Chapter 127: The Autograph

"Am! I've already collected five badges!" Ash proudly showed off his badge case to Am. It was, notably, the limited-edition case from the Saffron City Gym.

"Yes, yes, very impressive," Am replied with a less-than-sincere compliment.

"How many do you have now?" Ash asked, eyeing Am with a mischievous glint.

"I only have four. I'm so weak..." Am rolled his eyes.

"Hahaha, don't say that! You can still work hard!" Ash patted Am on the shoulder, acting as if he had already triumphed over him.

Am: ...

It was a good thing Ash didn't know he had beaten Gary, otherwise, Am was certain Ash would have already convinced himself that he was "two levels better than Gary."

Seeing Am’s speechless expression, Brock chimed in, "Am must have just arrived in Vermilion City... meaning you're looking to challenge the Vermilion Gym for your fifth badge, right? The difficulty at the Vermilion Gym is standard now; with your strength, it shouldn't be a problem."

Ash added, "The previous Gym Leader, Lt. Surge, was a bit harsh, but he wasn't a bad guy. I don't know why he was removed from his post by the League."

That was when Am realized that the second badge in Ash's collection was from Vermilion City! It seemed Ash had scrambled to get it just before Lt. Surge was "dismissed."

"What exactly is your route for these Gym challenges?" Am asked, looking at Ash with confusion. Were they just wandering aimlessly through Viridian Forest? One moment they were in eastern Kanto, the next in western Kanto...

"Well... you know, I travel to meet more Pokémon, so we go through Viridian Forest a lot, and, uh..." Ash’s explanation was vague.

Under Am’s skeptical gaze, Brock revealed the truth: "The thing is, every time we enter Viridian Forest, we have no idea where we’ll end up when we come out!"

Am: ...

*Good grief, that explains it!* And he had even gone out of his way to help reduce the amount of "directionally challenged" members in their party...

"When you challenged the Vermilion Gym, Lt. Surge was still the leader, right? I heard he received a lot of complaints during his tenure?" Am asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, the Gym trainers there were definitely brutal! But... it really was for our growth. As long as we showed improvement, they would let us pass. Oh, and after passing, they even gave us an autograph from Lt. Surge!" Ash said innocently.

It was a pity Ash didn't run a daycare; otherwise, Am would have boarded every difficult Pokémon he had there.

"An autograph?" Am stared at Ash, even more confused. He recalled that the original version of this story featured that autograph; of all the Gym Leaders, only Lt. Surge had that kind of ego. But Ash hadn't even met Lt. Surge—he had battled other trainers. How did he end up with an autograph?

Am looked toward Brock and Goh. The former gave a sheepish grin, while the latter whispered, "No, it's because I helped you buy the autograph of that jerk, Lt. Surge..."

"Huh? What did you say?" Ash looked at Goh with a naive expression. Goh’s mouth twitched, and he covered his face, saying nothing more.

Am figured it out. When Lt. Surge was an official Gym Leader, he was indeed unscrupulous. Not only were his trainers vicious—Am suspected some were actually Team Rocket thugs working side jobs—but the man also had "clever ways to make money." If you bought expensive "merchandise" at the Gym, the difficulty of the challenge would drop. It was essentially selling badges in disguise!

Goh likely couldn't stand it anymore. Ash, in his single-minded belief that the Vermilion Gym was "testing" him, had been training desperately and challenging them repeatedly. So, Goh had quietly bought an autograph in Ash's name, and sure enough, Ash's training suddenly "yielded results."

No wonder his official Gym status was revoked! Beyond any internal Team Rocket issues, Lt. Surge’s own conduct as a Gym Leader had become intolerable to the Indigo League.

"Oh, right, Am! The new Vermilion City Gym is still Electric-type!" Ash said suddenly.

"Yeah? So what?" Am looked at him, bewildered—did he really need to be told that?

"So... let's have a battle! I'll help you hone your techniques for fighting Electric-type Pokémon!" Ash said enthusiastically.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu was no longer sleepy—Electric-type? That was his specialty!

"This..." Am hesitated; this wasn't part of his plan. Besides, while there was no harm in battling Ash, Ash was a trainer with a strange talent—possessing something that seemed like [Reversal Power]. Battling him wouldn't serve as a proper warm-up for an Electric-type Gym.

"We did a 3-on-3 single battle before, so let's make this a 4-on-4 double battle! The fifth badge at the Vermilion Gym requires a double battle challenge, right?" Ash had already decided the rules.

Indeed, challenges for the fourth, fifth, and sixth badges mostly utilized double battle rules. The first three badges rarely required them, as they were intended for novices, and double battles were significantly more difficult. The Viridian Gym was an exception—it was strictly for novices and quite rigorous. By the time trainers reached the fourth through sixth badges, they were expected to have grown enough to step out of their comfort zone, so most Gyms implemented double battle assessments.

Of course, the fourth badge Am had collected, from Saffron Gym, had its own very special rules... but since AJ had become the leader of the Vermilion Gym, he prioritized stability, keeping the difficulty of each badge moderate to restore the image of the official Vermilion Gym.

"If you're going to battle, you can use the field behind the laboratory," Professor Cerise suggested warmly.

Seeing that the mood was set, Am relented. "Then let's put our travels to the test."

Professor Cerise didn't seem busy at all. Perhaps the lab had just finished renovations and hadn't officially started any research yet? He was even eager to act as the referee!

Koharu, however, seemed disinterested, showing little passion for Pokémon battles. Professor Cerise then spoke up, "Koharu, there's food that the Ghost and Fairy-type Pokémon like in the storage room. Could you and Ren help me look after them?"

Ren was Professor Cerise's assistant and was quite familiar with the Cerise family. It seemed the Gengar and Clefable were already being boarded there.

Am felt a bit embarrassed. "About that... the boarding fees..."

"What are you talking about! Didn't we agree that Gengar would help me find those 'haunted' Pokémon? No need for any fees, hahaha..." Professor Cerise laughed heartily.

"Wait, do you need them to participate in the battle?" Ash asked for clarification.

"That shouldn't be necessary..." Am felt there was no need to take it that far.

Before leaving, Am shot a subtle glare at Gengar and Clefable, warning them not to cause too much trouble.