After bidding farewell to Ho-Oh, Ash's journey became somewhat uneventful.
He didn't meet Misty fishing by the river; at this time, Misty was still raising "fish" at the Cerulean Gym.
He arrived at the Pokémon Center without a hitch and rested peacefully for the night.
[Jessie: Wait, I can understand why the little girl didn't appear, but why didn't we appear either?]
[Meowth: Exactly, exactly, Meowth agrees! We're the main characters!]
[James: Appear? How would we appear? If I remember correctly, a year ago you and I were still delinquents on the streets, Jessie. As for Meowth, you hadn't been kicked out of the boss's office yet — you were still babysitting the boss.]
[Jessie, Meowth: Oh, right.]
Kalos Region — Vaniville Town
Serena jumped with joy. "Yay, we're ahead! The Ash in the other world hasn't even met Misty yet!"
Grace sighed. "They just haven't met yet. Maybe they'll still become companions in the end. And why are you so happy? Even if you're ahead, it's the Serena from the parallel world who's ahead—you're the one falling behind."
Mom's words were too sensible, so Serena could only choose to remain silent.
During their conversation, the black screen gradually dimmed, and the white-bordered screen slowly brightened.
Scene Start—
In Viridian Forest, Ash was confronting a Caterpie with a serious expression.
"Take this, Caterpie!"
Without even engaging in battle, Ash captured Caterpie simply by throwing a Poké Ball.
At the same time Caterpie joined the team, Misty also joined, using the excuse that Ash needed to pay for her bicycle.
Viridian Forest truly was Ash's lucky place. In just a few days, he caught a Pidgeotto, and his Caterpie evolved into a Metapod.
After defeating a local Samurai Trainer, his Metapod evolved again into Butterfree. In less than a week, Caterpie had completed two evolutions.
His experiences in Viridian Forest made Ash incredibly arrogant. Upon arriving in Pewter City, he immediately challenged Brock at the Pewter Gym.
[Roxanne: A Bug-type Butterfree, a Flying-type Pidgeotto, and an Electric-type Pikachu—how is this lineup supposed to challenge a Rock-type Gym?]
Roxanne was completely bewildered when she learned that Ash was going to challenge the Pewter Gym with these three Pokémon.
A rookie Trainer challenging a Rock-type Gym should at least bring a Water-type Pokémon.
[Lance: It's not impossible. Everyone knows Brock's strength.]
[Bruno: To consistently rank among the top two easiest Gyms to bully in Kanto, Brock must have some tricks up his sleeve.]
[Daisy: Hahahahaha! The top two easiest Gyms to bully—what kind of ranking is that? That's hilarious!]
[Misty: Laughing? What's so funny?! The other one is you guys!!!]
If Brock of the Pewter Gym was a sleeping dragon, then Ash, who had just become a rookie Trainer, was a young phoenix.
When a sleeping dragon meets a young phoenix, it's bound to be an epic battle.
This "epic" battle lasted for one minute before ending with Ash's surrender.
[Roxanne: Indeed, facing Onix, which is both Rock and Ground-type, even Pikachu had no answer.]
[Lt. Surge: Of course! No matter how powerful Pikachu is, it can't damage Ground-type Pokémon.]
[Lorelei: So why did Ash send out Pikachu? Pikachu, which only knows Quick Attack and Thunder Shock, had no chance of defeating Onix.]
[Bruno: Sending out Pidgeotto or Butterfree would've been useless too; they're not even in the same league. He should've captured a Fighting- or Water-type Pokémon to have a chance.]
[Gary: Did Ash go to capture new Pokémon? That's not really his style.]
Indeed, Gary still understood Ash very well.
What's a type advantage? As long as you're reckless enough, nothing is impossible.
After his crushing defeat to Brock, Ash didn't go to catch new Pokémon. Instead, under the guidance of a mysterious uncle, he began special training with Pikachu.
The waterwheel used for training was smoking from Ash's efforts, and Pikachu finally learned a new move—Thunderbolt.
[Roxanne: ??????? So what's the use of this new move?]
Forget Thunderbolt—even if Pikachu used Cross Thunder, it would still be useless. Ground-types are immune to Electric-type moves! Doesn't Ash know that?
[Misty: Uh… Ash might really not know.]
[Roxanne: ...]
Although he was terrible at memorizing the type chart, Ash was a man blessed by Lady Luck.
In the rematch, Pikachu unleashed its power, and Thunderbolt directly scorched Geodude.
[Roxanne: What the heck!?]
Pikachu's actions completely baffled Roxanne. How could an Electric-type Thunderbolt damage a Ground-type Geodude?
Could it be that the one who didn't understand the type chart wasn't Ash—but her?
[Cynthia: If the power difference between the two Pokémon is too great, Electric-type moves can damage Ground-type Pokémon.]
[Diantha: I guess Brock's Geodude was too low-level, and Ash's Pikachu exploded in power during that battle.]
[Roxanne: That's the only way to explain it…]
Taking down Geodude wasn't the end. Pikachu, with the help of the water sprinkler system, managed to knock out Onix.
If Brock's younger siblings hadn't interrupted the battle, Ash might've actually won two consecutive matches.
Although he didn't win, Ash's spirit inspired Brock, and Brock ultimately gave Ash the Boulder Badge.
In a deeper conversation with Ash, Brock revealed his true dream. Rather than staying as a Gym Leader, he wanted to become a Pokémon Breeder, but his father's disappearance had prevented him from pursuing it.
At this moment, the uncle who helped Ash train revealed his true identity—he was Brock's father, Flint.
After apologizing to Brock, Flint voluntarily took responsibility and became the Gym Leader again, allowing Brock to finally pursue his dream.
And so, Brock joined Ash's team.