Lavender Town was a small town under Saffron City's jurisdiction, very close to Goldenrod City. After arriving in Goldenrod City, Liu Qing headed straight to the Saffron Gym to challenge Sabrina.
"Hello, I'm Liu Qing from Saffron City. I'm here for a Gym battle," Liu Qing said as he stepped onto the battlefield.
"So it's you?" At the sound of her voice, Sabrina floated out from behind a curtain and onto the battlefield. "The battle will be one-on-one. Whoever's Pokémon can no longer battle loses."
"Understood." Liu Qing nodded.
"All right, then. Go, Alakazam." Sabrina threw a Poké Ball.
Oh, it's already evolved into its final form. Slightly surprised, Liu Qing took out a Dusk Ball and threw it. "Haunter, I'm counting on you for this battle."
"Alakazam, use Confusion." As Sabrina spoke, her eyes turned red, and the same thing happened to Alakazam. A blue pulse radiated from Alakazam's body. This was Sabrina's special way of battling.
"Haunter, Shadow Ball." Faced with the incoming Confusion, Haunter acted without hesitation, launching a Shadow Ball. With a boom, it slammed into Alakazam, making Alakazam grimace in pain and interrupting Confusion.
"Alakazam, Recover." At Sabrina's command, a dazzling yellow light rose from Alakazam's body, and the injuries healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"Recover, huh? What a troublesome move," Liu Qing said with a slight frown.
"Alakazam, Psybeam!" Sabrina once again controlled Alakazam to unleash a move. Alakazam twirled the spoons in both hands and fired two multicolored beams.
"Dark Pulse!" At Liu Qing's command, Haunter brought both hands together and fired a black-and-purple wave of light from the palms. When it collided with Psybeam, there was no sound. Instead, Psybeam swiftly vanished as though it had been devoured, while Dark Pulse completely engulfed Alakazam. It was super effective, and Alakazam immediately let out an agonized scream.
"Teleport! Use Recover again." The red glow in Sabrina's eyes intensified as she spoke. In an instant, Alakazam escaped the range of Dark Pulse, and the injuries began healing again.
"Hmph. Did you think I'd let you use the same trick twice?" Liu Qing snorted. "Hypnosis!"
"Heh heh!" Haunter let out an eerie laugh, brought both hands together again, and raised a red ball of light. Countless red beams shot toward Alakazam, putting Alakazam to sleep in the middle of using Recover.
"Alakazam, wake up." The red light in Sabrina's eyes flared, though her voice remained flat.
"Haunter, finish it with Dark Pulse!" Although Sabrina forcibly awakened Alakazam, Dark Pulse struck again. Alakazam's face twisted in pain, and with a scream, Alakazam lost the ability to battle.
"You win. The Golden Badge is yours." Under Sabrina's control, the Golden Badge floated into Liu Qing's hand. After thanking her, Liu Qing recalled Haunter and left the Saffron Gym, heading toward the outskirts and the home he had been away from for several months.
"Oh, my son, I finally get to see you again! Look at you—you're so much thinner than when you were at home." Inside the estate, Mili looked at Liu Qing with reddened eyes, her voice choked with emotion.
"Mom, I may be a little thinner, but I'm much healthier than before." Liu Qing took his badge case out of his travel bag and opened it. "And look, Mom. I've already earned four badges."
"That's my son! You're amazing!" Mili was clearly delighted by the four badges in his hands. Then she took his hand and led him toward the breeding grounds. "Let your Pokémon out so I can have a look."
"Sure. You're a top-class breeder, Mom, so this is a perfect chance for you to give me an assessment." Looking at the breeding grounds, which resembled the Safari Zone, Liu Qing couldn't help marveling at how wealthy his family was. He released all seven of his Pokémon and introduced his mother to them.
"Shelgon, Scyther, Haunter, Growlithe, Exeggutor, the shiny Gyarados from that video you showed me last time, and Chansey. My, my, just look at their presence, the sheen of their coats, and their physiques. Son, can you tell me how you raised them? Even with my trained eye, I can't find a single fault." Mili's eyes shone as she studied the seven Pokémon, clicking her tongue in admiration. "And the Fire Stone you asked for last time was for Growlithe, wasn't it? It really is the ideal time for evolution."
"Heh heh, you're right, Liu Qing's mother. This little pup has reached the perfect time to evolve." Just as Mili finished speaking, an eerie voice suddenly rang out.
"Who? Who's speaking?" An inexplicable shiver ran through Mili at those words.
"Mom, it's my Haunter. Haunter has lived so long that talking became possible," Liu Qing hurriedly explained.
"What? What did you say? Aside from Pokémon that can communicate telepathically with humans, there are also ones that can speak aloud?" Mili fixed her eyes on Haunter. "Say something else. Let me hear you say another sentence!"
Even Haunter, a Ghost-type Pokémon, couldn't help feeling a chill at that moment. "W-what do you want me to say?"
"Ah, it's true! You really can talk!" Mili cried out in surprise, startling Haunter into immediately vanishing from sight and hiding somewhere unknown.
"Uh, go play, everyone." Seeing that Haunter had already left, Liu Qing let the remaining six Pokémon go off and rest on their own. Then he led the still-excited Mili back to the Pokémon Day Care and asked, "Mom, where's my little brother? I haven't seen him since I got back."
"Oh, that boy went to the company with your father for fun. But I've already sent someone to let them know, so they should be back soon," Mili said. She took an exquisite box from a cabinet in the Pokémon Day Care and handed it to Liu Qing. "Son, the Fire Stone is in here."
"Thanks, Mom!" Liu Qing accepted the box and opened it. Sure enough, a fiery-red stone lay inside, looking like a burning flame.
"Silly boy. There's no need to be so polite with your mother." Mili stroked Liu Qing's head.
"Mom, big brother, you really are here! Father came back with me too. He's waiting in the living room." Just then, Liu Qing's younger brother, Liu Yuan, ran in.
"All right. Let's go." Mili nodded, stood up, and headed outside, with the two brothers following behind her.
"Big brother, I heard you've already earned three badges. Is that true?" Liu Yuan asked curiously along the way.
"Not quite. I challenged the Saffron Gym before coming home, so I have four badges now." Smiling, Liu Qing took out his badge case and opened it for Liu Yuan to see.
"Wow, you're amazing, big brother!" Liu Yuan praised him, then paused. "Big brother, what Pokémon did you catch along the way?"
"Besides Chansey and the now-evolved Shelgon that I took from home, and the now-evolved Exeggutor I got from Professor Oak, I also caught four others: Gyarados, Scyther, Growlithe, and Haunter."
"That Gyarados is the one from the video you sent back last time, right?" Liu Yuan asked, his eyes shining. "That scene was incredible. I still remember how Gyarados looked after evolving, like a ruler reigning over the whole world. Seeing it in person must have left an even deeper impression on you, right, big brother?"
"Yes, you're right. It really was a spectacular sight." As Liu Qing spoke, he felt as though he had returned to that moment, and a faint smile rose to his lips.
Soon, they all arrived in the living room. Bofeng Yu was clearly delighted to see Liu Qing too. Smiling warmly, he asked Liu Qing to tell him about his experiences, and Liu Qing talked on and on.
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