*Note: my dear readers, don't miss the opportunity to read the Pokémon League before anybody and suscribe to my patreon! Link at the end of the chapter, like always.
...
While young Naria was recording Ash's battle…
"It evolved… right in the middle of battle. Impressive," Miyamoto said.
It wasn't that rare for a Pokémon to evolve, but as the eighth Gym Leader, most trainers who challenged her already had fully evolved Pokémon, so she rarely got to see one evolve during an actual battle.
"Incredible. You evolved, Venusaur," I said in surprise.
And once again, right in the middle of a battle. Could it be that Pokémon need a strong stimulus to evolve? Does it depend on battle experience or a mix of both? Either way, my plan worked… or at least it seems like it did.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu said, surprised.
During her adventure with Ash she had seen most of his Pokémon evolve, becoming stronger and more powerful, but… did that depress her? Did she want to evolve? Not at all! She wasn't depressed about something like that because she didn't just not want to evolve — she didn't need to! She was as strong as a final evolution and didn't need any of that!
{Note: She's basically right and even beat a Raichu, but… will she be able to face a Mega Raichu? We'll see.}
The girls in the stands were also surprised. Why do all of Ash's Pokémon evolve while battling Gym Leaders? Does it follow some kind of pattern? After all, a battle isn't the only thing a Pokémon needs to evolve — many different factors come into play. Otherwise, only Pokémon belonging to trainers would be able to evolve.
As for Molly, she simply watched her brother's battle in awe.
"Surprising, but… that won't stop us! Rhyperior, finish this and use Rock Wrecker!" Miyamoto said.
"I agree, let's end this battle once and for all! Venusaur, use Solar Beam!" I exclaimed.
"Venusaur!" Venusaur roared.
The effect of Sunny Day was still active, so the Solar Beam charged almost instantly. In fact, both Pokémon launched their attacks at the same time.
What had previously been a quick defeat was now a true clash of equals. Venusaur's newly gained strength competed against a highly experienced Rhyperior — a collision between two Pokémon of unmatched power. However, there was one small advantage that set our hero apart from Miyamoto: his ability to equip items to his Pokémon, an advantage only Ash had.
The collision between both attacks seemed endless, but suddenly a green aura enveloped Venusaur's body.
"That's…!" Miyamoto said, surprised.
"Its Overgrow ability has activated!" I said with a smile.
The damage Venusaur received when it was still an Ivysaur hadn't disappeared, only lessened, but that damage was enough for the ability to activate in a moment of need, doubling the power of the Solar Beam.
Thanks to its ability and the Miracle Seed, Venusaur's Solar Beam was so powerful that Rhyperior was sent flying, crashing into the wall and falling defeated instantly.
"Defeated in a single hit… What power!" Miyamoto said.
She no longer looked at Ash the same way she looked at the other trainers who had challenged her. Now she was starting to look at him with real interest.
"Rhyperior is unable to battle! Venusaur wins!" Aurora announced.
Celeste's grandmother was also quite surprised by what had happened in just this battle, but as referee, she had to maintain a calm expression.
"You did well, Rhyperior. Now rest, you deserve it," Miyamoto said.
Then she looked at Ash, who had also returned Venusaur to its Poké Ball with a small smile.
"Amazing! But I haven't said my last word yet. I choose you, Nidoking!" Miyamoto said.
A menacing-looking Nidoking stepped onto the battlefield, ready to win.
"A Nidoking? Then I'll try something else…" I said.
At first I had planned to use Blastoise — it was the best option against Ground-types — but Nidoking, despite also being Ground-type, is also Poison-type. And among my Pokémon, who has the advantage against Poison? That's right, it's…
"Mew, I choose you!" I said.
Mew came out onto the battlefield, ready to give it everything.
{Note: In my fic, Legendary and Mythical Pokémon all have genders, and this is not something I changed — it's even canonical in the anime. In the games Legendaries don't have genders, but in the anime they do, and therefore here as well.}
"Mew!" Mew said while floating around me.
"Yes, yes, but now it's time to fight. Let's show them we're a good team, you and me," I said with a smile as I gently stroked its small head.
"Mew!" Mew nodded.
Then it flew forward and stopped a few meters away from Nidoking, staring at it intently.
None of Ash's family was surprised because they already knew about Mew's existence, so seeing it only filled them with tenderness, not surprise. After all, who wouldn't want to have such a cute Pokémon as Mew? In fact, during the few days Mew was in Pallet Town after the Unown incident, Molly loved petting Mew, and curiously, despite being shy, Mew was also very comfortable with Molly.
But there was someone who was shocked beyond words: Miyamoto. The moment she saw Mew, her mind went completely blank, as if it had disconnected from reality. She simply couldn't believe it. A Mew? How is that possible? Miyamoto couldn't believe it. How could this novice trainer have a Mew on his team? No, the real question is: How is it possible for anyone to capture a Mew?! In all of history, no one has ever achieved such a feat, and if someone had, it was never made public!
"I know I shouldn't, but… I think I have to report this to the lady," Miyamoto thought.
Lady? What lady?
"I know that technically, as a Gym Leader, it's illegal to reveal information about challengers, but… this is too important! If Giovanni finds out, he'll cause a huge commotion. I need to notify the young miss so she can handle this personally," Miyamoto told herself.
Wait. Team Rocket? What does Miyamoto have to do with Team Rocket and why does she want to prevent Giovanni from finding out that Ash has a Mew? And even more: Why would Miyamoto want to help Ash? Who is this "lady" she's talking about and why does she seem related to Team Rocket? The answer will come with time.
{Note: Here I want to clarify a few points. First: Miyamoto and the lady she serves are not original characters, but characters from the anime who only appeared once and VERY early in the story, and not even in the main anime itself. Second: We don't know yet if Giovanni is good or bad in this story. I do, but you don't, and I still haven't planned to reveal the amazing Team Rocket plot. It might not have been well developed or given a proper ending in the anime, but I have prepared a much more intricate and interesting plot. It will be revealed very late in the story. That's all.}
The mystery surrounding Miyamoto kept growing, but although I'm sure everyone wants to know what she's plotting, that will have to wait… for now.
I didn't blame her for being surprised. Everyone reacted that way at first. After all, this world isn't like the games where having a Mew is extremely easy. This is the real world, where capturing even one Legendary already made you a standout trainer — above many and below only a few, depending on experience, of course. That's why I wasn't surprised.
"I see you're surprised," I said with a smile.
That expression… I love seeing it and I never get tired of it!
"Ahem, sorry. I have to admit this is the first time in all my years that I've seen a Mew in person, and let's not even talk about seeing someone who has captured one," Miyamoto said.
For now she should focus on the battle ahead. She could report to the lady later. Right now, her duty as Gym Leader was to fight Ash.
"Don't worry, everyone gets surprised the first time they see it," I said, brushing it off.
"Anyway, let's resume the battle," Miyamoto said.
"Alright, Mew use…!" I started to say.
But…
"Nidoking, return!" Miyamoto said.
She recalled Nidoking to its Poké Ball, which surprised me a bit since it was the first time a Gym Leader had switched a Pokémon.
"I'm afraid Nidoking wouldn't be able to beat you even if it tried, so I have to go all out. If you defeat my next Pokémon, I'll surrender and the badge will be yours. Otherwise, I'll fight until the end," Miyamoto said.
If Ash defeats her next Pokémon without using Mew or preventing it from fainting, it would be impossible for him to win, so she was betting everything on this battle.
I was surprised, but she was right. In the games Nidoking could beat Mew with a Focus Band and then Megahorn, but in real life it was simply impossible — a single Psychic from the air would be enough to defeat Nidoking.
"Swampert, I choose you!" Miyamoto exclaimed.
A powerful Swampert stepped onto the battlefield, ready to destroy everything in its path.
"A Pokémon from Hoenn? If I remember correctly, Gym Leaders from each region normally use native Pokémon from that region. In fact, they have no other choice. However, the last two Gym Leaders each challenger faces aren't required to use native Pokémon from the same region. They can choose to use Pokémon from other regions, but only one. That's what I read online."
{Note: I made this rule a long time ago so I don't remember the exact details anymore, so let's say this is it. I think it's quite coherent considering that only the last two Gym Leaders can Mega Evolve their Pokémon while the rest cannot.}
"Unfortunately, no Ground-type Pokémon from Kanto that can Mega Evolve has been discovered yet, so I opted for this beauty — my starter, Swampert. We've been together for many years and we're inseparable," Miyamoto said.
{Note: Not much is known about Miyamoto, so she's very moldable.}
"Then I'll make a switch too," I said.
Let's be smart. Mew could beat Swampert, but Miyamoto just said this Swampert is her starter — a Pokémon she's had for years and has shared dozens of adventures with, far more than I have. A Pokémon and trainer so closely bonded must have developed countermeasures for many strategies. Who's to say they haven't developed one for Pokémon that can fly or use attacks like Psychic? Besides, I need Mew for Nidoking and above all…
"Return, Mew!" I said, recalling Mew to its Poké Ball.
It's a shame it couldn't fight, but… I can't get overconfident or I might lose.
"Floette, I choose you!" I exclaimed.
Venusaur could have been a good option, but it was badly injured and wouldn't last long on the field. Besides… I had agreed to let Miyamoto use Mega Evolution, which means this Swampert is the Pokémon that can Mega Evolve.
Floette came out onto the battlefield, surprising Miyamoto once again — not only because it was a Pokémon that wasn't fully evolved, but because she had never seen a Floette like this one. Its color, its flower… everything was different from the Floette she had seen before.
"Anyway, let's move on to the final duel. It's time to Mega Evolve!" Miyamoto said.