Professor Sakuragi let out a quiet sigh and nodded gravely.
"Ash is right. Lt. Surge's philosophy is… a bit too extreme."
"Come on. I'll talk to him."
He gestured for them to follow him deeper into the lab.
In a sense, Sakuragi and Lt. Surge were peers.
He absolutely had the standing to speak to a Gym Leader on equal terms.
Goh watched their backs as they walked away—especially Ash, who didn't spare him a second glance.
His hands curled into fists, anger and insecurity simmering just below the surface.
Pallet Town's Ash… he thought darkly. I'm the one who's supposed to be the superior Trainer here.
Up front, Ash's focus was completely on Sakuragi again.
As for Goh… as Misty would say, he was just another "common, can't-measure-their-own-height rookie."
Then—
A spark.
…Maybe I should introduce Beast Tamer Ming to Professor Sakuragi?
Now that sounded promising.
Rather than let this "Dog Goh" be the one Sakuragi nurtured, why not put someone serious and hardworking like Ming in front of him?
"Professor," Ash said at just the right moment, voice earnest. "On the way here, we met a local Vermilion Trainer."
"His name's Ming—calls himself 'Beast Tamer Ming.' "
"Oh?" Sakuragi's steps slowed slightly, interest flaring in his eyes.
"He only uses a Sandshrew, but with solid training and a clever strategy, he managed a hundred straight wins in the wild," Ash continued, emphasizing key points. "He's really talented, trains seriously, and has a strong will."
"I think he's a Trainer with both potential and ideas—he just lacks a proper platform and guidance."
Ash couldn't personally offer the kid much more than encouragement, but saying a few words here?
That, he could do.
Sakuragi listened, thoughtful, then nodded.
"Born and raised in Vermilion, talented and hardworking… yes, someone like that is definitely worth paying attention to."
"Thank you for telling me, Ash."
"I'll keep an eye out for this 'Beast Tamer Ming.' "
He really hadn't had the bandwidth yet to go hunting for promising rookies, but if someone like that was being recommended by Oak's chosen Trainer, he certainly wasn't going to ignore it.
After all, the Sakuragi Lab was still new.
He had plenty of fighting spirit, but human stamina had limits.
As for why Goh had been his "pick" so far?
Simple: he'd needed to name someone, but had no time to scout.
And Goh happened to be Koharu's friend.
So he'd just… gone with that.
If a better candidate appeared later?
He could always change his mind.
Pokémon Professors had a lot of freedom and authority in that regard.
This entire exchange, Goh heard word for word as he trailed behind them, ears practically pricked.
His face went rigid, then ugly.
Pallet Town's golden boy hadn't just stolen the Professor's attention—
Now he was recommending someone else to take opportunities that should've been Goh's?
He couldn't openly object.
Sakuragi's choices weren't something he could influence.
All he could do was swallow the anger and stomp along at the back, seething.
In the inner office, Sakuragi opened a comms channel to the Vermilion Gym.
The big screen lit up, showing Lt. Surge's spiky blond hair, tanned skin, and trademark feral grin.
"Yo!"
"Sakuragi!"
"Didn't expect you to call. What's up?"
"Don't tell me your research finally needs a strong Gym Leader like me to help with field testing?"
"Hahahaha!"
His voice boomed like rolling thunder.
He genuinely hadn't expected a call from Sakuragi.
But he wasn't displeased in the slightest.
They technically stood in different "factions"—Gym Trainers vs scholars.
But both of them were core figures of Vermilion City.
As long as Vermilion prospered, it was good for both.
In practice, the two of them were among the four people who actually held real, practical power in the city.
The other two?
Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny.
It might surprise some people, but that was the truth.
The "mayor," the supposed head of the city, didn't have nearly as much pull day-to-day.
Sakuragi chuckled.
"If that day comes, you'll be the first person I call."
"But this time, I'm calling for something else."
"I just heard a lot of complaints from Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center."
"Injured Trainers and Pokémon from Gym challenges have skyrocketed lately."
"She's under an enormous amount of pressure."
"She might not feel comfortable telling you directly, so I thought it'd be better for me to bring it up."
Nice, neutral reason.
Men talking to men; same generation, same city.
Easier to hash things out.
"Hahahaha!" Surge didn't look apologetic at all. If anything, he was amused.
"Can't be helped, Professor!"
"All I've been getting lately are a bunch of jelly-legged weaklings!"
"They can't even take one-tenth of Raichu's power. It's boring as hell, so I might've… y'know… gotten a bit serious."
He waved a hand, as if to shoo the subject away.
"All right, all right. If Nurse Joy's complaining, I'll pay a little more attention."
The Joy family had serious clout in the League.
They staffed Centers across multiple regions.
Same with the Jenny family.
You didn't casually pick fights with them.
Right then, Surge's eyes narrowed slightly.
He'd spotted the kids standing just behind Sakuragi.
His gaze locked onto Ash, then slid up to the Pikachu on his shoulder.
That grin of his sharpened, turning predatory.
To be honest, all this recent carnage at the Gym?
He'd been working up to this kid.
He couldn't exactly publicly single Ash out and say "I'm only going all-out on you."
But if he hammered every rookie who came through for a while…
Well, then when Ash showed up, it would look perfectly fair, wouldn't it?
He had zero desire to wake up some night with a shadow over his bed and Oak wearing a mask, calmly beating him into the floor.
Would he deserve it?
Absolutely.
Would he dare complain?
Absolutely not.
Surge might look like a blunt-force thug.
He wasn't stupid.
"Hey, kid!" he suddenly barked, pointing right through the screen at Ash. "You're that Pallet brat Bill mentioned, right?"
"The one who looked a giant Dragonite in the eye and didn't piss himself?"
Ash met his stare head-on, not backing down an inch.
"That's me."
"Interesting." Surge licked his lips, like a predator spotting a new kind of prey.
"Luck and guts aren't enough."
"I'll be waiting for you at Vermilion Gym."
He paused, then added, voice dripping with challenge but also carrying a clear promise:
"Come show me what you've got."
"If you manage to satisfy me…"
He flicked a glance at Sakuragi.
"Then I'll stop doing that thing the Professor's worried about."
"How's that sound?"
In one move, he'd dumped both the pressure and the responsibility on Ash's shoulders.
Playing mind games with a rookie was a bit low, sure.
But from a soldier's perspective, the battlefield rewarded results.
The dirtier the trick, the better—so long as you won.
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