Sunlight filtered through the forest canopy as Ash and his friends walked along the road leading to Ecruteak City.
Suddenly, the sounds of a Pokémon battle echoed from up ahead.
"Sounds like two Trainers are battling," Ash said, stopping to listen.
After pushing through a patch of bushes, they were surprised to find a familiar face.
It was Gary.
Standing beside him was a sleek Umbreon with glossy black fur. The golden rings on its body shimmered brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
"It's an Umbreon. Looks like that Eevee finally evolved," Brock remarked.
Eevee was an exceptionally unique Pokémon. As everyone knew, it had eight different evolutionary forms: Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon, and Sylveon. Of course, the latter three had not yet been discovered in this era.
Ash had always been fascinated by Eevee. Aside from its many possible Evolutions, Eevee also had another unique trait. It could serve as a partner Pokémon, remaining unevolved while eventually learning the special partner moves representing all eight of its Evolutions.
If he ever managed to catch an Eevee in the future, it would definitely be worth training.
Meanwhile, Gary's battle was about to reach its climax.
His opponent was a Trainer named Alex Davis, who claimed to be from Cherrygrove City. Although his Alakazam looked imposing, the type matchup heavily favored Umbreon.
"Alakazam, use Zap Cannon!"
"Umbreon, dodge!"
Umbreon moved with incredible speed, effortlessly avoiding the powerful electric attack.
"Alakazam, use Confusion!"
Alakazam closed its eyes and unleashed its Psychic move, but it had no effect whatsoever against the Dark type Umbreon.
"In that case, Alakazam, use Iron Head!"
Unfortunately, Umbreon easily evaded that attack as well with its remarkable agility.
"That Umbreon's speed is impressive. Gary's clearly trained it well," Ash commented with admiration.
"Umbreon, Quick Attack!"
"Alakazam, Teleport to dodge!"
As Umbreon charged forward, Alakazam instantly vanished from its position. However, Gary showed no sign of concern, as though he had already anticipated what would happen next.
"Alakazam, now use Hyper Beam!"
"Umbreon, dodge!"
By the time Hyper Beam was fired, Alakazam was already suffering from the move's recovery delay. Gary seized the opening immediately.
"Umbreon, Hidden Power!"
The glowing spheres struck Alakazam head on, knocking it out in a single decisive blow.
After Alex departed, Ash walked over with a smile.
"Gary, you've trained your Umbreon really..."
"Ash! I didn't expect to run into you here," Gary interrupted with a grin. "So, how about a battle?"
"Of course," Ash replied without hesitation. "I'd be happy to."
Before long, the second battle between the longtime rivals was about to begin.
"Pikachu, it's time to face your old rival again!"
Just as before, Ash chose Pikachu as his first Pokémon.
The moment Gary saw Pikachu, he immediately became serious. During their last battle, Pikachu had caught him completely off guard. This time, he had no intention of underestimating his opponent.
"Umbreon, Quick Attack!"
"Pikachu, Double Team and dodge!"
Umbreon dashed forward, but all it managed to hit was one of Pikachu's afterimages.
"Umbreon, Hidden Power!"
"Pikachu, Electro Ball!"
The Electro Ball collided head on with Hidden Power, and the resulting explosion blanketed the battlefield in smoke.
"Pikachu, charge in with Volt Tackle!"
"Pika, pika, pika!"
Pikachu sprinted straight through the smoke, its entire body enveloped in brilliant bolts of electricity.
"Not good! Umbreon, get out of the way!"
Unfortunately, Gary reacted just a moment too late.
Volt Tackle slammed directly into Umbreon, and the paralysis from the electric attack left it unable to move. Pikachu immediately followed up with Thunderbolt, blasting Umbreon off its feet and knocking it out.
"Ash, you've really gotten stronger," Gary admitted with a sigh.
"Gary, you should spend more time training Umbreon's Dark type moves," Ash said. "I watched your battle earlier. Besides having the type advantage, Umbreon's greatest strength is its speed. But it hasn't learned many Dark type moves yet. Did it evolve only recently, so you're still not used to battling with it?"
Gary was taken aback for a moment before nodding.
Ash had been completely right.
"Keep working hard," Ash said as he extended his hand. "I'm looking forward to battling you at the Silver Conference."
Gary smiled faintly and reached out to shake his hand.
"I hope when that day comes, we'll have a battle without any regrets."
After that, the two rivals parted ways.
Upon arriving at the Pokémon Center, Ash quietly had Pikachu teach Team Rocket's trio a painful lesson while no one was paying attention, preventing them from causing trouble.
"We didn't even get a chance to make our entrance this time!"
While resting at the Pokémon Center, Ash contacted Professor Oak. He asked the professor to send over Alakazam, while sending back Slowpoke, Croconaw, and the newly caught special Seaking from the Pokémon Fishing Contest.
Ash's current team now consisted of Pikachu, Ralts, Quilava, Bayleef, Alakazam, and the newly transferred Noctowl.
After spending the night at the Pokémon Center, the group set off on their journey once again.
A/N: There were still quite a few events before reaching Ecruteak City in the original story, so I'll focus on the most important ones.
...
RedX43's Note:
➤ Want More? Get up to +25 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ [email protected]/RedX43
➤ +200 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
➤ Consider giving a review or leave some comments, it help boost the story!
➤ Thanks for reading! 🙌