Chapter 66: Traveling Together Again

Ultimately, realizing he couldn't shake off Cynthia like a persistent burr, Ace reluctantly agreed to travel with her again.

However, for Ace, the current situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.

Team Rocket was stirring, and he estimated that their true battle with them would begin soon.

"But before that..."

Ace glanced at his mission panel. He had only completed one-third of a side quest, with Surge and Sabrina, two of the three executives, still undefeated.

He was currently in Vermilion City, so he figured he might as well challenge the Vermilion Gym and defeat Surge while he had the chance.

"It's probably going to be another tough fight..."

Ace sighed inwardly, leaning against Lapras's neck, thinking about how to deal with Surge.

Three of his four main Pokémon were weak to Electric-type attacks, leaving only Victreebel, which resisted Electric.

As for Gastly and Happiny, Ace felt it might be a bit risky to rely on them to definitively defeat Surge in a formal Gym battle.

After all, he was challenging a Gym, not fighting a battle to the death.

If it were a life-or-death battle, Ace wouldn't be afraid of Surge.

But for a Gym battle, Ace had to carefully consider how to counter Surge's Electric-type Pokémon.

"Ace, where are you planning to go next?"

Cynthia spoke, observing Ace's thoughtful expression and his diving suit.

"I'll challenge the Vermilion Gym, and then I plan to go to Mount Silver for special training."

Ace replied without looking up, "If you really want to follow me, your current strength isn't enough."

"What do you mean?"

Cynthia frowned slightly. After defeating and catching Dragonair, Cynthia had become a little overconfident in her own strength, so Ace's words naturally made her uncomfortable.

"Team Rocket is probably planning something big."

Ace looked up at Cynthia and said, "If they corner us, I can escape, but you'd be in danger."

Cynthia's heart skipped a beat upon hearing Ace's words.

She might have been a bit overconfident, but she wasn't foolish.

If she were to be surrounded, Cynthia mentally assessed her combat power and suddenly realized that it would indeed be very difficult for her to fight against multiple opponents.

"So, after I challenge the Vermilion Gym, you can come with me to Mount Silver for special training."

Ace said seriously, "And I'll tell you now, Mount Silver is very dangerous. You might even lose your life there."

Cynthia looked at Ace's serious eyes and nodded silently.

Since she had decided to embark on the path of a Pokémon Trainer, if she retreated at the slightest danger, she might as well go home and live as a pampered young lady.

So, even though Ace said that, Cynthia didn't back down. Instead, Ace's words ignited her fighting spirit.

Lapras brought the two ashore. Ace packed his belongings, stuffing all his diving gear into a waterproof backpack.

Then, still in his diving suit, Ace took Cynthia to a hotel, changed out of his diving suit, and took a good shower.

By the time Ace emerged from the bathroom, steaming and changed, Cynthia pushed open the door and entered.

"Here, the extra-large backpack you wanted."

Cynthia tossed Ace a backpack that was about 1.5 meters tall, then said with a hint of exasperation, "Do you really need to bring so much stuff for travel?"

"What do you, a rich young lady, know?"

Ace picked up the new backpack, tugged at it, and after confirming it was very sturdy, nodded. "You have money, so you naturally don't need that much stuff. As for me, I have no money, so I naturally carry all my worldly possessions with me."

As he spoke, Ace unzipped his original, somewhat worn backpack and dumped its contents onto the bed.

"Clatter, clatter..."

A huge pile of items appeared before Cynthia's eyes. Looking at the overflowing contents, Cynthia's eyelid twitched.

Ace began to organize the items, categorizing them and stuffing them into the new backpack one by one.

"Pots, pans, I won't even mention those. Why are you carrying so many books? Isn't it tiring?"

Cynthia casually picked up a book titled "Zubat Training Manual," flipped through a few pages, and discovering it was about Zubat, immediately lost interest.

However, remembering that Ace had a Zubat, she understood that Ace must have bought it for study.

After putting down the "Zubat Training Manual," Cynthia's attention was drawn to another book.

"The Mysteries of the Earth? What kind of book is this?"

Cynthia was curious, so she picked it up and opened it.

Upon seeing it, Cynthia was immediately captivated.

"The Mysteries of the Earth" could be said to be the culmination of Giovanni's life's work, filled with his experience in training and battling with Ground-type Pokémon.

Ace had already read it all, but unfortunately, he had no Ground-type Pokémon to practice the contents.

But Cynthia was different.

Her main and starter Pokémon was Gible, a Ground/Dragon dual-type. Cynthia easily found resonance in this book regarding its training.

"Where did you get this?"

Cynthia read a few pages, swallowed, and looked at Ace in disbelief. "The person who wrote this is definitely an expert in Ground-type Pokémon!"

"An accidental find," Ace said lightly. He directly stuffed the last few valuable items into the backpack's inner compartment, then pulled "The Mysteries of the Earth" from Cynthia's hand. Under Cynthia's reluctant gaze, he put it into the backpack.

"Can I borrow it?"

Cynthia desperately wanted that book. She had a feeling that if she could read it, her training of Gible would undergo a qualitative leap.

Ace glanced at the eager Cynthia and pulled out "The Mysteries of the Earth," written by Giovanni, from his backpack.

"I'm almost out of money."

"I'll cover the travel expenses from now on!"

"Deal."

Ace handed the book to Cynthia. A penny can stump a hero; Ace, who was almost out of money, didn't think this was taking advantage of her.

After all, it was mutually beneficial, just a transaction.

"Next up is Seadra."

Watching Cynthia immediately immerse herself in reading after getting the book, Ace took the thawed Seadra from his waterproof bag, carefully avoiding touching its sharp spines.

That thing was poisonous; it would be a big problem if he got poisoned by it.

Ace found a thin film and spread it on the room's table, then took out a scalpel and neatly dissected the Seadra.

"What are you doing?"

Cynthia, who was reading, heard the sound, looked up, and saw Ace busy with something. She immediately walked over curiously.

"Dissecting..."

Before Ace could finish speaking, Cynthia's face turned pale, and she recoiled. The dissected Seadra, with its parts spread across the table, was quite shocking to Cynthia.

Ace shook his head, then cut open Seadra's mouth, carefully observing the prism-like structure of its mouth, and a hint of understanding flashed in his mind.