Pokemon: The Master Of Monsters

"How do you like my swimsuit?" Sabrina asked, maintaining her cool demeanor, but her shy tone revealed a hint of pride.

"Very good! Comparable to an international supermodel," Gary praised her.

Satisfied with the compliment, Sabrina turned and walked towards the hot spring passage, and Gary followed her.

By the time they reached the open-air hot spring, Ash and the others were already soaking in it.

"Wow! Beautiful girl!"

"She is really beautiful."

Brock and Ash were instantly captivated by Sabrina's beauty.

"You two should behave properly and not disturb others," Misty warned them.

Though Ash was the backbone of the group, Misty was the one in charge of managing the situation.

"Ash, how's the water temperature?" Gary asked.

"Not bad, it's very comfortable to soak," Ash replied.

"Pikachu~!" Pikachu chirped in agreement.

Gary tested the water and found it to be just right. He decided to join them in the hot spring, and Sabrina walked over to Misty's side to bathe together.

"It's so comfortable. I haven't soaked in a hot spring for a long time," Sabrina said.

As Gary immersed himself in the water, he immediately felt warmth spread throughout his body. The fatigue from their recent travels faded quickly. Unlike hot springs in Gary's previous life, which offered only temporary relief, the hot springs in this world were significantly more effective in restoring energy.

"Gary, which city are you heading to next?" Ash asked casually.

"Fuchsia City. I'm planning to visit the Safari Zone there," Gary responded.

"Oh, we're heading to Fuchsia City too. Do you want to go together?" Misty asked.

"Do you have mountain bikes?" Gary inquired.

While Gary and Sabrina had mountain bikes, Ash and his friends typically walked, which took a lot more time.

"No, we all walk," Ash admitted.

"Too slow, you waste a lot of time on the road. It will delay your progress in training your Pokémon," Gary observed.

"Uh...!" Ash was speechless. He did walk slowly, and every time they arrived in a new city, he spent time training before moving on.

"In that case, let's see who can get the Fuchsia Gym Badge first," Ash suggested with a competitive grin.

"No fun," Gary replied, uninterested in Ash's challenge. He could tell that Ash wanted to get back at him for losing earlier, but it didn't seem like a meaningful competition. After all, Koga, the gym leader of Fuchsia Gym, wasn't a particularly strong opponent.

Gary knew that while Koga would eventually become a member of the Elite Four in the Johto Region, he was still quite relaxed as a gym leader. Koga had set up his gym in the wild, deliberately hiding it under the shade of trees to avoid Trainers from finding it easily. Even if Ash managed to locate the gym, Koga would only send out a couple of weaker Pokémon to battle, which Ash's Charmander could easily defeat.

Misty's Psyduck had also helped them previously by driving away Team Rocket, so even if Ash lost, Koga would likely just hand over the gym badge out of gratitude. In fact, Ash had earned half of his eight badges simply because the gym leaders gave them to him or allowed him to win without much resistance.

"Gu Ba," a familiar voice suddenly interrupted the conversation.

A yellow duck waddled into the hot spring.

"Hey! Why did you come out again?" Misty groaned upon seeing her Psyduck.

Gary and the others turned their attention to Psyduck, who was now sitting by the edge of the hot spring.

[LV30 Psyduck♂/Champion]

Gary was taken aback when he saw Psyduck's potential. He had known that Misty's Psyduck had great potential, but he hadn't expected it to be so impressive. Its potential was even labeled as Champion, a rare and powerful level.

Gary had yet to encounter any wild Pokémon with Elite potential on his travels, but Ash seemed to have the ability to find high-potential Pokémon everywhere, even those he had abandoned or given away. This Psyduck was a perfect example. If Ash hadn't given it to Misty, he probably would have captured it for himself.

The whole group seemed to be full of surprises, with all the Pokémon they had abandoned turning out to be highly promising.

"Gu ba," Psyduck tilted its head and waddled over to Misty before leaping into the hot spring with a look of sheer bliss on its face.

"You really know how to enjoy yourself," Misty muttered with a hint of frustration. Since Misty had tamed Psyduck, it had given her nothing but headaches. She had tried training it, but Psyduck had proven to be almost impossible to train.

After a while of unsuccessful training attempts, Misty had given up on trying to train Psyduck and decided to treat it more as a pet. But even then, Psyduck would often run out of its Poké Ball at the least expected moments.

"Misty, your Psyduck has good potential," Gary remarked, still observing the duck with a thoughtful look. "If you raise it properly, it will become a great fighter under your command."

"Good potential?" Misty looked at Gary with skepticism. She had been trying to train Psyduck for some time, but it hadn't demonstrated any special moves or abilities.

"Gu Gua! Gu Gua!" Psyduck suddenly paddled into a deeper part of the hot spring and began flapping its wings uncontrollably.

"What's wrong with Psyduck?" Ash asked, his confusion growing.

"Oh my God, can't you even swim?" Misty, who was a water-type Pokémon trainer, quickly noticed the issue. She hurried over and cradled Psyduck in her arms to stop it from flailing.

"Gu Gua."

Once held steady, Psyduck seemed to relax, its discomfort easing.

"Gary, is this what you mean by good potential?" Ash asked, looking at Psyduck in disbelief. He couldn't see where the potential was, especially after seeing it struggle to even swim properly. After hearing Gary's earlier assessment, Ash had hoped for a more impressive display of power, but now he wondered if Gary had misjudged it.

Despite their competitive relationship, Ash trusted Gary's judgment, especially since they had been friends and rivals since childhood. Gary had often helped Ash learn about Pokémon, but it seemed that all of Gary's teachings hadn't made much of an impact on Ash yet.

"Misty, don't you dream of becoming the world's most powerful water-type Pokémon master? Psyduck is a pure water Pokémon. Surely you know its true potential?" Gary asked, raising an eyebrow as he gave Misty a pointed look.

It seemed like there was more to Psyduck than met the eye, and Gary was waiting for Misty to realize it too.