“A prize from a contest?” Misty and Brock looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what Ash meant.

“It was an event held by the Pokémon League a few years ago,” Red explained patiently. “There were only a hundred of these official League-sponsored hats, and the only way to get one was to send in a postcard.”

“I see, I remember now!” Brock realized.

“Oh, that! I even sent a postcard at the time. Why didn’t I get one?” Misty asked, puzzled.

“Of course you didn’t. Ash sent hundreds of postcards to the Pokémon League back then. Luckily, I found out in time and gave him a piece of my mind. To be so wasteful for a promotional hat… that’s Ash for you,” Red explained with an amused sigh.

“Hundreds of postcards… Ash is really persistent,” Misty said, speechless.

“I get it. A guy’s gotta have passion for something!” Brock agreed, believing Ash’s philosophy was admirable.

“So, Red, did you also have to send in a bunch of postcards to get one for Ash?” Misty asked.

“Sort of. I sent one in, then called the organizers to… remind them. They sent one right over,” Red said.

“It pays to have connections…” Misty grumbled.

“So that’s the whole story of the hat Ash is wearing,” Brock said.

BANG—

Ash, trying to snatch his hat back, was once again easily knocked out by Primeape.

“You won’t get your hat back unless you battle and catch it, Ash!” Red reminded him, speechless that his brother would even consider fighting a Primeape himself. It seems his physical training is still seriously lacking, he thought.

“In that case, Pidgeotto, I choose you!” Ash threw the Poké Ball in his hand, sending out the Flying-type Pidgeotto to gain a type advantage.

“Ash actually knows about type advantages now!” Misty exclaimed.

“I think his ‘strategy’ is just to have Pidgeotto snatch the hat off its head,” Brock said, offering his own interpretation.

Sure enough, Ash’s command to Pidgeotto was to retrieve the hat, not to battle Primeape.

“Ash, didn’t you teach Pidgeotto Wing Attack?” Red asked, puzzled.

“Wing Attack? Can Pidgeotto learn that move?” Ash looked confused.

“Never mind, pretend I didn’t say anything…” Red was silent for a moment, ultimately deciding to give up on trying to “fix” Ash.

The Primeape in front of them had incredible fighting talent and wasn’t the least bit panicked by Pidgeotto’s appearance. Just as Pidgeotto was about to attack, it used a stone pillar for leverage, leaped up, grabbed the bird’s wing, and used a powerful Seismic Toss.

“Pidgeotto!” Seeing his Pokémon about to hit the ground, Ash quickly pulled out his Poké Ball and recalled Pidgeotto to prevent it from getting hurt.

“Sure enough, I still have to go all out!” Ash said firmly, intending to have a real showdown with Primeape. “Primeape, I will definitely catch you!”

“Go, Squirtle! Use Water Gun to cool Primeape’s head down!” Ash threw a Poké Ball, sending out the Water-type Squirtle to battle.

Squirtle opened its mouth and shot out a jet of water, hitting Primeape squarely on the head. But the enraged Primeape seemed to think Ash was humiliating it; its entire face turned red with anger, and it managed to evaporate the remaining water with its sheer body heat.

“Squirtle, come back! Go, Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!” Ash swapped out Squirtle, sending out Bulbasaur and commanding it to use Razor Leaf.

Countless sharp leaves launched from Bulbasaur’s body, but Primeape easily dismantled them with Fury Swipes, turning them into useless scraps that fell to the ground.

“Bulbasaur, come back! Finally, I’m counting on you, Charmander!” The Charmander that appeared first used Flamethrower on Primeape, but Primeape flexibly dodged it. Immediately after, Primeape rushed in front of Charmander, swinging its fists to launch a continuous assault.

Charmander, being relentlessly attacked, also became angry. The flame on its tail burned fiercely, clearly triggering its Blaze ability.

“Ash, this is a great chance to decide the match! Quickly command Charmander to use Flamethrower!” Red reminded him upon seeing this.

“Charmander, quickly use Flamethrower!” Ash commanded.

A blazing flame spewed from Charmander’s mouth, turning into a pillar of fire that struck Primeape.

“Pika pika!” Pikachu quickly ran over, not to help Primeape, but to save the hat on its head. This was the hat Ash always cherished, and Pikachu didn’t want him to be sad.

Primeape, engulfed by the flames, appeared before everyone, scorched all over. Just as it tried to struggle, its eyes spun, and it collapsed to the ground.

‘Hmph! You little punk, you hit me for so long, but in the end, it was me who defeated you!’ Charmander stood with its hands on its hips, proudly looking at the Primeape it had defeated, its face full of pride.

“Well done, Charmander and Pikachu! Now I have to act!” Ash threw the Poké Ball he had already prepared. “Go, Poké Ball!”

The Poké Ball hit the unconscious Primeape, pulling it inside in a flash of red light. The ball immediately began to shake wildly on the ground. Ash watched the constantly shaking Poké Ball with a serious expression, fearing that Primeape might suddenly break free. Suddenly, the Poké Ball stopped moving. Just as Ash was secretly delighted to have caught Primeape, the Poké Ball on the ground began to shake violently again. Fortunately, it finally stopped shaking and made a ‘ding’ sound, indicating a successful capture.

“Hehehe… Primeape, I caught it!” Ash triumphantly held up Primeape’s Poké Ball, excitedly sharing his joy with his companions.

“Congratulations, Ash! After Butterfree’s departure, your team is finally complete again!” Red congratulated him.

“This is also thanks to you, big brother!” Ash said humbly. If it weren’t for Red’s help, he might not have been able to catch this exceptionally talented Primeape.

“Come out, Primeape! Say hello to everyone!” The excited Ash chose to release Primeape immediately and stroked its head, only for the Pokémon to punch him directly in the eye, showing no mercy.

“Primeape, your way of saying hello is really unique…” Ash grumbled, rubbing his aching eye.

“It seems you two get along well!” Misty teased.

“Let’s get going! We might even reach Celadon City in less than a day!” Red said.

(End of Chapter)

***

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