[Triggered Mission — Charmander's Redemption: Save the life-threatened Charmander on a rainy night.]
[Mission Reward: High-Quality Charcoal — Increases the power of Fire-type moves by 40% when held by a Pokemon.]
This reward... Roy's eyes lit up.
High-Quality Charcoal!
Fire-type power increased by 40%!
This is much stronger than ordinary Charcoal items—ordinary Charcoal usually only provides about a 20% boost.
If he let Charmander hold it, combined with its own potential, its combat power would absolutely explode.
Roy quickly recalled the plot of the original script.
Charmander was abandoned by its original Trainer—that bastard named Damian—in an area before Bills Lighthouse.
He couldn't remember the exact location, but he remembered two key clues:
First, the rock Charmander was lying on.
Second, there was a Pokemon Center in a very strange location nearby—not in a town, but built all alone in the middle of a vast forest.
"A Pokemon Center in a strange location..."
Using this as a breakthrough point, Roy immediately took out a map of the Kanto region from his backpack and spread it out on the ground.
Seeing this, Misty and Delia both leaned in.
"Roy, what's wrong?" Delia asked.
"Looking for a place." Roy didn't even look up, his fingers moving quickly across the map.
His gaze swept over the entire area before Vermilion City, focusing on looking for locations marked with the Pokemon Center icon.
Most Pokemon Centers are located in towns or alongside roads.
But... "Found it."
Roy's finger stopped on a certain point on the map.
It was an area known as the "Mist Forest," with dense tree icons drawn on the map.
And deep within the forest, there was indeed a Pokemon Center symbol marked!
There were no town markings around it.
This is the place!
Roy's gaze sharpened.
According to the distance estimate, it would take about three days to walk there normally.
But if they sped up, they should be able to arrive in two and a half days.
In the original plot, after Charmander was abandoned, it waited on the rock for a long time until its strength gave out and it collapsed on a rainy night.
Roy didn't know the exact day.
But with every day delayed, the risk increased.
If they arrived too late, Charmander might... Roy folded the map and stood up.
"We're leaving now, full speed ahead."
"Eh? Now?" Misty looked at the sky: "It's almost evening..."
"It's urgent." Roy was brief and concise, already starting to pack his things.
Delia and Misty looked at each other; although they didn't understand the reason, they chose to trust Roy.
The three of them quickly organized their gear and set off rapidly toward the Mist Forest... on the road.
Roy changed his usual style.
Previously, every time he caught a new Pokemon, he would look for wild Pokemon battles to let the new member integrate and level up.
But this time, he hardly stopped.
Unless they encountered wild Pokemon blocking the path, he would quickly resolve the battle and immediately continue their journey.
This unusual behavior made Delia very puzzled.
"Misty~" Delia slowed her pace to walk side-by-side with Misty, lowering her voice: "Roy is so strange today. Look at him, he's been looking at the map the whole way and walking so fast."
Misty was actually observing Roy too.
However, her mind wasn't on that... it was a bit distracted.
"Ah? I... him, I don't know~" Misty's face turned slightly red when Delia asked: "I'm not his girlfriend, how would I know what he's thinking."
Since that time on the mountain peak when she was "rescued" by Roy, Misty's head had been a mess.
While traveling during the day, she watched Roy's back.
While camping at night, she listened to Roy's breathing.
She would involuntarily think of the scenes from that day.
Roy's warm palm, pressed against her.
The pressure was neither light nor heavy, carrying a sense of irresistible control.
And the things he said.
Misty's face grew redder and redder.
And... and last time by the river, although it was an accident because I was moving around, I was the one who took the initiative to kiss him.
So what is our relationship now?
Friends?
Trainer companions?
Or... romantic interests?
If it's the latter, how do we break through that final layer of the relationship?
Could it be that we have to do that kind of thing?
Misty stole a glance at Roy's back.
Roy was wearing tight traveling pants today, which outlined his long, powerful leg lines.
Further up were his firm buttocks and lean waist and back.
Misty swallowed hard.
She remembered being carried on Roy's back before, and the occasional accidental collisions.
She could feel it; Roy must be super powerful!
Will I break~
"Misty? Misty!" Delia's voice pulled Misty back from her wild thoughts.
"Ah? What's wrong?" Misty then realized that she had actually frozen in place, her face burning intensely.
"Are you okay?" Delia looked at her worriedly: "Your face is so red, did you get heatstroke?"
"N-No, I'm fine!" Misty hurriedly shook her head and quickened her pace to keep up with Roy.
Delia looked at their backs with a confused expression.
"Did these two get hit by some Psychic Pokemon's illusion on that mountain peak? Why are they getting weirder and weirder?"
She looked down and asked the Eevee in her arms.
Eevee lazily lifted its head, gave a yawn, then shook its head and curled back up to continue sleeping.
Clearly, Eevee was not interested in the complex thoughts of humans; it wasn't as interesting as fighting with Pikachu.
But now Pikachu was running far ahead on its master's shoulder, so now was the time for a big sleep... Evening time.
The three camped by a small stream.
Roy released all his Pokemon to let them roam freely while he prepared dinner.
Pikachu rode on Pidgeotto to pick berries nearby.
Butterfree practiced some flying skills over the stream water.
Bulbasaur and Squirtle were doing simple coordination training on the side; Bulbasaur used Vine Whip to create obstacles, while Squirtle practiced precision Water Gun shots.
Misty watched Squirtle training seriously and thought of Staryu again.
She released Staryu and let it join the training.
When Squirtle saw Staryu, its movements stiffened visibly for a moment, but it quickly adjusted and worked hard to perform even better.
Delia, meanwhile, was cooking a thick soup while observing Eevee and Oddish; the two were sitting very obediently by the campfire.
The peaceful scene was first broken by Misty.
"Roy." Misty walked over and sat down beside him: "Can we talk?"
"Talk about what?" Roy turned around after feeding Butterfree.
"It's just..." Misty bit her lip, struggling for a long time to find the right words, before finally changing the question: "Why have you been in such a hurry lately? Are you looking for something important?"
Roy glanced at her.
Misty's face had a faint blush under the reflection of the campfire; her eyes were a bit shifty, but also filled with curiosity.
"I'm looking for a Pokemon." Roy didn't hide it: "A Pokemon with very good potential."
"A rare Pokemon?" Misty's interest was suddenly piqued.
Roy nodded: "How should I put it... this Pokemon has a time limit. So, I have to be a bit faster."
"I get it!" Misty understood instantly: "A rare Pokemon that only appears at a specific time."
"What kind of Pokemon is it? Can I know?"
"Is it a Water-type?"
Misty was suddenly captivated by the prospect of a rare Pokemon, temporarily forgetting what she had come to talk to Roy about.
"No, it's a Fire-type."
Hearing it was a Fire-type, Misty's interest immediately dropped by more than half, but she still supported Roy: "Then... is there anything you need us to help with?"
Roy turned his head to look at her.
"You've already helped a lot. Accompanying me on this super fast journey without complaining."
"How does that count as helping..." Misty muttered.
"It counts. Look at when we first started, you'd be blah blah blah talking nonstop after walking for half a day." Roy teased Misty about her initial traveling state.
Misty's face turned red again: "How annoying~ I was like that then, but now I'm... oh my..."
"The soup is ready, come and eat~"
Delia's voice came from over there.
Misty jumped up like a startled rabbit.
"W-We should eat quickly, rest early, and get up early tomorrow to continue our journey!"
After saying that, she ran off.
Roy looked at her back and smiled; once he caught Charmander, it would be time to catch the little mermaid... After dinner.
Misty and Delia chatted idly again.
By the time Roy finished training his Pokemon and returned to the camp, Delia and Misty had already crawled into their respective sleeping bags.
But Misty was clearly not asleep.
Roy could feel her gaze peeking at him through the gap in the sleeping bag.
Roy pretended not to notice, sat down by the campfire, and began checking his equipment.
poké balls, Potions, Pokéblocks... everything was prepared properly, then he finally rested... For the time that followed, the three traveled at full speed.
They hardly stopped during the day, taking only a one-hour break at noon.
While camping at night, Roy would also seize the time to give his Pokemon brief special training.
The other Pokemon also showed various degrees of growth.
Finally, on the evening of the second day after setting out.
The three passed through the outskirts of the Mist Forest and saw the Pokemon Center located deep within the forest.
It was a wooden Pokemon Center that stood out remarkably amidst the dense trees.
"We're here." Roy stopped and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Eh, there's a Pokemon Center here too~" Misty looked at the building in the distance, somewhat surprised.
Although Roy had mentioned there was a Pokemon Center here, seeing a facility built deep in the forest with her own eyes still felt unusual.
"Indeed, but tonight we finally have beds to sleep in." Delia let out a comfortable sigh of relief.
After traveling for two and a half days straight, although they had camped in between, sleeping bags were ultimately not as comfortable as beds.
Roy, meanwhile, looked up at the sky.
The evening sky had some clouds, but they weren't thick; it didn't look like it was going to rain.
And all along the way, he had been keeping an eye out for that special rock; in the original plot, Charmander had been lying on a rock waiting for its Trainer.
But he hadn't seen it.
He estimated it wasn't on the path they had taken.
Moreover... Roy checked the time.
According to the original plot, after Charmander was abandoned, it should have waited for more than two or three days.
They might have arrived early.
But that was fine too.
Arriving early meant they could confirm the situation in advance and be well-prepared.
"Let's go, let's check in first."
Roy took the lead toward the Pokemon Center.
Misty and Delia followed.
Just as the three walked into the main entrance of the Pokemon Center, they heard a burst of noise coming from the direction of the lobby.
A blue-haired youth boastfully set down a pile of poké balls.
This drew a burst of cheers from the surrounding onlookers.
"Wow! Damian, you're really amazing, catching so many Pokemon again today!"
"Eh, why be surprised? Isn't this just Damian's normal strength?"
"Damian, I want to hang out with you, can you give me a Pokemon?"
Damian enjoyed the flattery, sat dashingly on the sofa, and said smugly: "These are mostly just trash."
"I only want Elites. If you want them, just take them for yourselves once I've filtered through them!"
"Anyway, if you don't want them, I'll just throw them away."
"Great! Thanks, Damian. Oh, by the way, Damian, what about that very decent Charmander of yours?"
As soon as the word 'Charmander' was mentioned, it immediately caught Roy's attention.
After handing his poké balls to Delia to give to Joy for registration, he took Misty and sat down at a nearby table close to Damian's noisy crowd.