Ash and Misty

After a night's rest, Xia You felt refreshed that morning. Just as he was about to leave the Pokémon Center, he spotted a boy with a Pikachu and an orange-haired girl in the lobby, arguing over something in front of a poster on the wall.

The boy wore a baseball cap, a T-shirt, and a blue jacket. Though he looked a little dopey, he was full of energy, with a lively spark in his expression.

The orange-haired girl wore her hair in a side ponytail. She was pretty, dressed in shorts and a fitted Yellow Vest that left her entire midriff, fair arms, and long, shapely legs exposed. She looked youthful and brimming with energy.

Xia You recognized them at a glance.

Wasn't that Ash and Misty!

And was that yellow mouse beside Ash the legendary Pikachu who could fight anyone to a draw-the god-tier Pikachu?

Seeing their backpacks and travel-worn appearance, Xia You couldn't help marveling inwardly. He hadn't expected them to meet and arrive in Pewter City so soon!

They'd really made incredible time...

Misty pointed at the poster and said, "Entering the Pokémon League tournament isn't as simple as you think. You have to beat at least eight Gym Pokémon Trainers and earn their badges before you're eligible to compete."

"That little challenge won't stop me." Ash was brimming with confidence, his words carrying the fearless courage of someone too inexperienced to know better. "I'll challenge the Pewter Gym in a bit and show you what we're really capable of!"

Hearing their conversation, Xia You walked over and interrupted them.

"You're Ash, right?"

Ash turned and realized the speaker was a young man he didn't recognize.

"That's right, I'm Ash. Who are you?"

After giving him a long look, Xia You said, "My name's Xia You. When I visited Pallet Town a few days ago, I happened to hear Professor Oak talking about you. I didn't expect to run into you here today."

"So you know Professor Oak too?" Ash smiled. "This is my partner, Pikachu, and she's..."

Before Ash could finish, Misty cut in. "My name's Misty, and I'm the world's prettiest girl."

The world's prettiest girl?

Xia You glanced at Misty's chest.

Misty certainly had the makings of a beauty, but her body hadn't fully developed yet. It seemed she still had a long way to go before becoming the world's prettiest girl.

Misty was studying Xia You as well. Seeing his handsome face and the Kirlia following him, she suddenly remembered something.

"So you're the Pokémon Trainer with the Kirlia who beat my sister?!"

Though he already knew the answer, Xia You asked, "Oh? Who's your sister?"

At Xia You's question, Misty fell silent, clearly unwilling to let anyone know she came from the Cerulean Gym.

Just then, a middle-aged man wearing a tall red hat and sporting a thick beard walked over.

"Are you planning to challenge Brock, the Pewter Gym Leader?"

Ash nodded. "Of course! Once I leave the Pokémon Center, I'm going straight to the Pewter Gym to beat him!"

Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man burst into laughter at Ash's words.

"Ha ha ha ha! You?"

His tone sounded mocking. Before Ash could reply, he laughed again and walked away.

Watching him leave through the Pokémon Center's front doors, Xia You asked, "Who was that? Why did he seem to look down on you?"

"His name's Brock," Misty explained. "He's an older guy who sells rocks. We met him when we first got here."

Brock? An older guy who sold rocks?

Xia You froze for a moment, then remembered. Wasn't this Brock's father, who had left home years ago?

Watching the man's retreating back, Ash said indignantly, "Hmph, that guy really underestimated me! All right, I'm going to the Gym right now. I'll beat Brock and show him!"

"What a coincidence." Xia You shrugged and smiled. "I was just about to challenge the Pewter Gym too. Why don't we go together?"

Pewter was the color of stone. The city was said to have been famous for its abundance of stone since ancient times, but apart from rocks and fossils, it had little else to distinguish it. It was a quiet little northern city.

Mountains and farmland surrounded the city, and a broad river divided it in two. The Pewter Gym stood in the northwest, across the street from another famous building in the city-the Pewter Science and Nature Museum.

The group arrived at the Pewter Gym.

From a distance, the Pewter Gym looked as though it had been built from layers of giant boulders and steel. Only when they got closer did they realize it was all for show. Those enormous boulders were merely door panels decorated with thin slabs of stone to look like the real thing!

Once they went around those panels, they discovered that the back of the Pewter Gym looked no different from an ordinary warehouse.

"What the heck?" Misty muttered. "I thought the whole Gym was built out of stone. Turns out only this tiny bit at the front is real stone!"

They pushed open the Gym's doors. Even in broad daylight, the interior was incredibly dark.

Xia You and the others filed inside. Only when they reached the center of the Gym did a spotlight suddenly switch on, illuminating a corner where a man in a green vest sat cross-legged.

"Who are you?"

The man's voice was steady and his tone calm, like an enlightened monk deep in meditation.

"Are you Brock, the Gym Leader?" Ash spoke first. "I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and I'm here to challenge you!"

"I'm Xia You," Xia You added. "I'm here to challenge the Gym too."

"As a Gym Leader, I don't mind how many challengers come." Brock stood up and said slowly, "But each of you may only use two Pokémon. Which of you would like to battle me first?"

Only then did Xia You get a clear look at Brock.

He had spiky hair and a prematurely aged face set in a serious expression. His eyes were so narrow that even up close, it was hard to tell whether they were open or closed.

After glancing at Xia You, Ash stepped forward, eager to begin. "Me, of course! Bring it on."

Seeing how eager Ash was, Xia You had no intention of competing with him for the first turn. He took his Pokémon over to the spectator seats.

"Good luck, Ash!" Misty waved to Ash, then joined Xia You.

Looking at Ash, Brock snapped his fingers. All the lights in the Gym switched on at once, illuminating every corner. Doors beneath the spectator seats on both sides opened as well, and two sections of battlefield made of earth and rock slowly slid out, eventually joining together.

As a Pokémon Trainer specializing in Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon, Brock naturally had a battlefield of rock and earth in his Gym.

Once Ash stepped onto the field with Pikachu, Brock leaped into the Pokémon Trainer's command area on the opposite side.

Ash pointed forward and shouted, "Go, Pikachu!"

"You really are young." At the sight, a faint smile appeared on Brock's lips. He threw out his own Poké Ball. "Come out, my Pokémon-Onix!"