Songzao City, Slowking Pokémon Academy.
As a long-established Pokémon school, it was once ranked among the top five academies in the Kanto region due to its high teaching standards.
But this semester—
The academy faced the greatest challenge in its history.
"Ash! I told you—no sleeping in class!"
"Ash! It's been half a month, and you still can't memorize the base stats of every Pokémon in Kanto?!"
"Ash… Ash!!"
In just half a month—
Ash had become famous throughout the academy.
Of course—
Not for anything good.
In the end, the academy had no choice—
They refunded Red 's tuition and politely asked him to take Ash as far away as possible.
The principal even hinted—
That if Red was willing to send Ash to the academy next door—
He would personally pay the tuition.
This series of events left Red both amused and speechless.
"Well… memorizing the base stats of every Pokémon in Kanto is a bit excessive."
Meanwhile, Ash acted like nothing had happened.
But the past half-month wasn't wasted.
After intensive cramming—
While he still couldn't recite everything perfectly, he at least had a general grasp.
In Red 's eyes—
That was already sufficient.
[Disciple Profile: Ash]
[Identity: Boy from Pallet Town, registered Disciple of Songzao Gym]
[Current Strength: Beginner-level Trainer]
[Tactical Talent: ★★☆☆☆☆]
[Pokémon Affinity: ★★☆☆☆]
[Willpower: ★★★★☆☆]
[Special Ability: Aura Power (Dormant)]
[Pokémon Owned: Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle]
[Exclusive Questline: Journey to Become a Pokémon Master — Progress: 1%]
[Next Reward: 10 Points (Unlocked at 5%)]
From the panel alone, it was clear—
Although Ash and Gary currently had similar stats—
Ash's potential was noticeably higher.
However—
At present, Ash's strongest Pokémon, Pikachu, had only just reached Advanced level (Lv. 21).
Meanwhile, Gary—
After the shock of his injury—
Had been improving at an astonishing pace.
Wartortle had already reached the threshold of Elite level, just one step away from evolution.
Still—
Red knew Ash was the type who bloomed late.
He didn't push him too hard.
If Gary's growth over the past half-month could be called fast—
Then Red 's Pokémon were practically rocket-boosted.
In just half a month—
Mudkip went from Level 12 to Level 20.
It could have evolved already—
But Red deliberately suppressed it,
Planning to use evolution to break through the Level 20 bottleneck in one go—
Reaching Level 21 or even 22.
This rate of growth made Gary and Xiaowen look at him like a monster.
Ash's progress over two months of travel—
Had been surpassed by Red in less than half a month.
But after seeing the sheer amount of resources Red invested—
They realized…
Maybe this speed was actually normal.
Castform had also reached Level 20—
And would likely break into Level 21 in a few days.
Larvitar, on the other hand—
Was progressing much slower.
As a Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon, it required far more resources to level up.
Even now—
It had only just reached Level 18.
If it were any other Pokémon—
It would probably be stressed out.
But Larvitar didn't care at all.
As long as it had food—
Nothing else mattered .
By the way—
Larvitar was now just one step away from perfect IVs.
Once it improved slightly more—
It would become Red 's first perfect-potential Pokémon.
And also—
His first Pokémon with dual abilities.
During this time—
While his Pokémon improved rapidly—
Red himself didn't stay idle.
Professor Oak's Research Notes had practically been flipped to the point of fraying.
Though much of it was complex—
Red absorbed the knowledge at high speed,
Cross-referencing it with the Gym's accumulated materials—
Gaining numerous insights.
This was also one of the key reasons for his Pokémon's rapid growth.
In terms of knowledge alone—
Red felt he could easily qualify as a researcher.
Poliwrath had reached Level 31—
Not particularly fast—
At least, by Red 's standards.
As for Tyranitar—
Breaking through the Elite Four-level bottleneck was far from easy.
After the poacher incident—
Red had also "picked up" three Pokémon:
A Drought-ability VulpixA LotadA Horsea
While none of them met the standards for his main team—
They were excellent additions as Gym Pokémon.
The back garden of Songzao Gym—
Was finally beginning to recover.
And not just Pokémon—
He had also "picked up" three people.
"Welcome back, boss!"
At Songzao Gym—
In addition to Xiaowen and Gary—
There were now three more members.
James, now out of his Team Rocket uniform, wore a staff outfit and stood at the door greeting Red .
Inside—
Jessie was cleaning,
And Meowth had become a repair specialist, fixing broken equipment.
Red had taken them in—
Since they had provided information about the poachers.
He covered their medical expenses and helped them hide their identities.
Originally, he thought they would leave after recovering.
But unexpectedly—
They stayed.
Working at the Gym to "repay their lifesaving."
Of course—
Red roughly understood the real reason.
Ash and Pikachu were here.
But because of Red —
They didn't dare make a move.
So they maintained a fragile peace.
Yet beneath this calm—
Currents were stirring.
"A Nurse Joy Has Mysteriously Disappeared "
"A Collector Purchases the Feathers of the Three Legendary Birds at a Sky-High Price"
"Sinnoh Region: Genius Girl Cynthia Officially Challenges for the Vacant Champion Position"
"Team Aqua and Team Magma Activity Increasing…"
Looking at the recent news—
Red couldn't help but mutter:
"A storm is coming."
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