Lt. Surge's booming voice echoed throughout the metallic gym hall.
With a broad swing of his arm, he accurately tossed a red-and-white Poké Ball onto the circular mark in the center of the battlefield.
He then stepped back a few paces and assumed a fighting stance.
Red felt his blood boiling with excitement. His breathing even grew rapid.
This was the first time he had ever seen, in the game, a no-rules battle against a Gym Leader!
"Red, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and throw your Poké Ball."
Rei Akagi's voice rang out, snapping Red out of his excited trance.
"Me?"
Red looked at Little White—who had already followed Lt. Surge's actions and thrown his Poké Ball—and froze.
"Isn't this supposed to be a battle between you and Lt. Surge?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. The Vermilion Gym has special rules. It uses a no-rules battle mode."
Rei Akagi explained quickly:
"Friends playing together online can challenge at the same time. But as the number of challengers increases, the difficulty rises as well."
"Seriously?! That's awesome, Pokémon!"
Red shouted in delight. He immediately had Red pull out a Poké Ball and throw it toward the center circle before quickly running to stand beside Little White.
The two characters stood shoulder to shoulder, facing Lt. Surge on the raised platform.
"No-rules + co-op challenge? This gameplay is insane!"
"Real-life combat mode activated! Trainers punching each other is finally real!"
"Moment of silence. One guy vs. the Red Legend and Salted Fish Teacher… I don't even know how he's supposed to win—especially with no rules."
"Lt. Surge: Oh no… they're coming straight for me!"
As the barrage of chat messages scrolled by, the battle officially began.
All three moved at the same time, rushing toward the Poké Balls in the center.
Under no-rules conditions, whoever released their Pokémon first would gain the absolute initiative.
Red charged forward with his head down.
Little White kept a close eye on Lt. Surge's movements.
Meanwhile, thanks to his long legs and height advantage, Lt. Surge caught up from behind. His thick arm sliced through the air as he reached out—about to grab the Poké Ball first.
"Now!"
A slight smile curved Rei Akagi's lips.
He didn't even try to grab the ball. Instead, he had Little White suddenly lower his body and dash forward, shoulder dropped, slamming straight into Lt. Surge's side at full speed with a classic shoulder check!
Thud!
A dull impact rang out.
Caught completely off guard, Lt. Surge stumbled, his arm reaching for the Poké Ball veering off course.
"Red! Grab the ball!"
Rei Akagi shouted.
Just as Red was about to seize the Poké Ball, Lt. Surge—knocked aside—lashed out with a sudden backward scorpion kick, sending all three Poké Balls flying across the floor.
They scattered in different directions.
Three identical Poké Balls—now completely mixed up. No one could tell which belonged to whom anymore.
Without hesitation, Red controlled Red and dove toward the nearest Poké Ball.
Lt. Surge steadied himself and rushed for another one, but Rei Akagi had Little White close in again, locking him down with body blocks.
Just as Red grabbed a Poké Ball—
Lt. Surge suddenly flashed a strange grin from the platform.
He pulled out a remote control button from his camouflage pants pocket and pressed it.
Bzzzzzt—
A harsh electric buzzing instantly filled the entire gym!
The cold metal pillars scattered around the battlefield—previously looking like mere decorations—suddenly erupted with dazzling blue-white lightning at their tops.
Thick arcs of electricity leapt wildly between adjacent pillars, chaining together into a blazing electric cage in the center of the field!
And Red happened to be standing right between two newly activated pillars.
Before he could react—
The current surged through him.
His body stiffened instantly from the paralysis, and the Poké Ball slipped from his numb fingers and rolled away.
"I can't move!"
Red cried out in shock.
"Hahaha! This is my turf!" Lt. Surge laughed loudly. "If you're careless and get zapped, you'll end up paralyzed!"
As he spoke, he didn't forget to take advantage of his sturdy frame and throw a vicious back elbow toward Little White.
Rei Akagi controlled Little White to lean back and slide away, barely dodging the sneaky strike.
But the brief opening allowed Lt. Surge to seize his chance.
He lunged toward the Poké Ball near the edge of the field.
Grab!
Throw!
A Raichu wreathed in crackling electricity appeared, wearing a cocky grin. With a light leap, it landed neatly on Lt. Surge's shoulder.
"Hahaha! Partner! Looks like victory belongs to me!!!"
At this moment, Red finally broke free from the electric current's restraint and picked up his Poké Ball.
A flash of red light.
Pikachu appeared and jumped onto his shoulder.
Now only one Poké Ball remained—the one belonging to Little White—rolling near the edge of the arena.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
A streak of lightning shot forward as Red gave the command, striking directly toward Lt. Surge in an attempt to buy Rei Akagi some time.
Lt. Surge didn't even bother dodging.
Raichu sprang into the air from his shoulder, its tail drawing a powerful arc through the air as it smacked the lightning aside.
"Raichu! Go play with that yellow rat! I'll handle this kid myself!"
Without even looking back, Raichu dashed toward Red .
Lt. Surge cracked his knuckles, the joints popping loudly, and walked toward the comparatively thin and frail-looking Little White.
"Now no one's going to interrupt us, kid!"
"Salted Fish Teacher!!!"
Red's anxious voice rang out.
If it were only a single Raichu, he could easily rush over to help.
But the constant lightning flashing through the forest of steel pillars forced him to keep dodging, while Raichu kept harassing him relentlessly.
He simply couldn't get close to Little White.
"It's over! Salted Fish Teacher's about to get beaten up!"
"Why is Lt. Surge so shameless? He installed an electric grid in his own Gym?!"
"Hahaha Salted Fish Teacher finally met his match!"
"No rules means anything goes! The Gym Leader clearly understands that!"
"Salted Fish Teacher's Livestream Defeat!"
While the chat wailed and Red panicked, Rei Akagi simply curled his lips into a faint smile.
"Lt. Surge is right. No one's going to interrupt us now."
"Haunter, let him taste what being electrocuted feels like too—Thunder Punch!"
The moment he spoke—
A pair of sinister eyes suddenly opened within Little White's shadow.
The next second, a grotesque face slowly rose from the darkness. Its detached claws gathered dazzling golden lightning.
Without any suspense—
The punch slammed directly into Lt. Surge's waist.
"Ugh—!"
He gagged violently and dropped to his knees on the ground.
"Haunter… seems one punch wasn't enough. Then let's—"
Rei Akagi's cold voice sounded again.
Lt. Surge immediately waved his hands frantically from the floor.
"I— I surrender! The badge… it's yours! Just stop… ugh…"
Trembling, Lt. Surge shut off the Gym's electric grid device.
When Red finally walked over, he clutched his aching waist and pulled out two orange badges, stuffing them into their hands.
"Rei and Red defeated Gym Leader Lt. Surge!"
"Little White and Red received the Thunder Badge from Lt. Surge!"
Lt. Surge rubbed his back, about to start cursing—
When suddenly—
BANG!
The Gym doors were slammed open.
A sailor rushed in, his face full of panic.
"Boss! This is bad! Something huge happened! Our ship was set on fire—someone blasted a massive hole in it!"
"What?! Everyone in Vermilion City knows that ship belongs to me! Where's the arsonist? I'll make sure they regret being born!"
"W-we caught them! They're already tied up on the ship!"
Little White and Red exchanged a glance.
With perfect tacit understanding…
They quietly slipped away.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, the chat exploded again.
"Plot twist! When did Haunter hide in the shadow?! Salted Fish Teacher is way too sneaky!"
"Lt. Surge: Aggressive.JPG → Kneeling-and-gagging.GIF"
"Thunder Punch to the kidneys… Salted Fish Teacher knows human weak points! Lt. Surge surviving that is a miracle!"
"Known fact: the real arsonists are Little White and Red . Question: Will Green survive the night on that ship?"
"NOOO!!! MY Green!!!"
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789