At this moment, Kiyomi Tsugumi stood at the entrance of the Vermilion City Gym, one hand pushing open the blue double doors decorated with jagged lightning bolts.
As soon as he stepped inside, he was greeted by the sight of a man and a woman standing near the entrance—a hot-tempered girl with long, wavy dark-orange hair and a buzz-cut guy with a nasty scowl.
"Hello, I'm here to challenge the gym," Kiyomi said politely, despite the buzzcut guy's thug-like appearance.
"Yo, Master! Someone wants to challenge the gym!" the buzzcut man shouted, turning toward a shadowy corner of the building.
A calm "Oh?" echoed from the darkness.
A tall figure slowly stepped out from the shadows. As the man came closer, his imposing presence filled the room. Blonde hair, a rugged face, and a height approaching three meters—he wore a brown trench coat stretched tightly over bulging muscles.
"Oh, another little rookie?" the man scoffed, his voice thick with condescension as he looked down at Kiyomi Tsugumi.
But Kiyomi didn't take offense. He simply nodded and introduced himself calmly.
"Hello. I'm Kiyomi Tsugumi from Pallet Town. I'm here to challenge the Vermilion Gym."
"Hmph… baby's got guts," the man chuckled. "I like that. Come with me."
They soon stood at opposite ends of a raised battlefield. The gym leader—Lt. Surge, or Ma Zhishi, as he was locally known—grinned with a spark of excitement in his eyes.
"Then let's begin. Baby, meet my partner—Raichu!"
Raichu appeared with a flash of light—an electric rodent, dark orange in color, with a white belly and long, black tail tipped with a yellow lightning bolt. Its round paws had no fingers, but it radiated power. Yellow electric sacs glowed on its cheeks, and its brown-striped back rippled with tension.
"Then I'll use this guy. Come out—Yan!" Kiyomi tossed his Poké Ball, and his Charmeleon emerged in a flash of fire.
"Raichu, start us off—Thunder Shock!" Lt. Surge commanded.
A slender bolt of electricity sparked out from Raichu's cheeks, shooting straight toward Charmeleon.
"Ember!" Kiyomi countered.
Charmeleon opened its mouth and fired glowing sparks into the air. They expanded midair into fist-sized fireballs, colliding with the Thunder Shock and creating a loud explosion.
Charmeleon, always fond of close combat, darted forward with a fiery glare. Alloy claws extended, it charged at Raichu head-on.
"Body Slam!" Surge shouted.
Raichu's long tail crackled with electricity as it lashed forward. The impact slammed into Charmeleon's charge. The clash ignited another fierce round of battle.
Raichu's tail moved like a whip, unpredictable and relentless. But Charmeleon was no pushover. With its Alloy Claw, the defensive strength of its arms increased significantly. It blocked tail strikes one after another and waited for the chance to counter.
The two Pokémon danced across the battlefield, their moves refined by countless battles. Tail Whips met burning steel claws, producing sharp slashes and clanging echoes.
Lt. Surge narrowed his eyes. Raichu's attacks weren't landing decisively. Charmeleon couldn't break through either—but Raichu was spending a lot of energy.
"Time to end this—Seismic Slam!"
Raichu leapt back and then up—high into the air. At the peak of its jump, a translucent white energy gathered around its lower body. Then it dropped.
Fast.
Too fast.
It plummeted like a bolt of lightning. Charmeleon had no way to dodge—it could only brace.
Crossing its arms above its head, it took the hit.
Raichu's compact body hit like a meteor. Charmeleon buckled, falling to one knee, the force cracking the ground and forming shallow craters beneath its feet. Its arms trembled under the pressure, pain shooting through every muscle—but it held on.
With a shout, Charmeleon stood back up and pushed forward.
"Now—Thunderbolt, full power!" Surge wasn't done.
Raichu, still mid-air, erupted with dazzling bolts of electricity. Each strand of lightning was thicker than Kiyomi's arm, crackling with terrifying power. As it tore across the field, it scorched the very air around it.
"Flame Fist! Spin!" Kiyomi barked.
Charmeleon stretched both arms out, and blazing flames burst from its wrists. The fire wrapped around its arms like coiling serpents. Then—it began to spin.
The spinning grew faster. The fire twisted upward into a crimson flame tornado. At that moment, Thunderbolt hit.
Lightning and fire clashed midair.
The gym rumbled with the energy collision, crackling and roaring until it finally died down. The flame vortex was torn apart, but Charmeleon still stood—breathing heavily, exhausted, but unbroken.
"Well done, kid," Lt. Surge admitted. "Didn't expect you to block my Thunderbolt like that. But this next move will decide everything."
He pointed dramatically at the battlefield. "Raichu—Million-Ton Punch!"
Kiyomi didn't flinch.
"Blue Flame Punch!" he called out.
Yes. You read that right.
While on his way to Vermilion City, Kiyomi had mastered this technique—just barely. After reaching Level 4 flame control, Charmeleon's usual red flames shifted to a fierce light blue, drastically increasing their power.
So why hadn't he used it earlier? Simple—he was saving it for a comeback moment.
And now was that moment.
Charmeleon and Raichu charged toward one another, each winding up for their final strike.
Raichu's tiny fist glowed white-hot, shrinking inward as the energy condensed—looking soft, but pulsing with catastrophic force.
Meanwhile, Charmeleon's Alloy Claw burned bright, the blue flame licking around it unnaturally, almost wickedly. The claws shimmered red-hot, threatening to melt through anything.
Kiyomi held his breath.
Lt. Surge's eyes widened.
Charmeleon's blue flame swirled with chaos. Raichu's white punch pulsed with precision.
The final clash was inevitable.
The moment their fists collided—
BOOM.
What happened next?
Hahaha… You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out!