"Brother, you're seriously amazing!"
Ash's eyes sparkled with stars as he looked at Red walking toward him with admiration.
Red defeating the examiner with just a single Wartortle was enough to make all the examinees and spectators present take him extremely seriously.
Because they were twin brothers, everyone grew curious about Ash standing nearby. Ash also vaguely felt a kind of pressure—a pressure from being compared to others—but he wasn't nervous at all, because he was very confident in his own battling skills.
"Clang—"
The second match began, and the examinee stepping up was James.
"James, hurry up and smash him!"
Jessie shouted from the audience seats.
"Whatever, I'm fine with anything." Meowth complained, still looking drowsy. He had thought Jessie dragged him out to do something bad, but it turned out they were just watching James battle the examiner.
"I'm going to avenge Jessie—go!"
After saying that, James threw the Poké Ball in his hand. As the white light faded, a Pikachu appeared on the battlefield.
Pikachu's appearance shocked the Team Rocket trio at the same time. After all, this was their old opponent—though it had always been a one-sided beating.
"This time I've definitely got it! Thunder Shock, Thunderbolt, Thunder—I've always been defeated by these moves. I'm way too familiar with Pikachu's techniques!"
James clenched his fists excitedly and let out a crazed laugh, already convinced that he would be the winner of this match.
"He looks kind of pitiful." Jessie mocked.
"Yeah~" Meowth said speechlessly.
The examiner also sent out his Pokémon—a Graveler.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
James, whose theoretical knowledge was zero, gave the command, even smugly rubbing his cheeks.
"Oh~ this feels great~"
Pikachu immediately released its electric current, but Graveler wasn't harmed in the slightest. Instead, it used Tackle and knocked the fragile Pikachu to the ground.
"Why! Why! What did I do wrong?!" James shouted in confusion.
"Using Electric-type moves against Ground-type Pokémon is ineffective. This is basic knowledge."
The examiner criticized him and even deducted a point as a warning.
After failing, James simply threw out his remaining two Poké Balls, even smugly glancing at the examiner, wanting to see how Graveler would defeat his Charizard and Venusaur.
Unfortunately, before he could show off for long, James was directly disqualified by the examiner for violating the rules.
Finally, it was Ash's turn to face the examiner. Both sides sent out unknown Pokémon.
The examiner's Pokémon was Flareon, while Ash surprisingly sent out Weezing.
As soon as the battle began, the examiner commanded Flareon to use Flamethrower. Seeing this, Weezing immediately dodged the attack.
"Weezing, use Poison Gas!"
Weezing released the toxic gas inside its body. When the flames came into contact with the gas, an explosion instantly occurred. The aftershock of the explosion even injured Flareon, nearly knocking it down.
The examiner commanded Flareon to use Leer, attempting to briefly control Weezing's movements, but Ash had Weezing use Smokescreen to successfully evade.
"Not bad at all," the examiner praised.
(As expected of Professor Red's younger brother!)
"Now's the chance—use Tackle!"
From within the smoke, Weezing seized the opportunity while Flareon was off guard. A critical Tackle directly knocked Flareon to the ground.
Next, the examiner sent out his second Pokémon—Jolteon.
"Weezing, use Poison Gas again!"
It was the same familiar tactic. This time, the examiner had Jolteon quickly retreat and use Pin Missile to repeatedly track Weezing's movements.
"Weezing, use Sludge!"
Weezing spat sludge from its mouth, which happened to hit Jolteon's eyes. Losing its vision, Jolteon instantly fell into panic.
In the end, Jolteon was also knocked down by a Tackle from Weezing, though Weezing also suffered considerable damage from Jolteon's spikes.
"Ash's actually pretty skilled in battle!" Misty praised.
"If Team Rocket were like this, we'd be in trouble!" Brock complained.
"We're already taking notes!" x2
Jessie and James were frantically copying notes in the audience, while Meowth in the middle yawned helplessly.
"Ash has really grown a lot~"
Red looked at Ash on the field, who was performing beyond expectations, with satisfaction.
In the third round, the examiner sent out Vaporeon, while Ash sent out Arbok.
"These really are all Team Rocket's Pokémon," Misty complained.
"Vaporeon, use Ice Beam!"
"Arbok, quickly use Glare!"
Startled by Arbok's gaze, Vaporeon was unable to use Ice Beam, and its entire body fell into a paralyzed state.
"Now rush in and use Wrap!" Ash said excitedly.
Arbok rushed in front of Vaporeon and tightly coiled its body around it.
"Vaporeon, break free!" the examiner urged anxiously.
But the frightened Vaporeon was too weak to struggle, and in the end, it was defeated by Arbok's close-range Poison Sting.
"Vaporeon has lost its ability to battle. Therefore, the winner of this match is contestant Ash!"
"Congratulations, Ash, you've successfully obtained this unique Badge!"
After shaking hands with Ash following the match, the examiner handed him the unique Badge.
"The unique Badge—I got it!"
Ash raised a victory V-sign, celebrating his achievement.
After the match, Team Rocket was just about to cause trouble when Red, who had anticipated it, used psychic power to send them flying, preventing the need to restart the assessment.
Although Ash obtained the unique Badge, he still wanted to go to Cinnabar Gym for a Gym challenge.
As Misty put it, Ash was a hands-on type of Trainer. If he didn't travel around challenging Gyms, he would miss out on a lot of fun.
Ash still remembered something Red once said: participating in a tournament without earning League Badges by defeating Gym Leaders had no meaning at all.
Thus, after obtaining the unique Badge, Ash continued his journey of challenging Gyms.
...
Seafoam Islands—these two islands have identical shapes, like a pair of twins, which is why they are called Seafoam Islands.
Seafoam Islands are the dwelling place of the legendary Pokémon Articuno, located at the deepest part of the cave.
However, nowadays people have gradually begun referring to them as the independent Cinnabar Island. This is because the left half, Cinnabar Island, not only houses the Cinnabar Gym led by a former Fire-type Elite Four member, but in recent years hot springs have even been discovered there, attracting Trainers traveling from all over. It has once become a popular vacation destination.
After obtaining the unique Badge, Red said goodbye to Ash and his group and once again set off on his journey alone.
At this moment, Red was aboard a ferry heading to Cinnabar Island, enjoying the sea breeze and the beautiful ocean scenery along the way.
"Beep beep beep…"
The Pokédex in Red's pocket made a sound. When he opened it, he found that the map showed a direct route from his current position to Seafoam Islands.
Under the astonished gazes of the other passengers, Red jumped up from the deck and threw the Poké Ball in his hand.
"Gyarados, head to Seafoam Islands!"
The massive body of Crimson Gyarados appeared in front of the ferry. Amid the crowd's terrified stares, Red rode on Crimson Gyarados toward Seafoam Islands, while the incoming waves were easily scattered by a single sweep of its tail.