Team Rocket's underground headquarters in Celadon City—
A man with a buzz cut watched the scene on the display in front of him, slowly stroking the head of a Persian beside him with his thick hand. After a moment, he pressed a button to the side, and a deep voice echoed in the room.
"Athena, go investigate all the information about Ash from Pallet Town. Also, if there's a chance to meet him, bring him back."
...
At this moment, everyone worldwide who had paid attention to this battle silently remembered Ash's name in their hearts.
With only two months of experience since his debut, he overwhelmingly defeated the ace of a prospective Elite. Such an achievement speaks volumes about how terrifying his talent is, how exaggerated his strength is!
However, some discerning Trainers are aware of the inside story, which is that Ash's Bulbasaur wasn't truly that powerful, but rather enhanced to that level through special means.
As for what special means… only Ash knows.
At the Fuchsia Gym, Koga had already recalled his Crobat from the field. At this moment, the Gym's arena was in tatters, and the league would surely have to pay out a lot of money.
'Ash' didn't recall his Bulbasaur but continued to guide Bulbasaur with Aura Power.
'Through the battle just now, I think you must have come to a decision, right? Not evolving can still make you stronger, but some things can't be obtained without evolving.'
'Your strength enhancement will become much slower if you don't evolve. Moreover, you won't be able to execute moves like Frenzy Plant. The fighting styles of evolving and not evolving are entirely different.'
'If you don't evolve, you can use your agile posture to engage opponents. If you evolve, you can use the method I just taught you: even if they are strong, you have your way of recovering.'
'The two fighting styles are entirely different, so you must quickly decide your path. Wavering back and forth will only slow your progress.'
Champion Ash's voice echoed in Bulbasaur's mind. Feeling the abundant power in its body and thinking about the battle style just now, its gaze gradually became resolute.
"Dana!" I want to evolve!!
Just as Koga was about to step forward to say something to Ash, Bulbasaur's sudden growl startled him. He said somewhat confusedly, "Ash, you've already won this match. Can't you let Bulbasaur stop maintaining its battle stance?"
"Hehe, don't mind him. He's just introspecting during the battle and needs some time to absorb it. Give him a moment." Ash waved his hand, indicating that Koga had misunderstood Bulbasaur's intent.
Koga's face showed an extremely strange expression.
Introspection? What introspection? The feeling of defeating Crobat in one move? What can be introspected from that!
Could it be the savoring of the feeling of a one-hit knockout?
'It's good that you've determined your direction, but don't evolve just yet. Your Trainer will take you to an appropriate place to evolve.'
Champion Ash's voice echoed again in Bulbasaur's mind, but this statement made Bulbasaur feel very strange.
What does 'your Trainer' mean? Aren't you my Trainer?
'I'll leave the rest to you.' Leaving these words, Champion Ash's spirit returned to the chat group from Ash's body, and then through the chat group back to his body.
Ash's gaze, originally scattered, gradually focused. At this moment, Koga had already approached Ash.
He intended to give Ash the Fuchsia Badge, but suddenly, he felt that the Ash in front of him seemed different again.
This Ash seemed to have returned to the original Ash!
This sounds a bit convoluted, but that's exactly what it means.
During the third battle with Ash, Koga constantly felt as if Ash had changed into someone else. Though his appearance hadn't changed, his aura was completely different.
Moreover, that Ash, despite being different, still had similarities to the original Ash... During the battle, Koga was focused entirely on the fight, but after it ended, he kept feeling that the Ash just now was all sorts of wrong.
Could it be that Ash has a second personality?
At this time, Ash, who had returned, was still pondering the words Champion Ash had entrusted to him after leaving.
'Since Bulbasaur has chosen to evolve, then give it the best evolution. In the Kanto Region, there's a place called the Incredible Garden, which houses a mystical tree with the power of the God of Life, Xerneas. If you evolve using that power, Bulbasaur can achieve a perfect evolution, potentially gaining power akin to Charizard's.'
Naturally, the power of Charizard mentioned here refers to Charizard's Sacred Fire.
Sacred Fire is the power of the divine, yet Charizard can already harness it at this stage.
This means that Charizard now, even without Ash's power, has strength far beyond its level.
To catch up with Charizard, to become the backbone of the team, Bulbasaur also needs similar power.
Although there are many differences in parallel worlds, there are also similarities.
The Incredible Garden that exists in Champion Ash's world may not necessarily exist in this world, but if the Incredible Garden exists in other parallel worlds, then it is certain to exist in Ash's world too.