After resolving the issue with Bulbasaur's flower bud, Roy was in a great mood.
He recalled all his Pokemon, leaving only Pikachu perched on his shoulder.
Misty and Delia packed up the camp gear, and the three of them continued their journey.
Roy led the two women along, leveling up as they walked; whenever they encountered wild Pokemon, he would send his main team out to battle.
The three of them continued to grind levels as they moved forward.
The surrounding vegetation gradually began to thin out.
The originally dense forest transformed into low-lying shrubs.
Then the shrubs also disappeared, replaced by scattered wild grass.
The ground also began to change, shifting from dark brown soil to yellowish-brown sandy earth.
Roy stopped and looked up into the distance.
At the horizon was a stretch of undulating golden yellow.
A desert.
Misty also sensed that something was wrong.
"Why is it getting hotter and hotter?"
She fanned herself with her hand, sweat already starting to bead on her forehead.
Delia took a water bottle out of her backpack and took a sip.
"It seems... we are about to enter a desert region."
Sure enough, after walking for about another half hour, the green completely vanished.
Beneath their feet was fine, soft sand, making every step uneven.
Overhead was the scorching sun, baking the air until it shimmered and distorted.
As far as the eye could see, there were only sand dunes.
One after another.
With no end in sight.
...
The next few days were all spent in the desert section.
Roy didn't feel much of anything.
He had a strong physique, and this level of temperature was nothing to him.
Delia was also doing alright; after all, she often exercised in the wild with Roy and had some adaptability.
Misty's stamina was also decent,
But she was the daughter of a Water-type Gym, and her favorite temperatures were the moist, cool kind.
What she hated most were dryness and high temperatures.
And a place like the desert was simply hell for her.
Several days of travel had left Misty completely wilted.
Her head drooped, and her whole person looked as if she had been dehydrated by the sun.
Her hair was stuck to her face, and her clothes were soaked with sweat, clinging to her body.
When she walked, she wasn't head-high and chest-out, but rather hunched over, dragging her steps.
One hand pinched the corner of Roy's shirt, following behind him like a little tail.
"Ah... I can't go on..."
Misty's voice was weak and listless.
"What kind of ghost place is this... not a drop of water to be seen... not even a single blade of grass..."
Delia looked back at her, feeling a bit sorry for her.
"Misty, do you want to rest for a while? I still have a bit of water here."
"No... resting won't help..."
Misty shook her head.
"Even when resting, the sun is still beating down... the sand is still burning... there's no way to rest in a place without water..."
"I haven't taken a bath in so long."
As she spoke, she lifted her arm and sniffed herself.
Then her face slumped even further.
"I smell like sweat... I'm all sticky..."
She looked up, gazing at Roy pitifully.
"Roy... how much longer until we reach a city..."
Roy checked the map.
"Calculating by distance, we should reach the edge of the desert in a few more hours."
"A few more hours..."
Misty groaned.
"I feel like I'm about to ascend to heaven... no, I'm about to be dried into a fish snack..."
Seeing her like this, Roy also felt a bit of pity.
He reached out and put his arm around Misty's waist, pulling her closer to him.
"Hang in there, we'll be there soon. Once we reach the city, I'll help you wash up properly."
Misty, who was practically a dried salted fish, twitched her ear upon hearing those words.
The phrase "wash up properly," coming from Roy's mouth, took on a slightly different flavor.
Misty lifted her eyelids and glanced at Roy.
The corners of Roy's mouth were slightly curled; she was all too familiar with that expression.
This guy was thinking about lewd things again.
Normally, Misty would definitely blush and call him a rogue.
But right now, she was truly feeling too miserable.
Her whole body was sticky and sweaty; she felt like a fish that had been hauled onto the shore.
At this point, as long as she could soak in water, she would do anything.
Misty leaned against Roy's shoulder, her voice muffled.
"Okay..."
Roy was stunned for a moment.
He had actually just been habitually talking smack, he didn't expect Misty to actually agree.
"Huh?"
Misty buried her face against his arm, refusing to look up.
"I said okay... as long as you give me water to bathe... you can wash me however you want..."
Her voice grew smaller and smaller.
"Anyway... it's not like you haven't washed me before..."
Roy raised an eyebrow.
Oho.
This little girl had been baked in the desert for a few days and even her mouth had softened?
It seemed the desert truly was a hellish level of torture for her.
Delia walked beside them, listening to their conversation, and smiled with pursed lips.
Misty really loved water to her very core.
For the sake of a bath, she could even temporarily set aside her integrity.
However, Delia also understood Misty.
She was a Trainer from a Water-type Gym; just like Water-type Pokemon, she would feel uncomfortable being away from water for too long.
Wandering in the desert these past few days, Misty had already been quite patient.
If it were any other more delicate girl, they would have been crying for their parents long ago.
The three of them continued walking in the desert for several hours.
The sun slowly drifted westward, and sunset clouds began to appear on the horizon.
The silhouette of a city finally appeared.
The landmark of Neon Town—a tall lighthouse—was flashing its lights.
Misty had been about to collapse onto the ground.
Seeing the light from that lighthouse, she sprang up as if she had been electrocuted.
"A city! It's a city!"
She grabbed the corner of Roy's shirt and shook it vigorously.
"Look quickly! There's a city! There are lights! There's water!!"
Misty's eyes were literally glowing.
It was the same feeling as someone who had been drifting at sea for days and nights suddenly seeing land.
"Great! We finally reached a city!"
She had completely come back to life.
"This time I'm going to take a proper bath! I'll wash everything inside and out three times!"
As she spoke, she started counting on her fingers.
"First wash with body wash, then again with soap, and then soak in the bathtub and wash slowly one more time!"
"And then I'm going to drink a whole basin of water! No! A whole vat!"
Listening to Misty's grand declarations, Delia couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"You're going to drink the whole city dry."
Roy looked at Misty's restored vitality and smiled as well.
"Alright, let's hurry up, it's getting dark."
The three of them quickened their pace and headed toward Neon Town.
After walking for about twenty minutes, they finally stepped onto the city streets.
Neon Town was very aptly named.
The buildings on both sides of the street were covered in neon lights—red, blue, green, purple—flashing incessantly.
Bars, discos, casinos, nightclubs—all sorts of entertainment venues were packed together side by side.
There were quite a few people on the street, wearing eccentric clothing and with hair dyed in all sorts of colors.
It looked like a city with a very rich nightlife.
When they first entered the town, the three of them were quite happy.
After all, after walking in the desert for several days, they could finally feel a bit of the atmosphere of human civilization.
But this good mood didn't last long.
After walking just a few steps, a large man came toward them.
The man had a Mohawk, tattoos on his arms, and a cigarette in his mouth.
He didn't look where he was going and bumped straight into Roy.
Roy didn't budge, but the man was bounced back a step.
The man froze for a moment, and then his face flushed red.
"Are you blind! Don't you have eyes when you walk?"
Roy narrowed his eyes.
Before he could speak, the man had already walked away cursing, glancing back to glare at Roy as he went.
Misty huddled close to Roy and whispered.
"Why is that person so aggressive?"
Delia frowned.
"Maybe he's drunk?"
After walking a few more steps, a fruit vendor was arguing with a customer.
The vendor's voice was shrill and loud, audible across the entire street.
The two were arguing until their faces were red and spit was flying.
Walking further, there was a couple eating noodles at a roadside stall.
As they ate, the woman suddenly slammed her chopsticks onto the table.
"Do you fucking love me or not! Say it! Do you love me!"
The man also got angry.
"I spend every day shopping with you and eating with you, and you ask if I love you!"
"That doesn't count as shit for love! Look at Xiao Li, he buys his girlfriend bags, shoes, and makeup! What have you bought for me!"
"I bought you noodles!"
"Noodles my ass!"
The woman stood straight up and splashed the noodle soup from the bowl all over the man's face.
The man, with a face full of soup, was stunned for two seconds before exploding.
"You crazy bitch!!"
The two of them immediately started brawling on the spot.
Misty watched, dumbfounded.
"This... why are the people in this city like this..."
She was now huddling tightly against Roy, the two of them pressed close together.
Although her body was sweaty and sticky and very uncomfortable, she refused to move away.
Because she only felt safe beside Roy.
The looks in the eyes of the people on the street made her feel uneasy.
It felt like someone would rush up to pick a fight at any moment.
Delia was also cautiously following beside Roy, grabbing onto a corner of his shirt with one hand.
"The atmosphere here is indeed a bit off."
The three of them walked a bit further.
A cacophony of noisy music came from ahead.
The sound was absurdly loud, audible from several blocks away.
The subwoofers went "thump thump thump," vibrating so hard that one's heart trembled along with it.
Looking up, a massive speaker was hanging from a utility pole at the intersection, playing some unknown, explosive dance track.
And it wasn't just that one.
On both sides of the street, there was a large speaker every certain distance.
All of them were blasting music.
It wasn't the same song; each was playing its own thing.
Some played rock, some played EDM, some played heavy metal.
The jumbled sounds mixed together, becoming a noise that made one feel irritable and distracted.
Misty covered her ears.
"This is way too loud! I'm going to go deaf!"
Delia was also frowning.
"With music this loud, how does anyone sleep at night?"
Roy looked around.
The complexions of the pedestrians on the street weren't very good; they had heavy bags under their eyes, and their eyes were full of bloodshot veins.
A woman carrying a child walked by; the child was only two or three years old and was wailing loudly.
But the woman didn't comfort the child; instead, she started cursing at someone on the roadside who had accidentally blocked her path.
"Are you blind! Can't you see there's a child here! Get lost!"
The person being cursed at wasn't to be outdone either.
"You're the one who's blind! Control your little brat! Don't come here wailing like it's a funeral!"
Misty buried her face in Roy's arm.
"These people are terrifying..."
Roy looked up at the speakers hanging on the utility poles, then back at the citizens with poor complexions.
He thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
"The nightlife here is quite rich."
Delia also nodded.
"With it being so noisy at night, everyone probably stays up very late."
"Staying up late means poor sleep quality."
Roy pointed to the woman holding the child who was arguing with a passerby.
"Long-term lack of sleep leads to mental exhaustion."
Delia continued following his train of thought.
"With neurasthenia, emotions become unstable and one easily becomes irritable."
"The slightest thing that doesn't go their way makes them lose their temper."
Misty watched as an afro-haired woman in the distance was pointing at a young girl's nose and shouting abuse.
That afro-haired woman's appearance was indeed frightening; her hair was as frizzy as if she'd been struck by lightning, her facial expression was distorted, and spit was flying everywhere.
The young girl she was scolding was on the verge of tears.
Misty shuddered.
"Staying up late... not sleeping well... can turn someone into that..."
"Then... I'm going to make sure I sleep well from now on..."
"I don't want to turn into a shrew like that... it's too terrifying..."
Roy was about to reply with a laugh.
Suddenly, a mechanical sound rang in his mind—Ding!