After dinner, the three of them began to rest, and the night passed in silence.
Roy slept soundly, but Delia and Misty were a bit restless.
In their minds, they kept replaying the image of that ridiculously huge Pidgeotto.
It wasn't until the middle of the night that they finally drifted off into a daze.
Early the next morning.
The three of them packed up and set out once again on the road to Pewter City.
The city was already very close.
The wild Pokemon along the way were gradually becoming fewer.
However, Roy didn't let anything go to waste.
He utilized all the "EXP packs" he encountered along the way to the fullest.
His commands were concise and direct, consisting entirely of area-of-effect sweeps.
Pikachu's cheeks crackled with electricity, and a precise Thunder Shock left the Rattata that tried to ambush them charred black, collapsing to the ground in a puff of smoke.
Pidgeotto was even more exaggerated.
It didn't even need much direction from Roy.
With a sweep of its sharp hawk eyes from high above, any little creature hiding in the grass or behind rocks had nowhere to hide.
Then came the dive!
Its massive wings carried a violent current of air, and a single Hurricane was both wide-reaching and powerful.
Often, the "EXP packs" would just jump out, and before they could even strike an attack pose, they were blown away all at once, crashing into tree trunks or rocks, their eyes spinning in circles.
The efficiency was frighteningly high.
Roy was happy to take it easy as the experience points shot up.
After grinding all the way.
By the time the grayish-white, rock-styled architectural silhouette of Pewter City finally appeared on the horizon.
The notification in Roy's mind also rang out at the right time.
[Pokémon: Pikachu, lv21→lv22]
[Pokémon: Pidgeotto, lv22→lv24]
Pikachu improved steadily.
Pidgeotto even jumped two levels!
Although the super flight berry didn't directly state the combat power increase.
But for Roy's exceptionally talented Pidgeotto, whose ability was "Big Pecks" and who already favored a head-on fighting style—big meant strong!
The bigger it was, the stronger it became!
The all-around improvement in strength, wingspan, and impact force brought by its size made it like a tiger among a flock of sheep when facing these low-level wild Pokémon.
Its battle spirit was naturally exceptionally high.
With those sharp eyes combined with its massive size and speed, it was hard for the leveling efficiency not to be fast.
Roy checked his team panel and nodded with satisfaction.
He looked up.
Pewter City was already right before his eyes.
The city was built against the mountain, and most of the buildings used locally quarried grayish-white stone, appearing heavy and solid.
It was completely different from the lush, green atmosphere of Viridian City.
"Mmm~ Finally at a city!"
Misty looked at the approaching city and stretched lazily and comfortably.
Her gracefully lined body stretched under the sunlight, carrying the unique vitality of a young girl.
"I can finally take a nice bath!"
After spending a few days exposed to the elements in the forest, although they had briefly washed by the stream, how could that compare to the comfort of a hot shower?
Delia also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said softly:
"Finally... I can get some new clothes."
There was a hint of imperceptible shyness and relief in her voice.
"Eh?"
As soon as Misty heard "buying clothes," her eyes lit up, and she leaned closer to Delia.
"Sister Delia, do you also like going window shopping and buying things?"
The young girl's natural interest in shopping and dressing up was ignited.
"Uh... yes, I guess you could say I like it!"
Delia's face flushed slightly, and she answered somewhat vaguely.
In fact, when she spoke of getting clothes, the focus wasn't on outer garments at all.
But rather... underwear.
To buy a few more pairs of underwear.
This was a serious oversight on her part.
Before setting out, she thought that with Misty around in the forest, there wouldn't be many opportunities for intimacy with Roy, so she only prepared three pairs of underwear for changing.
In fact, there really hadn't been much complete intimacy.
During this forest stretch, she had only secretly made out with Roy once.
The rest were fairly standard interactions.
But she had underestimated the tricks Roy would pull whenever he felt like being mischievous.
Those methods... she had never seen anything so... so cunning even in the romance novels she used to read.
Once, while the three of them were sitting together for a meal, that bad guy Roy actually quietly raised his foot under the table... She was eating at the time and was scared to death.
Fortunately, she held it in and had to force herself to remain calm, not daring to let Misty see anything unusual.
Sudden attacks like this happened several more times.
Sometimes, when passing by her, his fingers would unintentionally brush against the tip of her buttocks.
Sometimes in dangerous areas, during the night watch handover, he would quickly... in the shadow of the tent. Each time it made her heart race and her fabric suffer.
So she realized gravely: three pairs of underwear were completely insufficient!
Fortunately, they passed a small river midway, and she took the opportunity to wash all her underwear, hanging them on her backpack to dry.
If they entered an arid stretch without a water source next time, then... would she have to walk while wearing dirty underwear the whole time?
Or... not wear any?
Delia was so embarrassed by her latter thought that even the tips of her ears turned red.
Not wear any?
Wouldn't that make it even more convenient for that bad guy to cause trouble... No, no!
Yes! Entering the city this time, I must restock! Buy at least five... no, seven pairs!
Delia secretly made up her mind.
But her face turned even redder.
Misty didn't notice Delia's complex mental state and enthusiastically began discussing which clothing store had nice styles and which one was having a sale.
Delia and Misty were whispering about shopping ahead, their voices soft and fragmented.
Roy lagged half a step behind, scanning the surroundings while thinking about challenging the Pewter Gym.
Against a type disadvantage, both Pidgeotto and Pikachu could be fielded.
Especially with Pidgeotto's current massive size, there could be many more tactics for fighting Onix.
He was just pondering this.
Suddenly!
Within the range of his Aura sensing, a "stationary" individual on the roadside ahead, who had almost blended into the rocky environment, moved slightly.
Then, a somewhat hoarse voice, carrying a bit of exhaustion and anticipation, rang out:
"Buying stones?"
"Aah!"
Delia and Misty, who were walking in front, were startled by the sudden voice.
Misty even jumped right next to Delia and grabbed her arm.
The two of them looked closely.
They saw a person sitting on a slightly higher rock wall by the roadside.
He wore a dusty hat and dull, dust-covered clothes. With his scruffy beard, he almost blended in with the grayish-white rocks behind him.
If he hadn't suddenly spoken, no one would have noticed someone sitting there!
"Uncle! Is it fun hiding here and scaring people?"
Misty, having somewhat recovered from the shock, snapped at the person on the rock wall.
Anyone walking along would be startled if a rock next to them suddenly spoke.
"Ah? Hahaha, my apologies!"
The uncle on the rock wall rubbed the back of his head and smiled somewhat awkwardly.
"I didn't mean to scare you."
He sighed, a trace of loneliness in his eyes.
"It's just... I haven't had a sale in a long time. I got a bit too excited seeing someone passing by."
Now the three of them could see what he looked like.
He was about forty years old. His facial features were actually quite rugged, but they were obscured by a scruffy beard and an exhausted expression.
His gaze was somewhat wandering, as if he didn't dare to look anyone in the eye for too long.
An old cloth was spread out in front of him, with various stones of different colors and shapes scattered on it.
They looked like ordinary pebbles or mineral specimens, nothing special.
A down-and-out stone peddler.
That was Delia and Misty's first impression.
But Roy's brow twitched slightly.
Because at the moment the man spoke.
The system notification in his head rang out clearly.
[Ding! Mission Triggered: Awaken Brock's father—Flint, and have him return to the Pewter Gym to fulfill his duties as a father.]
[Mission Reward: Everstone—After a Pokemon carries it, it will no longer evolve, but it can break the evolution lock and master skills that can only be learned after evolution.]
Flint?
Brock's father?
Roy realized.
No wonder he looked a bit familiar.
Looking closely, the features of this decadent uncle did indeed bear some resemblance to Brock.
It's just that his unkempt appearance and evasive gaze were far removed from the reinvigorated and reliable Uncle Flint seen later in the anime.
As for the mission reward...
Everstone?
Roy quickly went over the uses of this item in his mind.
After carrying it, the Pokemon will not evolve.
But it can break the evolution lock and learn skills that only evolved forms can master.
Uh... Roy couldn't think of a suitable use for it for the time being.
But anything produced by the system must be high quality.
This thing would definitely have strategic value in the future.
Maybe he would use it later when he caught some special individual or wanted to develop certain "non-mainstream" tactics.
Since he was already here.
He might as well take a look and get it if he could.
Anyway, awakening Flint... didn't sound too difficult.
Roy instantly cleared his thoughts and accepted the mission.
A peaceful smile appeared on his face as he walked toward Flint's stone stall.
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