Golurk was clad in silver armor, its legs propelled by rocket propulsion as it charged forward with unstoppable momentum. The Ghost-type energy from Gengar's Hex formed a seemingly impenetrable barrier around it.
Golurk attacked while Gengar defended. The clash was one of move power and the amount of energy each could command.
At last, Golurk's Heavy Slam crashed into Gengar's Hex!
The black energy rapidly converged toward the direction of Golurk's assault. This Gengar had complete authority over its energy, concentrating all of its Ghost-type energy to hold Golurk firmly in place.
The two sides actually reached a brief stalemate!
Since a single charge was not enough to break through, then it would simply increase the power thanks to Iron Fist.
"Golurk, use Shadow Punch!"
Tetsuya gave the command. While charging, Golurk had kept both arms close to its body. Upon receiving the order, it threw both fists forward, instantly tearing open a gap in Gengar's Hex.
The moment the barrier was breached, Golurk surged through like a flood bursting from a broken dam. Gengar did not even have time to dodge before it was sent flying by the combined force of Shadow Punch and Heavy Slam!
Charging upstream through the glacier falls, uprooting Frenzy Plant, breaking through the combined psychic force of Sabrina and Abra…
Every one of those accomplishments demonstrated Golurk's incredible raw power!
This time, facing Asea's Gengar, the result was no different. In Golurk's eyes, power and fists were the true path to victory!
---◓---
Asea's hand trembled slightly as she recalled Gengar.
"…Sigh, I lost. You're very strong. Mmm, I hope we'll have another opportunity to battle in the future." Asea spoke a few insincere words before heading toward the official battlefield.
"S-She… she… she lost!!!?" The Sensational Sisters were stunned.
"Thank you…" Sabrina said as she walked over.
"Don't mention it. You're a Gym Leader, and there will be many occasions in the future when I'll need your help. Besides, I also wanted to test my own capacity! Well then, goodbye… for now."
"Hm-!?
Whoosh~
After speaking, Tetsuya used Teleport to leave Vermilion Gym.
---◓---
Since Giovanni was not at Vermilion City, Tetsuya would have to make another trip to Viridian.
After buying a train ticket to Viridian City for the following day, he received a call from James.
[Tetsuya! Guess what? I've already run away from home!] James said.
Tetsuya was not surprised. It had been inevitable. Even so, he asked in "shock", "Why!? After all, your family owns such an immense fortune, and you'll inherit all of it someday. Plenty of people would envy that!"
James replied helplessly, [That kind of life just doesn't suit me… And they're forcing me to marry someone I don't even like! Though I liked her back when I didn't know what she was like… ahem!
This time, they even wanted me to release Cacturne. Can you imagine!? Cacturne is my friend. How could I possibly release it!!!? So I had no choice but to leave that home…]
"Sigh… James, have you really thought it through? You've never experienced life away from home, and it isn't nearly as wonderful as you imagine. You should think it over carefully!" Tetsuya said.
[No, Tetsuya, I've already made up my mind. This time I only brought Cacturne with me. I don't want to have anything to do with that family anymore!] James said firmly.
Tetsuya could only smile awkwardly, thinking to himself that James was such a fool. At the very least, he could have brought a "decent" amount of cash with him…
"James, listen to me, you have to…"
---◓---
After returning to the Pokémon Center, Tetsuya chose to stay for one more day mainly because of Skorupi's and Weezing's injuries. He entrusted them to Nurse Joy. After finishing his usual daily routine, he returned to his room.
That night, the very first thing Asea did was investigate Tetsuya's background. The labels attached to his name were quite impressive for his age: "official pupil of Ecruteak Gym," "Pokémon Scholar," and he had even represented an Elite Four, Pryce, in a League challenge.
Faced with someone like that, Asea could not help but think twice. Some dangerous thoughts began to surface in her mind…
If Tetsuya had merely been an unknown nobody, she would have simply ambushed him and taken his Pokémon.
Those Pokémon… were too impressive, too tempting!
'Were too-!'
"Sigh…"
After all, she was no longer young, and the number of Pokémon she could truly rely on was pitifully small. Among them, only two had exceptional potential and aptitude.
With the Pokémon she currently had at her disposal, let alone taking another step forward, she might not even be able to hold onto her position as a Gym Leader in the future!
At present, her mentor Agatha still occupied a seat among the Elite Four, so many people were willing to show her some respect. But the day Agatha resign or died and a new Elite Four took her place, things would be different.
As the saying went, "New ruler, new laws". Without someone to support her, if she still failed to improve, she would very likely lose her position as a Gym Leader.
In truth, Asea was not the only one to have such thoughts. Some Gym Leaders were extremely self-serving. Once they had attained such a position and enjoyed the benefits that came with it, they feared losing it all the more. As a result, they would do everything possible to preserve their status.
If a Challenger appeared with Pokémon of extraordinary potential, it was inevitable that some would entertain certain thoughts…
Of course, they did not dare target Trainers with established status or influence. If such people were to disappear, it would certainly attract the League's attention. Such vile acts would be severely punished. After all, a League's power depended heavily on the number of Trainers it had.
As for ordinary Trainers with no accomplishments, if they disappeared, no one would care. The most common conclusion would simply be that they had been killed by Pokémon in the wilderness.
Of course, for the vast majority, their first thought wasn't to do anything bad to them; they would always try legal routes first, such as honest exchanges, purchases, deals, and so on. The main condition was that they not be in a state of desperation.
Asea was deeply conflicted. She desperately wanted Tetsuya's Skorupi and the rare four-headed Weezing, but Tetsuya owned multiple distinguished identities. If she wanted to make a move against him, she would have to weigh the consequences very carefully.
The reason she didn't try the "gentler" approach, despite, maybe, her arrogance, was that she could see Tetsuya would never be willing to reach an agreement. If not even she, a Leader of one of the "Eight Gyms" and a student of Elite Four Agatha, had Pokémon comparable to his, why on Mew would he be willing to make a deal?
---◓---
Asea remained awake the entire night. She knew that if she let this opportunity slip away, she would probably never get another one, and it will be impossible for her to get stronger.
Locked in an intense internal struggle until late into the night, she finally decided that she would secretly follow Tetsuya first and decide what to do afterward.
Early the next morning, Skorupi and Weezing had both fully recovered. Tetsuya then left for the train station.
Just after arriving at the station, someone suddenly rushed out in a reckless hurry. Tetsuya had just entered the single-person entrance and had nowhere to avoid the collision, so the person crashed straight into him.
"I-I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I was in such a hurry to see my idol, Giovanni-sama~, that I got a little carried away!" With Tetsuya's physique, such a collision was nothing to him. Looking over, he saw a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl with distinctive long red hair.
She looked remarkably familiar…
This had to be Jessie!
Judging by the timeline, now that James had run away from home, even if it was a little earlier, Jessie should also have appeared somewhere near Kanto. Before long, the two of them would probably meet.
"If you're looking for Giovanni, why did you come to Vermilion City?" Tetsuya asked. After all, going to Viridian Gym would have been the most direct approach.
"Eh, I… I don't have any Pokémon, and I'm not a Pokémon Trainer, so I have no way to challenge Viridian Gym. The only way I've ever seen Giovanni-sama is through tv or the internet!
This time, I heard that all the Gym Leaders would be attending the opening of Vermilion Gym, so I rushed over as fast as I could! Hahh! I just hope I'm not too late!" Jessie said between heavy breaths.