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In the Pokémon Center in Saffron City, Ethan was eating dinner while talking on the phone with Handsome.
On the phone, Handsome praised, "You're truly incredible! I just asked you to check on the situation, and you actually went ahead and solved the whole thing!"
"Hardly 'solved' it…" Ethan took a large sip of juice. "They were leaderless after their boss left, yet they still resisted for a long time and nearly succeeded. In the final moments, they wisely chose to retreat, without leaving a single casualty."
"Alright, don't worry too much about those details," Handsome said, his tone still impressed. "If it were anyone else, they wouldn't have been able to complete the mission like you. So, what do you say, consider joining the International Police? I think you have great potential."
"Forget it, my goal is to win the League Conference, not to deal with these bad guys every day," Ethan flatly refused. He then leaned back in his chair and asked, "How's the situation on your end? Have you found Team Rocket's base?"
"No," Handsome answered bluntly. "Celadon City is so big, it's hard to know where to even begin looking. I did find a clue earlier, but it quickly went cold. Oh, by the way, this is your next destination, right? When you get here, I'll treat you to a meal as a thank you."
"Sounds good. I'll get in touch with you when I arrive."
While saying this, Ethan was thinking about another matter. Team Rocket's base? He was tempted to say something but decided against it. Knowing things in advance isn't always a good thing. The more you say, the more mistakes you can make, and it's easy for a single word to cause suspicion or misunderstanding.
After resting for a night in Saffron City, Ethan continued his journey to the next Gym the next day. According to the map, the closest Gym city was Celadon City. Since he hadn't contacted Misty, he didn't know if Ash had successfully obtained his fifth Badge.
The distance between the two cities wasn't too far, but even so, he had only covered most of the journey by noon. Along the way, he passed through plains and forests. A gentle breeze blew by, carrying swarms of Butterfree flying through the sky, a magnificent sight.
He took a commemorative photo of this rare scene. Just as Ethan was about to find a place to rest his feet, a red convertible sped past him, then quickly reversed. As the dust from the car settled, Ethan turned to see five people in the car. Besides a handsome young man with reddish-brown hair in the passenger seat, everyone else, including the driver, was a beautiful young woman!
The young man wore large sunglasses and turned to carefully observe Ethan. He said, "I remember you. I saw you from a distance when you came to Professor Oak's lab to deliver something to my grandpa."
This young man was, of course, Professor Oak's grandson and Ash's first rival—Gary!
"You must be Gary, right?" Ethan said, feigning surprise. "A few days ago, when I was chatting with Ash, he mentioned you. He said you've been his friend since childhood and his acknowledged rival."
"Is that so?" Gary didn't seem to care much. "Ash can be quite talkative sometimes. Oh, and judging from that Pokémon next to you, you must be the one who told that Samurai boy in Viridian Forest to give a hard time to the Trainers from Pallet Town?"
Recalling that experience, Ethan chuckled. "That was me. What about it? Did he give you any trouble?"
"Thanks to you, I was attacked by him without warning as soon as I entered the forest," Gary pouted. "He also said you're an incredibly strong Trainer. Is that true?"
"That depends on who I'm being compared to," Ethan didn't deny it. "I haven't lost a single battle on my journey so far."
"What's that? I haven't lost a single battle either!" With Ethan's answer, Gary couldn't tell if he was genuinely skilled or just bragging. So he thought for a moment and asked, "Then how many Badges do you have now?"
"Four Badges," Ethan replied, then pointed in the direction ahead. "But I'm on my way to Celadon Gym now to challenge the Gym Leader there. I'll have my fifth Badge soon."
"What? Only four Badges? That's pretty slow. It seems your skill level is about the same as Ash's," Gary's tone was filled with arrogance. "I've already collected seven Badges. I'm on my way to Viridian City now to get my next one."
So he judges strength by the number of Badges, huh…
He really was quite arrogant! But it made sense. Gary was just starting his journey, full of ambition. As Professor Oak's grandson, he believed he had an advantage from his background. He hadn't yet experienced the crushing defeats of a major conference, so naturally, he didn't put anyone in his eyes.
Thinking this, Ethan took out a Poké Ball, enlarged it, and spun it on his finger. "In that case, what do you say? Care for a battle?"
"A battle?" Gary shrugged. "Sorry, I don't have time to waste here. If you really want to battle me, then I wish you luck making it to the Indigo League Conference and meeting me there!"
With that, Gary waved his hand. The convertible roared to life again and sped away.
"Heheheh," Gastly floated out of Ethan's shadow, mocking itself, "It seems we've been underestimated."
Watching Gary's car disappear into the distance, Ethan shook his head. To be so young, have a sports car, and be accompanied by so many beautiful girls… he really is quite enviable.
Putting those thoughts aside, he put down his backpack and had Kirlia gather some firewood for cooking. He also released all his other Pokémon except Zapdos and Magikarp. By now, these Pokémon, having spent so much time with him, already knew what to do without being told. Squirtle, with a water bottle, went to the river to get water, while Charmander lit the fire. As for Ivysaur, it led the other Pokémon into the nearby forest to gather berries. Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
After everyone had eaten their fill, Ethan took out the Poké Ball containing Magikarp. After a moment of thought, he went to the river and released it. With a flash of blue light, Magikarp appeared in the river, swimming back and forth happily.
Upon closer inspection, Ethan realized the Magikarp salesman had indeed lied to him. This was a male Magikarp; how could it possibly lay eggs!?
But come to think of it, a long time had passed since Ethan got this Pokémon. By all accounts, it should have evolved by now. Yet after all this time, there were no signs of it evolving.
Could it really be that it needs a final kick from James to evolve?
"Hey, Gastly," Ethan turned to Gastly and asked, "In a situation like this, is there any way to make it evolve quickly?"
"Evolve?" Gastly chuckled. "What? Is evolving really such a difficult thing?"
Ethan has reunited with his rival, Gary, who is arrogant and boasts about his progress, refusing to battle Ethan. Ethan and his Pokémon are now taking a break, and Ethan is wondering how to get his Magikarp to evolve, a task he's been struggling with.
What do you think Gastly means by its question? Does it have a special ability or knowledge that could help Ethan evolve his Magikarp, or is it just being its mischievous self?
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Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 65 on my patreon, go check it out
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if you want more updates == supports with power stones
Every 10 Power Stones==Bonus Chapter