Pokémon, Inkaros, my starter Pokémon

Pikachu only had time to let out a short scream before its small body was sent flying backward at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow, crashing heavily into the hard wall at the edge of the gym with a thud that sent chills down the spine. Then it slid softly to the ground, its eyes instantly turning into spiral shapes.

One strike, one kill!

The dojo was deathly silent.

"Pikachu... Pikachu... How... How could this be..."

Ash stared wide-eyed at Pikachu, who was now unable to battle, against the wall, his mind blank.

Xiaogang and Xiaoxia were also so shocked that they couldn't speak.

They knew Ursaring was strong, but they didn't expect it to be this strong. With the enhancement of its abnormal status, its attack power was terrifying. Pikachu didn't even have a chance to resist and was completely crushed!

"So...so powerful...just one strike and..."

"Is this... the full power of Ursa under the Guts trait...?" Brock's expression was extremely solemn.

Looking at the distraught Ash, Tokito calmly said, "Keep attacking, Ash. Your challenge isn't over yet."

Ash suddenly snapped out of his daze, quickly ran to the wall, carefully picked up the unconscious Pikachu, and tenderly stroked it.

"Pikachu, thank you for your hard work, you've done an amazing job..."

"Pikachu~"

Pikachu opened its eyes and shook its head.

Ash returned to his trainer's seat, all hesitation and shock vanishing from his face, replaced by a resolute determination. He reached out and slowly turned his hat behind his head.

"I'm leaving everything to you, Bulbasaur."

"Daren~ Daren~!"

Ash's Bulbasaur makes its debut.

"Is the last one a garlic turtle?" Tokito said casually, looking at this classic starter Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur, use the flying blade."

Bulbasaur let out a low croak, the seed on its back trembled, and then a dozen sharp-edged leaves spun and shot toward Ursaring.

However, when faced with this attack, the Circular Bear neither dodged nor avoided it, but simply raised its muscular arm to block in front of it!

"Puff puff……"

The sharp blades struck the Ursaring Bear's hard, iron-like muscles, but were deflected without leaving even a scratch. The defensive power honed by Hilda's "hellish training" was on full display at this moment!

"Even Razor Leaf..." Ash was taken aback and immediately changed his strategy, "Bulbasaur, let's use Vine Whip to restrain its movements!"

"Daren~~"

Two tough vines, like green serpents, quickly extended from behind Bulbasaur and nimbly wrapped around Ursaring's thick arms and waist.

"Danet!"

Bulbasaur pulled back forcefully, trying to restrict Ursaring's movements.

However, this was a fatal mistake.

Shi Dou's lips curled up slightly, "Pull him over your shoulder and throw him."

The circly bear glanced at the vines wrapped around its body with its crimson eyes. Instead of struggling, it let out a disdainful growl, and a terrifying power erupted instantly. The arm wrapped in the vines suddenly exerted force...

"Daren?!"

Bulbasaur felt an irresistible force coming from the vine whip. Its not-so-light body was easily lifted into the air and pulled in front of Ursaring like a rag doll!

Immediately afterwards, Ursaring's massive body spun smoothly around, using the technique of an over-the-shoulder throw to slam Bulbasaur off its shoulder and onto the ground in front of it!

"boom!"

The ground shook, and Bulbasaur was thrown around, completely disoriented and seeing stars.

But this is not over yet!

Ursaring's right arm glowed white again as it slammed down on Bulbasaur, who had just been stunned by the fall!

"boom--!!!"

Ursaring's heavy hammer slammed solidly into Bulbasaur, the immense force driving it directly into the floor.

Smoke and dust filled the air, obscuring everyone's view.

"Bulbasaur!!" Ash shouted anxiously.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, Bulbasaur was seen compressed into a two-dimensional paper shape, its eyes now spiral-shaped, limply lying in the center of the cracked pit, clearly having lost its ability to fight.

BuMiao immediately stepped forward to check the situation, and then announced:

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle, therefore, the winner of this gym challenge is Tokito, the Goldenrod Fighting Gym Leader!"

"Roar--!!!"

The victorious Circular Bear pounded its thick chest and let out a deafening roar!

That was awesome!!!

This is so awesome!!

After leaving behind the "education of love" from Brother Mantis, Circle Bear discovered that the world is actually so simple!

These opponents are utterly insignificant; it truly is still the same powerful entity it always was!

My confidence is back!!!

The bear felt the surging power within its body and the long-lost thrill of crushing its opponent. The frustration and resentment accumulated from Hilda's repeated "special training" seemed to vanish with this roar.

Ash dejectedly recalled his Bulbasaur, which had lost its ability to battle. Looking at the Poké Ball in his hand, he sighed helplessly. All three Pokémon had been defeated, especially Pikachu and Bulbasaur, who were almost completely overwhelmed. This made him deeply aware of the gap in strength.

"It was a wonderful match." Tokito walked up to Ash and sincerely praised him, "Ash, your teamwork with Pikachu, as well as Bulbasaur's determination to find opportunities even in adversity, exceeded my expectations."

"I lost, Mr. Tokito, you are too strong, especially that Circo Bear... But I will not give up like this. I will continue to work hard, become stronger, and then challenge you again."

Ash raised his head, showing no discouragement despite his defeat.

Seeing how quickly Ash recovered from his defeat and even gained a stronger fighting spirit, Tokito couldn't help but feel moved.

Ash's mentality is really good... like an unkillable cockroach. If Raiji had half of his mental fortitude, he probably wouldn't have been driven to despair by Shinji...

“It’s good to have fighting spirit. However, Ash, you should prioritize challenging Sabrina, the Gym Leader of the official Saffron City Gym, who is located on the other side of the city, rather than me.”

Shi Dou looked towards the next room.

"Miss Sabrina? Why?" Ash tilted his head curiously.

Shi Tou explained, "Because she is the only one officially recognized by the League as the Gym Leader who holds the Golden Badge. Only by collecting all eight badges, including the Golden Badge, can you qualify to participate in the Indigo League Conference."

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P.S.: I've noticed that in the Diamond & Pearl anime series, Ash's Pikachu seems to never beat Paul's Ursaring.

Shinji's teddy bear looks like a rat-catching captain!

Chapter 65 Pikachu is quite adept at tricking Ash (8K)

"Because Ms. Sabrina is the official Gym Leader recognized by the League and holds the Golden Badge. I am not yet. Only when you collect all eight badges, including the Golden Badge, will you be eligible to participate in the Indigo League Conference."

"What?!" Ash and Misty exclaimed at the same time.

"Mr. Tokito, you're so amazing, yet you're not a formal gym leader?"

Xiaoxia asked incredulously.

She subconsciously thought of her older sisters at the Cerulean Dojo, who were obsessed with synchronized swimming and whose fighting skills were questionable, and felt even more resentful.

The older sisters are... well, their skill level is limited, but they're still officially recognized gyms by the league!

Tokito smiled and explained, "The previous gym leader of this fighting gym lost to Sabrina in the previous official gym battle and lost his official status. I am the new gym leader and have not yet launched an official challenge against Sabrina to reclaim my status, so this is currently an unofficial gym."

"So that's it..."

Xiaozhi, Xiaoxia, and Xiaogang all had expressions of sudden realization.

"So, go ahead and challenge Sabrina without worry. If you encounter any difficulties in the battle, or need any advice, feel free to come back to me anytime," Tokito said, patting Ash on the shoulder encouragingly.

"Okay! No problem, thank you Mr. Tokito." Ash nodded vigorously, but then added, "However, after I challenge Sabrina and get the badge, I'll come back to challenge you again!"

"Alright, since you're so motivated... well, once you've collected all eight official badges from the Kanto region, I welcome you to challenge me again anytime."

Seeing Ash's persistent look of "I've got my eye on you," Tokito was both amused and exasperated, so he had no choice but to come up with a "hard" rule.

If we didn't set such a threshold... given this kid's stubborn personality and passion for battle, he'd probably come and block the door every few days, challenging us a hundred times in a row!

How could anyone slack off back then...?

"Collect all eight badges? Okay, I understand. It's a deal then, Mr. Dou."

Ash kept this goal firmly in mind. With a new challenger and his promise to Toki, he left the Fighting Gym with high spirits and headed towards Sabrina's Psychic Gym.

Watching Ash and his trio disappear into the end of the street with high spirits, Tokito turned back into the gym, a knowing smile on his face.

Judging by the time, it should be around this afternoon. That kid will definitely come running back to me looking disheveled.

why?

The main reason is due to Naz at this stage.

Sabrina, a genius who awakened and became obsessed with superpowers from a young age. The powerful abilities twisted her mind, making her cold and unpredictable. She even stripped away her innocent childhood personality and sealed it inside a small doll, turning even her own mother into a puppet and imprisoning her by her side.

According to the original storyline, Ash's first challenge against Sabrina resulted in a predictable and crushing defeat. If Sabrina's father hadn't used Teleport to rescue them in time, Ash and his friends would likely have been turned into toys. Afterwards, Sabrina's father acknowledged Ash's willpower and advised him that to defeat Sabrina, he must go to Lavender Town and seek the help of a Ghost-type Pokémon.

Just now, Tokito told Ash, "You can come to me if you have any problems." So, after Ash gets a cold shoulder from Sabrina this morning and gets some advice from her father, he will definitely come back to Tokito this afternoon to ask about Lavender Town and Ghost-type Pokémon.

As for why Tokito didn't stop Ash from challenging Sabrina from the beginning, but instead guided him to challenge Sabrina's Saffron Gym, why?

It can only be said that this process is necessary.

Only by sending Ash to Lavender Town to bring back that special Gastly can Gastly use its incredibly funny illusions and comical antics to make the aloof Sabrina laugh heartily in the upcoming battle, even to the point that she can't properly command Kadabra in battle. It is this long-lost, heartfelt joy that allows her repressed humanity to return, reconnecting with her childhood personality doll and becoming a relatively normal Gym Leader again.

If we skip this step and directly let Tokito challenge Sabrina in her "complete" and ruthless state...

Putting aside the uncertainty of the outcome, what if Sabrina gets too excited during the battle and her superpowers go out of control, turning the entire arena audience into rag dolls... that would be a huge mess, and the League would have a lot of trouble investigating.

Therefore, for safety and stability, this "preliminary plot" must be completed by Ash.

Having sorted out the cause and effect, Tokito was at ease handling affairs in the gym, guiding Pokémon training, and patiently waiting.

Sure enough, that afternoon, just as the setting sun began to paint the sky with a touch of orange-red...

"Mr. Tokito! Mr. Tokito!"

The gym door was suddenly pushed open, and Ash and his friends rushed in with urgent voices.

Xiao Zhi rushed in, his face devoid of the morning's high spirits, replaced by a look of frustration and anxiety. Xiao Xia and Xiao Gang, following behind him, also looked worried.

"What's wrong."

Tokito was also waiting for them at the dojo, so when he ran in, he ran into them.

Ash ran up to Tokito, panting, and said, "Mr. Tokito, we...we went to challenge Sabrina as you said, but...she's too strong, we can't fight her psychic powers at all!"

"And she was so scary, she almost turned us into dolls, luckily the uncle next door saved us..."

Xiaoxia added from the side, her face still showing lingering fear.

[PS: Sabrina's father tells Ash and the others about Sabrina's childhood, revealing almost his entire identity, but Ash and the others haven't realized it and only think he's Sabrina's neighbor.]

Brock: "If you want to defeat Sabrina, you must go to Lavender Town to find a Ghost-type Pokémon. The old man next door to Sabrina said that only Ghost-type Pokémon can fight Sabrina's psychic powers."

"Mr. Tokito, you said we could come to you if we had any problems... Do you know anything about Lavender Town and Ghost-type Pokémon? What should we do?"

Ash asked curiously.

Looking at the three faces in front of him, filled with expectation and confusion, Shi Dou smiled slightly, everything was under control.

"Lavender Town and Ghost-type Pokémon? I do know a bit about them." Tokito looked at the anxious trio and said calmly, "I haven't been out and about for a while, so I'll take you there to relax. I think my experience can help you catch a Ghost-type Pokémon that can fight Sabrina."

"Really?! Thank you so much, Mr. Tokito!"

Xiao Zhi was so excited he almost jumped up. The gloom on his face vanished, replaced by a look of surprise and anticipation.

“Of course it’s true.” Shi Dou smiled.