Chapter 34: Pewter Gym

A shrill shriek pierced the air, startling the Beedrill and instantly exposing a flaw in its offensive.

Zubat flapped its wings, swiftly ramming into the Beedrill. Its fangs directly pierced the Beedrill's body, vigorously sucking its bodily fluids.

A wave of weakness washed over the Beedrill, and its two stingers drooped powerlessly. It had no strength left to resist until Zubat drained it dry.

Zubat opened its mouth, and the Beedrill's corpse fell. Weepinbell hopped over, not seeming to mind that the Beedrill had been drained, and swallowed it whole with its gaping maw.

Its mouth closed, and Acid rapidly digested the Beedrill.

In less than a minute,Weepinbell opened its mouth, and the Beedrill's corpse inside had vanished without a trace!

"Come back, Weepinbell."

Seeing Aerodactyl and Lapras deal with the remaining Beedrill, Ace first recalled Weepinbell, then led his Pokémon in an escape from Viridian Forest.

Without Weepinbell's scent, the agitated Bug-type Pokémon gradually calmed down.

Ace glanced at Viridian Forest and said to Zubat and the others, "Our strength has increased significantly, but facing a large number of opponents all at once is still a bit too much for us."

Zubat and the others nodded; the recent attack had already exposed this problem.

"So, while maintaining our current training, I will do my best to guide you all in learning an area-of-effect move."

Facing Ace's words, Zubat and the others nodded, not complaining.

Although the daily training volume was substantial, Ace would customize special high-grade Energy Cubes based on their physical condition.

With the nourishing energy from the high-grade Energy Cubes, they could undergo special training without restraint.

One could say that Ace's training method, if he didn't have the system, would likely bankrupt an average person after just two or three times.

Ace, on the other hand, had the system's support, allowing him to train almost every day.

Of course, this kind of training was also extremely expensive in terms of gold coins and task points for Ace. Fortunately, the system provided daily tasks that could be completed every day, preventing Ace from running out of resources too quickly.

After planning the future training direction, Ace recalled Zubat and the others, leaving only Aerodactyl.

Aerodactyl grabbed Ace and took flight. Relying on Aerodactyl's speed, Ace directly flew over Viridian Forest, arriving at Pewter City on the other side of the forest.

"Is this Viridian Forest? It looks huge!"

As Ace arrived in Pewter City, the girl with Gible had also reached the outskirts of Viridian Forest.

Perhaps it was due to her exceptional skill and daring, but the girl simply walked into Viridian Forest with Gible, heading towards Pewter City.

As for the trainer searching for the girl, he had made a mistake. He thought the girl would visit Professor Oak in Kanto, so he headed towards Pallet Town.

The girl, however, did the opposite, traversing Viridian Forest and heading towards Pewter City.

This back-and-forth widened the distance between them, making it truly like searching for a needle in a haystack for the man to find the girl's whereabouts again.

But whether it was fate or not, the girl escaped the man, yet her distance from Ace grew shorter and shorter.

The Gym Leader of Pewter City was Brock.

Ace hurried along and quickly entered the Gym.

At this moment, the Gym was filled with spectators, and in the center of the Gym was a boxing ring-like arena.

Currently on the stage, a challenger was commanding his Machoke against the Gym Trainer's Graveler.

Ace watched for a while, then shook his head, "Just a couple of rookies pecking at each other."

The strength of these Gym Trainers didn't impress Ace. After all, Ash, with his Poliwag and Bulbasaur—which almost fainted with a single hit—could still sweep through them.

Such strength was practically unrealistic to compare with Ace's.

Soon, the challenger's Machoke was defeated by Graveler's Rock Throw. Ace almost didn't even want to comment on this level of skill.

However, it was unavoidable. For an ordinary trainer, obtaining one starter Pokémon was already quite good. No one could be like Ace, who could pour vast resources into his Pokémon to give them proper training.

Watching a match conclude, Ace went to the inquiry desk and directly registered for a Gym Battle.

After quickly completing the formalities, Ace walked directly onto the stage with his backpack.

Stepping over the ropes, Ace took off his backpack and set it aside, then placed the four Poké Balls from his pocket onto the ground.

"Oh, you have four Pokémon? You must be a somewhat capable trainer."

A new Gym Trainer walked onto the stage, accompanied by a Geodude, and said with a smile, "But you've put them on the ground. How do you plan to battle?"

"I'm not interested in Gym Badges."

Ace looked at the Gym Trainer and said, "I'm here simply to defeat the Pewter City Gym Leader. I want to see what level my strength has reached, and where my limits lie."

Saying this, Ace beckoned to the Gym Trainer, "You go first. You're too weak."

"Arrogant fellow!"

The Gym Trainer was instantly enraged and pointed at Ace, "Geodude, Tackle!"

Geodude immediately leaped out, charging towards Ace.

"Too weak."

Watching Geodude's "slow" movement, Ace directly picked up a Poké Ball and threw it.

Zubat instantly burst out, its Steel Wing savagely striking Geodude's body. Geodude's body shattered, and it flew backward, falling outside the ring, unable to battle.

"Next."

Ace raised a hand, and Zubat landed on his arm. Ace spoke indifferently, "You're all too weak. How about you all come at once? I'm in a hurry to battle Brock."

Ace's arrogant words instantly annoyed many Gym Trainers, but what they didn't know was that Ace was crying internally; if not to complete his task, he wouldn't choose such a method even if it killed him.

"Too arrogant!"

"I'll take him on!"

"Let me go, I'll show him what cruelty is!"

"Stand down, all of you!"

Just as the Gym Trainers were clamoring, Brock, who had been watching from upstairs, spoke.

Brock released an Onix, then walked from the window onto Onix's head. Onix then lowered its head, landing on the stage.

Brock jumped off Onix's head, landing on the stage, and looked at Ace, saying, "It seems you have some skill. But young man, don't think you're so strong. There's always someone better, a higher heaven beyond this one. Today, I'll teach you that lesson."

As Brock spoke, Onix slithered onto the stage, raising its body, looking down at Ace from above, instantly suppressing Ace's momentum!