On a long stretch of dirt road, it looked from afar like a yellowish-brown ribbon with nothing on it.
But up close, a black-haired boy in a blue tracksuit could be seen walking forward with steady steps.
That boy was Eichi, still on his journey, now heading toward Pewter City.
He had underestimated how large Viridian Forest really was. It was far bigger than he expected.
Originally, he thought he would be out of the forest in five days at most.
But it ended up taking him seven full days. Today was the seventh.
After defeating three trainers at the Pokémon Center last time, Eichi had continued on his way, battling more trainers at other Centers he passed.
He mostly used Scyther, and while there were both wins and losses, he won most of them. The only time he lost was against a Charmeleon.
That Charmeleon was already an experienced and powerful one.
Scyther had fought with all its strength, but the difference in energy level was too great, and it ultimately lost.
Then Beedrill requested to take over, and after a fierce battle, Beedrill managed to win in the end.
That Charmeleon was completely crushed by Beedrill's attacks, to the point Eichi thought it might start questioning its life choices.
…
After walking for a long time, he finally saw traces of civilization ahead.
As he moved closer, the full view of a sturdy city came into sight. It was Pewter City. He had finally arrived.
As he walked, he planned his next steps: rest for a day, then go on a big shopping trip.
From a distance, the entire city looked as if it were made of stone. Many of the buildings resembled giant rocks, with stones visible everywhere.
The whole city seemed like one enormous boulder that had been broken into countless pieces, which were then used to build its structures.
To reach Pewter City, Eichi had to go downhill, as he was currently at the edge of the Viridian Forest's mountain area.
He was covered in dust from head to toe and looked rather dirty.
At the city entrance, he spotted a signboard with a map of Pewter City.
He took note of the locations of the Gym and the Pokémon Center, then headed inside.
The streets of Pewter City were not crowded, and soon, he found the Pokémon Center.
Inside, there were only a few people. It didn't take long before it was his turn.
He handed Nurse Joy the Poké Balls of Beedrill and Scyther and booked a private room for himself.
After heading upstairs, he took a long shower, then came down to pick up his Pokémon and eat dinner in the Center's cafeteria.
Both Beedrill and Scyther joined him, happily enjoying their meal.
After eating, Eichi returned to his room to rest and took a nap.
In the afternoon, he was full of energy again and went out shopping.
The atmosphere of Pewter City felt heavy and solemn, with rocks of all kinds scattered everywhere.
After asking for directions to the Department Store, Eichi went to restock Pokémon food, which had been running low.
Both Scyther and Beedrill's appetites had grown larger.
He also often fed wild Pokémon along the way, which made his supplies run out even faster.
When he arrived at the store, it was lively as usual, though not as much as the one in Viridian."
After asking where the Pokémon food was sold, he shopped thoroughly, then visited another store to buy ingredients for his own meals.
Once he finished all his shopping, he checked the signboard map and headed toward the Pewter Gym.
After walking for a while and turning a corner, the Gym finally came into view.
Standing before the entrance, he saw that the entire Pewter Gym looked like a massive white rock.
Eichi suspected the Gym was literally built inside a boulder.
When he arrived, there were already three people waiting.
One of them knocked on the door. A young man in a work uniform opened it.
He looked over the four of them, including Eichi, and said, "You're all here to challenge the Gym, right?"
The four nodded. The man continued, "Sorry, we've got a lot of challengers today. You can make a reservation for tomorrow."
"Follow me, please."
They followed him down a dimly lit corridor, though it was bright enough to see.
As they walked, the sounds of Pokémon battles echoed from deeper inside.
The interior looked as though it had been carved directly from stone. The man led them into a room and handed out forms to fill out.
After everyone finished, he said, "You'll all get your chance to challenge tomorrow."
"Take today to rest and get ready for a good fight."
"Thank you," the group replied, before leaving to prepare. Eichi did the same.
With the afternoon free, he decided to train Beedrill and Scyther to adjust their condition before tomorrow.
It was said that every city had training facilities for Pokémon trainers, though they were expensive.
The best rooms cost 1,000 p per hour, while the cheapest were 300 p.
He found the place, a massive rock-shaped building with a large poster of a Nidoking and a trainer.
The training hall was twice the size of the one in Viridian Academy.
Eichi confidently rented one of the most expensive rooms for three hours.
With the key in hand, he opened his assigned room.
It was spacious, filled with various training tools, though he didn't need them.
He released Beedrill and Scyther and said, "Tomorrow, we're challenging the Gym. The Gym Leader's Pokémon will be strong, so we can't take it lightly. We'll fight at full power."
Both Beedrill and Scyther nodded. Beedrill was thrilled, its twin stingers trembling with excitement. It had been too long since its last serious battle.
Scyther, seeing the burning eagerness in Beedrill's eyes, felt excited too, though it was also a bit nervous.
Training began. Eichi adjusted Beedrill's gravity vest from triple to quadruple, having it practice Agility around the room.
Scyther wasn't using any weights yet, as it was still growing, and heavy training could hinder its development.
Eichi set up a humanoid dummy and told Scyther to use Vacuum Wave.
Today's session was meant only to warm up and adjust their condition, not to overtrain.
…
After the training, Eichi brought both Pokémon back to the Pokémon Center.
They hadn't had proper massages in days since leaving Viridian Forest, so tonight was all about recovery before the big battle.