Kazuki found Flint, who was selling rocks halfway up the mountain.
"Hello, mister!"
"Hm? Oh! Are you here to buy some rocks? These aren't just any rocks, you know! These are top-quality Pewter City stones!" Flint immediately became animated upon seeing a customer, though he still didn't open his eyes.
"I..."
Before Kazuki could answer, the system notification sounded in his ears again.
[Ding! Mission triggered: Enlighten Flint, and help him return to Pewter Gym to fulfill his responsibilities as a father!]
[Mission Reward: Aura Power – a type of superpower that enhances spiritual sensing abilities!]
Kazuki glanced at the mission and couldn't help but chuckle. "Seriously? You're meddling in other people's family business now, system?"
Still, Aura was one of the rare special abilities humans could possess. In the original script, Ash only obtained it after encountering Lucario.
Who would've thought I'd get it from an early-stage mission?
With the power of Aura, it'd be much easier to sense and catch rare Pokémon later on!
Alright, since I need to train Pikachu anyway, I'll take it!
After accepting the mission, Kazuki continued chatting with Flint. "So, mister, my name is Kazuki, and I'm a Pokémon Trainer."
"I want to give my Pikachu some electric-type special training. You seem to know Pewter City pretty well—do you know any good places for it?"
"Ah! That, well… yeah, I do. I used to be an ambitious Trainer myself, you know!" Flint rambled on with a string of useless chatter.
Kazuki knew exactly what Flint meant. "I'll take two of your stones."
"Ah! Thank you, thank you, kind customer!" With the transaction complete, Flint instantly turned friendly. "No need for formalities!"
"My name's Flint, and I used to be a Pokémon Trainer too!"
"You can go to my cabin—it has some equipment that's perfect for electric-type training!"
Flint immediately stood up to lead the way, leaving his rock stall completely unattended.
Then again, that made sense—Pewter City was practically made of stone. Even if his rocks were somewhat unique, they were probably common here.
"Hey, Kazuki, if you'd just asked me, beating Pewter Gym would've been a piece of cake! Why go through all this trouble?"
Misty still couldn't understand why Kazuki was so fixated. After all, his available fighters—Flying and Electric types—were both countered by Pewter Gym's Rock-type Pokémon. Winning was going to be seriously tough.
"Oh? Kazuki, are you training your Pikachu to beat Pewter Gym and get the Boulder Badge?" Flint's ears perked up the moment he heard "Pewter Gym," and his eyes even widened slightly.
"Yup! I want to enter the Indigo League, and I need all eight badges!"
"Sigh…" Flint let out a deep breath. "Then you've got no chance."
"Oh? Why not?" Kazuki followed up casually, looking for the chance to steer the conversation and enlighten him.
"Since you bought two of my stones, I'll let you in on a little secret."
Clearly, Flint was down on his luck—he was even willing to spill his son's Gym secrets for a few bucks.
"The Pewter Gym Leader specializes in Rock-type Pokémon! Your Pikachu, even if it's at a higher level, will have a hard time winning!"
"Exactly! Kazuki, see? Even the mister agrees with me! Just give it up already!" Misty chimed in. She really wanted Kazuki to ask for her help so she could show off her strength.
"But when you run into something really difficult... is running away the only option?" Kazuki started to speak metaphorically, directing his words at Flint.
"If I back down now, won't I just keep running away the next time something tough shows up? Am I supposed to run away for the rest of my life?"
"I know Electric-types have a hard time beating Rock-types. But if I make up my mind to face it head-on... maybe, just maybe, I'll find a way."
"Hmm?" Misty scratched her head, puzzled. "What are you talking about? You sound so deep!"
Flint seemed moved by Kazuki's words and fell silent for a while before finally speaking. "If you really face it... can things really change?"
Seeing the expression on Flint's face, Kazuki realized his words were sinking in, so he kept going. "Mister, judging by your look, it seems like you've got something of your own that you've been avoiding?"
"Ah, haha..." Flint gave an awkward laugh. "Just some old regrets, that's all."
"Old regrets? Well, the longer they're left to sit, the harder they get to face, don't you think?"
Kazuki suddenly had an idea. Since Flint was once a Trainer and clearly still cared about Pokémon, he threw out a challenge to seal the deal.
"How about this—if I manage to defeat Pewter Gym using only Pikachu and Pidgeotto…"
"Then you, Mister Flint, take that as your sign to finally face what you've been running from."
"What?! You're using Pidgeotto as your second Pokémon?" Flint exclaimed. "How is that even possible? A Flying-type against a Rock-type?!"
Kazuki smiled optimistically. "I know it's tough. But the odds of winning aren't zero, right?"
"So I'm going to face it—together with my Pokémon."
Flint was completely stirred by Kazuki's determined attitude. "Kazuki, you really are an amazing Trainer!"
"Alright! If you actually win against Pewter Gym with Pikachu and Pidgeotto…"
"Then I'll make up my mind too—and finally face what I've been avoiding all these years!"
With both Kazuki and Flint fired up, Misty, standing off to the side, felt completely out of the loop.
"What are they talking about—running away, facing things…? Wouldn't it just be easier to wipe out Rock-types with a Water-type?"
"Ugh, I'll never understand how guys think!"
She grumbled to herself, but still stuck closely to Kazuki's side. At this point, it was practically a habit...