"Ash, are you sure you don't want to try challenging the Viridian Gym?" Misty nudged him with her shoulder. She looked serious, but the sly look in her eyes didn't escape Ash.
"Yeah, that's not necessary. I at least know my limits," Ash said while steadying himself.
Seriously… this girl has the strength of a Machamp.
The Viridian Gym Leader was none other than Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket. His strength was on another level.
Challenging that Gym right now would basically be walking straight into defeat.
Besides, if someone showed up with zero Gym Badges, the Gym might not even let them in.
"Misty… why are you so evil?" Ash looked at her. She was pretty and had a great figure, but why did she enjoy setting traps for her teammates?
"Hm?"
Misty tilted her head and stared at him with wide, innocent eyes.
"Y-you… you really think I'm a rookie who doesn't understand anything, don't you?" Ash avoided her gaze and continued walking.
"That place is known as the graveyard of Trainers. Very few people ever obtain the Viridian Badge."
What most people didn't know was that the Gym Leader, Giovanni, was secretly the infamous leader of Team Rocket, plotting evil plans behind the scenes.
Misty laughed awkwardly when she realized she couldn't fool Ash and quickly changed the subject.
"If you're planning to challenge the Pewter Gym, you should prepare Grass-type or Water-type Pokémon."
"The Pewter Gym Leader uses Rock-type Pokémon. If you pay attention to type advantages, you'll have a high chance of winning."
"I don't have any Grass-types," Ash replied calmly.
"But I do have Magikarp."
He wasn't worried at all.
Magikarp was only two levels away from evolving into Gyarados.
A Magikarp that only knows Splash…
Misty had no idea when it would evolve. Ash always brought it out just to watch battles, yet after all this time it still showed no signs of evolution.
"Relax. I believe in Magikarp," Ash said with a grin, patting Misty on the shoulder.
"Pika?"
Pikachu suddenly pointed ahead.
"What's that pit doing there?"
Misty followed Pikachu's gaze.
In the middle of the road ahead was a large pit, big enough to fit three or four people.
There were messy footprints around it—someone had probably already fallen in before.
"Which idiot dug this pit? And which unlucky person fell into it?" Misty complained.
Ash's eyes flickered.
After a moment, he stuck a wooden branch a few meters before the pit as a warning sign for travelers.
"Let's rest for a bit."
Misty leaned against a rock and glared resentfully at Ash.
If he hadn't electrocuted my bicycle, we wouldn't be this tired…
Meanwhile, Ash released all his Pokémon.
They interacted with each other to increase Friendship, but he also had another purpose.
Rare Candies.
He currently had six Rare Candies.
3 for Pikachu
2 for Magikarp
1 for Pidgeotto
That should push them all into the Normal Tier—except for Metapod, which hadn't evolved yet.
It was late afternoon now, and the sun was starting to set.
If they kept going tomorrow morning, they would probably reach Pewter City.
When preparing dinner for the Pokémon, Ash secretly placed the Rare Candies into their food bowls.
Eat them, and evolution would soon follow.
He was especially excited about seeing the red Gyarados.
Pikachu happily devoured its food.
Suddenly, its ears stood up straight and electricity surged through its body—it looked like it could power a generator.
Pidgeotto suddenly spread its wings and let out a loud cry.
Misty, eating her lunchbox nearby, looked confused.
They were just eating dinner—why were the Pokémon suddenly screaming like monkeys?
Magikarp couldn't make much sound, but it began jumping violently.
"Is it having a seizure?" Misty wondered.
Then she froze.
Wait…
Ash stared at Magikarp expectantly.
It's coming…
The Shiny Magikarp was slightly larger than normal Magikarp.
If it evolved into Gyarados, its size would become even more impressive.
And shiny Pokémon often had greater potential.
"Another Pokémon is evolving?" Misty exclaimed.
Everyone's attention focused on Magikarp.
The Shiny Magikarp began glowing with the same brilliant evolution light that Caterpie had earlier.
The light expanded—
And the massive outline of Gyarados gradually appeared.
"ROOOAAAR!"
The light burst apart as Shiny Gyarados roared into the sky, releasing a powerful gust of wind.
So this is the presence of a shiny evolution…
Ash was thrilled.
He was extremely satisfied with this Shiny Gyarados.
Not only was it larger than normal Gyarados, its aura was far more intimidating.
It even felt like it carried an additional aura similar to the Ability Pressure.
Ash looked up at the massive red serpent.
Even he could feel its natural dominance.
The Shiny Gyarados had three upward red horns on its head, a segmented armored back, and its iconic red whiskers.
Gyarados was known for its extremely violent temperament. Its teeth were strong enough to crush stone, and its scales were as hard as steel.
Ash quickly recorded it in the Pokédex.
Showing this to Professor Oak later would definitely surprise him.
Pokémon Status
Shiny Gyarados
Nature: Jolly
Level: 20
Ability: Intimidate
Potential: Elite Four Tier
Held Item: Lucky Egg
Moves: Bite, Twister, Brine, Scary Face
Friendship: 204
A Jolly Nature was great.
It increased Speed and lowered Special Attack, making Gyarados perfect as a physical attacker.
Hehe… Brock.
The first battle for my Shiny Gyarados will be against you.
Even though Gyarados was Water/Flying-type, meaning it technically took super-effective damage from Rock moves, it was much faster than Rock Pokémon.
It would definitely strike first.
And its Ability Intimidate lowered the opponent's Attack by one stage.
"Uh… Misty, are you okay?" Ash asked.
Misty had backed far away, clearly uncomfortable.
She shook her head.
When she was young, she had a traumatic experience with Gyarados.
And this one—
A Shiny Gyarados—
looked even more terrifying.
The already fierce face combined with its crimson scales made it look far more intimidating.
"It's fine. Look how gentle Gyarados is," Ash said.
He even pulled on Gyarados's whiskers and patted its face.
Instead of getting angry, Gyarados leaned closer affectionately.
Misty stared in disbelief.
Is that even a real Gyarados?
Every Gyarados she knew was violent and uncontrollable.
But Ash's looked as gentle as a sheep.
This made no sense.
"Here, catch," Ash said, tossing a few Berries.
Gyarados snapped them up instantly.
To celebrate the evolution, Ash decided to hold a small party and took out extra food from his backpack.
They could restock supplies once they reached Pewter City.
As for money—
Ash earned income as an assistant researcher for Professor Oak, helping collect Pokémon data.
And Trainers also received prize money from the Pokémon League after winning Gym battles.
"Ash, are you really planning to challenge the Pewter Gym using only Gyarados?" Misty asked.
"Pretty much," Ash replied.
A single Gyarados would probably be enough.
Water-type attacks dealt four times damage to the Rock/Ground Pokémon in the Pewter Gym.
Even though Onix had extremely high physical defense, it wouldn't matter much against Brine.
"But what if Gyarados loses?" Misty asked.
"Your Pikachu and Pidgeotto are both at a type disadvantage."
Ash shrugged.
No problem.
If things get bad, I'll just send out Pikachu.
Current Team LevelsPikachu – Lv.23
Shiny Gyarados – Lv.20
Pidgeotto – Lv.19
Metapod – evolving soon
Almost the entire team had reached the Normal Tier.
Metapod would catch up quickly once it borrowed the Lucky Egg later.
After the party, night fell.
Ash and the others camped outside, letting all the Pokémon sleep together under the stars.
The next morning arrived full of energy.
After packing their things, they began the final stretch toward Pewter City.
About an hour later, they finally exited Viridian Forest.
From a hilltop, they could see the rough outline of Pewter City in the distance.
"Pika…"
Pikachu sat on a rock, resting.
"Young man, you're sitting on my merchandise," a middle-aged man suddenly said.
Ash quickly apologized and picked Pikachu up.
"You two must be Trainers heading to challenge the Pewter Gym, right?"
Ash looked at the man.
This must be Flint, Brock's father…
The man was apparently selling "stone pickles."
After chatting for a while, they followed him along a shortcut.
Soon, they arrived at the Pewter City Pokémon Center.
Even though Ash's map showed the route, the path Flint led them through was much faster.