The Perilous Journey

After obtaining his first Gym Badge, the Camping Boy left Violet City.

He arrived on Route 36, but instead of heading to Azalea Town in southwestern Johto as Baimu had expected, he passed through the dense forest and headed north.

He encountered several Trainers along the way, but managed to defeat them without much trouble.

Beyond the forest, an ancient and mysterious-looking city appeared before Baimu. A towering square pagoda and the ruined foundation of another tower were particularly eye-catching.

[You have arrived in Ecruteak City. Its ancient charm makes you appreciate the weight of history, and you decide to challenge the Gym.]

Baimu: "?"

What the hell did the weight of history have to do with challenging a Gym?!

The scene shifted. The Camping Boy entered an ancient hall, found a man with yellow hair and a purple scarf inside, and engaged him in a fierce battle.

Unfortunately, his first challenge ended in failure. Ecruteak Gym Leader Morty was an expert in Ghost-type Pokémon. Most of his Pokémon moved unpredictably and changed constantly, with all kinds of strange moves emerging one after another.

The Camping Boy's Graveler and Spearow were both unable to defeat Morty's Gastly and Misdreavus.

Fortunately, his second Pokémon, Spearow, gained enough experience during the battle and successfully evolved.

[Your Spearow evolved into Fearow.]

Fearow, known as the Little Ho-Oh, Ho-Oh's juvenile form. It had an irritable temperament and looked like the kind of Pokémon no decent person should use.

Baimu shifted onto his side and watched the Camping Boy head to the Pokémon Center. While healing his Pokémon, he found a Trainer his own age and used the opportunity to trade-evolve Graveler into Golem.

Yes! Exactly right, brother!

Why hold back when it was already a Graveler? It wasn't like Shroomish, which had to delay evolution to learn Spore at a high level.

The only thing that disappointed him was the Elite System talent. It kept the Camping Boy from catching a third Pokémon for a long time, as he focused entirely on training Golem and Fearow.

After some time passed, the screen changed from night to day, then from day back to night. The Camping Boy challenged Ecruteak Gym for a second time.

His opponents were still Gastly and Misdreavus, but compared to before, Golem and Fearow were clearly much more capable in battle. Even through the pixelated display, Baimu could tell that the Camping Boy was far more at ease than last time.

In the end—

[You defeated Ecruteak Gym Leader Morty and obtained the Phantom Badge.]

Smooth. So smooth~

Baimu watched with satisfaction as the Camping Boy left Ecruteak City and headed south toward Route 35 again. He knew the boy was planning to go to Goldenrod City.

However, when passing through National Park, the Camping Boy hesitated noticeably, as though undergoing an inner struggle. It took him quite a while before he finally entered and took part in the weekly Bug-Catching Contest.

Oh, oh, oh! A third Pokémon!

Baimu's eyes lit up as he watched the screen expectantly. Then he saw the Camping Boy encounter a fierce Pinsir amid the dense trees. When its two long horns collided, they rang out with a sharp clang.

The Camping Boy did not hesitate for long before throwing a Poké Ball at it and catching it with ease.

[You caught your third Pokémon in National Park: Pinsir. Your journey has gained another companion.]

[You won third place in the Bug-Catching Contest. The prize, a basket full of Sitrus Berries, troubles you greatly.]

The Bug-Catching Contest champion was a little girl who had caught a Beedrill. Since the entire thing was pixelated and the host gave no explanation, Baimu found it both regrettable and confusing.

The Camping Boy set out once more and soon arrived in a highly modern-looking metropolis.

[You have arrived in Goldenrod City. The prosperous metropolis surprises you, and you decide to challenge the Gym.]

...So this was the so-called fixed phrasing? Got it.

Goldenrod Gym's Leader was a pink-haired girl with twin tails who primarily used Normal-type Pokémon. Her Clefairy and Nidorina were not particularly strong, but her Miltank was the real problem.

Attract, Rollout, and Milk Drink. By cycling through those three moves, Miltank easily took down the Camping Boy's Pinsir. Fearow was also beaten into retreat, leaving only Golem barely holding on—

Boom!

"Whoa!"

Baimu jumped, immediately drawing Aron's attention. "Guh?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing." He smiled back at Aron, then looked again at the miniature mushroom cloud rising on the screen. The Camping Boy had actually chosen to perish together with Miltank so decisively.

However, thanks to Golem's Explosion, Whitney no longer had any Pokémon capable of fighting, while the Camping Boy still had Fearow left alive. The Gym challenge was successfully cleared.

[You defeated Goldenrod Gym Leader Whitney and obtained the Plain Badge.]

His battle strength was pretty impressive!

Though this was only his third Gym, Baimu was already full of confidence in the Camping Boy's future.

As it turned out, the Camping Boy did not disappoint him. He challenged Bugsy, the Bug-type Leader of Azalea Gym—victory. He challenged Jasmine, the Steel-type Leader of Olivine Gym—victory. He challenged Chuck, the Fighting-type Leader of Cianwood Gym—victory!

Winning against three Gyms in a row with only three Pokémon—what a glorious record!

With six Badges in hand, the Camping Boy marched proudly along Cianwood City's docks, where he encountered his fourth Pokémon as if it were fate.

A Psyduck that looked rather dim-witted.

[You caught your fourth Pokémon at the Cianwood City docks: Psyduck. Your journey has gained another companion.]

Baimu watched happily as the little figure boarded a ship and left Cianwood City. Forgetting his usual habit of not eating snacks in bed, he opened a bag of something like potato chips and shared it with Aron.

Through Olivine City, through Ecruteak City.

The Camping Boy's fifth Pokémon arrived even sooner than expected. Halfway up a mountain, just as he nearly fell into a deep chasm, he encountered a Slugma.

It was clear that he had not planned to catch the Pokémon at first. The Ruthless Camping Boy had his sights set solely on Mahogany Town.

But Slugma seemed to like him quite a lot. It followed him all the way there and even "attacked" his tent in the middle of the night, nearly burning his sleeping bag. Left with no other choice, the Camping Boy could only add Slugma to his team.

Then something happened that even Baimu had not expected.

The Camping Boy got stuck.

Mahogany Gym Leader Pryce was terrifyingly strong. Fearow, Pinsir, Psyduck, and Slugma were all easily defeated by his Dewgong, while Golem, the Camping Boy's ace, could only defeat one of Pryce's Pokémon with Explosion.

Something was wrong!

Baimu rolled over and sat up. He remembered that the Shorts Boy had gotten stuck at the sixth Gym. Was the Camping Boy going to get stuck at the seventh?

No!

Don't do this!

At least let me see the gates of the Silver Conference!

He stared fixedly at the screen. Seeing the Camping Boy lose three battles in a row, he felt like the kid's mentality might be about to collapse—

It was not.

The Ruthless talent had an effect similar to Hot-Blooded Youth, but it clearly made the Camping Boy much smarter. After losing three matches, he directly skipped Mahogany Gym and crossed mountains and rivers to reach Blackthorn City.

[You have arrived in Blackthorn City, but you have no interest in admiring the scenery. You decide to challenge the Gym immediately.]

He avoided it!

He simply skipped the stage he could not beat!

Baimu silently praised the Camping Boy's cleverness, only to find that he had gotten stuck again.