After leaving New Bark Town, they set out on the road leading to the first Gym city, Violet City.
The scenery of the Johto region felt subtly different from Kanto. The air seemed more humid, and even the vegetation along the roadside carried a slightly exotic atmosphere.
"At this pace, we should reach Violet City by the afternoon three days from now," Brock estimated while studying the map.
"A Flying type Gym, huh... I wonder what kind of battles we'll see there." Misty could not help looking forward to it as well.
Ash was carrying Togepi in his arms. Ever since the little one hatched, he had never really let it participate in any proper battles. After all, it would eventually evolve into Togetic and even Togekiss in the future, so giving it some battle experience now was definitely necessary.
Besides that, most of the Pokémon Ash had brought this time were those with room to grow into solid core members, such as Meowth, Dratini, and Growlithe.
Just then, a somewhat dejected sigh came from the roadside ahead.
Following the sound, they saw a short haired girl crouching on the ground. She wore a yellow and black striped sports jersey along with a matching baseball cap, muttering complaints to her Chikorita.
"Sigh, we lost again... How did the Electabuzz team lose to the Scizor team again? Their offense is supposed to be so strong..." The girl puffed her cheeks and drew circles in the dirt with a stick. Beside her, Chikorita drooped the leaf on its head and softly cried, "Chika~ Chika~," trying to comfort her.
The striking yellow and black stripes immediately reminded Ash of something.
The Electabuzz team... They seemed to be a pretty famous baseball team in the Johto region, known for their fierce offense, though their defense was apparently not very good.
The girl noticed Ash and the others approaching, and especially when she spotted Togepi in Ash's arms, her eyes lit up.
"You guys are Trainers too?"
"Yep." Ash nodded, sensing the energetic aura unique to rookie Trainers radiating from her, along with the frustration of her favorite team losing. He smiled and added, "The Electabuzz team, right? I've heard of them. Their batting lineup is incredible, and their home runs are amazing! They'll definitely win next time."
Hearing that, the girl instantly raised her head. Her eyes sparkled as though she had found a kindred spirit.
"Right?! You think so too? Their cleanup hitter is super strong! Sure, they made too many defensive mistakes today... but they'll definitely win next time!"
She jumped to her feet energetically and extended her hand.
"My name's Casey! I'm from New Bark Town, and I'm traveling to become an excellent Pokémon Trainer!"
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town." Ash shook her hand. "These two are my partners, Misty and Brock."
"Nice to meet you!" Casey greeted them enthusiastically. Then she turned toward Ash with blazing eyes. "Ash, let's battle! I want to see your strength!"
Here it comes, Ash thought with an inward laugh. He had never refused a challenge between Trainers.
"Sure, I accept your challenge."
"Awesome!" Casey jumped excitedly and immediately ran to an open area, striking a battle pose.
Ash handed Togepi to Misty for safekeeping. The two of them silently moved aside with perfect understanding to watch the battle.
"The rules are three on three, okay?" Casey asked.
"No problem."
"My first Pokémon is this one! Pidgey, let's go!" Casey sent out her lead Pokémon, a small bird Pokémon that looked quite spirited.
Ash looked at the Pidgey Casey had sent out, thought for a moment, then removed a Poké Ball from his belt that he had not used in quite a while.
"Since this is the first battle, let's give one of my newer partners some action too. You're up, Meowth!"
"Oh, Meowth?" Casey looked at Meowth in surprise.
"Pidgey, use Quick Attack!" Casey gave the first command.
Pidgey turned into a streak of white light and charged toward Meowth.
"Meowth, dodge it, then use Fake Out!"
Meowth nimbly leapt backward to avoid the attack, then suddenly clapped its paws together with a loud, sharp smack!
The unexpected sound and motion startled Pidgey, causing its body to stiffen instantly.
"Good chance! Now use Fury Swipes!"
Meowth immediately rushed forward. Its sharp claws glowed white as it unleashed a rapid flurry of slashes at the frozen Pidgey!
Slash slash slash!
Feathers scattered everywhere as Pidgey cried out miserably before falling to the ground, unable to battle.
"Pidgey!" Casey recalled it with a pained expression, but her eyes only grew more determined. "It's okay! We still have our partners! Go, Rattata!"
A purple mouse Pokémon appeared on the field.
"Rattata, Tackle!"
"Meowth, wait for the right moment, then use Brick Break!"
Rattata charged forward fiercely. Meowth calmly sidestepped at the perfect moment to evade the attack, then its right paw shone white as it swung down hard.
Bang!
Brick Break landed directly on Rattata, sending it flying backward into a tree trunk before it fainted on the spot.
"Rattata!" Casey bit her lip. She had not expected to lose two Pokémon so quickly.
She looked at the Chikorita beside her feet with a serious expression.
"I'm counting on you, my partner! Chikorita!"
"Chikuu!"
The energetic Chikorita entered the field, the leaf on its head swaying lightly.
"Chikorita, use Razor Leaf!"
Countless sharp leaves spun through the air toward Meowth.
"Meowth, use Quick Attack to dodge and close the distance!"
Meowth skillfully weaved through the barrage of leaves, rapidly shortening the distance between itself and Chikorita.
"Now! Use Fury Swipes!"
Once close enough, Meowth unleashed another Fury Swipes, its sharp claws raining down on Chikorita.
Chikorita tried to defend itself with Vine Whip, but Meowth was faster, and its attacks came too rapidly.
"Chikorita, hang in there! Use Tackle!"
Enduring the pain, Chikorita lowered its head and slammed into Meowth. The impact forced Meowth back a few steps, but it was otherwise unharmed.
"It's over, Meowth! Final attack, Slash!"
The glowing claw struck Chikorita directly.
"Chiku…"
Chikorita swayed weakly before finally collapsing unwillingly onto the ground.
"Chikorita is unable to battle! Therefore, the winner is Ash!" Brock announced the result at the perfect moment.
Casey sadly recalled Chikorita, but she quickly cheered up again and ran over to Ash.
"Ash, you're so strong! You beat all of us with just one Meowth... But my Chikorita and the others tried really hard too!"
"Yeah, your Pokémon are all very spirited." Ash nodded approvingly. "Especially Chikorita. Its determination is impressive. As long as you keep working hard, they'll definitely become stronger."
Hearing that made Casey even happier. Unlike in the original story, she held no hostility toward Ash because of comments about her favorite baseball team.
She clenched her fist enthusiastically and declared, "Thank you, Ash! I lost this time, but the next time we meet, my partners and I will definitely be much stronger! Then we'll battle again!"
"Sure, I'll be waiting." Ash smiled and agreed.
After the two sides bid each other a friendly farewell, Casey continued her journey full of energy with her Pokémon, heading off in another direction.
Ash recalled Meowth, who still seemed to be savoring the excitement of battle.
"You did great. Keep up that spirit from now on too."
"Looks like the rookie Trainers in Johto are pretty energetic too," Misty said with a smile as she carried Ash's Togepi over.
"Yeah." Ash looked toward the direction of Violet City, his eyes filled with anticipation. "Let's keep moving too. The first Gym is waiting for us."
A new journey, new encounters, and new battles were all waiting ahead of them.
....
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