Nighttime. Inside the guest rooms of the Pokémon Center.
Yozora, Ash, Misty, and even Pikachu were all fast asleep.
At that moment, Charmander suddenly opened its eyes. Wobbling unsteadily, it slipped quietly toward the door.
Bang!
A flash of white light burst out.
Just as Charmander stepped outside, Beedrill emerged silently from Yozora's Poké Ball and followed after it.
As the "big brother" of the team, Beedrill always looked after its younger companions. It was already the dead of night, and Charmander sneaking off without a word naturally made it worried.
So, Beedrill went after it—partly to figure out what Charmander was up to in the middle of the night, and partly to keep it safe.
Completely unaware that Beedrill was watching from the shadows, Charmander wandered into the backyard battle arena.
It steadied its breathing, slipping into deep concentration.
Under deliberate control, the flames within its body began to surge toward its claws. With a sharp whoosh, blazing fire erupted, wrapping around its entire paw.
Without a doubt, this was a Fire-type physical move—Fire Punch.
Earlier that day, Charmander had been inspired after witnessing Pidgeotto's Wing Attack. That moment of realization had led to this breakthrough.
Charmander was born with the innate ability to breathe fire. That was its natural gift.
But Fire Punch was different. It gathered flame energy into its claws to deliver a physical strike—completely unlike Flamethrower, which was a ranged special attack.
And now…
Having reached the Senior Level, Charmander already possessed a deep foundation of strength. The instant it grasped the idea, it managed to learn Fire Punch on the spot.
But learning the move wasn't enough. Rather than being satisfied, Charmander trained relentlessly, sweat dripping down its body.
Only when the horizon began to pale with dawn did it finally wipe the sweat from its brow and head back the way it came.
Silent as the night.
No one knew what had happened—no one but Beedrill.
Morning.
With the sun high in the sky, Yozora, Ash, and Misty finished their breakfast and made their way to the Pewter Gym.
The doors stood wide open, and the three of them walked straight inside. Ash, as always, strode boldly to the front.
But once inside, they found the gym shrouded in darkness.
"Hello? Is anyone here? I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and I want to challenge this Gym!" Ash shouted without hesitation.
Click!
A spotlight snapped on, illuminating the raised platform ahead. Brock sat there, projecting an air of authority.
"What's with this act? Are you the Gym Leader?" Ash called out.
Brock shook his head. "I'm not the Gym Leader. I'm just a Gym Trainer, temporarily standing in as Leader."
The position of Gym Leader carried weight and demanded strength; it wasn't a role that just anyone could fill.
In fact, in the hierarchy of Trainers and Pokémon, "Gym Leader level" was its own recognized tier of power.
But even true Gym Leaders rarely fought challengers with their full strength. They were simply too strong.
Take Giovanni or Pryce, for instance—if they battled at full power, no challenger would ever earn a badge.
The true duty of a Gym was to nurture strong Trainers for the League. Gym Leaders and Gym Trainers were meant to guide challengers, to give them pressure and obstacles—not to crush them pointlessly.
Of course, if someone challenged the Gym with malicious intent, that was a different story. In those cases, the Gym Leader would unleash their full might to repel the threat. Losing a Gym battle in earnest was one thing—but to be defeated in a hostile takeover would be a disgrace to the Gym's name, and even to its lineage.
…
Brock, though not the official Pewter Gym Leader, was still the Leader's son. As acting Leader, his strength was formidable.
Misty was a similar case—daughter of the Cerulean Gym, the only one of her four sisters with true talent as a Trainer. She was essentially the next Gym Leader-in-waiting.
"I don't care if you're the Gym Leader or just some stand-in!" Ash declared. "All I need to do is beat you to get a Badge, right? Then let's battle!"
Headstrong as ever, Ash charged forward without hesitation.
Brock accepted with a nod. "The rules of Pewter Gym are two-on-two. The field is Rock Terrain. The battle ends when one side's two Pokémon are unable to fight. Is that acceptable?"
Ash nodded firmly.
Brock immediately sent out his first Pokémon—Geodude.
It wasn't particularly high-leveled, but not weak either—already at the Junior Level's peak.
"So my opponent is Geodude? Then I choose you, Pidgeotto!" Ash countered, sending out his bird Pokémon.
But Pidgeotto was only at Junior Level, much weaker in comparison.
Worse yet, its Flying type had a terrible match-up against Rock.
The first round ended quickly in Ash's defeat.
"You idiot, Ash!" Misty snapped. "I told you to use one of my Pokémon, but you wouldn't listen! Don't you realize? Against Rock-types, your Pokémon are all at a disadvantage!"
"Shut up!" Ash yelled back.
"All you ever talk about is type matchups! Don't you know? If you've got the will to fight, you can beat any type!"
Clearly, this was still early Ash—stubborn as a mule, deaf to Misty's well-meaning advice.
Next, Ash sent out Pikachu.
Brock responded with Onix. A single Bind left Pikachu suffering in its coils, and Ash was finally forced to concede defeat.
"Return, Onix," Brock said calmly, recalling his Pokémon. He looked down at Ash. "Challenger Ash, you're still far too green. Go train more before you return."
Though clearly frustrated, Ash said nothing this time. The back-to-back losses had, at last, humbled him a little.
"Then… you're next, aren't you?" Brock's gaze shifted to Yozora.
"Yes. I'm Yozora," he replied, stepping forward to take Ash's place on the battlefield.
Brock's eyes lingered briefly on Charmander at Yozora's side. At a glance, his expression softened in admiration. "You're nothing like Ash. This Charmander of yours is exceptionally well trained."
"Charrr!"
Overjoyed by the praise, Charmander puffed out its chest and roared proudly. Then, unprompted, it clenched its claws and unleashed several blazing Fire Punches in quick succession.
"That's Fire Punch! When did you…?" Yozora's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Charmander to learn such a move on its own. Surprise quickly gave way to delight.
…
(End of Chapter)