"I knew you'd win!," Yellow said as she watched the boy hold his badge, extremely proud.
"I was a little insecure and even thought about giving up... but thanks to Luna, I was able to come up with a strategy to defeat Brock," he said as he watched the Pokémon sleep above his head.
The fairy's hands gripped Ash's hair as she snored loudly.
The Pokémon Center was full of people. Trainers who wanted to be treated by the local medical team formed a line that reached almost to the entrance. Ash and Yellow were at the end of the line, just waiting to be attended. In addition to Ash needing Nurse Joy to take care of Luna, who was still weak from the gym battle, he also had to register to get a room in the establishment's dormitory.
"And you? What did you do during the day?"
Yellow, who had been distracted until then, replied: "Chuchu and I visited the museum here. I had never seen a Pokémon fossil in my life, so it was very interesting to see them all with my own eyes."
Chuchu, who was on her lap, added: "Pika Pika!"
"Wow, fossils. I still plan on going there before I leave for Cerulean," Ash replied, eager to visit the place. "I heard that fossils can be revived with the help of a machine. I'd do anything to have one of them on my team."
He remembered a documentary he had watched on TV about a Pokémon called Aerodactyl. An extremely intimidating and powerful flying Pokémon, capable of flying at lightning speeds and devouring prey in a matter of seconds.
Yellow remembered something.
"Speaking of which..." She pulled the flyer out of her bag. "Look at this."
Ash read the flyer the girl handed him.
"Pewter Charity Tournament.
Registration is now open! Register now at the Pokémon Center closest to your city for a symbolic price of $50.
A tournament will be organized in partnership with the Pew City Hall. The money raised will be donated to NGOs and organizations that help the poor and homeless by distributing basic food baskets.
Trainers from all over Kanto will be able to compete against each other. The winner will have the opportunity to choose one of the fossils, Kabuto, Omanyte, or Aerodactyl, to be revived.
Don't miss this opportunity!"
"A tournament!," Ash exclaimed excitedly.
"A woman gave me this flyer while I was visiting the museum. I thought you might be interested."
The opportunity to have a fossil Pokémon was not something that should be passed up. Besides the fact that he would be competing with other trainers, which could serve as training for his next gym battle.
Although that symbolic value was quite exaggerated, he understood that it would serve a greater cause, so he wouldn't even complain.
Of course I will participate.
"I'm going to apply today!"
Yellow shrugged.
"Well, since you're going to participate and I have nothing better to do anyway, I think I'll participate too... even though I think it's pretty stupid to use a noble cause just to make a profit!"
"But the flyer says..."
Yellow just shook her head. "Don't believe what they say, if they really wanted to help a social cause they would have done it a long time ago. These people just want to profit at the expense of a social cause. You're still too innocent to know how the real world works, Ash."
Ash remembered what his mother had said the day she left Pallet about the harsh realities of adulthood, and it angered him.
"I know the world is not a fairy tale, yet..."
Ash stopped when he saw that their turn in line had come.
The two headed to the service counter.
A pink-haired woman was in charge of the service.
"Welcome to the Pewter City Pokémon Center, how can I help you?," Joy said.
Ash picked up Luna, who was sleeping on top of his head, and handed it to the woman.
"My Pokémon recently participated in a battle. I think it needs medical attention."
"Okay, I'll be taking her to the nurse where she'll undergo a check-up by the medical team. I just ask that you wait a little bit."
Another woman with equally pink hair dragged a stretcher towards the reception and carried Luna towards the establishment's infirmary.
Ash watched as the Pokémon was taken to the hospital wing until it disappeared from view.
"Anything else?," Joy asked.
"I would also like to reserve a room to stay for a few days."
The woman began typing on the computer. "Your trainer card, please."
Ash rummaged through his backpack until he found the document. He handed it to the woman to check.
"The dormitories in the pokémon center are currently fully occupied due to the large influx of trainers who came to compete in the tournament organized by the city hall. Therefore, you will probably have to share your room with someone else."
"It's fine."
The woman handed him the numbered key to his room.
"Anything else?"
"I would also like to sign up to participate in the tournament."
The woman sighed wearily. "Another one for the list. Just give me the money while I sign you up. You can go to your room now, and as soon as you're done, I'll give you back your trainer card."
Ash handed over the money and stepped out of line to make room for Yellow.
Behind her there was only one boy left.
He watched as the girl repeated the same procedure he had done. When she finished, the two headed towards the stairs that led to the dormitories.
Ash looked at the number on his key.
8.
He sighed.
"See you later," Ash said, saying goodbye to Yellow as the girl left for the female dormitories.
He walked down the hallway until he found the door with his number.
As he was about to turn the key, he heard a scream coming from the direction of the stairs. "WAITTTTTTTTTTTT."
The boy who was behind Yellow in line was running towards him. He ended up tripping over his own foot and rolled down the hallway until he stopped in front of Ash.
Ash frowned.
The boy brushed off his shirt and got up from the ground. He then bowed in front of Ash.
"S-sorry, I'm always clumsy like this."
"Do I know you?"
"No. I'm so sorry. My name is Orange and I believe we'll be roommates," he said, still hunched over. His voice was nervous.
"It's okay, I just got here too."
The boy finally straightened up and looked at Ash. His hair was curly and a bright orange color. He wore rectangular glasses and jean shorts, along with a white shirt with a Dragonite design in the middle and Pokémon trainer sneakers. Behind him, there was a backpack that seemed to be twice the size of his own.
"I'm a bit lost. It's been about two months since I arrived in Kanto and I still don't know the region very well."
"It's okay. I can help you with that."
Ash opened the door with his key.
The two entered the room and began organizing their things.
Curiosity got the better of Ash as he watched the clumsy boy organize his Poké Balls on the bed next to him.
"You said it's your first time visiting Kanto... Where are you from?"
He adjusted his glasses under his nose and replied: "I'm from the Orange Islands archipelago. I came to Kanto to try to participate in the Pokémon League here."
Orange Islands?
"I've heard about this place on TV but I don't think I've ever seen anything related to this archipelago. What's it like there?"
The boy lay on the bed and looked at the ceiling.
"The Orange Islands are made up of a group of islands with a tropical climate and a great diversity of Pokémon species. There we have our own league and our own gym leaders, the Orange Crew. Unlike the gyms here in Kanto, on the Orange Islands there are no gym battles, instead challenges are held. Some involve swimming, others mountain climbing, and some are themed battles."
As he listened to the boy's story, Ash imagined himself setting off on a journey through the islands, the feeling of adventure and the sea breeze blowing on his face as he explored the different islands.
"It looks like a really interesting place. Maybe one day I'll join the league there."
Orange smiled. "Don't think that just because we're not close to the other big regions that our battle style is inferior. I know that you westerners tend to think that we're just a bunch of country bumpkins. I've participated in the Pokémon League there and I can assure you that in terms of skill, we're not left behind."
"So you participated in the Pokémon League there?"
Maybe looks really could be deceiving and Orange was stronger than Ash first impression of him.
"Yes. Unfortunately, I didn't even make it to the semifinals." He gave a sad laugh. "That's why I decided to try my luck here in Kanto."
The boy took a badge case out of his bag. He opened it and showed it to Ash.
"I already have three badges currently, and if I can defeat the leader of this city I'll be going for my fourth. What about you?"
Seeing the amount of badges that Orange already had, Ash felt embarrassed to show his simple boulder badge.
"So you've already beaten Brock, huh? I hope I can beat him too."
Ash gave him an encouraging smile. Then, he lay down on his bed imagining the types of trainers he would face in the tournament that would take place in just a few days.
"Orange... Are you by any chance going to participate in the tournament?"
The boy, who was distracted looking at his badges, replied: "Yes! That's why I decided that the next gym I would face would be Pewter's."
Ash smiled. "In that case, I'm looking forward to seeing with my own eyes the power of the trainers from the Orange Island. After all, if you're going to participate in the Kanto League, it means we'll be rivals."
Orange smiled back.
"I'm also looking forward to it!"