Chapter:37

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"I may have lost a silver crown, but I gained the skill machine [Dragon Pulse] and this [Charcoal]. Overall, it's a solid haul—not a loss at all."

Satoshi reviewed his rewards with satisfaction. These items were all incredibly practical.

The silver crown would need to be saved for later use, but the others could be put to work immediately.

"I lost, after all. Come back, Frog."

Ash looked regretful as he returned Frog to its Poké Ball. While he was visibly disappointed, he accepted the result with the maturity of someone who had expected the possibility.

"You don't seem too surprised. Did you go into the fight knowing you'd lose?"

Satoshi couldn't help but ask.

"Of course not! I fought to win, obviously. Who likes to lose?" Ash responded with an exaggerated eye roll. "But as I said earlier, you're stronger than Gary, and your battle awareness is sharper than mine. While I intended to defeat you, I was realistic enough to prepare for the possibility of losing."

Ash adjusted his hat, his tone calm yet resolute.

"Next time we meet, I'll be stronger. Let's have another Pokémon battle then, Satoshi."

Ash's confident smile lit up his face. Though he had lost the battle, he found excitement in gaining another Rival alongside Gary. The prospect of competing with Satoshi motivated him further.

Satoshi observed Ash's sincerity and fighting spirit. Hearing this declaration from someone destined to become a top-tier Trainer stirred something within him.

He recalled why he had thrown himself into this game world, pushing himself to level up quickly and take on hidden tasks. It wasn't just for leaderboard rankings, rewards, or the admiration of others.

No, those were merely steps toward his true goal:

To become stronger, to rise as one of the best, and eventually, to be the strongest.

"Alright, let's battle again the next time we meet. But make sure you and Gary grow stronger. Otherwise, you won't even be able to see my back."

Satoshi spoke with a confident grin, his words carrying a hint of arrogance.

So what if Ash and Gary were destined for greatness? In this life, Satoshi was determined to seize every opportunity and surpass them both.

"Hah! I didn't expect someone so humble a moment ago to turn so cocky. Fine, fine. Let's see who's stronger next time."

Ash was momentarily stunned by Satoshi's words but quickly recovered, his own confidence undiminished.

A Trainer needed this kind of boldness, and Ash respected it.

"Your fighting spirit brought out my true self. Don't hold back next time!"

"Deal. And if I catch up to you, I'll challenge you on the spot!"

The two Trainers smiled, bumping fists to seal their promise.

System Notification:

Ding! Ash now highly recognizes you as his Rival. Favorability increased to "Trust."

Afterward, Ash headed to the Pokémon Center to heal his team.

Satoshi, meanwhile, rested in the outskirts of Pewter City. Once his Pokémon were ready, he set his sights on his next goal: the Boulder Badge.

"The first gym battle is 2v2 across all regions. While the difficulty scales with levels, the format shouldn't change."

Satoshi healed Charmeleon and Frogadier, allowing them to rest while he reviewed his plans.

"In the Pewter City gym battle from my previous life, Brock used a level 12 Geodude and a level 14 Onix. Assuming the difficulty is scaled, they should be level 22 and level 24 now. That's manageable."

Satoshi prepared for the worst-case scenario, calculating a possible range of Pokémon levels to avoid any surprises.

"Charmeleon's Fire-type moves aren't very effective against Rock-types. That leaves [Iron Tail] and [Dragon Rage] as my best options, but just two moves feel a bit limited."

Satoshi frowned, considering his strategy. Fire, Normal, and Flying moves were all halved in effectiveness against Rock Pokémon.

"Wait—why did I forget about the skill machine I just got?"

Remembering the [Dragon Pulse] skill machine he earned from defeating Ash, Satoshi quickly retrieved it.

"Dragon-type skill [Dragon Pulse]... Charmeleon can learn it. While it doesn't offer type advantage against Rock-types, it's better than halved damage from Fire moves."

System Notification:

Ding! Charmeleon has learned [Dragon Pulse].

"Now Charmeleon has three moves capable of dealing decent damage to Rock Pokémon. With this [Charcoal], Fire-type moves might even hold their own. Perfect."

Satoshi equipped Charmeleon with the [Charcoal], boosting the power of its Fire-type moves by 30%.

Item Information:

[Charcoal]: Increases the power of Fire-type moves by 30%.

[Name: Charmeleon

Type: Fire

Ability: Blaze

Level: 26

Potential: Champion

Item: Charcoal]

"The power boost is higher than the 20% I remembered from before. These changes definitely work in my favor."

Satisfied with his preparations, Satoshi smiled confidently.

"Alright, everything's ready. It's time to claim the Boulder Badge."

With that, he recalled Charmeleon and Frogadier, striding confidently toward Pewter City's gym.

End of Chapter.

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