"Gary—!" At that moment, the girls from Gary's fan club also let out cries of dismay. Their idol, Gary, had lost to someone else, a reality they found hard to accept.

"Typical Ash..." Meanwhile, the other townspeople nodded slightly. Over the years, they had witnessed the rivalry between Ash and Gary, with Ash frequently coming out on top. Thus, they weren't too surprised by this outcome, simply marveling at Ash's natural talent.

"This time... I lost..." Though Gary was reluctant to admit defeat, he wasn't the type to deny it. He acknowledged the loss openly, resolved to simply win the next time.

"This wasn't a fair match..." Ash, allowing Pikachu to return to his shoulder, looked at Gary and shook his head slightly.

"What do you mean?" Gary furrowed his brow, puzzled by Ash's comment.

"Pikachu... it wasn't raised by the League. It was recently captured by the professor and seems to have lived in the wild for quite some time..." Ash explained briefly while gently stroking Pikachu's head, and Pikachu affectionately nuzzled his palm, purring contentedly.

"A Pokémon that has survived in the wild..." Gary pondered this and then shook his head, "No... this was a fair match!"

Pikachu's time in the harsh wilderness had honed its extraordinary agility, which was evident during the battle. However, Gary's Squirtle also had advantages that Pikachu lacked.

Squirtle had undergone formal training, which meant its movements were more refined and its technique application more adept. However, Gary hadn't leveraged Squirtle's strengths effectively during the battle, which led to his loss to Pikachu.

In the end, it wasn't that Squirtle was weaker than Pikachu—after all, both were starter Pokémon. The issue was that Gary hadn't fully utilized Squirtle's capabilities.

"Although I lost this time, next time, the winner will definitely be me!" Gary turned away, no longer facing Ash. He needed to attend to Squirtle and ensure it received proper care after the battle.

"No! Next time, I will be the winner again!" Ash responded with determination, showing he was not about to back down from the challenge.

"Pika pika—!" Pikachu chirped in, signaling its confidence in securing victory once more.

Gary didn't say much more, walking silently back towards the lab. The defeat, far from crushing him, had ignited a flame within him. Though he didn't know when he would next meet Ash, he was certain that he wouldn't lose. He made a silent vow to himself.

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As Gary walked away, his fan club girls wanted to follow him, but they couldn't enter Professor Oak's lab without an invitation. They stood outside, casting angry glances at Ash, while the innocently cute Pikachu received no such hostility.

"Ash! Keep it up! We believe in you, you're going to be a great trainer!" The local residents, seeing that the battle had ended, began to disperse, cheering for Ash as they left.

"I will! I won't let everyone down!" Ash responded with a smile. His ambition wasn't just to become a great trainer; he aimed to reach the unprecedented summit and witness the vast views from the top.

As the crowd thinned out, Ash prepared to head home to pack for his journey but was surprised to find a familiar figure in the crowd.

She wore a gentle smile and carried a green backpack. Noticing Ash spotting her, she waved.

"Mom..." Ash exclaimed, surprised and delighted to see his mother, Delia, unexpectedly appear, "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I was, but the boss let me off early when he heard today was the day you became a trainer," Delia explained with a smile, her eyes then drifting to Pikachu on Ash's shoulder.

"Oh, mom, this is Pikachu, my new friend!" Seeing Delia's interest in Pikachu, Ash immediately brought Pikachu down from his shoulder to introduce them.

"Pika, pika..." Pikachu waved its little paws, greeting Delia.

"Hello, Pikachu. I'm counting on you to look after Ash," Delia said, extending her free hand to gently pat Pikachu's head. Pikachu didn't resist and even let out a comfortable chirp in response.

"Oh, and here is your luggage. I've packed your clothes and some bento for you to eat on the way. I've also prepared some additional food and water..." Delia suddenly remembered her purpose, hurriedly picked up her backpack, unzipped it, and began showing Ash the contents.

"This is...?!" Ash peered into the not-so-large backpack, amazed at how much Delia was pulling out. The items were small inside the backpack but returned to their original size once taken out. He exclaimed in surprise, "A space backpack?!"

"Mhm..." Delia nodded with a smile, repacking the items into the backpack and then handing it over to Ash.

"How... how is this possible?" Ash looked at Delia incredulously. The space backpack, a recent innovation that had caused a sensation upon its release, was not cheap. A backpack capable of holding one cubic meter of material could cost as much as 40,000 Pokémon dollars—the equivalent of two years of Delia's earnings at the ranch without spending on anything else.

"Hmm..." Delia didn't explain further, maintaining her smile. In Ash's eyes, however, he recognized the hardships behind this smile—his mother had sacrificed far too much for him.

"Thank you, Mom..." Ash took the not-so-large but significantly heavy backpack, strapping it on. Though he simply thanked her, his heart was filled with resolute determination.

So much to say, yet a simple thank you didn't seem enough, but he didn't know what else he could say at the moment.

"Take good care of yourself out there. Be careful on the road, make some friends, don't be reckless, and avoid dangers when possible..." Delia knew Ash was about to set off and kept talking, a stream of advice flowing from her. Ash didn't find it annoying; instead, he felt a pang of reluctance to leave.

"Oh, Mom," Ash remembered something important and interrupted Delia to explain about the League's subsidy.

"Really? That's wonderful!" Delia was thrilled to hear about the unexpected bonus, her face lighting up with joy. She was somewhat relieved internally as buying the backpack had nearly depleted her savings; she hadn't mentioned it to avoid worrying Ash.

With this news, Delia felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.