Four level Superior Gastly. It just so happened to be able to contend with Sabrina's Alakazam."
If it weren't for Ghost-type or Dark-type, other Pokémon would have a natural disadvantage against Psychic-types, even Bug-types.
Don't let the fact that Bug-types are super effective against Psychic-types fool you; the strength of Psychic-types lies in their unpredictability. Even with a type advantage, Bug-types find it very difficult to fight Psychic-types.
Only the equally mysterious Ghost-types and Dark-types, which are not afraid of Psychic abilities, are relatively good at fighting Psychic-types.
So Ash was just lucky that the Elite Four level Pokémon he encountered happened to be a Ghost-type; otherwise, it would be hard to say.
Erika listened, a polite yet awkward smile on her face.
Would you even listen to yourself? What do you mean you 'coincidentally caught an Elite Four level Superior Gastly'? What kind of coincidence allows one to catch a Pokémon of that level?! And a very rare Ghost-type Pokémon at that!
Furthermore, encountering it is one thing, catching it is another. If you don't have Elite Four level Pokémon, how did you catch Gastly? Did you go up and catch it yourself?
"Ahem, let's not dwell on that for now. Since you have an Elite Four level Pokémon, will you choose to use it in this battle? If you do, I will engage in battle with you with the highest level of respect."
Erika did not continue to delve into the issue of Ash's Elite Four level Gastly, but rather brought the conversation back to the battle.
How he caught an Elite Four level Gastly was Ash's secret; all she needed to know now was what level of Pokémon Ash would use for the battle.
Generally speaking, Gym Leaders set the difficulty according to the challenger's travel time, but Ash clearly could not be judged by conventional methods.
Whose child, less than two months after debuting, directly took on an Elite Four level Gym!
This definitely couldn't be judged by travel time, but rather by the level of Pokémon Ash used.
Although, if Ash were to bring out an Elite Four level Gastly, she wouldn't have any counter-measures anyway... "I probably won't use Gastly in subsequent Gyms. After all, it's not a Pokémon I personally raised. Strictly speaking, my Trainer level isn't high enough; it's just that for some special reason, Gastly recognized me. So, I won't use Gastly in future Gym battles either."
Ash first shook his head, denying that he would use Gastly in battle, and explained why.
Then he continued, "As for my other Pokémon... my strongest Pokémon is my Superior Peak Pikachu. He's my starter Pokémon. The other Pokémon are all Advanced Level, ranging from Peak to Mid-level. I feel... it would probably be more appropriate to fight against Superior Level Pokémon."
Superior Peak Pikachu... Starter Pokémon... less than two months... The meaning of these few phrases combined almost fried Erika's CPU.
"Are you saying that in less than two months, you've raised a Superior Peak Pokémon, and it's a Pikachu?" Erika suppressed the urge to scream, speaking with a polite smile and a calm demeanor.
"Yes, when I first got together with Pikachu, he was already Normal Mid-level, so his starting point was a bit higher than other people's starter Pokémon. And Pikachu himself is very diligent, which is why he grew so fast."
"Pika Pika~~" The praised Pikachu scratched his head awkwardly. Ash's words basically gave all the credit to him, but in reality, Ash himself was the most crucial factor.
"Hiss... exhale... Superior Level, right? I understand. Then let's battle first. Let me understand what kind of person you are through battle." Erika took a deep breath, suppressed her turbulent emotions, and then turned to lead Ash to the battle arena.
From his appearance and manner of speaking, Ash seemed like an honest person and probably wouldn't lie to her.
But whether he was truly as honest as he appeared on the surface would have to be confirmed through battle.
Battle never lies!
Under Erika's guidance, everyone arrived at the battle arena, which was still surrounded by many vibrant flowers and plants.
Ash looked at the surroundings and said with some concern, "Is it okay to battle here, Gym Leader Erika? If the battle gets a little intense, the surrounding flowers and plants might..."
"You don't need to worry about that." Erika said, snapping her fingers.
In the four corners of the Gym arena, four machines appeared. The machines emitted a wave, forming a huge barrier that firmly enveloped the arena!
"This is..."
"This is a field protection barrier issued by the League, developed from Aegislash's King's Shield. It can prevent internal attacks from affecting the outside, although the outside can easily penetrate inside. Powers below Gym Level basically cannot destroy this barrier from within."
"There's such a thing!" Ash exclaimed, then looked at Misty and Brock, his eyes seemingly saying—why don't your Gyms have this?