After arriving at the Pokémon Center, Peter spent a few hundred Poké Dollars to book a five-day stay.
He planned to remain in Oreburgh City for the next few days anyway—might as well see if there were any side opportunities to make some money while he was here.
While Buneary and Smoliv were undergoing treatment, Peter finally had a moment to breathe.
On impulse, he pulled out his phone and called Whitney.
The call connected almost immediately.
The screen was pitch-dark, but vaguely, Peter could make out two enormous white round shapes.
"…Mm… what time is it?"
Whitney lifted the blanket, her sleepy eyes slowly opening—then she realized the camera angle.
The next second—
"AHHH——!!"
A piercing scream blasted out of Peter's phone, and the screen instantly went black.
Peter clamped a hand over his nose, which had suddenly started feeling suspiciously warm, lowering his head to hide his not-so-natural expression.
Yet his mind refused to cooperate, replaying that fleeting, accidental glimpse over and over again.
So… is sleeping naked really the secret to healthy growth…?
"Cough—cough."
The screen came back on. Whitney had changed into pajamas, her cheeks faintly flushed.
"So?" she asked, pretending to be calm. "You've reached Oreburgh City already?"
"Yeah," Peter replied. "Though something came up. I'll probably challenge the Gym in the afternoon instead."
As he spoke, his gaze subconsciously drifted downward again.
Whitney noticed immediately. Her face reddened, and she muttered softly,
"…Tch… you got a bargain."
"Huh? What did you say?" Peter asked, genuinely not hearing her.
"I said you're a pervert!" she snapped. "Hmph—hanging up!"
The call ended abruptly.
On the other end, Whitney dove back under her blanket and rolled around wildly.
"Ahhh… it's over, he saw everything…"
"Did Peter think I'm too chubby…? DJ Mary said only someone like her counts as 'normal'…"
She rolled several more times, then suddenly sat up, her expression shifting from embarrassment to stubborn pride.
"Wait—no! I'm the Gym Leader here! If anyone should be nervous, it's him!"
"Hmph. That jerk—his eyes were practically glowing, and he still acted like nothing happened…"
…
Peter quietly put away his phone.
After asking Nurse Joy about the treatment schedule and learning that Buneary and Smoliv wouldn't be fully recovered until noon, he decided to head out for a walk.
Staying here is dangerous, he thought. Too easy to overthink things… and that's how flags get raised.
…
Oreburgh City, known as the land where energy surges forth.
The coal mined here supplied more than half of Sinnoh's total energy output.
Because of the vast coal reserves beneath the city, the underground had long since been hollowed out—layer upon layer of mining tunnels.
Above ground, massive ventilation shafts rose everywhere, giving the city an atmosphere thick with industrial grit.
Holding the Pokémon Egg in his arms, Peter looked around with curiosity.
There weren't many tall buildings—mostly residential homes. Only in the city's northeastern corner stood a massive museum, its ecological dome wrapped in reinforced glass and visible from afar.
From his past-life memories, Peter knew this place housed Sinnoh's unique fossil revival technology, recreating ancient environments for Pokémon revived from fossils.
And in the games, admission was completely free—arguably the most generous and content-rich museum in the region.
After wandering the streets without much success, Peter decided to visit the museum.
The moment he stepped inside, the first floor greeted him with bizarre coal formations and fossils of all shapes and sizes.
Some of the ore samples were enormous—one nearly ten meters tall.
"I heard the Oreburgh mining competition is starting again soon."
"Yeah, who knows how many people will strike it rich overnight this time."
"Last year someone dug up two fossils in one go! The most complete one sold to the museum for 500,000 Poké Dollars!"
"And that was just an Omanyte fossil. If it were a fully evolved one—like Kabutops or Armaldo—it could easily go for over a million!"
Peter paused and stepped forward. "This mining competition… can anyone participate?"
"Of course!" one of them replied. "Gym Leader Roark said you just need to register on the day itself."
After asking a few more questions and thanking them, Peter left.
The mining competition required Trainers to enter the tunnels with one Pokémon.
Entry fee: 2,000 Poké Dollars.
Coal would be repurchased at official League prices, while fossils could either be revived or sold to the museum for display.
Based on previous years, simply breaking even was almost guaranteed—high risk, high reward.
Peter considered it seriously.
Taking Buneary into the tunnels might actually work.
If he struck a fossil, it would greatly ease his financial pressure.
After all, with Buneary and Smoliv leveling up rapidly, their food intake and expenses had skyrocketed.
Just maintaining the Dream Space for two hours a day already cost 40,000 Poké Dollars.
Once the Egg hatched, expenses would only increase.
Berry resources were limited too—Oreburgh City barely had any Berry shops.
Even after cleaning out Jubilife City's Berry stores, he'd only made a bit over a million Poké Dollars, most of which had already vanished into training and upkeep.
"Being a Trainer really is a money-burning profession…" Peter sighed.
Back at the Pokémon Center, he spent a few thousand more Poké Dollars on Egg maintenance.
By the time he finished, Buneary and Smoliv were back to full energy.
Not rushing to the Gym just yet, Peter returned to his room and entered the Dream Space with them.
As usual, Buneary put on her headphones and resumed Bounce training in Chocobo GP.
Smoliv continued rewatching the movie Parasite and repeatedly looping the global weather forecast.
Two hours later—
[Ding! Smoliv has improved Leech Seed and Weather Ball proficiency to Mastered by watching Parasite and weather forecasts!]
[Ding! Buneary accumulated 20 minutes of airtime in Chocobo GP—Bounce proficiency increased to Mastered!]
[Ding! Buneary learned Rain Dance!]
Peter smiled.
Yes—Rain Dance was the key counter he had prepared for Roark.
Among Cranidos's moves, Flamethrower posed the greatest threat to Smoliv.
At her current stage, Smoliv couldn't learn Protect, Substitute, or any true defensive buffs—and she couldn't learn Rain Dance herself.
So Peter entrusted the task to Buneary.
And Buneary didn't disappoint.
In just two days, she had grasped the basics of Rain Dance.
Under rain, Fire-type moves were reduced to 50% power—a massive advantage for the upcoming Gym battle.
Recalling both Pokémon, Peter left the Pokémon Center and walked straight toward Oreburgh Gym.
"He looks confident," someone murmured from a nearby corner.
Mary stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"Of course he is," Whitney said, arms crossed, smiling at Peter's retreating back.
"If Peter hadn't been unlucky with his background, he'd already be an Elite Four or even Champion."
"…."
Mary rolled her eyes and chose silence.
Arguing with a love-struck girl about her crush was never a wise decision.
…
The stone city stood firm and unmoving.
And Peter's first Gym battle in Sinnoh—
was finally about to begin.