Chapter 19

After obtaining his first Gym Badge, the camping boy left Kanto City.

He arrived at Route 36, but instead of heading to Hiyoko Town in the southwest of Kanto, as Baimu expected, he climbed upward through dense forest.

Along the way, he encountered several Trainers, but managed to defeat them without much trouble.

Beyond the forest, an ancient and mysterious city appeared before Baimu; one towering square tower and another ruined tower base stood out prominently.

【You have arrived at Saffron City. The archaic charm makes you feel the weight of history. You decide to challenge the Gym.】

Baimu: "?"

What does 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, and engaged him in battle.

Unfortunately, his first challenge failed—Saffron Gym Leader Matsuba was a Ghost-type expert; his Ghost and Misdreavus moved unpredictably, shifting forms endlessly, and unleashed bizarre moves one after another.

The camping boy's Rhyhorn and Pidgey couldn't defeat his Gastly and Misdreavus.

Fortunately, his second Pokémon, Pidgey, gained enough experience in battle and evolved successfully.

【Your Pidgey evolved into Pidgeotto】

Pidgeotto, known as the Little Phoenix, the juvenile form of the Phoenix Pokémon—its temper is quick to flare; clearly not a Pokémon for decent people.

Baimu shifted to a side-lying position, watching the camping boy head to the Pokémon Center to heal his Pokémon, where he met a Trainer of similar age and used the opportunity to let Rhyhorn evolve into Rhydon via communication.

Yes! Absolutely right, bro!

You've got Rhydon already—why hold back? It's not like Musharna, which can't evolve until it learns 【Mushroom Spore】 and must suppress evolution.

The only thing he regretted was the 【Elite System】 talent, which kept the camping boy from capturing his third Pokémon, focusing solely on training Rhydon and Pidgeotto.

After a short while, the scene shifted from night to day, then back to night—the camping boy challenged the Saffron Gym for the second time.

The opponent was still Gastly and Misdreavus, but this time Rhydon and Pidgeotto clearly had greater combat power; even in pixelated graphics, Baimu could tell the camping boy was far more at ease than last time.

Finally.

【You defeated Saffron Gym Leader Matsuba and received the Ghost Badge】

Smooth! Too smooth~

Baimu watched contentedly as the camping boy left Saffron City and headed south toward Route 35; he knew this Trainer planned to reach Vermilion City.

But when passing through the Nature Park, the camping boy hesitated visibly, as if undergoing an inner torment, taking a long time before finally entering to join the weekly Bug-Catching Contest.

Oh oh oh! Third Pokémon!

Baimu's eyes lit up, eagerly watching the screen, then saw the camping boy encounter a fierce Karrablast in thick foliage; when its two long horns clashed, they emitted a metallic clang.

The camping boy didn't hesitate long—he threw a Poké Ball and captured it easily.

【You captured your third Pokémon in the Nature Park: Karrablast. Your traveling companions have increased.】

【You placed third in the Bug-Catching Contest; the reward—a full basket of Sitrus Berries—left you deeply troubled.】

The Bug-Catching Contest champion was a little girl who caught a Beedrill; due to the pixelated visuals and the host giving no explanation, Baimu felt both regret and confusion.

The camping boy set out again and soon arrived at a city that appeared highly modernized.

【You have arrived at Vermilion City. The thriving metropolis surprises you. You decide to challenge the Gym.】

……So this is the fixed phrase, huh? Understood.

Vermilion Gym: the Gym Leader was a pink-haired girl with twin pigtails who primarily used Normal-type Pokémon; her Pippi and Nidorina weren't strong, but her Jynx was truly troublesome.

She cycled through the moves Charm, Rollout, and Milk Drink, effortlessly defeating the camping boy's Karrablast; Pidgeotto was also forced to retreat, leaving only Rhydon still standing—

Boom!

"Holy shit!"

Baimu jumped in surprise, drawing Coco's attention: "Guh?"

"It's fine, it's fine." He smiled back, then turned again to the screen where a miniature mushroom cloud had risen, thinking the camping boy had so decisively sacrificed himself alongside Jynx.

But thanks to Rhydon's Explosion, Akane had no Pokémon left able to battle, while the camping boy still had Pidgeotto alive—he passed the Gym challenge successfully.

【You defeated Vermilion Gym Leader Xiao Qian and received the Thunder Badge】

Strong combat power!

Though this was only his third Gym, Baimu felt confident about the camping boy's future.

The proof came quickly: he defeated the Bug-type Gym Leader Abi in Hiyoko Town—victory; defeated the Steel-type Gym Leader Mi in Azalea Town—victory; defeated the Fighting-type Gym Leader Si in Celadon City—victory!

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

The camping boy, now with six Badges, marched proudly along the Celadon City pier, and as fate would have it, encountered his fourth Pokémon.

A somewhat dim-witted Psyduck.

【You captured your fourth Pokémon at the Celadon City pier: Psyduck. Your traveling companions have increased.】

Baimu watched joyfully as the little figure boarded a boat and left Celadon City; momentarily forgetting his habit of not snacking in bed, he opened a bag of something like potato chips and shared it with Coco.

Through Azalea Town. Through Hiyoko Town.

The camping boy's fifth Pokémon arrived even earlier than expected: halfway up a mountain, he nearly fell into a deep chasm and encountered a Magmar.

It was clear he hadn't intended to capture it—the ruthless camping boy was determined to reach Cinnabar Town.

But Magmar seemed to take a liking to him, following him all the way, even "attacking" his tent at night and nearly burning his sleeping bag. Helpless, the camping boy had no choice but to add Magmar to his team.

Then something happened that Baimu never anticipated.

The camping boy got stuck.

Cinnabar Gym Leader Ryu was terrifyingly strong; Pidgeotto, Karrablast, Psyduck, and Magmar were all easily defeated by his Seel, and his ace Rhydon could only defeat one of Ryu's Pokémon using Explosion.

Something's wrong!

Baimu sat up abruptly—he remembered the shorts boy had gotten stuck at the sixth Gym. Would the camping boy get stuck at the seventh?

No!

Don't do this!

At the very least, let me see the door to the Silver Conference!

He stared fixedly at the screen, watching the camping boy lose three battles in a row, and felt that this young fellow's mentality might be about to have problems—

It hadn't.

The talent 【Ruthless】 had an effect similar to 【Hot-Blooded Youth】, but the former clearly made the camping boy much smarter; after losing three battles, he skipped the Kachi Gym entirely, crossing over mountains and ridges to arrive at Enshō City.

【You have arrived at Enshō City, but you have no heart to enjoy the scenery; you decide to immediately go challenge the Gym】

Dodged it!

A level he couldn't beat, and he just skipped right past it!

All Baimu silently praised the camping boy's cleverness, but hadn't expected him to get stuck again.