Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command!

This Charmeleon of Luo Yuan's… It might as well be a Charizard in disguise! What kind of freak was it? Not only was its Flamethrower terrifyingly strong, but it could even use Fire Blast!

Surge grumbled to himself.

Still, a single Fire Blast wouldn't be enough to make him surrender.

"Raichu, use Electro Ball!"

Electro Ball's power increased with the difference in speed between the user and the opponent. Given Raichu's speed advantage, it was the perfect move against Charmeleon.

"Rai-chu~!"

Raichu gathered all its strength, forming a yellow sphere the size of a human head at the tip of its tail. Electricity crackled across its surface, giving off an intimidating hum of power.

At the same time, Charmeleon's Fire Blast finished charging.

Mouth agape, it released a fireball that expanded midair into a blazing 大 shape!

Raichu whipped its tail.

"Go, Raichu! / Charmeleon, go!"

Both Surge and Luo Yuan urged their Pokémon forward as Electro Ball and Fire Blast hurtled toward each other.

Boom!

The explosive clash echoed throughout the arena, with smoke and dust billowing out across the battlefield, while the shockwave rippled through Luo Yuan's clothes.

As the smoke cleared, the scene on the field gradually came into focus for Luo Yuan and Surge.

Charmeleon lay on the ground, arcs of electricity flickering over its body, clearly unable to continue. Across from it, Raichu was battered, burned in multiple places, panting heavily, and swaying on unsteady legs.

Raichu had narrowly pulled through.

"It was too much to expect," Luo Yuan said, recalling Charmeleon.

Surge's mainstay Raichu wasn't to be underestimated; Charmeleon had already done admirably to make it this far.

On the other side, Surge heaved a sigh of relief, though his expression showed little joy.

Yes, Raichu had won, but at a heavy price. In its current state, Raichu could barely stand. At this point, any of Luo Yuan's Pokémon could defeat it effortlessly.

"Terrifying…"

Recalling Raichu, Surge gave a sincere nod of respect.

In the past, he could justify his losses to Luo Yuan by chalking it up to luck—Luo Yuan's catching a pseudo-legendary, for instance.

But now, with even Charmeleon trained to this level, who could deny Luo Yuan's innate talent as a trainer?

"Still, I'm the one who won this battle in the end!"

In preparation for the upcoming raid on the S.S. Anne, Surge, who was assigned to assist with logistics, had needed a list of Luo Yuan's Pokémon for escape route planning.

He knew that the only combat-ready Pokémon Luo Yuan had left was a Water-Flying type: Gyarados, with a massive Electric-type disadvantage.

And him?

Raichu wasn't even his strongest Pokémon.

With a confident grin, Surge threw out his ace.

"Go, Electabuzz!"

A hulking, yellow-and-black striped Electabuzz appeared on the field.

"Ellleee—!"

Electabuzz cracked its knuckles, electricity sparking from its fists as it prepared to rumble.

Electabuzz was his ultimate trump card, and Surge had absolute faith that Gyarados wouldn't stand a chance.

The thought made the corners of his mouth curl in satisfaction.

Lt. Surge had finally gotten his redemption!

Well…

At least, that's what he thought, right up until the moment Electabuzz found itself immobilized, with Gengar pinning it down, a Shadow Ball pressed ominously against the back of its head.

"Hand over the badge."

Luo Yuan extended a hand to Surge.

"....." Surge stood silent for a while, then lifted his head, gritting his teeth as he said, "I'm not convinced. You set me up. When did you start training a Gengar?"

Surge was certain of one thing—this Gengar had to be Elite-tier!

In Kanto, he only knew of one person with an Elite-level Gengar, and that was Agatha, the Ghost-type Elite who always carried around a Golbat instead.

How had Luo Yuan, without anyone knowing, ended up with a top-tier Gengar?

"Since when is that your business? I promised not to use Dragapult, and I kept my word," Luo Yuan replied, beckoning Gengar, who floated back to him and vanished into his shadow.

"..."

Surge was speechless.

Everything Luo Yuan said was true, but that didn't make it any less frustrating.

Gengar alone could have won the battle easily, but Luo Yuan had chosen to mislead him by using Charmeleon first, giving him hope, only to crush it mercilessly in the end.

He'd been completely outmaneuvered.

With a scowl, Surge threw the orange Thunder Badge to Luo Yuan.

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have achieved the milestone "Defeat the Electric Gym Leader!" and received one additional draw.]

"Another lottery chance," Luo Yuan smiled slightly.

On the other side, Surge quickly brushed off his loss. What mattered most now was the upcoming mission.

"Alright, here's the extraction plan. I've prepared two escape routes," Surge began, his expression turning serious. "The first route is our main one. Assuming everything goes smoothly, I'll have a speedboat trailing behind the S.S. Anne. Once you finish the job, you'll board the boat to get away."

"The second is a backup. If the League catches wind of us, I'll arrange for someone to plant Electrode's in the ship's hull to sink the S.S. Anne. At that point, you'll dive, and a submarine will be waiting below to retrieve you."

"Sinking the ship? That's intense," Luo Yuan said, raising an eyebrow.

Thinking of the cost of the S.S. Anne, he could imagine Hoenn Shipping's executives going ballistic if it went down.

Surge chuckled. "It's not my first choice, of course. If the S.S. Anne sinks near Vermilion's port, I'll be held accountable as the Vermilion City Gym Leader."

"But you know how it is. We Rockets are lying low right now and can't afford a direct confrontation with the League. If we get exposed, we'll just have to create a major incident to divert their attention."

"So let's hope those League busybodies keep out of our way, and we won't need the backup plan."

"You've got a point. Lance has been making a big show of things lately, trying to boost his popularity. Better to play it safe," Luo Yuan agreed, not wanting to become someone else's political stepping stone.

"But don't worry too much. If I notice any League interference, I'll alert you right away," Surge said.

"Why does that sound like a recipe for disaster?" Luo Yuan muttered dryly.

"....."

After a quick exchange of additional intel, Luo Yuan left the Vermilion Gym with his new Thunder Badge.

"Time to hit the Pokémon Center and get Charmeleon patched up. I should check in with Professor Oak, too—good to stay in touch."

As someone with aspirations of joining the Kanto League and becoming an Elite, Luo Yuan wasn't about to waste such a valuable connection as Professor Oak.

---

T/N: TO BE HONEST I'd eat up any pokemon story with a charizard as the main pokemon I'm NOT DELUSIONAL but when i DEFINITELY go to the pokemon world FRFR gotta train a fucking charizard to rival legendaries frfr, the min i'd expect is rayquaza the max is beating necrozoma. (i'm not delusional cat smirking emoji)

wtf is this ^^^ (future me)