Chapter 217: Departure, Return

After receiving the gift from Blaine, Ash and his group returned to their room, continued their unfinished dinner, and celebrated the victory of the gym battle.

"I didn't expect to encounter such a good thing. It seems that the birth of Togepi should bring us good luck!" After dinner, Ash and Brock also changed into swimsuits and soaked in the hot spring.

Misty had already soaked, and Togepi was already very sleepy, so she simply took Togepi to rest first.

"The Light Ball should significantly improve Pikachu, right?" Brock doesn't have a system panel, so he doesn't know Pikachu's changes, but he also knows the changes the Light Ball brings to Pikachu.

"Well, the power of the move is doubled, meaning Pikachu only needs half the original physical strength to use the same move. This significantly improves endurance and can also be used as a trump card!" Ash nodded and said.

"So... If Pikachu uses Thunderbolt in its current state, it won't consume nearly all its energy?" Brock said thoughtfully.

"I don't know about this..." Ash only thought of this after Brock's reminder. Although Pikachu has changed through inheritance, its physique has changed, and its physical strength is not comparable to that of ordinary Pikachu.

But even so, the energy consumed by summoning Thunderbolt is too great for Pikachu to bear. Once used, if it doesn't defeat the opponent, Pikachu will lose the ability to fight back.

So in battle, Ash didn't let Pikachu use Thunderbolt at all because it can be said to be a double-edged sword.

However, if the Light Ball's effect applies to Thunderbolt, Pikachu only needs to consume half of its original physical strength to unleash it. This way, Pikachu can still have spare energy for fighting.

"Find a chance to try it," Brock said to Ash.

"Yeah!" Ash nodded. He didn't plan on letting Pikachu experiment now because Thunderbolt was very powerful and could easily cause trouble.

After soaking for a while, the two returned to the room, washed up, and then went to bed.

The next day, Ash took his Pokémon out of the hotel and went to the park outside for morning exercises. Because of the remote location, there was no one in the park.

During the morning practice, Ash asked Pikachu, and Pikachu didn't know whether the Light Ball's effect would affect Thunderbolt.

"It seems that we still need to find a chance to experiment..." Ash nodded slightly.

After the morning exercise, Ash went back to the hotel. Brock and Misty had also woken up. One was preparing breakfast for the Pokémon while the other was feeding Togepi.

After breakfast, Ash and his friends found the waiter and wanted to say goodbye to Blaine, but they learned from the waiter that Blaine had left the hotel and gone to the gym. This made the three of them a little regretful, so they could only ask the waiter to convey their farewell.

After leaving the hotel, Ash, Misty, and Brock went to the harbor to buy S.S. Tickets. The destination wasn't Pallet Town in the south but Vermilion City!

Ash had previously discussed why they were going to Vermilion City instead of Pallet Town.

Because of Diglett's Cave!

When they first learned about Diglett's Cave in Vermilion City, the three also wanted to explore it, but because the route was wrong, they had to give up.

But now, they had obtained seven Badges, and there was also a ship from Cinnabar Island Harbor to Vermilion City, so they decided to take the boat back to Vermilion City, go to Diglett's Cave, pass through the tunnel, arrive at Route 2, and then reach Viridian City.

After purchasing the S.S. Tickets, they learned that the boat wouldn't depart until ten o'clock, so the three didn't rush to board but rested near the harbor.

The journey from Cinnabar Island to Vermilion City took two days and one night, so they wanted to take advantage of their time on land.

When the time was about right, the three boarded the boat and set off for Vermilion City.

There were no accidents during the voyage, and because it wasn't a special route, the ship didn't dock on any islands halfway, arriving directly at Vermilion City.

When they arrived in Vermilion City, it was already the afternoon of the next day, almost evening, so the three could only stay in Vermilion City for one night and set off for Diglett's Cave the next day.

...

Diglett's Cave is on the outskirts of Vermilion City. It's an underground path excavated by the Dugtrio family that connects Pewter City and Vermilion City.

When the Alliance discovered this Underground Path, to preserve the environment, they made minimal changes, installing lighting and patrolling to prevent people from straying.

Consequently, Diglett's Cave sees few travelers, mainly trainers capturing Diglett or training near the entrances.

As Ash and his group ventured deeper, they encountered fewer people. After confirming it was nighttime, they found a camp established by trainers.

Only a dozen trainers, including Ash's group, stayed at the camp, a considerable number for such a location.

The Dugtrio family, recognizing the camp as human territory, didn't disturb the trainers, allowing them to sleep peacefully until the next day.

Although primarily dug by Diglett, the cave's terrain also housed other Ground-type Pokémon. Ash and his friends encountered and battled some Diglett and Dugtrio but didn't capture any.

They reached the other end of the passage and exited Diglett's Cave around 3 PM.

"Though the experience was unique, the underground environment felt a bit oppressive," Misty sighed with relief, and Togepi in her arms, seeing the sun again, became lively.

"Want to return to Pewter City?" Ash asked Brock, as it wasn't far, and they could reach it within the day.

"No need," Brock shook his head. He had no plans to return and knew from phone calls that his family, including his mother, was doing well.

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