Author's Note: So, it's almost back to Goldenrod for TR stuff. I'm changing things a bit, though...

Chapter Thirty Four: Vs Dewgong!

Gin sighed as she opened the Pokémon Center's door. She, Kin, and Suishou had just arrived at the Center after leaving the gym, and Kin was still grumbling.

"I can't believe it... Cheap tactics if I ever saw any..."

"Shut up." Gin rolled her eyes. "That wasn't cheap; it's called thinking ahead."

"But...!"

Gin tuned Kin out as she walked up to the Center's counter with Suishou trailing behind her. She forced a smile as she handed her Pokémon to the attendant, and then turned back to Suishou.

"Hey, kiddo, you want to go get lunch or something?"

"Sure!" Suishou grinned.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Kin scrambled after Gin and Suishou, trying to shake off the feeling that he was being insulted although Gin wasn't saying anything to him anymore...

"So I did a bit of poking around, and the next gym's over in Blackthorne City."

Gin slid back into the chair she'd been sitting in a few moments ago. Suishou and Kin looked up as they finished off the sandwiches they'd gotten for lunch, and the redhead blinked.

"Um, that's pretty close to here, right?"

"Well, basically."

"Basically?" Kin's eye twitched as he replied.

"That's what I said, genius. Anyway, I got a better look at the map they have up in the lobby, and there's this tunnel called Ice Cave between here and there. I heard it takes about a day to get through it unless you feel like rushing, and judging from its rather uncreative title, rushing through a place like Ice Cave does not sound very smart."

"What do you recommend we do then?" Kin asked sarcastically.

Gin shrugged and took a sip of her remaining water. "I'd say wait here and get up early again tomorrow morning."

"And what are we supposed to do between now and this evening? There's nothing here."

"We could always go to bed after dinner," Suishou suggested.

"Yeah, that and maybe practice battle a bit, or something. I can think of someone who could use it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Gin rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to throw her water bottle at Kin as she stood up to throw it away. She'd rather save her energy for more important things, after all.

"Ugh. I hate waking up this early."

Kin rubbed his eyes as he followed Gin and Suishou out of the cafeteria the next morning. They had indeed gone to bed right after dinner, but the dark-haired boy never woke up before seven... And Gin being wide awake already just made things worse.

"I don't care. If we're going to get to Blackthorne any time today, we need to leave in a few minutes," she responded irritably.

"Um... Gin..." Suishou started to speak, but was cut off when he yawned.

Gin simply rolled her eyes at the two boys as they walked out into the lobby. Turning around, she blinked owlishly; there was a large group of trainers gathered around the counter. As she took a few steps closer, she could hear them murmuring excitedly.

Suishou blinked. "What's everyone doing?"

Shrugging, Gin pushed passed a few of the trainers rather ungraciously with the two boys right behind her, and they got a few glares and grumbles in return. Gin blinked as well when she got to the counter; Mahogany's gym leader, Pryce, had evidently just laid his Dewgong on the counter and was indicating a large scar on its side to the nurse.

"Fortunately, I don't think it's too deep, but I was wondering if there was anything you can do for that..."

"I'd say just let Dewgong rest up for a few days, and it should be back to normal just like that!" the nurse answered, smiling.

"Ah... Good, thank you." Pryce smiled as well as he withdrew the Ice-Type, and as he turned around, he noticed Gin. "Oh, good morning, Gin."

"Yo, Pryce."

The rest of the trainers curiously looked at each other and started babbling instantly. Gin rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

"I'm sure you didn't come here to listen to chatter, right?" Gin frowned as she and Pryce started walking towards the door.

The Gym Leader chuckled slightly. "I'm sure you saw my Dewgong. I wasn't too worried... But you can never be too careful."

"I hear you on that..."

"Hey!"

Kin yelped as he and Suishou hurried after Gin and Pryce. When the quartet opened the Center's glass door and walked out, Pryce suddenly had a more serious look on his face.

"Actually, I'm glad I ran into you three," he started, beckoning them to come a bit closer.

"Why?" Gin raised an eyebrow. "Did you forget something yesterday?"

"No, it's not that... I just got a rather cut off call from Whitney just a few minutes ago. It sounded urgent, but I suppose her Pokégear must have run out of batteries before she could finish speaking..."

"Whitney? Oh, she's the Gym Leader in Goldenrod," Kin grinned. "She's cute."

"No, she's not. She's irritating," Gin snapped. "Anyway, is there something wrong?"

"Evidently, there's some kind of trouble in Goldenrod, but I didn't get to hear what it was. She said I was the first of the Gym Leaders she didn't get a busy signal with. I'm curious, but I don't want to leave town with Dewgong injured either..."

"So, um, we should help, right?" Suishou asked brightly.

"Yes, that would be a big relief," Pryce said gratefully. "Please, have Whitney call me when things are cleared up."

With that, the Gym Leader leaned on his cane slightly and slowly started to walk away from the Pokémon Center. As soon as he was out of sight, Gin turned around and glared at Kin and Suishou.

"We're not going. I can't risk being seen in Goldenrod! I'm a missing person, you know!"

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Kin demanded.

"Oh... That's right..." Suishou sighed and looked down. "You told me a long time ago, right? You ran away. But we went to Goldenrod that one time when you got your badge..."

"You ran away from home? Are you crazy?"

"You would too if you had grandparents like mine. And it was sheer dumb luck that I only ran into my stupid brother the last time I was there!"

"But Gin..." Suishou started. "What if something really serious is happening? We really should go... We could just be really careful..."

Gin paused, looking at Kin's dumbfounded look and Suishou's hopeful expression. She then pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed out slowly.

"All right, I suppose. But I swear, if anything goes wrong..."

"I know, it's my fault," Kin grumbled.

"Actually, I wasn't going to say that, but hey, that works too."

Gin smirked as Kin started sputtering, and she folded her hands behind her head as she started walking. True, her stomach was tightening at the thought of going back to Goldenrod, but at least this time she'd have some comic relief.