Pokémon: Simultaneous time travel, this Ash is too versatile!

Chapter 21, first gym choice: Pewter Gym! Get ready to catch a new Pokémon.

After hanging up the phone, Ash wiped imaginary cold sweat from his forehead and muttered, "Was Professor Oak exaggerating a bit? Are those two gyms really that scary?"

"I don't know about the Goldenrod Gym, but the Viridian Gym is indeed as famous as Professor Oak said." Misty lightly tapped her fair chin with her delicate finger, a thoughtful look on her face.

"The Gym Leader of Viridian City is Giovanni. In addition to being a Gym Leader, he is also an entrepreneur. It is said that Giovanni has invested in and participated in things like Poké Balls and Space Bags. His strength has never been revealed and is unfathomable. Judging from the strength he occasionally shows, he is at least at the level of an Elite Four trainer."

"In addition, everyone who has challenged the Viridian Gym says that Giovanni is gentle and good at guiding people. Trainers who have battled him have benefited a lot, regardless of the outcome, provided that the difference in strength is not too great."

"There are also rumors that Giovanni occasionally makes charitable donations and supports trainers from impoverished families, making him seem like the perfect man."

Xiaoxia recounted Giovanni's information in great detail, leaving Ash and Pikachu completely stunned.

Judging from what Xiaoxia said, Giovanni seems to be more than just a gym leader. From his personality to his character and strength, he is a perfect man. If a rookie trainer faces such a person in his first gym, it will really cause him a lot of psychological trauma.

"Never mind then, let's go to another gym. The closest gym is... Pewter Gym. Misty, do you know anything about Pewter Gym?" Ash looked at the map Nurse Joy had given him and found Pewter City, the closest city to Viridian City. There was also a League Gym in Pewter City.

"Pewter Gym... I remember that gym leader specializes in Rock-type Pokémon. Generally, Rock-type Pokémon have some Ground-type attributes or Ground-type moves. Ash, you only have Pikachu, right? Challenging Pewter Gym like that is a big disadvantage~"

Misty, the all-knowing one, provided information about the Pewter City Gym. Although Ash didn't know where Misty got this information from, it was generally very accurate, with almost no mistakes.

"Furthermore, gyms are usually two-on-two or three-on-three. If you only have one Pokémon, unless you can take on two or three opponents at once, it's best not to even think about challenging a gym."

Xiaoxia's words made Xiaozhi fall into deep thought. Pikachu's current strength is much stronger than that of a typical beginner Pokémon, and it should have no problem dealing with the most basic gym difficulty—in a one-on-one situation.

If the opponent has two or even three Pokémon, Pikachu really wouldn't be able to handle it.

Furthermore, the Pewter City Gym might also field Ground-type Pokémon, whose moves are not only super effective against Pikachu, but Pikachu's Electric-type moves are also completely ineffective against Ground-types. It seems like a disadvantage in every way.

Ash didn't really understand type advantages and disadvantages at first, but the experts in the group had analyzed Pikachu's types, so Ash knew which types Electric type was strong against and which types were weak against Electric type.

"What about this one? The Cerulean City Gym is also nearby. What type of gym is the Cerulean City Gym?" Ash pointed to Cerulean City on the map.

However, Ash, who was focused on looking at the map, did not notice Misty's suddenly stiff expression when he mentioned the Cerulean Gym.

"The Cerulean Gym is a water-type, but I don't recommend you go there!"

"Why? My Pikachu would be really useful in a Water-type Gym, right?" Ash was a little confused. For someone who only had an Electric-type Pikachu, wouldn't a Water-type Gym be just right? "Pika Pika!!" Pikachu patted its arm, which had little muscle, indicating that it would definitely shine in the Water-type Gym and defeat its opponent.

"Because... well... there's not much challenge! Right, there's just not much challenge. Think about it, you come out on an adventure to challenge the unknown and stronger, right? What's the point of going to a gym that's your type? If you're going to fight, you should fight the type that's your type! I think the Pewter Gym is pretty good, hmm."

Xiaoxia spoke with an air of certainty, and at the end she nodded in agreement, indicating that what she said made perfect sense.

Ash glanced at Misty suspiciously. He felt that her excuse was too lame, as if she didn't want him to challenge the Cerulean Gym.

"But didn't you just say that the Pewter Gym is a bit too difficult for me?"

"High? Where is it high! I didn't say that. I just said it's a bit disadvantageous, since you only have one Pikachu! But if you want to go to Pewter City, you have to go through Viridian Forest. You just need to catch one or two Pokémon that are super effective against Rock-type Pokémon in Viridian Forest!"

Xiao Zhi: ...=
"But you just said that only those with reverse attributes are challenging..."

"Can't you have one type that's unfavorable and one that's favorable? Why are you so stubborn! Anyway, I don't recommend you go to the Cerulean Gym. Whether you go or not is up to you!" Misty huffed and turned her face away from Ash and the others.

Ash and Pikachu exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat bewildered, seemingly unsure why the other appeared a little angry.

"Alright, let's head to Pewter City first. Let's set off now!" Ash slung his backpack over his shoulder, ready to continue his journey with Pikachu, but Misty pulled him back.

"Wait a minute! Didn't I just say we need to cross Viridian Forest? Viridian Forest is huge, and it's impossible to get out of it in just one or two days. So we need to buy some camping gear. Do you already have any?"

Ash shook his head. His mother had prepared a lot of things for him, but not many of them were actually useful. At most, there was a sleeping bag, instant food, and some general Pokémon food. The rest were basically useless.

"If you don't have any, then go to the shopping mall in Tokiwa City and buy some. Most importantly, buy a lot of insect repellent, because there are a lot of bugs in the forest!" Xiaoxia emphasized the last part of her sentence, and her voice seemed to tremble when she mentioned the bugs.

"I understand, let's go then, destination: Viridian Mall!" Ash nodded to show he understood, then took the lead and walked out of the Pokémon Center, with Misty following closely behind.

As Ash walked out of the Pokémon Center, he brushed past three people who were completely covered up. As if sensing something, Ash turned his gaze to the three people, who were two taller figures and one shorter figure.

"What's wrong, Xiaozhi? Do you know those three people?" Xiaoxia followed Xiaozhi's gaze and saw three people completely covered by coats, their features completely obscured.

Putting aside whether Ash recognizes him or not, how can Ash recognize someone when he's completely covered up? Does Ash have Hawkeye eyes?

(End of this chapter)