Keeping one eye closed, all of them came out of the forest. After adjusting to the light, they opened their eyes fully and started to walk towards the ledge beyond which lay Pewter City. They gasped at the sight.
To the north, the fields swayed in the evening light, each blade of grass glimmering until the land shimmered like a sea of gold and emerald laid upon the floor of heaven. To the east, the path to Mount Moon stretched beneath the dying blaze, the setting sun casting its glow across the way. The mountain loomed like a colossal sentinel, its stone face burnished by the fading light, while trees, shrubs, and jagged outgrowths along its path glowed softly in the golden haze.
On the western horizon, the sun spilt its last fire, painting the sky in molten gold and blood-red hues. Clouds drifted lazily through its glow, their edges rimmed with light as though aflame. The eastern roofs of the city caught the blaze, gleaming in radiance, while the western streets sank into shadow, already surrendered to twilight. One by one, the windows flickered awake, and the streetlamps flared to life, as though the city itself exhaled a breath of light against the gathering dark. A cool evening breeze swept through, carrying the rustle of leaves — a soft whisper of delight as the night slowly claimed the stage.
"Whoa..."
So taken by the beauty in front of them that they were, they stayed in the spot for some time.
"Pewter City, the Stone Grey City. Quite beautiful it is, isn't it?"
Startled by the sudden voice, they broke out of their reverie to look at the man who had spoken to them out of nowhere. They looked around but could not find anybody. Was it their imagination?
"Sometimes look down, kid, you may never know what you might miss otherwise."
All of them looked down the ledge to find a man in a dirty white shirt with green pants. He wore a red beanie on his head that also covered his eyes somewhat, and he had a shaggy beard on his face.
"Who are you?"
"Who am I? Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
"Oh yeah. Hello, my name is As..."
"My name is Flint. You are standing on my merchandise. Move."
Gaping at the man called Flint, Ash moved out of the way and looked down to see what he had stepped on with a frantic look.
Rocks.
Plain, simple rocks.
He was not standing on some delicate merchandise, but some plain old rocks that can be found anywhere.
With twitching eyebrows, he looked at Flint again with righteous annoyance in his eyes. Was that a faint smirk on his face?!
"You..."
"By looking at you, I can tell that you are a trainer who has probably come to challenge the Pewter Gym, but who is that girl in your arms?"
Remembering the reasons why he had come to Pewter City, Ash said to Flint with a little bit of urgency, "Sir, I found her in the forest, injured with her Pokémon. I was able to save their life with the help of my friends, but it would be better for her to get treated in the hospital. Can you please show me the way?"
At that moment, Yellow turned to look at Flint.
Flint's expression became serious when he heard about it, but he asked, "You said that your friends helped you in saving her life, but where are they? I don't see them with you."
At that, Ash turned to look at Pikachu and Eevee with a confused look. Pikachu looked back at him. Turning to look at Flint again, he asked, "You cannot see my Pokémon?"
"You consider your Pokémon as your friends?"
Narrowing his eyes at that, Ash asked in a serious voice, "Yes. Is there a problem?"
"No. There is not. It's just rare to see trainers like you these days. By the way, what's with the sword?"
Quickly looking at his waist to see that the sword was still strapped to him, he mentally cursed himself for forgetting to return it to Ronin. He decided to tell the truth.
"I got it after we got nearly mugged in the forest by someone."
Flint was shocked upon hearing it and nearly yelled, "You people were attacked?! By whom?!"
"Do not worry about them. We defeated Team Rocket and forced them to retreat. Can you please take us to the hospital now?"
"Oh, huh, yeah, come with me."
With that, Flint started to lead the way for them to reach the nearest place that provided medical attention, the Pokémon Centre.
"By the way, my name is Ash Ketchum."
"Hmm. Noted."
After a few moments of walking along the gravel-paved path, Flint spoke again.
"It will be 5 Poké for standing on my merchandise, Ash."
They nearly lost their balance and almost fell on the path.
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(AN: Sorry for the late update. My exams will continue from tomorrow. Do not expect any updates for the next week. 2 tests on different subjects per day with only half an hour of break between them is bad enough.)