Onward to the Saffron Gym

"A manga?"

Xia You raised his eyebrows. He had never considered that approach before.

"That's right," Yoshino Cerise said. "Compared with prose and illustrations, a manga can bring out the excitement of a story more directly, and it'll appeal more to young people, too."

"Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"

Yoshino Cerise's voice brimmed with anticipation as she smiled. "It would take a little more work, but the story's structure and framework are already finished. All that's left is to bring them to life. Besides, I have time on my hands at home. Drawing a manga like this would fulfill a dream of mine."

Since she had put it that way, Xia You had no reason to refuse. He discussed some details with Yoshino Cerise, then hung up.

With his plans changing, he sent Misty a message telling them not to wait for him. Once they had challenged the Saffron Gym, they could continue on ahead.

For the next two days, Xia You gathered material right there at Maiden's Peak, keeping in touch with Yoshino Cerise and providing her with additional reference material.

It was only on the third day, after she called to tell him she had finished over twenty pages of the rough draft, that Xia You set off back to Vermilion City.

Professor Cerise's home was a typical Japanese detached house not far from the laboratory. Knowing beforehand that Xia You would be visiting, Professor Cerise had stayed home to wait for him instead of going to the lab.

And since it happened to be Saturday, all four members of the family, including Chloe and her younger brother Sota, came outside to welcome him.

At the sight of Xia You, Yamper circled him with a raised tail.

Looking at the whole family lined up together, Xia You could not help breaking into a slight sweat.

Strange. Why did this feel like showing up empty-handed to meet my mother-in-law for the first time?

As the host, Professor Cerise was the first to speak. "Welcome, welcome! Please, come inside."

Xia You nodded politely, his gaze passing over Sota before settling on the lady of the house. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Xia You. Sorry to intrude."

Yoshino Cerise wore round, red-framed glasses and bore some resemblance to Chloe, though her face was fuller and more mature. Her long, cherry-pink hair was tied into a side braid that hung over her left shoulder.

Sota Cerise, on the other hand, looked more like Professor Cerise. The little boy had a cool air about him and was the picture of a cute young boy. Though a few years younger than Chloe, he seemed mature beyond his age, giving the impression that he was even more dependable than she was.

Feeling a little awkward, Xia You changed into slippers, stepped inside, and made his way to the living room.

Yoshino Cerise brought out a clear bag and took the twenty-odd manga pages from it.

"This is all I've drawn for now. I estimate it'll take another hundred and ninety-five pages to cover the rest of the story, but since there aren't any complicated compositions, I might be able to work a little faster."

Such a precise calculation. She really had put a lot of care into this.

Xia You looked through the pages carefully and said admiringly, "Your artwork is wonderful, ma'am. It's such a shame you aren't a professional manga artist."

For a full-time homemaker, having someone recognize her abilities was naturally a source of great joy.

"Your story is very well written, too." Yoshino Cerise covered her mouth as she chuckled, already having an excellent first impression of Xia You. "It takes an exciting story paired with great artwork to make something truly popular."

"That's right," Chloe agreed. "I was this story's very first reader, you know. After reading it carefully, I thought it was really captivating."

"I was second, and Dad was third." Sota Cerise rested both hands behind his neck, looking completely relaxed.

But then, though he wondered whether he was imagining it, Sota suddenly thought he saw a round head in Xia You's shadow pulling a huge face at him!

He rubbed his eyes and leaned closer to get a good look. The next second, something like a black ball suddenly popped out, giving him an enormous fright!

"Whoa!!!"

Sota jumped high into the air and fell behind the sofa.

"Heh heh!" Gastly emerged, wearing a wicked grin. "What a scaredy-cat!"

"Is this the Gastly mentioned in the story?" Professor Cerise helped his son up, his eyes full of amazement as he looked at Gastly.

"That's right." Xia You stopped Gastly, then nodded. "In a sense, Gastly is actually the protagonist."

Sota got up from the floor. Despite his fall, he was not afraid. Instead, he circled Gastly, examining the Pokémon curiously, clearly fascinated by how Gastly had been hiding in the shadow.

At noon, the Cerise family's warm insistence persuaded Xia You to stay for lunch. They chatted and laughed together, filling the dining table with a relaxed, cheerful atmosphere.

And when Xia You brought out the photographs he had taken aboard the S.S. Anne on the seabed, all four of them exclaimed in surprise.

Professor Cerise's eyes widened in disbelief. "The news of the S.S. Anne sinking caused an uproar throughout Kanto a few days ago. I never imagined you were not only there, but actually went down with the ship-and still managed to escape!"

Chloe also looked Xia You up and down, as though seeing him in an entirely new light.

As for Sota, his eyes sparkled with utter admiration. "Xia You, you're so-cool!"

After agreeing on a completion date with Yoshino Cerise, Xia You set off once more for Saffron City.

Its Chinese name meant the brilliant, gleaming color of gold.

This time, aside from Kirlia, the only Pokémon accompanying him was Gastly, hidden in his shadow. He had returned all the others to their Poké Balls.

Nothing else happened along the way.

By the time he reached this sprawling metropolis in the Kanto region, Ash and his friends had already left for other cities with Gyms.

According to Misty, however, their challenge at the Saffron Gym had been full of setbacks. After losing their first attempt and suffering quite a bit, they had been forced to visit the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town. Only after catching a Haunter had they been able to rely on its power to successfully earn their badge.

That had cost them two days as well, so they were not actually very far ahead of Xia You.

Saffron City was filled with towering buildings. It was not only the Kanto region's central business hub, but also home to the region's largest infrastructure network. It even had a maglev station connecting it to the Johto Region. Countless trains traveled between Saffron City and Goldenrod City each day at speeds of up to 550 kilometers per hour, bringing economic growth and vitality to the two equally prominent cities.

Making his way through the bustling streets, Xia You headed straight for the Saffron Gym.

He looked up.

Its exterior resembled a great many white umbrellas packed tightly together. Though distinctly designed, it was too monotonous for Xia You's taste and seemed somewhat less impressive than the other Gyms.

As Saffron City's current official Gym, it was led by Sabrina, who specialized in Psychic-type Pokémon and was a formidable opponent. Defeating her, however, would earn him the Marsh Badge.

Xia You entered the Gym through its automatic doors and looked around.

The lobby was deserted, with no one there to greet him. After walking a few steps farther, he peered through the windows of a door into a room off to one side. Inside, a group of people in white lab coats sat at tables, each holding a spoon and staring intently at it, seemingly practicing some sort of psychic power!