Ash didn't use his system to check what Pokémon was inside the egg; after all, the mystery was what made it so exciting.
As the group prepared to leave, a mistake in May's magazine caused them to miss their connecting boat.
May bravely took responsibility and, through her efforts, finally found an old man with a boat—Mr. Briney and his Wingull named Peeko.
And so, the group boarded Mr. Briney's boat, the S.S. Peeko, and continued on their way to Dewford Island!
On the way to Dewford Island, Ash and his friends were attacked by a school of Sharpedo and ended up on a deserted island. There, they encountered Team Rocket, who helped them reconcile with the Sharpedo.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt to send them packing!"
"Pikachu"
"That's a nasty feeling!" "Sonnans (???)~"
(??*w?)_/?:?☆ You should thank me properly, or you would have been torn to shreds by the Sharpedo.
After two days, Ash and his friends finally arrived at Dewford Town on Dewford Island. After saying goodbye to the group, Mr. Briney, inspired by their encounter, decided to set sail for Slateport City to start his journey again.
Ash's group then went to the island's Pokémon Center to rest for the night.
The next day
"Alright, Pikachu, let's take down the Dewford Gym in one go! Let's go!" "Pikapi~" Ash said, holding the Pokémon Egg as he and Pikachu ran toward the Dewford Gym.
"Hey~ wait for us, Ash!" Brock and the others chased after him.
Soon, Ash's group arrived at the Dewford Gym. It really had the feel of the Cianwood Gym. They saw a golden arch with the words "Fighting Ocean Wave" carved into it.
"The Gym's sign has 'Fighting' written on it in big letters. I think they're very confident in their fighting techniques," Max guessed.
"That's right! It might be a muscle-bound martial artist, just like Chuck from the Cianwood Gym!" Brock said, reasoning with him.
Indeed, to the average person, the first thought of a martial artist is a muscular older man, but the Dewford Gym was different; its Gym Leader was a handsome young man!
Just then, a young man with light blue hair and a surfboard walked out of the Gym!
"Who are you? Can I help you?" the young man asked, confused.
"Hi, I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and I'm here to challenge the Gym," Ash said, holding the Pokémon Egg and explaining his purpose.
"Hello there! I'm Brawly, the Gym Leader of the Dewford Gym," Brawly replied with a smile, then gave an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, but up until yesterday, the ocean was all whoosh, drip-drip, splash-splash, and the waves were crashing. But today is different; the ocean's face is very beautiful, so you'll have to come back tomorrow."
After saying that, Brawly left.
"Well, there's nothing we can do if the Gym Leader won't have a battle. We'll just have to come back tomorrow. Why don't we all spend the day at the beach?" Ash suggested to the others.
"I agree!" ?(′?｀)人(′?｀)? x3
Ash and his friends then went to the beach, where many people were surfing!
"It's the ocean! Let's go for a swim!" May said, starting to take off her clothes.
"You can't do that, big sister! You can't change here! Don't do it!" (?⊿?)? Max quickly tried to stop May.
"It's fine! I've already got my swimsuit on underneath. What do you think? It looks good, right?" May explained while taking off her clothes.
(??w???) You planned this all along, didn't you?
"Oh no... it's the beautiful ladies! They're so gorgeous! Please, come surf with me, my loves!" Brock had already lost control of himself and wanted to charge over to the girls.
The others quietly backed away from Brock, pretending not to know him!
"Look! The Gym Leader from before is here, too!" May shouted, pointing in one direction.
Everyone looked and saw Brawly surfing with a Hariyama.
[Hariyama]
[Ability: Thick Fat (Reduces damage from Ice- and Fire-Type moves by 50%.)]
[Strength: Late Gym-Level]
"That Pokémon next to him must be Hariyama," Brock said, coming back to his senses as he looked at the Pokémon next to Brawly.
"But? Does Hariyama even like to surf?" (???.???)???? May was very confused.
"It's probably a form of training that also helps build a bond with his Pokémon!" Ash said, thinking for a moment and explaining.
"I see. As expected of a Gym Leader!" Max nodded in understanding.
"Since we have this rare opportunity, let's all split up and have some fun!" Ash said, waving his hand.
"Yay! Let's go swimming, Max!" May said, pulling on Max.
"Wait a minute, big sister! I haven't changed into my swimsuit yet!"
Afterward, Ash, Brock, and Max changed into their swimsuits at the Pokémon Center. Ash entrusted the Pokémon Egg to Nurse Joy.
"Come on out, everyone! Let's all have a great day!" Ash's Pokémon all came out and went to play in the water. Only Bayleef stayed behind, not wanting to leave Ash's side.
"Alright, you guys too! Come on out, Torchic and Wurmple!"
"You guys come out too, Forretress and Lotad!"
"I'm sorry, Bayleef. Surfing with Pikachu isn't really a good fit for you. Here's a little something to make up for it!" Ash gave Bayleef a Small Rare Candy. After Ash's coaxing, Bayleef finally agreed and ate the candy.
"Bayleef?" Bayleef's energy surged, and it broke through to Early Gym-Level in an instant. Each major tier was very difficult to break through, which was why Bayleef had been stuck for so long and why Pikachu still hadn't broken through to the Pseudo-Elite-Level!
Ash rented a surfboard and a smaller surfboard and started surfing with Pikachu.
"Let's go, Pikachu!" "Pikapika"
While surfing, Ash and Pikachu ran into Brawly and agreed to have the Gym battle the next day.
"How did you like surfing, Pikachu?" Ash asked Pikachu after they got back on shore.
"Pika~" Pikachu nodded happily.
"Great!" Ash knew from Pikachu's expression that it had mastered the surfing technique. At the same time, he said in his mind, "System, redeem HM Surf. User: Pikachu."
[Ding~ Use successful.]
Afterward, Ash reunited with Brock and the others. After lunch, Ash went to the training field.
"Come on out, Primeape!" "Har-cha~"
"What is Ash doing?" May asked, confused.
"I don't know. He's probably doing some kind of training!" Brock said, looking at Pikachu and Primeape.
"Pikachu, use Surf!" Ash shouted!
"What?! Pikachu knows how to surf?!" Max was shocked.
"It seems so! I've heard that only a few very gifted Pikachu can learn it. As expected of Pikachu! Now it can even deal with Ground-Types," Brock thought, realizing Ash was testing the power of Pikachu's Surf.
"Har-cha~" Primeape was sent flying.
"Amazing, Pikachu! You're incredible! You worked hard, too, Primeape!"
"Pika" "Har-cha"
The group then happily played on the beach for the rest of the afternoon. During this wonderful day, Eevee unknowingly broke through to Mid Elite-Level, which left Ash speechless. Other Pokémon get stuck for a long time, but Eevee seemed to have no bottleneck, catching up quickly.
The next day, the group arrived at the Dewford Gym again.
"Ash, I welcome your challenge! I'll be giving it my all," Brawly said to Ash.
To be continued...