Who knows if it was because Ash felt ashamed of letting the Pokemon Center recover, or if seeing Pikachu, a small electric mouse, single-handedly support the entire Pokemon Center, he felt a sense of anguish.
Anyway, they just felt too embarrassed to stay here, so they slipped away before Ash returned.
Miss Joy, upon seeing Ash return, also expressed her thanks to Ash. Besides verbal gratitude, Joy offered something substantial too.
She learned that Ash was going to challenge Koga at the Fuchsia Gym, so she gave Ash a dossier on Koga.
This was far more reliable than the superficial information available outside.
After Ash completely resolved the situation, it was already close to three in the morning. If Misty and Brock weren't waiting for Ash, they probably would have slept long ago.
But now, since Ash got Koga's dossier, he didn't plan to sleep anytime soon, while the other two couldn't hold up any longer and went to bed after saying a word to Ash.
Ash sat cross-legged on his bed, flipping through Koga's dossier. With his eyesight, he could read the document clearly in his hands even without any light.
About ten minutes later, Ash closed the dossier, his expression complex. Koga's strength was far greater than he had imagined.
Firstly, regarding his main force, the other party was a bona fide Elite Trainer, possessing six Elite-level Pokemon!
Among them, the strongest Elite-level Pokemon reached the Elite Advanced Level, which was above average even among Elite Trainers.
To be blunt, unless he personally took action, even using all his Pokemon, he couldn't defeat even one of their Pokemon.
The level gap was too large; it's a gap that's difficult to bridge by any means.
Currently, the strongest Pokemon he had was his Professional Junior Level Pikachu. With Aura Fusion, partner form, plus the Light Ball inside, Pikachu might be able to arm-wrestle with Gym-level Pokemon.
But Elite-level... Who even knows how to win?
However, he probably wouldn't actually encounter Koga's main force. What kind of dishes could make an Elite Trainer use his main Pokemon to battle a Trainer who's only been traveling for two months?
As long as he doesn't whimsically propose that kind of suggestion, Koga wouldn't do such a thing.
Hence, the information he needed to pay attention to instead was Koga's non-main Pokemon. Below the Elite-level Pokemon, Koga had Gym and Professional as well as Elite-level Pokemon. Unlike other gyms, Koga's minimum difficulty was Elite-level.
So, there's a certain threshold for challenging the Fuchsia Gym. Most newbie trainers would explode at the mere sight of the Fuchsia Gym.
After carefully considering for a while, Ash finally determined the difficulty he wanted to challenge — Professional Level!
If it's one-on-one, facing Professional Level is fine. If it's three-on-three, facing Professional Level is also fine.
The strongest three Pokemon he had could all counter a Professional Level as long as Koga's choice was Professional Junior Level; he wouldn't even need to use Aura Fusion.
Unless Koga's professional-level Pokemon's ability values were also S-class.
Once Ash confirmed Koga's Pokemon, he set the dossier aside and lay down on the bed.
Beside him, Pikachu, sleeping soundly, smacked its little lips, turned over, and continued to sleep soundly. Ash smiled and patted Pikachu's little head, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.
...
The next morning, after getting up and washing, Ash first made a call to Professor Oak, explaining the origins and reasons for capturing Grimer.
As for how to train Grimer, that would have to be entrusted to Professor Oak. Grimer's training methods were different from ordinary Pokemon. Besides needing to ensure proper nutrition, it also needed to eat some garbage and waste to maintain its toxicity and growth.
But the most important part of training Grimer was to endure Grimer's stench. Ash could handle it, and Professor Oak...should be able to, right?
Anyway, in the video call, Professor Oak, weighed down by the Grimer, looked rather cheerful. Ash thought silently and then ignored Professor Oak's plea for help, directly hanging up the call.
Misty twitched her mouth and said somewhat worriedly, "Will Professor Oak really not be crushed to death by Grimer?"
"Don't worry, don't worry, he's a professor. He's seen everything. Grimer is definitely no big deal to him." Ash waved his hand and said leisurely.
"Let's go, set off to Fuchsia City." Ash said as he first stepped out of the Pokemon Center, ready to continue towards Fuchsia City.
...
Five days later—
Ash and the others finally arrived at the entrance of Fuchsia City.
During this time, they encountered Team Rocket once again. To Ash's surprise, the Pokemon of those two experience bags actually evolved, from Ekans and Koffing to Arbok and Weezing.
Their strength also improved, reaching the Advanced Peak, but in front of Pikachu, they were still just another meal.
The two confident individuals didn't bring any equipment this time to pick a fight, and they were joyfully sent flying away.
Facing a Professional Middle Level Pikachu, the two Advanced Peak couldn't even withstand a single move.
Apart from this Team Rocket interlude, Ash also ran into Gary on the way. After a chat, Ash learned that Gary already had six badges at this time, and his next gym would be a less known one in Lanyan City.
The gym in Lanyan City isn't famous; it's considered fairly ordinary, with difficulty estimated to be similar to Pewter Gym.
Upon meeting Ash, Gary's feelings were quite complicated, as Ash's reputation had gradually spread throughout Kanto.
In terms of the number of Gym Badges, he wasn't any less than Ash and might even have more, but the quality of the gyms he challenged was far inferior.
He also defeated the Saffron Gym, but the Saffron Gym he faced and the one Ash faced were not the same level in terms of caliber.
Then for his fifth gym, he went to Celadon Gym where he chose a mix of Elite and Advanced difficulty, barely winning.
When Erika learned he was from Pallet Town, she also told him about Ash's challenge there.
Upon learning that Ash had beaten Erika's Professional Level Pokemon, Gary felt utterly dejected.
He knew Ash used a single Elite level Gengar to win Saffron Gym; it wasn't a Pokemon he had trained himself, so Gary could still say he hadn't lost too much against Ash.
But during the Celadon Gym challenge, Ash didn't use Gastly but rather a Gardevoir and a Charizard, both Pokemon Ash had raised from the start. And as of now, he could beat Professional Level with those two.
In contrast, he was still struggling at the Elite Level...
Being gradually outpaced by a rival was a tough pill for Gary to swallow.
Moreover, this time, Gary also learned from Ash that he intended to challenge the Fuchsia Gym!
The baseline challenge at Fuchsia Gym starts at Elite Level; without Advanced Level Pokemon, and having Elite Level Pokemon there isn't just about being entry-level.
That's why Gary didn't choose Fuchsia Gym.
But upon learning that Ash was challenging Fuchsia Gym, Gary secretly resolved that once he acquired his seventh Gym Badge, he would also try Fuchsia Gym out, to avoid being left further behind by Ash!
After chatting for a while, the two went their separate ways. Currently, Ash had reached Fuchsia City, and Gary was likely already at Lanyan City.
Fuchsia City, while called a city, was more like a small town.
There were no towering skyscrapers here, only small houses.
In this modern city environment, these houses seemed more like something from ancient times or found in rural areas, but that was the characteristic of Fuchsia City.
The gym leader of Fuchsia City, Koga, was a substitute Elite in the Johto Region, a title that likely deterred many trainers.
Therefore, as Ash and his companions had anticipated, there shouldn't be many people challenging Fuchsia Gym.
However, once they entered Fuchsia City, they were met with a bustling crowd. This wasn't a place where no one came to challenge; it was more like a sea of people!