Future Pokémon Master

The battle between Metal Claw and Scratch remained at a stalemate, and neither side seemed able to gain an advantage. Giovanni observed the situation and couldn't help but praise, "Your Riolu is really impressive, with very fast speed, and it seems to be able to use the power of Aura, allowing it to contend with my Persian despite the significant level difference. But this is not the limit of Persian; the level gap is still too big."

After saying this, Giovanni ordered Persian to use Double Team. Suddenly, many Persian clones appeared on the field, each looking as real as the next. This move caught Ethan off guard. He panicked for a moment and even forgot to give Riolu a command. It was this moment of hesitation that Giovanni seized. Giovanni shouted to Persian, "Maintain the Double Team and use Slash!"

Facing the Persians rushing from all directions, Ethan was in a dilemma. He had no idea how to command Riolu to fight. Which attack should he defend against to avoid getting Riolu hurt? Ethan was uncertain, but Riolu took action. Riolu launched its Metal Claw towards the Persian closest to it.

When Metal Claw and Slash collided, the other Persian clones dissipated one by one. Riolu had accurately hit the real Persian, which surprised not only Giovanni but also Ethan. However, in the clash between Metal Claw and Slash, Riolu still lost. Riolu was knocked down by Persian.

Looking at Riolu on the ground, Ethan knew he had lost, and lost completely. He quickly ran to where Riolu had fallen, helped it up, and returned it to the Poké Ball.

"Little guy, your Riolu is really good. It can already use a certain amount of Aura power. As long as it continues to grow, it will surpass my Persian sooner or later. However, there's something I care about! There's no need for verbal commands between you and Riolu. Can you also use the power of Aura? Are you an Aura Guardian?"

Ethan never thought Giovanni would guess he could use the power of Aura through the battle just now. He truly is the boss of Team Rocket, with knowledge beyond the ordinary.

"I can only use the power of Aura with Riolu's help. I can't be considered an Aura Guardian!"

"You are indeed an Aura User. I admire your abilities. Do you want to join my Team Rocket? Our Team Rocket has the richest resources in the entire Kanto region, and we also have many powerful Pokémon. As long as you join us, you can choose from these Pokémon!"

What? Giovanni actually invited him to join Team Rocket! The team that seeks to control the world invited him! If Ethan hadn't learned how to use Aura, if he hadn't felt the emotions of Pokémon through Aura, perhaps he would have agreed to join Team Rocket. After all, spending every day searching for rare Pokémon and battling to capture them doesn't sound bad! But now that he has learned how to use Aura, he can feel the emotions of Pokémon. He knows that many Pokémon yearn for freedom, and forcibly capturing them won't make them happy. So, Ethan chose to reject Giovanni.

"Thanks for the invitation! But Team Rocket isn't for me!"

"You don't have to be so hasty to reject me! Here is a communication device with my contact information. If one day you want to join Team Rocket, you're always welcome to contact me!"

Giovanni wasn't surprised at all when he heard Ethan's refusal. How could talents be recruited so easily? Leaving contact information might be useful in the future. With this in mind, Giovanni tossed the communication device to Ethan.

Ethan, who originally didn't want to accept the communication device, had to catch it as Giovanni threw it directly into his arms and then left in style. After Ethan took the communication device, the system's voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "Congratulations to player Ethan for unlocking the 'communication' function, which can be used to contact other players and NPCs."

This can activate system functions? Was everything just now part of the game plot? But the game actually invites players to join the villains? No wonder the press conference said that in this "Pokémon World" game, you can become any character you want. So if I want to be the boss of Team Rocket, can I do it?

After pondering for a while, Ethan entered the Pokémon Center in Viridian City. He asked Nurse Joy to treat the injured Riolu and then registered for a room at the Pokémon Center, intending to rest for the night before continuing his journey.

That night, Ethan asked Riolu about the previous battle with Persian. How did Riolu determine that the Persian in the front was the real one? Riolu explained to Ethan through Aura.

"Initially, Persian used its Double Team to give the illusion that they were all real entities, but the Aura energy of the clones is less than that of the real body. So I used Metal Claw on the Persian with the most Aura energy."

It was not until this moment that Ethan realized it was because of the Aura that Riolu could see through the Double Team. But he had also used Riolu's Aura energy during the battle, so why couldn't he recognize it?

Riolu explained that Ethan had only managed to mobilize a little bit of Aura power so far, and he still lacked the ability to use Aura power effectively during a battle, so he failed to accurately notice this problem. This time, Ethan finally realized that as an Aura Apprentice, he was still just an apprentice. His use of Aura power was still too rough. For this reason, Ethan decided to learn how to use Aura power from Riolu every day.

Although Ethan had no intention of challenging the league for the time being, he was still very curious about what the gym looked like. Would he have to go through several tests to challenge the gym? So, he went to the Viridian Gym. The result! The gym leader was out, and the gym was temporarily closed. When Ethan saw the closure notice, he remembered that the gym leader was Giovanni, and it was closed for a long time.

With the gym visit canceled, Ethan had no more places in Viridian City worth visiting, so he set off on his journey again. Leaving Viridian City, Ethan entered Viridian Forest, a forest with lush trees and many untrimmed branches that blocked the light. The dim environment and maze-like route left Ethan completely lost in the forest.