Chapter 28: The Goal is to Become the Pokémon King!

Black clouds descended, and rain fell.

The little Charmander remained sprawled upon that high rocky ledge.

"Awoo..."

It gasped heavily, its expression weary, clutching a swaying lotus leaf by its side.

However, this single leaf was purely symbolic; the torrential rain continued to pour down upon it.

The flame at the tip of the Charmander's tail flickered erratically, looking as though it might extinguish at any moment.

"Awoo-houl..."

Seeing Ash and the others approaching, the little Charmander forced itself up, letting out a threatening cry.

But the sound had already become even weaker than it had been in the afternoon.

"There's no time! We have to take it back to the Pokémon Center by force!"

Without hesitation, Ash couldn't afford to consider the Charmander's own wishes in this moment of crisis. He lunged forward, stripped off his raincoat, and draped it over the Charmander.

Then, using all his strength, he forcibly hauled the Charmander up.

"Charmander, show some grit! Don't close your eyes!"

While holding it, Ash roared, shouting words of encouragement to the little creature.

"Awoo-houl...?"

Though his tone was rough, the Charmander felt somewhat bewildered as it looked into the boy's fervent eyes.

It had never felt such warmth from any of its trainers before.

Seeing this, Brock and Misty hurried to support the rest of the Charmander's body, and the three of them rushed toward the Pokémon Center together.

At that exact moment, a voice suddenly rang out in Ash's mind out of thin air.

The voice was somewhat cold.

"The flame on its tail is the flame of life..."

Ash instinctively looked back and found that the flame on the Charmander's tail was indeed exposed outside the raincoat.

As the rain fell, the fire was actually continuing to weaken.

He quickly swapped positions with Brock, letting Brock lead the way while he shielded the tail flame tightly against his chest, ensuring not a single drop of water touched it.

Having done this, Ash's expression darkened, and he silently replied in his heart.

"Thank you, Mr. Red."

Hearing the words suddenly ring in his mind, Red froze momentarily, then fell into silence.

*So, this kid realized my existence long ago?*

Soon, the three of them delivered the Charmander to the Pokémon Center.

"Leave the rest to me!"

Nurse Joy had prepared an emergency room and immediately took over the treatment of the Charmander.

Meanwhile, Da You and his group seemed to have already left, leaving Ash with a sense of emptiness, as if he had nowhere to vent his emotions.

He could only stand there anxiously, staring at the bright red emergency sign hanging by the door.

*Beep!*

Thirty minutes later, the red sign turned green, signaling that the emergency treatment inside had concluded.

Seeing the door move, Ash rushed forward.

"Nurse Joy, how is Charmander?"

"It's fine now. It has passed the critical stage. With a good night's rest, it should be mostly recovered. Pokémon bodies are very resilient, you know."

Nurse Joy didn't say much more; she simply guided the three of them to the guest rooms, indicating it was time for them to rest as well.

Lest the Pokémon be fine while the humans collapsed first.

"I'm relieved Charmander is okay..."

Hearing this, the heavy weight hanging in their hearts finally began to lift.

Yawning, they headed to their rooms to bathe, sleep, and rest.

However, lying in bed, Ash found it wasn't that easy to fall asleep.

Remembering something, he couldn't help but pat his chest and mutter inwardly

"Hey, hey, hey, Brother Red. I'm bored. Come out and chat for a bit."

Ash sent a voice request.

Red: "..."

After hesitating for a long time, Red finally accepted the voice request.

"When did you find out about me?"

"Duh, I'm not some clueless rookie," Ash replied with a hint of pride.

Red frowned. *So you aren't?*

Now that Charmander was temporarily out of danger, Ash had regained his usual cheerful and optimistic personality.

Strange words had been appearing in his mind from time to time.

He also had a round-faced Pikachu that had inexplicably appeared as Red's trainer.

Furthermore, yesterday, when he was teleporting the three Squirtles back to Professor Oak's Lab, he accidentally discovered an extra option under "Ash's Computer."

It was "Red's Computer."

An ordinary person might become paranoid, thinking they were possessed by something evil, or even invite a Jynx to perform an exorcism dance on them.

But the thick-skinned Ash had quickly accepted this reality.

It didn't matter. As long as one's will is strong and one's spirit is upright, one fears neither gods nor demons!

Red: "..."

"By the way, Brother Red, are you trying to possess my body?"

Ash asked with great interest

"I think we could have a little clash."

Red: "..."

*No thanks. Your willpower is comparable to Arceus's...*

"By the way, Brother Red, are you dead?"

"..."

Red chose not to respond further, unilaterally hanging up the communication.

The title "Brother Red" made his eyebrows twitch violently.

"Brother Red, why did you stop talking? All I can feel now are three ellipses."

Red: "..."

The next morning, the three of them woke up early.

Ash didn't even brush his teeth before rushing anxiously into Charmander's hospital room.

However, the room was already empty.

"Is it gone already...?"

Seeing this, Ash felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

"It should have returned to that high rocky ledge, Ash."

At that moment, Nurse Joy walked over, gently patted his shoulder, and said softly

"Don't miss this chance. Go see it."

As a Nurse Joy, her duty was to care for Pokémon and treat all trainers equally.

But Nurse Joy was not a robot; she had her own subjective feelings.

She felt that no one was more suited to be that Charmander's trainer than Ash.

At least, he was more qualified than that arrogant brat.

"I understand!"

Hearing this, Ash regained his spirits and hurriedly called Brock and Misty to head back to the rocky ledge.

Looking from a distance, the Charmander was indeed standing there.

But this time, it looked radiant and full of energy.

The flame on its tail was burning vigorously.

"Awoo-houl!!"

Suddenly, it tilted its head back and let out a roar, even spitting out a massive, dark-red fireball.

*Boom! Sizzle...!!*

The flames exploded violently in the air, sending out scorching waves of heat.

The near-death experience had doubled its combat capability!

"That's Dragon Rage, a divine skill for beginners. An ordinary Charmander wouldn't be able to master it," Brock explained, slightly startled.

"Dragon Rage?"

Ash's eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace.

"Char—"

Before Ash could finish his sentence, a shout came from the other side.

"Charmander, looks like you've gotten stronger! I've come to pick you up as promised."

Da You had appeared on the other side of the ledge at some unknown time.

He held up a Poké Ball toward the Charmander, looking triumphant.

*Damn it, I misjudged it? It's actually an extraordinary Charmander?*

*Haha, I'm getting a free Charmander that knows Dragon Rage!*

Da You was feeling very smug.

Ash rushed forward and shouted loudly

"Don't listen to him, Charmander! This guy is a bad person—he abandoned you before!"

"Awoo-houl...?"

This interruption left the Charmander conflicted, looking left and right.

"What are you doing? I am your master!"

This immediately infuriated Da You. This kid had punched him yesterday, and now he was interfering with his Pokémon...

"Come back here right now!!"

Da You directly threw the original Poké Ball at the Charmander with force.

"Houl-awoo!!"

This single action caused the Charmander to truly make up its mind.

Its gaze turned solemn, the flame on its tail surged, and it extended its claws, delivering a vertical slash against the incoming Poké Ball.

*Crack!!*

In the next instant, the Poké Ball shattered on the spot!

This also meant that the final connection between Charmander and Da You was completely severed.

"You... you... you..."

Da You was so angry he was speechless.

Seeing the Charmander preparing to unleash another powerful Dragon Rage, his face darkened, and he fled the scene while cursing under his breath.

"Dummy, what are you standing there for!"

"Ash, go on."

Once the intruder had completely left, Brock and Misty gave Ash a nudge from behind.

Ash took a deep breath, stepped forward, and slowly pulled out his Poké Ball.

"Even though your previous trainer was a scoundrel, not all humans are like that. Charmander, do you want to travel with me?"

He had always longed for a cool Charmander.

"Awoo!!"

The Charmander's determined eyes suddenly softened into a curve, revealing an innocent smile.

*Tap!*

Finally, it proactively extended its claw and tapped his Poké Ball.

A red light flashed, and Charmander entered the Poké Ball, not even shaking before it came to a complete stop.

"I caught Charmander!!"

Ash could not hide his excitement. Holding the Poké Ball, he spun, jumped, and danced around.

The Kanto starters—he finally had the full set!!

"Beep beep. Data updated. Congratulations, Trainer, on unlocking the achievement: 'Gathering the Three Longevity Bonds of Kanto'."

At that moment, the Pokédex at his waist suddenly emitted a notification.

The BGM was a celebratory "beep-beep-beep" sound.

"The Three Longevity Bonds of Kanto?"

Confused, Ash pulled out the Pokédex and asked

"Details, please?"

"Beep beep. The Pokédex features a Trainer Achievement Record System. Complete designated tasks to unlock achievements," the Pokédex replied seriously.

Seeing this, all three became interested, and six hands reached out to poke and prod the Pokédex at once.

"Oh, Ash, you've already completed three achievements. Let me see what they are..."

"Wow, Pikachu has an achievement called 'The Path of an Award-Winning Actor.' It just unlocked 'Junior Trainee'."

"Pidgeotto and Caterpie have a 'Food Chain' achievement: 'Bird and Bug'."

"Century Dragon + Millennial Turtle + Myriad-Year Tortoise... this is the Kanto Starter Longevity achievement."

Ash frowned. *What kind of nonsense is this?*

He abruptly raised the Pokédex and shouted

"Stop with the flashy nonsense! Pokédex, delete this entire achievement system!"

"Beep beep. Deleting... Deletion failed. Cannot delete. Everything is for the purpose of helping the Trainer achieve their life goals!"

After its CPU ran at a high frequency, the Pokédex emitted an inspiring notification.

"The goal is to make Trainer Ash the Pokémon King!"

Ash: "?"

*Is it because of my accent, or did you get water in your circuits?*