"What a cute Pokémon! Is this the rumored Fairy-type evolution of Eevee?!"
Misty's eyes filled with hearts as she gazed longingly at the Sylveon in Red's arms. As a girl, Misty simply couldn't resist Sylveon's charm. Unfortunately, Sylveon didn't even spare her a glance, which truly shattered Misty's maidenly heart.
"What Pokémon is this?"
Ash took out his Pokédex in confusion and attempted to analyze Sylveon's data.
"No data! In this world, there are still many Pokémon that have yet to be discovered!"
Ash's Pokédex only contained information on Pokémon from the Kanto Region, so it couldn't retrieve data about Sylveon.
Seeing this, Red helplessly took out his own Pokédex and explained Sylveon's data to Ash. A mechanical voice soon sounded:
"Sylveon, the Intertwining Pokémon. One of Eevee's evolved forms. It wraps its ribbon-like feelers around the arm of its beloved trainer and walks alongside them."
Sylveon's evolution also attracted the attention of the surrounding trainers. All of them were captivated by Sylveon's adorable appearance and gathered around Red, hoping to trade for the Sylveon in his arms.
If Ash and the others weren't still here, Red would definitely have shown these people what "respect" truly meant.
Red had absolutely no fondness for people who casually traded Pokémon. He felt nothing but disgust toward them.
Red 'reluctantly' and politely rejected the requests of those who approached. He would never trade the Sylveon in his arms with anyone. As a trainer, this was Red's bottom line—a taboo that could never be crossed.
After Sylveon successfully evolved, Red had no desire to continue wandering around Stone Town. He planned to set off on his journey immediately. After saying goodbye to Ash's trio, he left.
...
At the same time.
Hiding in the shadows, the Team Rocket trio saw Red leave and once again began entertaining thoughts of stealing Pikachu.
"Wow, the Pokémon in this courtyard are dazzling to look at," James said excitedly.
"It's like they're calling for us to take them all away," Jessie said with excitement.
"It says here that Stone Town's specialty is Evolution Stones that can make Pokémon evolve," Meowth said while holding a brochure introducing Stone Town.
"Wait a minute! We trusted that book and dug holes in Evolution Mountain for ten days, but we didn't find a single Evolution Stone! How do you explain that?!" James said angrily.
"That's because you two were digging the wrong way!" Meowth complained, pointing at the random holes behind them. Evolution Stones could only be dug up from specific locations in Evolution Mountain. How could they possibly find any by randomly digging in the corners of the mountain like Jessie and James had done?
Of course, Jessie and James couldn't be blamed entirely. After all, Evolution Stones were Stone Town's specialty. How could the locations where they could be dug up be easily revealed to outsiders?
...
After parting ways with Ash's trio, Red continued traveling alone.
During his journey, he happened to come across an old man playing a flute.
"I'm really sorry for making you spend so much money on food for me," the old man said guiltily. If it weren't for the need to fill his stomach, he wouldn't have hurriedly stopped passersby and started playing the Poké Flute on his own.
"It's nothing. Your flute playing is very beautiful as well, sir. I also have a Poké Flute. If you don't mind, I'd like to play a piece for you."
Red's politeness made the old man's eyes sting slightly.
It had been a long time since he had met a warm-hearted young man like Red. Most trainers who passed through this area never cared about the situation of an old, ragged man like him. Only Red was willing to stop and listen to his performance from beginning to end—and even kept handing him bread and milk.
Red gently played the Poké Flute while the old man closed his eyes and listened to Red's heart.
The sound of a flute often reflects the inner world of the person playing it.
As the melody flowed, a gentle breeze brushed through the forest, and nature itself seemed to resonate with Red's flute.
When the piece ended, the old man realized that his eyes had already grown moist.
"Your flute carries a sense of loneliness," the old man said softly. "It feels as though you don't belong to this world at all—like you feel nothing but rejection toward it…"
This was the emotion expressed in the first half of Red's performance.
"But the latter half carries the joy of rebirth, revolving around the warmth of family. I suspect you're an older brother, and you also show deep care for your Pokémon. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to play such a gentle melody."
"Thank you for your evaluation," Red said solemnly. He hadn't expected that such a simple melody could reveal his inner world to the old man. It also made Red curious about the old man's true identity.
"Young man, are you interested in the Pokémon Snorlax?"
The old man looked at the Poké Balls at Red's waist and instinctively judged Red to be an outstanding trainer. This was simply his intuition—but he had never been wrong.
"I have a Snorlax here that suits you very well. Its personality is quite strange. It loves fitness and exercise, completely different from ordinary Snorlax. I don't want its talent to be buried. I believe you are the destined trainer it's meant to meet!"
(A Snorlax that loves fitness?)
Those words immediately sparked Red's interest.
After all, ordinary Snorlax are Pokémon that eat when they're full and sleep when they're full. Who had ever heard of one that liked working out?
The old man brought Red to where the Snorlax lived.
It happened to be the upstream area of a river near an unknown town. The town downstream relied heavily on the upstream spring for its crops. If the spring ever stopped flowing, the town would fall into the disaster of famine.
"I didn't expect this Snorlax to almost block the spring. Fortunately we came in time."
Seeing a fat Snorlax blocking the spring, the old man patted his chest in relief. If the water flow had continued to be blocked, the downstream town would probably see its river dry up within a week, leaving them without any harvest.
"Wake up quickly, Snorlax!"
The old man blew the Poké Flute in his hand. The melody awakened the sleeping Snorlax.
After waking up, Snorlax rubbed its eyes in confusion. When it saw the old man, it greeted him before standing up and walking toward a patch of thorns nearby—one of Snorlax's favorite foods.
Coincidentally, the nearby thorns had grown so thick that they were almost blocking the river's flow as well. Fortunately, Snorlax quickly devoured them all, swallowing them one after another with great satisfaction.
"This isn't the Snorlax that loves fitness."
Seeing Red's confused gaze, the old man explained.
He then led Red to an open clearing. The remaining thorny vines suggested that this place had once been a dense forest full of thorns. However, judging from the current situation, it had clearly been destroyed by some large creature.
"That's the Snorlax I want to recommend to you."
The old man pointed at a Snorlax not far away that was currently doing push-ups and introduced its habits to Red.
"This kid is famous for being a fitness maniac. Beneath all that fat are muscle lines that don't even lose to ordinary Fighting-type Pokémon. Unfortunately, it eats after training, sleeps after eating, and only trains again after sleeping. Because of that, its weight hasn't decreased at all—in fact, it's only getting heavier."
The old man explained helplessly to Red. Suddenly thinking of something, he was about to suggest that Red reconsider, but then realized that Red had already developed a strong interest in the fitness-obsessed Snorlax.
(I just hope this young man has enough money to feed that Snorlax.)
The old man looked at Red with concern, worried whether he could afford to raise it.
After all, Snorlax was known as a Pokémon with the title of "Big Eater." An ordinary Snorlax could barely be supported by a typical trainer.
But this fitness-obsessed Snorlax in front of them had an appetite twice that of a normal Snorlax.