On the road between Pewter City and Viridian Forest.

Team Rocket had already dug a giant pit seven or eight meters deep in the middle of the road, then set up branches and covered the opening with the surrounding sand. Everything was as normal, with no anomalies.

“A flawless trap!” “That’s right, the little kid will fall into the trap when he comes!” “Then that strange Pikachu will be ours, Meowth!”

The Team Rocket Trio crossed their arms, laughing triumphantly.

As he laughed, James suddenly paused and asked:

“By the way, where did we set the trap?”

The other two frowned; because it was too flawless, even they couldn't recognize it, and they quickly began to bend down and search.

“I remember it was here…”

Meowth followed his memory to the middle of the road, only to hear a “creak” sound from under his feet, the branches broke, the trap was instantly exposed, and Meowth slid straight into it.

“Jessie, save me!”

The panicked Meowth grabbed Jessie’s thigh, and the subsequent force dragged Jessie down into the deep pit as well.

“James, save me!”

Jessie quickly grabbed James’s thigh, and also dragged him in.

Soon, the three completely fell into the deep pit, without splashing any water. Everything seemed as if nothing had happened...

3 minutes later.

A handsome man and a beautiful woman passed by.

“Huh, why is there a big pit in the middle of this road?” Ash stopped, puzzled.

“There’s no safety sign, it’s very dangerous.”

Misty looked into the deep pit, it was pitch black, but faintly there seemed to be dark shadows wriggling outwards, like bugs. She quickly suggested:

“How about we bury it…?”

“Understood.” Ash nodded and threw out a Poké Ball.

“I choose you, Pidgeotto, use Sand Attack.”

Immediately, Pidgeotto used the standard dog-paddle motion, kicking its hind legs, and countless sand was swept into the deep pit, quickly blocking the opening.

Everything returned to its original state.

“Doing good deeds, so happy.”

The two happily set off again.

At the Pewter City intersection, as Ash walked, he suddenly heard a low shout, which startled him and made him retreat repeatedly.

“Hey! Young man, you stepped on my pickled stone!”

This was a middle-aged man wearing a red knitted hat, covering most of his face, with dark skin and strong muscles.

Ash looked down and realized that he was stepping on a strangely shaped stone, which even had a price tag on it. Looking around, there were all kinds of oddly shaped stones, all with various price tags attached.

“Pewter City is a city that symbolizes Rock…” the middle-aged man said leisurely.

Seeing this, Ash couldn't help but ask:

“Uncle, who are you?”

The middle-aged man had not yet answered, but Misty answered first.

“I know, you must be the Alliance Champion of the Hoenn region, Mr. Steven!”

She heard that Steven was also an old stone enthusiast, but Misty didn't know much about it, so she blindly guessed that those who liked stones should be dark-skinned middle-aged uncles, right?

“Alliance Champion?”

Ash looked confused, what was an Alliance Champion, was he even more powerful than his Pokémon Master? By the way, wasn’t the Hoenn region that place where Rayquaza were everywhere, so numerous they were less than dogs?

The middle-aged man explained: “Miss, I am not Steven, my name is Brock…”

“User: Brock, searching data…”

At this moment, a mechanical voice suddenly interrupted his self-introduction, it was the Pokédex showing off its presence again.

After a while, the mechanical voice came again.

“Beep, data updated.”

“Brock, from Pewter City, former Pewter Gym Leader, has now resigned from the position of Gym Leader to challenge the Pokémon Alliance alone. He has challenged the Alliance for twenty years, but has not won the Champion title. His best result was runner-up in the Kalos region Pokémon Alliance.”

“Twenty years!?”

Ash and Misty were both greatly surprised.

Especially Ash, for some reason, hearing the news that he hadn't won the Champion title for twenty years, a chill ran from his feet through his entire body, making him feel cold all over, and a sense of trance came over him.

Why do I feel so empathetic…?

Even the Red deep in his soul was startled by this chill.

“What the hell, is it resentment from another world…?” Red secretly wondered.

Brock frowned even more, what the hell was this Pokédex, how could he be stripped bare after one glance? Had the Alliance's black technology reached such a level? Or was it because he had challenged too many times and was recorded as a blacklist…?

“By the way, what do Gym Leader and challenging the Alliance mean?” Ash couldn't help but ask. He was still a naive novice.

“You must be a new Trainer, then I’ll explain to you…” Brock hadn't finished speaking when he was interrupted by the Pokédex again.

“Beep, keyword detected, now it’s popular science time.”

“Each region has a considerable number of Gyms. Defeating a Gym Leader will earn you a badge. Collecting eight badges allows you to challenge the Pokémon Alliance Tournament in that region.” “When you become the winner of an Alliance Tournament, you can challenge the Elite of that Pokémon Alliance. After consecutively defeating four Elites, you can challenge the strongest of the Pokémon Alliance, the Alliance Champion!”

Ash rubbed his head, he didn't understand any of this long string of words, and couldn't help but say: “What the hell, summarize it simply in four words.”

“Be a good person.”

Ash: “...”

“Oh, for beginners like you, it means challenging Gyms, getting 8 badges, and then challenging the Alliance Tournament.” Misty couldn't help but interject and explain.

Hearing this, Ash suddenly realized: “Oh, I understand that. Pokédex, you should learn how to speak properly.”

Pokédex: “...”

Brock: “...”

This Trainer seems even more outrageous than this Pokédex.

“By the way, little brother, are you going to challenge our Pewter Gym?”

Ash thumped his chest, looking incredibly confident.

“Of course!”

Becoming the Alliance Champion is the first step to becoming a Pokémon Master!

“Hehe, but looking at your Pokémon, it’s quite difficult to defeat Gym Leader Brock…”

Brock pointed to Pikachu, a common Electric Mouse clearly couldn't overcome the Rock Gym.

“I also have Pidgeotto and Metapod!” Ash quickly retorted.

Brock, however, looked confused. Was this Trainer missing a mind? Why did he specifically choose Pokémon with type disadvantages?

“Ahem, if I may be frank, you’ve already lost just on type advantage…”

“Type advantage? What’s that?” Ash didn't care, waving his hand casually:

“Pokémon battles are all about the indomitable fighting spirit and unwavering will! Right, Pikachu!”

“Pikachu!”

Pikachu nodded, indicating that Ash’s words made some sense.

Brock, Misty: “...”

“Never mind, I can definitely defeat that Brock. Uncle, can you show me the way to the Pewter Gym? Anyway, no one is buying these stones of yours.”

Brock frowned; although it was rude to point out, he still led Ash to the front of the Pewter Gym. He had no other purpose; he just wanted to be closer to it, but also felt ashamed to face this Gym and dared not approach. Only by guiding a new Trainer did he have a legitimate reason to get close.

Ash, however, didn't think much of it, pushed the door open and entered the Gym, shouting into the air with immense spirit and ambition:

“Hey, hey, hey, I’m Ash from Pallet Town, my dream is to become a Pokémon Master, I want to challenge the Gym!”

3 minutes later, Ash arrived at the Pokémon Center in Pewter City, holding a dying Pikachu.