Saffron City, located in the heart of the Kanto Region, is unparalleled. It's a sprawling metropolis, the largest, busiest, and most prosperous city in the entire Kanto Region.
Saffron City's reputation is renowned even in other regions, primarily due to the headquarters of Silph Co. being situated there.
It's not only the central business district of the Kanto Region but also boasts the largest and most comprehensive infrastructure, far more modern than other cities. It even has a Magnet Train station connecting the Kanto and Johto regions.
In addition to these features, Saffron City houses a Gym established by the Alliance, aptly named the Saffron Gym.
"Is this Saffron City... it's eye-opening..." Four days later, Ash and his group arrived in Saffron City. Gazing at the bustling cityscape, Ash couldn't help but exclaim. Compared to this, Pallet Town felt like a small village.
"I'm so envious of the Saffron Gym here..." Misty remarked with a hint of jealousy. Saffron City was vast and prosperous, dwarfing Cerulean City in comparison.
"But Saffron City also presents challenges right now..." Brock seemed relatively calm. However, his composure wavered when he spotted a beautiful woman passing by.
Ultimately, it was Ivysaur who intervened, pulling Brock away from the woman he was pestering. Ash and Misty had to apologize to her on Brock's behalf.
"Brock... how long will it take for your character to change? You won't win Stephanie's heart this way!" Misty said to Brock, exasperated.
"He does look decent, calm, and reliable, but why does he turn into a lecher when he sees his ideal type..." Misty truly couldn't understand Brock's behavior.
"I want to change too, but I can't control myself for some reason!" Brock lowered his head, gazing at his trembling hands, covering his face as he cried. He, too, yearned to be a man admired by women!
After the commotion, they arrived at the Pokémon Center to check in. Once settled in their dormitory, Ash put away his luggage and inquired, "Brock, you mentioned Saffron City being challenging... what did you mean?"
Brock was momentarily taken aback, then realized Ash wasn't a Gym Leader and might not be aware of the current situation in Saffron City. He proceeded to explain.
"You know that the Saffron Gym Leader is Sabrina, specializing in Psychic-type Pokémon, right?"
Brock paused, then continued without waiting for Ash's response, "But before Sabrina became the Gym Leader, just two years ago, the Saffron Gym specialized in Fighting-type Pokémon."
"Two years ago... a Fighting-type Gym?" Ash was surprised but then nodded. He had some knowledge of this, both from the games and real-world information.
The Saffron Gym was originally a Fighting-type Gym. In the game, it was located next to Sabrina's Gym but had become desolate. Defeating its Gym Leader rewarded the player with a Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan.
In reality, Ash had also learned about the events in Saffron City two years ago from the news. The central figures were the Saffron Gym and its current Gym Leader, Sabrina!
Sabrina had possessed psychic abilities since childhood, displaying talents beyond ordinary people. These abilities gave her an edge in training Psychic-type Pokémon.
Three years ago, Sabrina, with the Alliance's permission, challenged and defeated the then Saffron Gym Leader, becoming the new leader.
While it seemed like a young prodigy had risen to lead the Gym in Kanto's most prosperous city, the reality was more complex.
After becoming the Gym Leader, Sabrina dismissed nearly all the Gym trainers, retaining only a few Alliance personnel for daily operations.
Sabrina's motivation for becoming the Gym Leader was to strengthen herself through challengers. However, she hadn't anticipated the overwhelming responsibilities and the varying skill levels of challengers. This not only hindered her growth but also led to frustration.
Two years ago, Sabrina reached her breaking point.
She began using her psychic powers to turn Trainers who failed to defeat her into dolls, even her own parents, who tried to dissuade her, weren't spared.
Saffron City and the entire Kanto Region were thrown into turmoil.
Trainers became afraid to challenge the Saffron Gym.
Later, Agatha intervened and forcefully suppressed Sabrina, ensuring the Saffron Gym's normal operation. Sabrina also released the people she had turned into dolls.
Even so, Sabrina still had a temper. Instead of permanently turning challengers into dolls, she stipulated that those who failed would be transformed for up to a week.
Although some Trainers retreated because of this, even leaving the Kanto Region to challenge Gyms elsewhere, many rose to the challenge, significantly improving the overall quality of Kanto's challengers.
Seeing this, the Alliance didn't stop Sabrina. After all, stronger challengers benefited the Indigo Plateau Conference and helped the Alliance scout talented Trainers.
After seeing the news, Ash realized that although this world resembled the anime, it had significant differences.
"As for Sabrina, she's now a Trainer at the Ultra Ball level. Defeating her won't be easy," Brock said.
"If you fail, you'll be stuck here for at least a week, unable to do anything," Brock looked serious.
Ash nodded, understanding the consequences of failure. Being turned into a doll for a week meant a significant setback in his journey.
"But no matter what, I want to challenge the Saffron Gym. If I can't pass, I can't participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference! I believe in my strength!" Ash clenched his fists, looking at Pikachu.
With Pikachu and his other companions, he was confident in defeating Sabrina and conquering the Saffron Gym.
Brock looked at Ash with relief. He had brought up the matter to test Ash, and Ash's response didn't disappoint him. Ash was still the same determined Trainer.
"Let's take a full day off today and discuss tactics tonight, so we can pass the Saffron Gym in one go!" Ash extended his fist towards Brock.
"I'll do my best to help you!" Brock raised his fist, and they bumped them together.
Pikachu, observing them, blinked and extended his little paw, playfully joining in the fist bump.
______________________
Join my kalos journey @P