The month-long training plan had been completed in just twenty-five days, much to Liuqing's delight. After giving his Pokémon another day to relax, he said goodbye to Bill and set off for Vermilion City.
After traveling through the forest for almost another week, Liuqing finally arrived in Vermilion City.
At the Pokémon Center, Liuqing handed his six Poké Balls to Nurse Joy, enjoyed a refreshing shower, and had a meal. Then he headed out to see whether any shops sold Fire Stones, only to come back empty-handed. Fortunately, when he called home, his mother, Mili, told him they had a Fire Stone there. Reassured, Liuqing focused on preparing for the next day's challenge.
"Huh? Has the Gym Leader changed?" The next day, inside the Vermilion Gym, Liuqing looked questioningly at the man of about fifty standing across from him, who claimed to be the Gym Leader.
"Ha! You must mean that brat Lt. Surge. He went off traveling and asked me to take over for three years. Oh, by the way, I'm his teacher and the former Gym Leader. Beat me, and this badge is yours!" With that, he held up the Orange Badge.
"I didn't expect you to be Lt. Surge's teacher, but it makes no difference. What are the rules?" Liu Qing asked. He suspected that losing to Ash's Pikachu with his Raichu had made Lt. Surge realize his shortcomings, prompting him to leave on a training journey.
"I can tell this isn't your first Gym battle, so I'll keep it brief. Two against two. The Gym Leader cannot switch Pokémon," the man said seriously.
"Then let the battle begin!" called the referee standing nearby.
"Come out, Magneton!"
"I'm counting on you, Growlithe!"
"Woof, woof!" Looking at the Magneton floating in the air, Growlithe brimmed with fighting spirit.
"Oh, a Fire-type Growlithe. That certainly gives you an advantage against Magneton." Despite his words, the man showed no trace of concern. "Magneton, Metal Sound!"
"Zzzzz!" At the man's command, Magneton began shaking, producing a piercing noise.
"Dig!" The Metal Sound made Liuqing's chest tighten and his stomach churn, but he endured it and shouted his command.
Growlithe reacted swiftly, digging a hole in the ground and diving inside.
"Naive. Do you think that's enough to escape?" the man scoffed. "Magneton, Metal Sound!"
"Ha! You fell for it! Growlithe, Flamethrower!" As soon as Magneton moved above the hole, Liuqing burst out laughing.
"What? No!" The man's expression changed in alarm as a jet of deep red flame shot straight out of the hole. It struck Magneton instantly, driving it up against the roof and pinning it there.
"Growlithe, finish it with Flame Wheel!" Pressing the advantage, a spinning ring of fire shot out of the hole and charged toward Magneton along the path of the Flamethrower.
"Hmph! You think that's enough to win? Magneton, Zap Cannon!" At the man's command, blue electricity erupted all over Magneton's body before gathering in front of it. A massive blue column of electricity blasted toward Growlithe.
Boom! As Growlithe charged upward, its Flame Wheel absorbed the energy of the Flamethrower and swelled to twice its original size. When it collided with Zap Cannon at close range, a deafening explosion tore a skylight through the roof. Growlithe fell with a cry of pain. It struggled to its feet, only for a string of blue sparks to suddenly crackle across its body. Its legs weakened, and it nearly collapsed again. Meanwhile, Magneton slowly dropped back through the hole in the roof and landed on the battlefield, unable to battle.
"So it did hit after all," Liuqing said, letting out a soft breath.
"Not bad, young man. Not bad at all! Ha! I never thought I'd see the day someone tricked me." The man laughed as he recalled Magneton, then his expression turned utterly serious. "Come out, Jolteon!"
"Well done, Growlithe." Liu Qing recalled Growlithe and threw another Poké Ball. "Your turn, Gyarados!"
"Oh? A shiny Pokémon!" the man exclaimed, taking in the golden motes that scattered around Gyarados as it appeared, its deep red coloring, and its enormous body, far larger than others of its kind.
"ROAR!" Gyarados looked at the "tiny" Jolteon across from it and unleashed a thunderous roar, frightening Jolteon into retreating several steps.
"This Gyarados is no ordinary Pokémon." Seeing his longtime partner driven back by a single roar, the man's expression grew more serious than ever.
"Jolteon, don't be afraid! Thunderbolt!" The man knew he needed to end this battle quickly. The longer it dragged on, the greater the psychological pressure on both him and Jolteon would become.
"Hah!" Hearing the command, Jolteon stopped retreating and immediately fired a Thunderbolt, scoring a direct hit on Gyarados.
"Well done!" The man relaxed when the attack connected, but soon realized something was wrong. Based on his opponent's performance in the first round, there was no way he would simply let an attack land without resisting. Gyarados's reaction was also far too strange. Then he caught the faint mocking smile on Liuqing's lips, and his heart lurched. "Jolteon, quick! Double Team!"
"Hmph. You only noticed now? Too late. Aqua Tail!" In a flash, an enormous tail wrapped in swirling water slammed down at Jolteon's head, then swept across every Jolteon on the battlefield, knocking the real one out of the doubles.
"Ice Fang!" Liu Qing believed in pressing an advantage without mercy and immediately launched another attack.
"Jolteon, regain your balance! Pin Missile!" Seeing the long, icy blue fangs suddenly extending from Gyarados's enormous mouth, the man hurriedly shouted his command.
Jolteon quickly adjusted its body in midair. Its needlelike golden fur bristled, making it look more than twice as large, before countless glowing white Pin Missiles shot toward Gyarados. Unfortunately, they bounced off its scales like a light drizzle, doing nothing to slow its charge. Gyarados sank its fangs into Jolteon, which immediately screamed in pain.
"Jolteon! Thunder!" Although Gyarados was not biting it directly with its mouth, the long fangs formed from freezing energy could clearly still conduct electricity. The man swiftly issued his command.
Boom! A thunderclap seemed to erupt out of nowhere as an immensely powerful yellow current burst from Jolteon's body and raced along the icy fangs into Gyarados.
"Thunderbolt!" Liu Qing shouted just as quickly.
"ROAR!" Though Thunderbolt blocked part of the Thunder attack, the remaining power still made Gyarados roar in pain. It flung Jolteon away, but Jolteon deftly flipped through the air and landed in front of the man again.
"So you're using Electric-type moves to protect Gyarados from other Electric-type moves. An excellent method!" The man now understood how Gyarados had defended against the earlier Thunderbolt. Glancing at the panting Jolteon, he called again, "Jolteon, use Thunder once more!"
"Dream on! Gyarados, finish it with Giga Impact!" Seeing that Gyarados showed only slight fatigue after taking an Electric-type attack, Liuqing nodded in satisfaction and gave his command.
"ROAR!" By now, Gyarados was furious. With an enraged roar, it wrapped itself in a rapidly spinning column of pale purple light, broke through layer after layer of Thunder, and struck Jolteon squarely. A tremendous explosion erupted, shaking the entire battlefield as dust and smoke filled the air.
"Jolteon is unable to battle. Liu Qing is the winner." Once the dust cleared, the referee drew a sharp breath at the crater several meters deep, but still announced his decision.
"Come back, Gyarados." With the outcome decided, Liuqing recalled Gyarados.
"Ah, I really am getting old! This badge is yours." After recalling Jolteon, the man walked over to Liuqing and handed him the Orange Badge.
"Thank you!" Liuqing accepted the badge, thanked him, and left the Gym for the Pokémon Center. Only after both Pokémon had fully recovered did he set out again.
After walking for a while, Liuqing reached Vermilion Harbor, not far from Vermilion City. Just as he was about to buy a ticket to Blue Purlieu, however, he noticed that he seemed to be followed. A man and a woman kept appearing nearby. Though they constantly changed their clothes and hairstyles, Liuqing's senses, which had grown several times sharper since his rebirth, still picked them out. Without letting anything show, he continued walking until he entered a forest. Only then did he stop and demand coldly, "Who's there? Come out."
Silence. Utter silence. A vein twitched on Liuqing's forehead, and he threw Exeggutor's Poké Ball. "Exeggutor, Psychic!"
As soon as he finished speaking, brilliant multicolored light spread outward. It quickly caught the two skulking figures and dragged them in front of Liuqing.
"Who are you, and why are you following me?" Liu Qing asked in puzzlement.
"Since you've asked us so sincerely..." The two, who had been sprawled on the ground, sprang up like zombies the moment they heard his question. Pulling away their outer clothes to reveal the outfits underneath, they loudly began reciting their lines.
"Shut up! Team Rocket, why are you following me?" Liu Qing had never expected to find himself in such a ridiculous scene, much less encounter Butch and Cassidy, Team Rocket's two biggest clowns after James and Jessie. His forehead twitched repeatedly as he questioned them coldly.
"Kid, since you know we're Team Rocket, hand over your shiny Gyarados if you know what's good for you. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" Liu Qing's question was accompanied by a thunderous, furious roar from Gyarados.
"Butch, I... why do I suddenly feel so cold?" Cassidy swallowed and whispered to Butch.
"I... me too."
"Do you know my surname?" Suddenly, Liuqing smiled faintly, making the nervous Butch and Cassidy feel as though a warm spring breeze had brushed their faces.
"What's your surname?" Neither of them understood why Liuqing was asking this.
"Heh. My surname is Wave Wind!" Although Liuqing spoke gently, his words left the pair feeling as though they had been plunged into an ice cellar.
"Y-you... you said your surname is Wave Wind? Could you... could you be from Goldenrod City's..." Butch felt close to a breakdown. He suddenly remembered that the boss had told them the eldest son of the Uzumaki family's head would be traveling this year, and warned his subordinates not to provoke him unwittingly. Looking closely now, wasn't this the same person in the photograph the boss had shown them?! Team Rocket was powerful, but it was not foolish enough to confront the Golden Feather family, one of the world's most influential families. His luck was truly rotten this time. All he could do now was hope the boy would say, "I'm not."
"You guessed right." Unfortunately, Liuqing's words crushed his last hope, and he collapsed to the ground alongside Cassidy.
"Hmph. Good thing I managed to scare you off. Otherwise, there'd probably be no end of trouble." For the first time, Liuqing appreciated how useful his family name could be. After having Gyarados send them flying with Aqua Tail, he returned to the harbor, bought a ticket, and boarded an extravagantly luxurious ship.