Chapter 5: 5. Chapter 5: One-Ball Superman

Chapter 5: One-Ball Superman

It was noon, the time of the school lunch break.

In a cold drink shop by the sea in Vermilion City, Xia You, Koharu, and his two Pokémon sat on opposite sides of a table. In front of them sat super sundaes of different flavors and colors.

As the shop’s signature drink, this super sundae was not only incredibly delicious but also piercingly cold. One bite, and just as the flavor hit the taste buds, a chill rushed straight to the back of the head!

Despite being so cold that she had to hold her forehead, Koharu couldn't help but praise, "No matter how many times I taste it, the flavor of the super sundaes here is always so memorable!"

Perhaps due to the intake of sugar, she seemed a bit more lighthearted than before.

The reason the two were sitting here went back to about ten minutes ago.

Originally, after having lunch at the laboratory, Xia You had spent his spare time wandering around the city with his two Pokémon, intending to take in the scenery of this coastal city.

When he passed by the school, he happened to run into Koharu during her lunch break and invited her here to rest for a while.

That led to the scene before them.

It must be said that after two days of contact, although brief, the two had become quite familiar with each other. Sitting together now, it didn't feel awkward at all.

Especially after Xia You shared some interesting stories from his travels, it brought them even closer.

After a few bites, the topic shifted to Pokémon. Koharu couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Xia You, what are your plans for the future?"

"Plans?" Listening to the soft music, Xia You stretched, turned his head to look out the window, and said calmly, "Although I’ve become a Special Research Investigator, it’s just a nominal position. Dr. Sakuragi hasn't given me any specific tasks, so besides collecting the three starter Pokémon, I want to challenge the Gyms first to earn badges, so I can prepare for the Indigo League in the future."

"Challenge the Gyms?" Koharu didn't know much about Pokémon battles, so she asked curiously, "Are you going to challenge the Vermilion Gym?"

"The Vermilion Gym is still a bit too early for me right now." Xia You shook his head and explained patiently, "The Gym Leader there, Lt. Surge, is an expert in Electric-type Pokémon. Although Electric types don't have an advantage over Grass types, I still want to go to Cerulean City and Pewter City to challenge the Cerulean Gym and Pewter Gym first to hone my strength. But before I set off for those two gyms, I still need to catch one more Pokémon."

Koharu nodded as if she understood. "Is this what they call expanding your lineup?"

"Exactly. It's actually just like clearing levels in a game," Xia You laughed. "The process of challenging is, of course, to accumulate strength first, going from easy to hard. That’s the only way it’s fun to clear them one by one!"

Outside the window, students wearing uniform school uniforms passed by from time to time.

Just as the two were talking, a boy of similar age to Koharu with slightly dark skin accidentally saw Koharu through the open window. He raised an eyebrow and curiously walked over.

It was this glance that made him see Xia You, and his brow furrowed.

"Koharu, who is this guy?"

The boy spoke suddenly, his gaze darting back and forth between Koharu and Xia You, as if trying to discern something from their atmosphere and expressions.

"Goh? Why are you here?"

Koharu was clearly startled to see the boy, but she didn't think much of it and introduced him.

"This is Mr. Xia You. He is currently a Special Research Investigator at my father's laboratory. Mr. Xia You, this is Goh, my classmate at school and also my childhood friend."

In fact, the moment he saw Goh, Xia You had already recognized him.

He couldn't help it; he was just too famous!

Especially his appearance and temperament, which were exactly the same as in the anime!

"Hello." Xia You nodded at him in a friendly manner.

Seeing Xia You greeting him, Goh nodded back quickly.

"Hello, I'm Goh."

However, looking at Xia You's handsome appearance and seeing Koharu sitting face-to-face with him, for some reason, Goh suddenly felt uncomfortable.

Although he couldn't put his finger on it, the feeling made him somewhat irritable!

Just then, he suddenly noticed Ralts on the side, which completely captured his attention.

"What kind of Pokémon is this?" he asked in surprise.

"This is my Ralts," Xia You said casually. Seeing that Goh seemed to want to get closer to take a look, he added, "Don't be fooled by its appearance. It's a Psychic and Fairy-type Pokémon that doesn't really like strangers getting close, so you... had better stay a little further away from it."

However, Goh clearly didn't take Xia You's words to heart. He looked at the well-behaved appearance of the Ralts in front of him and liked it more the longer he looked.

"It's so cute! I have to catch a Ralts in the future too!"

Hearing his words, Xia You's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but ask, "In the future? Why, do you also want to become a Pokémon Trainer?"

"I don't want to be any Pokémon Trainer," Goh shook his head. "My dream is to collect all the Pokémon in this world, including Mew!"

As expected!

Xia You wasn't surprised by his answer at all.

"If that's the case, as the number of Pokémon keeps increasing, won't they just become your collectibles? Besides increasing in number, what's the point?"

"This..." Goh hesitated slightly, as if he hadn't thought about this question before. But after thinking for a moment, he said indifferently, "It doesn't matter! My goal is full collection. As for other things, we'll talk about them later!"

"Then we really are quite different." Xia You shook his head helplessly. "Although we Trainers are also constantly catching Pokémon, the goal is to keep getting stronger, to stand on higher peaks together, and to travel everywhere with our Pokémon. From that point of view, your catching seems a bit too self-centered."

Hearing Xia You's words, Koharu stared blankly at her sundae.

Traveling with Pokémon?

This was something she had never imagined, but this dream seemed quite nice, too.

...

Leaving Vermilion City, Xia You headed north along the wide road.

Beside him, his two Pokémon, Ralts and Bulbasaur, walked along with him, one on each side.

The reason he didn't put them into their Poké Balls was actually inspired by Ash.

You know, traveling on foot with Pokémon not only trains their abilities but also strengthens their bond. Plus, with them for company, the journey wouldn't feel so lonely.

As for their destination...

Of course, it was to head toward the first Gym he wanted to challenge—the Cerulean Gym!

And looking at the map, reaching Cerulean City wasn't that easy.

Between it and Vermilion City lay the largest and most prosperous super-metropolis in the Kanto region—Saffron City.

Saffron City was filled with high-rise buildings and was very famous even in other regions. Since it covered such a large area, passing through it would undoubtedly waste more time.

Speaking of which, there were actually two Gyms in Saffron City.

They were the Saffron Gym, where Sabrina was, and the Fighting Dojo, where Koichi was.

However, Xia You knew that with his current strength, he wasn't ready to challenge either of these two gyms, so he didn't rashly enter Saffron City, but instead bypassed it and headed straight for Cerulean City.

Walking and stopping, he took in the scenery along the way.

Although this kind of travel was a bit tiring, it was also a good way to get some exercise.

After spending most of the day, he finally bypassed Saffron City.

Just as he was passing through a plain, a Pokémon that looked somewhat like a fox caught his eye in the grass.

This Pokémon had mostly brown fur, a fluffy, bushy tail, short and thin legs, brown eyes, a small black nose, and long ears like a rabbit, making it look very cute.

It was actually a wild Eevee!

Xia You recognized it at a glance and immediately pointed his Pokédex at the Eevee.

The Pokédex quickly provided feedback.

"Beep. Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon, Normal-type. It has the potential to evolve into many different forms!"

It was just a short sentence, without even detailed information.

However, Xia You didn't care about that.

It could be said that from the start of his journey until now, he had seen many wild Pokémon along the way, but he hadn't had the urge to catch any of them, until he saw this Eevee.

Since he had encountered it, he couldn't let it slip away!

"Bulbasaur, it's up to you now!"

Following Xia You's command, the Bulbasaur beside him let out a cry, then moved its four legs, ran aggressively toward the Eevee, and struck a battle pose.

"Bulba! Bulba!"

It shouted at the Eevee twice, and from its tone, it wasn't hard to tell that Bulbasaur seemed to be provoking it.

Seeing Bulbasaur, Eevee didn't choose to run away. Instead, it let out an excited cry, moved its four legs, and actually attacked first!

"Oh? Interesting." Seeing this, Xia You's eyes lit up. "Not afraid of humans? And it can take the initiative to attack, even getting so excited that its tail is wagging. It seems your personality is quite combative!"