Yellow's arm was wrapped in bandages, while Baiyin cleared the path ahead, shouting, "Make way! Please make way!"
Trainers nearby whispered as they saw Yellow's injured arm, but Yellow didn't mind at all. In fact, having a little vanguard up ahead clearing the path turned out to be quite convenient.
Baiyin's small steps pattered quickly, her white hair fluttering wildly behind her in the night wind. Baiyin looked somewhat like the white-haired snow spirit from a ghost story, though Yellow's feet weren't treading through snow—anyway, it was quite a nice sight.
Just like that, the two of them smoothly made their way to the Pewter City treatment center. A treatment center and a Pokémon Center were two entirely different institutions; human surgery required money, and the expenses were quite heavy.
On the other hand, Pokémon medical care utilized much more specialized equipment, and the fees were far lower.
Baiyin had been running back and forth the entire time until she finally ran out of breath. Returning to Yellow, she said, "Yellow, the surgery costs six thousand gold. I don't have that much on me. Wait here, my home is right in the city, I'll go back and get it. Make sure you wait for me!"
Yellow had truly lost a bit too much blood; her vision was starting to darken, and she pulled five Max Potions from her backpack. These items could be said to be top-tier healing supplies, and their price certainly wouldn't be low.
"Go sell these at the shop, and buy me something to eat while you're at it. Hurry up."
Yellow closed her eyes and quietly leaned back against the chair. Stars danced before her eyes, and her limbs gradually grew weak. She had spent the whole day helping search for the Scyther and hadn't even had a chance to eat yet...
Yellow slept a dreamless, sound sleep, and when she woke up again, she was already lying in a hospital bed. Her right arm was wrapped in a layer of gauze, and Baiyin sat on a small stool nearby, her eyes closed. "Baiyin."
Baiyin didn't react.
"Baiyin?" Yellow spoke a bit louder.
Baiyin jolted awake, overjoyed, "You're awake, Yellow!"
"How long have I been asleep?"
"Not long, seven or eight hours probably."
Yellow looked out the window and said, "No wonder, it's pitch black. It must be the middle of the night. My forearm hurts so much."
"You should rest some more. The doctor said you should try not to move this arm as much as possible. I'll go heat up some food for you." Baiyin placed a bento box into the microwave.
"Baiyin, come here."
Baiyin obediently walked over and asked, "What's wrong? Is the position of your arm uncomfortable?"
"Take off your backpack."
Baiyin removed the backpack and handed it to Yellow.
Yellow opened the backpack, and surprisingly, the items inside were also displayed in the form of tags, exactly the same as her own. She only saw [Poké Ball x3].
Moreover, there was no red patch in Baiyin's backpack—meaning no modifier.
"The items in your backpack are displayed as tags too?"
"That's right, these backpacks are specially manufactured by Silph Co. As long as an item can be categorized, it exists in the form of a tag and won't take up physical space. If you put things like bento boxes or sundries into the backpack, then they would take up space."
"Baiyin, go get a piece of paper and a pen."
Baiyin nodded, retrieved a piece of paper from the printer by the door, and took out the black pen she carried with me.
Yellow meticulously listed out all the Pokémon type advantages and disadvantages for Baiyin.
"Keep this paper safe. Take it out and look at it whenever you don't understand something."
Baiyin looked completely baffled and couldn't help asking, "How do you know so much, Yellow? Did you study this beforehand?"
"That's right, you need to start studying hard too. We don't know who the Gym Leader of the Pewter City Gym is yet, but the Pokémon type should be Rock and Ground. Your Squirtle has an absolute advantage in terms of typing, it's just a bit low on level."
"Lend me your Squirtle for a moment."
Baiyin handed over the Poké Ball.
"I feel like eating fruit, help me buy some strawberries."
Baiyin nodded, and after waiting a few minutes, she brought a piping-hot tonkatsu rice bowl over to Yellow.
After Baiyin left, Yellow maxed out all six of Squirtle's individual values to 31 points, leaving the effort values untouched. After all, this was Baiyin's own Pokémon, so she should train them herself.
Besides, if Squirtle's head suddenly grew larger, or if its shell and limbs suddenly became robust, Baiyin would definitely notice something amiss and think that Yellow had done some strange tinkering to make her Pokémon sick.
Tonight there was tonkatsu rice to eat, along with post-meal fruit. Baiyin continuously asked Yellow questions, and when it was time to sleep, Baiyin went over to a small accompanying cot by herself.
Wang Yu felt a bit touched inside. He remembered the only time someone accompanied him in his past life for medical care was after his hemorrhoid surgery, when his good buddy came just to mock him.
Yellow slept soundly until morning. When she opened her eyes, Baiyin was already awake, though she didn't look too energetic, with some bloodshot veins in her eyes. Yellow didn't ask; after completing the discharge procedures, they hurriedly left the treatment center.
The doctor had said the wound on her arm was too large and required overnight observation—otherwise, how could she have gotten inpatient treatment?
As soon as she stepped out of the hospital, Yellow lost her bearings for a moment and muttered to herself, "Where was it again? Without a map, it's really inconvenient. I think we need to head west. Which way is west?"
Baiyin took out a small compass, turned around, and said, "This way is west."
Yellow looked astonished and asked, "How do you happen to carry a compass with you?"
"I was afraid of getting lost, so I brought it when I left home. This is actually the first time I've used it."
Yellow smiled. It certainly came in handy, and they set off toward the west.
Fortunately, this was the Pokémon World and not back in the village. In her past life back in the village, large groups of rebellious youth returned home in swaggering fashion, where a compass was completely useless; you'd just look up and see all North Face jackets everywhere.
With a clear objective, Yellow headed straight west. After walking about two kilometers, she spotted a garage-shaped brown Gym with a giant Poké Ball pattern hanging right in the middle.
"Wow, this Gym is quite minimalist." It was Yellow's first time seeing one in real life. Although not luxurious, it still gave people a rather sacred feeling.
Yellow knocked on the door, and shortly after, a plump white-haired old man opened it. He was dressed quite neatly, wearing a black suit like an aristocrat.
Two rows of seats lined both sides of the interior, with five or six trainers sitting on them. Dozens of huge gray rocks jutted out like wild growth, forming a protective barrier for the spectators.
Two lines of sharp rocky spikes stretched straight from the entrance to the opposite end, but no one was in sight.
"Are you here to challenge the Pewter City Gym?" The old man's voice was exceptionally deep.
"That's right."
"Please take out the Pokémon you will use for battle." Yellow took out eight Poké Balls.
"You can only send out three Pokémon."
Yellow picked and chose, selecting Charmander, Spearow, and Bellsprout.
"Can she accompany me inside? We're together."
The old man smiled politely and waved his hand to signal entry.
Right at the entrance was a red carpet, giving it a strong sense of ceremony. Yellow walked a hundred meters when a voice suddenly echoed from the opposite side, "You're the trainer challenging the Pewter City Gym? What's your name?"
Hearing the voice but seeing no one, Yellow had to bite the bullet and shout back, "My name is Yellow, and I'm here to challenge the Pewter City Gym today! Bring it on!"
"My Pokémon are very strong, don't get too arrogant!"
The four remaining chandeliers on the opposite side suddenly lit up, finally revealing the Gym Leader's appearance.
Brock was dressed entirely in black clothes and black pants, and his face was pitch black, matching the color of the dirt-corner rocks back in the village.
"This skin tone is way more intense than in the animation. What kind of dark-skinned athlete is this..." Yellow muttered under her breath.
"Please hand your Pokémon over to me." Brock held out his hand in a gesture.
Yellow handed all three Poké Balls to Brock. Brock pressed the Poké Balls against his Pokédex and read the Pokémon information.
"What's wrong?" Yellow asked.
Brock handed the Poké Balls back and explained, "As the first Gym in Kanto, the difficulty naturally can't be too high, so they need to be close to my Pokémon's level. If a challenger's Pokémon are too strong, to be fair, power limiters will be attached."
Brock pointed to two red clips connected by a white strap; this was the so-called power limiter.
Yellow nodded and added, "Don't worry, my Pokémon are still in their growth phase."
Brock sneered, as if provoking her: "As the Gym Leader of Pewter City, I also have Pokémon I can rely on to hold down the fort."
Brock pulled back his clothes, revealing six more Poké Balls at his waist, and then took another Poké Ball from his pocket and tossed it out.
Yellow could understand. As a Gym Leader, equivalent to a city's frontline defense force, he naturally wouldn't be weak. He possessed a high-level Pokémon team, completely different from the team used to test trainers. But since he was accommodating a beginner, she would just have to take good care of him in return!
"Come out, Geodude!" Brock sent out his Geodude. If she guessed correctly, he also had an Onix.
None of her current Pokémon had much of a type advantage, except for Bellsprout, which had a type advantage, though it hadn't been leveled up much and was only at level five—fortunately, it naturally knew Grass-type attacking moves.
"I've chosen you! Bellsprout!"