Chapter 185: The Future Protagonist

In the courtyard of Professor Oak's laboratory in Pallet Town, two children—around eight or nine years old—were engrossed in a pretend Pokémon battle.

Of course, they weren't actually commanding real Pokémon; they were simply mimicking the commands and using their own understanding of Pokémon battles in their imaginative game.

"Ash! Do you know that your Charizard, being a Fire-type Pokémon, can never learn Photosynthesis?"

As Professor Oak's grandson, Gary naturally possessed a deeper knowledge of Pokémon than Ash. Once again, Gary pounced on one of Ash's mistakes and, with a hint of impatience, corrected him.

"Also, my Blastoise is a Water-type, while your Charizard is a dual Fire/Flying-type. In a real battle, you'd already be losing. So you might as well admit defeat!"

Crossing his arms with unshakable confidence, Gary declared his point. Outdoing Ash in these matters was one of Gary's small pleasures—a joy he couldn't experience with anyone else.

"Is that so? But I still believe that in an actual fight, my Charizard could win—even against your Water-type Blastoise," Ash retorted.

Already destined to become a master of unconventional types—the future protagonist—young Ash had, even at this tender age, resolved to follow his own unorthodox path, and he stated his belief with conviction.

As the conversation heated up, flickering flames danced above Gary's head, eventually coalescing into a burst of fire that soared upward.

"I've told you a hundred times—don't you know that Water-types counter Fire-types?!" Gary demanded.

Not to be outdone, Ash's own burst of flame flared up behind him.

"Gary, if you're so sure of yourself, then once I choose Charmander—one of the three starters—we'll have a real battle and settle this!"

Who could have foreseen that the playful game between these two would someday become reality?

In the end, it was the seemingly goofy Ash who emerged victorious.

...

"Combusken, use Fire Pledge!"

Flames erupted, enveloping the Grass-type Vileplume in a blazing ring. The fear of fire sent shivers down Victreebel's stem.

"Combusken, clear the path with Flamethrower, then charge with Flame Charge!"

Unbeknownst to Ron, who was issuing commands to his Combusken, he had quietly arrived in the vicinity of Pallet Town.

Originally, Ron's intention was simply to strengthen his team—especially his Machamp and others—while gradually making his way toward Indigo League.

Before he knew it, he had reached the area where the future protagonist, Ash, resided.

Facing the encircled Vileplume, its only recourse was to tap into its secret power to fend off Combusken's assault. With three successive boosts to its moves and the amplified Flame Charge, Combusken's Speed had surged by four stages.

Combusken dashed quickly to Vileplume's rear, and with a sudden burst, its flames engulfed Vileplume entirely.

"Combusken, use Fire Punch to knock back Vileplume and finish the battle with Fire Blast!"

Under the searing burn of fire, Vileplume was overcome by agony and was effortlessly struck by Combusken's Fire Punch. Even before Vileplume could hit the ground, Combusken's Fire Blast blazed forth, swiftly submerging it.

Under the relentless barrage of Fire-type moves, the Grass/Poison-type Vileplume simply couldn't withstand the onslaught and lost its ability to battle in the blink of an eye.

After the battle, a Gardevoir stepped forward and teleported Vileplume away.

At the same moment, the radiant light of evolution surged from Combusken.

Meanwhile, due to its earlier intensive training, Gyarados had pushed its level up to 42 before reaching a plateau beyond which further progress was extremely difficult.

In the days that followed, Blaziken became the undeniable center of attention.

Apart from constant training and battling, the only time for rest was when it was time to eat, sleep, or enjoy brief breaks in between.

It was safe to say that these days were a mix of pain and joy for Blaziken. The intense battles had rapidly boosted its power, culminating in today's evolution.

Regrettably, the limited training intensity and duration meant that although Blaziken had reached Low Elite level, it still hadn't fully mastered Shave, one of the Six Powers.

Meanwhile, Pokémon such as Nidoking and Gardevoir had already begun practicing the Moonwalk with promising progress.

Fortunately, from today onward, the battle—no, the sparring sessions—between Blaziken and its opponents would take a temporary pause, allowing it to devote itself entirely to training in the Six Powers.

Ron mused that Blaziken's evolution had been completed without a hitch.

After evolving into Blaziken, it seemed to have taken on a burst of energy—as if fueled by a potent hormone—its height leaping past two meters.

The most striking features were its brilliant white plume, a V-shaped comb, and piercing blue eyes.

The rest of its plumage was predominantly split between shades of red and light red: vivid red covering its torso, arms, and thighs, while only its back and chest remained a light yellow.

Complemented by bandaged, razor-sharp claws and sturdy, muscular legs, Blaziken's imposing presence was undeniable.

Like Gardevoir and Gyarados, the final evolution of Blaziken also had the capability to Mega Evolve. However, Ron was uncertain whether the League had begun researching Mega Evolution. If not, he'd have to journey to the very birthplace of Mega Evolution himself.

After a satisfying stretch and a lazy yawn, Blaziken's successful evolution signaled the temporary end of Ron's special training.

With three days remaining until the Indigo League, Ron planned to rest in a nearby town for a while—hoping to catch a flight in a day or two—thus leaving himself a day or two for final adjustments before the tournament.

Particularly, during a conversation with Shadow earlier, it became clear that many within the League would surely target Ron during the Indigo League.

Missing this opportunity would mean that they'd only have to wait until Ron joined the Rangers, and then hope that before his fame waned, he wouldn't do anything too outrageous.

In Ron's view, rather than leaving future possibilities in someone else's hands, those League figures preferred to keep the reins for themselves.

Of course, even they wouldn't dare push things too far in the tournament—any misstep could easily backfire.

Typically, champions were High Elite level trainers—a baseline that ensured Ron wouldn't face opponents on a near-Elite Four tier.

Otherwise, with quasi-Elite Four level Pokémon, other trainers would only jostle for second or third place, and such scenarios wouldn't significantly dent Ron's reputation.

Thus, Ron believed his current strength was sufficient. And if necessary, he wouldn't hesitate to employ his special abilities during battle.

According to the tournament rules, the powers of those with special abilities were not subject to any restrictions.

Stepping out of the forest, Ron quickly pinpointed his location and, without a moment's hesitation, set off for Pallet Town—eager to meet the yet-to-debut Ash.

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