After Red left, Ash and Brock rested for a while, then headed back up the mountain to meet Serena.
"You're back."
Seeing Ash and Brock approach, Serena came up to them, holding a Pokémon in her arms. It looked pink and should have been a Chansey...
"Why does this Chansey look weird?"
Ash looked at the Pokémon in Serena's arms with a puzzled expression. Then he glanced at Serena.
"Serena, did you braid Chansey's hair?"
"...No." Serena was a little shocked by Ash's gaze. The Pokémon in her hands couldn't possibly be Chansey, right?
"This is a Happiny."
"Happiny?"
"Happ!"
Hearing someone call out, Happiny raised his hands energetically in response.
It looked like a Pokémon Ash didn't recognize. He quickly took out his Pokédex and checked.
"Ding, Happiny, is a Playhouse Pokémon. It likes white round things and puts oval pebbles in its abdominal pouch. Sometimes it gives the pebbles to people it likes. It evolves into Chansey."
"Bucha!"
"So it's the pre-evolved form of Chansey," Ash realized. "Serena, did you meet a Chansey just now?"
"No." Serena shook her head and then told them what happened after Ash left.
Although she wanted to catch a Chansey, there were so many Chansey around that Serena didn't know which one to choose. So she set up a big feeding table. The Chansey's came to eat, and Serena picked the cutey that ate the most eagerly.
Well, appetite doesn't always mean strength, but Pokémon with good appetites usually have strong abilities. Besides, Serena wasn't planning to battle with Happiny— she wanted to enter contests. A rounder, glossier skin was better for that.
That's what she did, and after a bit of feeding and bonding, she successfully tamed Happiny with some tasty food.
"That's the general story." Serena rubbed Little Happiny's cheeks happily. "This little one is really cute."
"Happ!"
"Congratulations, Serena." Ash smiled sincerely.
"Thanks, Ash. Have you caught the Kangaskhan yet? By the way, why haven't we seen Red?"
"Red left ahead." Ash scratched his head a little embarrassed. "I didn't catch the Kangaskhan. I caught a Weedle instead."
"Eh? What happened?" Serena was surprised by the difference. "Is something wrong?"
"Maybe the Weedle's just more destined to me." Ash told Serena everything that had happened.
"Eh…" Serena wasn't sure how to respond. "Don't be too down, Ash. Beedrill, the final evolution of Weedle, is also very popular. A powerful Pokémon. And I heard Shiny Pokémon have unique abilities compared to ordinary ones."
Ash looked at Serena strangely.
"I'm not down?"
"Well…"
Serena suddenly didn't know what to say.
Brock stepped in smoothly.
"Alright, anyway, everyone caught their favorite Pokémon. Ash, what's next?"
"I'm planning to go back to Pewter City first, get the badge there, then head to Cerulean City." Ash looked at Serena and Brock. "You guys want to go to Cerulean City? Then we should say goodbye here."
Before Serena could answer, Brock spoke again.
"Don't worry about the Pewter City gym, Ash."
He rummaged in his backpack, pulled out a gray badge, and handed it to Ash.
"Here."
"This is... the Pewter City badge?" Ash stared in surprise, then looked at Brock. "Brock, are you...?"
Brock nodded calmly. "Yeah, I am..."
"Are you giving me your badge?!" Ash jumped like a cat with its tail burned off. "No, no, no! I want to earn the badge myself! Brock, don't you know that breaks the League's rules?"
"Yeah, yeah." Serena looked around nervously. "No one's here. Brock, please put your badge away quickly. Don't worry, we won't tell Officer Jenny."
"Where do you think you are?" Brock sighed, "I'm not breaking the law. And this is my badge... actually, I'm the gym leader of Pewter City right now. I'm traveling with Goh, so my father's holding down the gym temporarily."
"Oh!" Ash suddenly understood. But he hesitated looking at the badge. "But is this okay? We haven't battled yet."
"In the end, the gym battle is just a test of your ability to earn the badge. It doesn't have to be a battle." Brock shook his head. "Your fight with Red already showed me you're strong enough. You deserve this badge."
"Here."
"Uh..." Ash's eyes loosened. After thinking a bit, he said, "Okay, I'll hold the badge, but Brock, can you battle me sometime?"
"Eh?"
"I haven't battled a gym trainer yet, so it feels weird holding the badge."
"Sure." Brock smiled. "I'm waiting for your challenge anytime."
"Okay, then..."
"But definitely not now." Brock quickly stopped him as Ash reached for a Poké Ball. "Your Pokémon just fought and are tired. They need rest. You don't want them hurt from exhaustion, right?"
"Well..." Ash put down the Poké Ball. "You're right. Froakie needs to rest."
"Let's wait for your Pokémon to recover, then fight." Brock handed Ash the badge and continued, "You're heading to Cerulean City next, right?"
Ash nodded. "Yeah, the second gym."
"That's great! We can travel together again." Serena smiled brightly.
Ash was stunned for a moment by Serena's expression, then looked away and nodded.
"Yeah, that sounds good."
"Let's rest a bit here." Brock rolled up his sleeves. "I'll show you my craftsmanship."
…
After a good rest on Mount Moon, they started toward Cerulean City.
Ash didn't stop training on the way. He exercised with Froakie, Mimikyu, and the Weedle. After Froakie's defeat, he made training even harder.
He did things like carrying heavy rocks on his back, squats and push-ups, pulling trees to build arm strength, and chopping waterfalls with bare hands until the water stopped flowing. If not for Froakie's water-type traits, Brock and Serena would have thought he was a fighting-type Pokémon.
But the most surprising thing wasn't Ash's Pokémon—it was Ash himself.
He trained strength with Froakie, speed with Mimikyu, and even practiced Poison Sting with the Weedle. Forget the first two—how is Ash teaching the Weedle to spit poisonous needles? What's amazing about this kid is how you can really teach the Weedle needle skills!
Serena looked at Ash holding a sharpened wooden needle and explaining seriously, while the Weedle listened attentively. She couldn't help but ask,
"Ash, how do you teach the Weedle the poisonous needle skill? You don't know how to spit needles yourself…"
"Huh? Well, I think it's about accuracy and strength." Ash scratched his head, looking at the wooden needle. "So if the Weedle improves its aim, its proficiency with the poison needle should increase too, right?"
"That's true." Brock nodded, but after looking at the wooden needle in Ash's hand, he asked, "Have you ever learned needle throwing?"
"No." Ash threw the needle. It flew steadily, piercing a distant leaf and sticking into a tree trunk. "But I don't think it's that hard."
Serena and Brock watched, confused.
If Ash fought Red's Pokémon in person, would he have a better chance of winning?
Even though Ash's special training seems a bit strange, it's clearly effective. After all, even the weaker trainers train with him, so what excuse do they have not to train hard?
As everyone marched forward in this weirdly intense atmosphere, Ash and Brock had a long-awaited battle. In the end, Froakie beat all three of Brock's Pokémon. This was normal, since Brock's rock and ground types are naturally weak against water.
Ash, satisfied after learning from Brock's gym experience, continued his odd but effective training. A few days later, the trio successfully arrived in Cerulean City.
Ash and his Pokémon had also become much stronger.
"Is this Cerulean City?" Ash felt a bit magical now. He looked around excitedly. "Where's the Cerulean Gym? Let's break through the Cerulean Gym in one go! Froakie!"
"Quack."
Froakie responded lazily. It wasn't that he didn't care—it was that Froakie had entered a state of conserving energy, like a cannon charging up power to release all at once. This was a trick Ash and Froakie had developed to use against Red.
Whether it worked or not… that was for them to find out.
"Wait, Ash, haven't you contacted Professor Oak for a while?" Serena stopped Ash, who was about to rush off. She pointed to the Pokémon Center.
"You should at least report to the Professor before doing anything else, right?"
"Eh?" Ash was stunned for a moment.
"Yeah, let's go to the Pokémon Center and talk to Professor Oak."
The three walked inside.
Ash found a public phone and dialed the Oak Research Institute. After a moment, Professor Oak appeared on the screen, slurping instant noodles.
"Oh, Ash." Professor Oak looked surprised. "Why are you calling now?"
"Well... I just got to the city." Ash scratched his head. "I was in the forest before and didn't have a chance."
"What? You've been in the forest for over two months?" Professor Oak was amazed. "Where exactly are you?"
"Cerulean City."
"Cerulean City? Not Pewter City?" Professor Oak was stunned. "Anyway, how many Pokémon have you caught?"
"Two." Ash released Mimikyu and the Weedle. "These two."
"Mimikyu? Shiny Weedle?" Professor Oak looked surprised. "Not bad. Are there still Mimikyu in Viridian Forest? That's interesting..."
"Professor?"
"Sorry, got distracted." Professor Oak cleared his throat. "Your progress is beyond what I expected, but Ash, you need to work harder. Other trainers who left with you have almost reached the sixth gym and caught thirty or forty Pokémon."
"And Goh even met the Legendary Pokémon, Ho-oh." Professor Oak sipped noodles. "Ash, you need to catch up."
"Ho-oh..." Ash muttered. "I kind of want to fight it."
"Who do you think can see the Ho-oh?" Oak laughed.
"You can't say that, Professor." Ash frowned. "Just because I haven't met it yet doesn't mean I won't. Besides, I've met other Legendaries—like Mew!"
"What?!" Oak leaned closer, shocked. "Where? When? Do you have data?"
"Uh..." Ash was startled. "I saw Mew in the forest, but I don't remember exactly when."
"Serena, do you remember that day?"
Ash looked at Serena.
She smiled and stepped forward to greet Professor Oak.
"Long time no see, Professor Oak."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Serena. I attended the summer camp you organized as a child."
"Oh, I remember. You were the child who got lost. I almost organized a big search."
Serena's expression dropped. She took a deep breath.
"Professor Oak, do you remember... who brought me back?"
"Uh... I think Goh took you back."
Serena sighed with relief and glanced at Ash, who had no idea. She bit her lip.
"Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure." Professor Oak nodded. "Why do you ask?"
"Nothing. Just a childhood memory." Serena smiled faintly and exited the video.
Did I really guess wrong?
She thought, a bit disappointed.
Ash didn't notice. He was dealing with Professor Oak's questions.
"Hey Ash, upload your Pokédex data. With that, I can at least get a basic understanding of Mew."
"I know, I know, let me see... uploading now..."