Rage Fist.
Ash curiously opened the Pokedex, searching for information about the skill Rage Fist, only to find that the Pokedex showed no such skill.
"Ash, what is Rage Fist? Why did you suddenly look up this skill?" By this time, everyone had finished eating, and Misty was tidying up the dishes. She saw Ash looking up the skill Rage Fist and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Uh... Primeape just told me he knows a move called Rage Fist, but he's not quite familiar with his new skills since he just evolved, so he didn't use it. I thought I'd look it up, and it turns out it's not in the Pokedex."
Ash skillfully passed the blame onto Primeape.
Primeape, who was still bonding with the other teammates, turned his head, seemingly confused, with three question marks hovering above him.
When did he ever tell Ash he knew Rage Fist? But he seems to know this skill indeed, though it feels less useful than Close Combat, so he never used it.
Moreover, although that skill is a melee move, it doesn't quite match his own attribute and feels uncomfortable.
So Primeape never intended to use that skill, but Ash said it was because he wasn't familiar with it after evolving... He's really making things up!
However, Misty and the others couldn't understand what Primeape was saying, and Primeape did not refute, so he naturally just swallowed the blame.
They all turned their attention to the issue itself.
"What kind of skill is Rage Fist? I seem to have never heard of Primeape having such a skill. Is it some kind of Fighting Type move?" Even the well-informed Brock admitted he'd never heard of Rage Fist.
It sounds like a Fighting Type move, but he'd never heard of Mankey or Primeape having it.
Ash shook his head: "I don't know, even the Pokedex can't find it. But this piece of junk often fails, it doesn't even recognize Ho-Oh, so there's no reason to rely on it."
When he first saw Ho-Oh, Ash immediately used the Eye of Insight to observe and then used the Pokedex to check, but the Pokedex claimed it was an unknown Pokemon.
Seriously, maybe not everyone in Kanto knows about Ho-Oh, but it's normal for over ninety percent of people to know, right?
He was a Newbie Trainer, so it was excusable that he didn't know, but for the so-called Pokemon encyclopedia Pokedex not to recognize it, from that time on, Ash had already lost hope in it.
It's not even as useful as his eyes!
Ash had quite a negative opinion about this Pokedex given by Professor Oak.
"Forget it, don't think too much about it. Ash, have you decided which Pokemon to send back to Oak's Research Institute?" Misty patted Ash on the shoulder, suggesting not to overthink it. It's just a skill, after all, not important.
What's important now is which Pokemon Ash will send back to Oak's Research Institute. Currently, it seems all his Pokemon need training, and there's nothing to send back.
Hearing this, Ash was somewhat troubled. He wanted to keep training all his Pokemon, including the newly captured Primeape, as they were all progressing rapidly.
The only possible candidate might be Pidgeotto, but being a Flying Type Pokemon, Pidgeotto was quite useful in daily tasks and could carry people when it evolved into Pidgeot, which was one of the main reasons Ash captured it initially.
Plus, Pidgeotto's growth was not slow. If he were to send it to Oak's Research Institute, who would train Pidgeotto there? Professor Oak is already too busy; where would he find the time to help train Pokemon?
"Let me think about it..." Ash said, closing his eyes, pretending to be deep in thought, while actually seeking help from the group.
Perhaps he didn't know what to do, but the big shots in the group surely did; it's vital to use their knowledge in times like these!
After Ash explained his situation to the big shots in the group, they quickly provided advice.
[Champion Ash: Send Primeape back.]
[Newbie Ash: Huh? Why? Primeape just evolved, this is the time he needs training the most.]
[Champion Ash: That's because your Primeape is a bit different. You mentioned he knows Rage Fist, right?]
[Newbie Ash: Yes, do you know what this skill is? Neither Brock, Misty, nor the Pokedex has any information on Rage Fist.]
[Champion Ash: That skill doesn't belong to your world... at least not yet, because the Paldea Region hasn't appeared in your world, nor has the energy from the Zero Zone spread throughout the world yet.]
[Newbie Ash: Paldea Region? Zero Zone?]
[Champion Ash: Don't worry about it for now; it's not something you can explore at the moment. Just know that once Primeape learns Rage Fist, he can evolve one more time.]
[Newbie Ash: What? Another evolution? That's impossible, Primeape is already at his final stage!]
Champion Ash's words shocked Ash; could Primeape evolve further? Isn't this the ultimate evolution point for Mankey species Pokemon?
[Newbie Ash: Is it some kind of MEGA Evolution?]
MEGA Evolution allows Pokemon to go beyond their final form, but they would revert back after a certain time. Could Primeape have a similar evolution?
[Champion Ash: No, that's a standard Pokemon evolution.]
[Newbie Ash: But if it was a standard evolution, why hasn't Primeape's evolved form been discovered?]
[Champion Ash: Like I said, Primeape can reach a higher form after mastering Rage Fist, but this ability theoretically shouldn't be appearing in your area yet, due to unknown anomalies.]
[Champion Ash: But that's not important. What's important is that after evolving, Primeape will become Annihilape, a Ghost Type and Fighting Type Pokemon. To evolve, Primeape needs to master using Rage Fist and learn to harness Ghost Type powers.]
[Champion Ash: So, sending Primeape back to Oak's Research Institute to learn from that ancient Gastly you captured would be beneficial for his future. That's a thousand-year-old monster with great training skills; remember how your Butterfree learned Tailwind?]
Ash often shared real-time updates of his Pokemon with the group, making Champion Ash aware of Gastly's training of Butterfree.
From this, he could deduce that Gastly had the ability to mentor Pokemon.
That's why he suggested Ash send Primeape back.
[Newbie Ash: Really? Thanks for the advice, I'm off!]
Ash finished speaking and left the group chat.
Back in reality, he immediately proposed sending Primeape back and said he'd found a perfect teacher for Primeape.
Primeape, somewhat at a loss about all this, didn't object upon hearing he could become stronger. After all, becoming stronger is the goal!
He was bound to seek revenge on Charmeleon eventually!
Soon after, Primeape was sent back to Oak's Research Institute. Misty, puzzled, asked, "What kind of teacher for Primeape could there be in the research institute?"
"Oh, Gengar, of course!"
Misty: ...
"Are you serious? A Ghost Type Pokemon teaching a Fighting Type Pokemon? Those two attributes naturally oppose each other!"
"Come on, trust me! Gengar has lived a long time, seen a lot, and can transform into any Pokemon, so he's adaptable for teaching any Pokemon. When Primeape goes back, he'll undoubtedly become stronger than staying with me. But first, we have to get to the Celadon City Pokemon Center to inform Professor Oak and Gengar."
Ash said, his gaze distant, already seeing the skyscrapers of Celadon City from their position, suggesting they'd reach the city by night.
Hearing this, Misty and Brock could only wait and see about Ash's claim. They packed up and resumed their journey.