It was lunchtime, the school's break.
At a cold drink shop by the sea in Vermilion City, Ethan, Koharu, and his two Pokémon sat on opposite sides of a table. In front of each of them was a different flavored and colored Super Sundae. As the shop's signature drink, the Super Sundae was not only incredibly delicious but also refreshingly cold. With one bite, a chill shot straight to the back of the head!
Despite holding her forehead from the cold, Koharu couldn't help but praise, "No matter how many times I taste it, the Super Sundae here is always so delicious!" Perhaps it was the sugar, but she seemed a bit livelier than before.
Their presence here dated back to just over ten minutes ago. After lunch at the institute, in his free time, Ethan had taken his two Pokémon for a stroll around the city, intending to enjoy the coastal scenery. As he passed by the local school, he coincidentally met Koharu, who was on her lunch break, and invited her to rest here for a while. That's how this scene came to be.
It must be said that after two days of interaction, though brief, their relationship had become quite familiar. Sitting together now, there wasn't too much awkward silence. Especially after Ethan shared some interesting stories from his travels, their bond grew even closer.
After a few bites, the conversation turned back to Pokémon, and Koharu couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Ethan, what are your plans next?"
"Plans?" Listening to the soft background music, Ethan stretched, turned to look out the window, and said casually, "Though I've become a Special Research Fellow, it's just an honorary position. Professor Sakuragi hasn't given me any specific tasks. So, besides gathering the three starter Pokémon, I also want to challenge Gyms and earn Badges to prepare for the Indigo League challenge in the future."
"Challenge Gyms?" Koharu wasn't very familiar with Pokémon battles, so she asked curiously, "Are you going to challenge the Vermilion Gym?"
"The Vermilion Gym is a bit too early for me right now." Ethan shook his head, explaining patiently, "Lt. Surge, the Gym Leader there, is an Electric-type Pokémon expert. Although Electric-types don't have an advantage against Grass-types, I still plan to go to Cerulean City and Pewter City first to challenge the Cerulean Gym and Pewter Gym to refine my skills. But before heading to those two Gyms, I still need to catch one more Pokémon."
Koharu nodded, seemingly understanding. "Is that what they call expanding your team?"
"Exactly. It's actually like clearing levels in a game," Ethan laughed. "The challenge process is, of course, about accumulating strength first, then going from easy to difficult. That's what makes clearing each stage fun!"
At this moment, students in uniform school clothes occasionally passed by on the street outside the window. As the two talked, a boy about Koharu's age with slightly darker skin coincidentally saw Koharu through the open window. His eyebrows lifted, and then he curiously approached. With that look, he saw Ethan and frowned even more.
"Koharu, who is this person?"
The boy suddenly spoke. At the same time, his gaze darted back and forth between Koharu's and Ethan's faces, seemingly trying to discern something from their atmosphere and expressions.
"Go? What are you doing here?"
Koharu seemed a bit surprised to see the boy, but she didn't think much of it and began to introduce him. "This is Mr. Ethan. He's currently a Special Research Fellow at my dad's institute. Mr. Ethan, this is Go. He's my classmate from school and my childhood friend."
In fact, the moment he saw Go, Ethan had already recognized him. There was no mistaking him; he was too famous! Especially his appearance and demeanor, which were exactly as they were in the anime!
"Hello." Ethan nodded at him kindly. Seeing Ethan greet him, Go also quickly nodded in response. "Hello, I'm Go."
However, looking at Ethan's handsome appearance and seeing Koharu sitting across from him, Go suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. Although he couldn't pinpoint why, this feeling just made him irritable!
Just then, he suddenly saw Ralts beside Ethan, which completely captivated his attention. "What kind of Pokémon is that?" he asked in surprise.
"This is my Ralts," Ethan said casually. Seeing that Go seemed to want to get closer to observe, he added, "Don't be fooled by its appearance. It's a Psychic/Fairy-type Pokémon, and it doesn't really like strangers approaching, so you… it's best if you keep a little distance from it."
However, Go apparently didn't heed Ethan's words. He looked at Ralts's docile appearance and liked it more and more. "It's so cute! I'll have to catch a Ralts myself someday!"
Hearing his words, Ethan's thoughts stirred, and he couldn't help but ask, "Someday? What, do you also want to become a Pokémon Trainer?"
"I don't want to be a Pokémon Trainer," Go shook his head. "My dream is to collect all the Pokémon in this world, including Mew!"
Just as he thought! Ethan wasn't surprised by his answer at all.
"But in that case, as your Pokémon constantly increase, won't they just become your collectibles? Aside from increasing in number, what other purpose would they serve?"
"Well…" Go hesitated slightly, seemingly never having considered this question before. But after some thought, he said indifferently, "It's fine. My goal is to collect them all. As for other things, I'll worry about them later!"
"Then we're quite different, aren't we?" Ethan shook his head helplessly. "While we Trainers also continuously catch Pokémon, our goal is to constantly become stronger and stand on higher peaks together, traveling with our Pokémon. From that perspective, your way of catching seems a bit too self-serving."
Hearing Ethan's words, Koharu, beside him, stared blankly at her sundae. Traveling with Pokémon? It was something she had never imagined, but this dream seemed quite nice.
Leaving Vermilion City, Ethan followed the wide road, heading north. Beside him, Ralts and Bulbasaur, his two Pokémon, walked with him, one on each side. The reason he didn't keep them in Poké Balls was inspired by Ash. After all, traveling on foot with Pokémon not only trained their abilities but also strengthened their bond. And with them by his side, the journey wouldn't feel so lonely.
As for their destination… Of course, it was the first Gym he intended to challenge—the Cerulean Gym! Looking at the map, reaching Cerulean City wasn't easy. Between Vermilion City and Cerulean City lay the Kanto region's largest and most bustling super metropolis—Saffron City.
Saffron City was filled with skyscrapers and was famous even in other regions. Plus, it covered a vast area, so passing through it would undoubtedly take more time. And speaking of which, Saffron City actually housed two Gyms: Sabrina's Saffron Gym and Koga's Fighting Dojo.
However, Ethan knew that with his current strength, he wasn't yet ready to challenge either of these Gyms. So, he didn't rashly enter Saffron City but bypassed it, heading straight for Cerulean City.
Walking and pausing, taking in the scenery along the way. Although such travel was somewhat tiring, it also provided good training. After spending most of the day, he finally bypassed Saffron City. As he passed through a plain, he saw a Pokémon in the grass that resembled a fox, which caught his eye.
This Pokémon's fur was mostly brown, with a fluffy, bushy tail. Its legs were short and thin, it had brown eyes, a small black nose, and long, rabbit-like ears, making it look very cute.
It was a wild Eevee! Ethan recognized it at a glance and immediately aimed his Pokédex at it. The Pokédex quickly provided feedback.
"Beep. Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. Normal-type. Possesses the potential to evolve into various forms!"
It was just a short sentence, without even detailed information. However, Ethan didn't mind. He had seen many wild Pokémon since setting out, but he hadn't considered catching any until he saw this Eevee. Since he encountered it, he couldn't miss this opportunity!
"Bulbasaur, it's your turn next!"
At Ethan's command, Bulbasaur let out a cry, then moved its four limbs, running menacingly toward Eevee and striking a battle pose. "Bulba! Bulba!" It barked twice at Eevee, and from its tone, it was clear that Bulbasaur seemed to be issuing a challenge.
Upon seeing Bulbasaur, Eevee didn't choose to flee. Instead, it let out an excited cry, moved its four limbs, and actually attacked first!
"Oh? Interesting." Seeing this, Ethan's eyes lit up. "Not afraid of humans? And it attacks proactively, even wagging its tail excitedly. It seems your personality is quite battle-loving!"
Do you want to see how this battle unfolds?