After everyone returned to the Pokémon Center and rested for the night, Xiaoyun and his three companions set off east toward Oreburgh City the following morning.
At noon, Xiaoyun and Dawn had the pleasure of trying Master Brock's cooking. It really did taste good-so good that Xiaoyun almost wanted to keep traveling with Ash.
But on second thought, he decided against it. Team Rocket's constant harassment alone would be a headache. The trio might not be very strong, but they certainly knew how to stir things up.
Since the journey was short and everyone kept up a good pace, they arrived in Oreburgh City by evening.
After discussing it, everyone decided to drop off their things at the Oreburgh City Pokémon Center and get some food first. That should have been perfectly normal. What was there even to discuss?
But the moment they arrived in Oreburgh City, that idiot Ash insisted on rushing off to challenge the Gym. Xiaoyun gave him a good talking-to before dragging him away. Even Pikachu couldn't talk him out of it.
Seriously, whose Gym stayed open at night? Besides, just how little respect did he have for the Gym Leader? Sending his own Pokémon into battle without even feeding them-how was he supposed to win?
What? You said Cerulean Gym was an option?
Oh, fine. If that was the one you wanted to challenge, forget I said anything...
Aside from Misty, couldn't anyone with hands beat the other three at Cerulean Gym?
Without further ado, the group officially entered Oreburgh City.
Oreburgh City was a major coal-mining city blessed with abundant natural resources. Vents protruded from the ground throughout the city, exchanging the stale air underground for fresh air from above.
Oreburgh Gym stood in the northwest of Oreburgh City. Its Gym Leader, Roark, was not only an expert at training Rock-type Pokémon but also a renowned fossil identification specialist.
As the saying went, a Gym Leader without a side job wasn't a good Trainer.
And Roark shared a hobby with Steven Stone, the former Hoenn Champion and heir to the Devon Corporation. That hobby was...
Mining!
The guy wore a hard hat year-round and liked to run off to Oreburgh Mine in the south whenever he had nothing else to do. Trainers who came to challenge him often arrived in the morning but didn't get to see Roark himself until the afternoon.
Still, that was fairly normal. At least Roark stayed within his own city. Fantina, the Gym Leader of neighboring Hearthome City, traveled all over Sinnoh and could disappear for months at a time.
Challenging Hearthome Gym was a matter of luck.
The real problem was that Fantina was no weakling herself. As a Ghost-type Gym Leader, her assortment of infuriating moves made her incredibly difficult to deal with. Even if you happened to find her, you might still lose.
And when you wanted a second attempt, you would discover...
Well, look at that. The Gym Leader had run off again.
The next day.
After breakfast, everyone collected their healed Pokémon's Poké Balls from Nurse Joy and prepared to head to Oreburgh Gym.
During that time, Xiaoyun also had the privilege of witnessing the infamous scene of Brock boldly declaring his love for Nurse Joy, only for his rebellious Croagunk to jab him in the kidney with Poison Point.
Hmm... one look at Brock's constipated expression was enough to tell how intense it was.
Oreburgh Gym.
Upon entering the Gym, everyone marveled at its interior. It certainly lived up to its Rock-type theme. The structures inside were primarily made of stone, and the walls on both sides were lined with various kinds of marble. It really set the mood.
"Hello, we're Trainers here to challenge the Gym. Could you tell us how to enter a Gym Challenge?"
After they entered the Gym, Xiaoyun stepped forward to ask the apprentice at the front desk about the procedure.
"The Gym Leader is accepting a challenge inside right now. You can head straight in," the apprentice told them gently before leading them toward the battlefield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
"Someone's already challenging the Gym this early? Let's head in too."
With the booming sounds of battle already clearly audible, Xiaoyun spoke to the others.
On the Gym battlefield, the two sides faced each other. On one side stood Roark in his hard hat, with a little dinosaur-like Cranidos in front of him.
On the other stood Paul, whom everyone had met before, his expression as cold as ever, along with his partner Elekid.
"Look, Xiaoyun. It's that icy guy," Dawn said, spotting Paul on the battlefield first.
"Yo, if it isn't Paul! What a coincidence!"
Xiaoyun's eyes lit up when he saw Paul, and he waved at him. But Paul ignored him. It was unclear whether he hadn't heard or simply didn't want to respond.
"Paul..." Ash kept his eyes fixed on Paul, the fighting spirit in his gaze growing more intense.
"Ash, what's with that look? You don't have any weird ideas about Paul, do you?"
Xiaoyun noticed that the way Ash was looking at Paul was especially... heated?
Eww, did this guy have some weird tastes?
As Xiaoyun looked at Ash with a hint of distaste, Brock spoke up beside him.
"Here's what happened, Xiaoyun. Ash and Paul had another battle in the Forest of Confusion. Ash's Turtwig lost to Paul's Chimchar, so..."
Seeing the odd look in Xiaoyun's eyes, Brock explained on Ash's behalf. Their previous battle in the Forest of Confusion had ended in Ash's defeat. Brock thought the type disadvantage had played a part, but Ash felt that a loss was a loss.
"Oh, so that's it. Come on, if you lost, just win next time. What's there to dwell on?"
"But I can give you an idea that'll let you beat Paul in one go. Well? Want to try it?"
So that was what had happened. He had just been about to comfort Ash when a particular idea suddenly came to him, making the corners of his mouth rise.
He didn't know whether the idea would ever become reality, but he decided to plant a seed in Ash's mind first.
"Oh, Xiaoyun, honestly."
Dawn held her head, feeling a headache coming on. Every time Xiaoyun acted like this, she knew he was about to trick someone again. And he always did it openly, leaving people unable to find fault with him.
"What idea?" Ash's ears perked up as soon as he heard that. If it could help him beat Paul, he had to give it a try.
"Next time, do this: challenge him to a real-life fistfight. With that powerful body of yours that even Pikachu can't zap into submission, Paul definitely won't stand a chance. Then you can pin him down and give him a thorough beating to blow off some steam. Well? Tell me that doesn't tempt you."
Xiaoyun said all of that in one breath. For some reason, he really wanted to see Paul lose control of his expression right now. Just imagining it made him happy.
"Uh... isn't that a bit..." Ash said hesitantly. This didn't sound very reliable.
"What's wrong with it? Aren't battles where Pokémon and Trainers fight together popular too? We should try out different experiences."
Seeing that Ash hadn't refused, Xiaoyun felt he had a chance and continued trying to talk him into it.
"Then let me think about it..."
Ash was starting to feel tempted by his words. Maybe I could find a chance to try it?
The battle on the field was also nearing its end, and both sides began their final attacks.
"Elekid, use Brick Break," Paul commanded coldly.
"Cranidos, use Zen Headbutt!" Not to be outdone, Roark ordered Cranidos to meet the attack.
Bam!
While the two sides were still locked in a stalemate, Paul issued another command to Elekid in his cold voice.
"Elekid, hold it right there. Use Brick Break with your other hand."
"Elek!"
Enduring the intense pain as he held off Cranidos, Elekid gathered power in his other hand and delivered a massive smack to Cranidos's head.
"Oh no, Cranidos!" Realizing things had taken a bad turn, Roark tried to call Cranidos back, but Elekid's chopping hand had already struck. Cranidos collapsed on the field with spirals in his eyes.
"Elek..." Paul's Elekid also lost the ability to battle the instant Cranidos fell.
"Cranidos is unable to battle. All three of the Gym Leader's Pokémon are unable to battle. The challenger wins. Therefore, the winner of this Gym Challenge, with a Badge at stake, is Paul from Veilstone City."
Once the Gym apprentice saw that Cranidos was unable to battle, he promptly began announcing the result from the center of the field.