Chapter 13 End of the Dungeon

"I lost, Mr. Aomori, you're really amazing," the inexperienced Ash lost in the battle as expected.

"Well, Ash, you and Pikachu did great. It was your first formal battle in front of so many people, and you didn't show any stage fright," Aomori praised.

"Maybe it's because we knew we were going to lose, so there was no pressure. But next time I meet you, Mr. Aomori, I won't give up easily!" Ash clenched his fist with high spirits.

"Good, I look forward to your growth," Aomori extended his right hand and shook hands with Ash.

Suddenly, with a loud "boom," the ground beneath them collapsed, and Aomori, along with Absol and Pikachu, fell.

Aomori landed safely and dusted off his clothes, which had cost him quite a bit of money.

Ash, on the other hand, fell on his rear end and exclaimed in surprise, "What just happened?"

"Since you asked sincerely," a voice came from the tunnel they had fallen into. "I'll kindly tell you." Thick smoke poured out from the dark tunnel, obscuring their vision.

"To protect the world from devastation..." Mechanical arms extended from the smoke, grabbing hold of Absol and Pikachu before retracting suddenly.

"Cough, Pikachu!" Ash cried out in shock.

"...To unite all peoples within our nation..." The voice grew softer, and even Ash could tell that they were planning to escape after capturing Pikachu and Absol.

"Quick, chase them!" Aomori and Ash hurriedly followed the tunnel.

After running for over a hundred meters, they reached the end of the tunnel, which was three meters high. It was hard to believe they had dug such a long tunnel in such a short time.

Three meters certainly couldn't stop Aomori and the rookie Ash. With a few easy movements, they climbed out of the hole and saw the familiar Meowth hot air balloon rising.

On the hot air balloon, Pikachu and Absol were tightly gripped by mechanical arms and couldn't break free. Jessie and James of Team Rocket struck poses and continued their unfinished lines.

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"To unite all peoples within our nation..."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"We're blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

Finally finishing their iconic lines, Ash exclaimed, "It's you again, Team Rocket! Give me back Pikachu!"

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch! We won't give it back! If you want it, come and get it yourself!"

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika...chu!"

"It's useless! This time we used insulating materials!"

"Curse you!" Ash only had Pikachu as his Pokémon at this moment, and he had no way to deal with Team Rocket floating in the air.

"Let me handle it," Aomori, who had now overcome his nostalgia, finally stepped up.

"Pidgeot, use Gust on the hot air balloon," Aomori commanded.

"Pidgeot!" Aomori's Pidgeot soared into the air and quickly caught up to the Meowth hot air balloon. In the terrified expressions of Jessie and James, Pidgeot used Gust to tear a hole in the balloon.

The hot air balloon plummeted to the ground, freeing Pikachu and Absol, who reunited with Aomori and Ash.

"You wretched brat!" Team Rocket refused to admit defeat and sent out their Arbok and Weezing, preparing to fight.

"Absol, use Ice Punch on Arbok; Pidgeot, use Hurricane on Weezing."

"Absol!"

"Pidgeot!" Aomori's Pokémon swiftly executed their attacks, defeating Team Rocket's Pokémon. The ensuing explosion and their famous catchphrase, "Looks like we're blasting off again!" sent Team Rocket soaring into the sky.

It seemed like they were dealing with the animated version of Pokémon, as the danger level plummeted. It truly lived up to its name as a newbie Dungeon.

"Are you okay, Ash, Aomori?" From a distance, Misty arrived with Togepi and Jigglypuff.

…

After bidding farewell to Misty and the others, this episode's storyline came to an end.

Aomori was curious whether his adventures in this world would ever appear on television somewhere in other worlds…

…

The next day, at the usual spot.

Many Trainers were already waiting for Aomori early in the morning. They had seen his record from yesterday and came for a challenge. Apart from the battle enthusiast like Ash, there were also Trainers who had confidence in their own skills.

Today was definitely going to be tougher than yesterday.

The Fire Stone didn't matter to Aomori; he just didn't want to lose, even in battles like these.

After planting his flag, Aomori began taking on challengers.

The first challenger sent out a purple ghost-like Pokémon with detached hands.

"It's a Ghost-type Gastly!"

"So, he's using type advantage, huh?"

"Is he stupid? Ghost-types can't beat Normal-types." Absol was mistaken for a Normal-type Pokémon, as the existence of its Dark type had not been revealed to the public at this point.

"Ha, he must have learned some other moves, using type advantage to win. What a shameless Trainer."

"Guess the Gym Leader will have to send out another Pokémon this time. Absol seems to have only Normal-type moves."

The onlookers discussed animatedly, and the challenger grinned in satisfaction. His Gastly was equipped with the Poison type move, and all he had to do was land Poison successfully, then use Gastly's Ghost-type abilities to dodge and secure an easy win.

He had won countless battles using this strategy, and he was already thinking, 'The Fire Stone is as good as mine. It doesn't matter what Pokémon they send out.'

Thinking that it might be a Fighting-type Pokémon, Aomori had prepared to switch to Pidgeot. But now, it seemed Absol was more than capable.

"Absol, this one's yours."

"What? You're using Absol against him?"

"Is the challenger being reckless?"

"Maybe Absol has some hidden moves."

"It doesn't matter what moves it has." The challenger gritted his teeth and said, "Gastly, hide and wait for an opportunity."

Aomori calmly said, "Stay right where you are; it'll come out."

With that, he stood still, arms crossed, seemingly doing nothing. In reality, Aomori was concentrating on sensing Gastly's presence, thanks to his higher-than-average Psychic abilities.

After a few seconds, Aomori detected a faint shadow behind and above Absol.

"I've got you now."

At the same moment, the challenger shouted, "Gastly, use Poison!"

And Aomori calmly commanded, "Leap forward and use Thunder Wave on the shadow above you."

The visible Gastly's small hands made a futile attempt, and then a flash of light occurred. It was struck by Thunder Wave mid-air.

Annoyed, Gastly gave a desolate wave with its tiny hands, and then a flash of light appeared as it was hit by another Thunder Wave.

"Why did you know Gastly's location?" The defeated challenger fell to his knees, regretting, "My Fire Stone!"

"I guessed. Next."

"Guessed?" The challenger withdrew Gastly and left in frustration.

In the following battles, Aomori used all his skills, narrowly winning each one. Pidgeot also had its share of battles and gained some experience.

With all the objectives in the Dungeon completed and only a few days left, Aomori decided to go back to Viridian Forest to gain more experience points.

He'd save dealing with the plot for later, when he was stronger.

A few days later, Aomori's first experience in the Dungeon came to an end.

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