"Kakuna?"
Looking at the Pokémon sent out by Ash, Giselle was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter. Quickly, she composed herself, covering her face with a fan but still smiling through her eyes.
"I'm starting to doubt whether you're some primitive person who just wandered out of a mountain valley. Do you even know if Kakuna can fight? Don't you know that it only has one move — Harden? Without any attacking moves, what can it possibly do in battle?"
"You don't seriously think Shiny Pokémon are stronger than regular ones, do you? Sorry to burst your bubble, but there's absolutely no difference in their abilities."
"Stop with the nonsense! I know all about that," Ash waved dismissively. "Who says you can't fight without offensive moves? Pokémon battles aren't that inconvenient. I'll use Kakuna to win this for you!"
"How shameless," Sundae said, pulling a Poké Ball from her pocket.
"In that case, I'll teach you a lesson—with facts."
"Go! My Pokémon!"
Whoosh~ The Poké Ball opened, and a Graveler appeared.
"Graa!"
It was a Graveler.
"Rock types have an advantage over Bug types. Not sure if you know that, but I'll explain anyway."
Giselle crossed her arms proudly.
"Well then, Graveler, end this boring battle—use Rock Slide!"
"Graa!"
Graveler lifted a small rock with its sturdy arms and hurled it toward the Kakuna.
At the same time, Ash shouted,
"Kakuna, use Harden!"
"Hiss!"
A metallic sheen flashed across Kakuna's body as its defense rose.
Boom!
The rock crashed into Kakuna, kicking up a cloud of dust on the sandy ground. Giselle watched the dust without much concern, then pulled out her Poké Ball again.
"See? I told you this was boring. Come back, Graveler…"
"What are you doing? The battle isn't over yet!"
Giselle looked back at the battlefield. As the dust settled, the Kakuna still stood firm, its metallic shine undimmed. Broken stones lay scattered beneath it, but otherwise, it looked untouched.
"How is this possible?!" Giselle was stunned.
"You took a head-on hit and weren't even scratched? What the heck? Is this Kakuna some kind of gifted Pokémon?"
"I don't understand what you're saying," Ash said, flipping his hat backwards, raising his fist with fiery determination. "Compared to Graveler's attack, Froakie's slash is way more powerful!"
"Right, Kakuna?"
"Hiss." The Kakuna looked disdainfully at the Graveler.
Compared to Froakie's knife, your rock is just a sandbag tossed by a kid!
"Then the next move decides it all," Ash shouted, raising his fist. "Kakuna, rush forward and finish it!"
"Hiss!"
The Kakuna leaned forward and charged at Graveler like a cannonball. Giselle barely blinked before seeing Graveler knocked far away.
"Graveler!" The rumbling sound made Giselle look back.
When the dust cleared, Graveler lay motionless on the ground, with Kakuna standing triumphantly over it. The sunlight reflected off its shell in dazzling golden light.
Kakuna was completely victorious!
"I actually won…"
Giselle stared blankly at the scene.
"How is this possible? How can Kakuna defeat Graveler?"
"That's why I said Pokémon battles aren't that inconvenient." Ash recalled his Kakuna, smiling.
"They all have hands and feet—why can't they fight without moves?"
"Well, obviously, it's still a fight if you have a head."
Ash looked at the broken iron door he had knocked down and suddenly realized something.
"Oh yeah, I still have to chase that weird Pokémon."
By now, the fog had cleared enough to widen their vision. Though some time was lost, Ash felt he might still catch that Pokémon if he hurried.
Without delay, Ash turned to Giselle.
"By the way, how much does this gate cost? I'll pay you and leave."
"Compensation? No need." Sundae came back to her senses and shook her head. "This gate is expensive."
"But how can I not pay? Do you think I, Ash, would just break something and not pay? Tell me the price, and I'll give you the money right now!"
"These fans are really expensive," Giselle sighed at his insistence. "Fine, just pay this amount."
She named a number.
Ash's eyes nearly popped out. "So expensive!? Are you robbing me?"
"That's the price of this door." Sundae shrugged. "It's made from an iron meteorite polished by a master. Both the material and the artistic value are high. Honestly, this price is after I gave you a discount."
Ash didn't really understand what she meant, but he got the gist: the door was very expensive. Thinking about the price made him clutch his chest in pain.
It wasn't that Ash couldn't afford it. It was just that if he paid, he'd be dirt poor for months. Ash didn't spend much anyway—he could eat tree fruits, sleep on the street, and wear a few sets of clothes. Spending that much would really hit him hard.
Plus, if Kakuna trained with Froakie's sword, it'd need a ton of recovery medicine. It probably couldn't survive long.
After thinking it over, Ash gritted his teeth and released Kakuna again. He leaned close and spoke seriously.
"Kakuna, can you die five hundred times for me?"
"?"
The Kakuna looked confused.
What the heck are you talking about?
"Pfft! You're such a funny guy."
Watching Ash and Kakuna's exchange, Giselle laughed aloud.
"Well, if you're really in trouble, you don't have to pay. It's just a door. Its job is to keep outsiders out, but if it can't stop a human headbutt, it's useless. Basically, it's trash."
"Of course you don't have to pay for trash."
Ash was stunned. He thought it through and finally nodded slowly.
"Well… it kinda makes sense."
If it was smashed by a normal person, then sure.
"If it doesn't work, just think of it as a reward for showing us the infinite possibilities of Pokémon battles."
Seeing Ash's skeptical look, Giselle smiled. Her cute face lit up with a playful grin, dazzling the students around her.
"I never thought Pokémon battles could be done this way. Maybe I should try the gym challenge to improve my skills."
"You want to challenge the gym too?" Ash was surprised. "So you're also going to the Indigo Conference?"
"Well, I could join directly as a seeded player."
"Huh?"
"Outstanding graduates of our Pokémon School skip the gym challenges and go straight to the Conference."
"Why? Isn't that unfair?"
"It's not easy to be an outstanding graduate. It's about as hard as getting a badge." Giselle shrugged, looking at Ash with interest.
"Then we'll be rivals. Watch out, I won't go easy on you."
"Bring it on! I hope you're not as weak as you are now."
"If you can't talk, then don't." Giselle frowned at Ash indignantly. "I was just careless earlier!"
"Really? So what does that have to do with me beating you?"
"You!" Giselle pointed angrily, raising her hand to hit Ash but then thought better of it. She sighed.
"Forget it. I don't want to meet you."
Giselle's expression softened as she stretched out her right hand.
"Well, let me formally introduce myself. I'm Giselle, a quasi-outstanding graduate of the Pokémon School, aiming to become the league champion."
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town." Ash shook Giselle's hand firmly. "I'm the future Pokémon Master!"
"Pokémon Master?" Giselle paused. "What's that? Like the league champion?"
"It's even more powerful than that!"
"So what is it?"
"Just… really, really powerful stuff!"
"..."
"Never mind."
There's nothing much to talk about with this moron.
Serena waited anxiously. When Ash finally returned from the fog, she hurried over.
"Ash, where were you? Didn't you say you'd be back soon?"
"Ah?" Ash looked dazed. Seeing Serena, he slapped his forehead. "Oh no, I forgot to bring back the firewood and berries!"
"What else do you want?" Serena grabbed his arm, smiling wryly. "The meal's ready. No point looking now."
"Ah, it's already done…" Ash scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry, I lost track of time."
"It's okay." Serena was still a bit annoyed but softened seeing his expression. She pointed sideways to the prepared food.
"Let's eat first. I kept it warm—it should still be hot."
"Thank you, Serena." Ash smiled gratefully. "I'm hungry too."
They sat facing each other, released their Pokémon, and ate together.
While eating, Ash recounted his experiences. Serena guessed the strange Pokémon might be legendary. When Ash broke the Pokémon School gate, Serena said he deserved it. When Ash shook hands with Giselle and agreed to battle at the Indigo Conference, Serena said… nonsense.
"Ash, what do you think of that kid Giselle?"
"Think?" Ash paused. "What do you mean?"
"Just… what kind of girl is she?"
"Hmmm…" Ash thought. "Promising future."
"Promising future?" Serena raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"
"That maybe she'll be a worthy opponent someday," Ash explained seriously.
"So not now?" Serena sighed at the tactful comment.
Then Serena grew curious.
"So… what do you think of me?"
"A travel companion?" Ash looked confused. "Isn't that what you meant?"
"Uh… no. I meant that…"
Seeing Ash's innocent confusion, Serena covered her face. "…That's what I thought too."
Ash tilted his head, glanced at Froakie and the others, who all looked equally confused, then went back to eating.
My mom once said girls behave strangely and it's best not to ask too much.
So Ash dropped the subject.
Serena's Pokémon, Delphox and Happiny, sat nearby. They looked at their blushing trainer, then at Ash and his Pokémon eating messily across from them. They shook their heads together and sighed in unison.
There's no hope.
It's not unreasonable to say trainers and Pokémon grow more alike.
After spending the night here, Ash and Serena continued their journey the next day.
After a few days of trekking, the two stumbled across a, uh…
Pokémon Rehabilitation Center?