"So, how many Pokémon have you captured? Are you too embarrassed to say it out loud?" Gary taunted.
"I... I'm not embarrassed at all..." Ash said awkwardly.
"Cheer up! The number you've captured really doesn't matter that much," Misty said helplessly, not expecting Ash's confidence to be so crushed by Gary.
"Amazing! I checked all four of your Pokédexes. For Pokémon encountered: Red only has seven; Gary has about sixty; Leaf has seventy-three, but Ash has encountered over one hundred!" Professor Oak announced.
"How impressive!" Leaf said in surprise, not expecting Ash to have encountered so many different Pokémon.
"Uh..."
"Yeah!"
Gary broke out in a cold sweat, not expecting to lose to Ash in this area.
Ash nearby also mistakenly thought he had beaten Gary and raised his right hand in celebration.
"Wait, Red's Pokémon aren't just seven," Leaf said in confusion.
"This is just the number of times they encountered Pokémon, not captured them. In terms of capturing Pokémon, Gary is still far ahead!" Professor Oak explained.
"I've mastered basic data on Pokémon from various regions, so I don't have the habit of opening the Pokédex. I basically only use it to explain things to others," Red explained to everyone why his Pokédex had only been used seven times.
"I see!"
Professor Oak was already used to Red's exceptional talent, so he wasn't particularly surprised.
"Anyway, Ash probably opens his Pokédex every time he sees a Pokémon. Instead of wasting time listening to explanations, he should hurry up and capture it," Gary complained, hitting the nail on the head about Ash's style.
Gary really was Ash's childhood friend.
"Is that what you do, Gary?" Ash asked.
"Of course! That's what being a Pokémon trainer is all about!" Gary affirmed, then looked at Professor Oak. "Grandpa, let's each take a look at the Pokémon we've captured."
"Good idea. Everyone follow me."
A moment later, everyone followed Professor Oak to the warehouse where Poké Balls were stored. This warehouse held numerous Pokémon captured by trainers who had set out from Pallet Town.
"First, let me introduce the Pokémon Ash has captured."
With that, Professor Oak led everyone to the shelf where Ash's Poké Balls were stored.
To distinguish between everyone's Poké Ball shelves, Professor Oak had decisively placed each person's photo at the top of their shelf, though it looked somewhat comically random.
"Although he's captured a total of thirty-four, thirty of them are Tauros from the Safari Zone," Professor Oak explained.
The other four were Krabby, Muk, Primeape, and Butterfree, who had yet to return.
But Ash firmly believed Butterfree would return to Pallet Town, so he had transferred the Poké Ball to Professor Oak, asking him to keep it safe.
"Leaf has captured seven Pokémon, but unlike Ash, she doesn't have thirty duplicates, so it's still a very respectable number."
After introducing Ash's Poké Balls, Professor Oak brought everyone to Leaf's Poké Ball shelf. Besides the six Pokémon Leaf carried with her, there were seven Poké Balls neatly arranged on the shelf.
Professor Oak then introduced Gary's captured Pokémon. His collection totaled over two hundred, and because there were so many Poké Balls, Professor Oak decided not to take everyone to see them, simply explaining to the group.
"The Kanto region has about one hundred fifty species of Pokémon. Not counting accidentally captured Pokémon from other regions, there should be some duplicate species," Misty mused.
"Capturing once isn't enough to satisfy me. Who knows if the next Pokémon I encounter won't be stronger?" Gary explained calmly.
"That's nonsense! You don't understand Pokémon at all like that. My Pokémon and I are companions. Numbers don't matter," Ash boasted.
"You only say that because you can't win in numbers. Didn't you also capture thirty duplicate Tauros?" Gary said indifferently, thinking Ash was just making excuses.
"Since that's how it is, how about we settle this with a battle right now?!"
The angry Ash once again challenged Gary, planning to test each other's strength through battle.
"See? You get all worked up like that immediately. Such a child," Gary teased, waving his hand dismissively.
"Aren't you a child too?" Ash shot back.
"Actually, both of your approaches are correct, because Ash understands Pokémon in his own way, and Gary understands them in his own way," Professor Oak explained, encouraging both to set aside their prejudices.
"Pokémon are truly miraculous creatures. They possess the special ability to evolve, which could be called an existence that transcends biological limits. We must solve that mystery and get along well with Pokémon."
"The coexistence of humans and Pokémon is my life's research theme, and it starts with understanding each individual Pokémon."
After Professor Oak's mediation, Ash temporarily gave up his idea of battling Gary.
Next, Professor Oak brought everyone to Red's Poké Ball shelf, which was Professor Oak's pride and joy in research, so it was placed in a more central area.
"..."
Seeing the photo at the top of the shelf, Red looked helpless. Professor Oak had specifically chosen a photo of seven-year-old Red with Professor Oak, rather than a solo photo from three years later.
"Grandpa, you really are..." Gary said speechlessly, looking at Professor Oak with no energy left to complain.
Besides the six Poké Balls Red carried at his waist, there were fifteen Poké Balls arranged on the shelf, meaning Red had captured a total of twenty-two Pokémon.
"Professor Oak, what's that strange Poké Ball?" Ash asked curiously, pointing to the only Ultra Ball on the shelf.
Because the Ultra Ball stood out, everyone else immediately focused their attention on it.
"Oh, that one," Professor Oak obviously anticipated their interest. With Red's permission, he directly explained the Ultra Ball to everyone.
"This is an Ultra Ball. Compared to regular Poké Balls, it can contain much more powerful forces. Inside the Ultra Ball is the Zapdos that Red captured."
"What?! It's actually Zapdos!"
All four except Ash simultaneously looked at Red in disbelief, instinctively thinking Red and Professor Oak were playing a joke on them.
But thinking about it carefully, this was indeed something Red could accomplish.
"Zapdos? What kind of Pokémon is that?" Ash asked in confusion.
Seeing this, Red helplessly took out his Pokédex and explained Zapdos's basic data to Ash: "Zapdos, the Electric Pokémon. When the sky darkens and lightning strikes continuously, this legendary Pokémon will appear."
After listening to the Pokédex explanation, Ash finally realized Zapdos's power, then looked excitedly at the Ultra Ball on the shelf, anticipating a battle with Zapdos.
"Red, you really are something else, easily accomplishing what we can't do," Gary said with admiration.
"Big brother, let my Pikachu have a showdown with your Zapdos!" Ash said excitedly.
"Pika?!"
Pikachu looked at Ash in horror, not expecting Ash to want to send him to his doom!
After all, Pikachu had no courage to battle this legendary 'Thunder God' Pokémon.
"Sorry Ash, I'm also looking forward to battling Red next, so you'll have to get in line," Gary said calmly, looking at Red with fighting spirit.
"Sorry, Gary, I'm also looking forward to a duel with Red!" Leaf, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, also looking at Red with a burning fighting spirit.
Suddenly, Red found himself targeted by three pairs of intense gazes.