Gible clamped down on Inkay, its jaws locking firmly as Inkay immediately revealed a pained expression, its body struggling violently in midair.
James panicked and shouted, “Inkay!”
Ash did not give them any chance to recover.
His gaze sharpened as he gave the next command without hesitation.
“Just like that, use Draco Meteor!”
A violent surge of energy gathered within Gible’s mouth, the compressed power radiating an overwhelming pressure at such close range.
Inkay clearly sensed the danger and struggled even harder, but Gible’s bite was not something it could easily escape from.
Boom!
At point-blank range, the full-powered Draco Meteor detonated, the explosion engulfing both Pokémon.
Inkay instantly lost consciousness and was blasted backward, landing directly in James’s arms.
The force of the impact knocked the entire Team Rocket trio off their feet, sending them tumbling across the ground in a messy heap.
Meanwhile, Furfrou, now freed from the electrified cage, stepped forward with determination.
Its posture was upright, its eyes burning with fighting spirit.
Jessica hesitated for a brief moment before asking, “Furfrou… do you want to fight too?”
Furfrou nodded firmly.
Jessica took a deep breath, her voice gaining confidence.
“I understand.
Furfrou, use Charge Beam!”
Ash naturally would not let such a perfect opportunity go to waste.
Team Rocket was practically a walking source of battle experience.
“Pikachu, Thunderbolt.
Gible, Draco Meteor!”
Three attacks were launched simultaneously from different directions.
Faced with such overwhelming pressure, Wobbuffet was momentarily at a loss, unable to decide which attack to counter.
Boom!
“What a miserable feeling!”
With another explosion, the Team Rocket trio was blasted into the sky once again, disappearing like shooting stars.
Just as the dust settled, Gible’s body suddenly began to glow with a brilliant white light.
Clemont adjusted his glasses in surprise.
“Is that… evolution?”
“Evolution?”
Serena and Bonnie both stared wide-eyed, curiosity written all over their faces.
The light gradually faded, revealing Gible standing proudly in its evolved form.
Ash stepped forward and gently patted its head.
“Gible, congratulations.”
“Gible~”
Gible responded with its usual carefree smile.
After evolving, its strength had clearly increased, reaching Elite Four Low-tier (51), a significant leap from before.
Once everything was settled, Ash handed over the Poké Balls that Team Rocket had stolen earlier to Officer Jenny.
After that, the group returned to Domria’s grooming salon.
There, they witnessed Jessica personally grooming her Furfrou.
This time, her movements were steady and confident, no longer showing the hesitation from before.
The results spoke for themselves.
After the grooming session, Furfrou’s appearance had completely transformed, with elegant pink heart-shaped trims decorating its tail, forehead, and paws, making it look both adorable and refined.
…
After bidding farewell to Domria and Jessica, master and apprentice, Ash and his group resumed their journey toward Lumiose City.
After a full day of travel, they finally returned to the bustling metropolis.
Serena looked around with bright eyes and couldn’t help but sigh.
“I never really had the chance to explore this city before.
It truly lives up to its reputation as a trendsetting city.
Both the buildings and the people here are so fashionable.”
Ash nodded slightly and added with a meaningful tone, “Yes, Prism Tower is also very impressive.”
“Uh… right…” Clemont’s mouth twitched slightly, and he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
“It’s… it’s fine,” Bonnie added, though her voice also carried a hint of guilt.
Serena noticed their reactions and asked curiously, “Ash, is the Lumiose Gym inside that tower?”
Ash nodded.
“Yes, it is.”
“Clemont, Bonnie!”
At that moment, a voice called out from behind them.
Hearing it, Clemont and Bonnie both froze.
Ash and Serena turned to look and saw a middle-aged man riding a small electric scooter.
Sitting behind him was an Ampharos, both of them wearing helmets.
“Dad?”
“Ampharos?”
Clemont and Bonnie greeted him instinctively.
Serena blinked in surprise.
Clemont and Bonnie spoke almost at the same time.
“This is our dad.”
“My name is Meyer.
I run an electronics store here in Lumiose City together with Ampharos.”
“Ampharos~”
Meyer and Ampharos waved cheerfully at Ash and Serena.
“Dad, these are our new friends, Ash, Pikachu, and Serena,” Bonnie introduced.
“Huh?”
Meyer’s body trembled slightly as he processed this, and then he suddenly became emotional.
“I… I… I’m so moved.
I’m so happy, Clemont, Bonnie!”
He rushed forward and hugged the two of them tightly.
Ash scratched his head, feeling that Clemont’s father had quite an eccentric personality.
Still, he did not underestimate him.
After all, Meyer possessed a Blaziken capable of Mega Evolution, and its strength was certainly formidable.
“Dad, look at the Pokémon I adopted!”
Bonnie proudly took Dedenne out of her bag.
“Oh, Bonnie, you chose an Electric type Pokémon!” Meyer said with a smile.
Then he turned to Clemont.
“Speaking of Electric types… Clemont, you should come home more often.”
“Uh… well… about that…”
Clemont looked visibly troubled.
The “home” Meyer referred to was naturally the Lumiose Gym inside Prism Tower.
Seeing Clemont avoid the topic, Meyer’s expression became more serious.
“Did something happen?”
“Uh…”
Clemont unconsciously took two steps back.
Bonnie quickly stepped in.
“Dad, we have something to do, so we’ll go first!”
However, Meyer did not let them leave so easily.
“Clemont, I’ve told you many times.
Being strict with challengers is fine, but strictness alone cannot help Trainers grow.
Their growth depends on you, the Gym Leader of Lumiose City.”
His words instantly exposed the truth the siblings had been trying so hard to hide.
“Gym Leader?
Clemont?”
Serena looked at them in shock, her mind full of questions.
Ash, who had already known this, remained completely calm.
After saying what he needed to say, Meyer rode off with Ampharos on his scooter.
“Um…”
Clemont and Bonnie turned back toward Ash and Serena, both looking extremely guilty.
Ash deliberately put on a serious expression and stared at them together with Serena.
“Clemont, explain.
What exactly is going on?”
Bonnie lowered her head.
“Big brother… we can’t hide it anymore.
Let’s just tell them.”
The group moved to a nearby park near Prism Tower, where Clemont finally explained everything.
Through his account, Ash and Serena learned that after becoming a Gym Leader, Clemont had little time left for his inventions.
So he created a robot, Clembot, to take his place.
However, due to an error in its programming, Clembot could not recognize the command password.
As a result, it treated Clemont himself as an unqualified challenger and drove him out of the Gym.
Serena blinked in disbelief.
“So… you were kicked out of your own Gym?”
Bonnie sighed.
“It’s all because my brother added an electric shock program to Clembot.”
The situation was both absurd and frustrating.
Clemont sighed heavily.
“I’ve tried many methods to fix it, but Clembot always stays in the battle area.
I can’t get past the entrance at all.”
Ash crossed his arms thoughtfully before speaking.
“No matter what, this needs to be resolved.
Clemont, let’s go to the Lumiose Gym and take a look.
From what your father said earlier, there might be other Trainers affected as well.”