After making use of the Pokémon Center in the Plateau's lobby, the group split. The Elite Four promised to immediately start coordinating with the Gym Leaders on the upcoming battle while the Champion, his friend, and their companions flew to Viridian City. They decided to stay in Viridian City that night to triumphantly return to Pallet Town the next morning.
Route 1 felt so much lighter coming down than going up, somehow. Gancena remembered how she'd climbed this hill with no one but Red just a few days ago, and here she was returning with him as Champion and her with a team of Pokémon.
"If you want, you can all stick around at my place for lunch," Red offered the others. "I'm sure Mom won't mind, but even if she's too busy or something, I have stuff I can make us."
"Lunch would be lovely," Professor Oak replied. "Though I would think you'd want some time with your mother first."
"Well… I'd like to tell her what I've been doing, and I think it'll be easier with all three of you around," Red explained.
"What, are you worried your mom'll keep you home once she finds out you've been running after Team Rocket?" Blue asked, Umbreon marching by his side.
"I… guess?" Red replied. "I mean, most of that's behind us, but I'm sure she'd get worried anyway."
"I'm kind of worried about that, too," Gancena admitted. "As far as she knew, we were just taking an ordinary journey. She didn't know anything about Team Rocket's plans or even the Thoughtless. Neither did you, for that matter. I don't want her to feel like I was responsible for putting you in danger after all she did."
"But you offered Red a choice," Haunter reminded. "And kept warning him of known dangers. That was the right thing to do."
"You explained it all to me when we saw them, and I decided to keep going with you anyway. I made a choice, and I took responsibility for it. And that's what I've kept doing. The world is in danger. I can't just ignore that," Red assured.
Gancena smiled. "Good to know you feel that way."
Finally, they were at Red's door once again. Red took a breath and knocked.
When Rose opened the door, she gasped upon seeing Red looking tired, but proud, and she immediately pulled him close. "Red! You're back!" Then she looked up. "Oh! Blue! Professor Oak! And Gancena's back, too! And look at all your Pokémon!" She let Red go. "What brings you all here at once?"
"A lot," Red said. "Can Gancena and the Oaks stay for lunch? I'll help out."
"Of course they can! Thank you, Red. Please, everyone. Come in and get comfortable."
Gancena sighed upon reentering the Spruces' home. "Take a look, Ash," she said. "This is where Red lives. And this is where we first met."
"Pi-ka…"
Floss fluttered down from Biran's back and tugged at Gancena's pantleg.
Gancena looked down. "Your Doll, Floss?"
Floss nodded.
"Sure." Gancena laid her backpack down where she always had and opened it up to give Floss her Poké Doll, which she embraced like a beloved pillow.
Gancena looked up and found Rose and Red already busy in the kitchen, with Pikachu watching from one of the counters. Blue leaned on it, answering question after question from Rose. Professor Oak had taken a chair from the table to sit at, adding input when he felt he should. Umbreon was curled up by Blue's feet.
Gancena listened for a while, realizing they were mostly reminiscing about what it had been like since the last time they were all in the same house together, and the scene slowly felt more cinematic, like she was just part of an audience looking in.
"So, Red, what did you and Gancena do after you left?" Rose finally asked, and Gancena snapped back into attention.
"Well…" Red started, pausing over some vegetables. "We ended up going into the Viridian Forest, and that's where she picked up her Pikachu, Ash. And there, we all learned about something very important…" Red glanced at Gancena. "Do you want to tell them, or should I?"
Gancena nodded, smiling. "I can start."
Despite the inherent danger of the Thoughtless and the quest they led Red and Gancena to, Rose took the news relatively well. Of course, she was shocked that her son had ended up running into various dangers, but she was incredibly proud of him for having a significant hand in stopping them from spreading all over Kanto—and incredibly grateful to Gancena, once again, for being able to warn and teach Red all about them.
Rose nearly came apart with joy upon hearing that Red was Kanto's newest and current Champion, which doubled as a perfect lead into the most important part of the conversation: the impending attack on Cerulean Cave.
"So not only do I want to stop Team Rocket to keep helping Gancena, but it's my responsibility to do something about it," Red finished. "It's going to be dangerous and scary, but lots of tough Trainers are going to be there. So I'll be okay."
"Oh, Red…" Rose whispered. "I understand that you have new responsibilities now, and I understand that you're not going to do this alone… but I'm still going to worry about you going into a battle like that, from the moment you leave for it to the moment I hear from you again. So… just do me one favor."
"Yeah, Mom?"
"As soon as everything's safe, please come back home so that I can see that you're all right."
Red nodded. "I will."
"Blue, that goes for you, too," Rose added.
Blue jolted into attention. "What?"
"I know it's been so long since you and Red have had time together, but I still think of you as family. So I want you to be careful, too. Look after each other. You'll do great if you do that."
Blue glanced away, but he couldn't quite hide a small smile. "Right."
"I'll be there, too, Rose, helping them," Professor Oak said. "I can't ignore something this important, either."
"Are you sure?" Rose asked.
"I am. And I'll be letting Daisy know shortly, too."
"Thank you. Don't leave her out of this. And Gancena," she said, finally turning to Gancena.
"Yes, Rose?"
"I'm trusting you with my Red once again. Take good care of him. And of everyone."
Gancena nodded firmly. "With everything I have, Rose."
The group split further after lunch. Blue and Professor Oak returned home to get Blue's sister Daisy up to speed. Gancena, Red, and their parties promptly crashed into a long nap. They didn't do much else that day, resting just as Gancena had suggested.
The next day was all they had, but they had every second of it. When Red and Gancena got up, Rose told them Professor Oak had called to ask them down to the Lab. So they went.
"Professor!" Red called when they entered.
"We're over here," Professor Oak replied from his computer console.
"Yo!" Blue called, waving them over.
"What's up?" Red asked.
"Gramps just wanted to ask if you wanted to make any swaps," Blue said. "But seeing that you're with your Champion-winning team, we'd understand if you didn't."
"Still wouldn't hurt to look everyone over," Red remarked, looking at the screen. "Is that what you're doing?"
"Gramps is going first, actually," Blue said, smirking. "Those are his Pokémon on screen."
"Eh!?" Gancena cried, moving to look. "Whoa! He wasn't kidding about being a serious Trainer in his day."
"Yep. It had to come to me from somewhere," Blue said.
Gancena glanced over it briefly. It seemed almost all of Kanto was in Professor Oak's log, though it was clear upon closer examination that there were still a few rare evolutionary lines not represented in his collection, and Johto natives were few and far between. Gancena finally understood why he'd asked Red and Blue to go out to complete the Pokédex.
She glanced at the column of the screen representing his party. In it were a Tauros, a big tan bull-like Pokémon, an Exeggutor, an Arcanine, and his own set of Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise. Gancena couldn't help but think his party was vaguely familiar.
"All right," Professor Oak declared. "These are the six who are coming with me. I'll be letting them know so they can prepare accordingly. He clicked a few things and logged out of the Pokémon Box program and off the PC. "The floor's all yours, you three. You know how to work the PC."
"Well, I won't be needing it," Gancena reminded. "These four are all I have," she said, gesturing to them.
"Y'know, I can understand having one out all the time," Blue remarked, inserting his Pokédex into the PC slot, "but four? Doesn't that get a little difficult?"
"Not really," Gancena remarked. "Ash and Floss—Pikachu and Clefairy—are so small and Shiimeji Haunter is so light that they can go just about anywhere. Though I did have to keep Ponyta Biran in his Poké Ball the last few times we had to Fly."
"So you do have Poké Balls for them," Professor Oak confirmed.
"Oh, yeah. Floss was once Red's, actually. And Shiimeji gave me his really old one," she said, plucking it off her belt to show him. "And Biran is Blaine's Rapidash's son, so he had one already, too. The only one I had to get myself was Ash's."
"Blaine gave you…?" Professor Oak stopped and chuckled. "That certainly sounds like something he'd do. Did he do that after your first visit?"
"No, it was after Red had gotten the Volcano Badge. Biran actually asked me first if he could come with me. Very special."
"Ah, so he chose you!"
"Yep!"
"Well, no wonder you keep them all outside their Balls when you can," Professor Oak realized. "You've clearly taken the time to bond with each of them before they even became part of your team. You know, I could make it official today and get you an Indigo League license."
"Perhaps some other time, Professor," Gancena said. "Taking out the Thoughtless and anything and anyone they've linked themselves to is my first priority."
"Fair enough. I'll be outside, then, if any of you need me."
"Thank you, Professor," Gancena said. She watched Professor Oak take his leave.
"A new kid traveling with Red would imitate him," Blue said, looking over his Pokémon Boxes. Literally every Kanto native evolutionary line was represented. He merely lacked the birds and Mewtwo, something which would continue to be true.
"Kid?" Gancena asked, smirking and placing her hands on her hips. "I'm nineteen, kiddo! I've been in the know about Pokémon since you were literal babies!"
"Yet you only started now?" Blue scoffed.
"You may recall the single most unusual part of my tale," Gancena reminded.
"Right, right, the other world part," Blue said. "Sure. But I still can't believe you didn't jump on the chance to become a League Trainer."
"It's not out of the question," Gancena decided. "I just have different priorities. Like you. You focus now. Make sure you have your party together."
"Yeah, yeah," Blue said. "You know, it'd be pretty much impossible if they were the size of the standard starters' evolved forms, for example," he said, circling his three with the cursor. "Keeping your Pokémon out, I mean."
"Where'd you get yours?" Red asked.
"Around. They're each pretty rare, and they're scattered in a way that the Pokédex still can't pin down any specific habitats. The ones Gramps gives out are bred specifically to start Trainers off in the Pokémon League," Blue answered. "I mean, where'd you get yours?"
"…From other people," Red said. "They were each looking for a Trainer to take care of them."
"The world is your Cloyster, isn't it, Red?" Blue sighed.
"I… guess." Red looked at Gancena. "Hey, Gancena. Since you don't need to swap anyone out, what're you going to do?"
"First, I'm going to restock on apples. Then… I'm not entirely sure. I kind of want to train, though. See what we can learn before we have to go. I'm not sure where to go, though." She turned to her Pokémon. "Any preferences or anything?"
Floss perked up and jumped. "Cle-fairy!"
"Yes, Floss?"
Floss jumped up to tug Haunter's hand. "Would you like me to translate, my girl?" Haunter asked.
Floss nodded.
"All right. Tell me exactly what you want me to tell Gancena."
Floss began to chatter to him, and seconds later, Haunter turned to Gancena to begin his translation. "Floss suggests Mt. Moon, between Pewter and Cerulean. It's her homeland. She says that the Clefairy clan there lives in a very obscure part of the mountain and not many wander off from that area, but she thinks she can convince a lot of them to help out with battle training."
"You're sure, Floss?"
Floss nodded.
"Okay, but it'll probably take a couple hours to get there… so we should probably be going."
"Wait," Blue said. "If you're willing to keep all your Pokémon in their Balls, one of my Pokémon can Fly you there. There's a Pokémon Center at the base of the Pewter City entrance to the caves. You'll land there and then you can use it as many times as you need to during the day. Then Red or I can come by to get you when it's time to come back to Pallet."
Gancena grinned after a moment of stunned silence. "That's so generous of you, Blue. Thank you."
"If I may, Gancena," Haunter interjected. "I think you should get a Pokédex of your own for one important reason: our moves. It'll be the best way to keep track of them and get more information on them. Even I have some tricks I'm not sure you're aware of."
"…That is a good point. Blue, when you're done, could you let Professor Oak know for me?"
"Not a problem."
"So you're finally going to be an official League Pokémon Trainer!" Red exclaimed.
"Yeah… I am," Gancena realized, smiling.
Minutes later, Professor Oak's computer was dictating to a new Pokédex.
"This is the official Pokédex and Trainer's License for Gancena, issued in Pallet Town by Professor Samuel Oak on behalf of the Kanto Pokémon League. If found, please return to the nearest Pokémon Center. If lost, damaged, or stolen, report the loss to your issuing Professor immediately."
The Pokédex popped out of the PC slot, and Professor Oak handed it to Gancena. "Congratulations, Gancena. You're officially a Pokémon Trainer under the Kanto Pokémon League."
Gancena took her Pokédex. Her Pokédex. She couldn't believe it. This was another slice of her childhood dreams coming true.
"Thank you, Professor Oak," she said. "This is wonderful."
"You're welcome," Professor Oak said. "Now, go make your preparations and train. You only have so many hours."
"Right. Blue? Do you have Fearow?"
Blue held up a Poké Ball. "Right here."
"Thanks. Guys, ready?" she asked. Biran, Floss, and Haunter each nodded as Ash climbed onto Gancena's shoulder. She recalled the other three and stepped out to the Lab's pasture.
Blue tossed Fearow's Poké Ball and he emerged with a grateful stretch of his wings and neck.
"All right, Fearow," Blue instructed, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You're going to take Gancena to Viridian City first, and then to Mt. Moon. You remember how to get there, right?" When Fearow nodded, Blue continued, "Good. Once she's there, just come right back here." Blue looked at Gancena. "When do you want to be back?"
"After sunset," Gancena decided. "That should give us plenty of time in the cave and enough time to settle down and rest once we return."
"Sounds good."
"We'll see you tonight, Gancena!" Red called.
"Until then!" Gancena answered. She carefully positioned herself on Fearow's back. His feathers were generally longer and rougher than Pidgeot's. "Whenever you're ready!"
In Viridian City, Gancena purchased a dozen green apples and, after some deliberation, spent almost the entire remainder of her money on Potions and status healers.
Then it was time to enter Mt. Moon.
As agreed, Fearow flew away and back to Pallet Town after Gancena was at the Pokémon Center. She went inside and asked for a quick healing of her party before returning to the entrance and letting everyone out.
"Okay, I'd like to go over each of your moves before we go in," Gancena declared. "So give me a second to figure this out…" She started by pointing her Pokédex at Ash. When it recognized that it was her own Pikachu she was pointing at, she was given several options: Data, Status, and Moveset. She clicked Moveset.
"All moves known by Ash:"
"Oh my God, it recognizes nicknames!"
"Thundershock, Tail Whip, Growl, Play Nice, Quick Attack, Electro Ball, Thunder Wave, Feint, Double Team, Spark, Nuzzle, Discharge, Slam, Thunderbolt, Agility, and Flash."
"Sounds about right. Uh… tell me more about Play Nice."
"Play Nice: A non-damaging Normal-type move. The user and the target become more friendly, making the target slightly lose the will to fight and thus lowering their Attack stat."
"Oh, so it's not much different than Growl… tell me more about Feint," Gancena continued, sitting down. Floss and Biran joined her, and Haunter floated closer.
"Feint: A damaging Normal-type move. Feint can hit opponents using Protect or Detect and lifts any further effects of those moves."
"Oh, dang, I never knew that. Could be helpful down the line… Tell me more about Nuzzle."
"Nuzzle: A damaging Electric-type move. The user rubs their cheek against the target, inflicting damage and causing paralysis."
Gancena sat still for a moment, staring. …If she'd known that earlier, she definitely would have recommended it to Red on multiple occasions. Why hadn't she asked him to look it up then!?
Gancena instead gave a long sigh and declared, "Shiimeji, it's your turn."
"All right," Haunter said, floating directly in front of Gancena. She pointed the Pokédex at him and performed the same steps she had with Ash.
"All moves known by Shiimeji Haunter: Hypnosis, Lick, Spite, Mean Look, Curse, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Sucker Punch, Shadow Punch, Payback, Shadow Ball, Dream Eater, Dark Pulse, Destiny Bond, Hex, Nightmare, Poison Jab, and Sludge Bomb."
"Huh. You're right, Haunter. There are some new things here. New to me, anyway."
"You'd never asked me to use some of them, so I thought it was possible you didn't know."
"Pokédex, tell me more about Payback."
"Payback: A damaging Dark-type move. The user briefly stores power and then attacks. If the user moves after their foe, the attack's power is doubled."
"That's incredible," Gancena said. "Good to know. Tell me more about Hex."
"Hex: A damaging Ghost-type move. This attack does massive damage to targets who are already suffering from status conditions."
"Whoa!" Gancena exclaimed. "Why come I haven't heard of this!?"
"You tell me, Gancena," Haunter replied.
Gancena then pointed the Pokédex at Biran.
"Are those the only questions you had!?" Haunter asked.
"Yeah. I know about the others. It was just those two."
"I see…"
"All moves known by Biran: Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip, Ember, Flame Wheel, and Flamethrower."
"Sounds about right… nothing there I have any questions about," Gancena said. "So now it's on you, Floss!"
"All moves known by Floss: Pound, Growl, Encore, Sing, Sweet Kiss, Double Slap, Defense Curl, Follow Me, Bestow, Wake-Up Slap, Minimize, Stored Power, Metronome, Cosmic Power, Disarming Voice, and Moonblast."
"Moonblast is there!" Gancena exclaimed. "But I have a lot of questions before that. Tell me about… Follow Me."
Floss began to slowly glance around as the Pokédex spoke: "Follow Me: a non-damaging Normal-type move. Causes foes to only attack the user."
Gancena winced. "When would that be helpful…? Tell me about Bestow."
"Bestow: A non-damaging Normal-type move that only works if the user is holding an item. The user passes its held item to the target."
"I see. Tell me about Stored Power."
"Stored Power: a damage-dealing Psychic-type move. The user attacks a target with stored power. The higher the user's stats have been boosted, the more damage the attack deals."
"Huh. Didn't know you had a Psychic-type move in you, Floss. That could be helpful, too. Tell me about Cosmic Power."
"Cosmic Power: a non-damaging Psychic-type move. The user absorbs a mystical power from space to raise their Defense and Special Defense stats."
"Ah! So when those two are used in tandem, they could do some serious damage!" Gancena concluded. "You know, it makes sense that you have that move, Floss, since Clefairy are said to have come from space."
Floss perked up, smiling.
"You seem happy that I know that," Gancena said. "Right?"
Floss nodded.
Gancena chuckled and patted Floss' head. "Pokédex, tell me about Disarming Voice."
"Disarming Voice: A damage-dealing move of unknown type. The user lets out a charming cry to damage the opposing Pokémon. This attack never misses."
"Wait, wait wait wait wait. Unknown type!?"
"In recent years, some Pokémon and some newly discovered moves have characteristics such as strengths and weaknesses that don't align with any of the currently known types. Clefairy and their Disarming Voice and Moonblast are among these."
"Moonblast, too…" Gancena murmured.
"However, the Steel and Dark types were discovered in similar manners. It's highly likely that this unknown type will soon be fully understood and properly named."
"I'd heard of this, too," Haunter added. "I actually remember when Dark and Steel were officially named types. You didn't know about this, Gancena?"
"…Not a thing." Does… Does that mean future games will have this new type!? And that Clefairy will have it!?
Gancena decided to pull up the Pokédex data on Clefairy.
"Clefairy," spoke the Pokédex. "The Fairy Pokémon. Type unknown. Average height two feet. Average weight sixteen and a half pounds."
"I thought Clefairy was a Normal-type," Gancena said.
"Clefairy was classified as a Normal-type Pokémon for a long time until it was noticed that Fighting-type attacks did not affect it as much as it did other Normal-types and that it was able to be damaged by Ghost-type attacks."
"That… explains a couple things, I think," Gancena remarked. "Though I suppose it won't matter too much for now. It'd be nice to know, but…"
Floss stood up and hugged Gancena's torso. Gancena smiled and put her arm around Floss in return, gently squeezing her.
Floss pulled back first, pointing to the entrance to Mt. Moon. "Fairy clefairy?"
"Yeah. Let's."
Gancena let Floss hop off her lap before standing. Biran followed and Haunter floated back up with him.
Gancena took a breath and entered the cave.
Mt. Moon was surprisingly well-lit, with beams of light coming down through many holes in the high ceilings of the mountain. The area was punctuated with narrow passages and high rocks, some of which also had dark holes in them.
Gancena wondered what it looked like under the full moon, and briefly lamented that there'd probably be no time to see it. Well, perhaps.
"Come on, guys. Let's see who or what we can find around here," Gancena said, leading the way towards and through a rock-lined passage.
She thought it over more as they continued. The moon had been near its first quarter when she saw it the first time she and Red had camped near the cliffsides of Route 14. At least, she thought it was the first quarter. If she was right, it would have been waxing, then. But what if the moon had already been full?
She sighed. There was no way for her to know for sure.
Floss suddenly made a noise and pointed towards a descending passage in one of the cave walls. Then she started to run towards it.
"Floss, wait!" Gancena shouted, dashing after her. She heard more than saw Biran follow on her heels. As he began to run, Haunter grabbed onto his shoulders, letting his hands stretch away from him before being flung after Biran.
Floss ran down into a tunnel that only led in one direction, which led to another descending passage.
Going two floors down in Mt. Moon reminded Gancena a lot of exploring the Seafoam Islands, though it was much warmer here. The floor below was significantly darker, but was still lit up enough for everyone to see thanks to the holes in the rocks above.
But what briefly baffled Gancena was that Floss soon went back up another tunnel, with no signs of slowing down.
"Floss!" Gancena called. "Where are we going!?"
When they'd reemerged in a different part of the cave, Floss led them to a narrow tunnel whose walls were covered in jagged rocks.
When she was at its entrance, Floss spun on her toe to face Gancena. "Clefairy!" she said, holding up both hands.
Gancena and Biran skidded to a halt. Haunter's face smacked into the back of Biran's neck, prompting Biran to look at him in concern.
"I'm fine. You?"
Biran made an affirmative noise.
Clefairy brought a finger to her mouth. "Shhh." She pointed with both hands to the ground. "Cle fairy."
"You want us to stay here?" Gancena said.
Clefairy nodded. She snapped her fingers and winked. "Fairy Clefairy!" she chirped before dashing into the tunnel and jumping onto the rocks on the walls.
Gancena glanced behind her. She didn't see anything in particular.
"Did she say anything about what she was doing?" she asked Haunter.
"No. You understood her wholly enough," Haunter answered.
They waited. Minutes later, Floss returned, holding a dark, shiny stone.
Floss proudly presented to Gancena.
"Floss, is that a Moon Stone?" she asked, crouching.
Floss nodded. She shook the stone lightly as she thrust it towards Gancena.
"Do you want me to take it?"
Floss nodded again, more vigorously.
"Okay," Gancena said, taking it and looking it over. It was as dark as the night sky, but the light reflecting off it made its edges appear bright white as the moonlight. "…Floss, did you get this because… because you want to evolve?"
Floss wagged a finger and shook her head. "Fai-ry." She cleared her throat and paused before continuing. "Fairy Clefairy faaai…" she began, pointing to herself before stretching her arms upward and bringing them back to her sides. "Fairy Clefairy fairy," she finished, pointing to herself, then Gancena, then the Moon Stone.
Gancena paused and thought. "You don't want to evolve yet, but… when you're ready, you'll ask me for the Moon Stone?"
Clefairy bounced and cheered, nodding when she took a moment to stay on the ground. She gave Gancena a thumbs-up and a wink.
"Thanks, Floss, for the feedback," Gancena said. "Okay, so," she continued, slipping her backpack off briefly. "I'll just tuck it in one of the pockets for now," she said, unzipping one of the front pockets and slipping the Moon Stone in there. "So you've considered it, at least?"
Floss nodded. She shrugged and said, "Cle fairy fairy Clefairy."
"That it is," Haunter agreed.
"What? I didn't quite pick up anything from that," Gancena said.
"She was just saying it's nice to have the option," Haunter explained. "It's the same with me, really. I could evolve into a Gengar anytime I wanted, but it's just so fun having a body like this! Gengar can't stretch their hands like I can, but I'm pretty sure our tongues have about the same reach."
"I see," Gancena said.
Floss spun on her toe again. "Clefaiiiiiiiiiiiry!" she called into the tunnel.
Then dozens of Clefairy came hopping down from all over the cave. Biran and Gancena turned in a circle to try and see them all.
They settled roughly in a circle around the area, and Gancena turned to Floss. "What's going on?"
Floss flexed her arms. "Clefairy!"
"…A challenge?"
"Clefairy!" Floss repeated, pointing towards Gancena's Poké Balls. "Fairy Clefairy!" she said, miming a Pound attack.
"Oh! Training!"
Floss nodded quickly.
"They came to help?"
Floss nodded again.
Gancena looked around and smiled. "All right, then. One at a time, let's see how far we can go. Ash, you're first."
Ash leaped off Gancena's shoulder as one Clefairy hopped forward to meet the challenge.
"Quick Attack!" Gancena called.
The small skirmishes with the Clefairy clan ended up catching the attention of other Pokémon in the area, and soon Gancena's team was dealing with all sorts of cavernous Pokémon who made their home on Mt. Moon.
Gancena noticed that Haunter could keep going long after the other three had gotten tired. It made sense to her: A Pokémon with more than five hundred years of experience would no doubt be of a higher level and have more hit points than a bunch of young ones. Whenever Gancena deemed it necessary to go back to the Pokémon Center, Haunter would often be the one to carry out any other skirmishes on the way out.
The third time they returned inside, they immediately heard the sound of rocks falling in the distance.
"Shiimeji, could you check on that?" Gancena asked.
"Sure," he answered, flying forward.
"Pika-pika?" said Ash.
"I just want to be sure nothing weird's going on before we get closer," Gancena explained.
Moments later, Haunter returned with a smile. "It seems we're not the only ones training in here today."
"Oh? Who's there?"
"Pewter City's own Brock," Haunter answered. "I think it'd be good to introduce ourselves, since we'll be fighting side-by-side soon."
Gancena smiled. "I agree. Come on, guys."
Haunter led them deeper into the cave, and the Pewter City Gym Leader, a young man with short dark brown spiked hair, brown cargo pants, and a green vest over an orange shirt, commanded a particularly vigorous Onix: "Rock Slide!"
Onix slammed his tail against a wall, and chunks of rock fell from the ceiling and onto a horde of Zubat, which was promptly partly buried under the debris. That explained the noise.
"Good work, Onix," Brock praised, patting Onix's side.
Onix made a low sound.
Gancena hung back a moment to watch the Zubat slowly crawl out from under the attack before fleeing. Then she remembered to get closer.
"Preparing for tomorrow?" she called. Brock turned and paused before answering.
"So you must be..."
"Gancena, yes," she said, coming within handshaking distance, holding out her hand. "Sorry if I startled or worried you or anything."
Brock took it. "Not at all. I didn't really realize what you meant until I saw who was with you. What brings you here?"
"We're training!" Gancena declared proudly. "It was Floss' idea to come here specifically, but I figured I'd work with my team for today."
"So are you going straight through to Cerulean Cave?" Brock asked. "That'd mean we had the same idea."
"Well, no," Gancena answered. "We've been coming in and out all day. We're going back to Pallet Town tonight to regroup with Professor Oak and the two recent Champions."
"So Red's not here now."
"No. Last I knew, he was still in Pallet. It's just me and my party right now."
"In that case, you can stick with me for a while, if you want," Brock offered. "I come here often, so I know this place like the back of my hand."
Gancena nodded. "Let's do it. But, uh, I can only stick around until sunset. That's when we agreed to meet back outside. …Around when does the sun set this time of year?"
"A few minutes before nine," Haunter promptly answered.
"Wow, that's… later than I realized," Gancena said.
"He's right. I have a watch, so I can help you keep track of time," Brock said.
Gancena sighed. "Thank you."
Training went even more efficiently with Brock's guidance. Not only did he carry supplies of his own to heal Pokémon, but teaming up with him in battles meant more practice in different situations.
The cycle continued until Brock mentioned the sun would be setting, just as Gancena had planned. By then, one more trip to the Pokémon Center was needed, and she found Red and Blue waiting just outside with their Pidgeot. Fearow stood ready nearby.
"How'd it go?" Red asked.
"Very well," Gancena said. "I feel like we made some significant progress. I even met up with Brock. Turns out he had the same idea, though he'll be going on straight to Cerulean. So what did you guys do?"
"I'm keeping my Championship party," Red said. "But Blue made a couple changes."
"Yeah. I thought about what kinds of Pokémon we saw most often with Team Rocket and made a few swaps based on that," Blue confirmed. "Umbreon's staying with me, though, to nullify any Psychic-type attacks. Then I've still got Alakazam to wipe out any Poison-type Zubat and Golbat, but I swapped Exeggutor for Machamp to take care of Normal-types like Rattata. I also decided to take my Pidgeot along in case we need a good Whirlwind to clear the area."
"Good ideas," Gancena said. "I'm pretty sure we'll more than have all the types covered, but it's good to keep a variety going. I mean, hey, it's exactly why the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four are all so tough—they account for their preferred type's weaknesses, too."
Red nodded. "Ready to go?"
"Just a second, yeah?" Gancena said, pulling Poké Balls off her belt. "You did good, guys. I'm gonna keep you in here tonight to make sure you're in top shape, okay?"
"Fine by me," Haunter confirmed. Biran and Floss nodded in agreement, but Ash clung to Gancena from her perch on her shoulder.
"All right, all right, you can stay," Gancena soothed. "You're my first, after all."
"Pi-ka!" Ash cooed.
Once in Pallet Town, the three Trainers met with Professor Oak once more to discuss the plans for the morning. They decided it would be better to camp out quietly as close to the cave as they could get so they could catch Team Rocket as they passed. Gancena realized this was likely what Brock was planning to do. The rest had gathered quietly in Saffron City, intending to stay with Sabrina, whose Pokémon could Teleport them in en masse to reinforce the first attack.
Gancena saw no problems with it. When Red went home to say goodbye to his mother, she followed.
Rose presented them both with bags full near to bursting with Oran Berries from her trees.
"Rose…" Gancena said.
"For your Pokémon. I know this is going to be an important battle, but please don't push them any harder than you'd push yourselves."
"Thanks, Mom," Red said, grinning, eyes shining warmly. Pikachu made a noise from his shoulder.
"Thank you yet again," Gancena said, moving to hug Rose. Rose squeezed Gancena close.
"Be careful out there, both of you," she said, letting Gancena go and doing the same to Red. "Come back safely."
"We will," Gancena promised.
"Yeah," Red added. "You'll see us sooner than you think, Mom."