Chapter 209: Beep. The Volcano Will Erupt in Five Weeks
2024-05-15 By Samsung Charmander
Seeing the two on the screen about to start quarreling, Professor Oak quickly interrupted them.
"Stop arguing. Since you defeated this Aerodactyl together, you both have the right to become its Trainer. Right now, I'm still helping these Prehistoric Pokémon with their recovery treatment, so don't come over and disturb me. When you're next back in Pallet Town, you can try to win it over yourselves."
With that, Professor Oak directly cut the call and turned to run toward the group of Prehistoric Pokémon, his research spirit burning fiercely.
As for who would be able to catch the Aerodactyl in the future, although one of them was his own grandson, it wasn't a big deal.
If Ash ever managed to catch a Legendary Pokémon on the level of Ho-Oh, then he could just as well disown his grandson, Gary. They weren't particularly close, after all.
"Haha, my Prehistoric Pokémon, let Grandpa give you a physical check-up!"
Professor Oak raised his hands like claws, revealing a villainous smile.
At the Pokémon Center, Ash and Gary glared at each other, but the former's expression was clearly much better than the latter's.
After all, with what Professor Oak had said, he had basically handed ownership of the Aerodactyl to Ash, which left Gary feeling quite displeased.
The fact that a Luxury Ball increases friendliness was no joke.
"It's alright. In the future, when I'm soaring across the Kanto Region on my Half-Step Mega Aerodactyl, I'll let you watch from below," Ash said with a smile, patting Gary on the shoulder.
"Hmph!"
Gary snorted coldly. Without another word, he pushed open the Pokémon Center's doors and left.
He was going to catch a true Legendary Pokémon, shock the world, and make the name of Gary from Pallet Town resound across the globe!
A Half-Step Mega Aerodactyl? It's just a worthless—
Damn it!
His composure completely shattered at that moment.
Just as Gary pushed open the doors to the Pokémon Center, an orange-haired figure happened to walk in—it was Misty, who had been out of touch for a long time.
Of the three, Brock had gone off to snatch a golden pickaxe, while Ash had gone to the Deep Pit Cave to seize an opportunity. It could be said that both had made significant gains; only Misty had suddenly vanished midway through.
Only then did the two boys realize that someone had been missing. It was Misty.
What surprised them both, however, was that Misty was cradling a Pokémon Egg with red and blue patterns on it.
"Well, I'll be. On this fossil dig, one of us went to grab a golden pickaxe, one went to catch a real Prehistoric Pokémon, and the other went to dig up a fossil egg?"
"It's not a fossil egg! It's a living egg!" Misty declared smugly.
A faint heartbeat could be heard from this Pokémon Egg. It was alive!
It was likely left behind by some absent-minded Pokémon mother.
"Then it's probably a Growlithe egg. After all, that place was full of droppings."
"That's some solid reasoning."
Misty: "..."
But then her fine eyebrows arched slightly. She knew that Growlithe were very valuable Pokémon.
She made up her mind. She would raise this Growlithe to be a Water-type that could spray water!
Whistling, she carefully placed the Pokémon Egg into her backpack.
One day after the fossil incident.
On a cruise ship in the seas south of the Kanto Region, Ash and his two companions were resting.
They were heading to the location of the seventh Gym, Cinnabar Town.
The town was on a small volcanic island, so they had no choice but to travel by sea.
Ash did have a Wartortle that knew Surf, but its durability was poor, making it unsuitable for carrying people over long distances. Not to mention, its shell was, at best, only large enough to carry Ash alone while surfing.
Besides being able to squirt a Water Gun, it couldn't serve as a transport Pokémon.
"I definitely have to catch a Pokémon that can travel long distances at sea in the future!" Ash thought to himself.
The cruise ship sailed for half a day before the trio could see a small island in the distance.
The first thing that caught their eye was a volcanic cone in the center that wasn't particularly tall, surrounded by the scenery of a tropical island.
The island wasn't very large; in fact, they could see most of it from the cruise ship. Aside from some vegetation on the edges, there was a large expanse that was clearly a town with human activity.
After disembarking, the surrounding temperature quietly rose by a few degrees. From time to time, they could feel hot steam rising from the ground.
"Um, are you sure this volcano isn't going to erupt?" Ash couldn't help but ask.
Given the size of this volcano, if it erupted, everything on this small island would likely be buried along with it, right?
There would be nowhere to run.
However, when he looked toward the town, he saw obvious signs of prosperous commerce and tourism. There were numerous shops and a constant stream of travelers, all of whom seemed completely unconcerned about the volcano erupting.
When it came to must-visit tourist destinations in the Kanto Region, Cinnabar Town was a contender for the top three.
A small island in the ocean, a unique volcanic landscape, and open-air volcanic hot springs were all extremely attractive elements.
"It's fine. This is a dormant volcano. Experts have investigated it and confirmed that it won't erupt for at least another fifty years."
Brock patted Ash's shoulder and explained with a smile. He said this with great confidence because these experts were the top minds from his own Pewter City.
The researchers from Pewter City weren't just skilled in fossil and rock research; they were also very knowledgeable about volcanology!
The moment he finished speaking, an electronic voice suddenly sounded from Ash's waist.
"Beep. According to this Pokédex's authoritative analysis, this volcano will erupt in five weeks. Believe it or not."
The three of them: "?"
Erupt in five weeks?
"Hahaha, impossible. The experts from our Pewter City are all real experts; they know their stuff," Brock waved his hand and laughed, assuming the Pokédex was spouting nonsense again.
This Pokédex was known for talking nonsense...
Wait, hadn't it told the truth a few times?
Brock's joking expression slowly faded, his eyes growing deeper. In serious situations like this, the Pokédex usually didn't lie.
At that moment, a calm voice also sounded in Ash's mind.
"It's most likely true. In my game world, the volcano here really did erupt."
*Beep. Player Red has joined the group chat.*
During his first year of travel, he had challenged the Cinnabar Gym in Cinnabar Town. At that time, Cinnabar Town had the appearance of a normal town.
But then one day, without any warning, the volcano erupted.
The towering flames and magma reduced the prosperous Cinnabar Town to nothing overnight.
Green, who had already become the Viridian Gym Leader by then, even visited Cinnabar Town once after the eruption. By then, the place had become a desolate island, completely covered in cooled volcanic lava. The only man-made structure left was a temporarily erected Pokémon Center.
It was worth mentioning that while investigating on Cinnabar Island, Green had also run into the player Gold.
"Looks like it's true, then..."
Brock's mind instantly spun, the world turning dark. "Were the experts from Pewter City all massive frauds?" he thought grimly.
Fifty years?
The grass on their graves would have had time to grow for fifty years!
His faith was starting to crumble. He was a loyal fan of Pewter City's geology experts!
"It's alright. Maybe they were just joking around and didn't expect anyone to actually believe them."
Ash patted Brock's shoulder, comforting him.
(end of chapter)