"Come back, Charmeleon!"
Ash helplessly took out his Poké Ball to recall Charmeleon. Pikachu, seeing this scene, moved to Ash's feet to comfort him, telling Ash not to be too sad.
But Pikachu seemed to misunderstand Ash. Ash wasn't surprised at all by Charmeleon's defeat—instead, he was accustomed to it and obediently waited for Red's criticism.
"Ash, Charmeleon has excellent talent. You must pay more attention to training it," Red advised, his voice firm but caring. "Before its body is fully developed, you must prevent it from forcibly evolving. Forced evolution will only damage its battle potential, so you must be very careful."
"Don't worry, Big Brother. I'll pay more attention," Ash promised earnestly.
After the battle ended, most of the trainers who had been watching immediately ran over, ignoring Officer Jenny's attempts to stop them, wanting to witness what kind of powerful trainer could command such a Charizard.
To avoid exposing his identity as much as possible, Red used Teleport to leave with Ash after giving his advice, leaving only the Team Rocket trio, who had been knocked unconscious by Pikachu's electric attack.
The Team Rocket trio, who had just regained consciousness, hadn't yet reacted when they were questioned by the many trainers who had arrived, coincidentally providing cover for Red's escape.
After repeated questioning, everyone saw the stupid expressions on the Team Rocket trio's faces and realized that Team Rocket wasn't the powerful trainer they wanted to meet, so they left disappointedly.
The Team Rocket trio, upon seeing Officer Jenny's figure, hastily fled the scene, leaving only the trainers looking at each other in confusion.
'Red, your Charizard is getting stronger and stronger...' As a childhood friend and rival, Gary naturally recognized Red's Charizard. After witnessing its overwhelming strength, Gary turned and hurriedly left with his cheerleader squad, planning to find a suitable place to train intensively with his Pokémon.
'Red, I look forward to the day I defeat you at the Indigo League!'
"Ash! Red! Thank goodness you're both safe!"
After teleporting elsewhere, the two brothers had just landed when they saw Misty and Brock hurriedly running up to check on them.
"Ash, this is a Pokémon Egg I 'accidentally' found underground," Red said, taking out a Pokémon Egg from his backpack. This egg had red and blue triangular ring patterns—clearly this was Togepi's egg.
"A Pokémon Egg! Please let me take care of it!" Brock said excitedly, taking the egg from Red's arms. Taking care of Pokémon eggs was this Pokémon breeder's specialty.
"What's with you, Brock? This is clearly an egg Big Brother is giving to me!" Ash said speechlessly.
"Ash is so careless, he'd definitely drop the egg. Better leave it to me and Brock to take care of!" Misty laughed.
Finally, the canyon was sealed off by League officials who arrived, strictly prohibiting outsiders from conducting excavation activities in the area.
"Red, how is it that every time there's a major incident, you always appear at the scene?" The arriving workaholic—Dragon Master Lance—looked at Red helplessly.
"I'd like to ask you, how is it that every time a League Elite Four member comes, it's always you?" Red replied with exasperation. "Couldn't they send a new face?"
"What choice do I have? Among the Elite Four, my Pokémon have the fastest support speed," Lance explained helplessly. He didn't want to come either.
"The outside world calling you the Flying-type Elite Four isn't without basis," Red teased.
"That's pure slander!" Lance explained seriously, wanting to get rid of the Flying-type Elite Four nickname as much as possible.
"The underground of the canyon is home to many ancient Pokémon that miraculously survived," Red said, pointing downward to explain the situation to Lance. "Unlike genetically revived ancient Pokémon, these are truly carnivorous creatures that need proper handling."
"I see. Looks like the Kanto League will have to issue you another honorary certificate," Lance said matter-of-factly.
"These are small matters. I've already reported capturing three ancient Pokémon. Just don't let those old fogeys from the League higher-ups bother me afterward," Red said leisurely.
At that same time, Professor Oak, who was researching Kabutops and Omastar in Pallet Town, heard a message notification from his computer and curiously clicked on the email.
"Wow! Not only did he capture Kabutops and Omastar, he even captured Aerodactyl, known as the Sky King of ancient times. It seems Red's recent travels have been quite fruitful."
Professor Oak excitedly checked Aerodactyl's general data, his hands trembling with happiness. After all, ancient Pokémon weren't common research subjects, especially since the three sent back were genuine ancient Pokémon, not the genetically revived varieties.
This time Red had consecutively sent back three ancient Pokémon, making Professor Oak extremely happy. The Professor might find other things troublesome, but he never tired of researching Pokémon.
After the canyon incident ended, Red bid farewell to Ash's group and continued his journey alone toward the Seafoam Islands.
As Red continued his journey toward Cinnabar Gym, which held the Volcano Badge, encountering battles along the way was inevitable.
At this moment, Red was having a battle with a Hiker who was passing through the area.
"I choose you, Cubone!" Red shouted, throwing his Poké Ball.
"I'm counting on you, Geodude!" the Hiker shouted, also throwing his Poké Ball.
As the two flashes of white light faded, Cubone, holding its bone club, and Geodude appeared simultaneously on the battlefield, cautiously observing each other's movements.
"Looks like I have the type advantage," Red said 'proudly,' trying to make the Hiker reveal an opening.
"The battle isn't decided yet! Geodude, use Rollout!"
After hearing Red's words, the Hiker eagerly launched the first attack, unaware he had fallen into Red's trap.
"Use Bonemerang, then follow up with Brick Break!" Red commanded.
Geodude, curled into a ball, quickly rolled towards Cubone's direction. But the smaller Cubone showed no panic, calmly following Red's commands and hurling its bone club.
The spinning bone club struck Geodude's body, slowing down its rolling speed and indirectly affecting Rollout's power.
Cubone's hands released white light, combining its palms into a hand blade, then fiercely swinging the blade down to attack Geodude. The Brick Break attack nearly knocked Geodude to the ground.
"Hang in there, Geodude!" the Hiker cheered.
"Give up struggling! Cubone, use Headbutt!"
Catching the spinning bone club as it returned, Cubone extended its head and charged straight at Geodude. The weakened Geodude, seeing Cubone's fierce momentum, couldn't follow the Hiker's commands and fell into a flinching state.
Geodude, frozen in place, was hit by Cubone's Headbutt attack and fainted with swirling eyes.
"Cubone!"
The victorious Cubone excitedly raised both hands. Just as Red was about to go pet Cubone's little head, brilliant evolution light emanated from Cubone's body. Under the witness of Red and the Hiker, Cubone's body underwent obvious changes.
[Chapter Complete]
***
Want more? Check out my Patreon for:
✓ Advanced chapters of all my stories
✓ Exclusive novels & fanfics
✓ Early access content [email protected]/meowthtl
💪 Community Goal: 500 Power Stones unlocks a bonus chapter!
Thanks for reading and supporting the story!