“Firewood, firewood, where are you? If you’re there, answer me!”
Ash, who was very dissatisfied with Brock and Misty’s work assignments, was also very perfunctory with the task of finding firewood, calling out to the firewood as if he wanted it to come to his hands by itself.
“Sigh, no one could possibly answer me.”
Ash seemed to know that no one would respond to him, and he sighed dejectedly.
“Pika!”
Pikachu seemed to have seen something, pointing into the distance and calling to Ash.
“I didn’t see firewood, but I saw fire.”
Ash was very puzzled. Could it be that someone else here had the same idea as him and his companions?
Ash quickly ran towards the glowing place, only to see a boy surrounded by a group of people, seemingly doing something.
“And this one? What does it look like?”
A person held a photograph and stood in front of a young man on a treadmill, asking him sternly what Pokémon was in the photograph he held.
“Is it Zubat?”
The young man on the treadmill, panting, looked at the blurry photograph in front of him, saying with some uncertainty.
“Not all Pokémon that live in the mist are Bat Pokémon.”
Another young man gave a hint regarding this answer, stating that there were more Pokémon than just Bat Pokémon that could survive in the mist.
“Hmm… then it’s Pidgey.”
The young man on the treadmill paused slightly, seemingly realizing something, and stated his answer with a confident tone.
“That’s correct, but you should distinguish the type. We are asking you what its move is.”
Another young man affirmed the answer of the young man on the treadmill, but they were not asking for that, but for a more detailed answer.
“Pidgey’s move is Gust, at level five it’s Sand Attack, and at level twelve it can use Quick Attack.”
The young man on the treadmill thought for a moment and answered their question.
“Those are just common knowledge. At what level does Pidgey evolve, and what is Pidgey called after it evolves?”
The others, not letting up, continued to question the young man on the treadmill, seemingly wanting to exhaust him.
“Alright, hurry up and answer, otherwise you’ll have to run faster.”
The people around him, holding candles, surrounded the young man on the treadmill, putting pressure on him.
The young man was silent for a bit too long, so the treadmill beneath his feet sped up.
“Ouch, I’m sorry, I forgot!”
The suddenly accelerating treadmill threw him to the ground, and the young man apologized to his companions with an apologetic look.
“Can ‘I forgot’ just let it slide? Are you still considered a student of the Pokémon Class?”
“You’re so bad that we don’t want to study with you anymore.”
The leader looked at him sternly. After all, as a student of the Pokémon Class, it was simply inexcusable for him not to remember such things.
The young man readily admitted his mistake, but even if he admitted it, some people would express dissatisfaction with this situation. Who was this person? Who else but Ash?
“Wait a minute! What are you doing?”
Ash ran over with exaggerated strides, angrily questioning these bullying students.
“Outsiders who have nothing to do with this should not meddle. This is our own special training.”
The leader was very displeased with someone who had nothing to do with him but insisted on getting involved.
“Someone who doesn’t even know what Pidgey’s evolved form is cannot stay in our class. This is our friendship, you see.”
The green-haired young man, although somewhat disdainful of someone who didn’t even know Pidgey’s evolved form, still felt that this was their exclusive friendship.
“What friendship are you talking about? Even if I’m just passing by, I can’t pretend not to see what you’re doing.”
Ash scoffed at what these people called friendship. If this counted as friendship, then his relationship with Pikachu had already transcended friendship.
Moreover, what these people were doing didn’t resemble friendship in the slightest.
“Ash is right, go for it.”
Misty appeared behind Ash at some point, supporting his actions.
“Misty?”
Ash was also very surprised by Misty’s sudden appearance. Shouldn’t Misty be at the campsite preparing for the water issue now?
“I, Misty, the world’s number one beautiful girl, will not forgive those who bully the weak.”
Although Misty was very displeased with Ash’s recklessness, in this situation, she chose to stand on the same front as Ash.
“Misty, don’t interfere. Leave this to me.”
He didn’t want Misty to get involved in this matter. After all, it concerned friendship, and Ash reacted strongly to such things.
“I won’t interfere. Girls hate using violence the most, but it’s five against one, so you’re unlikely to win.”
Misty’s single sentence left Ash speechless. After all, girls were unwilling to resort to violence, but the other side had more people than Ash.
Hearing Misty’s words, Ash finally realized that the other side indeed had more people than him.
Thinking of this, a drop of cold sweat ran down Ash’s face.
The expressions of the five people opposite, illuminated by candlelight, appeared very terrifying.
“If you get beaten to death, I’ll help you collect your body.”
“Ash, now is the time to show your manliness.”
Misty fanned the flames from the side, while Ash swallowed hard, but his actions did not change.
“How barbaric.”
“Wanting to solve everything with fists is like going back to the primitive era.”
“Fighting with an ape-man level idiot would damage the reputation of our Pokémon Class. It seems we should end it here today.”
One after another, they disparaged Ash, making him out to be worthless. Although he currently was worthless, having nothing but a hot-blooded passion.
“Xiao Chun, we’ll see you in class.”
The green-haired young man looked provocatively at Xiao Chun. They still had many days together ahead.
“Wait, I challenged you. Are you afraid to accept?”
Ash watched the group walk away into the distance, feeling a bit anxious. After all, he had already challenged them, and people who run away without fighting… “It’s like going to the market; you never accept bad goods. It’s common sense.”
The leader turned back and glanced at Ash, refuting Ash’s words. They could not possibly accept a challenge from such a person.
“Then what about my challenge?”
Yu Feng’s voice came from ahead. The group saw a huge figure looming in the mist and a pair of glowing crimson points of light.
“Who are you?”
Humans hold great fear for the unknown. In such an unseen situation, there was a giant creature they didn’t know.
This feeling was truly very oppressive.
“Since you asked so sincerely.”
This question seemed to trigger a switch.