Sunlight filtered across the winding path as Ash and Misty finally arrived in Pewter City.
“So this is Pewter City.” Misty lifted her head and looked over the city before them.
“Yeah, we finally made it.” Ash let out a long breath and stretched.
“Hey!
You’re standing on my merchandise!” a squinty-eyed middle-aged man suddenly called out to Ash, who was standing on some stones.
“Huh?
Sorry about that, sir.”
Ash finally realized what he had stepped on.
He quickly jumped down from the stones with Misty and apologized.
“Looking for a souvenir?
Pewter City is famous for its stones,” the man said before they could ask.
“We’re not.”
Ash shook his head with a sigh.
He had only stopped because he wanted to see whether there was anything unusual among them.
Misty frowned as she looked over the stones displayed at the stall.
She tilted her head.
“Aren’t these just ordinary stones?
They don’t look special at all.”
She genuinely couldn’t understand why anyone would be interested in such plain-looking rocks.
The man explained, “Pewter means gray, the color of stone.
This city has always been famous for its stones.”
“But, sir, your business doesn’t seem very good,” Misty said bluntly.
“You haven’t sold a single one.”
“Uh…”
The man’s expression stiffened, and for a moment he looked thoroughly embarrassed.
Just then, Ash noticed an inconspicuous stone tucked away in one corner of the stall.
He narrowed his eyes and focused on it.
There was something different about the Aura inside that stone.
Ash used his psychic power to look beneath its surface.
The moment he saw what was hidden inside, his eyes widened.
He could barely contain his excitement.
There was actually a Key Stone inside it!
“Sir, how much is this stone?”
Ash forced himself to stay calm and kept the excitement out of his voice.
“Oh, that one?”
The man glanced at the stone Ash was pointing at.
“Five hundred.”
“All right, I’ll take it.”
Ash didn’t hesitate.
He immediately took out the money and paid him.
“Ash, what are you doing?”
Misty stared at him in confusion.
“Why would you buy a rock like that?
It looks completely worthless.”
She genuinely couldn’t understand why Ash would spend money on such an ordinary-looking stone.
Ash only smiled and gave her a wink.
“I’ll tell you later.”
He picked up the stone and held it in his hand.
She still had no idea what Ash was thinking, but she trusted him enough not to question it any further.
“So, are you going to challenge the Pewter Gym now?” Misty asked, looking up at him.
“Yeah,” Ash answered without hesitation.
“You’re going to challenge the Pewter Gym?”
The man beside them had overheard their conversation.
Ash turned toward him.
“That’s right.
Is there a problem?”
The man frowned and looked at Ash skeptically.
“Give up.
A rookie Trainer like you has no chance of beating Brock.”
His tone made it clear that he had already decided Ash would lose.
“I’m not an ordinary rookie.”
Ash smiled confidently.
“I made plenty of preparations before coming here.”
“Ash, did you research the Gym?” Misty asked.
“Of course.”
Ash nodded.
“The Pewter Gym Leader is Brock.
He specializes in Rock-type Pokémon, and he’s a Trainer with a lot of potential.”
Ash continued without hiding what he thought.
“Honestly, his talent is being wasted while he’s stuck running the Gym like this.”
“Huh?
Then why does he stay at the Gym?” Misty asked, confused.
“Mostly because of his irresponsible deadbeat father,” Ash replied.
“His father left home to pursue his dream of becoming a great Pokémon Trainer, but after that, no one heard from him for a long time.”
“The entire burden of the family was dumped onto Brock.”
“In order to take care of all his younger siblings, Brock had no choice but to put aside his own dream of becoming a Pokémon Breeder.”
As Ash spoke, he quietly watched the man beside them.
Ash already knew exactly who he was.
This was Flint, Brock’s irresponsible father.
After hearing Ash’s explanation, Misty frowned.
“How can someone be that irresponsible?”
“As a father, he’s a complete failure.”
“All right, let’s hurry to the Pewter Gym.”
Ash took Misty’s hand and quickly led her away.
Flint remained standing beside his stall.
His body trembled slightly when Misty’s words reached him.
His fists clenched at his sides.
For a long moment, he said nothing, clearly shaken by what he had just heard.
…
On the way to the Pewter Gym, Ash suddenly stopped.
He placed the stone he had bought earlier on the ground.
Then he turned to Pikachu, who was sitting on his shoulder.
“Pikachu, use Iron Tail to crack this stone open.”
“Pika!”
Pikachu cried out.
Its tail immediately took on a bright metallic sheen.
It leapt high into the air and brought its tail down hard against the stone.
The stone shattered under the impact.
Broken pieces scattered across the ground.
At the center of the shattered rock was a palm-sized, irregularly shaped Key Stone.
A faint rainbow glow shimmered across its glass-like surface, sending different colors through the sunlight.
Looking more closely, there was also an unusual pattern at the center of the stone.
The pattern resembled a genetic sequence.
When Misty saw the Key Stone, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Wow, Ash, what is this?
It’s so beautiful!”
She crouched down beside it and carefully examined the stone, clearly curious about what they had found.
Ash smiled.
“This is a Key Stone.”
“It’s one of the items needed for Mega Evolution.”
Misty’s eyes opened even wider, and her mouth parted slightly in surprise.
“Mega Evolution?”
“That sounds amazing!”
Ash picked up the Key Stone and placed it in his backpack.
“Later, I’ll polish it and turn it into an accessory that’s easy to wear.”
“That way, it’ll be much more convenient to use.”
He adjusted his backpack.
“But for now, let’s go to the Gym first.”
…
Before long, Ash and Misty were standing in front of the main doors of the Pewter Gym.
Ash reached out and pushed them open.
Cool air greeted them from inside.
The Gym was dim, with only faint light reaching across the battlefield.
When Ash and Misty looked more carefully, they saw Brock 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 spoke loudly, his voice echoing through the spacious Gym.
As his words faded, a beam of light slowly came on overhead and shone directly onto Brock.
Brock remained seated beneath it for a moment.
His spiky brown hair and narrowed eyes made him instantly recognizable.
He was the Gym Leader of Pewter Gym.
Brock.
“Welcome to the Pewter Gym, Ash.”
Brock slowly stood up.
“As the Gym Leader, of course I won’t refuse a challenge.”
After saying that, Brock snapped his fingers.
In an instant, lights across the battlefield began switching on one after another.
The bright lights drove away the darkness and illuminated the entire Gym.
Immediately afterward, the shutters on both sides of the battlefield slowly began to rise.
Behind them, the rocky battlefield that had been hidden from view was gradually revealed.
Each side contained one half of the arena.
The two halves began sliding toward the center.
Before long, they met and locked together.
A complete rocky battlefield now stood between Ash and Brock.