The stone paved streets of Pewter City echoed with quiet resolve.
Unlike the vibrant buzz of what Nathan imagined Cerulean or Saffron would be, Pewter felt solid, like its buildings had grown from the mountain itself. Weathered. Rooted. Purposeful.
Squirtle walked at his side with a bounce in his step. Zorua padded behind him quietly, eyes scanning. Nidoran trotted a few paces ahead, sniffing at the edges of buildings and stone planters.
They had arrived.
Nathan glanced at the Gym towering above the north end of the city hulking, slate-grey, and intimidating. But first, he had errands.
His first stop was the Poké Mart.
The clerk looked up from restocking Potions and raised a brow. "Forest dust on your boots, dry leaves in your hair, just came from Viridian, didn't you?"
Nathan nodded. "And heading into the Gym tomorrow."
"You're not the first today." The clerk leaned in. "Stock up properly. Brock doesn't go easy on first-timers. If he sees you coast, he pushes back hard."
Nathan browsed carefully:
3 Potions
2 Antidotes (just in case)
1 X Defend (for terrain anchoring)
Ration Pack (Emergency Use Only)
𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐜: 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝
𝐓𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐈𝐭𝐞𝐦-𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝟏𝟎% 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦-𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐭
Back on the street, Nathan spotted a small building tucked between the Centre and the Gym. Its roof bore a stone hammer and shield emblem.
A plaque read:
Pewter Combat Archives – Strategy Room
For Registered Challengers Only
He pushed open the door.
Inside, the room was cooler stone lined, dimly lit, filled with holographic training models, miniatures of battlefield layouts, and wall carvings etched with type matchups and Gym records.
A woman in a crisp jacket looked up from a control console. "Gym hopeful?"
"Yes. Nathan."
She tapped her ID badge. Tactician Elira – Pewter Gym Staff
"First-time challenger?" she asked.
"Yes."
She motioned him over to a display table. With a press of her hand, a holographic battlefield shimmered into view wide stone platforms, layered terrain, rising ridges, small boulders scattered across the field.
"This is Brock's current Gym configuration. It shifts weekly."
Nathan studied it carefully.
𝐆𝐲𝐦 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 (𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝)
- 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝟑 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
- 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬
- 𝐇𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬: 𝐃𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐬 (𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭), 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞
- 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲: 𝐋𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞
"He controls pace," Nathan echoed.
Elira nodded. "Brock doesn't overpower. He outlasts. He tests whether your plans hold together under pressure. If you rush, you lose footing. If you camp, he wears you down."
Nathan looked thoughtful. "What about trainers who don't have type advantage?"
"They win with creativity. Synergy. Endurance. And confidence."
She locked eyes with him.
"Stone breaks tools. But it sharpens steel."
Back outside, Nathan paused at the edge of Pewter Museum, not intending to go in, until he saw the stone carving out front. A plaque.
"Strength is the burden of guardians. The earth remembers."
He stared at it for a long time.
Then, slowly, stepped inside.
The exhibits were quiet. Fossils. Ancient tools. Carvings of Onix and Rhyhorn in battle poses. But what caught Nathan's attention was a black-and-white photo tucked between glass.
A younger Brock, standing in the dust of a collapsed field, holding a fainted Geodude, smiling despite the loss.
The caption:
"Strength is earned. And failure is where it begins."
Nathan stepped back.
"Gym Leader, huh?" he murmured. "You've seen your own cracks."
That night at the Pokémon Centre, Nathan sat in the corner booth, sketching out formations on paper napkins.
Squirtle lay curled at his feet. Nidoran napped on the bench beside him. Zorua sat opposite him, watching him scribble paths and arrows and fake-outs.
"I think we've got a shot," Nathan whispered.
Zorua blinked. She didn't look doubtful anymore.
The System pulsed once.
𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐜: 𝐓𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡
𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩, 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰, 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞
𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: 𝐖𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐤é𝐦𝐨𝐧
𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐀𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 | ???
Nathan stood up, stretching.
"Tomorrow," he told his team, "we test everything we've learned."