"What did you just say?!" Ash exploded, his anger flaring.
"Alright, alright, don't argue anymore. You're all rising stars of Pallet Town," Professor Oak said soothingly.
"Rising stars? This guy?"
Ash and Gary simultaneously pointed at each other in surprise, looking astonished.
"That's right, there are actually four promising newcomers who might become Pokémon Masters in the future. I'm so happy!" Professor Oak said with relief.
In previous years, only one or two rookie trainers from Pallet Town would luckily qualify to participate in the Indigo Conference.
Unexpectedly, in Red's generation, there were actually four, with none absent. This made Professor Oak, as the Pokédex distribution instructor, feel very proud.
At this time, Ash's severely underdeveloped Krabby came over, carrying fresh tea and placing it on the table.
"Good, thank you for your hard work," Professor Oak praised.
"Krabby, long time no see! How have you been lately?" Ash waved and smiled.
"Hmm? Long time no see? Heh..."
In a moment, Gary guessed what Ash had done and felt disappointed in Ash's behavior. He prepared to properly suppress Ash later to teach him a lesson.
Seeing this scene, Red silently pressed his cap and remained silent.
Sometimes Gary's words would be more memorable than his own as an older brother. After all, Ash didn't want to be constantly mocked by Gary, so he would naturally remember Gary's words well.
Professor Oak had gathered the four here to praise everyone and share the number of League badges each had obtained.
Red had obtained ten League badges and was the only one to get the green badge, making him the trainer who had defeated all eight major gyms in the Kanto region.
Ash had obtained nine League badges, including the qualification badge that allowed solo participation in the Indigo Conference.
Gary had obtained ten League badges, but most were from third-rate League gyms.
Leaf had obtained eight badges. Except for being unable to challenge Viridian Gym successfully, she had challenged all the other major gyms and also obtained the black badge from Dark City.
"You've all earned the qualification to participate in the Indigo Conference. You've all worked very hard," Professor Oak praised.
"Thank you, Professor."
Ash and Leaf said humbly in unison.
"That's not true. It's Pikachu and the others who worked hard, right?" Misty teased.
"Pika!"
Pikachu also nodded 'wisely,' going along with Misty's joke.
"I worked just as hard as they did," Ash said awkwardly.
"Anyway, all four of you have achieved your goal of participating in this Indigo Conference," Professor Oak said.
All four nodded simultaneously, anticipating the upcoming Indigo Conference.
But Ash was obviously too excited, immediately standing up and saying excitedly: "Alright, since that's the case! Let's head to the Indigo Conference right away!"
After speaking, Ash didn't forget to look down at Pikachu.
"Let's go, Pikachu!"
Just as Ash and Pikachu took a step and were about to turn and leave Oak Laboratory, Gary behind them immediately called out to stop Ash.
"Say, Ash, do you know where the competition venue is?"
"Indigo Plateau! Big brother told me before!" Ash answered, not giving Gary another chance to mock him.
"Oh? Then do you know when the competition is? The Indigo Conference is held at a fixed time every year, and it's still early."
Although somewhat surprised that Ash actually knew the venue was at Indigo Plateau, seeing Ash's confused expression, Gary still slowly smiled.
"Ash, the Indigo Conference is still far off. According to the schedule, it's in two months. There should be over two hundred participants, though the quality remains to be seen."
Red explained, taking the freshly brewed tea from Leaf's hands.
"Two hundred people?! Wow! I can't wait for two months from now!" Ash said excitedly upon hearing there would be so many participants, clenching his fists, wanting to participate in the Indigo Conference immediately, especially since he'd dreamed about it this morning.
"Ash is a bit too excited," Leaf said helplessly.
"Before that, you should do some intensive training to prepare for the upcoming Indigo Conference," Professor Oak suggested.
"That's right, especially Ash, who needs to put in double, triple, and even more effort than before!" Gary taunted.
"What did you say!" Ash questioned.
Seeing this, Gary slowly got up from the sofa and walked in front of Ash.
"Since you're also a rising star, you should at least improve to my level."
"What do you mean?" Ash said displeasedly, feeling Gary was deliberately targeting him today.
"Ash... Earlier you said 'long time no see' to Krabby, didn't you?" Gary teased.
"So what?" Ash said, not understanding.
"This is what I mean."
With that, Gary took out a Poké Ball from his pocket and released the Pokémon inside.
The white light faded, revealing an extremely well-developed Krabby that formed a stark contrast with Ash's Krabby beside it.
"So big!" Misty exclaimed.
"It looks so strong!" Leaf said in surprise.
"Completely different!" Brock agreed.
"I regularly rotate the Pokémon in my team for battles, because I believe that only by training all Pokémon to be strong can one be considered a true trainer," Gary said confidently.
Gary's statement also gained Red's approval, making Red nod in agreement.
"In some ways, this theory is correct," Brock said with admiration, unable to refute Gary's concept.
"But what about you, Ash? That one sentence completely exposed the fact that you haven't been training Krabby. I bet in any battle, you only use the same few regular Pokémon."
As Ash's childhood friend, Gary naturally understood Ash's personality very well, hitting the nail on the head about Ash's battle style.
"Bingo, you got it right," Misty confirmed.
Ash gritted his teeth, unable to refute Gary's sarcasm. At this moment, Ash also secretly regretted his past choices.
"Battles without using your brain really aren't elegant. How annoying," Gary continued with his sharp tongue.
"Red, is this really okay?" Brock asked worriedly, moving closer to Red.
"Don't worry. These two are childhood friends who've grown up together. I'm used to seeing scenes like this. Nothing serious will happen," Red said calmly, taking some sweet bean jelly from Professor Oak and savoring it.
"For example, in gym battles, although gym leaders specialize in different types of Pokémon, I always prepare thoroughly beforehand, rotating to use Pokémon with type advantages," Gary said casually.
"Worthy of being my grandson, so diligent," Professor Oak praised.
"Of course, I also don't forget to factor in the opponent's strength," Gary said.
"So how would you deal with Rock-type Pokémon?" Brock asked.
"Basically use Water-types, but if you're more experienced, you'd naturally also choose Grass-types that are equally effective. What about you, Ash?" Gary said.
"Used Pikachu," Misty explained with a laugh.
"See? Against Rock-types, he actually used an Electric-type. Even worse than a beginner. Absolutely ridiculous," Gary taunted.
"Anyway, I already got the League badge, so it doesn't matter!" Ash retorted, knowing he was in the wrong but still unable to swallow his pride.
'I hope Ash learns from this lesson and gains some experience with type advantages in the future...'
Red silently watched the two arguing in front of him, choosing not to intervene.
Seeing Red remain silent, Leaf, sitting nearby, also felt it wasn't appropriate to speak up and stop them.