Trekking hard along the way, getting lost repeatedly, finally on the third day, yes, on the third day, Paul saw the entrance of Pewter City.
"I finally came out!" Paul nearly cried as he lay on a huge rock.
Ash is simply terrible with directions. After leaving the samurai boy, Pewter City, which should have been only a day's journey away, became unreachable as Ash managed to perfectly avoid the correct path at every fork in the road.
Every time they finally got back on the main road, he cleverly led Paul and Misty into some unknown forest.
It was a good thing Paul brought enough supplies, otherwise he might not have made it.
"I thought I was going to die in the forest," Ash lay on the ground and heaved a sigh of relief.
"It's all your fault. You're obviously terrible with directions but still insist on leading. Your enthusiasm is great but your skills are poor!" Paul complained weakly.
"That's right, I thought I was going to spend my whole life in the forest!" Misty also complained weakly to Ash.
"Yo, you three, how long are you going to stay on top of my merchandise?" came an unfamiliar man's voice.
Paul, Ash, and Misty looked at the middle aged man wearing sunglasses with puzzled expressions.
* It turned out to be him *, Paul knew instantly. Flint, the rock seller. A Gym Leader level powerhouse from the previous generation. Now a middle aged man in crisis who cannot return home.
"Sorry, we're leaving now." Pulling Ash and Misty, Paul jumped off the rock, away from Flint's merchandise.
"These stones are your products, Mister?" Ash looked curiously at the stall in front of him, where various seemingly worthless stones were placed haphazardly.
"Pewter City is a city of rocks, and dark gray is the color of rocks. So our specialty here is of course stones," Flint said matter of factly.
"By the way, my name is Flint. How about it, do you guys want to buy some stones? Good for pickling vegetables!"
"No need," the three refused decisively.
"I figured," Flint nodded.
Ash explained with an embarrassed smile, "I'm sorry, but I'm here on a training journey as a Pokémon trainer. So it's impossible for me to buy stones."
Flint raised his head curiously, "Oh?"
Looking at the three people's dusty appearance, he noted, "You seem to be very tired. Let's go, I will take you to the Pokémon Center."
Ash happily turned his head and muttered to Paul, "It seems that this man is very nice!"
Flint turned his head suddenly, "Friend, I'm sorry, I'll have to charge you 50 Poké Dollars for the guidance fee first."
Ash felt his earlier positive feeling evaporate. * Return my goodwill, you cheapskate! *
Fortunately, the rest of the journey went smoothly, and they finally arrived at the Pokémon Center in Pewter City.
They entrusted all the Pokémon who had been battling hard for the past few days to Nurse Joy to restore their energy. Paul and his companions finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Ash stared at Nurse Joy and looked suspiciously at Paul, "This is Pewter City, right?"
Paul shrugged helplessly, "The Joy family is very large. This Nurse Joy should be related to the one in Viridian City."
Nurse Joy smiled when she heard Paul's words, "You really know our family well. That's right, the Joy in Viridian City is my sister."
After finishing their Pokémon business, the three of them decided to eat something to relax.
Coincidentally, Ash saw the promotional poster for the Indigo League again.
"It's the Indigo League Conference! I must attend!" Ash's blood boiled with enthusiasm.
Every time Misty saw Ash like this, she wanted to tease him. "Really? If you want to join the Indigo League, you have to defeat many Gym Leaders to win badges. Do you and Paul even have the ability?"
Paul tilted his head. * Why did this girl suddenly decide to underestimate me too? *
"It shouldn't be a big problem. After all, there are strong and weak gyms," Paul looked at Misty with a smirk.
"Really?" Ash said, indicating he was new and didn't know anything.
"Of course," Paul nodded affirmatively. "Last year, in the official gym assessment rankings, the bottom three were the Celadon Gym in Celadon City, third from the bottom, the Pewter Gym in Pewter City, second to last, and Cerulean City..."
Misty looked at Paul nervously, "How is the Cerulean Gym?!"
"The Cerulean Gym is the very last one!" Paul commented unceremoniously. "If there wasn't another gym in Cerulean City ready to take over, the three beautiful figureheads, the Cerulean sisters, might have already been ordered by the league to close down."
Misty was furious when she heard this, "Damn it, those three women are really embarrassing the Cerulean Gym!"
"So, don't get ahead of yourself. You have to take it one step at a time. Get badges from these easier gyms first, and then go to higher level gyms after your strength improves. It will happen naturally," Paul said patiently.
"So that's it!" Ash said happily that he understood, but as for whether he really understood or just pretended to, Paul didn't know.
"Do you want to challenge Brock, the recognized Gym Leader in Pewter City?" Flint came up from the side at this time.
"Of course! When Pikachu regains his strength, we will challenge him," Ash was full of confidence.
"You? Hahaha," Flint smiled, shook his head, and walked away.
"It's just a Gym level Rock type trainer. I don't think it will be that difficult," stopping Ash who wanted to retort, Paul replied loudly to Flint's retreating back.
Then, he dragged Ash to the restaurant.
The three of them were sitting in the dining room eating a long awaited hot meal, and Ash said unhappily, "What's with that middle aged man? He looks down on me too much."
"He has the right to," Paul said indifferently. "Flint, he is a strong trainer from the previous generation, potentially as renowned as Giovanni, the Gym Leader of Viridian City."
"What? That man is so powerful!" Ash was stunned.
"I've heard of him," Misty was also stunned. "Isn't he?"
"That's right," Paul nodded, "the father of the Gym Leader, Brock."
"I see. No wonder he supports Brock," Misty expressed her understanding.
"Speaking of which, Ash, what lineup do you plan to use against the Pewter Gym?" Paul asked curiously.
"Of course it's Pikachu!"
Paul nearly faceplanted. "Are you serious? The Pewter Gym is a Rock type gym. Pikachu's electric attacks will barely scratch them."
"Ah? Is that so?" Ash hadn't even memorized Pokémon type matchups yet, let alone type weaknesses.
"Stupid! Against Rock types, you should use Water type or Grass type!" Misty preached from the side.
"Fighting type and Steel type are also good choices," Paul added.
Ash began to count on his fingers, "I only have Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Spearow, Butterfree, and Kakuna..."
Misty covered her head, "None of them counter Rock types, and almost all of them are weak to Rock types!"
"Eh?" Ash was dissatisfied, "It doesn't matter! As long as you have the fighting spirit, you will definitely win!"
Paul shrugged, "Anyway, I'm going to use Piplup."
Ash looked crestfallen. "Paul, you're so ruthless!"
"Well, if you beg me, I'll lend you my Pokémon, then you'll definitely win," Misty raised her eyebrows and asked Ash with a smirk.
Ash suddenly became furious, "I won't beg you!"
Misty got up angrily and left.
"Actually, she just wants to help you, but she's too proud," Paul said, speaking from experience. * I understand a girl's pride all too well *.
"Forget it, leave her alone. Let's eat," Ash was also not being entirely honest, and could only change the subject by focusing on his food.
However, after eating and retrieving their rested Pokémon, Ash felt apprehensive again.
"Paul, what should I do? I really don't think I can beat Brock."
Seeing Ash's pitiful state, Paul helplessly gave him an idea. "The Pokémon you have probably won't stand a chance. But you could try trading."
"Trading?" Ash looked puzzled.
"That's right. Exchanging Pokémon you don't need or can't effectively train with other trainers for Pokémon you do need is also part of a trainer's journey," Paul explained in detail.
Everyone has different opinions on trading, but in Paul's view, exchanging Pokémon that one cannot properly raise or has no time for to trainers who need them is a responsible choice. * You can't just leave Pokémon in a storage system forever. They lose their freedom, and their abilities cannot improve *.
"So that's it, I understand. Then I'll trade Spearow!" Ash understood the concept instantly.
Since Pidgeotto joined the team, the more capable bird Pokémon had taken most of Ash's battle opportunities. Spearow, the first Pokémon Ash caught after Pikachu, had been sitting in its Poké Ball collecting dust. Trading it now was undoubtedly the best choice.
Having made up their minds, the two went to the Pokémon Exchange Corner and started searching for potential trading partners.
"Is that?!" Paul was startled. * Why is there a Cottonee here? *
"Excuse me, is this Cottonee for trade?" Paul approached the Cottonee's trainer and asked softly.
"Yes, yes," the Cottonee's trainer was a little girl with twin ponytails dressed in a Lolita style outfit. She looked a bit shy.
"Um, I'm from Unova, and I want to trade my Cottonee for a Kanto Grass type Pokémon."
"Hmm, is Bellsprout okay?" Paul remembered the Bellsprout he encountered outside the forest yesterday before entering Pewter City.
Picking up his Pokédex and searching for Bellsprout's picture, Paul handed it to the little girl.
"Kawaii! It's okay. Mister, do you have this Pokémon? Cici likes it!" The little girl named Cici was overjoyed.
"Well, okay. Then you wait here for me, and I'll get Bellsprout's Poké Ball. It's settled," Paul tried his best to manage a kind smile and said to Cici.
"Yeah. Okay," Cici nodded cutely and sat on a nearby chair, holding her Cottonee.
"Okay, wait for me!" Decisively abandoning Ash, Paul rushed towards the forest on the outskirts of Pewter City at top speed.
* Cottonee, I have to get it! * Paul was determined.
After a while, Paul, holding a Poké Ball, came back to the exchange hall panting. The little girl smiled at him obediently.
"Sorry for the wait. Let's trade," Paul shook the Poké Ball containing Bellsprout and said with a sigh of relief.
"Okay."
The two placed their Poké Balls on opposite sides of the trading machine and activated the mechanism.
A white light flashed, and the two Poké Balls were swapped within the machine. At this moment, the Pokémon's owner information and the Poké Ball's registration data were completely exchanged.
"Please treat Cottonee well," the little girl picked up Bellsprout's Poké Ball and said bravely to Paul.
"Don't worry. Please take good care of Bellsprout," Paul shook hands with the little girl and formally bid farewell.
"It's great! I got the Cottonee, hahahaha!" Paul laughed happily three times. * Whether it's singles or doubles, a trained Whimsicott will definitely make opponents furious *.
On the other side, Ash also got his wish, trading Spearow with a boy in shorts for a Poliwag.
The trading tactic was a complete success!
Next, what Paul and Ash were looking forward to the most: their first Gym Battle!