I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the 40 latest and advanced chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Free Members will get 10 Chapters Ahead of the schedule on Patreon!!!
Link: Patreon.com/AVRKingsTL
—------------------—
There's no need to elaborate on how strong Ash's talent is; even Dr. Cerise, who isn't very informed about external news, knows how famous Ash is now.
He's a super rookie with unparalleled talent, having defeated an Elite Trainer as a newcomer, and he's said to possess his own unique method for enhancing Pokémon during battle.
But even so, Dr. Cerise never imagined that Ash could elevate Riolu to the peak of its intermediate stage in just over a month!
A month ago, this Pokémon was practically useless, but a month later, while not fully matured, it at least possesses considerable combat power.
Furthermore, Riolu hasn't even evolved yet; once Riolu evolves, reaching the Superior level will be effortless.
What is this if not cheating?
"It's just the peak of the intermediate stage. Riolu and I are aiming for the stars and the sea! Speaking of which, where's Koharu? Hasn't she finished school yet?" Ash first boasted about his Riolu, then curiously looked into the lab, but didn't see Koharu.
However, some other researchers in the lab curiously poked their heads out, wondering why Dr. Cerise was so startled.
"Koharu should have finished school; she should be arriving about now, right?" As Dr. Cerise finished speaking, a knock came from the lab door. As the saying goes, speak of the devil and he shall appear; they had just been talking about Koharu, and she arrived at the lab door.
As Dr. Cerise opened the door, Koharu, dressed in her school uniform, appeared before everyone. Koharu was momentarily stunned by the sudden increase in people in the lab, then her gaze Lock-On Ash, and a hint of surprise appeared on her pretty face: "Ash? Why are you here?"
"I finished challenging the Cinnabar Gym, so I dropped by Vermilion City," Ash replied with a grin. After exchanging pleasantries with Koharu, he found a place to sit in the lab.
Koharu listened with interest to what had happened during Ash's recent journey. Although Ash had been very famous recently, it was actually limited to the incident at the Fuchsia Gym; apart from that, there was no information about Ash online.
People outside were even questioning whether Ash's existence was something the Kanto League had fabricated for publicity, otherwise, how could such a powerful newcomer suddenly appear?
And the only experience Ash could talk about was his successful challenge of the Fuchsia Gym; besides that, he had no other famous experiences.
The fact that he defeated Sabrina of the Saffron Gym was basically only known to the Kanto League, as one was a private challenge, and the other was a publicly broadcast challenge.
Regarding the external doubts, Koharu, whenever she had time, responded to them online, fiercely criticizing those who doubted Ash, but her individual strength was ultimately negligible.
Ash is indeed not as famous as he once was, as he hasn't appeared in the public eye for a long time. If an ordinary person doesn't appear in the public eye for a month, they might have long since disappeared.
But Ash's reputation is still too high; even after a month, the discussion is still considerable, only the doubts are increasing.
Many people said that if Ash could truly defeat an Elite Trainer, why was there only footage of him defeating Koga, and no footage of him battling other Elite Trainers? Was the battle with Koga a script... These brainless voices echoed online, and even though it was a live broadcast at the time, there was still no way to silence those voices.
People are all swayed by the current, and not everyone watched that live broadcast. Amidst the clamor of fabrication and forced accusations of falsehood, many uninformed people also joined in.
Ash and his companions were actually unaware of this matter, and Ash only learned about it during his conversation with Koharu.
At first, Ash was also extremely angry. It's one thing not to be famous, but slandering him is another thing entirely!
Although his apparent strength was indeed far from that of an Elite, if they truly fought, he could definitely go head-to-head with a newly appointed Elite!
Defeating Koga was indeed a trick, but he had explained the reason for the trick! Just because a group of people online didn't know what Victini was, they were there chattering, twisting the facts. Ash really couldn't tolerate it!
"These people are truly despicable! I clearly won by my own strength… At least the first two Pokémon against Mr. Koga were like that. How did it turn into all fabrication in their mouths? Is there no justice? Just you wait, I'll go defeat another Elite for these people to see!"
Ash said with a hint of indignation. He could accept his fame slowly declining, because that was the result of his deliberate low-key approach, but he couldn't accept being slandered!
At that time, his hard-earned diminished fame would rise again, and it would even turn into infamous notoriety!
"Ash, I feel something is amiss… These statements clearly have no evidence to prove they are true, and their so-called script 'proof' simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Yet, a large number of people are echoing them, as if they just want you to reappear in the public eye to prove yourself," Brock said, stroking his chin, analyzing with a thoughtful expression.
Judging by the comments Koharu showed them, each one seemed frantic. The evidence and 'proof' simply couldn't withstand any scrutiny, yet still, the majority of people were slandering Ash.
Either those people are all idiots, or behind them, there's someone spending money to slander Ash, hoping Ash will come out again. The latter is the more probable of the two scenarios.
Upon hearing this, Ash also calmed down slightly. Now that he thought about it, it really seemed to be the case. Even if someone truly disliked him and fanned the flames, the evidence of this magnitude would seem too flimsy to any normal person.
After all, he had live-streamed the battle back then. No amount of 'evidence' or 'proof' could be as substantial as the live broadcast of his battle with Koga.
So, those people might not be jealous of him, but rather genuinely targeting him.
"Ash, have you offended anyone recently?" Dr. Cerise also asked with a frown.
Ash shook his head. He had pretty much been a 'lone wolf' recently, and he, Brock, and Misty wore masks wherever they went. Otherwise, how could his reputation have declined day by day?
"That's strange… Then who exactly wants to target you like this?"
"Who cares? This person, to put it plainly, just wants to force me out, right? I'm not coming out! I'll wait until the Indigo Plateau Conference to reverse this public opinion, and that'll be that!" Ash, having been tutored by the big shots in the group, was not the type to rush headlong into things with a hot head.
The more the opponent wanted him to come out, the more he wouldn't come out first. A little public opinion simply couldn't affect him. As the saying goes, a straight body fears no crooked shadow; only those who have used crooked means would fear such public opinion.
Because they truly couldn't do such a thing!
The little interlude of public opinion quickly passed. It was late, and Dr. Cerise's workday was over. He packed up his things, announced to the researchers that it was time to go home, and then took Koharu, Ash, and the others back to his house.
Upon arriving home, because Dr. Cerise had told his wife, Yoshino, in advance that Ash and the others would be staying overnight, Yoshino had prepared a table full of dishes to warmly entertain the three of them.
This made them all feel a bit awkward, as it seemed they always freeloaded whenever they came here.
After dinner, Brock and Ash also voluntarily took the dishes to wash, while Misty wiped the table and so on.
Yoshino initially didn't want the few of them to do such things; how could guests be asked to do housework?
But the three of them said that since they were eating, drinking, and staying here, if they didn't do something, their consciences would be uneasy. Giving money felt too formal, so they might as well help Yoshino with some housework.
Yoshino couldn't argue with them, so she let go and let them do the housework.
After finishing the housework, everyone sat down and chatted for a while before going to bed. The next morning, after breakfast, they left Vermilion City. Dr. Cerise had originally suggested they stay and play for two more days.
However, there wasn't much to do in Vermilion City. If they were to go anywhere, it would have to be the resort they had visited before, which would waste a lot of time. Ash still hadn't obtained his last badge, so he politely declined Dr. Cerise's invitation.
Moreover, Koharu still had school. If Koharu had also gone to play, they might have stayed.
Before leaving, Dr. Cerise also told Ash and the others something: on the way to Viridian City, there was a place called Bill's Lighthouse, where a Dr. Zheng Hui resided.
He and Professor Oak were old acquaintances, and he also knew Dr. Cerise. Recently, he called Professor Oak, stating that an extremely large Pokémon had appeared there, possibly an unknown species, but the aura emanating from that Pokémon prevented him from approaching it.
So he wanted to ask Professor Oak to come and take a look.
Professor Oak's combat prowess among professors was almost common knowledge, so asking Professor Oak was no problem.
However, Pallet Town was not close to Bill's Lighthouse, and Professor Oak knew that Ash and the others had just returned to Vermilion City, so he simply asked Dr. Cerise to tell the three of them about it and have them drop by to take a look.
Ash readily agreed after learning about this, and then set off... A day later, as dusk approached, Ash and the others arrived at Bill's Lighthouse, as Dr. Cerise had mentioned. This place was near a coastal beach, and the scenery was quite beautiful, but perhaps because it was relatively remote, it hadn't been developed into a tourist area.
Misty originally wanted to play on the beach, but after thinking about it, she decided that important matters came first, so she gave up her idea.
Ash hadn't even thought about playing on the beach, but he accidentally witnessed a phenomenon there.
A group of Krabby were slowly approaching a smaller Krabby. Ash frowned at the sight and rushed over in a single stride, standing in front of the small Krabby.
"What are you doing?"
Ash's sudden appearance in front of the small Krabby made the Krabby Clan instinctively shift a step sideways. Then, the leading Krabby clacked its large pincer and jabbered something to Ash.
"Ash, what is he saying?" Misty, who had caught up from behind, heard the Krabby's words and turned to Ash for a translation.
"He said that no crabs in the Clan are willing to claim this Krabby, and its body is very small, so it's suspected whether it was born from their Clan, or if it's a spy planted by another Clan."
Misty & Brock: ... There's such a thing?
Not to mention Misty and Brock, even the translator himself, Ash, felt a bit speechless. Clan is Clan, how can there be spies planted within?
Do you Krabby Clans have disputes? If there are disputes, shouldn't they be with Pokémon from other Clans? How did it become a dispute within the same species?
"Kukakuka!!" The Krabby behind Ash scuttled forward, shouting excitedly.
Without Ash needing to translate, Misty and Brock knew what the Krabby was saying – it was simply denying that it came from another Clan, and so on.
"Kukakuka!" The leading Krabby continued to shout, unwilling to be outdone. The Krabby in front of Ash paused, then silently took two steps back.
"What did he say?" This time, Misty couldn't understand.
"That Krabby said if it wants to prove it wasn't planted by another Clan, then it has to defeat him."
Misty: ???
No, is there any necessary connection between defeating you and not being planted by another Clan? Why would winning against you mean you're not a spy planted by another Clan?
Furthermore, wouldn't it be even stranger if a Krabby stronger than the leader appeared in the Clan?
"If I win against you, that'll be enough, right? I accept this challenge! I'll be the one to command you, Krabby!" Ash waved his hand, declaring that he was definitely getting involved in this matter, and then looked at the small Krabby, seeking its opinion.
The small Krabby already had a good impression of Ash, who had suddenly stepped in to protect it. Now, Ash was even going to stand up for it, and coupled with the naturally friendly aura brought by the Viridian power on Ash, the Krabby's goodwill towards Ash instantly soared to a very high level.
However, the thought of battling its Clan leader still made it a bit apprehensive.
But when it looked into Ash's eyes and saw the incredibly firm gaze within them, the small Krabby's unease gradually subsided. Then, it scuttled sideways to Ash, waving its slightly diminutive pincer, indicating that it accepted this battle!
Seeing this, the Krabby leader squinted its eyes, then waved its claw, motioning for the Krabby Clan behind it to retreat, indicating that he could handle this battle alone.
Dealing with a Krabby of that size, wouldn't it be a piece of cake?
He wouldn't know how to lose!