En route to Ecruteak City, Ash is afflicted with a stomachache, caused by some overeating earlier. With no medicine to treat it, Ash and his friends are greeted by Old Man Shuckle, a pharmacist. The old man gives Ash some pills, which he takes, resulting in an explosion of purple gas from his mouth. Misty gets angry and yells at Old Man Shuckle when he tells her that the pills he gave Ash are Pokémon medicine. When Ash recovers, though, he reports that his stomachache is now gone, and Misty calms down. Old Man Shuckle explains that his medicine works on both humans and Pokémon, and Brock is excited to discover that he makes the medicine himself, quickly taking the old man up his offer to show him where the medicine is made.