It was noon, school lunch break.
At a cold drink shop by the sea in Vermilion City, Xia You and Chloe, along with his two Pokémon, sat on opposite sides of a dining table, and in front of them, a super sundae of different flavors and colors was placed.
As the signature dessert of the shop, this super sundae was not only delicious but also refreshingly cold. With one bite, as soon as it passed the taste buds, a chill rushed straight to the back of the head!
Despite clutching her forehead from the cold, Chloe couldn't help but praise, "No matter how many times I've tasted it, the super sundae here always leaves such a memorable taste!"
Perhaps it was the sugar intake, but at this moment, she seemed a bit more sprightly than before.
And the reason why the two of them were sitting here dated back to about ten minutes ago.
Originally, after lunch at the research institute, Xia You, in his leisure time, took his two Pokémon for a stroll in the city, intending to enjoy the scenery of this coastal city.
And when he passed by the school here, he coincidentally met Chloe during her lunch break and invited her to rest here for a while.
Thus, the current scene unfolded.
It must be said that after two days of interaction, although brief, their relationship had already become quite familiar. Sitting together now, it wasn't overly awkward.
Especially after Xia You shared some interesting stories from his travels, it further brought them closer.
After a few bites, the conversation shifted back to Pokémon. Chloe couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Xia You, what are your plans next?"
"Plans?" Listening to the soft music, Xia You stretched, turned to look out the window, and said lightly, "Although I've become a special research investigator, that's just a nominal position. Professor Cerise hasn't given me any specific tasks, so besides collecting the royal three families, I also want to challenge Gyms first, earn badges, and prepare for the future challenge of the Indigo League."
"Challenging Gyms?" Chloe wasn't very knowledgeable about Pokémon battles, so she asked curiously, "Are you going to challenge the Vermilion City Gym?"
"The Vermilion City Gym is still a bit too early for me right now." Xia You shook his head and patiently explained, "The Gym Leader there, Lt. Surge, is an Electric-Type Pokémon expert. Although Electric-Type doesn't have an advantage against Grass-Type, I still want to go to Cerulean City, challenge the Cerulean Gym first, and hone my strength. However, before heading to that Gym, I still need to catch one more Pokémon."
Chloe nodded, half-understanding: "This is what you call expanding your team, right?"
"Exactly, it's actually like playing a video game." Xia You smiled, "The process of challenging, of course, is to accumulate strength first, then go from easy to difficult. That's how it's fun to clear levels one by one!"
At this moment, students in school uniforms occasionally passed by on the street outside the window.
Just as the two were talking, a boy about Chloe's age, with slightly darker skin, inadvertently saw Chloe through the open window, raised an eyebrow, and then curiously approached.
It was this glance that made him see Xia You, and his brow furrowed even more.
"Chloe, who is this person?"
The boy suddenly spoke. At the same time, his gaze moved back and forth between Chloe's and Xia You's faces, as if he could discern something from their atmosphere and expressions.
"Goh? Why are you here?"
Chloe was clearly surprised to see the boy, but she didn't think much of it and introduced him.
"This is Mr. Xia You. He's currently a special research investigator at my dad's research institute. Mr. Xia You, this is Goh. He's my classmate from school and my childhood friend."
Actually, the moment Xia You saw Goh, he already recognized him.
No wonder—he was just too famous!
Especially his appearance and temperament, they were completely identical to those in the anime!
"Hello." Xia You nodded to him in a friendly manner.
Seeing Xia You greet him, Goh also quickly nodded in response.
"Hello, I'm Goh."
However, looking at Xia You's handsome appearance and then seeing Chloe sitting across from him, for some reason, Goh suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
Although he couldn't pinpoint why, this feeling just made him irritable!
It was at this moment that he suddenly saw the Ralts nearby, which completely drew his attention.
"What kind of Pokémon is this?" he asked in surprise.
"This is my Ralts." Xia You said casually, and seeing that Goh seemed to want to get closer to observe, he added, "Don't be fooled by its appearance. It's a Psychic and Fairy Type Pokémon that doesn't really like strangers getting close, so you... it's best to stay a little further away from it."
However, Goh clearly didn't heed Xia You's words. He looked at the Ralts' docile appearance in front of him, and the more he looked, the more he liked it.
"It's so cute! I want to catch a Ralts too someday!"
Hearing his words, Xia You's heart 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." Goh shook his head, "My dream is to collect all the Pokémon in this world, including Mew!"
Just as expected!
Xia You wasn't surprised by his answer at all.
"If that's the case, as the number of Pokémon keeps increasing, won't they just become your collectibles? Besides increasing in quantity, what other use do they have?"
"This..." Goh hesitated slightly, seemingly never having considered this question before. But after thinking for a moment, he still said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter. My goal is to collect them all. As for other things, I'll worry about them later!"
"Then we're really quite different." Xia You shook his head helplessly, "We Trainers also constantly catch Pokémon, but the goal is to continuously become stronger, to stand on higher peaks together, and to travel everywhere with our Pokémon. From this perspective, your catching seems a bit too self-centered."
Hearing Xia You's words, Chloe, beside him, stared blankly at her sundae.
Traveling with Pokémon?
This was something she had never imagined, but this dream also seemed quite good...
Leaving Vermilion City, Xia You followed the wide road, heading north.
Beside him, his two Pokémon, Ralts and Bulbasaur, walked with him, one on his left and one on his right.
The reason he didn't keep them in Poké Balls was actually inspired by Ash.
It's important to know that traveling on foot with Pokémon not only trains their abilities but also strengthens their bond. And with them accompanying him, the journey wouldn't feel so lonely.
As for their destination... it was, of course, the first Gym he wanted to challenge—the Cerulean Gym!
And looking at the map, reaching Cerulean City wasn't that easy.
Between Vermilion City and it lay Saffron City, the largest and most prosperous super metropolis in the Kanto region.
Saffron City was full of skyscrapers and was famous even in other regions. Moreover, it covered a vast area, so passing through it would undoubtedly waste more time.
Speaking of which, Saffron City actually had two Gyms as well.
They were the Saffron Gym where sabrina was , and the Fighting Dojo, where Kiyo was.
However, Xia You knew that with his current strength, he wasn't strong enough to challenge either of these two Gyms, so he didn't rashly enter Saffron City. Instead, he went around it and headed straight for Cerulean City.
Walking and stopping, enjoying the scenery along the way.
Such a journey, though somewhat tiring, also allowed one to get exercise.
After spending most of the day, he finally bypassed Saffron City.
And just as he was passing through a plain, he saw a Pokémon in the grass that resembled a fox, which caught his eye.
Most of this Pokémon's fur was brown, and it had 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!
Xia You recognized it at a glance and immediately took out his Pokédex, pointing it at the Eevee.
The Pokédex quickly provided feedback.
"Beep, Eevee, Evolution Pokémon, Normal Type, possesses the potential to evolve into multiple forms!"
It was just a short sentence, without even detailed information.
However, Xia You didn't care about that.
All he could say was that from the moment he set off until now, he had seen many wild Pokémon along the way, but he had no intention of catching any of them until he saw this Eevee in front of him.
Since he encountered it, he couldn't miss it!
"Bulbasaur, the rest is up to you!"
At Xia You's command, the Bulbasaur beside him let out a cry, then moved its four limbs and ran aggressively towards the Eevee, striking a battle pose.
"Bulba! Bulba!"
It barked twice at the Eevee, and from its tone, it was clear that Bulbasaur seemed to be provoking something.
Seeing Bulbasaur, Eevee didn't choose to flee. Instead, it also let out an excited cry, moved its four limbs, and actually attacked first!
"Oh? Interesting." Seeing this scene, Xia You's eyes lit up, "Not afraid of humans? And it can attack proactively, even its tail is wagging with excitement. It seems your personality is quite warlike!