Early the next morning, Ash packed his bags, settled the barely stable condition of Heracross's injuries, and then hurriedly left Viridian City.
He rested very poorly last night, not only because he had to continuously release Viridian Power to treat Heracross, but also because there were simply no beds available for him to sleep in at the Pokémon Center.
Sometimes, Ash couldn't help but feel that Viridian City was somewhat incompatible with his fate.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been unconscious the first time he came, and the second time he had to camp out in the Pokémon Center... So now he didn't want to stay any longer; he just wanted to rush to Pewter City immediately and get some proper sleep first~
However, no matter how urgently he needed to travel, when passing Viridian Forest, he still involuntarily slowed his steps.
This was where he obtained the Viridian Power. Ash walked through the slightly dark forest, recalling the events of a few years ago, and unconsciously arrived at the battleground from back then.
Several years had passed, and the ground here had regrown grass, and many of the destroyed trees had sprouted again. Nature was trying to restore everything to its original state through its powerful self-healing ability.
But Ash would never forget that day. Even now, he remembered the location where the Ultra Wormhole opened, and the terrifying, gaping maw of that Guzzlord!
His strength was still too weak... Although he was hailed as a genius in Pallet Town and had previously captured the immensely powerful Giant Onix... Ash knew that compared to the three people who fought here that day, he was still far behind!
But no matter what, he would personally defeat that Guzzlord!
By that time, he would no longer borrow other people's Pokémon, but would fight alongside his own partners!
"Pika~", "Karu!", "Lee?"
When he came back to his senses, he found The Three Little Ones surrounding him, looking at him worriedly.
They seemed to sense his mood and were expressing their feelings to him as well.
No matter what happened, they would be with him!
Including Onix and Heracross, who hadn't come out of their Poké Balls, their Poké Balls were also trembling slightly... "Thank you, guys." Ash rubbed the heads of The Three Little Ones. "Let's not worry about irrelevant things right now... Let's go to Pewter City."
Regaining his composure, Ash stopped lingering in Viridian Forest and headed straight for the new city... Pewter City—also known as Pewter City—is a city characterized by rock.
This place has Kanto's famous Science Museum. Besides fossil exhibitions and space research, it is said that Pokémon fossils excavated throughout Kanto can be brought here to be revived.
The entire city developed relying on the mineral resources of Mt. Moon. Gray tones are absolutely dominant, and vendors selling stones can be seen everywhere along the streets. Many people can easily pull out various Evolution Stones.
Of course, Ash wasn't interested in these things, including Takeshi's incompetent father, Wu Neng, who was selling stones—Ash ignored him and rushed to the Pewter City Pokémon Center immediately.
After getting a room and taking a shower, Ash called home.
Although he could call directly using the pokédex, he hadn't done so during his Journeys... It wasn't time to expose Porygon, the management spirit.
"Hello, this is Ash's mom."
As soon as the video call connected, Ash saw a pale... face mask.
Applying face masks was definitely Delia's biggest hobby, and thanks to this diligence in beauty care, Delia was able to maintain her youthful appearance across various generations, even achieving reverse aging in Alola.
Finally receiving news from Ash, Delia immediately gave him a severe lecture.
"Ash, you finally called! You've already reached Pewter City? That's really amazing, much faster than your father... He was lost in Viridian Forest for a whole month back then~"
"What did you say... you separated from Blue and Gary? How could you, child? Didn't I tell you three to support each other?"
"Especially Blue, she wanted to leave, and you didn't even try to stop her? Honestly, how can I be at ease with your emotional intelligence! Look at Gary, he already has several girlfriends. When will you bring a few home too~"
Ash could only feel speechless regarding his mother's nagging.
Speaking of which, Gary's so-called girlfriends were actually cheerleading girls hired for him by his uncle, the Town Mayor—who is Oak's older brother.
Of course, later the pretense became reality... "Mom, is it really okay to say this in front of Lila?" Ash scratched his head awkwardly, his gaze passing over Delia to find the girl who had rushed over after hearing the news. "Lila, how have you been lately?"
"I'm doing great... I just miss Big Brother Satoshi a little..." Lila said, blushing, hiding behind Delia.
"I'll try to call more often," Ash promised. "By the way, are there any Pokémon Lila likes? I can catch them beforehand and give them to you."
"Um... I don't know," Lila said, biting her finger, deep in thought. "Anyway, as long as Big Brother Satoshi gives it to me, I'll definitely like it~"
"Lila, if you say that, he won't take it seriously!" Delia immediately squeezed her face into view and earnestly lectured. "Don't you know what kind of Pokémon Lila likes? Girls should obviously choose the cute types! If you don't know what to choose, go ask Blue!"
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll definitely do as you say~" Ash nodded rapidly like a chicken pecking rice, then respectfully excused himself from the Old Buddha.
After hanging up, Ash thought for a moment and called Oak to inform him.
Oak had already received news from Gary, knowing that Ash had encountered a mysterious Pokémon and obtained a feather. He discussed various ways on the phone to borrow it for research.
Ash naturally agreed wholeheartedly, saying that Oak could look at it freely once he returned to Pallet Town.
To be honest, he wasn't that concerned about the identity of the Rainbow Hero.
He hadn't been traveling for long. Even if some world-saving mission were to fall onto him in the future, it wasn't something he could handle right now.
Traveling steadily, diligently catching and raising Pokémon, and first ensuring that he secured the championship of the Indigo Plateau Conference—that was the proper business for him as a Trainer.
As for the Rest, overthinking it would just cause unnecessary trouble and might even affect his smooth Journeys... After talking with the Professor, Ash chatted a bit with Nanami. She said that when Ash's held Pokémon exceeded the limit, he could transfer them back to the Research Institute, and she would take meticulous care of them.
"Especially that Giant Onix, it will surely bring me lots of new breeding experience~"
"Got it, Big Sister Nanami. When I catch my seventh Pokémon, I'll transfer Onix back first."
As the saying goes, some things need to be said by the right person.
Given Oak's eager, monkey-like impatience, if he had asked Ash for Onix, Ash would definitely have hung up.
But if it was a gentle request like Nanami's, especially coming from someone who was clearly thinking wholeheartedly for Ash, then it was completely impossible to refuse~
In short, after a period of Rest and recuperation, Ash finally felt refreshed and could fully commit himself to the upcoming Gym battle.
In recent years, Kanto's overall standard has improved significantly. Ash was looking forward to what kind of surprise Pewter Gym could offer him...