(The red-capped boy? Could it be him?!)

Dan’s eyes widened instantly; he clearly guessed who the Team Rocket Trio was referring to.

“I didn’t expect to meet you here again. What a coincidence…” Dan murmured.

“Then, Captain Dan, what about our mission?” James asked tentatively.

“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with that guy. You just need to create a commotion at the Celadon Gym!” Dan said calmly, starting to paint a rosy picture for the Team Rocket Trio. He assured them that if they succeeded, they would definitely be promoted to a special operations team.

After speaking, Dan bid farewell to the Team Rocket Trio and left, holding onto Crobat’s wing.

“What a wonderful feeling!” they chorused, clearly lost in their beautiful fantasy, looking forward to the day they would rise to prominence.

Meanwhile, on Red’s side:

“Ten years ago, when I was little, I got lost and accidentally encountered a Grimer. I was so scared I couldn’t move a muscle. Gloom happened to pass by, and at that time, Gloom understood my feelings perfectly and helped me scare off the Grimer. From that day on, I vowed to become a Grass-type Pokémon Trainer!”

Erika recounted her story of meeting Gloom and why she decided to become a Grass-type Pokémon Trainer.

“So this is the story of Miss Erika and Gloom’s encounter, how touching~” Brock said, wiping away tears, deeply moved.

“Hey, hey, hey, you’re getting too emotional…” Misty said, speechless.

“Wow! I really want to have a Pokémon battle!” Ash said eagerly, still focused on his Gym Challenge.

“Eevee~”

Eevee lay comfortably in Red’s arms, rubbing against his chest, enjoying the warmth.

“Sure enough, I still can’t stand seeing this scene~” Erika said, feeling a hint of grievance over Eevee’s ‘betrayal.’

“Eevee, be good. Erika is calling you,” Red said with a smile, urging the Eevee in his arms to quickly go and comfort Erika.

Eevee yawned and, reluctantly, jumped out of Red’s arms, slowly returning to Erika’s side.

“Red, how did you and Eevee meet?” Erika asked, puzzled. She didn’t believe Eevee would fall in love with Red at first sight; they must have had an earlier encounter than she did.

“Eevee and I met in Viridian Forest. At that time, I was trying to catch a Scyther to supplement my initial team, and I happened to stumble upon Eevee being chased by Team Rocket.”

Red briefly summarized how he met Eevee, also letting everyone know Eevee’s origin and its ability to change into three forms.

“Changing into three forms, that sounds so cool!” Ash said excitedly.

“Eevee cannot change forms at will. Changing forms comes with the side effect of pain. Each evolution and devolution brings a heavy burden to Eevee’s body. If I could, I’d rather this guy was just a normal Eevee.”

Although the ability to change forms was novel, Red, who understood the general process, felt it was Eevee’s misfortune. This ability was the result of Team Rocket’s arbitrary modifications, not Eevee’s own will.

“Then, Erika, how did you and Eevee meet?”

Red cleverly changed the subject, preventing the gloomy atmosphere from continuing. Through Erika’s narration, Red also learned of Eevee’s experiences during this period. Erika, by chance, witnessed Eevee being chased by a shopkeeper while holding bread, and out of compassion, adopted Eevee, leading to their current situation.

While everyone was sharing their stories, the Team Rocket Trio had already infiltrated the Celadon Gym.

“I heard this Gym can produce expensive perfumes. How about we take advantage of the opportunity?”

Jessie signaled James and Meowth with her eyes, and they immediately understood. Since they were already here, could they really be called Team Rocket if they didn’t ‘take’ something?

After healing, Erika’s Pokémon had recovered, and Ash was excited to face his upcoming Gym Challenge.

“Now commencing the official Gym Challenge! The participants are Gym Leader Erika and Ash from Pallet Town. Each Trainer may use three Pokémon. The first Trainer whose Pokémon loses its ability to battle loses! Only the challenger may switch Pokémon during the battle, and there is no time limit! Let the official match begin!”

As the referee announced, Ash and Erika simultaneously threw their Poké Balls.

“I choose you, Charmander!”

“I’m counting on you, Tangela!”

Charmander and Tangela appeared on the battleground simultaneously. At first, Tangela was surprised to see Ash, remembering it had just battled this human’s Pokémon. But seeing the smaller Charmander and Ash’s aura, it recognized the difference between the two.

“That hateful Ash, he actually sent out Charmander against Miss Erika!”

Brock immediately turned against Ash, angrily criticizing his actions. To win the battle, he was so ‘shameless’ as to send out a Fire-type Charmander in a garden battle area.

“Who have I offended recently?” Ash said in despair, feeling his good companions were drifting further and further away from him.

“Begin!” the referee announced.

“Charmander, use Flamethrower!” Ash commanded.

“Tangela, dodge and then use Stun Spore!”

After the previous defeat, Tangela was much more cautious, not carelessly exposing any openings. It successfully dodged the fire attack, then shook its body to release Stun Spore!

“Charmander, directly use Flamethrower to break through the Stun Spore!”

The powder was easily covered by the flames, which then hit Tangela’s body.

“Good opportunity, Charmander, rush in now and use Headbutt!”

Charmander charged forward to Tangela, fiercely striking its body and knocking it to the ground!

“Tangela is unable to battle!” the referee announced.

“I never thought this guy would be so strong!” the observing shop assistant exclaimed.

“You really can’t judge a book by its cover!” another shop assistant echoed.

“Ash, your strength is outstanding,” Erika praised, her impression of Ash improving significantly. She threw out another Poké Ball, and this time, Gloom appeared.

“Weepinbell’s strength is no longer enough to defeat Charmander!” Erika explained, voluntarily giving up Weepinbell’s right to battle and directly sending out Gloom.

As soon as Gloom appeared, it released a foul odor. Charmander tilted its head in confusion at this, then took a deep breath.

“Charmander, don’t—!”

Ash saw this and quickly tried to stop it, but it was too late. Charmander, having inhaled the foul odor, its face instantly changed, turning completely black. It clutched its nose, struggling desperately, but still succumbed to the odor, unfortunately losing the ability to battle with swirls in its eyes.

(End of Chapter)

***

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep