To reach the Fuchsia Gym in the mountains, Roy entered the forest path once again.
"Roy, you said the Gym Leader of the Fuchsia Gym is a ninja?" Misty asked while walking.
"Yeah, Koga, a Poison-type ninja." Roy nodded. "The Gym Leader is a very formidable character who exclusively uses Poison-type Pokémon."
"Poison-type, huh..." Misty frowned. "Then we'll have to be careful."
"It's fine." Roy smiled. "Pikachu's level is high now, so it shouldn't be a problem."
As the two were talking, Misty suddenly reached out and grabbed Roy's arm.
"Hey, slow down, I can't keep up."
With that tug, she pulled Roy's arm directly into her embrace.
Roy felt his elbow brush against something soft.
It was very elastic and felt excellent.
His heart fluttered, but he kept a calm expression on the surface.
"It's because your legs are short," Roy teased.
"Your legs are the short ones!" Misty glared at him but didn't let go of his arm.
Instead, she held on even tighter.
The soft sensation became even more pronounced.
Roy took a deep breath.
Delia was walking nearby, and seeing the two being so intimate, the corners of her mouth curved up slightly.
At this moment, Misty suddenly let go of Roy's arm, ran in front of him, turned to face him, and frowned slightly.
"Roy, I have a question for you."
"Go ahead."
"Exactly how many Pokémon have you caught?"
As she spoke, Misty eyed Roy's waist.
She counted.
One, two, three... seven?
Misty was stunned for a moment.
She rubbed her eyes and counted again.
That's right, it was seven.
Seven Poké Balls were hanging neatly on Roy's belt.
"Wait!" Misty's eyes widened. "Why do you have seven Poké Balls?"
Roy looked down at his waist.
Uh oh, he'd been found out.
But he had already prepared an excuse.
"Professor Oak granted me research privileges," Roy said without changing his expression. "I'm allowed to carry a couple of extra ones for research purposes."
"Research privileges?" Misty tilted her head, half-understanding.
She vaguely knew that some Pokémon researchers were indeed allowed to carry a few extra Pokémon for research.
Roy was always catching strange Pokémon, and Professor Oak was a highly respected researcher.
This sounded... actually quite reasonable?
"So that's how it is." Misty nodded. "Then what kind of Pokémon did you catch?"
"Just a bird with high potential," Roy said casually.
"A bird with high potential?" Misty blinked in confusion. "Your Pidgeot is already so big; that's already super high potential, right?"
She thought of Roy's majestic Pidgeot.
"What other bird could be more impressive than that one?" Misty tilted her head and thought. "Don't tell me it's a legendary bird?"
After saying that, she laughed at herself.
How could that be?
Legendary birds aren't that easy to catch.
Roy smiled and didn't answer.
He just reached out and gently ruffled Misty's hair.
His palm passed through her soft hair, and it felt very nice.
Misty squinted her eyes as she was petted, like a cat being stroked.
"What are you doing?" she muttered softly, but she didn't pull away.
Just then, Delia walked over from behind.
"What are you two chatting about so happily?" Delia asked with a smile.
Her voice was very gentle, carrying the magnetic quality peculiar to mature women.
Misty blurted out, "We're talking about Roy's bird."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the air suddenly went quiet.
Delia froze for a moment.
Then, her cheeks flushed slightly.
Her gaze swept back and forth between Misty and Roy twice.
"Then does that mean we only need to set up two tents tonight?" Delia said softly.
Although her voice was quiet, in the silent forest, everyone heard it clearly.
Misty also realized what she said.
Her face turned red in a "whoosh."
She flushed from her neck all the way to the roots of her ears.
"Oh my~ Sister Delia, you..." Misty stomped her feet. "You've learned bad habits from Roy too~"
"I was talking about Roy catching Pokémon!"
Misty explained, her voice filled with feigned anger.
Delia pursed her lips and smiled.
That smile contained a hint of playfulness, and also a hint of tenderness.
"Alright, alright." Delia nodded. "I must have misunderstood."
As she spoke, her gaze unconsciously drifted toward Roy.
Roy looked calm, and he even wanted to laugh a little.
These two women were each more charming than the other.
Delia quickly regained her composure.
She took the map out of her backpack and unfolded it to look.
"The map says the Fuchsia Gym should be nearby." Delia looked up and scanned the surroundings. "But this area is full of tall trees, and there's no one else around. Are we really near a Gym?"
Roy also observed the surrounding environment.
Towering trees, dense bushes, and the ground covered in fallen leaves.
Occasionally, one could see a few Rattata scurrying by, or hear the Growl of Spearow.
It was indeed very remote.
"The Fuchsia Gym is like this," Roy explained. "Its Gym Leader is a ninja, and this kind of deep mountain forest is very suitable for their training."
"If we keep walking, we should be able to see it soon."
The group had only walked a few steps.
Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared.
"Quack?"
Psyduck. It appeared suddenly, holding its head with both hands, its eyes dazed, and its mouth slightly open.
It looked totally goofy.
Pikachu and Eevee, who were nearby, were stunned.
"Pika Pika?" Pikachu tilted its head, looking confused.
"Eevee?" Eevee also blinked its eyes.
Misty was stunned for a moment, then frowned.
"Hey, Psyduck, why did you suddenly run out on your own?"
Psyduck didn't answer.
It quacked, waddled on its two short legs, and ran shakily to a nearby spring.
Then it bent down, stuck its head into the water, and started drinking with a "glug, glug" sound.
Delia couldn't help but laugh when she saw this.
"Psyduck is so spirited," Delia said gently. "It can even come out to drink water when it's thirsty."
"Then everyone, let's take a break here."
Delia said this as she walked to a large rock nearby and sat down.
Misty also walked over and sat next to Delia.
"Yeah, well, the Duck God is naturally smart," Roy remarked.
He walked to the edge of the spring, squatted down, and watched Psyduck drink.
"Don't even start! You stinky Roy!" Misty suddenly stood up and walked to Roy's side.
She reached out and pinched Roy's waist.
"It's all because you lied to me and said it was some legendary Pokémon."
"Up until now, it hasn't done anything useful even once!"
The more Misty talked, the angrier she got.
"Whenever we encounter wild Pokémon attacks, it always hides behind me!"
"It makes me so mad."
Roy gasped in pain from the pinch.
He rubbed the spot where he was pinched and smiled.
"It will grow slowly," Roy reassured her. "In the future, it will definitely surprise you..."
"Really?" Misty looked at the drinking Psyduck again.
Psyduck was still "glug-glugging" away as it drank.
It didn't notice Misty's gaze at all.
"Quack! Quack! Quack!"
Suddenly, an accident happened.
Psyduck was so focused on drinking that it leaned too far forward.
Its foot slipped.
"Splash!"
It fell directly into the spring.
Psyduck couldn't swim.
It struggled violently in the water, its two short arms slapping the surface frantically.
"Quack quack quack quack quack!"
Its cries were filled with panic.
Water splashed everywhere.
Seeing this, Misty slapped her forehead.
"Does this stupid duck really have a future?"
She was practically on the verge of a breakdown.
Pikachu reacted the fastest.
"Pika Pika!"
Pikachu ran to the edge of the spring and stuck its tail into the water.
Psyduck grabbed Pikachu's tail and was pulled up.
Soaked to the bone, Psyduck sat on the ground and sneezed.
"Quack..." It looked around blankly, as if it still hadn't figured out what had just happened.
Misty squatted down and looked at Psyduck.
"Are you really a legendary Pokémon or not?" She poked Psyduck on the forehead.
"Quack?" Psyduck tilted its head, its eyes dazed.
Misty was completely speechless.
Roy watched from the side and couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't rush, don't rush." He said. "Psyduck has great potential; it just hasn't awakened yet."
"Once it awakens, you'll know how powerful it is."
"Really?" Misty was skeptical.
"Of course." Roy nodded. "When have I ever lied to you?"
"Haven't you lied to me enough already?" Misty rolled her eyes at him.
"Roy, Misty, come look!"
Just then, Delia, who was scouting ahead, suddenly called out to the two, her voice filled with a hint of excitement.