"Wait! Officer, this is a misunderstanding! I was just passing by!"
Aoki had been considering how to befriend the Electric-type Pokémon when he suddenly heard a panicked voice from outside.
Turning his head, he saw a young man, likely one or two years older than him, dressed in black with a slightly disheveled appearance. Beside him was a Meowth—one that stood out immediately because it wore a pair of glasses and a small vest.
"That Meowth… it's wearing clothes?
"Run!" the young man shouted as soon as he saw Aoki, clearly hoping Aoki would escape before getting caught up in his mess.
But it was already too late.
A swarm of Magnemite and Voltorb turned their gazes toward Aoki, their metallic bodies crackling with electricity. The golden arcs of lightning flickering across them were clear signs that they were about to unleash Thunderbolt.
Aoki's face darkened. Great. I just got dragged into this guy's mess.
"Sanqi, stop him for me," Aoki muttered under his breath, momentarily considering whether he should take revenge on this guy later.
Still, he needed a way out of this.
Extending a hand, Aoki slowly released the power of Viridian.
Just as the Magnemite and Voltorb were about to attack, they hesitated. The Viridian power was something they didn't fully understand, but they instinctively knew it was connected to the forces of nature. It radiated a warm, calming presence—something they associated with a powerful Trainer.
"I'm really sorry about that," Aoki said, keeping his voice steady. "That guy just now has no idea what he's doing. Please don't take offense."
The Magnemite and Voltorb exchanged glances before silently dispersing.
Meanwhile, the young man who had been the original target of their attacks looked utterly dumbfounded. His face was still tingling from residual static electricity, and yet all he could feel was deep envy.
How is it that I barely step inside and get electrocuted, but this guy just says a few words and they leave?
Scratching the back of his head, the young man introduced himself, "Uh… my name's Tetsuya. I started my Pokémon journey last year."
Tetsuya?
Aoki's eyes narrowed slightly. No wonder he looked familiar.
This was none other than Tetsuya, the future Ever Grande Conference Champion.
In the manga, Tetsuya was an extremely capable Trainer, famous for his Meowth, which, unlike most of its species, never evolved into a Persian. Despite its seemingly unimposing appearance, this Meowth would one day grow into Tetsuya's ace Pokémon, rivaling even Elite Trainers' Pokémon.
Though he had the talent to go far, Tetsuya had always been a Trainer from a modest background. It had taken him five years of hard work to finally reach the top. Unlike Ash, who always had exceptional luck and access to multiple regional starters, Tetsuya had to fight tooth and nail for every victory.
His luck wasn't the best, but his skills were undeniable.
In fact, Tetsuya would later almost defeat Ash in the Ever Grande Conference. The only reason Ash didn't lose too badly was because the anime couldn't allow him to be completely overwhelmed.
"So, what happened to you back there?" Aoki asked, feigning curiosity while already having a good idea of the answer.
Tetsuya hesitated, looking embarrassed. "Well… I was hoping to capture an Electric-type Pokémon. But the moment I stepped inside, I got ambushed and had to retreat."
Aoki chuckled inwardly. So this happened in the original storyline too. No wonder he never caught an Electric-type Pokémon.
Suddenly, Tetsuya's eyes lit up. "Hey, you're a Trainer too, right? How about a battle?"
Aoki glanced at Tetsuya's Meowth.
Pokémon Analysis:
• Name: Meowth
• Level: Gym-tier
• Potential: Elite
It was an impressive Pokémon—no wonder it would become Tetsuya's ace in the future.
Though Meowth had never evolved into Persian, it still had immense potential. If it had evolved, it could have even reached the Elite level in a few years.
Maybe Tetsuya couldn't afford the resources to evolve it… or maybe he chose to keep it as a Meowth for a reason.
"Sure, I'll battle you," Aoki agreed. "But not now. I'm here to catch an Electric-type Pokémon first. Want to come along?"
Tetsuya hesitated. He remembered his earlier experience and almost refused. But then he recalled how Aoki had calmed the Electric Pokémon so easily.
"…Fine, I'll go with you," Tetsuya said.
Aoki smirked as they approached the power plant entrance.
He paused at the door, then smiled warmly at the Pokémon guarding the entrance.
"Everyone, I just want to catch a Pokémon. Here's a small gift for you all."
Reaching into his bag, Aoki pulled out high-quality Pokémon food, specially made for Electric-types.
After his previous trip to Stone Cave, he had stocked up on various Evolutionary stones. Since he had so many, he had bought extra food for training purposes.
It's not like my own Pokémon eat this stuff, so I might as well use it to bribe these guys.
A Voltorb rolled forward, took a bite, then nodded in approval.
Seeing this, the other Electric-types cautiously approached before happily digging in.
Tetsuya sighed, shaking his head. "That's… a simple but effective method."
But deep down, he was jealous.
He had thought of doing the same, but Pokémon food was expensive. Even supporting the Pokémon he already had was difficult, and he often had to take part-time jobs to afford supplies.
Meanwhile, Aoki—who seemed no older than him—was handing out expensive Pokémon food like it was nothing.
Once the Pokémon had finished eating, Aoki spoke again.
"So, do you mind if I go inside now?"
The Voltorb, Magnemite, and Electrike all stepped aside, making way for him.
Aoki walked in confidently, with Tetsuya trailing behind.
Tetsuya followed closely, knowing that if he lagged behind, he might get blasted by Thunderbolt again.
Inside the abandoned power plant, Aoki immediately focused on searching for a high-quality Magnemite.
Magnemite could evolve into Magnezone, which was a powerhouse in both offense and defense. If he found one with Elite potential, it would be a huge addition to his team.
But after scanning the area, Aoki sighed.
Most of the Magnemite here were only Gym-tier.
To meet his standards, he needed at least a quasi-Elite potential Pokémon.
Finding an Elite-tier Pokémon here was unlikely—his luck wasn't that good.
He had been fortunate before, finding Pokémon with incredible potential, but he couldn't count on it happening every time.
Still, if he found a quasi-Elite Magnemite, it would be worth training.
After all, his Boss Lairon had once been a quasi-Elite-tier Pokémon, but through rigorous training, it had grown into a Champion-tier powerhouse.
If he could find a Silver Crown, he could push a Magnemite's potential to the Elite level.
Behind him, Tetsuya was carefully scanning the area, clearly hoping to find his own Electric-type Pokémon.
Since he had finally managed to get inside, he didn't want to waste this rare opportunity.
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