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When Gary battled in Lapras back then, his ace Pokémon Wartortle was at the peak of Elite Level. Now, more than half a month has passed since then, and it's not impossible for his Wartortle to have evolved into Blastoise.
In the early stages, Pokémon that can undergo multiple evolutions have a significant advantage; as long as they are well-trained, they can usually advance one level after evolution.
Some people even use this method to break through a Pokémon's bottleneck, for example, by using an Everstone to suppress a Pokémon's evolution, and then, when its level is stuck, removing the Everstone to allow it to evolve and break through.
Sabrina, for instance, even actively suppressed her Pokémon's form to undergo rigorous training.
However, Sabrina's method could only be accomplished by someone like her, who had mastered Psychic abilities to an incredible degree.
If Gary's Wartortle evolved into Blastoise, its level should be similar to Ash's current Charizard and Gardevoir, but his ace Pokémon, Pikachu, would still be a cut above!
Thinking of this, Ash felt a slight sense of relief. After all, if he couldn't surpass Gary even with a cheat, it would be too much.
He had the guidance of countless Superior and breeding strategies; if it weren't for being a bit poor, he could actually make his Pokémon improve even faster... "By the way, Professor Oak, how are Primeape and the others doing?"
"They're doing great! I didn't expect that Gastly... oh, now it should be called Gengar. That Gengar is quite skilled at training Pokémon! Butterfree and Primeape are progressing quite quickly under your Gengar's guidance. If that fellow were to set up its own business, it might even become a Pokémon Breeder among Pokémon. You really caught a treasure!"
When Gengar was mentioned, even Professor Oak's words were filled with deep admiration.
He had seen many strong Pokémon, but a Pokémon that could help a Trainer train other Pokémon? This was truly the first time he had ever seen such a thing!
Ever since returning from Saffron Gym, Gastly had maintained its Gengar form. In its words, it was too lazy to keep changing back and forth, and the Gengar form was quite good, with hands and feet.
Later, he learned that Gengar was enthusiastic about teaching Ash's two Pokémon in the backyard, namely Butterfree and the pink Butterfree.
Having hands and feet made teaching more convenient. Under Gengar's guidance, the two Butterfree had already reached the Advanced Elite Level and Junior Elite Level, respectively.
For a Bug-type Pokémon like Butterfree, improvement is relatively slow, which is paying off the debt of its earlier rapid growth. So, even though Pidgeotto had already reached the peak of Elite Level, Butterfree was still at the Intermediate Elite Level.
It wasn't until Gengar started teaching it recently that Butterfree upgraded to Advanced Elite Level in the past two days.
Although Primeape's level was still at the peak of Elite Level, under Gengar's guidance, Primeape seemed to be gradually drawing out another power within its body...
"Speaking of which, Ash, you might not believe it, but Primeape's body actually contains another type..."
"Ghost-type, right?" Ash directly revealed Professor Oak's riddle.
Professor Oak looked as if he had seen a ghost: "How did you know?!"
"Otherwise, why would I have given Primeape to Gengar to train?" Ash rolled his eyes, looking as if it was obvious, and then he said with emotion.
"But I didn't expect Gengar to not only be able to draw out Primeape's Ghost-type power but also teach Butterfree... Professor Oak, Gengar likes noodles, so could you ask my mom to make him some pasta?"
Professor Oak's instant noodles were truly too shabby. Although Gengar had lived for a thousand years, it was basically confined to Girl Gorge and hadn't ventured out, so it had no idea about instant noodles. They were just for filling its stomach.
It wasn't that they tasted good, nor were they terrible, but compared to the food Delia made, they were indeed trash.
"Heh, so you look down on my instant noodles, huh... Forget it, I'll ask Delia to make some for me too. I'm a bit tired of eating instant noodles lately," Professor Oak muttered to himself.
"If Mom agrees, then that's fine. I'll hang up if there's nothing else. I'm leaving Gengar and the others to you, Professor Oak."
"Leave it to me, you can rest assured." Professor Oak gave an OK gesture.
After hanging up the phone, Ash and the others continued to sit in the Pokémon Center for a while. Firstly, the Pokémon had not fully recovered; this time, the recovery period was longer than usual, indicating that Charizard and Gardevoir had been pushed to their limits in the last battle.
Another reason was that they needed to plan their next Gym visit.
With three more badges, Ash could participate in the Indigo League, but deciding which Gyms to challenge for these three badges was a challenge for Ash.
If it were an ordinary Gym, with Ash's current strength, he wouldn't need to exert much effort. After all, he could already battle at the Professional Level, and even in a three-on-three Professional Level battle, he had more than a 50% chance of winning.
And generally, a Gym's Professional Level is the highest it gets.
Furthermore, Ash's travel time is only approaching two months. Strictly speaking, as long as he doesn't propose to challenge a higher difficulty, the assigned challenge difficulty will be either Tier 1 or Tier 2.
In a battle of the same level, to put it bluntly—he is invincible!
So Ash was currently considering whether to increase the difficulty for himself a bit.
"Are you really going to that Gym next? This is known as one of the four major Gyms in Kanto. Are you planning to use Gengar to battle again, Ash?" Brock advised when he heard Ash confirm the next Gym location.
"We're going there. Not only the next Gym, but the next two Gyms will be here and here." Ash's finger pointed on the table, causing Misty and Brock's expressions to change dramatically.
"Fuchsia, Crimson, Viridian... Ash, are you that overconfident now? You want to challenge all four major Gyms in Kanto?"
That's right, the three Gyms Ash wanted to challenge next were precisely the remaining four major Gyms in Kanto!
Ash had already battled Saffron Gym, one of Kanto's four major Gyms, and the difficulty involved was naturally self-evident. Even with an Elite Four level, thousand-year-old Gengar, they nearly capsized.
While these subsequent Gyms might not be as unpredictable as Sabrina of Saffron Gym, their strength is absolutely not inferior to Sabrina's.
Of course, unlike Sabrina, they offer difficulty choices and will hold back, but the level of the four major Gyms is a step above normal Gyms, so even their lowest difficulty challenge is Elite Level!
Slightly stronger is Professional, then the third level is Gym Level, and the top challenge difficulty is their true strength—Elite Four level!
Moreover, while the Pokémon's difficulty can be chosen, the Trainer's skill is genuine!
Other Gym Leaders don't have Sabrina's unfathomable Psychic abilities, but their command abilities are absolutely far superior to Sabrina's!
Meeting them, Ash, let alone challenging above his level as before, it would be good if he wasn't challenged above his level.
That's why Brock said Ash was overconfident, daring to make the remaining four major Gyms his challenge targets.
"Without pressure, where's the motivation? Haven't I been walking this path all along? It's precisely because I've challenged many seemingly insurmountable opponents that I've been able to progress so quickly. Since that's the case, let's carry this experience through to the end!"
Ash said with determination, his words already deciding the fate of the remaining three Gyms.
Fuchsia, Crimson, and finally Viridian!
If he could get the badges from these three Gyms, then at the Indigo League, he would have a very high chance of winning the Champion title!
Winning the Champion title in his first League competition... The thought alone was exciting!
"So your next Gym is definitely Fuchsia?"
"Yes." Ash nodded.
The next Gym, Fuchsia Gym, located in Fuchsia City, its Gym Leader Koga is a Poison-type specialist Trainer, and his strength is—Elite Four level!
"I don't know much about Gym Leader Koga, after all, Pewter City is quite far from Fuchsia City, and information transmission wasn't as convenient back then as it is now. So I only know some general information about Gym Leader Koga."
Brock, of course, had the most extensive knowledge in the group; he had served as a Gym Leader for several years, and the information he possessed was not something Misty could compare to.
However, even Brock didn't know much about Koga. On one hand, Fuchsia City was too far from Pewter City, and there wasn't the kind of developed network back then that there is now.
He heard that portable phones would appear in a while, and by then, information transmission would probably be even more convenient. That was something the era several years ago couldn't compare to.
Another reason was that Koga was a provisional Elite in the Johto region.
Although a provisional Elite is not yet a true Elite, at this stage, he has at least six Elite Four level Pokémon, as this is the minimum standard for becoming an Elite.
There are two ways for a provisional Elite to become an official Elite: one is to wait for the current Elite to step down, in which case the provisional Elite naturally takes over; the other is to directly challenge the current Elite, and if successful, you naturally become the new Elite.
However, the position of provisional Elite is not easily obtained. After all, standing in this position means you are only one step away from being an Elite, and you can challenge an Elite anytime, anywhere. Without a certain contribution to the League, or outstanding strength and talent, it's naturally impossible to be in this position.
As a provisional Elite, Koga was very secretive about the information regarding his main Pokémon, because he wanted to become an official Elite through the second method!
That's right, Koga was going to challenge an Elite of the Johto League, so he had to keep his Pokémon's information confidential. If his own intelligence leaked out before the battle, the chances of winning the battle would be greatly reduced.
"...So, whether it's the situation of Koga's main Pokémon or some other reserve Pokémon, the outside world doesn't know much. The only thing known is that Koga uses Poison-type Pokémon, and even the lowest difficulty challenge is Elite Level."
"Among those who come to Kanto to challenge the Indigo League, there are few who are crazy enough to challenge the Professional Level." After saying this, Brock looked at Ash strangely.
Wasn't there a crazy one right here?
Challenging Erika's Professional Level Pokémon was indeed passive, but challenging Lt Surge's Professional Level Pokémon must have been Ash's initiative, right?
Trainers participating in the Indigo League are all Trainers with less than two years of experience. How many Trainers can possess more than three Professional Level Pokémon within less than two years of travel?
"Hey, hey, hey! What do you mean 'crazy'? I'm challenging myself, alright!" Ash pounded the table in dissatisfaction, shouting. Misty quickly tugged at Ash's sleeve, telling him not to do such things in public.
Ash then belatedly sat down.
"If you want to go to Fuchsia Gym, then go. I also want to see how far you can go, Ash. But before going to Fuchsia Gym, accompany me to Beauty Street first."
"Beauty Street?" * 2
"Yes, it's a street in Celadon City. On Beauty Street, there's a Breeder I admire. I embarked on the path of a Breeder because of her."
Upon hearing this, Misty and Ash exchanged glances, both with curiosity in their eyes.
They didn't expect Brock to become a Breeder because of one person. What kind of magic did that person possess?
"Ash's Pokémon have recovered. Please come to the front desk to collect them." As the three finished their conversation, the broadcast sounded at the opportune moment, and the three of them went to the Pokémon Center front desk to retrieve their Pokémon.
Ash glanced at the time; it was already quite late. Although the Beauty Street Brock mentioned was in Celadon City, it wasn't close. It would take at least several hours to walk there, and by then it would probably be midnight. Also, he didn't know if there was an Pokémon Center on that street.
So Ash suggested staying here for a night, strolling around, and then heading to Beauty Street early tomorrow morning.
Brock also agreed. Since they were already in Celadon City, there was no need to rush.
The group requested to stay there from Joy, and then they were led by Joy to an empty room. After putting away their luggage, the three went to stroll along the streets in the center of Celadon City.
Celadon City was full of tall buildings. Compared to Pewter City and Pallet Town, there wasn't a single bit of mountains or water visible around this place, which made Ash and the others, who were used to seeing mountains and water, a bit unaccustomed for a while.
But it was only for this short period; they would leave soon.
While strolling, they arrived in front of Celadon City's largest perfume shop. Ash wasn't interested, but Brock and Misty both wanted to go inside and look.
The latter's thoughts were naturally self-evident; what girl doesn't like perfume? Even if there are some, they are very few.
As for the former... he simply thought there might be many older sisters in the perfume shop.
So, under the pulling of the two, Ash could only helplessly follow them into the perfume shop. However, inside the perfume shop, he met a very familiar person.
"Erika?!" After entering the perfume shop, the figure of the shop owner that met Ash's eyes made him blurt out.
Who else could it be but Erika, the Gym Leader of Celadon Gym?