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"Don't worry, Joy, we know what we're doing." Ash patted his chest, indicating that everything was under control.
There were many reasons to challenge Sabrina: advice from the big shots in the group, his own curiosity, and the desire to battle an Elite Four level Pokémon.
Moreover, the more challenging a Gym was, the more it would ignite his fighting spirit.
If there was no hope of victory at all, Ash wouldn't be so foolish as to challenge it. As the big shots in the group said, a one-sided battle serves no purpose other than harming one's self-esteem and confidence.
But now with the Elite Four level Gastly, he could at least try to contend with Sabrina.
Another point was that the Harem King Ash in the group mentioned that Sabrina was actually a little girl with a flawed mind. It would be best to battle her early and rescue her from her mental shackles, otherwise... Sabrina might be pulled into Team Rockets!
In many parallel worlds, quite a few Sabrinas joined Team Rockets because Team Rockets exploited Sabrina's mental vulnerabilities and dragged her into the abyss.
Sabrinas who joined Team Rockets caused significant obstacles for Ash in various parallel worlds, and even committed many evil deeds.
As the saying goes, one thought for good, one thought for evil; good and evil depend entirely on who can be the first to guide Sabrina. This was also why some big shots in the group suggested Ash challenge Saffron Gym after seeing him encounter the Millennial Gastly.
However, the trajectory of each world is different. In some worlds, even if Ash didn't challenge Saffron Gym or meet Sabrina, Sabrina still didn't join Team Rockets and even recovered to normal... It can only be said that parallel universes represent various possibilities. As for what kind of existence Sabrina is in the beginner Ash's timeline, the group can't say for sure yet; Ash needs to truly meet Sabrina first.
"Speaking of which..." Ash silently looked at the Pokémon Center's ceiling and slowly said, "Have you seen enough?"
Misty & Brock: !!!
"A-Ash, what are you talking about? Seen enough of what?" Misty's voice trembled slightly. She moved a little closer to Ash, then followed his gaze, but saw nothing.
Could it be that another existence like the ghost from Girl Gorge had appeared here?
"I felt it as soon as we entered Saffron City. A strange power appeared around us. That should be Psychic, which means we've been monitored since we entered Saffron City," Ash said, dropping a bombshell.
When he entered Saffron City, he had already sensed a gaze. That gaze was focused entirely on him, making it hard not to notice.
The other party had discovered his existence, and perhaps knew that he was also an unusual person, which was why they kept watching him, even after arriving at the Pokémon Center.
However, after he said, "Have you seen enough," the feeling of being spied on disappeared. He guessed that the other party felt he was about to go to Saffron Gym, and there was no point in peeking here; they would talk when they met him.
"I have a feeling it's a very scary person!"
"Didn't Joy already say she was scary?"
...Is she still listening now? She shouldn't have heard what I just said, right?" Misty suddenly remembered that Sabrina was still spying on them just now, and her voice became quieter.
"Don't worry, the other party has left. I'm going to find Professor Oak first." Ash waved his hand, indicating that Sabrina was no longer there, then used the Pokémon Center's phone to call Oak's Laboratory.
Professor Oak, who answered the phone, was still eating instant noodles. For some reason, every time Ash called Professor Oak, he was usually eating instant noodles. This stuff wasn't nutritious or healthy, but it saved time.
For research, Professor Oak was really pushing himself.
"Hello, Professor Oak."
"Ash, is this call... have you arrived in Saffron City?"
"Yes, send Gastly back to me first. I'll send Pidgeotto back."
"Alright, I'll go call Gastly first. He's been quite comfortable in the backyard lately, and occasionally he even teaches your Butterfree. He really knows a lot of skills. Butterfree learned Tailwind thanks to his guidance." Professor Oak said, moving away from the phone and complaining.
As a ghost who had lived for thousands of years, although his strength was not among the top tier, in terms of skill diversity and versatility, he definitely far surpassed ordinary Pokémon, and even learned many skills he couldn't normally learn.
For example, the Ho-Oh he transformed into during his battle with Ash was an illusionary skill Gastly had learned. He could transform into the appearance of other Pokémon and even use their skills, abilities, characteristics, and attributes.
It was simply an advanced version of Ditto's transformation skill.
However, this power also had limitations. He couldn't use the power of top-tier legendary Pokémon. For example, the Ho-Oh he transformed into earlier only had Ho-Oh's appearance and a bit of its aura, but couldn't use Ho-Oh's exclusive flames, its divine duties, characteristics, and so on.
Nevertheless, this self-taught skill was already quite abnormal. Thanks to this skill, Gastly could evolve and then de-evolve, and also learn many skills he couldn't normally learn.
That's why he was able to guide Butterfree to learn the Tailwind skill in Oak's Laboratory.
With Butterfree's current level, it was still a bit short, and Tailwind would probably only be learned when Butterfree reached the peak of its advancement, whereas now it was only at the intermediate stage.
It seems Gastly might be a very good teacher in the backyard in the future... A moment later, Professor Oak brought Gastly to the phone. Gastly leaned close to the camera, an exaggerated expression on his face: "It's my turn to go on stage, right?"
"Yes, Gastly, it's all up to you. This time we're battling Psychic Pokémon, and their strength is probably similar to yours. Can you win?"
"Heh, you should ask your Trainer about that!"
"That's true."
After a brief chat, Professor Oak put Gastly into a Poké Ball and transmitted him over. Ash, in turn, transmitted Pidgeotto back.
"I've got Gastly's Poké Ball now." Ash held up Gastly's Poké Ball to Professor Oak and said.
"Good, I've also got Pidgeotto's Poké Ball here. I wish you all the best. Remember, if you lose, use your Aura to take Misty and Brock away, understood? Sabrina's Psychic isn't just simple Psychic; she also has some eerie skills. Even with your Aura, if you get hit, it might be irreversible."
Professor Oak gave another worried admonition before hanging up the phone.
After getting Gastly, the three began to head towards Saffron Gym.
When the three arrived at Saffron Gym, a man in work clothes stopped them.
"Are you here to challenge Sabrina? I advise you not to go. Sabrina is not like other Gym Leaders."
The three looked at each other, realizing that this Gym was indeed quite dangerous. There was even someone specifically stopping and dissuading people at the entrance. This was much more unusual than previous Gyms.
However, before Ash could speak, a little girl resembling a doll appeared silently beside the man in work clothes.
"Don't meddle, okay? I finally waited for someone who can play with me."
The moment the man in work clothes saw the doll-like girl, a hint of surprise appeared on the half of his face exposed by his hat, then he instantly vanished from the spot.
This scene was quite eerie. Both the little girl and the suddenly disappearing man seemed like a supernatural event.
Misty subconsciously leaned closer to Ash, her jade hands tightly gripping Ash's arm. At this moment, only Ash could provide some sense of security.
"Don't worry, Misty, I won't let her harm you in the slightest!" Ash also sensed Misty's fear, so he turned to her with a reassuring smile, his words full of determination.
Under Ash's comfort, Misty's restless heart finally calmed down a bit, but she still didn't let go of Ash's arm.
After the man in work clothes disappeared, the doll-like girl glanced at everyone and then slowly vanished before their eyes.
At the same time, the main door of Saffron Gym slowly opened. There was no one behind the door, as if some eerie power had opened it.
"Is this also Sabrina's doing?" Brock stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face.
The abilities Sabrina was now displaying seemed to far exceed those of the Psychic users he knew. She, like Ash, seemed to be a unique kind of person.
"Yes, I can indeed feel traces of Psychic above. Let's go, let's enter." Ash said, leading the way with Misty clutching his arm and Pikachu at his feet. Brock followed behind.
A moment later, Ash and his two companions arrived inside Saffron Gym. Inside the Gym, there were many trainee Gym members, all drawn by Sabrina's Psychic power!
Even with Sabrina's bad reputation, the allure of Psychic was simply too great!
Rumors circulated that by joining Saffron Gym, one could learn Psychic!
How could those ordinary people, who dreamed of becoming superhumans, bear to give up this opportunity?
So, despite the many terrifying legends surrounding Sabrina, many people still joined Saffron Gym to learn Psychic.
And after joining the Gym, they did indeed learn some things from Sabrina, but the sense of oppression Sabrina brought was also very real.
Many trainee employees in the Gym had actually become mentally unstable due to Sabrina's teaching and pressure.
However, it was a case of one willing to hit and one willing to be hit, so there was nothing more to say. Where in the world was there power that fell from the sky like a pie?
Just as Ash and his two companions were about to reach the inner arena of the Gym, a masked young man blocked their path.
He first asked about the purpose of Ash and his two companions. Upon learning that the three were there to challenge Sabrina, he showed a disdainful expression.
"Do you have Psychic?"
All three, including Ash, shook their heads. To be fair, Aura is not Psychic, so he wasn't lying.
"You dare to challenge our Gym Leader without Psychic? Do you know what happened to those who came to challenge the Gym Leader?"
"I don't know, but it doesn't matter, I'll win." Ash shrugged, saying with an indifferent expression.
"You really dare to talk big. You just haven't seen the horror of Psychic. Let me show you, this is the power directly taught by the Gym Leader... Ugh!!"
Just as the masked man was about to display his so-called personally taught power, a painful expression suddenly appeared on his face, and his hands were tightly clutched at his throat, as if he was about to suffocate!
This scene startled all three of them, and Ash was the first to react, a look of anger on his face: "Hey! What are you doing, let him go quickly!"
As Ash spoke, the Aura on his body surged, directly breaking the Psychic restraint on the masked man.
After the Psychic restraint was lifted, the masked man knelt on the ground, gasping for air, filled with lingering fear.
Just now, he really felt like he was suffocating. He didn't need to think twice to know that his act of blocking these people had definitely angered Sabrina.
Why didn't you say you were sent by the Gym Leader earlier! If the Gym Leader sent you, why would I bother blocking you?!
He had originally wanted to show off the Psychic he had learned in front of ordinary people, but he ended up hitting a snag.
He had been in this Gym for so long, and this was the first time the Gym Leader had paid so much attention to a challenger.
Normally, when he blocked others here, the Gym Leader wouldn't treat him like this, otherwise, he wouldn't be so arrogant... Afterwards, the masked man respectfully led the three to the entrance of the Gym arena. He silently stepped aside and made a gesture of invitation.
"The Gym Leader is inside, please make yourselves at home."
Having just angered Sabrina, how could he dare to go inside? If Sabrina saw him and suddenly felt displeased, he would probably suffer another bout of suffocating pain.
Ash nodded, pushed open the two doors with one hand, and then slowly walked in.
Inside was a huge arena, even larger than Vermilion City Gym's arena. On the opposite side of the arena was a curtain, behind which a faint figure existed—that should be Saffron Gym's Gym Leader, Sabrina!
As the three entered, the large doors behind them slammed shut. The sudden change startled all three, and Misty's grip on Ash's arm tightened even more, her whole body pressing against him.
A faint scent wafted to Ash's nose, but Ash felt nothing, simply staring directly at the figure behind the curtain.
According to observations made with Aura, Sabrina's Psychic was indeed very strong, even giving Ash a feeling of being close to Champion level.
This was the first time he had seen a special ability user with such powerful abilities, other than himself.
"You've arrived."
A clear, cold voice rang out, and at the same time, the curtain slowly opened, revealing Sabrina's true appearance.