End of Adventure

"I lost, Mr. Aomori is really amazing." The inexperienced Ash lost the battle without surprise.

"Well, Ash, you and Pikachu did well too. It was the first time for a more formal battle in front of so many people, and you didn't show any stage fright at all."

"Maybe it's because we knew we would lose, so there was no psychological burden. But, when we meet again, I will challenge you again, Mr. Aomori, and this time I won't give up easily!" Ash clenched his fist, his fighting spirit high.

"Good, I look forward to your growth." Aomori reached out his right hand, lightly shaking hands with Ash.

At that moment, with a "boom," the ground beneath them suddenly collapsed, causing them along with Absol and Pikachu to fall down.

Aomori landed safely, brushing off the dust from his clothes. This outfit cost him quite a bit of money.

Ash landed on his butt, surprised. "What's going on?"

"Since you asked sincerely." A female voice echoed from the tunnel they were in, followed by a thick smoke pouring out, obscuring their view.

"To protect the world from devastation!" Two mechanical arms extended from the thick smoke, grabbing Absol and Pikachu before retracting suddenly.

"Cough, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed.

"To unite all peoples within our nation!" The voice grew fainter, and even Ash's mind knew they wanted to escape after capturing Pikachu and Absol.

"Quick, follow them!" Aomori and Ash hurriedly chased after them along the tunnel.

After running for over a hundred meters, they reached another three-meter-high hole. It was a mystery how they dug such a long tunnel in such a short time.

But three meters certainly couldn't stop Aomori and the rookie Ash. With a few moves, they easily climbed out of the hole and saw the familiar Meowth hot air balloon rising up.

On the hot air balloon, Pikachu and Absol were tightly gripped by mechanical arms, unable to break free. The two members of Team Rocket were striking poses, continuing their unfinished lines.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

Finally, as they finished their lines, Ash realized, "It's you again, Team Rocket! Give me my back Pikachu."

"Ha, ha, ha! No way, if you have the guts, come and take it back yourself."

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika.....CHU...!"

"It's useless, this time we used insulated materials."

"Curse you!" Ash only had Pikachu as his Pokémon now, with no way to deal with Team Rocket in the air.

"Let me handle this." Aomori, with a nostalgic look, finally intervened.

"Pidgeot, use Gust toward the balloon." Aomori released his reliable Pidgeot, giving a direct command.

"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot soared into the sky, quickly catching up with the Meowth hot air balloon. In the shocked expressions of the Team Rocket members, Pidgeot struck the balloon, tearing it open.

The balloon crashed to the ground, freeing Pikachu and Absol. They reunited with Aomori and Ash who had rushed over.

"Damn brats!" Team Rocket, unwilling to admit defeat, released Arbok and Weezing, ready to forcefully snatch back Pikachu.

"Absol, use Ice Shard; Pidgeot, use Wing Attack."

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt."

The three attacks sent Team Rocket back to where their hot air balloon was. With a familiar explosion and a familiar "Team Rocket's Blasting Off Again." blasted off shooting stars.

It seemed like a Pokémon anime version indeed, the danger level dropping sharply. It was truly a beginner's scenario.

"Ash, Mr. Aomori, are you both okay?" From afar, Misty arrived.

After bidding farewell to Ash and Misty, this episode's plot came to an end.

Aomori was curious whether his figure would appear on a TV screen in some world.

...

The next day, at the usual place.

Early in the morning, many trainers were waiting for Aomori. Seeing his performance from yesterday, they still came to challenge him, either battle enthusiasts like Ash or trainers confident in their abilities.

Today would definitely be more challenging than yesterday.

The Fire Stone didn't matter; Aomori just didn't want to lose, even in these battles.

After setting up the flags, Aomori began receiving challengers.

The first challenger sent out a Pokémon that looked like a purple ghost with detached hands.

"It's Gastly of the Ghost type!"

"I see, using type advantages?"

"Are you kidding? Ghost types can't beat Normal types and vice-versa." Absol was mistaken for a Normal type Pokémon, as the revelation of its Dark type attribute hadn't been made public yet.

"Hmph, probably learned some other skills, using these advantage relationships to win, truly unworthy of being a trainer."

"The host will probably switch Pokémon, right? Based on yesterday's situation, Absol seems to have all Normal type moves."

The onlookers were discussing, and the challenger smirked. His Gastly already knew Poison-type moves, and as long as Poison landed, he could easily win by using the Ghost type's characteristics to hide.

He had won countless battles using this method, feeling proud, thinking, 'The Fire Stone is mine! It doesn't matter what Pokémon he switches to.'

"Gastly, hide and look for an opportunity," the challenger shouted.

Aomori chuckled softly, originally thinking it would be a Fighting type Pokémon, which would require bringing out Pidgeot. But now, Absol was more than enough.

"Absol, it's your turn in this battle."

"What? You're still sending out Absol?"

"Is the trainer so stubborn?"

"Perhaps Absol still has other hidden moves."

'No matter what moves it has, it's useless,' the challenger gritted his teeth and said, "Gastly, hide first and find an opportunity."

Aomori casually said, "Stay where you are and wait for it to come out."

With that, he stood with arms crossed, seemingly doing nothing. But in reality, Aomori was focusing on sensing Gastly's presence, his mental prowess far beyond ordinary.

After a few seconds, Aomori spotted a faint shadow behind and above Absol.

'Got you.'

At the same moment, the challenger shouted, "Gastly, use Poison!"

And simultaneously, Aomori said, "Jump forward and use Thunderbolt above and behind."

The visible Gastly waved its little hand, then, suddenly, a flash of light hit it directly with Thunderbolt.

Afraid that one move wouldn't be enough, the studious Absol didn't wait for Aomori's command, and it followed up with another Thunderbolt.

Struck by two Thunderbolts, Gastly, with an expression of mosquito coils, fainted.

"How did you know Gastly's position?" The challenger knelt down, pounding the ground in frustration.

"My Fire Stone!"

"I guessed. Next."

"Guessed?" The challenger withdrew Gastly, dejected, and left.

In the following battles, Aomori used all his skills and won them all with ease, and Pidgeot also came out to gain some experience.

With all the sub-missions completed, and only a few days left in the sub-world, Aomori decided to return to the Viridian Forest to grind experience.

As for the plot, he'd deal with it when he was stronger.

A few days later, Aomori's first sub-world adventure came to an end.

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