“Mr. Ash and Mr. Yu Feng, please come to the front desk to collect your Pokémon.”
After Yu Feng and Ash finished their meal, they rested for a while at the Pokémon Center. A broadcast announced that their Pokémon had been fully healed.
“Let’s go, Ash. Let’s go get Pikachu and the others.”
Yu Feng stood up, stretched, and called for Ash to go to the front desk to collect their Pokémon.
“Thank you for waiting. All the Pokémon you entrusted to us have fully recovered.”
By the time they reached the front desk, Joy had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Yu Feng and Ash approach, even though she already knew them, she still followed proper procedure to confirm their identities before handing them their Poké Balls.
Yu Feng hung the love ball back around his neck and attached the other five Poké Balls to his belt.
Pikachu jumped directly onto Ash’s shoulder, and Ash also picked up the Poké Balls for Pidgeotto, Caterpie, and Weedle.
“Yu Feng, you already have six Pokémon? No wonder you weren't catching Pokémon in Viridian Forest.”
Ash only just realized that Yu Feng already had six Pokémon, no wonder he had no intention of catching any.
“Is it possible that I dislike pure Bug-type Pokémon? I really can't appreciate Caterpie's appearance.”
Yu Feng sighed. He really couldn't appreciate pure Bug-type Pokémon, but the entire Viridian Forest was either Caterpie or Weedle, or else Rattata and the like.
How was he supposed to catch anything? All that talk about “there are no weak Pokémon, only weak Trainers” — honestly, raising a powerful Pokémon to Elite is much simpler than raising a Caterpie to Elite. Even if it's a bit weaker, at least it should look good. He politely declined pure Bug-type appearances.
“So, based on all of that, I politely refuse. And it’s time to challenge the Gym.”
Yu Feng didn’t want to discuss catching Pokémon. Aside from the fact that he was already at his limit, he preferred Fairy-type and Psychic Pokémon; at least most of them were visually appealing.
Grimmsnarl, Galarian Weezing, and Granbull were exceptions.
“Okay, let’s go!”
Hearing about the Gym challenge, Ash didn’t care about anything else and forgot the questions he initially wanted to ask, filled with fighting spirit, ready to challenge the Gym.
“If you're going to challenge Brock, just follow the road outside, and the building surrounded by rocks is the Gym.”
“Good luck, Yu Feng.”
Hearing that they were both going to challenge the Gym, Joy kindly told them where the Pewter Gym was and gave Yu Feng a thumbs-up for encouragement.
Under the envious gazes of those around them, Ash confidently led Yu Feng along the route Joy had described, heading towards the Pewter Gym.
After some searching, Yu Feng and Ash arrived in front of the Pewter Gym. Ash exclaimed as he looked at the stone building before them.
“It’s so big! And it’s all made of stone, as expected. Hey, Yu Feng, wait for me!”
Ash still wanted to say something, but Yu Feng had already walked into the Gym ahead of him. Ash could only condemn Yu Feng’s lack of sportsmanship from behind, but he quickly followed Yu Feng’s movements.
Once inside, Ash found that Yu Feng had stopped near the entrance and wasn’t moving forward. Although he found it a bit strange why he wasn’t walking further, Ash hadn't forgotten what he came here to do.
“Is anyone here?”
Ash, with Pikachu looking around, walked to the center of the Gym. Was such a large Gym really empty? Ash felt a bit puzzled, but this didn't stop him from challenging the Gym.
Unfortunately, he didn't notice that the person sitting cross-legged on the high platform was already losing patience with this reckless individual and actively made his presence known.
“Who is it?”
The suddenly lit lights and the appearing figure clearly startled Ash, but he recovered quickly: “Are you Brock of Pewter City?”
Brock didn't answer Ash's question. In his opinion, the question was truly stupid. He was sitting right here; who else could he be but Brock?
However, Ash hadn't expected Brock to answer his question anyway and spoke to himself: “I'm Ash from Pallet Town, and this is Yu Feng. I'm here to challenge you!”
“This is your first Gym battle, isn’t it? Gym battles are different from roadside fights. These are official Pokémon League battles, and they have rules.”
Brock didn't get up. He could tell at a glance that Ash was a newcomer who had never participated in a Gym challenge, probably a Trainer who had just started his journey this year. And Yu Feng, behind him, didn't look like a newcomer at all.
“A bit unexpected, huh?”
Ash's face fell. He thought Gym battles were no different from normal battles, but looking at Brock, perhaps they really were a bit different?
“Only two Pokémon can be used, understood?”
“How long have you been with that Pokémon?”
Brock explained the Gym rules to Ash, the newcomer, then changed the subject, asking how long Ash and Pikachu had been together.
“Hmm, about two weeks, I guess. Why?”
Ash wasn't quite sure why Brock was asking him this question. It didn't seem to have anything to do with challenging the Gym, did it? But he still honestly stated how long he and Pikachu had been together.
“Then it's precisely the cutest stage.”
“Pikachu.”
“Stop comparing.”
Pikachu tilted his head and acted cute, listening to Brock's praise, but Brock's next words almost made him pull a muscle.
“Hey, hey, you don’t need to worry about our business, busybody!”
Ash was very displeased with Brock's meddling behavior. After all, how long they had been together was none of Brock's business.
“Sigh, there's no helping it. As a Gym Trainer, I cannot refuse when someone requests a battle.”
Brock sighed and snapped his fingers. The arena lights suddenly came on, the rolling doors on both sides of the walls rose, and the rock field slowly merged towards the center.
Ash and Pikachu were startled and instantly ran towards Yu Feng. This action made Yu Feng shake his head. It would have been better to take one step forward to Brock's side, wait for the field to be ready, and then come back.
They just had to run all the way over here, and even Pikachu was affected by Ash.
Yu Feng also snapped his fingers, and Ash and Pikachu, who were still running, vanished from the center and reappeared beside him.
“A Psychic, huh? So, which of you two will challenge first?”
Brock frowned, watching Yu Feng's actions, then jumped down from the high platform, asking which of them would challenge the Gym first.
“I…”
“Let me go first. I’ll show you how it’s done.”
Ash was about to say he would go first, but Yu Feng held his shoulder, indicating that he would go first to set an example for Ash.
Although Ash wanted to refuse, Yu Feng had already entered the arena, so he had no choice but to step back and watch Yu Feng’s battle.
“Is it you? Let's see your level first. Go, Geodude!”
Brock, seeing that it was the Psychic who stepped forward, knew that he definitely couldn't use an educational approach. He decided to test his level first before considering the next Pokémon.
Thinking this, Brock threw out Geodude's Poké Ball to accept the challenge. Geodude, like a rock with a pair of arms and a face, appeared on the field.
Its bulging rock muscles declared that this Geodude was no pushover.
“Geodude, huh? Then for me, it's her. Show me the results of your special training, Charmander!”
“Lee!”
Charmander, with a blazing flame at her tail, appeared on the field, turning to complain about Yu Feng not letting her out for a long time.
“I know, I know. I’ll let you out more often in the future.”
Yu Feng covered his face and waved his hand. So what if he hadn't let her out to train for several days? Was it really worth such a big grudge?
“A Fire-type Pokémon? I take back what I said earlier. You're also a novice Trainer, aren't you?”
Brock raised an eyebrow, looking at the Charmander before him. Knowing that his Gym was a Rock-type Gym, yet sending out a Fire-type Pokémon like Charmander—was this a sign of disrespect?