Chapter 192: Goldenrod City, Whitney the Directionally Challenged
It was a sleepless night.
The next day, early in the morning, the Ursaring in the forest began their daily patrol routine.
Ash's group and Brock's group were coincidentally both sniffed out by the Ursaring, who began to chase and attack them relentlessly.
Just like that, while the two groups were fleeing, they accidentally ran into each other.
"Brock, are you alright?" Ash asked.
"I'm fine, but it seems like there are more Ursaring now. We'd better run quickly!" Brock said.
"There's a suspension bridge over there, let's hurry!"
At this moment, James pointed to a dilapidated suspension bridge not far away and shouted.
Ash glanced at the suspension bridge and said: "That bridge is too rotten; it can't support everyone crossing at once. Misty, Brock, you two go first, I'll bring up the rear."
"Mewtwo, come out!"
"Alright, Ash, be careful!"
Misty was very clear about Ash's abilities, and she was also aware of how powerful Mewtwo was; these Ursaring couldn't possibly hurt Ash, so she didn't dwell on it too much and led Brock onto the suspension bridge.
Meanwhile, the Team Rocket Trio perfectly illustrated what it meant to be terrible teammates.
Those three fools, after Misty and Brock got on the suspension bridge, all squeezed on at the same time, unwilling to yield to one another.
"Hey, you three idiots, is this really the time to be arguing?"
Even Ash was a bit speechless.
The Team Rocket Trio froze.
"Exactly, I should go first, Meowth!"
Meowth pushed aside Jessie and James, and took off running toward the other side.
Seeing Meowth get on the bridge, James followed closely behind, while Jessie was left at the end.
I don't know if these three were born to attract hatred or what, but not long after they got on the bridge, an Ursaring used Hyper Beam to blast the suspension bridge apart.
Fortunately, the trio had decent luck, and the suspension bridge only broke on one side.
Seeing that everyone had reached the other side, Ash shouted to Mewtwo, who was currently keeping over a hundred Ursaring at bay: "Mewtwo, that's enough, let's go!"
Mewtwo nodded, then unleashed a Psychic, and flew toward the other side with Ash.
Due to the immense Pressure brought by Mewtwo, the Team Rocket Trio didn't wait for Ash to speak and decisively took off.
After leaving the Ursaring forest, Ash's group once again set off toward Goldenrod City.
After several days of trekking, the group finally arrived in Goldenrod City.
Goldenrod City was different from the small towns they had passed through before; it was a major metropolis, filled with high-rise buildings, and the streets were bustling with busy figures.
"Wow, what a huge city, I really want to go explore!" Misty said excitedly.
"If you want to, then let's go; the Gym challenge isn't urgent anyway."
In truth, it wasn't that Ash wasn't in a hurry to challenge the Gym, but rather that the Gym Trainer, Whitney, was directionally challenged, yet loved to go shopping, so the Gym was often closed because the Trainer wasn't there.
"Really? Thank you, Ash!" Misty happily linked arms with Ash.
Afterward, Ash and Misty started exploring, bringing along a few third wheels.
Yeah, they were indeed a few third wheels: Brock, Pikachu, Eevee...
An hour later.
Just as the group was planning to go to the Goldenrod City Department Store, Pikachu bumped into a Clefairy at an intersection.
"Pika Pika~"
Pikachu stood up and apologized to the Clefairy.
Ash picked up the Clefairy, reached out to pat its head, and simultaneously used Natural Power to heal it, "Are you alright?"
"Clefairy~"
The comfort brought by the Natural Power made the Clefairy somewhat lose itself in the feeling.
"Sorry, sorry, our Clefairy is too active."
At this moment, a young girl with pink hair, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and hot pants, ran over and apologized to Ash and the others.
"It's alright, right, Pikachu?"
Ash had already recognized that the young girl before him was the Gym Trainer of Goldenrod City, Whitney.
"Wow, what a cute Pikachu!"
Whitney reached out and picked up Pikachu, patted Pikachu's head, and murmured, "Pain, pain, go away, pain, pain, go away."
Finally, she even planted a kiss on Pikachu.
Seeing this, Brock fiercely banged his head against the wall next to him.
"It hurts! It hurts!"
His face flushed, and he asked, "Um, can you help my pain go away too?"
"Alright, this kind of minor pain is nothing at all."
Misty skillfully dragged Brock away.
After some introductions, Ash also confirmed that this young girl was his next Gym challenge opponent.
"Um, if you guys are going to the Department Store, I can lead the way~" Whitney said confidently.
"Really?" Misty asked, her face full of excitement.
Whitney's face was beaming with a confident smile, "Yeah, no problem, I know a shortcut! It's faster to go through the Underground Path over there."
Then Misty followed her, and this scene gave Ash a foreboding feeling.
Sure enough, shortly after, Ash and the others were successfully led away from the Department Store by Whitney.
It was originally only two streets away, but in less than half an hour, they hadn't gotten any closer; instead, they had walked ten streets away.
However, Ash finally understood why Whitney was directionally challenged; because this girl had a habit of walking downwards, and whenever they passed an Underground Path, she would lead them inside, only to emerge at a different exit.
As a rumbling sound rang out, Brock let out a weak groan: "If I had known this, we should have just gone into the burger shop we passed earlier to grab a meal."
"I'm really sorry, it seems I messed up the exit again, but I know the best burger shop in Goldenrod City, follow me!"
Whitney didn't realize she was directionally challenged, so she remained full of confidence.
Ash also didn't want to expose her.
Then the group was led by Whitney to their original intended destination—the Department Store.
Seeing the bustling scene of people coming and going, Whitney said somewhat awkwardly: "Sss~ It seems I led us the wrong way again, how about..."
Ash quickly spoke up: "Whitney, thank you, let's just explore here first; there's plenty of food inside too."
If he let her lead the way any further, who knows if they would be led right out of Goldenrod City!
"You really can't judge a book by its cover; I never expected the exquisite-looking Whitney to be directionally challenged. But how exactly did she manage to lead us to the Department Store?"
Misty really couldn't understand it; Whitney, who had just been able to lead them ten streets away, was able to precisely guide them to their original destination after changing the target.
"Perhaps this is just the discrepancy in how someone directionally challenged perceives a destination," Ash said softly.
Looking at the dazzling array of goods, Ash's group purchased a large amount of supplies, ensuring they had enough food for at least the next month before they finally curbed their desire to keep buying.
"Ash, thank you. I led you on so many detours, yet you're still treating me to a meal!" Whitney said.
Loving Book So Far Check Out 80+ Advanced Chapters At Pa Treon:
patreon.com/FicTonic1