The next day, Satoshi woke up early. After finishing his breakfast, he hurriedly logged into the game. His four Pokémon were already up, waiting for him to get online. Once he appeared, they eagerly gathered around to greet him.
"Ah, I was in such a rush yesterday that I forgot about the TM [Earthquake]." Satoshi suddenly remembered that he hadn't taught Riolu the move yet. Without wasting time, he took out the TM and handed it to Riolu.
[Ding! Riolu learned [Earthquake]!]
"Charmeleon and Grovyle, you two can learn this after evolving today, so just wait a bit," he said, storing away the TM before heading out. "Alright, let's get our third badge!"
The reason he had rushed to Vermilion City wasn't just to stick to his planned schedule but because challenging the gym and earning the badge was a crucial step. He was also aware that Lt. Surge was one of the three Team Rocket executives, but that didn't stop him from going after the badge.
What, didn't Koga already report him to Team Rocket?
Satoshi wasn't worried. He was challenging the gym openly, in front of an audience. Could Lt. Surge really just grab him on the spot? Plus, Team Rocket was a massive underground organization. Large organizations had common issues—one of them being slow information relay.
Even if Koga personally valued the information on Satoshi, it would take a few days to verify and compile before it even reached the top brass. By the time Surge was informed, Satoshi would already be long gone. So, there was a good chance that Surge didn't even know about him yet. Confident in this, he marched toward the gym.
However, just when he was feeling smug about showing off another wave of spectacular moves, reality slapped him in the face.
"The gym leader, Lt. Surge, is currently unavailable. The gym is temporarily closed."
Hearing this from the staff at the entrance, Satoshi was immediately annoyed.
Not again.
Seriously, why did this keep happening? Too many surprises were popping up in his journey.
"Mr. Surge used to be a soldier. His favorite pastime is sailing the seas. He hasn't been around for a month now, and he might be on a cruise ship right now," the staff explained. "We have no idea when he'll be back. If you're here for a challenge, you'll have to come back another time."
Satoshi let out a long sigh. "Are you kidding me? I had everything perfectly planned! This was the best time to challenge Lt. Surge, but he's not even here!"
If he missed this opportunity, Surge would surely receive information about him later. Even if he couldn't outright eliminate Satoshi in public, he would definitely make the gym battle much harder for him.
As things stood, Satoshi wasn't strong enough to defeat Surge under those conditions. He needed time to grow stronger.
Frustrated, he headed back to the Pokémon Center and borrowed a tablet to check the news on all the gym leaders. Up until now, he had relied on his past life's memories to plan his route. But today's setback made him realize he needed real-time updates.
He carefully browsed the current statuses of all the gym leaders.
- Celadon City's gym leader, Erika, is on vacation.
- Fuchsia City's gym leader, Koga, isn't there either (not that he'd dare go there anyway).
- Saffron City's gym leader, Sabrina, is available—but that's Team Rocket's headquarters. That's a death sentence.
- Cinnabar Island's gym leader, Blaine, has 'lost contact.'
- Viridian City's gym leader, Giovanni… well, as expected of the boss, there's zero information about him.
Satoshi stared at the screen, dumbfounded.
"Wait, does that mean I don't have any suitable gyms to challenge right now?"
He groaned in frustration. If it weren't for Misty's hidden quest forcing him to confront Team Rocket early, he could've still challenged Koga or Sabrina. Now, because of all these complications, his gym badge progression was completely blocked.
"We can't wait here for Surge. If I stay here too long, he'll definitely receive my information soon. Even if I challenge him openly, I won't win. I need to get stronger first."
After some quick calculations, he made his decision.
"Next stop: Celadon City. I'll train and level up there while waiting for Erika to return to the gym."
With his new plan in place, Satoshi returned the tablet and prepared to leave Vermilion City. However, just as he stepped out of the Pokémon Center, he felt a hand pat his shoulder from behind.
"I thought I recognized your back just now," a familiar voice said. "Turns out it's really you, Satoshi."
Satoshi turned around.
Hey, wasn't this Ash—the guy he had beaten up on the first day of the server opening?
End of the Chapter.
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