In the Footage—
One day, the new Vermilion Gym was completed. Having reached Rank 2,000 in the Poké Ball Class, Ash learned that the current Gym Leader, Lt. Surge, was Rank 1,500. He headed to the gym to challenge him.
Upon arrival, he found that Lt. Surge was—not there! The acting Gym Leader was the Vice Captain of Surge's unit, a woman named Pixie.
She was Rank 2,100, a decent trainer who simply hadn't participated much in the WCS.
Ash, itching for a fight, challenged her immediately. Gengar and Pikachu easily steamrolled her team. The gap between them was like a chasm; Gengar was formidable, and Pikachu had fully recovered from his initial post-transition weakness. A mere acting Gym Leader was no match for Ash.
"I heard someone came here to kick our butts?" A booming voice echoed from the entrance.
Ash turned around with a grin. "Uncle Surge! 'Kick butts' sounds so harsh. I'm here for a challenge! A challenge!"
At the door stood Lt. Surge in his military uniform, smiling back at Ash. This boy had left a deep impression on him years ago, teaching him that evolution isn't the only path to strength.
"You just thrashed my Vice Captain, and you say it's not a gym-storming?" "Hehe, that was just a friendly spar. Next... It's your turn, Uncle!"
Chloe, hearing that Ash knew this man, too, was beyond words. It seemed Ash had friends in every corner of the world. At least this time, it wasn't another girl...
The two stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. "Just so you know, even if we're friends, I won't go easy on you!" "I wouldn't have it any other way! Uncle... let me show you how much I've grown!"
Pixie acted as the referee. She wanted to see the gap between her Captain and this boy. As for the Captain winning? Not a chance! Having just faced Ash, she knew his strength was overwhelming; he had played with her like a cat with a mouse. Even Surge couldn't win.
"The match is 2v2. Please release your first Pokémon!"
Lt. Surge threw his Poké Ball while Ash waved his hand, sending Pikachu into the fray! Since this wasn't an official Gym Badge match, there was no rule about the Leader sending out first. They revealed simultaneously.
A flash of light revealed Surge's Pokémon—Raichu!
"I knew it would be Pikachu!" "And I knew you'd send out Raichu, Uncle!"
Both had predicted the opening move. This was a grudge match! Years ago, a rookie Pikachu had barely beaten Raichu using speed.
Now, Surge was confident his Raichu had no weaknesses and sought revenge. What he didn't know was that this Pikachu was no longer the "chubby" Pikachu of the past!
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" "Raichu, we'll use Quick Attack too!"
Ash blinked. Surge was trying to match Pikachu's speed? Really? Pikachu and Raichu blurred into white streaks, leaving afterimages across the field.
Both were incredibly fast! But within seconds, Raichu lost sight of Pikachu! The field was filled with so many afterimages that the real Pikachu was indistinguishable. A Quick Attack had somehow achieved the effect of Double Team!
"Impossible! How can a Pikachu be this fast?" Surge was stunned. He knew his Raichu had a speed deficit, so he had trained it relentlessly for years to reach—and even exceed—normal Raichu levels.
He admitted Ash's Pikachu had talent, but this speed transcended the species. This was basically a cheat code!
[Lance: Ash's Pikachu is even faster here than it was during the battle with Leon!]
[Lt. Surge: I think the 'me' in the footage doesn't watch the news. If I had seen even a snippet of that Pikachu's recent performance, I would never try to outrun it!]
The person who knows you best is yourself. Real-world Surge spent his time training, not watching TV. But after seeing this ranking, even he realized that while his strength had grown, Ash's progress was on an entirely different scale.
In the Footage—
Under Pikachu's blinding speed, Raichu became dizzy, its movements slowing down. Surge's experience told him something was wrong, but before he could react, Ash struck!
"Now, Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Pikachu appeared instantly beneath Raichu with a mischievous grin. His tail glowed with a brilliant silver light and slammed into Raichu's belly, launching the heavy Pokémon high into the air!
Surge's eyes nearly popped out. This was the "weak" Pikachu from back then? Where did this monstrous strength come from? One Iron Tail just sent a massive Raichu flying!!
"Electroweb!" Pikachu didn't stop. Gold electrical netting formed at his tail and shot upward, entangling the dazed Raichu mid-air.
"Oh no! Raichu, use Mega Punch to break free!" Raichu struggled, but with no footing and a spinning head, it couldn't execute the move.
"It's no use, Uncle! Pikachu, finish it with Quick Attack!" Pikachu turned into a golden bolt of lightning, vanishing from the ground and slamming into Raichu with the force of a meteor!
CRASH! Raichu hit the gym wall so hard that it left cracks in the reinforced structure.
"Raichu is unable to battle! The winner is Pikachu! Captain, please send out your next Pokémon!"
Surge snapped out of his daze. He looked at Pikachu, then at his unconscious Raichu. His brain was in a whirlwind. Who am I? Where am I? Is that thing really a Pikachu? Has the species mutated?!
Forcing himself to stay professional, Surge withdrew Raichu and sent out his second Pokémon—Electivire! This was his new ace, a powerhouse he had trained to be equal to Raichu. However, after seeing Pikachu's performance, Surge felt a trace of lingering fear. Could Electivire actually win?
"Pikachu, come back! Let's give another partner a chance!" Pikachu obediently returned to Ash's side. He had already had his fun for the day; it was time for the junior to shine.
"I choose you, Gible!" A flash of light revealed a small, grey-blue land shark. With its huge mouth and tiny eyes, it looked adorable.
But it wasn't just cute—its strength was formidable! Back in Sinnoh, Gible's unpredictability had won many battles for Ash. Even though it had eventually fallen to Darkrai, its potential was undeniable.
[Cynthia: Oh? Is that the Gible that fought Darkrai? I still remember that powerful Draco Meteor.]
[Karen: Don't let its unevolved form fool you. If it weren't for Darkrai's 'Dark Void' and 'Dream Eater' combo being so cheap, it wouldn't have been easy to beat.]
[Drake: Facing an opponent of Surge's caliber, Gible should be able to show its true power.]
[Lt. Surge: ???]What do you mean 'my caliber'? I'm a Gym Leader! I'm stronger than 90% of the world! (Though... I guess compared to Ash, I'm just a benchmark...)
In the Footage—
Seeing a small Gible, Surge felt a bit relieved. He recognized it as a Sinnoh pseudo-legendary, but pseudo-legendaries were "late bloomers."
Before evolution, they often lacked high combat power. His Electivire should handle it easily. Gible's Ground typing was a bit tricky, but as an Electric Gym Leader for years, he had ways to deal with that.
"Let's take one back! Electivire, Screech!" Electivire let out a piercing cry. The noise was so sharp that Chloe had to cover her ears.
"Gible, Dig!" Gible winced at the noise but obeyed immediately, tunneling underground where the sound was muffled.
"What strong willpower... Electivire, watch the ground! Use Mega Punch the moment it emerges!" Surge planned to disrupt Gible with Screech and then one-shot it. He hadn't expected Gible to use Dig despite the sonic interference. The digging speed was insane!
After a tense few seconds, the dirt beneath Electivire shifted. Trained for combat, Electivire reacted instantly, leaping away. The ground burst open where he had just stood—but it wasn't Gible. It was a purple wave of energy! Dragon Pulse!
"What?! When did he give that command? Electivire, watch your feet!" Surge realized the trick, but Electivire was already mid-jump and couldn't dodge.
BAM! Gible burst out of the ground directly beneath Electivire, hitting his chin with a Ground-powered strike. It was super effective!
"Electivire, hang in there! Grab it and use Ice Punch!" Electivire endured the hit, grabbed Gible with one hand, and wound up a fist covered in freezing air.
This was Surge's counter for Ground types. With Gible's defense lowered by Screech and the 4x weakness to Ice, this punch should have ended the fight.
"Eat it!" Ash commanded.
Chloe: ??? Lt. Surge: ??? The Audience: ???
"Eat it"? What kind of command was that? Was Ash doing something crazy again? This was a move only Ash and Gible understood.
Gible opened its massive maw. As the Ice Punch arrived, Gible bit down directly on Electivire's fist!
The freezing air exploded inside Gible's mouth, but its "abyssal" stomach seemed to absorb the cold. It took damage, but far less than a direct hit would have caused. Furthermore, its sharp teeth sank deep into Electivire's arm!
Electivire roared in pain and tried to shake Gible off. "Gible, lift Electivire up and use Draco Meteor!"
"Mmmmph!!" Gible planted its feet and exerted its immense strength, literally lifting the much larger Electivire by its jaw. Gible stood its ground, tilted its head back, and gathered destructive energy in its throat.
"Electivire!! Get out of there!!" Surge was panicking. What had this boy been through to raise such "demon" Pokémon? A Pikachu faster than light, a Gible that could swallow an Ice Punch... and now it was going to fire a Draco Meteor while literally holding the opponent in its mouth! If this hit, it was a 100% knockout!
Despite Surge's desperation, Electivire couldn't break free. The Pokémon was terrified; it could feel the world-ending power forming inches from its face.
"Good! Draco Meteor, FIRE!!"
Since Piplup wasn't here, there was no need to worry about collateral damage!
BOOM!! Gible finally let go, but Electivire had no time to be relieved. A sphere of pure destruction blasted Electivire into the ceiling of the gym before detonating! The energy scattered like falling stars, shattering the battlefield and leaving scorched craters everywhere.
Electivire plummeted like a meteor, crashing into the ground, charred and unconscious.
Chloe slowly lowered her hands from her head. That... that was an apocalyptic attack, wasn't it?! Who uses that level of destruction in an enclosed gym?! She was numb.
Lt. Surge stood frozen, speechless. Does Ash specialize in training "baby" Pokémon that are secret monsters? First, the cute Pikachu, now the cute Gible—both possessed terrifying power.
In terms of pure destructive force, Gible was even more intimidating than Pikachu! This little guy was a monster!
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