"Isn't Mr. Kaz the gym leader of Saffron?" Ash asked in confusion.
In order to obtain the Saffron Gym badge, Ash challenged twice before passing.
"That's my father, temporarily acting as gym leader for me," Sabrina said.
"Oh, so that's it." Ash didn't expect that such a strong Kaz would only be an acting gym leader, which means that Sabrina in front of him is stronger than Kaz.
Gary always felt that something was wrong with what Sabrina said. When did Kaz become an acting gym leader?
But thinking about it carefully, Sabrina did not resign from the position of Saffron Gym leader. Strictly speaking, Kaz was indeed acting as a gym leader for Sabrina.
"Gary, there is still some time before dinner, let's have a Pokémon battle," Ash said.
Brock and Misty both felt a little abrupt. They came to the hot spring town to relax, not for fighting.
Gary didn't say anything, just looked at Pikachu.
```
[LV30 Pikachu♂/Champion]
```
Ash's Pikachu is only level 30, worthy of being called Pikachu. The upgrade speed is already very fast, but it is still not good enough.
```
[Ding! Issue a task, accept Ash's challenge and defeat him/Reward: Low-level Rare Candy x10, Intermediate Rare Candy x10, Bronze Crown x1.]
```
Gary originally wanted to refuse, intending to put the duel between himself and Ash off for the future.
But the system's task was triggered, so he had to accept it.
The key is that the reward for defeating Ash is not small, with 10 low-level and intermediate Rare Candy each, and a bronze crown, which can improve the potential of Pokémon.
This battle must be accepted.
At the same time, this also indirectly proves that Ash's strength is still good at this stage, stronger than the normal gym leader.
"In this case, let's have a 3-on-3 game, what do you think?" Gary said.
"Okay, I wish for it," Ash agreed immediately without any hesitation.
Misty and Brock are both looking forward to it. After all, Gary is Ash's rival. During the journey, every time Ash contacts Professor Oak, he will ask about Gary's situation.
Moreover, along the way, every gym that Gary challenges has Gary's shadow, and all the gym leaders praise Gary.
Because according to the original plot, Gary obtained ten badges, of which only the Boulder Badge, Cascade Badge, and Rainbow Badge overlap with the badges obtained by Ash, and the remaining seven badges were obtained by Gary in other gyms.
But the badges that Gary has obtained so far, except for the Pure White Badge, the other five badges overlap with Ash's. Every time Ash challenges a gym, he will introduce where he is from.
Those gym leaders who were defeated by Gary naturally mentioned that Gary had challenged their gyms.
...!
Although the hot spring town is a leisure sanctuary, it is the Pokémon world. There are battle venues everywhere, and it is no surprise here in the hot spring town.
Gary and Ash came to the battle site and stood in the command area.
"Let me be the referee." Among the remaining three people, Brock was the only male, and he took the initiative to be the referee.
Gary and Ash had no objection.
"Miss Sabrina, is Gary very strong?" Misty, who was watching the battle, asked.
Although she had met Gary once, it had been so long that Misty didn't know Gary's specific strength. Moreover, she could learn some information about Gary from the gym leaders during the journey.
Misty concluded from this information that Gary was a very strong Trainer.
"He should be very strong. I have never seen Gary lose," Sabrina evaluated Gary's strength realistically.
Misty was shocked.
She knew that Gary and Ash were both rookies. Although Ash was also very strong, he still lost many battles.
In this comparison, Gary was obviously stronger than Ash.
"Now we will have a 3-on-3 match. Please send out your Pokémon," Brock announced.
"Pidgeotto, it's you."
Gary was still thinking about who to start with, but Ash threw out the Poké Ball.
Great!
A heroic Pidgeotto appeared.
```
[LV27 Pidgeotto♂/Quasi-Elite]
```
Gary was shocked. He thought Ash's Pidgeotto only had gym potential, but he didn't expect it to be quasi-elite potential.
He is indeed the child of destiny. The Pidgeotto he captured casually has such high potential.
Gary had been looking for more than a month to capture a Pidgey and Pidgeotto with gym potential, but he didn't encounter one.
The Pidgeotto that Ash encountered randomly had quasi-elite potential, which was really enviable.
"Golbat, it's up to you." Gary threw out the Poké Ball.
Great!
"Da!"
After Golbat came out, he was shocked to see Pidgeotto, but after a closer look, he found that this Pidgeotto was not the one he was familiar with, so he didn't have much to worry about.
"Golbat...?" Ash didn't know much about Pokémon at the moment, so he immediately took out the Pokédex and aimed at Golbat.
"Golbat, a bat Pokémon, Poison + Flying Type, the evolution of Zubat. Golbat has sharp teeth, and biting a rival will absorb 300cc of blood in the future."
Hearing the introduction of the Pokédex, Ash immediately thought: "Poison + Flying Type, Attribute is not restrained."
"Ash, since you sent out the Pokémon first, I'll give you the first attack," Gary said confidently.
"Okay, Pidgeotto, use Quick Attack." Ash didn't hesitate and gave the order directly.
"Compete!"
Pidgeotto's Dual Wingbeat beat, pulling out a white light, and rushed towards Golbat quickly. Although there was a Quick Attack to accelerate, Pidgeotto's speed was not very fast in Golbat's eyes, and he could handle it completely.
"Cross Poison!" Gary said slowly.
"Da!"
Golbat's Dual Wingbeat was covered with a layer of venom, and Dual Wingbeat moved forward to resist. Bang! After the two sides collided and bounced off, Golbat swung Dual Wingbeat, and the wind blade formed by the wind element chased Pidgeotto.
"Gust!"
Hearing the sound, Pidgeotto flapped his wings, and the gust of wind blew past, trying to Whirlwind Air Cutter, but Pidgeotto obviously overestimated his Gust, and Air Cutter passed through the gust of wind and fell on Pidgeotto.
"What!"
Ash was shocked. He didn't expect that he would lose in the skill battle.
"Cross Poison!"
Swoosh!!
Golbat turned into a blue phantom and rushed towards Pidgeotto quickly. Pidgeotto didn't have time to react and was approached by Golbat.
The bat wings turned into poison blades, flashed past, and slapped him away. Pidgeotto screamed in pain and fell towards the ground.
"Beat!"
Bang!!
Pidgeotto fell to the ground, his face suddenly turning blue.
"Pidgeotto, what's wrong with you?" Ash also noticed that Pidgeotto's face looked strange, and he didn't know what happened.
"Ash, Pidgeotto is poisoned," Misty reminded.
"What! How could he be poisoned?" Ash asked in confusion.