good chap

Ah, Jessie and James! And I liked Erika's interactions with Ash. It was interesting how in this version she picked up that something was off, but not that Ash was an orphan- or, if she did she didn't say anything

nice

I loved the interactions between Ash and Erica.

good chapter, but Erika's Exeggucute being called omelette is low-key messed up

Ah yes, Ash finally asking for advice from the veteran trainers that he's travelling with... better late than never.

Interesting to see Sabrina following the trail of crumbs that Team Rocket are leaving her, and I like how self-aware Team Rocket are.

I like how Ariana mentioned that they wouldn’t be able to do everything better than the current League. Despite being a criminal, it makes her goals a lot more realistic.

Seeing trainers as a 'warrior cast' is odd but also fitting.
Nice story so far, good work.

good chap

I really love how this story is progressing! I think, if you complete it, it will be talked of in the same sentences as Game of Champions, Sun Soul, and Ashes of the Past.

Surge sure is an asshole lmao. But Ash forgot to ask the most important question! What's the most legal way to siphon electricity for pokémon consumption!?

It felt like this arc dragged a little bit. I had to stop a few chapters ago so I could come back and binge through it. It has been good so far but it felt a bit disjointed or jerky at times to me (which makes sense in complicated situations). I feel that I would have enjoyed this more if this size of confrontation had been a bit later or hadn't introduced so many characters to keep track of.

My feelings are a bit mixed but overall I feel you did a good job and still enjoying reading your stories. Thank you for continuing to write.

Ohh interesting gym battle, I like the combination of battles against both gym trainers and leader. Made for a pretty unique gym challenge. Also, I appreciate how the gym battle is tailored towards the trainer, while you're not going with the interpretation that the gym leader uses certain teams for different levels of trainers, the fact that Ash just needed to prove himself worthy of his badge was sensible.

Also, I found the image of gym leaders posing in the dark while waiting for trainers to enter quite amusing. The fact that there was little to no time between Ash registering and entering the arena meant that Surge and his trainers were just waiting in the dark the whole time.

As always, looking forward to the next chapter.

Very good visit to the Vermilion gym.
Good work, keep it up.

Great chapter! I liked how you had Ash battle three different people instead of just Surge. Sad that Charmander lost, but he probably still has some catching up to do. Brock trying to be casual when he worried about Ash was a nice thing to include and made a lot of sense.