Disclaimer: I do not own anything, I make no money or profit from this.
Chapter 3
[Viridian City]
It was the next day and Lynn was in the pokecenter lobby waiting for her trainer students. Both of them were using the public video phones to call their families. They were most likely telling them how they passed their test and showing them their starter Pokemon. Lynn meanwhile was watching one of the many TVs hanging around the lobby. The one she was watching was showing Lincoln's and Lt. Surge gym battle the day before. She couldn't help but smile as she watched the match. Her brother just got to Kanto and was already collecting gym badges.
"You've already got number one Linc" she said in a whisper.
"You say something Lynn?" Clyde asked from behind her. Lynn turned and looked behind her to see the 2 she was waiting for. Both looked at her with confused expressions while still holding their Pokemon.
"Nothing important, don't worry about it" the Loud girl replied while standing up. "Before I forget, I need to give you these." She then pulled out 2 yellow devices from her pocket, they were around the size of a standard cellphone. "These are your poketch, they are something every trainer should have. They are a cellphone, map, compass, memo pad, it's connected to this world's internet, and can give you info on your own Pokemon. I already put both your numbers and mine in them. As for the bill for the services, your parents are paying it so you don't have to worry."
"Awesome! Thanks Lynn" the teen boy said with glee.
"Wait! This is what you were looking at yesterday!" Ronnie Anne screamed in realization. "When did you have time to get us these?"
"Oh I had them on me the whole time" Lynn answered nonchalantly. "Technically these are congratulatory gifts from Lincoln if you passed the Trainers Test. I just didn't get activated until yesterday when I went looking for you-know-what. Just so you know, those are the standard colored models. If you want to get them changed you'll have to pay for it yourselves."
"If you had them this whole time, why are we just getting them now?!" Ronnie Anne growled through clenched teeth while pointing accusingly at the older girl. Clyde was confused at first, but replayed her words in his head and figured it out.
"Because I wasn't going to waste the money if you didn't pass," Lynn replied in a bored tone. "There's an activation fee and deactivation for the poketch. Now let's say I did activate them and you failed, you would go back to Royal Woods and not get your poketch. These are congratulatory gifts for passing, so you wouldn't receive them. Then I would have to pay the deactivation fee because I wouldn't need them. Waiting to see if you pass was the smarter option."
The tan skin girl wanted to argue, but realized she was correct. She doubted Lynn would've still given the devices to them if they failed. It was just smart money management on the older girl's part. "Now that's settled, we should make our way to the Viridian Gym" Lynn commented walking past Ronnie Anne.
"There's a gym in this city?" Clyde asked with shock and excitement.
"Yup whether you passed or not, I was planning on making this city's badge my first." A large grin appeared on the athlete's face.
"I apologize, but the Viridian gym leader is currently elsewhere at the moment" nurse Joy spoke up, as she was walking past them. "He is expected to be away for at least a month, maybe two if he's unlucky. I've been recommending trainers to either go north to Pewter City or take the Diglett Cave to Vermilion City."
"How long will it take to get to either city?" Lynn asked, disheartening at having to wait to get her first badge.
"Well no more than a few days for Pewter City" nurse Joy answered while analyzing the 2 routes. "Maybe a week if you get lost in the Viridian Forest. The Diglett Cave is not too far from the forest entrance, but traveling it is a different story. Depending on the person, some people have traveled in a week or two while others it took over a month. I've heard larger groups take longer to get through the cave."
"Well looks like we're going to Pewter City you two" the athlete said in an annoyed tone. "Thanks for the info nurse Joy" to which the nurse simply smiled and walked on.
"So I guess we start walking towards Pewter City?" Ronnie Anne asked sarcastically. Lynn just nodded and started walking out of the pokecenter. The two young teens immediately start following her.
[Route 2]
After getting the supplies they'll need for their journey, the three trainers left Viridian City and were making their way to Viridian Forest. Ronnie Anne and Clyde kept their Pokemon out and walked with them. Lynn also let out her Lycanroc once they were out of the city.
"Hey Loud, why did you keep your Pokemon in its ball while in Viridian City?" Ronnie Anne asked, trying to make conversation as they walked.
"Also what were you watching at the pokecenter?" Clyde added in. "You seemed really focused on it."
"I put Lycanroc back in his ball because we were getting so many stares," the older girl replied in a bored tone. "Not surprising, Lycanroc and its younger form, Rockruff, are usually only found in the Alola region. People around her probably have never seen something like him before. As for what I was watching, it was a replay of Lincoln winning his badge against the Vermilion gym leader yesterday evening." This caused the two behind her to stop in their tracks and scream in surprise. They then bombed her with question, to which she just ignored. "I don't know what to tell you, from what he said in the video, he got to Vermilion in the morning and challenged Lt. Surge that same evening. I haven't called him yet so I know just about as much as you do."
"So Lincoln is already ahead of us?" Clyde asked after getting over his old friend's accomplishment.
"Yup and knowing Linc, he's already making his way to his next gym badge" Lynn answered while smiling.
"Where do you think he'll head next?" Ronnie Anne asked with hope in her voice. She was silently pleading they would run into each other soon.
"He has four choices," Lynn said while holding up four fingers. "He could go to Saffron Gym to the north. The Celadon Gym which would be northwest. Or he could take a boat to Fuchsia or Cinnabar Gym. None which we are close to." While Lynn couldn't see it, she knew the younger girl was pouting.
"So why did you pick the Oddish, Clyde" the tan skin girl asked while still pouting. Lynn kept looking forward, but was listening to their conversation.
"As I was studying to take the test, I learned a lot about different Pokemon," Clyde replied with a small smile. "While I didn't study every Pokemon in depth, there were some that grabbed my attention. Particularly the ones that helped medicine, everyday items, and food. The evolved forms of Oddish interest me and wanted to see them up close. I was thinking of picking the Paras, because it's mushrooms from it and the evolved form are used to make remedies and cooking. However I went with the Oddish for its appearance and would help more in my journey."
"Wow Mcbride, you really prepared for this trip" Lynn's cheerful voice said from ahead of them. "One Pokemon that you might want to think of getting is a Miltank. Not only are they good to use in some battles, but their milk is better than most of the stuff we got back home."
"I did study it and I'll admit it caught my attention…" Clyde said while scratching his chin. "...But aren't they native to the Johto region? Also I've been meaning to ask, why don't you use those communication headbands Lisa invented on your Pokemon?"
"Yeah, wasn't their original purpose to communicate with Pokemon?" Ronnie Anne added in.
"Yes Miltank was native to Johto, but that's not the case anymore" Lynn started to answer the questions without looking at them. "Many companies in every region use Milktank's milk in their products, so they bought Miltanks to save on import fees. Doesn't help with the Black Market Breeder releasing the rejects into the wild to try to get the strongest or shiny Miltank. So it's not that strange to find wild Miltanks in any region."
"Shiny?" The younger girl asked in confusion.
"Shiny refers to a Pokemon being a different color then normal" Clyde answered her question. "A good example of this is Lincoln's Lopunny. A normal Lopunny's fur is brown and yellow, Lincoln's Lopunny has brown and pink. That small color change classifies it as a shiny Pokemon."
"Correct Mcbride, you really study for this trip" Lynn said with a smile, looking over her shoulder at them. "Vixen is a shiny Pokemon and Lincoln was lucky to run into her. Now as for why I don't use the communication headbands is because of Lincoln. He told me it was better to strengthen the bonds between my Pokemon and me. Using the headband is like a shortcut. Sure you'll be able to understand your Pokemon faster, but you didn't put in the hard work of creating a bond with them. That's why me or Lincoln didn't give you one of those, we want you to experience the way we did. If you buy one for yourselves, I wouldn't stop you from using it."
"So that's why" was all Clyde could say. "How long do you think it will take us to Pewter City?"
"A few days like nurse Joy said" Lynn replied while looking at the map on her poketch. "What concerns me is the Viridian Forest. From what nurse Joy said, it sounds like a common occurrence for people to get lost in it. Let's try not to be one of them." Both younger teens nodded in agreement as they made their way to their first Gym.
