Gary Hmm-ahhhh

"Charizard, Seismic Toss!"

Ash shouted the command to attack.

His Charizard sniffled and roared, and with a wave of its wings, it took a big step forward and flew violently, speeding towards the Golem in front of it .

"Roar!"

The low-flying orange dragon swept in front of Golem, its sharp claws grabbed its body, and its nails were embedded in the cracks of the rocks on Golem's body.

Wings fluttering, Charizard struggled to reach the sky.

However, no matter how much it flapped its wings, Golem did not move.

Charizard's forehead was bulging with veins, and its arms were swollen with muscles as it gripped Golem's body.

But...

"Hah!"

Behind Golem's back, Gary, with his spiky brown head, gave a sneer.

"Golem is too heavy."

Above the audience, Professor Oak, who had come to watch the Pallet Town twin battle, frowned.

"Seismic Toss requires Charizard to throw its opponent's Pokémon after taking them to the sky."

Professor Oak looked at Charizard and Golem competing on the field, shook his head, and said, "Although Ash's Charizard is an physical/special attack duel development type, and its strength in terms of physical attack is not bad, but Gary's Golem is undoubtedly a carefully bred combatant, and both its tonnage and size are not comparable to ordinary Golem. It is not comparable to a normal Golem in terms of tonnage or size."

"Charizard's strength is not enough to pick up a Golem, let alone attack it with Seismic Toss."

"Ah..."

Hearing Professor Oak's explanation, Delia beside him covered her mouth.

Delia unconsciously looked at the big screen on the field.

On the screen now, the battle was displayed.

The battle was coming to an end, Charizard and Golem were both Ash and Gary's last Pokémon.

Ash has lost both Pidgeot and Pikachu, and Charizard is his last Pokémon.

Gary also lost his Arcanine and Nidoqueen, leaving him with only one Golem.

I don't know if it's the organizer's intention or if Ash and Gary are just too close to each other.

Anyway, the much-anticipated Pallet Town Twins finally met in the round of 16-8.

It's a three-on-three matchup, and here, the strongest new trainer of Pallet Town's generation will be crowned.

"Oh no!"

Realizing that Charizard couldn't catch Golem, Ash looked anxious.

In desperation, he shouted out the command to attack, saying, "Charizard, Fire Blast!"

"Roar!"

Charizard immediately released its grip on Golem, and its wings swung in the opposite direction a few times, slightly widening the distance between itself and Golem.

Finally, its mouth wrapped in flames opened, and a huge ball of hot flames came out.

"Boom!"

Before the huge ball of fire could turn into a star shape, it crashed onto Golem's body, causing an explosion of flames.

However, at the back of Golem, Gary was calmly smiling confidently with his arms around his chest.

"Go!"

As expected, between the blossoming flames, a huge spherical figure slowly stepped out.

Golem, who was two times resistant to fire, wasn't afraid of Charizard's Fire Blast.

On the contrary... If Charizard, who is four times restrained by Rock, took its Stone Edge, it'll either die or be crippled!

"Golem, it's time for us to attack!"

Gary sneered and waved his hand, saying, "Golem, Stone Edge!"

"Go!"

Golem's turtle-like thick thighs stomped on the ground, causing the ground to shake.

A thick, sharp rock rose up and smashed into Charizard, who was not far away.

"No, Charizard, get out of the way!"

There, Ash shouted out one of his favorite triple axes.

Ash's triple axe approach- get out of the way, hold on, get up.

Unfortunately, his triple axe approach doesn't work against Gary.

"Roar!"

Charizard's wings flapped as it dodged, and Golem's Stone Edge struck its cream-colored abdomen.

With a roar, the Charizard fell to the ground in a weakened heap.

It was incapacitated...

"What?"

Ash froze in place as if his strength had been drained from his body.

Only the referee's shrill whistle woke him up.

"Charizard is unable to continue, so the winner of this match is Gary from Pallet Town!"

From Pallet Town, but not Ash.

Over there, Gary didn't cheer for his victory, he just withdrew his Golem flatly and frowned at Ash.

"That was great!"

The commentator wouldn't let go of this great opportunity, and holding the microphone, he said, "Worthy of being the grandson of the great Professor Oak, as well as the younger brother of Master Blue, Pallet Town's Gary's contestant has finally won!"

"Tsk..."

Hearing the commentator praise himself with the names of those two people in front of him, Gary smacked his lips in displeasure.

He showed an annoyed expression.

Over there, Ash is in a downcast mood as he retrieves his defeated Charizard.

Imagine, Ash had just debuted, traveled for a year, and finally made it to the stage of Indigo Plateau Conference, only to end up in the top sixteen.

This is certainly an excellent result for a new trainer just starting out.

However, for Ash, who had a dream in his heart, he still hoped that he would be able to climb to the top and continue to move up...

"Hey."

Despite his irritation, Gary, as the victor and Ash's childhood friend, picked himself up and walked over to Ash.

"Hey, Ash..."

While Gary was thinking about how to comfort Ash, suddenly, Ash, who had his head down in front of him, raised his head violently, revealing a face full of displeasure.

"Hey Gary, why is the commentator only talking about you and not me?"

"Huh?"

Looking at Ash's expression that didn't seem to be sad about losing to himself and Indigo Plateau Conference stopping at the Elite Eight, but rather cared about what the commentator said, Gary, who was still thinking about how to enlighten him without hurting his pride, froze in place.

"Hey~ I'm so mad at you!"

The heartless Ash showed a look of extreme irritation, said: "clearly the first two rounds of the match, I almost forced you into a desperate situation, the results of this commentator really did not mention a word, only said you won, you tell me the truth, is it you find Professor Oak to buy through this commentator?"

"Huh?"

At that, Gary gave an offended look.

"What are you talking about?"

"When have you ever forced me into a desperate situation? Your Pidgeot and Pikachu can't threaten my Golem at all. Don't go crazy!"

"Hmph!"

"What are you humming about, you loser!"

"Instructor Ai told me, there's an old saying in Dayan that victory and defeat is a matter of course, you winning this game is nothing, wait until the next time I'll definitely beat you!"

"Hmph!" Gary snorted coldly.

However, Gary was relieved to see that Ash didn't get downhearted and stagnate because of this defeat.

He and Ash had grown up together as childhood friends.

Gary was annoyed by Ash's loud, no-brainer behavior.

But, admittedly, he did care about Ash.

And...

"Victory and defeat are commonplace?" Repeating Ash's words, Gary looked at Ash and said, "Is that what Instructor Ai taught you?"

"Uh-huh."

Ash scratched his head.

"Instructor Ai told me that as a trainer, not losing in a hundred battles is something that cannot be done no matter what, and if you lose, if you lose to someone else, then you have to look at your own faults, realize the reason why you lost, and then correct it, and work even harder to become stronger, and wait for the next time you fight, to get the victory, and to kill back!"

"Oh..."

Gary understood.

His expression became helpless all of a sudden.

"You guy, you can't beat me even though you've been taught by Instructor Ai, you're a disgrace to Instructor Ai~"

"Bastard, what are you talking about? I'm clearly Instructor Ai's best student!"

"Nonsense, because Instructor Ai only has one student!"

"Shut up!"

The two of them in the field above the fight as if no one else, see not yet left the scene of the audience is also a smile.

It's so rare to see such strong rivals who grow up together, advance together, motivate each other, and compare themselves to each other.

"Both Gary, who made it to the final eight, and Ash, who has been eliminated from the tournament, have brought us some great battles, so let's give a big round of applause for the Pallet Town Twins!" The commentator didn't miss this opportunity and yelled.

The next moment, the sparring arena was also filled with thunderous applause and cheers.

Gary skillfully greeted the audience, his elegant and polite attitude won everyone's favor.

Ash, on the other hand, scratched his head in embarrassment and giggled.

But...

When he looked at the big screen announcing his defeat again, even the always optimistic Ash felt a sense of loneliness in his heart.

He lost.

His journey to the Indigo Plateau Conference was over.

"Hah."

Sighing, Ash felt that his legs were a bit weak.

"Ash!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice entered his ears.

Ash hurriedly looked towards the stands.

Above the bleachers, Aisha was standing there, giving him a thumbs up.

"Ah... Instructor Ai."

Looking at the young man who gave him a thumbs up, even though he had lost, he was still looking at him with a smile on his face, Ash suddenly felt his eyes getting a little moist.

"Pika..."

At the same time, in Ash's arms, a bruised Pikachu struggled to open itseyes.

Its small hand rested on the back of Ash's hand, gently caressing it.

"Pikachu..."

"Pika~"

Ash couldn't help but laugh.

I feel like my body is full of power again!

...

It was a cool night in Indigo Plateau.

To celebrate Aisha's advancement to the final eight of the Indigo Plateau Conference, Brock and Green threw Instructor Ai a dinner party.

As it happens, Professor Oak and Delia are also at Indigo Plateau, and since Gary and Ash's duel was decided today, they're also here.

"Ah, I'm pissed off!"

At the dinner table, Ash was devouring his delicious meal as if he was angry, saying, "I could have won!"

"Huh?"

Gary covered his mouth as if he had heard some extremely funny joke.

"No, you didn't really think you could beat me, did you?"

"Your Charizard can't even hit my Golem because it doesn't know how to do Solar Beam, and my Golem can't even hit my Golem because it can't hit my Golem with a Stone Edge, so what are you going to do to beat me? Are you going to rely on the Charizard's blood to start a firestorm?"

"Aww, that's annoying!"

Ash couldn't refute Gary's words, and angrily gnawed on a large piece of meat.

Gary smiled and picked up his bowl with a satisfied face, and took a bite of his meal with pleasure.

"Hey, the feeling of victory is really great!"

"I'll kill you!"

Ash pounced on Gary.

The Pallet Town Twins began a no-holds-barred wild-card fight.

"Heheheh," stroked his white beard, Professor Oak smiled.

"I'm satisfied if one of you two can make it to the final eight."

Delia looked at Ash with a smile on her face. As a mother, she looked at her child, her eyes glittering with pain and relief.

"Well..."

Gold waved his hand, grabbed the conversation, said: "In fact, a year after his debut, and reached the top sixteen of the League Conference, Ash's performance is already considered good... no, it should be excellent."

Gold looked over at Ash and nodded.

Well, he liked this kid.

He was a little dumb, a little stupid.

But the strange tactics that deviated from the popular mindset were very much to Gold's liking.

This kid should be a good candidate for indiscriminate fighting.

"This way!"

Gold said, "I'll do it.

"Ash, since you're done fighting, why don't you come with me to Johto region for a while, and I'll teach you the essence of Undifferentiated Wild Battle!"

"Eh?"

Ash raised his head and looked at Gold with a skeptical expression.

"Does it really work?"

"Hey, you don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Gold will teach you, and you'll be able to kill Gary when you're done!"

Silver: "..."

Beside Silver, he first looked at Gold who was bragging, and then looked at Ash who had a blank face and didn't look too smart, and sighed.

Two idiots... That's it.

Now, New Bark Town is going to be lively.

"Yeah!"

Ash got up from Gary's body and agreed to Gold's proposal.

"Oh~" Professor Oak said as if he remembered something, "I remember Gold lives in New Bark Town, and there happens to be an old acquaintance of mine living above New Bark Town, Professor Elm."

He looked over at Ash and said, "If you're really ready to follow Gold to the Johto region, I've got a job for you!"

"Huh?"

While Professor Oak was snubbing Ash, Brock sighed.

"Instructor Ai made it to the Top Eight. Gary made it to the Top Eight... a one in four chance... Maybe you'll meet tomorrow."

"Huh?"

Gary froze for a moment.

Then, his eyes widened, and he looked at Instructor Ai, who had been quietly eating his food.

He had followed Instructor Ai's first five matches...

Instructor Ai's strength has been on full display in these five matches, whether it's frontal recklessness, or playing dirty tricks.

Although Gary is confident that his strength is not bad, but he is not brainless, naturally he knows that he is not Instructor Ai's opponent.

This... If he meets Instructor Ai in the next match, then, he and Ash will only be eliminated around the same time.

But, on the other hand.

Ash was able to get the Earth Badge from Gary's brother Blue after receiving Instructor Ai's teachings.

Then, if he could experience what it's like to fight Instructor Ai, it would be an important boost to his own strength.

"I'm fine with that."

After realizing this, Gary wasn't afraid anymore.

He had a clear understanding of his own strength, so he wouldn't be blindly confident or inferior.

On the contrary, he revealed a warlike smile towards Instructor Ai.

"Maybe, I'm the first one to force out Instructor Ai's second Pokémon in this Indigo Plateau Conference!"

"The next match is a six-on-six all-out battle, if you can't force out Instructor Ai's second Pokémon even though you've given away all six of your Pokémon, it's too embarrassing." Ash spat out a precise comment from the side.

Gary: "..."

Veins popped up on Gary's forehead.

"Asshole!"

He couldn't take it!

Gary, true to his Pallet Town roots, lunged at Ash.

Professor Oak: "Young people are so energetic."

Everyone ignored their childhood sweethearts over there and happily ate their meals.

After Green had eaten his fill, he pulled out a pile of information at once.

"Look, I've collected the list and information of the participants of the top eight of this Indigo Plateau Conference."

"Oh!"

Brock very enthusiastically came over.

Although Instructor Ai didn't feel it was necessary, after all, it was also Green's intention, so he raised his head cooperatively.

Well... It's also possible that the trio had nothing better to do with their time after their business had been taken over.

"Ahem..."

Facing Instructor Ai's curious gaze, Green cleared his throat and said, "On the list of the top eight of the Indigo Plateau Conference, besides Instructor Ai and Gary, there's also Wally from Verdanturf Town in the Hoenn region, whose representative Pokémon is Gallade, and in today's matchup, that Gallade directly defeated two of his opponents' Pokémon, it's probably his ace Pokémon."

"Uh-huh."

Instructor Ai agreed.

Gallade was indeed Wally's trump card Pokémon, and in the future, he would master Gallade's mega evolution, which would be even more powerful.

"In addition, a trainer worth noting is the Monk of Bell Tower in Johto, a master who specializes in Ghost-type Pokémon."

Green rattled off a long list of the fighting styles and Pokémon of each of the remaining trainers.

Instructor Ai and Gary took his words to heart.

"Right."

Misty looked at Instructor Ai and said, "Instructor Ai, which Pokémon are you going to use next?"

As soon as he said that, everyone's eyes were focused on him.

Instructor Ai had used a total of four Pokémon in his five matches so far, and these four Pokémon had unexpectedly shut down his opponents.

So, with three more matches to go, we wondered, would Instructor Ai still send three Pokémon to fight for a shutout?

"Uh..."

This was a question for Aisha.

He thought for a moment and said, "For the eight into four and the semi-finals, it still depends on the situation, but for the finals, I've decided."

"For the finals, I'm going to send out Caterpie."

Everyone in the room turned pale at those words.

Especially Misty.

The image of Instructor Ai violently killing her with the Caterpie in the Cerulean Gym Challenge was still fresh in her mind.

That Caterpie was able to crush her as a Gym Leader then, how strong is it now?

"Hiss!"

Brock sucked in a breath of cold air.

Others don't know, but he knows only too well.

At that time, in Grampa Canyon, Hunter J and the hunters of the Pokémon Hunter Association caused a huge beast tide.

Instructor Ai went to the mouth of the canyon to stop them, and Caterpie used a strange but incredibly powerful move that killed more than half of the wild Pokémon in the wave in a single blow.

That Caterpie definitely has the strength of an Elite Four or above, and with that kind of power, Brock would believe that it's a Champion-level Pokémon...

You're playing Indigo Plateau Conference with a Pokémon that looks like a Champion-level Pokémon?

Don't you think these contestants are a little too good for you?

"Ai-chan's Caterpie..."

Professor Oak remembered the Caterpie that was over two meters long, and was suspected of having dragon attributes, and looked like a green dragon from afar.

"I've never seen it in battle."

Professor Oak gave Aisha an affirmative look, very supportive of his idea of blowing up fish in the finals, saying, "I'm looking forward to its performance in the finals."

"It will definitely not let you down, Professor."

Instructor Ai responded to Professor Oak with a smile.

Caterpie had been with him for so long... The promise Instructor Ai made to him when he met him was to climb to the top with him.

This time, it's time to fulfill it.

"That's a fish fry..." Gary smacked his lips.

Instructor Ai laughed heartily.

I've got the ability to fry fish, what, you don't like it?

"Hey."

When it comes to the finals, Green sighed helplessly.

"My business... I'm afraid I'm going to lose money."

The Indigo Plateau Conference's business opportunities lie in the opening day and the finals.

These two days will be the most enthusiastic time for the onlookers.

These two days are also the best time to make money on the festival square.

Originally, Green had a huge stock of goods waiting to be sold.

Now... The Rainbow Rocket Trio's three business geniuses have taken over the entire festival square, and Green can't get any business at all.

"Green."

Aisha called out to her.

Green lifted her lifeless face and said: "What's wrong?"

"Do you want to cooperate?"

"Eh?"

Instructor Ai smiled.

He also knew that besides the opening ceremony, the two days of the semi-finals and the finals were also the time when the Plaza was full of tourists.

It's a good time to do business.

But... The trio didn't have enough to sell until the end.

To fill the gap, he decided to get Green on board.

"What do you say?"

When it came to business, Green was energized.

"I've been looking around, and what you're selling over there isn't that far off from what we're selling over here."

"You mean I'm not as good as they are?"

Green cast a furious look.

Instructor Ai, on the other hand, spread his hands and said, "Obviously."

Green: "..."

Green, silence!

Aisha sat over and patted her shoulder.

"Like this, you don't set up your stall, you bring your stuff over to us to sell to those three people, and then, you help contact your supplier over there, see if you can get in as much new goods as possible, we'll wait to sell the day after tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."

"After the closing ceremony of Indigo Plateau Conference, we'll split the money earned in those two days to two to eight." Aisha threw out a heavy bomb.

"Huh?"

Green froze.

Two and eight, no doubt about it, it's two for her and eight for Instructor Ai.

Don't look at the ratio of two to eight as a small percentage, but it has to be considered in conjunction with the total sales of the past two days.

In the past few days, Green has been paying a lot of attention to the Rainbow Rocket trio.

The more attention she paid, the more alarmed she was.

These three are business geniuses, and their ability to do business is not even comparable to her own, who has been cheating since she was a child.

If she gave them enough goods and let them show off their skills during the two days when the Indigo Plateau Conference had the most tourists, even if it was a two-eighty split, Green would still get a very generous reward.

All she had to do was supply the goods...

That, rounded up, is a freebie!

"Yes!"

Green's eyes glittered with the light of "$", and she shook Instructor Ai's hand.

"Happy cooperation, Instructor Ai!"

"Happy working together, Green."

Aisha smiled just as happily.

He had a long term vision... If the trio was going to be in business for a long time, a stable supplier was essential.

Right.

Instructor Ai planned to make Green a stable supplier for the trio.

Green has been in the business for more than ten years, he must have a wide range of relationships in supplying goods.

She has the advantage of purchasing large quantities of goods and stable supply.

With the trio's business skills, this combination could be unbeatable!

As it happens, Green also has Silver's connections, so if she follows the trio, Silver will definitely follow.

Over time, the trio, who don't look like bad guys at all, and are good at everything but the bad stuff, will change Silver's mind about Team Rainbow Rocket, and cultivate a sense of belonging to the organization.

Well, perfect...

We're family!

It's not like we're going to let anyone else in...

"Hey!"

Having made a deal with ease, Instructor Ai was in a good mood, and was ready to play a fish fry tomorrow.

After dinner, everyone was chatting with each other.

Instructor Ai took his cell phone and replied to Jasmine, Lance and other people's condolences, then suddenly realized that Ash did not know when he ran out.

"Huh?"

Aisha got up and walked out of the hotel's box when everyone wasn't looking.

Finally, he found Ash on a bench outside the restaurant.

Unlike his usual noisy self, Ash was very quiet at the moment.

He was looking up at the moon in the sky, wondering what he was thinking.

"Pika?"

Beside Ash, Pikachu looked at him blankly.

A little worried, but not sure what to do.

"Pikachu, am I weak?"

Ash suddenly asked.

"Pi?" Pikachu didn't know how to answer.

"I tried so hard, but I still lost to Gary..."

"It's not like everyone else is stagnant while you're trying, Ash."

Aisha's voice came from behind, and Ash turned his head.

"But..."

"I know what you're thinking."

Aisha patted Ash on the head and sat down next to him.

"Don't want to lose like this, don't want to stop here... But, Gold is right, your top sixteen result, as a new trainer just starting out, is already very good." Aisha helped Indigo Plateau Conference to smooth out Ash's thoughts, said: "Look, the trainers who participated in the Indigo Plateau Conference, many of them are veteran trainers who have traveled for at least a few years, and you are at a disadvantage against them, losing is not a problem, not to mention that you have won all the way up to this point, and only lost to Gary."

"But then again, you're not happy about it, and neither are the others."

"The trainers gathered here are all excellent trainers who have collected eight badges after countless difficulties and obstacles, and they all come here with the same dream to compete for the throne of the champion, so... What qualifications does our dream have to be superior to others?" Aisha looked at Ash and said, "Right?"

"The loser should learn the lesson and make up for the shortcomings; the winner should carry the will of the loser and continue to move forward..."

"You're right, Instructor Ai."

Ash took a deep breath and said, "I, indeed, shouldn't."

"Decision made!"

He stood up in a flash, saying, "I'm going to keep working out, and keep getting stronger!"

"In the next League Conference, I definitely won't lose!"

"Not bad."

Instructor Ai was very pleased to see Ash regaining his spirit.

Ash is still not good at all, but at least he's good at resisting pressure...

He's been losing and losing and losing.

That's not a bad thing.

One day, with this perseverance, he would become a truly outstanding trainer, just as he wanted to be.

"Instructor Ai!"

Ash looked at Aisha.

"What?"

Aisha smiled and waited for his words.

Ash looked to the moon and finally spoke the words.

"I want to become a Pokémon Master!"

"Pikachu!"

As Ash and Pikachu smiled and hugged each other, Instructor Ai's heart was swirling with a wonderful feeling.

"Okay, after you become a Pokémon Master, come back and challenge me again."

"Uh-huh!"

At this moment, inside the hotel's private room, Gary held his cell phone and checked the schedule for the next day.

[Aisha vs. Gary].

Gary: "Hmmm...ahhhhhhhhhhh!"