"Let's go!" Ash couldn't help but chuckle at the clumsy hiding, then said to Brock. Brock, now aware of the situation, didn't expose her. As long as Misty was fine, that was all that mattered. As for Ash, he was even less worried; this was her home turf, and it would be good if she didn't bully others.
"Where next? Are you going to the Cerulean Gym?"
"Hmm, let's go to the Pokémon Center first!" Ash thought for a moment. Although the Pokémon still had energy, he decided to let them rest and recover first. No matter what Gym he faced, being fully prepared was a good attitude, so he decided to go to the Gym first. And most importantly, he also needed to contact Pewter City.
"Oh, okay! You go ahead then! I want to restock on some travel supplies. I'll come find you when I'm done." Brock responded, agreeing. He had brought many supplies, but he always needed to replenish them whenever he arrived at a new place.
"Alright, I'll go first then." The two parted at the crossroads. Ash found the Pokémon Center and went to the front desk.
"Nurse Joy, please help me!" Ash came to the counter and placed Pikachu and his Poké Balls on the table.
"Of course, please rest assured. We will quickly help your Pokémon recover their vitality." Nurse Joy warmly accepted the tray and left with Chansey. Ash walked to a nearby phone booth and dialed the Pewter City police station.
"Hello, this is Pewter City Police... Huh? Isn't this Ash? Have you arrived in Cerulean City already?" It was Officer Jenny who answered the phone. Her eyes lit up when she saw Ash, and she immediately asked.
"Yes, I just arrived. There's something I wanted to tell you..."
"You want to talk about Axew, right? Professor Oak guessed correctly; it really did go with you." Before Ash could finish, Officer Jenny brought it up.
"Yes, I also thought it might follow, so I wanted to apologize to you."
"Oh, I see! Don't worry about it. So, you've already caught it?" Hearing Ash's reply, Officer Jenny waved her hand generously.
"Mm!" Ash also nodded slightly.
"Since that's the case, you are its trainer. It's a normal thing for trainers to catch Pokémon. You don't need to apologize to me. This also saves us a lot of trouble. I hope you can train it well." For them, there was no loss. It was just Ash catching a Pokémon. They didn't even have to specially send Axew back to the Unova region. Moreover, since it had encountered poachers, Axew might no longer trust humans. Now that it had found its own trainer, one could say this ending couldn't be better.
"Thank you!" Ash thanked her, then exchanged a few pleasantries before hanging up. Axew's matter was settled. Next, he just needed to wait for his Pokémon to recover, then go challenge the Gym.
It was a bit unexpected that Ash remembered Team Rocket should have arrived in Cerulean City earlier, and not just that, they also stole large water pipes and pumps from here to attack the Gym. However, when he just entered, such a situation didn't occur, which surprised Ash a little. Was it because the different itinerary changed the plot, or because of what happened at Mt. Moon? But given Team Rocket's tenacious personality, even if something happened at Mt. Moon, they wouldn't back down.
"Never mind! This is even better." Ash stopped thinking about it. No matter what, it was better if they didn't cause trouble. Things that happened due to different itineraries were different, and he couldn't view them with the same perspective as before. The plot itself didn't matter. His advantage was that he had more Pokémon than other trainers, and that was enough.
He rested at the Pokémon Center for about an hour and a half. Then, Nurse Joy made an announcement for Ash to come to the front desk. Ash went to the front desk. Pikachu and his Pokémon had all recovered their vitality. When Ash retrieved his Pokémon, Brock also happened to return from outside. The two conveniently completed the check-in procedures. They were definitely staying here tonight.
"How was it?" Brock walked in and saw Ash, asking.
"Mm! Everyone's recovered their vitality. How about you?" Ash nodded slightly.
"I'm also fine."
"Then let's go!" It was still early, so Ash wanted to take this opportunity to get the Cerulean Gym Badge.
"Alright!" The two left the Pokémon Center and headed towards the Cerulean Gym according to the center's map. As they walked, they could see magnificent fountain landscapes everywhere, which was a characteristic of Cerulean City.
"As expected of Cerulean City. You can't see this kind of scenery in Pewter City at all." Brock couldn't help but exclaim. The outside world was indeed very different. He was glad he made the decision to come out with Ash. For someone like Brock, who had lived in Pewter City since childhood, where rocks were everywhere and water, let alone fountains, was rarely seen even in the city, he would naturally get tired of it over time.
"Every city has its own characteristics. Experiencing these cities is also the joy of traveling."
"That's right!" Brock agreed, nodding. For him, travel wasn't just travel; it was also about learning.
...
"I see it! That's the Cerulean Gym!" The two quickly arrived at a unique building, a magnificent and colorful structure resembling a circus. At the top of the building was a giant Seel mascot, visible from afar. But even the Gym wasn't marked; it felt more like an aquarium than a Gym.
"As expected of Cerulean Gym. Compared to this, my Pewter Gym is a bit shabby!" Brock couldn't help but exclaim, looking at the building.
"In a Gym, the most important thing should still be the trainer's strength, right? Let's go!" Although many Gym Leaders had side jobs besides being Gym Leaders, their strength was not weak. However, comparatively, Cerulean Gym's strength really couldn't be considered strong. Although he was mentally prepared, he hoped it wouldn't disappoint him too much.
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