Amelie arrived at the Pokémon Center. As soon as she walked in, she saw Archie in the lounge area.
She went straight over. Archie was sitting there, reading a newspaper.
"Archie."
Hearing the familiar voice, Archie looked up. It was his sister, Amelie.
Surprised, he said, "Sis, you're here! It's been so long. I really missed you."
Amelie huffed. "What's going on? Why are you at the Pokémon Center?"
Archie scratched his head. "When I came here, I planned to catch another Pokémon before heading deep into the Viridian Forest. I ran into one that caught my attention, so I tried to capture it. But it turned out to be too strong. Both my Pokémon lost, even my Ninetales."
"So I had no choice but to come here for treatment."
Amelie was shocked. "Even your Ninetales lost? That strong?"
Archie nodded. "I think it's no weaker than Dad's Dragonite."
That made Amelie even more curious. She quickly asked, "What kind of Pokémon was it?"
Archie said, "It was…"
Amelie's eyes widened. "That one?"
***
Elsewhere, Eichi and Brighton had exchanged contact information and gone their separate ways.
From their earlier conversation, Eichi learned that it would take several more days to reach Vermilion City from here.
After thinking it over, Eichi decided not to continue.
He would stay in a nearby town for a few days before heading back.
Past a stretch of terraced fields, a small town appeared ahead, with a river flowing beside it.
The river ran from the town toward the fields. Eichi had casually asked a passerby for directions, and the man told him that if he followed the river, he'd reach a small town up ahead.
When he entered the town, it wasn't too lively, nor too quiet.
There were shops and food stalls, though the variety wasn't as large as in the cities.
Eichi stopped and looked around.
He remembered hearing that while traveling, one could stay at someone's house for a small fee.
But even so, he felt awkward knocking door to door asking for a place to stay.
While he was hesitating, a voice called from behind.
"Hello."
Turning around, he saw a boy about his age.
The boy had deep green hair, styled wildly like a Super Saiyan.
He wore simple clothes: a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. From his sharp eyes, Eichi could tell he was clever, though not exactly handsome.
He looked familiar, but Eichi couldn't recall from where.
"Hello," Eichi replied. "What is it?"
"Are you looking for a place to stay?" the boy asked.
"Yes," Eichi said.
"You can come to my house," the boy said cheerfully. "We have an extra room you can use."
"Alright then, lead the way," Eichi said.
The boy grinned. "Really? Come on, follow me."
They walked a short distance until they reached a two-story house.
It looked modest, neither too poor nor too rich.
The boy opened the door and called inside, "Grandpa, we've got a guest!"
Then he turned to Eichi. "Come on in."
Eichi stepped inside.
The house was neat and tidy, though the furniture was all quite old, except for a new-looking television in the living room.
Soon, an elderly man came down from the second floor. He was short, slightly hunched, and looked to be in his fifties.
Walking slowly down, the boy said to him, "Grandpa, he wants to stay with us for a few days."
The old man looked kindly at Eichi. "You want to stay here for a few days, young man?"
"Yes," Eichi said directly. "How much per night?"
"How about seventy?" the man asked.
Eichi thought for a moment and agreed. "Alright. I'll stay for seven days."
He pulled out his wallet and handed over 490p.
The old man counted the money and nodded. "Akira, tidy up the room upstairs for our guest."
"Okay, Grandpa," the boy said, then turned to Eichi a little shyly. "You can sit here in the living room for now while I get the room ready."
"Alright."
Eichi sat down on the sofa while the old man took a seat beside him.
The boy, Akira, went upstairs to clean.
The old man started chatting. "Where are you from, young man? What's your name?"
"I'm Yoshino Eichi from Viridian City," Eichi replied quickly. "You can just call me Eichi."
The old man nodded. "I'm Ishimoto. You can call me Grandpa Ishi. That boy earlier is my grandson, Ishimoto Akira."
"Alright, Grandpa Ishi."
Eichi hesitated for a moment before asking, "Where are Akira's parents?"
Grandpa Ishi sighed. "They work in Vermilion City, quite far from here. They rarely come back. They send money home, but we only see them a few times a year. So it's just Akira, me, and my wife here."
Eichi didn't know what to say. The air fell quiet.
Time passed in silence until Akira came back down. "It's ready, Eichi. Come take a look."
Eichi followed him upstairs into a small but neatly arranged room. The bed was made, though there wasn't much furniture.
Still, everything needed was there.
Eichi was satisfied. He wasn't picky anyway. "This is perfect. Oh, I forgot to tell you, my name's Eichi."
"I'm Akira," the boy said.
"I know," Eichi smiled. "Your grandpa already told me."
"Oh, I see."
"You go on with what you were doing. I'll head back downstairs."
"Alright."
Akira went back down, leaving Eichi in thought.
So that's why he looked familiar, it was him, Ishimoto Akira, the boy who appeared in the anime!
In the show, his Sandshrew was incredibly strong.
It was said that it wasn't even afraid of water. To overcome its weakness, Akira had his Sandshrew dive and stay underwater to train.
Eichi had always liked that episode.
Of course, the boy before him hadn't yet grown into that version of Akira.
As the evening came, there was a knock on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Eichi, dinner's ready!"
When he opened the door, Akira stood there. "Eichi, Grandpa asked me to call you down to eat."
"Alright."
Following him downstairs, the smell of food filled the air.
In the living room, two figures sat waiting, Grandpa Ishi and beside him, an elderly woman.
She wore a plain dress and had a warm, gentle expression.
When Eichi came down, Grandpa Ishi called out in his deep voice, "Eichi, come eat."
Eichi didn't hesitate and sat down. "Thank you."
"It's fine," Grandpa Ishi said. "Let me introduce you. This is my wife."
He gestured to the woman.
Eichi smiled and greeted her, "Grandma Ishi."
She smiled kindly. "Eat up."