Sunlight scattered across the winding path as Ash and Misty finally arrived in Pewter City.
“So this is Pewter City.” Misty lifted her head slightly and looked at the city before them.
“Yeah, we finally made it.” Ash let out a long breath and stretched.
“Hey, young man, you’re stepping on my merchandise!” Just then, a squinty-eyed middle-aged man called out to Ash, who was standing on some stones.
“Huh?
Sorry about that, sir.” Ash finally realized what was going on.
He quickly jumped down from the stones with Misty and apologized.
“If you’re looking for stones to use for pickles, I’m afraid that’s probably impossible,” the man said on his own.
“We’re not,” Ash said helplessly, shaking his head.
He had no real interest in finding stones for pickling.
He had only wanted to see whether there was anything special among them.
Misty frowned slightly and looked over the stones at the stall in confusion.
Tilting her head, she said, “Aren’t these just ordinary stones?
They don’t look special at all.”
She really could not understand why anyone would be interested in these plain-looking rocks.
The man explained, “Pewter means gray, the color of stone.
This city has always been famous for stones.”
“But, sir, your business doesn’t seem very good.
You haven’t sold a single one,” Misty said bluntly.
“Uh…” The man’s expression froze, making him look extremely embarrassed.
Just then, Ash’s gaze was suddenly drawn to an inconspicuous stone in the corner.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and sensed a different kind of Aura within the stone.
Using his psychic power, he looked through it.
His eyes instantly widened, and wild joy surged in his heart.
Inside it was actually a raw Evolution Keystone!
“Sir, how much is this stone?” Ash forced down his excitement and tried to make his voice sound calm.
“Oh, that one?
Five hundred,” the man said casually after glancing at the stone Ash was pointing at.
“All right, I’ll take it.” Ash did not hesitate at all and readily took out the money to pay him.
“Ash, what are you doing?
Why buy a rock like that?” Misty looked at Ash in complete confusion.
She really could not understand why he would waste money on a stone that looked utterly worthless.
Ash only gave a mysterious smile and winked.
“I’ll tell you later.”
He held the stone in his hand.
Misty shook her head helplessly.
Although she did not understand what Ash was thinking, she still chose to trust him.
“So, are you going to challenge the Pewter Gym now?” Misty looked up at Ash and asked. Get faster updates on g.com.
“Yeah,” Ash answered without hesitation.
“You’re going to challenge the Pewter Gym?” The man nearby heard their conversation and asked.
Ash turned his head and looked directly at him.
“That’s right.
Is there a problem?”
The man frowned slightly, a dismissive look appearing on his face.
“Give up.
A rookie Trainer like you has no chance of beating him.”
His tone made it sound like he had already decided Ash would lose.
“I’m not an ordinary rookie.” Ash smiled confidently.
“Before coming here, I already made plenty of preparations.”
“Ash, did you do some research?” Misty asked.
“Of course.” Ash nodded firmly.
“The Trainer of the Pewter Gym is Brock.
He specializes in Rock-type Pokémon.
He himself is also a Trainer with great potential.
Honestly, his talent is completely wasted if he stays in the Gym like this.”
“Huh?
Then why does he stay at the Gym?” Misty asked in confusion.
“Well, mainly because of his unreliable deadbeat father,” Ash replied.
“His dad said he was going to travel and become a Pokémon Master, but after that, there was no news from him.
The burden of the family was dumped entirely onto Brock.
In order to take care of his younger siblings, Brock had no choice but to give up on his own dream.”
As Ash spoke, he quietly observed the man beside him.
He knew very well that this man was Brock’s irresponsible father.
After listening, Misty said, “How can there be such an irresponsible father?
As a father, he’s a complete failure.”
“All right, let’s hurry to the Pewter Gym,” Ash said, taking Misty’s hand and quickly leaving.
The man left standing there trembled slightly when he heard Misty’s words.
He instinctively clenched his fists, his heart filled with complicated emotions.
…
On the way to the Pewter Gym, Ash suddenly stopped and placed the stone he had bought earlier on the ground.
He turned to Pikachu on his shoulder and said, “Pikachu, use Iron Tail to crack this stone open.”
“Pika!”
Pikachu called out, and its tail instantly shone with a dazzling metallic glow.
It leapt high and struck the stone hard. The source of this chapter is g.com.
With a bang, the stone shattered.
As the broken pieces scattered, a palm-sized, irregularly shaped raw Evolution Keystone was revealed.
It emitted a faint, glass-like rainbow glow, shining with enchanting colors beneath the sunlight.
Looking closely, there was also a mysterious pattern in the center of the raw stone, resembling a genetic sequence.
When Misty saw the raw Evolution Keystone, her eyes instantly widened and surprise appeared on her face.
“Wow, Ash, what is this?
It’s so beautiful!”
She crouched down and carefully examined the raw stone, her eyes full of curiosity.
Ash smiled and said, “This is a raw Evolution Keystone.
It’s an important item used for Mega Evolution.”
Misty’s eyes opened wide, her mouth slightly parted.
“Mega Evolution?
That sounds amazing!”
Ash placed the raw stone into his backpack and continued, “Later, I’ll polish it and turn it into an accessory that’s easy to wear.
That way, it’ll be more convenient to use.
But for now, let’s go to the Gym first.”
…
Before long, Ash and Misty stood in front of the Pewter Gym’s main doors.
Ash reached out and pushed the doors open.
A chill swept toward them along with the dim light.
When they looked carefully, they saw a spiky-haired young man sitting quietly cross-legged on the opposite side of the field.
“Hello.
I’m Ash from Pallet Town, and I’m here to challenge the Pewter Gym,” Ash said loudly, his voice echoing through the spacious Gym.
As Ash’s voice faded, a beam of light slowly lit up from overhead, landing perfectly on the spiky-haired boy.
He was a young man with squinting eyes, and his brown skin shone with a healthy glow beneath the light.
He was the Gym Leader of Pewter Gym—Brock.
“Welcome to the Pewter Gym, Ash.” Brock slowly stood up.
“As a Gym Leader, of course I won’t refuse a challenge.”
After saying that, he snapped his fingers.
In an instant, the lights across the battlefield lit up one after another.
The powerful, bright light drove away the original darkness, illuminating the entire arena as clearly as day.
Immediately afterward, the shutters on both sides of the field slowly rose, and the rocky battlefield hidden behind them gradually appeared.
Each side revealed half of a rocky arena, and the two halves quickly moved toward the center.
Before long, they formed a standard rocky battlefield.