"If I remember correctly, after beating the Rustboro Gym in Randomized Emerald, the next one is the Dewford Gym... which should be Fighting-type..."
After watching Sabrina teleport away, Hakuya walked along the path in Viridian Forest, lost in thought.
According to the Gym Challenge rules of Randomized Emerald, if he wanted to progress through the game's Gyms, he first had to obtain a badge of the corresponding type in reality.
But there were hardly any famous Fighting-type Gyms in the Kanto region.
The only one that barely counted was the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City. However, that place had been personally beaten to the brink of closure by Sabrina. It was safe to assume they wouldn't dare accept any outside challengers for a long time.
So, after securing the Pewter Gym badge, he would most likely have to travel to another region.
Besides that, Hakuya clearly remembered a specific keyword highlighted in the challenge rules.
—Special Badge.
Although he didn't yet know what defined a badge as "special," he figured that, at the very least, it should be from one of the eight major Gyms highly recognized by the League, the ones that appeared in the original story.
"If that's the case, whether it's to temporarily distance myself from the trouble Team Rocket and Giovanni might bring, or to get the badges needed to progress the Emerald storyline, traveling to other regions kills two birds with one stone."
Hakuya nodded, finalizing his decision.
...
In the afternoon, sunlight filtered through the layered canopy of green leaves.
Hakuya and his group were still walking along the path toward the forest exit.
"Alright! I caught a Caterpie!"
"I'm counting on you, Pidgeotto!"
The quiet Viridian Forest echoed with Ash's cheers as he caught new Pokémon.
Although the plot had deviated significantly from the original anime, due to the convergence of worldlines, Ash still managed to catch a chubby Caterpie and a rather handsome-looking Pidgeotto.
As for Misty and Hakuya...
The girl with the orange side-braid was glancing around fearfully. Every time she spotted a Bug-type Pokémon wriggling on the ground or on a branch, her face would go pale, and she would hide behind Hakuya, her fingertips suddenly digging into him with force.
No matter how many times she saw them, the girl was still terrified of any squirming Bug-type Pokémon.
"Hiss..."
Having his sensitive waist pinched, Hakuya's mouth twitched instinctively. "Misty, you're pinching my waist."
The feeling of the girl's body pressing against him was certainly soft, but her grip was seriously strong.
Even though his body had been significantly enhanced, he couldn't withstand this barrage of consecutive pinches.
"Ah, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to!"
Misty blushed deeply and nearly jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
In the end, Hakuya deliberately offered her the edge of his jacket to hold onto, finally allowing himself to breathe a sigh of relief.
Looking down, he saw a frail Caterpie slowly inching its way toward him.
He wondered if transmigrating into this world really gave him some sort of special attraction to Pokémon.
All along the way, there had been no shortage of wild Pokémon coming to pledge their loyalty, just like this Caterpie. It felt like one of those historical novels where the protagonist just flexes his aura, and various brilliant strategists and fierce generals flock to join his banner.
Except, most of these recruits were like the cannon fodder generals of those stories.
"Sprigatito, go negotiate with it~"
Still playing the hands-off boss, Hakuya delegated the recruitment entirely to Sprigatito by his side.
Under the little kitten's vivid and colorful storytelling, the Caterpie's expression visibly shifted from confusion, to sweating profusely, to finally lowering its head as if making a firm decision—and slithering right back to its nest.
Hakuya didn't feel any regret about this.
He had no dream of completing the Pokédex. Rather than casting a wide net to increase his Pokémon count, he prioritized quality.
Quality was defined by two things: potential and the mental fortitude to withstand extreme hardship.
If a Pokémon lacked both, bringing it into the Randomized Emerald would just be pure torture for it. It was better to let them live peacefully in Viridian Forest.
Half an hour later.
"W-We finally made it to Pewter City!"
Misty, who had been terrified by Bug Pokémon the entire trip, looked at the buildings in the distance and wept tears of joy.
"By the way, Hakuya-bro, why did we come to Pewter City?"
Following closely behind Hakuya, Ash scratched the back of his head and asked.
Trainers who had just started their journey were often like this. One moment they were thrilled about catching two new Pokémon, and the next they would lose their sense of direction, not knowing what their next goal was.
"To challenge the Gym, of course, and get the Pewter City Gym Badge."
Seeing Ash's confused expression, Hakuya and Misty exchanged a glance and sighed in unison.
"The purpose of the badges is to collect eight or more. With that, you can use your ID to register for the annual Kanto League Regional Tournament. That's the ultimate dream stage for Pokémon Trainers."
"Oh, oh, I get it now."
Ash nodded in sudden realization.
The moment the Kanto League Regional Tournament was mentioned, he instantly understood.
As a passionate fan who had watched dozens of Regional Tournaments on TV, he dreamed of standing on that battlefield like those Trainers, commanding his Pokémon to victory after victory, ultimately challenging the Elite Four and the Champion to become the world's strongest Pokémon Master.
"Alright, then it's decided! My next goal with Pikachu is to collect Gym Badges, and then win the Kanto League Regional Tournament in one fell swoop!"
"Pika!"
"Boy, it sounds like you're planning to challenge Brock at the Pewter Gym~"
Below the rock they were standing on, a scruffy, middle-aged man with squinty eyes suddenly stood up. He looked at Ash, who had just fired up and declared his goal, and asked the question.
"Of course! Pikachu and I are going to beat Brock."
Ash made his bold claim without hesitation.
"Hahaha, you?" The squinty-eyed man's gaze swept over the Pikachu on Ash's shoulder, and he laughed.
"Dammit, don't underestimate me, you random old guy who just popped out of nowhere!"
Ash gritted his teeth, feeling the urge to punch something.
While Ash was fiercely arguing with the man, Hakuya's attention was entirely focused on the piles of stones in front of him.
This squinty-eyed man was Flint, the father of Pewter Gym Leader Brock. Because he hadn't achieved the grand ambitions he declared in his youth, he felt too ashamed to return home and chose to stay here selling rocks instead.
Hakuya briefly scanned the rocks for sale and noticed a surprising variety.
Float Stones that halved the holder's weight, Smooth Rocks that extended the duration of sandstorms...
However, after realizing the prices were almost identical to those in the games, making it impossible to act as a scalper and turn a profit, he quickly lost interest.
"Let's go, Ash. We're heading straight to the Pewter Gym—"
Grabbing Misty, Hakuya called out to Ash, who was still bickering with Flint.
It was getting close to evening. If they didn't go to the Pewter Gym soon, the Gym Leader would close up for the day to rest.
"Alright, let's go too, Pikachu."
Watching Ash and the yellow rodent walk away, Flint shook his head, said nothing more, and turned his back.
—It reminded him of his own past. He, too, had been just as confident about entering the Kanto League Tournament. He had been just as determined to become the world's strongest Pokémon Master. And he had been just as... hopeless.
Oh well. As a rookie Trainer, facing some setbacks was necessary.
But a moment later, his eyes—which were usually mere slits—suddenly widened as they swept over a cracked rock.
Something was wrong.
Unlike the hot-headed kid planning to challenge a Rock-type Gym with a Pikachu, the grass cat belonging to the other guy seemed a bit unnatural.
He noticed that the exact spot on the rock where the green cat had just stepped off was visibly caved in.
"This was mined from Mt. Moon... Its hardness is so high that even a Geodude would have to smash it dozens of times to crack it..."
Flint clicked his tongue in secret amazement.
Turning his head to watch Hakuya's group march toward the Pewter Gym, he couldn't help but mourn for his son in silence.
Battling a Trainer of this caliber... Brock should be fine... right?