Did I End Up Raising a Vengeful Pokémon?
24: Chapter 24: How Should I Put It…
Did I End Up Raising a Vengeful Pokémon?
Brock was furious.
[Brock: This is ridiculous!
Stop fooling around and end this pointless battle already!
Onix!
Coil your body and gather your strength!
Skull Bash!] Onix’s enormous body instantly tightened and coiled upon itself.
A powerful whirlwind erupted at the center of the battlefield.
Within the eye of the storm, its massive rocky head shot forward like a cannonball leaving the barrel, carrying an overwhelming force capable of crushing mountains as it slammed toward Pikachu.
Seeing that Pikachu was about to be hit, Red’s pupils contracted.
Without hesitation, he controlled Little Red and threw himself directly onto the battlefield.
With a perfectly timed sliding tackle, he barely managed to scoop Pikachu into his arms a split second before the gigantic stone head crashed into them.
Looking at Pikachu in Little Red’s embrace on the screen, guilt welled up inside Red’s heart.
“Sorry…” “I forced you into a battle you didn’t even need to participate in…” He took a deep breath.
Preparing to surrender, he opened his mouth.
“Brock, I forfeit this ba…” BZZZZT!
A golden pillar of lightning descended from the heavens.
It was more violent, more dazzling, and more terrifying than every previous bolt combined.
The lightning completely swallowed Red’s voice.
Pikachu’s eyes turned icy and razor-sharp.
With a light leap, it sprang from Little Red’s arms onto his shoulder.
Then it fixed its gaze on Onix, whose massive head had just completed its charge and had not yet withdrawn.
Pikachu jumped high into the air.
Using itself as a living lightning rod, it guided the thick pillar of thunder directly downward.
Thunder!
The blinding lightning completely ignored type disadvantages.
Onix’s mountain-sized body looked as though it had been struck by divine punishment itself.
It did not even have time to scream.
With a thunderous crash, it collapsed to the ground.
Its body was charred black.
Electricity crackled through every crack and crevice between its rocky segments.
It had completely lost the ability to battle.
The entire Rock Battle Platform was split cleanly in half by that horrifying strike.
Stones exploded everywhere.
The spectator stands fell silent.
Brock stood frozen in disbelief.
The referee finally snapped back to reality and rushed onto the field.
[Referee: The battle is over!
Red wins!] [Red defeated Gym Leader Brock!] While everyone was still immersed in the shock of witnessing that devastating lightning strike, reality told a different story.
The Pikachu that had been sitting on Red’s shoulder and watching the game the entire time nodded in satisfaction.
Then, with light and cheerful steps, it left the room to go play outside.
Only then did Red finally recover from his daze.
Controlling Little Red, he walked toward the Pikachu in the game, which was currently staring at him with an expression of complete disdain.
Pikachu smiled slightly and stretched out its tiny paw.
However, the moment its paw touched Little Red— Electric currents immediately appeared.
Little Red was instantly shocked until he was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Watching this scene, Brock could only shake his head helplessly before striding over.
[Brock: Congratulations.
As proof that you have successfully completed the Pewter Gym Challenge, I present this to you…
the Pokémon League’s Boulder Badge.] [Red received the Boulder Badge from Brock!] Pikachu did not even bother looking at Brock or the badge.
Its tail flicked dismissively.
Then it turned and walked straight out of the Gym.
Looking at Little Red’s afro hairstyle caused by the electrocution, Red let out an awkward laugh.
In the end, he had no choice but to indulge this little tyrant and follow it out of the Gym.
“We got our first badge!” Red said excitedly.
“Next, let’s head for Cerulean City…” “Don’t forget about Team Rocket.” Blue suddenly interrupted.
His tone was firm.
“Let’s go to Mt.
Moon first and see what they’re really planning.
It’s on the way anyway.” “Right!” Red immediately agreed.
“I’ll never tolerate evil!” Without wasting another second, he controlled Little Red and set off immediately.
However, the moment Little Red left Pewter City and stepped onto Route 3— A dialogue box suddenly popped up on the screen.
[Handsome Researcher: That’s all for now!
Why are you playing so fast?!
When the full version is released, remember to spend money and buy the official copy!
Also, stop rushing me for updates!
(An angry pixel emoji)] Red scratched his head awkwardly and looked toward his companions.
“Uh…
Brother Gray did say when he gave us the update patch that the current content only went up to the first Gym…” “About what I expected.” Blue remained calm.
He had clearly anticipated this outcome from the start.
Glancing at Red, he said: “If you shamelessly go ask him, I’m pretty sure he’ll still give you another update patch.” Yellow said nothing.
However, the disappointment on her face was impossible to hide.
She genuinely enjoyed the warm feeling of everyone gathering together to play games.
“Tch!” Green complained unhappily.
“He always cuts things off right when we’re getting excited.
Brother Gray definitely has psychological issues!” Blue pushed up a pair of nonexistent glasses and revealed some insider information.
“Relax.
Brother Gray is holding a promotional livestream in a few days.
After the stream, the official release will follow shortly.
There’s no need to rush.” “Wait!” Red immediately caught the important detail.
“How do you know that?” Faced with Red’s questioning, Blue rolled his eyes indifferently.
“Idiot.” … Imperia City Research Institute Dormitory.
Gray rubbed his sleepy eyes as he slowly staggered out of the bathroom.
Heavy dark circles hung beneath his eyes.
Today was the weekend.
He had decided to work from home.
Or, more accurately, he had decided not to go downstairs.
Last night, the endless stream of positive feedback notifications from the system had sparked his curiosity.
He had secretly sneaked into the player chat groups to lurk and observe.
Unfortunately, he had been discovered.
After that, Red had relentlessly bombarded him with messages demanding update patches.
The harassment had continued until late into the night.
And today, a mountain of work was still waiting for him.
During the morning, he needed to finalize the plans for the upcoming livestream and process various documents.
In the afternoon, he had promised to accompany Cynthia in investigating local criminal organizations.
His schedule was packed from beginning to end.
“So annoying.” He muttered to himself.
After preparing breakfast for Gastly, who was floating nearby and staring at him expectantly, he immediately buried himself at his computer desk and began another day of hard work.
Tap.
Gray typed the final word of the livestream proposal.
After checking it repeatedly to ensure there were no mistakes, he sent the document to Professor Oak.
Stretching lazily, his joints cracked loudly.
Just as he was preparing to stand up and move around a little, Gastly floated over while carrying its fighting strategy book above its head.
Its expression looked completely confused.
There went his break.
Gastly had another question.
“Gastly?” (Can Ally Switch swap positions with an opponent?) “Yes, buddy!
Yes, it can!” Gray answered instantly.
“The core mechanic of Ally Switch is that the target being swapped cannot possess a strong intention to resist or be in a highly alert state.
That’s why the move is usually used in chaotic double battles.
However, if your opponent lowers their guard, you can still catch them off guard in a single battle.” Gastly asked another question.
“Gast?” (How can I improve the accuracy of Hypnosis?) “Hypnosis, huh…” Gray rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“The move itself has a relatively slow activation.
Normally, using Hypnosis is less about landing the attack and more about forcing the opponent to react.
If your goal is actually to hit, you’ll need to conceal the casting process.
Hide it in smoke, use it during an ambush, or disguise the setup somehow.” Gastly immediately followed up.
“Gastly?” (What about Destiny Bond?) “The principle behind Destiny Bond is that after taking a decisive blow and exhausting all your stamina, you drag the target into unconsciousness along with you.” Gray suddenly frowned.
Looking at Gastly, he felt a strange sense of concern.
“Fundamentally, it’s a one-for-one exchange tactic.
It places extremely high demands on a Trainer’s information processing ability and battlefield awareness.” He paused briefly.
“Anyway, I’m not teaching you that move.” Gastly froze.
“Gast?” (Why?) “Don’t ask.
The answer is that you don’t need it.” Gray reached out and ruffled the smoky head atop Gastly’s body.
Then his gaze drifted toward the blazing sunlight outside the window.
“Come on.
Cynthia and I agreed to have lunch together before heading out this afternoon.” “After that, we still have an investigation mission.
Maybe you’ll finally get a chance to put all that studying into practice.” Reading ten thousand books was not as valuable as traveling ten thousand miles.
Gastly had spent so long studying fighting strategy manuals.
It was time to take it out into the real world.
To investigate local underground organizations…
No.
To combat crime and uphold justice.
The moment Gastly heard that, it became wildly excited.
It rolled through the air, twisting, stretching, and contorting itself like a black marshmallow caught in a powerful wind.
Gray could only smile helplessly.
How should he put it?
It felt like he had somehow raised a genuine vengeful Pokémon.
(End of Chapter)