“Marowak, use Bone Rush!”

“Pikachu, use Iron Tail!”

After leaving the Mysterious Garden, Red accompanied Ash’s trio as they resumed their journey toward Cinnabar Gym. To assess whether Ash and Pikachu had been slacking off during this time, Red decided to send out Marowak to properly test Pikachu’s strength.

The thick bone club and the silver-glowing tail collided with a resounding clash. Marowak held off Pikachu’s attack with one hand, both combatants struggling to overpower the other in a test of raw strength.

But Marowak’s assault wasn’t limited to a single strike. The Ground-type actively distanced itself from Pikachu, then gripped its bone club with both hands. Its combined force directly overwhelmed Pikachu, smashing the Electric-type’s tail into the earth.

Pain instantly flooded Pikachu’s mind. Before it could even cry out, Marowak’s swinging bone club struck again, delivering a devastating four-hit combo that left Pikachu reeling.

“I never expected Marowak alone would be enough to suppress Ash’s Pikachu,” Brock said in disbelief. As a traveling companion, he naturally knew Pikachu’s strength, never expecting it to be so easily dominated today. “I can’t even imagine how powerful Red’s original team must be.”

“Isn’t it partly due to type advantage?” Misty asked thoughtfully. “If Marowak couldn’t conduct Pikachu’s electricity into the ground, maybe Pikachu wouldn’t be in such a difficult situation.”

“There’s certainly that aspect, but we can’t ignore Marowak’s excellence either,” Brock agreed with a nod.

“End it, Marowak,” Red said with a slight frown, his tone carrying a note of displeasure at the one-sided nature of the battle.

The muscles in Marowak’s right arm swelled as it raised its bone club, preparing to deliver what appeared to be a finishing blow to Pikachu’s face.

“Don’t give up now, Pikachu!” Ash shouted desperately.

Perhaps encouraged by his trainer’s unwavering faith, Pikachu struggled to its feet and used Agility, skillfully dodging Marowak’s devastating attack. The ground where Pikachu had been lying was pulverized by the bone club into a spiderweb-like crater that made anyone who saw it shudder involuntarily.

Having successfully evaded the strike, Pikachu immediately countered with Iron Tail, landing a direct hit on Marowak’s body and dealing considerable damage.

This display of resilience barely earned the approval of Red and Marowak, and the two Pokémon ended their training battle with mutual respect.

“Barely passing,” Red said flatly, his assessment cutting but fair. “Remember to train Pikachu’s close combat abilities more.”

“Got it, Big Brother,” Ash replied earnestly.

Seeing that Red was no longer displeased, Ash cheerfully sidled up to his older brother, acting endearingly childish as he asked Red not to frown anymore.

“Ash only acts this way in front of Red,” Brock teased with a knowing smile.

“After all, they are real brothers,” Misty laughed, finding the dynamic between the siblings endearing.

After the training session ended, Marowak extended its hand to Pikachu in a gesture of reconciliation. Fortunately, Pikachu was already accustomed to training with Red’s Pokémon—the previous encounters with Pidgeot and Scyther had certainly left lasting impressions.

“Click! Click!”

Sudden camera sounds emerged from nearby bushes. The ever-vigilant Marowak immediately hurled its bone club toward the source of the noise.

“Thwack!”

A crisp impact echoed from within the foliage. Marowak and Pikachu exchanged meaningful glances before simultaneously rushing into the bushes and dragging out whoever had been hiding there.

“So it’s a Pokémon photographer,” Red observed, noting the young man desperately protecting the camera clutched in his arms.

The young man’s name was Todd, a photographer who specialized in capturing natural scenery and Pokémon in their most authentic moments. His dream was to photograph Pokémon displaying their most natural expressions.

Todd had visited the Grand Canyon some time ago and accidentally captured the aerial battle between Charizard and Aerodactyl, publishing the dramatic shots in “Pokémon Friend” magazine and becoming a celebrated young genius photographer.

“Don’t know…” all four members of Red’s group said simultaneously, causing Todd to fall backward in comical disappointment.

“But I know you, Red!” Todd exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and looking at Red with obvious admiration. He moved to approach and shake hands, but was blocked by Marowak’s bone club, the Ground-type clearly signaling him to maintain his distance.

“Ahem, I once saw your photo in Pokémon Friend—you commanding Pokémon to defeat that giant Tentacruel,” Todd said excitedly. “People still talk about that incident today. I never expected to meet you in person—this is my lucky day!”

The group could practically see stars twinkling in Todd’s eyes. Unable to resist the enthusiastic photographer, Red and Marowak reluctantly agreed to pose for a photo, though Marowak rolled its eyes with an obviously annoyed expression, clearly giving Todd no special treatment.

But Todd considered even Marowak’s disdain to be a natural expression worth capturing, so he joyfully recorded the moment.

Fortunately, Todd remained unaware that both Charizard and Aerodactyl were Red’s Pokémon, sparing them from lengthy explanations.

To apologize for the bone club incident, Red’s group invited Todd to join them for lunch. This gesture nearly brought tears to the photographer’s eyes—as someone constantly rushing between locations to capture perfect shots, he rarely had time for a proper meal.

After a pleasant interlude of shared sandwiches and conversation, the mood shifted when Misty made an observation that cut through the relaxed atmosphere.

“I think Ash only gets badges through other people’s sympathy,” she said bluntly, having been comparing the two brothers throughout their journey.

“Cough cough—!” Ash, who had been leisurely enjoying his sandwich, choked on Misty’s harsh assessment and frantically patted his chest.

“Aren’t you worried about yourself? Maybe your strength isn’t sufficient!” Misty continued. If Red hadn’t temporarily joined their group, she might not have voiced such discouraging words. But Red’s overwhelming competence made her involuntarily compare him to Ash, speaking with obvious disappointment.

“Calm down, Ash!” Brock quickly handed him water while Todd helpfully patted his back.

“Luck is also part of strength,” Ash said proudly, seemingly unbothered by Misty’s criticism.

“But the only opponents Ash has really defeated are Team Rocket, right?” Misty pressed mercilessly.

“Achoo!” The Team Rocket trio, somewhere in the distance, suddenly sneezed in unison, wondering who was speaking ill of them.

“What?! Do you have to be so ruthless?!” Ash exploded, jumping to his feet and grabbing a Poké Ball from his belt. “In that case, I want to have a Pokémon battle with you right here and now!”

Seeing Ash’s impulsive reaction, Pikachu moved to calm his trainer down.

“Alright, Ash,” Red interjected with measured authority. “Misty’s words aren’t entirely wrong. Don’t always be so hot-tempered.”

“Yes…” Ash replied weakly, deflating under his older brother’s criticism.

“Click! Click!” Todd’s photographer instincts kicked in as he captured Pikachu attempting to soothe Ash—exactly the kind of natural expression he lived to document.

“No way! I have to prove my strength right now!” Ash declared, pressing his face directly against Todd’s camera lens to ensure he had the photographer’s attention.

“I got it, I got it,” Todd said helplessly. “In any case, as long as we can measure your strength, right?”

“Exactly!” Ash nodded vigorously.

“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to have someone officially evaluate you?” Todd suggested thoughtfully.

“Have someone evaluate?” Ash asked, puzzled by the concept.

“The Pokémon League Certification Exam!” Todd announced.

‘The Pokémon Certification Exam? Another torturous test…’ Red thought privately, memories flooding back of the exam’s notoriously bizarre questions. The one that had left the deepest impression was: “Jigglypuff viewed from above!” Initially, Red had also mistaken it for Electrode, but when the answer was revealed, it had truly shocked him. That question was probably designed purely to mess with people’s minds.

Todd’s presence finally proved useful beyond photography. In order to capture battle competition photos, he had already scouted the location of the Pokémon Certification Exam, making him the perfect guide for Red and Ash’s group as they prepared for this new challenge.

[Chapter Complete]

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep