Faced with Misty's question, Ash shook his head: "Those three people were wrapped up like that, I couldn't recognize them. But just now when passing by, those three gave me a... indescribable feeling, but it was only for a moment, maybe it was just my illusion."
"Indescribable feeling?" Misty was also full of questions, but quickly let go of this little episode and followed Ash to the nearby mall.
Viridian City isn't really a big city, but it has the strongest Gym Trainer, so the facilities in the city are quite complete, and the mall sells almost everything you can find in a big city.
Ash bought some special food for Pikachu, some wilderness survival tools, and some convenient canned food—he couldn't cook, so he could only rely on canned food.
Misty bought a lot of insect repellent, some ointment for mosquito bites, sunscreen, and similar items.
After choosing their items, the two wandered casually around Viridian City and took a trip to the Viridian Gym.
Going to the Viridian Gym wasn't to challenge it, instead Ash wanted to see the Viridian Gym Leader's battle style.
That kind of legendary powerful trainer, Ash had only seen on TV before. As for whether Ash had ever encountered trainers on the same level as the Viridian Gym Leader or even stronger, of course, he had.
That person was himself.
In various groups, there were many big names who, although not labeled as champions, their trainer levels were genuinely champion-level, but in reality, Ash had never seen the battle style of such strong trainers in person, so he was very curious about the Viridian Gym Leader, Giovanni.
However, upon reaching the Viridian Gym, the place was like a castle, with only one entry point allowing challengers and their companions to enter, making it impossible to spectate, so the two could only leave hastily.
After wandering around, it was already afternoon. Misty simply proposed to take a nice nap at the Pokemon Center and set off again tomorrow. Ash hesitated for a moment but agreed to Misty's proposal.
He wasn't staying for an extra night of rest but for another meal.
The food at the Pokemon Center was quite good, especially compared to those instant foods, it was gourmet-level food, and it was also much more nutritious than instant foods, which was Ash's main reason for staying.
"Ah, full and satisfied! Let's go out for some exercise, Misty, do you have Pokemon? Come and battle me, I haven't battled in a day, and I'm getting itchy." Ash stretched and then asked Misty.
Misty lifted her chin arrogantly and said, "Of course, I have Pokemon! How could I go on a journey without Pokemon? But your Pikachu isn't a match for my Pokemon. To avoid giving you a psychological shadow, you'd better not choose me as your opponent!"
Ash's mouth twitched. Just as he was about to say something, an alarm suddenly sounded at the Pokemon Center!
"What's going on? What happened?!" The people at the Pokemon Center were nervously looking around at each other, and Chansey quickly came out to soothe everyone, while Miss Joy seemed to be on the phone.
"Someone's invading the Pokemon Center... who would be so bold? Even international crime organizations wouldn't dare do this!" Misty also looked at the flashing alarm with a shocked expression.
This alarm only triggered when a Pokemon Center was invaded, usually never used. After all, Pokemon Centers were the territory of the Joy family, one of the most prestigious families in the league, and they mastered top-notch medical Pokemon technology. Only a fool would attack a Pokemon Center.
"Since you sincerely asked!"
"We'll generously tell you!"
"...(Skipping this part, everyone should know this line.)"
"I'm Jessie!"
"I'm James!"
"We're Team Rocket, soaring through the galaxy!"
"A white hole, a white future awaits us!"
"That's right, Meowth."
Three figures reciting bizarre lines descended from the sky, landing in the middle of the Pokemon Center.
Red alarms flashed around, and the center was filled with black smoke. People who inadvertently inhaled a bit of the smoke felt dizzy instantly.
"This smoke is poisonous, don't inhale it!" Misty accidentally inhaled some, quickly covered her nose and mouth, but it was a bit too late as a slight dizziness already hit her brain.
"Poisonous? I don't feel anything... more importantly, what is Team Rocket? Why are you invading the Pokemon Center!" In the smoke, Ash clenched his fists, feeling full of energy, and didn't have the poisoned feeling that Misty had.
He then loudly questioned the Team Rocket trio, which made them, who were preparing to grab the Pokeballs, freeze.
There was actually someone not poisoned?
"Who is that kid? He's without a gas mask but can resist Koffing's poison gas?" said James, the blue-haired one, puzzlingly.
"Whoever he is, he's just a kid. Take him out then grab the Pokeballs," said Jessie, with long red hair, commanding her Ekans in front: "Go, Ekans, use Poison Sting!"
"Ekans!" The purple-bodied Ekans opened its huge mouth, shooting out dozens of purple-glowing poison stings straight at Ash and Pikachu.
"Thunder Shock!" Ash clenched his fists, and a brilliant azure light burst forth from his body, sweeping away the surrounding poisonous fog in an instant with his Aura Power, and Pikachu also returned to normal in that moment, glowing with golden light!
"Pika—Chu!!" The golden electric flash collided with the poison stings, causing a massive explosion in mid-air!
The surrounding smoke and the poison fog from Team Rocket's side obscured everyone's vision.
"Aura resides in my heart!"
Ash's eyes turned deep blue, and simultaneously, Pikachu's eyes did too. Pikachu, who originally couldn't see anything, suddenly 'saw' the position of Ekans.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"
Ash's command sounded, and Pikachu, pausing for less than a second, quickly executed Ash's order.
"Pikapi!!" Pikachu's figure dragged a white light as it dashed into the smoke, from which a loud collision sound emerged!
The next second, Ekans was shot out of the smoke, crashing into Jessie and the others, knocking them all flying, and they rolled several times on the ground before stopping!