Sightseeing

After dinner, Yuga and the others returned to their respective rooms to rest, agreeing to explore Goldenrod City together the next day.

Whether it was Yuga, Rand, or Reggie, this was their first time in Johto and Goldenrod City. With three days remaining until the start of the exchange conference, they saw this as a rare opportunity to have some fun.

The next morning, Yuga and the group set out together, skipping breakfast and saving their appetites for the delicacies of Goldenrod City.

Today, Yuga was also carrying Budew with him. Reggie had noticed Budew in his arms early on and curiously asked, "Are you keeping Budew outside so it can evolve?"

Yuga chuckled and replied, "Yes, after all, its evolution method is quite unique. Having it with me often makes it evolve faster, right?"

"That makes sense. I also have a Roselia. I left it at Professor Rowan's lab when it was a Budew. Back then, I went through quite an effort to help it evolve into a Roselia, but it was all worth it."

As he spoke, Reggie's face held a nostalgic expression.

"That's the joy of raising Pokémon."

Finishing his sentence, Reggie noticed Rand had released his Blitzle and the recently captured Psyduck. Reggie smiled and asked, "And why did you release your Pokémon, Rand?"

Rand replied with a serious tone, "To let them see the outside world."

It must be said that although children were young, their thoughts were the most pure. They were willing to share everything with their partners. Many older Trainer predecessors tended to forget these important aspects.

And so, the three of them, accompanied by their Pokémon, embarked on a tour of Goldenrod City. Due to his advanced age, Reggie's grandfather declined to join and chose to rest at the hotel instead.

Looking at the map of Goldenrod City in his hand, Yuga hesitated and asked, "Where should we go first? There are many places to visit in Goldenrod City."

"We can start from here."

Reggie pointed to the central spot on the map, Goldenrod Department Store.

"It's said to be the best shopping spot in Johto. You can find all sorts of Pokémon-related items here.

Plus, it's located at the center of Goldenrod City and closest to our hotel. This will make it convenient for us to visit other places later."

Yuga found Reggie's suggestion reasonable and said, "That's a good choice. Rand, what do you think?" Yuga turned to Rand and asked.

Rand looked at Yuga and said, "I'll follow whatever Yuga says."

Seeing Rand had no objections, Reggie exclaimed, "Then let's head to the department store!"

When they arrived at Goldenrod Department Store, Yuga and his friends looked at the towering building before them. It was indeed worthy of being considered the best shopping destination in Johto. The grandeur of the building lived up to its reputation.

Goldenrod Department Store had two shopping areas, one for humans and one for Pokémon.

The human area, as the name implied, sold various goods related to human daily life, but Yuga and his friends weren't interested in those items. They went straight to the Pokémon area.

The Pokémon area specialized in selling various items related to Pokémon, including Pokémon food, Poké Balls, Evolutionary Stones, held items, and even shops that sold Pokémon and Pokémon Eggs.

It was said that the shop selling Pokémon Eggs and Baby Pokémon was a collaboration between Goldenrod City's Day Cares and the department store.

Day Cares named after cities were mostly official Day Cares established by the League. This indicated that Goldenrod Department Store also had a strong background.

In front of a store selling Pokémon food, Yuga and his group stopped.

Yuga said, "Let's go in and take a look. I wonder how Pokémon food in Johto region differs from the Pokéblocks in our Hoenn region."

Reggie nodded and said, "Sure, I'm curious too."

Trainers in the Kanto and Johto regions both use the region-specific Pokémon food, which is different from the Pokéblocks used in Hoenn and Sinnoh regions.

In contrast, the Unova and Kalos regions are relatively more inclusive, as Trainers in these areas use both Pokémon food and Pokéblocks. No single method has a clear advantage.

The rapid development period of Unova and Kalos somewhat resembled the developmental phase the United States experienced in Yuga's previous life. During that time, people from various regions flocked to these two places, resulting in a fusion and collision of cultures. This laid the foundation for the current environment of these two regions.

These two regions were the most evident examples of regional integration. There, you could encounter a plethora of Pokémon from the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions.

As for the Alola region, which developed relatively later, let's not discuss it here.

Once inside the store, Yuga noticed that the price of the Pokémon food here wasn't significantly different from that of Pokéblocks. The packaging was also similar, both being canned.

Yuga purchased a can of Grass-type Pokémon food and opened it to take a look. The Pokémon food consisted of small, dark-brown granules about the size of a small section of a finger. This was quite different from the colorful Pokéblocks.

Pokéblocks varied in color depending on the proportion and types of berries used, and they were translucent and square in shape.

Yuga handed a piece of Pokémon food to Budew in his arms. It seemed to enjoy it, and Yuga thought that Pokéblocks and Pokémon food were likely similar in essence, with differences mainly in form.

Following suit, Yuga bought a bit of local specialty Pokémon food for each of his Pokémon. After leaving the department store, they visited Goldenrod City's Game Corner.

Situated diagonally across from the department store, the Game Corner was also quite famous in Goldenrod City.

Once inside, Yuga didn't play any games. He wasn't particularly skilled at gaming, so he watched as Reggie and Rand exchanged tokens to play a few rounds. However, they ended up losing all their tokens.

Clearly, such Game Corners had their tricks; they wouldn't let you easily walk away with the prizes.

However, Yuga also noticed that Reggie's gaming skills weren't any better than him; he was almost as bad as he was.

On the other hand, Rand, this young boy, was more promising. Although he didn't win, he didn't lose too terribly either.

After leaving Goldenrod City Game Corner, Yuga and his group visited several other famous places in the city, such as Goldenrod Radio Tower, the National Park, and the Pokéathlon Dome.

Speaking of the Pokéathlon Dome, it was truly famous in Johto region. Here, not only could you shop and tour, but you could also participate in Pokémon battle competitions.

The battle points earned from the competitions could be exchanged for items. When Reggie first saw this, he was eager to give it a try. Yuga had almost not stopped him, but at that point, it was getting quite late. If they didn't return to the hotel soon, Yuga was worried that his grandfather might come looking for him.