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After Ash silently prayed, he asked Professor Oak to carefully store the two jewels, and he would return them to him when he came back in two days.
Professor Oak nodded, then retrieved the Key Stone, and his expression became solemn.
"Your next Gym challenge is the Viridian Gym, isn't it?"
"Yes, didn't I just tell you?"
"Do you want me to come and support you?" Professor Oak's question seemed very strange; even challenging the strongest Viridian Gym shouldn't require Professor Oak to be there.
After all, it's just a Gym challenge; if you lose, you lose. What else could happen?
However, in reality, the Viridian Gym Leader, Giovanni, is the leader of Team Rockets. If Ash exposed anything and was defeated, he might actually be kept there.
Professor Oak had already learned about Mewtwo from Blaine and knew that Ash possessed something Mewtwo coveted (Gardevoir). That's why Professor Oak offered to be present.
If he were there, Giovanni, no matter how much he desired it, wouldn't dare to act recklessly. Even though Professor Oak was old, his combat power was still highly ranked within the entire League.
Oak might be old, but his Pokémon aren't!
After Ash gained such prominence, Professor Oak had once warned Giovanni. If Ash didn't continue to show anything special, Giovanni certainly wouldn't do anything due to his deterrence.
However, things were different now. The Pokémon in Ash's hands were enough for Giovanni to ignore his warning, and it was even unknown if Giovanni would stop even if he was present.
But no matter what, he was determined to protect Ash. No one could lay a hand on Ash!
As for the Mewtwo that Blaine had described as miraculous, Professor Oak said he would have to encounter it to know. As long as it wasn't a Divine Realm level, it wasn't an invincible existence.
Facing Professor Oak's kindness, Ash was momentarily stunned, then a warm current flowed through his heart. Professor Oak truly cared about him! However, he outwardly didn't know that Giovanni was the leader of Team Rockets.
He certainly couldn't just agree to Professor Oak's sudden request, and he still had a powerful trump card up his sleeve, so he wasn't at all flustered even against Giovanni.
"Forget it. I'm just challenging a Gym. What would Professor Oak do there? Even if the Viridian Gym is the strongest Gym in Kanto, I am the strongest Kanto rookie of all time. I won't lose!" Ash said with a smile, giving Professor Oak a thumbs-up and vowing never to fail.
Professor Oak looked at Ash's infectious smile, his heart slightly touched. His lips moved, and finally, he returned a similar smile: "Alright then, I'll be waiting for your triumphant return, Ash. When you do, I'll have your mom cook a table full of delicious food to celebrate you getting eight badges!"
"What?! That's my mom! Why do you need Professor Oak to tell her to cook a table full of good food? You just want to freeload at our house!" Ash rolled his eyes, exposing Professor Oak's intention.
Professor Oak let out an awkward laugh, chatted with Ash for a couple more sentences, and then hung up the phone.
After the call ended, Professor Oak's comical smile disappeared. He thought solemnly for a moment, then dialed a number... "Hello? This is Oak... You've been watching him in Viridian City during this time, right?... Hmm, something's come up. I need you to help me protect someone..."
...Ash put the video call back and checked the time. It was still early. He thought for a moment and then directly took Pikachu and all his Pokémon out for training.
Pikachu, who had originally thought he could go back to sleep, immediately rolled his eyes, expressing strong dissatisfaction with Ash.
"You can go back to sleep if you want, but Riolu and the others and I are going to train. If Riolu, your little brother, catches up to you, where will you put your face?" Ash said indifferently, indicating that if Pikachu wanted to rest, he could, and he wouldn't force him.
Upon hearing this, Pikachu instantly became anxious. He was already being caught up by his younger siblings due to a bottleneck. If even the youngest one caught up, where would he put his face?
Currently, Riolu's strength has reached the peak of the Advanced stage, just one step away from reaching the Superior level, but he shows no intention of evolving.
For Riolu to evolve into Lucario, its Aura needs to reach a certain level, and its bond with its trainer must meet the standard.
Ash and Riolu's bond goes without saying; it was almost maxed out from the moment they met. As for the progress of its Aura, with Ash, a powerful Aura user, by its side, how could Riolu's Aura be weak?
The reason its level progressed so quickly was due to frequent Aura fusion with Ash, experiencing Ash's Aura which led to significant advancements in its own Aura, thus causing its level to rise rapidly.
In terms of Aura qualification, it could have evolved into Lucario long ago.
However, neither it nor Ash intended to evolve at this time. Riolu only has one evolutionary stage, and if this evolution is applied properly, it might allow Riolu to have a soaring improvement!
Before that, it would be better for Riolu to accumulate Aura properly and prepare for the upgrade.
As long as Riolu can reach the Superior level, and then through evolution, it might be able to rush to Superior Advanced in one go!
This would significantly narrow the level gap with the main group.
This was also why Pikachu was worried about Riolu catching up. Moreover, he had already been surpassed by Gardevoir and Charizard. If he didn't train his level back up, where would the big brother's face be put then?
And so, Ash, Pikachu, and a group of Pokémon trained for a full two hours in a relatively desolate area of Cinnabar Island before Misty's call came in, asking what he was doing.
Misty and Brock had both woken up, which meant the training session was over.
Upon returning to the hotel, Misty and Brock had already washed up and were waiting for Ash to return. During this time, they were to set aside training and battles to have a good time!
There were quite a few places for fun on Cinnabar Island, and many places had beautiful scenery, so Ash and the others visited them one by one.
Because they were wearing masks, their appearance didn't cause much commotion, even though wearing masks in a stuffy place like Cinnabar Island seemed very strange and was also very stuffy.
However, for a monster-like physique like Ash's, this level of stuffiness was nothing. Misty and Brock, not being too famous, were gradually being forgotten, so it didn't matter even if they didn't wear masks.
This is the so-called fame; after you're immersed for a period, even the greatest fame will slowly subside. Now it's Misty and Brock, next time it will be Ash who is forgotten.
As long as Ash doesn't cause any more big commotions.
Time spent having fun always passes very quickly. In the blink of an eye, Ash and his companions had already spent four days on Cinnabar Island. During these four days, they had almost explored every corner of Cinnabar Island and tried out all the special hot springs there.
It must be said that the hot springs on Cinnabar Island were indeed not false advertising. Ash observed with his Aura that those hot springs indeed had the effects they advertised.
Such as relieving fatigue, refreshing the mind, stimulating cells to increase training effects, and so on. However, those effects would only take effect if one soaked in the hot springs year-round. If it was just a short-term soak, then basically only the comfort of soaking remained.
Another point worth mentioning is that during these few days of fun, besides going to the hot springs, Brock intentionally left Ash and Misty alone. The former was still wondering why Brock always ran off to who-knows-where every time they went out to play, while the latter vaguely understood Brock's intention. She was both embarrassed and somewhat grateful.
Brock's emotional intelligence and brotherhood were truly commendable; he went to great lengths to help his brother find a partner, but his brother was full of Pokémon and didn't get his sentiment.
Although Misty knew what Brock wanted to do, Ash was clueless, and as a girl, she couldn't reasonably take the initiative, could she?
So, although there was progress in these four days, it wasn't much. At least, it could be said that the two of them had been on four dates on Cinnabar Island. Now, the distance they walked together had naturally become much closer, and Ash would occasionally casually hold Misty's small hand.
This was truly casual... because for many of these days, Ash had been leading Misty, and he had simply gotten used to holding her hand.
After the Cinnabar Island trip ended, Ash and the others also took a ship to the last Gym, the Viridian Gym!
The ships from Cinnabar Island could only go to the Vermilion City dock. To get to the Viridian Gym, they still had to walk from Vermilion City to Viridian City.
They would pass through Cerulean City and Pewter City along the way, so they could visit Misty and Brock's homes.
Upon arriving in Vermilion City, Ash also thought of visiting Koharu and the others. The last time he met Koharu and the others was over two months ago. At that time, he was a novice and barely managed to defeat a professional-level Raichu using his partner form.
If it were now, Pikachu could easily beat that Raichu with one hand!
Such a huge change in just over two months was absolutely unimaginable to anyone, including Ash himself, who hadn't expected to improve so quickly.
By the time they arrived in Vermilion City, it was already afternoon. Ash and the others decided to stay overnight at Professor Cerise's place and set off early the next morning.
Currently, Professor Cerise should still be at work, in Cerise Laboratory.
On the way to Cerise Laboratory, Ash also took the opportunity to find out how the Vermilion Gym was doing now and whether Lt. Surge had reformed.
The results were quite pleasing. The Vermilion Gym had now become a true benchmark for Vermilion City. Although Gym Leader Lt. Surge was tall and mighty, he carefully taught during battles, forming a stark contrast with his appearance.
Because of the changes Lt. Surge made, the number of people coming to challenge the Vermilion Gym also gradually increased.
"I didn't expect that Lt. Surge would actually make such a change. I thought he would return to his old ways soon after you left, Ash," Misty said with emotion.
"Uncle Lt. Surge's nature isn't bad; it's just his inherent nature that makes him not hold back against challengers. Plus, his personality is quite rough, and he didn't realize the harm he was causing challengers, which is why he did those things. He just needed to be woken up," Ash said with a smile, pounding his fist.
For someone like Lt. Surge, a 'friendship face-breaking punch' was needed to truly wake him up. If not a face-breaking punch, then a crushing battle would also work.
Before long, the group arrived at Professor Cerise's laboratory. Compared to the grand scene of their first visit, the laboratory was now deserted. After all, who would idly run to a laboratory for no reason?
Except for the Team Rockets who coveted Pokémon.
At this time, Professor Cerise was still doing research. When he saw Ash and the others approaching, a joyful expression appeared on his face: "Ash! It's been a while, hasn't it? Why are you here?!"
"We just came back from Cinnabar Island and thought we'd drop by to see you, Professor Cerise," Ash said, releasing the Pokémon from his Poké Ball.
With a flash of light, Riolu appeared before Professor Cerise.
"Riolu, say hello to Professor Cerise."
"Rio!" Riolu, full of energy after coming out of its Poké Ball, robustly called out to Professor Cerise. Its essence, energy, and spirit were all a hundred times stronger than when it left Vermilion City.
Riolu also had some impression of the Aura of the person in front of it. This person had also taken care of it for a long time. If it weren't for this person, perhaps it would never have waited for Ash to arrive.
"Yo, Riolu, you look like you've recovered well!" Professor Cerise couldn't help but smile when he saw the energetic Riolu.
Although Riolu was not his Pokémon, he had taken care of it for a long time, and it was given away by him. He also had a special affection for Riolu.
Now seeing Riolu recover so well, he once again felt relieved and grateful that he hadn't disbelieved Ash because of a certain person back then.
Otherwise, Riolu might not exist in the world anymore.
"Riolu has already reached the peak of the Advanced stage! It will definitely display a power that will make your eyes light up at the Indigo League!" Ash promised Professor Cerise, patting his chest.
"Reached the peak of the Advanced stage… What?! The peak of the Advanced stage???" Professor Cerise instinctively murmured, wanting to encourage Ash, but when he realized what Ash had said, his eyes instantly widened, his mouth dropped open, and his face was full of disbelief.
How long had Ash had Riolu? Two months, right! And nearly a month of that time was for Riolu to recover its original talent and physique, which meant Ash had only trained Riolu for a full month.
From beginner novice to Advanced peak in one month… What the heck, did you use cheats?