"I am, but she isn't..." Noticing the samurai boy's movements, Ash's eyes narrowed slightly, but he quickly remembered the origins of this young man before him. Most importantly, the "katana" at the boy's waist was merely a plastic toy, intimidating in appearance but harmless in reality.

Moreover, this boy was quite naïve; in the anime, he had a bizarre competition with Ash, challenging him to a "Harden" contest between two Metapods in a rare clearing within the forest—an encounter that could only be matched by Ash's level of thinking.

However, Misty was unaware that the sword in the boy's hand was harmless. Seeing him about to draw it, she nervously pulled out a Poké Ball, stepping closer to Ash to prevent any harm.

"Is that so..." The boy's voice deepened, then he suddenly drew his sword, pointing it at Ash with a rising inflection, "That's great!"

"What are you trying to do!?" As Misty was about to throw her Poké Ball to stop him, Ash caught her arm and shook his head slightly, using his finger to pinch the tip of the blade by his nose.

"This isn't a real sword, take a closer look—it's made of plastic." As Ash spoke, he even flicked the side of the sword, causing it to wobble comically in front of them.

"Fake, it's fake...?" Misty stared blankly at the scene, clearly not expecting it to be a fake.

"Of course, it's fake!" At this, the boy sheathed his sword back into its scabbard, slightly surprised at Misty's reaction, "Although I train as a samurai in the forest, I would never use a real sword to scare people. What if someone got hurt?"

"You..." Misty clenched her fists, barely containing her anger, yet unable to articulate her feelings.

"Why are you looking for trainers from Pallet Town... what is your purpose?" Ash patted Misty's hand, then turned to the boy, inquiring about his intentions—essentially asking on behalf of Misty, as Ash already had an idea of what was happening.

"Yesterday, a trainer passed through this forest, and I battled him. I was defeated!" The boy said bitterly, "And he mentioned he was a trainer from Pallet Town!"

"Trainer from Pallet Town?" Misty looked at Ash in mild surprise, suspecting he might know who this trainer was.

"Gary, huh... you lost to him?" Ash nodded slightly; it was undoubtedly Gary who had defeated the boy in front of him.

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Ash hadn't expected Gary to be ahead of him, having started later but moving faster. However, that was to be expected, if not for the Spearow attack on the day they set off, Ash wouldn't have been slower than Gary.

"Indeed, you must be the Ash he mentioned!" The boy's eyes lit up, his fists clenched with excitement, "Come and battle me to determine the victor. If I defeat you, it's as good as having beaten him!"

The boy was indeed very excited; after battling Gary the previous day, Gary's extraordinary skills and proud demeanor had left a deep impression. Before parting, the boy had overheard Gary muttering reluctantly.

From Gary's words, the boy knew that Gary had once lost to a trainer named Ash, who had started his journey at the same time as him. Thus, the boy had taken it upon himself to defeat this Ash.

He hadn't expected to encounter Ash so soon and had even thought it unlikely, but fate had its designs, and here he was, facing the very Ash Gary had mentioned.

"A battle? Of course!" Ash didn't refuse. Although it would delay their travel, gaining battle experience was beneficial, especially since Ash didn't have much experience battling other trainers yet.

"Let's do it!" The boy stepped back, creating a natural battle arena with a distance of over fifty meters between them.

"Misty, I'll leave the refereeing to you," Ash said.

"I've got this!" Misty nodded slightly, familiar with the role of referee. After consulting with Ash and the samurai boy, she established the rules of the battle.

"The rules will be a 2v2 match. Both trainers may switch their Pokémon during the battle. The match will end when one side's Pokémon are both defeated!" Misty stood in the middle, announcing the rules of the battle, then pulled out a coin, letting both sides guess to decide the order of attack.

Misty tossed the coin, with heads representing the young samurai and tails for Ash. After several spins, she caught it firmly and revealed it to be heads.

"I'll take the first move without hesitation!" the samurai boy declared excitedly, tossing his Poké Ball into the fray. "Pinsir, I choose you!"

As a burst of white light materialized in front of the boy, a large, insect-like Pokémon appeared. Pinsir, with its formidable pincers and aggressive stance, looked ready for battle. Its body was robust yet with slender limbs, and it possessed a row of sharp, menacing teeth along its torso.

Pinsir

Type: Bug

Category: Stag Beetle Pokémon

Ability: Hyper Cutter

Hyper Cutter: Prevents the Pokémon's Attack stat from being lowered.

Level: Normal

This was a fairly ordinary Pinsir, with common abilities, but what impressed Ash was its strength, especially considering that even his Pikachu hadn't reached the normal level yet.

"Since that's the case, Pidgey, it's time for your first battle!" Ash responded, releasing his newly captured Pidgey from its Poké Ball.

"Pidgey—!" The bird Pokémon emerged in midair, letting out a sharp cry as it unfurled its wings and circled above.

"Darn, using a Pokémon with a type advantage is so underhanded!" the young samurai protested, feeling the match was unfair, though he overlooked that his Pokémon was inherently stronger.

"Battle—begin!" Misty announced loudly, seeing that both sides were ready.