Not far away, as Gary's Squirtle collapsed under the force of Thunderbolt, he froze in place.
His proud tactics, the carefully prepared Dig—he hadn't even had a chance to use them.
Gary felt like something important had been yanked out of him.
Maybe it was his confidence, maybe his sense of superiority... or something else entirely.
"No way. No way this is real…"
Right now, for Gary, it all felt like a dream.
"W-What just happened…?"
At the same time, the busty girl at his side had unknowingly let go of his arm.
Her perfectly applied makeup seemed to twist in disbelief.
She felt like her mind had blanked out for a second—like she'd disconnected from reality.
"This can't be real… I must be going insane…"
"One-shot? Gary's Squirtle got taken out by Ash's Pikachu in one hit?!"
"That's impossible! That Squirtle was almost ready to evolve!"
Everyone who had been fawning over Gary stood there, mouths open, eyes wide. Completely stunned.
But the truth was undeniable. Ash had won the battle—in a single move.
Only when there was an overwhelming power gap between Trainers could something like this happen.
No one had ever expected that Gary, who had dominated this year's class… was this far behind Ash.
And if that was the case—didn't that mean they were even further behind?
For a moment, all the students fell into a stunned silence.
"Pika~"
Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder.
It was also staring at its little paws—apparently surprised by the strength it had just unleashed.
But soon after, it puffed up its chest proudly, its red cheeks crackling with static.
"…What exactly happened just now?"
Among the crowd, the only one still thinking clearly was Leaf.
She stared at Ash and Pikachu.
That sudden "overwhelming presence" from earlier—it definitely hadn't been a fluke.
"For a second, I swear my brain just crashed…"
"Was that… some kind of ability? Or a talent?"
As one of the top graduates this year, Leaf knew a thing or two about rare Trainer traits.
Like the current Champion of Kanto—former Elite Four Dragon-type specialist: Lance.
It was rumored Lance possessed a natural affinity for Dragon-types.
He could catch rare Dragons using regular Poké Balls.
Any Dragon Pokémon in his care would perform far beyond expectations.
Even their move power would be enhanced.
"Maybe Ash also has some kind of talent… one even stronger than Lance's."
Leaf lightly bit her lip. Her eyes carried a trace of envy as she looked at Ash.
But only for a moment—then she let it go with a smile.
Only by competing with Trainers like this would the journey ahead be truly meaningful.
If everyone was like Gary, relying solely on family resources to dominate… that would be boring as hell.
With Ash effortlessly defeating Gary, the entire battle had ended in the blink of an eye.
Around the field, more and more students were gathering.
Graduates and underclassmen alike had heard about the result of the fight.
The buzz of conversation spread like oil hitting a hot pan—boiling over quickly.
"So Ash wasn't avoiding battles because he was weak… he was just too strong…"
"Yeah, even Gary—the so-called strongest of our class—didn't last a single round. We wouldn't stand a chance either."
"Looks like we've got another future champion coming out of our school!"
While the graduates marveled, among the underclassmen—
One wide-eyed student exaggerated to his buddies: "Did you guys hear?! Ash unleashed Conqueror's Haki during that battle!"
"It was just for a second—but everyone, including Pokémon, got frozen on the spot!"
"No way. That sounds fake as hell…"
Others weren't convinced.
"Isn't 'Conqueror's Haki' from One Piece?"
"Exactly! What's next? Am I supposed to be Admiral Aokiji now? Or Akainu? Or—Chopper?!"
"Chopper your ass! Did you even watch the show?!"
While the lowerclassmen were busy mythologizing Ash's victory, back on the battlefield—
"Ash~ I don't have your contact info yet~"
The busty girl was the first to cozy up to him, suddenly super enthusiastic.
"Mei, you sneaky girl! Weren't you just saying you wanted to be Gary's girlfriend?"
"Oh, come on~ That was when I was young and dumb~!"
"Ash-nii~ Are you still looking for a travel companion~?"
At this point, the girls were all flocking to Ash.
Now that Gary's [Family Resources] trait had been stripped, his former fan club didn't feel so eager to kiss up to him anymore.
Meanwhile, Ash was practically glowing with golden light.
If they could get in good with a future Champion… their future would be set.
But Ash wasn't interested. He brushed them off with polite disinterest, then quietly left the school grounds.
He had much more important things to do—it was time to prepare for the journey ahead.
With the Plunderer System in hand—his future was limitless.
[End of Chapter]