I'm so sorry for the wait.
Holidays where I wake up at 12 each day + Homework to do = Not getting these out as quick as I'd like to :(
*Sigh* but I hope you guys enjoy the chapter and the twist (That I actually finished it ;) )
Cerulean City's nickname was the floral lagoon and Steel could see it was for very good reason.
The grass was lush and covered with beautiful flowers that specked the green with light shades of yellow and orange. There was another set of rocks which had only vaguely fallen. On the other side of a river that honestly looked like liquid sapphires.
It was definitely a sight for sore eyes after having to clamber over the hill of grit that was Route 4 and Mount Moon. Steel had become so tired staring at the boring blend of brown and grey that he was almost overwhelmed by the beauty.
He was riding on Ferro's back, using the iron spikes jutting out of one of the boulders that made up its snake-like body to keep his balance, while Lore the meganium was plodding along with Copper riding her.
Steel had tried to talk to Copper but found that the immense sound of iron on rubble was too loud for Steel to hear her even when they were shouting so they'd resolved to rest and continue the journey in silence, well, they weren't talking.
Ferro's head and neck were blocking Steel's direct view and he wasn't able to hear Copper yelling at him so Ferro had snaked right up to the border before he stopped and Steel cursed. Not that they could do much to change the past, Copper and Steel had wanted to stop attracting attention to themselves but Steel sighed, Was there any point anymore? he wondered exasperatedly.
He carefully jumped off Ferro and recalled the massive Pokémon while Copper returned Lore then immediately began glaring at Steel.
"Why don't you just carry fireworks with you wherever you go?" she asked in a deadpan tone with hints of annoyance glowing in her eyes.
"It wasn't my fault." he mumbled unconvincingly but he knew that it was, just because he hadn't wanted to walk the whole way. He sighed, "No, it was." he admitted.
Copper looked over the buildings of Cerulean City. The entire place was surrounded by either trees or water and she spotted three paths leading out of the city. They spied six houses and four other buildings.
The corners of Copper's mouth turned up slightly, "So let's just ask around and see whether she's passed through here."
They walked along the well-kept stone path through the town when something occurred to Steel, "Copper, what speciality was Whitney again?"
Copper frowned in concentration, "I think it's normal. The Plains in Goldenrod were probably playing on that fact."
Steel frowned, "So she'd have a flying-type on her..."
Copper shrugged, "She probably would have flown considering the fact that she didn't pass through Pewter City but she could have stopped anywhere. We can assume that she didn't land in any Zephyr controlled cities so all we need to check are the remaining four cities." she looked at Morty's pokégear on her arm, "Which are Cerulean, Saffron, Celadon and Fuchsia."
"Hey!" someone called and the two teenagers stiffened up. Copper shook her arm so the grey sleeve of her hoodie would fall over the pokégear which nobody was supposed to have.
To their surprise the voice belonged to a boy their age, maybe younger. His light brown hair was short and casually messy while he had similar coloured eyes. He was short for his age and wearing blue shorts, a white sleeveless shirt and leather sandals which clapped loudly against the stone path.
"Hey!" he repeated with a grin, "Was that steelix yours?" he asked them but Steel was reluctant to answer. There was an expectant silence but then the boy pouted and crossed his arms, "What's the matter with you two? Meowth got your tounges?"
Steel shifted his weight nervously, "No." he said slowly, judging what to say, "We're just passing through."
The boy grinned, "I'm gonna read that as 'shy'." he clapped his hand together, "My name is Cain now you tell me yours."
Copper folded her arms and scowled mildly at the condescending tone but found no reason to be needlessly aggressive when they weren't going to stay long, "I'm Copper and my friend here is Steel. We're trainers from Mahogany Town." This way we'll be safe from anyone who tries asking around in Pewter City, Copper reasoned.
Cain nodded happily, "So which one of you has the steelix?" he wondered enthusiastically and Steel half raised his hand. Cain's grin widened, "It's so cool! I'm a trainer too but I don't have any fully evolved ones. Do you..." Cain wanted to continue his fan rambling but was interrupted by someone jogging up to him.
She was on the line between a late teenager and young woman with her hair twisted up in a ponytail. She looked so similar to Cain that they must have been siblings. Her face was stern and her hands were on her hips.
She glanced at Steel and Copper with a look of apology before turning to her brother, "Cain. Why did you run off all of a sudden? People pass through all the time." she chastised but she was smiling to show she wasn't really mad.
"Sorry. I saw a steelix and wanted to meet its trainer." Cain explained and his sister looked to Copper and Steel.
"One of you has a steelix?" Steel nodded and Cain's sister looked them up and down, re-evaluating what she'd thought of them, "So where are you from?"
"They're Copper and Steel and they're both trainers from Mahogany." Cain supplied.
His sister nodded, "That would explain how you have such a strong Pokémon on your hands. Can we help you in any way?"
Copper looked around the city distractedly as she talked, "We're just looking for our friend. Has a woman with pink hair come through in the last week?"
Cain's sister shook her head sadly, "Sorry but no-one like that's passed through to my knowledge. Then again, Cerulean's a pretty big city so she could have come through and met someone else." she turned to face the city's centre and gestured for the two to follow her, "I'll see if anyone else has seen her."
Steel and Copper followed Cain and his sister to the Pokémon centre. It looked like all the others with half yellow and half salmon coloured walls along with a cream tiled floor sporting a neon green and black pokéball in the middle of the room. A computer sat atop the nurse's desk and there were two escalators leading up to the second floor where, in Cerulean City, there were lines of beds, sofas and doors leading to shower rooms.
The nurse had very long blonde hair that curled down her back in tightly packed ringlets with a small white hat sitting on her head like a crown. Her appearance looked very glamorous despite the typical and not very fashionable uniform yet she had an air of such friendliness that even Copper wasn't suspicious. Unlike Bliss she was on the other side of the line between creepy nice and genuine nice.
"Kenda," the nurse greeted at the sight of Cain's sister. Kenda walked up to the desk and leant on the red table top, giving way to the two young trainers.
"Hey Dawn. Cain quit on me and found these two trainers. They're wondering whether a woman with pink hair has passed through in the last week. Has anyone like that come through?"
Dawn thought about it for a few seconds but then shook her head, "If they have then they didn't stay long. Sorry."
Steel raised his hands and smiled, "It doesn't matter. If she's not here then she's not here."
Copper put her hands on her hips but then as her hands brushed the pokéballs on her belt she remembered the state of Bruce and the rest of her Pokémon who'd fought the Zephyrs in Pewter City.
"Um, can I heal my Pokémon while I'm here?" she asked and Dawn nodded happily.
"Of course." Copper walked forwards and handed over the pokéballs of Jolie, Bruce and Belinda. She looked back to Steel, "Do you wanna heal Antheia and Charlie?"
Steel nodded and took out the two pokéballs. Dawn took the five and placed them on her machine. Copper and Steel listened to the little ditty then took back their Pokémon.
"Thanks." said Steel.
Copper looked around the Pokémon centre, "I was just wondering about something. We've been through quite a few towns and cities but I haven't seen a place like this before."
Kenda had to take a moment to understand what Copper meant by that but once she realised it she laughed, "You mean 'not fallen to pieces'?"
Copper rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, "I mean, you have all your buildings and you actually have trainers."
"Well Cerulean City's always been a resourceful place. We're actually quite used to flooding and not many of us were in the war so we were prepared on that front."
"Plus the brunt of Kyogre and Groudon's attacks was directed at Johto." Dawn added.
"So a lot more cities in Kanto are pretty much normal." Kenda continued, "We worked together with Pewter City to make our cities stable. It's a shame that they've been targeted recently by the Zephyrs." Steel and Copper thought so too.
Steel turned to Copper, "If that's all them we might as well be leaving now."
They faced the doors but Cain was looking at the two of them with a massive grin on his face, "Do you guys have to go immediately?" he asked and Steel and Copper quickly exchanged glances.
Copper shrugged, "It's not like we're in much of a rush."
"Then can you guys battle me? Kenda and I'll go two-on-two if you want."
Steel looked back at Copper to check whether she'd object but once he saw the grin on her face it was set.
Kenda and Cain took them to the Nugget Bridge which was named after the magnificently painted golden bridge that spanned Route 24. It shone so brilliantly in the midday light that Steel was almost blinded. The river ran underneath it and some parts of it turned from liquid sapphires to molten gold in the lighting.
Steel couldn't even imagine how much better it must have looked all those years ago before it had been patched up with bits of random wood and metal sheets. He couldn't deny that it still looked impressive but it was sad to him that even a city as remarkably recovered as Cerulean bore traces of the scars that that war had left behind.
Steel looked around with a confused expression, "Is this wide enough to have a double battle?"
Cain glanced down at the sides of the bridge like it had only just occurred to him, "Oh yeah..." he said dejectedly.
Kenda clapped her little brother's shoulder then looked up to Copper and Steel, "Do you have two Pokémon that aren't massive?" they both nodded and the older teen spread her hands, "Then everything's alright, isn't it."
They nodded again and they began getting into position with Kenda and Cain standing on the north side then Copper and Steel on the southern end.
"We'll each have two Pokémon; first person to lose both loses the match for them and their team. No substitutions will be allowed and we'll throw first." Kenda's voice sounded like an announcer you'd get in a proper arena. She looked encouragingly to her sibling before they both hurled pokéball into the air.
The first was a short armless Pokémon burst into the battle. It was primarily blue with two purple antlers coming out of each side of its head and three navy stripes on the front of its body. Another Pokémon with large white claws and a mass of brown spikes on its back appeared next to Wooper.
Steel remembered the warning of using small Pokémon as he quickly thought through his Pokémon and ended up throwing out Lancer while Copper threw out Dwaine. Cain was disappointed that he wasn't going to face the steelix but knew that Dawn would be lecturing him for years on end if the bridge ended up breaking thanks to him.
Lancer buzzed happily but Steel was introduced to another side of Dwaine. The Pokémon's red eyes were focused and it had lowered its centre of gravity. He could sense the amount of experience and training that Pokémon had had as an elite four's.
Cain and Kenda met their opponents' eyes quickly to check if they were ready then the battle began. Kenda wasted no time attacking Dwaine with rollout while Cain commanded Wooper to use water gun on Lancer.
Lancer shot upwards and successfully avoided the attack while Copper had decided for Dwaine to face the attack head on by blasting the rolling Pokémon back with night slash. Sandslash was forced from its curled-up position and barely avoided crashing against the golden fence.
"Pin missile!" Steel called and Lancer shot his stinger-like arms forwards, sending a similar shaped blast at Wooper. It crashed into Wooper but it wasn't enough to knock it out.
"Wooper, use mud shot!" Cain retaliated and the small water/ground-type hurled itself at the hovering beedrill. It jumped into the air and swung its tail around. A ball of mud used the momentum of the movement and flew at Lancer. It slammed into him but Lancer held his ground and was only pushed back as Wooper landed back on the bridge.
Kenda and Copper called out moves at the same time but Dwaine was the faster of the two so his critical and super-effective ice punch connected with Sandslash's stomach. Copper was very much impressed that Sandslash wasn't knocked out then and there but the battle had only just started after all.
"Come on Sandslash!" Kenda yelled cheerfully and the mouse Pokémon* stiffly and slowly got to its feet. Kenda smile was wide and didn't fade when she faced her opponents, "Use swift!"
A mass of stars burst from Sandslash's paws so thick and furiously that Lancer and Dwaine, with all their speed, couldn't evade the attack.
Lancer buzzed angrily and Dwaine cried out with an unusual mix of a roar and meow but the attack wasn't a particularly powerful one.
"Pursuit!" Steel shouted and Lancer made like a dark-type tackle at Wooper while Dwaine pounced once again at Sandslash.
Wooper was hurled back but Sandslash and Dwaine began a heated flurry of ice punches and fury cutter.
"Wow, you're really good for your age." Kenda complimented and Copper paused but then she smiled happily.
"Thank you. You're great too." Copper returned. Their Pokémon broke apart and they prepared for a second match.
Wooper smashed into Lancer using slam and Lancer was shot backwards. Cain grinned with triumph but Lancer retaliated much quicker than the boy had realised. Steel had ordered pin missile but Lancer had other things in mind, something Janine had taught it.
Instead of using a long ranged attack Lancer shot forwards, its wings buzzing loudly, and it brought back its stingers mid-flight so they could swing forward at the right moment. The white cones were rapidly covered in a dark purple glow which indicated the extra power to the punch.
Wooper would have raised its arms to defend itself but it didn't have any so it couldn't stop poison jab from crashing into it.
Cain cried out as his Pokémon fainted but Steel's yells were those of victory. He hadn't won yet but it felt nice to battle properly with Lancer again.
"Good job, Lancer!" he called to his Pokémon and Lancer straightened up proudly.
Kenda's attention turned to Steel and Cain then she remembered that it was a double battle, not two battles running alongside each other.
"Sorry bro." she called out before sending Sandslash at Lancer.
Cain recalled Wooper and tucked the pokéball away. He took another out and turned with renewed energy, "Go, quilava!" he shouted and his second Pokémon landed on Nugget Bridge.
It had navy fur but a cream coloured underbelly as well as plumes of hearty fire sprouting from its head and back, forming a mohican and a tail of flames.
Copper frowned at the new Pokémon as something occurred to her. It actually took her a few minutes to make the connection and in that time Dwaine had had to fight of the quilava's attacks which were more powerful than the Wooper's.
Copper was kicking herself after the battle since she'd been so distracted but it was one of those moments where the unmade connection jabs at the back of your mind and refuses to desist until you make it.
"Sorry!" she apologised quickly, "Dwaine, low kick!" she commanded and Dwaine darted forwards at the new Pokémon.
"Use pursuit!" Steel yelled. As cool as it was that Lancer had learned a new move Steel knew that poison jab wouldn't be very useful against a ground-type like Sandslash.
Pursuit was about to hit but in that moment Dwaine collided with Lancer, sending them both off-course. Lancer's wings had to go into over-drive to avoid going over the bridge's side, taking Dwaine with him, but when he stopped and Dwaine lost momentum the weavile fell onto the Nugget Bridge, unconscious.
Copper frowned and returned her Pokémon. Daydreaming during a battle wasn't a good thing to do at the best of times but at least she'd finally connected the dots.
"Isn't that a lab Pokémon?" she asked and Cain nodded proudly.
"Our mum found it years ago on Route 4 then gave it to me for my tenth birthday." Copper found it funny how they were having a conversation while Steel and Kenda fought, "Why?"
Copper shook her head nonchalantly, "Just wondering. All I knew is that those Pokémon were special." she wanted to elaborate but Sandslash had just been thrown into the gap between them, blocking their view of each other.
Copper groaned when she found the Pokémon had fainted. That left Steel and two to her negative one. He is fighting with a more familiar Pokémon, she reasoned but then all reason seemed to go out the window.
It was another successful battle for Lancer and Steel couldn't be happier. Lancer seemed to be glowing with joy but then…he started literally glowing.
Everyone took a step back and stared, the battle ceased and silence pervaded Route24. Steel frowned at his eyes flickered from Lancer to Copper.
"I thought beedrill can't evolve."
Copper had no idea what was happening, "It…can't. Can it?" for some reason she found her mind turning back to their battle with the Zephyr leader in Olivine City. Whatever was happening to Lancer it wasn't something she'd come across before.
The pokégear hidden in Clara's personal set of drawers was buzzing and the woman had no idea what to think of it. She realised that she probably shouldn't have put it there since it was only through luck she'd caught it ringing and even then, who knows how long it had been trying to call her for.
She looked unsurely at her husband who was sleeping soundly after such an exhausting and worrying day. She was worried about the Zephyrs returning too but Chris' shoulders held more weight than hers did, not that she was free from responsibilities.
She took the pokégear quickly and darted out of the room so her husband wouldn't hear her talking.
"Hello?" she asked hurriedly, hoping that the called hadn't been waiting long. She paused to listen to the other side.
"Two children? Yes…Yes, they just passed through…Why would you be looking for them? They don't seem dangerous…I'm sorry but they're gone now…Yes. They're looking for her. Is she why you're looking for them?...Well there's not much I can do now but I'll be keeping an eyebrow and report straight to you if they find her." Clara listened to the caller's final response before closing the pokégear. She ran a frustrated hand through her hair and sighed. Deals from the past were a pain but Clara had always had a thing about following up on promises.
*Sandslash is called the Mouse Pokémon. Go figure. The funny thing about doing research for these chapters is that I learn a lot of funny names for things.
What is she up to I wonder?
Just as a warning to you guys that this story will be shorter than the other two because their journey won't be covering a lot of places since there's no point in looking in places Whitney obviously wouldn't go to just for the sake of exploring post-war Kanto. That's what the epilogue will be for.
It won't be just one chapter but a whole bunch of chapters about what happens after this journey is over so that's something to look forward to but even with those chapters I'm probably not going to reach 20 this time.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review with any comments, questions or suggestions for the series so I can improve this! :D