Chapter 12 In the City of Tokiwa city

Using the map on the Pokédex, Aomori finally left the Tokiwa forest and arrived in Tokiwa city.

By now, it was nighttime, and Tokiwa city was brightly lit. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and not far away, thick smoke billowed, and flames shot into the sky.

"The Pokémon Center exploded again?" Aomori didn't want to pay attention to it. He recalled Absol and Pidgeot and found a park where he sat on a bench, contemplating how to complete his mission.

His current progress was 2 out of 50, with only three days left. It wasn't realistic to challenge people one by one. He needed them to come to him.

"I might have to take an unconventional approach," Aomori mused, glancing at his system points, formulating a plan.

…

The next day, at the Tokiwa city Pokémon Center.

A young boy in a blue jacket, wearing a red and white cap, and carrying Pikachu on his shoulder, was playfully bantering with a short-haired orange-haired girl as they exited the building.

"Hey, Misty, I'm heading to Pewter City with Pikachu. What about you?"

"Of course, I'm going with you. Don't forget, Ash, you still owe me a bike!"

"I told you I'd give it back. Nagging queen!"

"Who are you calling a nagging queen?!"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! I'm sorry, stop pulling!"

Pikachu sighed silently by the side.

As they were bickering and passing by a park, they noticed a large crowd inside. Cheers could be heard from within. Ash suddenly became interested and grabbed a passerby, asking, "Hey, mister, what's happening over there?"

The man replied, "A traveling Trainer set up a challenge platform inside. He said he wants to challenge the best Trainers of Tokiwa city. The winner gets to take his Evolutionary Stone."

"A traveling Trainer? Challenge platform?" Ash's curiosity was piqued. Wasn't he exactly what the guy was looking for? He didn't care about the Evolutionary Stone; he had Professor Oak.

After thanking the man, Ash, ignoring Misty's protests, immediately dragged her into the crowd.

Using his well-trained arms, Ash easily squeezed through and reached the front row. A battle was in progress within a square area marked out in the park. On the right were ordinary spectators, not worth mentioning.

On the left stood a handsome young man in a black windbreaker. He held a red gemstone in his hand, with a flag next to him that read "Risking Everything for One Victory" and "23 Wins." He was undoubtedly the traveling Trainer who set up the challenge platform.

"So cool!" Misty rested her chin in her hands, her eyes sparkling.

On the opposite side, several girls had even formed a cheering squad and were enthusiastically rooting for him.

"Heh, girls." Ash had only Pokémon on his mind. He saw the Pokémon that the challenger sent out first, and he couldn't help exclaiming, "So cool!"

With blue and white colors, a crescent moon-shaped horn, and lively eyes, it deeply captivated Ash.

He took out his Pokédex to identify it, but it said, "Unknown Pokémon."

"Unknown Pokémon? What is this...?" Ash was getting more excited by the moment, as if he had stumbled upon a new continent.

"I know about the Unova region, on the other side of the ocean. They have many unique Pokémon there," Misty interjected.

"Unique Pokémon? Great, I've decided that after traveling through the Kanto region, I'm going to explore the Unova region." Ash said with newfound determination.

"Ugh, the challenger is going to lose."

The voices from the crowd interrupted Ash's thoughts, bringing his attention back to the battle.

The challenger had sent out a Wartortle, which initially used Water Gun to suppress the Unknown Pokémon, Absol, which dodged the attacks with ease, looking unharmed. On the contrary, Wartortle, which continuously used Water Gun, had a much higher energy consumption and soon couldn't keep up.

"Oh~" Ash suddenly understood. Absol's speed was so high that it effortlessly avoided the Water Gun attacks, and its stamina wasn't depleted. On the other hand, Wartortle, constantly using Water Gun, exhausted its energy quickly and couldn't sustain the battle.

At this point, Wartortle finally stopped its Water Gun and panted heavily. Absol, seizing the opportunity, used a Flash Cannon and KO'd Wartortle in a flash.

"So strong, this Pokémon."

"He's already at the 24th battle, and he still has stamina left."

"Hey, isn't there a more formidable Trainer out there? At least force him to use his second Pokémon."

The spectators discussed animatedly. After praising the Trainer and encouraging the challenger, Aomori quietly used Lesser Healing to restore Absol's health.

Last night, Aomori came up with this not-so-clever but effective plan. Using the Fire stones, he had obtained from the ten consecutive draws, he set up a challenge platform, attracting Trainers to battle him by claiming that he was challenging the best Trainers of Tokiwa city. 

He needed them to come to him since he only had two Pokémon at the moment. The second issue was that Absol and Pidgeot's levels were not particularly high. If they encountered experienced Trainers, they might lose and he'd lose his wager.

The first issue could be solved with Lesser Healing, and for the second issue, Aomori believed that Absol had the potential to win.

So, Aomori set up the platform, and to his good fortune, he hadn't encountered a strong Trainer yet. He had won 23 battles in a row.

Now, it was the 24th battle. Aomori had the flag on the platform changed to "24 Wins."

Aomori looked around and announced loudly, "Is there any other Trainer who wants to challenge me? This is the last battle for today, and my Absol doesn't have much stamina left. I can only battle one more."

Absol promptly lay down as if exhausted.

Aomori shook his head inwardly; Absol's acting skills still needed improvement, but it was good enough. He didn't want to intentionally raise their favorability. He was more interested in the "true protagonist." If Ash was here, they should be nearby as well.

"Hiya!"

Aomori was just thinking that the challenger would lose when someone else quickly volunteered.

"I'll do it!" Ash rushed out from the crowd and eagerly said, "I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and my dream is to become a Pokémon Master. This is my partner, Pikachu."

"Pikachu!"

Ash? The destined one in this world?

Aomori recognized Ash at a glance, but he focused more on Pikachu, nodding in a friendly manner and saying, "Hello, I'm Aomori, a Trainer from the Unova region. This is Absol."

"Absol."

At this stage, Ash was too young and inexperienced, and Aomori had no intention of trying to win him over. He was more interested in the "true protagonist." 

Since Ash's here, they should be nearby as well.

"Hah, hah, hah!" From a nearby tree, the trio with binoculars had synchronized sneezes.

"Who's talking about us?" Jessie grumbled.

"It doesn't matter. Did you see that rare-looking Pokémon?" Meowth suggested, "If we catch it and give it to the boss, he'll be thrilled!"

"Right! Promotion and raise, here we come! Hahaha."

With that said, the three of them burst into laughter.

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