The night passed without incident.
At dawn the next day, Luo Yuan was up and ready to go.
"Aren't you going to challenge the Viridian Gym?" Misty asked, surprised at Luo Yuan's plan to head straight for Pewter City.
"I heard from someone last night that Gym Leader Giovanni is away on business and not accepting challengers right now," Luo Yuan replied smoothly.
Of course, that was just a cover. He had seen Giovanni last night, and that was no Ditto in disguise.
The real reason was that the Mewtwo project was at a critical stage, and Giovanni was too focused on monitoring its progress to be bothered with rookie challengers.
"Oh, I see… Well then, are we…" Misty began.
"We're going to cut straight through Viridian Forest to get to Pewter City." Luo Yuan drew a direct line on the map.
"Won't that be risky?"
Misty frowned at the path Luo Yuan sketched out, feeling apprehensive.
Aside from her aversion to forests filled with Bug Pokémon, much of Luo Yuan's planned route veered away from the standard trails.
Despite its peaceful-sounding name, Viridian Forest could be treacherous. The outskirts were home to common Pokémon like Spearow flocks, but rumors told of Nidoking and Nidoqueen clans, Rhyhorn herds, and even wild Ursaring from Mt. Silver wandering the deeper woods.
But Luo Yuan gave Misty a reassuring look. "Don't worry. This route only takes us close to the forest center, not deep into the truly dangerous areas."
This knowledge came straight from Rocket intel. Luo Yuan wasn't the type to dive headfirst into trouble. He had no intention of venturing into hazardous areas without full access to Dragapult.
"Got it," Misty nodded, reassured by Luo Yuan's confidence.
"All right, let's get moving. If Silph Co. didn't exaggerate, these bikes should cut our travel time by two-thirds."
"Let's go!" Misty agreed, her nervousness fading.
---
By a lake deep in Viridian Forest...
"Charmander, use Flamethrower!"
Bright flames erupted from Charmander, scorching two Beedrill until they were singed and smoking. The remaining Beedrill, feeling the heat, buzzed away in fear.
"Char!" Charmander strutted, proudly flicking his tail.
Then, a burst of light began to envelop his body.
"Luo Yuan, look at Charmander!" Misty exclaimed, pointing.
"I see it! Finally evolving!" Luo Yuan grinned. After all those battles against wild Pokémon, Charmander's evolution was well within expectations. It was one of the reasons he'd opted for the forest shortcut.
But even so, he couldn't help but think, It's taken longer than I expected.
By his calculations, Charmander should've evolved half a day ago.
Aside from battle experience, Luo Yuan had given Charmander a steady supply of energy cubes to replenish his strength, not to mention the added boost from using a Fire Stone to help absorb fire-type energy.
In short, this evolution was something he had practically poured money into, an upgrade that had cost at least ten times what a typical trainer would spend to evolve their Charmander into Charmeleon.
And yet…
Must be due to that fire affinity ability, Luo Yuan mused.
The principle was clear: if Charmander wanted stronger power, he'd need greater stamina and energy reserves. It was all part of the balance of strength.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, the bright light faded, and a sturdy Charmeleon stood in Charmander's place.
"Roaaar!" Charmeleon's growl was loud and fierce, replacing his previous soft-spoken cries with a deep, powerful voice.
Luo Yuan sized up his newly evolved Charmeleon, noting his bulkier frame—a good third larger than the standard Charmeleon's.
Sharper claws, a deeper red hue, and a tail flame burning even brighter… Charmeleon was a picture of raw power.
"Charmeleon, learned any new moves?" Luo Yuan asked with a grin.
"Char!" Charmeleon answered with a proud roar. He swung his tail toward the lake, gathering flames along its length before whipping it toward the water.
A swirling vortex of fire blossomed over the lake, sizzling as it made the water steam, sending a dense fog across the lake's surface.
"Wow, that Fire Spin is intense…" Misty watched, awe-struck.
Ordinary Fire Spins didn't reach that level of heat. Charmeleon had grown stronger than ever thanks to his fire affinity boost.
"Not bad. Anything else?"
Charmeleon nodded, excitement gleaming in his eyes. He turned back to the lake, ready to showcase his next skill.
But before he could, a deep, menacing roar echoed from the lake's depths.
A massive, blue-scaled form broke the surface, spraying water everywhere.
"A... a Gyarados!" Misty gasped, instinctively stepping back as childhood memories came flooding back. Memories of being trapped inside a Gyarados's maw…
Even Luo Yuan felt his confidence waver a little. "A Gyarados, huh? This could be a bit tricky…"
A Gyarados appearing here was definitely unexpected. A fully evolved Magikarp was no small challenge, especially if it was already in a frenzy.
Judging by its size, this Gyarados was far from weak. With Dragapult off the table for now, Charmeleon and Dratini probably wouldn't stand much of a chance.
Luo Yuan saw three options.
First, they could flee. As fast as Gyarados was in water, its speed on land was limited. With their bikes, outrunning it would be easy. But Luo Yuan wasn't keen on going down in history as a Rocket executive who chickened out of a fight with a mere Gyarados—especially not if Matori heard of it.
The second option was to use Dragapult. But this was a last-resort option he wasn't willing to reveal just yet.
And as for the third...
Luo Yuan's eyes lingered on Charmeleon as an idea popped into his head.
Why not put his newly acquired psychic ability to the test?
He looked back at the hulking Gyarados, flames crackling in Charmeleon's eyes beside him.
A grin spread across his face as he thought, Why not see if we can give that Gyarados a real run for its money?
---
T/N: uhhhh put an emoji here