At night, the festival officially began. Ash, following local customs, changed into a blue kimono. Of course, festival attire had to be a kimono!
However, Brock remarked that he felt too old to partake in such festivities and remained in his hiking outfit, though Misty also changed into a kimono.
Yet when Ash saw Misty in her kimono, he couldn't help but stare in awe.
Misty's kimono was exquisite, its soft colors and delicate patterns seemed to wrap spring's cherry blossom garden around her.
The wide sleeves swung gently with her every movement, light and graceful like a butterfly's wings. The slightly open collar of the kimono revealed her slender neck, with smooth and elegant lines, like a beautiful painting.
Her hair fell loosely, and the orange strands touched her shoulders, adding a touch of gentleness and grace to her appearance.
She walked barefoot in wooden clogs, her steps light on the stone path, the hem of her kimono swaying gently as she walked.
With Misty not speaking, Ash almost thought she was a fairy from some idyllic land!
"Hey~ staring much, Ash!"
Misty, wearing wooden clogs, remained light-footed and reached Ash in a few steps, waving her fair hand in front of him.
"No way, it's just the first time seeing you in such clothes. Really beautiful, and if you're not talking, you do have an aura of a Yamato Nadeshiko."
"Here's a chance to rephrase, Ash! Can't you compliment without throwing in a dig?"
Misty rolled her eyes but, given Ash's compliment, decided not to fuss over it.
"Come on, let's dance."
"Dance? I don't know how!"
"You're good at battles, so your coordination must be great. If you don't know, I'll teach you." Misty said as she pulled Ash's hand towards the plaza. Pikachu quietly climbed onto Brock's back, watching the two get further away.
"This is youth, Pikachu."
"Pika Pika~"
At the plaza, Ash clumsily followed Misty's guidance and danced along with her. Just then, fireworks burst like stars, their colorful brilliance illuminating the entire sky!
Fireworks blossomed like countless meteors streaking across the sky, lighting up the darkness in an instant!
Under the glow, the two gazed into each other's eyes, their hearts beating faster...
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a week had passed. After the festival, Ash and the others continued their journey to Saffron City.
With the millennium Gastly, Ash now had the capital to challenge the Saffron Gym.
The millennium Gastly, while at Oak's Research Institute, slowly familiarized itself with various battle strategies, and its sparring partner was none other than Professor Oak's Pokemon!
The Gastly, who had thought itself nearly invincible, found itself questioning its abilities after being taken down a peg in the span of a week—what kind of Trainer had it partnered with, and how could an old man in the backyard have such terrifying Pokemon?
It faced a Dragonite that beat it like a ragdoll!
That Dragonite was absolutely a Champion-level Pokemon, and not just newly into the Champion league...
This world is truly full of hidden talents—randomly finding a caretaker with a Champion-level Pokemon, meeting a youthful Trainer on the road capable of overwhelming its Elite Advanced Level Ghost Type.
What a world, huh!
But it was this high-pressure training that helped Gastly gradually rediscover its battling instincts. After a week of training, its battle performance improved tremendously.
Meanwhile, Ash's Pokemon also experienced significant improvements.
Pidgeotto reached the Advanced Peak; its progress was fast, yet evolving into Pidgeot still seemed distant...
Only by evolving into Pidgeot could Ash have an aerial mount.
As for the Three Starter, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander all made various degrees of progress.
Bulbasaur reached the Intermediate Advanced Level, while Squirtle advanced to the Ordinary Peak. Given that Squirtle joined the team relatively late, initially being at an Ordinary Intermediate, reaching the Ordinary Peak already speaks volumes about its exceptional potential.
There were also numerous Pokemon development strategies provided by veterans.
Though Ash doesn't have the wealth of those born with a silver spoon, like a certain spiky-haired individual,
In other respects, he might as well be cheating.
Aside from Bulbasaur and Squirtle, Charmander's progress was truly remarkable, having advanced to the Advanced Level, surpassing Bulbasaur!
This incredible progress was due to its evolution!
Now, Charmander was no longer just Charmander, but Charmeleon!
This was the third evolved Pokemon in Ash's team, after Caterpie and Ralts, now Charmander.
When a Pokemon evolves, its life energy takes a giant leap. Apart from increased race capabilities, there's a high probability for its level to rise significantly too.
This is why Charmander managed to surpass Bulbasaur.
In reality, Bulbasaur should have reached the stage for evolution as well, yet for some reason, there were no signs of it evolving.
Ash consulted experts in the grass type specialization group chat about this peculiar phenomenon, and the response was——Bulbasaur might not want to evolve.