A/N: Here is the next chapter to the Johto Saga, hope that you enjoy it! I'm having a lot of fun with this series so far. I just started a job though so uploads might not be as frequent as they have been for the first few chapters, but I will try to be as consistent as possible.
The next day came around rather quickly. Amber was awoken by a beam of light shining in her face from one of the holes left in the tent from the Zubat attack. The sun had begun to rise and just broke the tree line to brighten the route. Torch rolled over to avoid the light and try to continue its slumber. Amber on the other hand got out of her sleeping bag to get ready for the new day.
It did not take long for her to change from her pajamas to her trainer gear. Still a little tired Amber began to pack up her campsite. She folded up her sleeping bag and picnic blanket and placed them inside her backpack, along with her empty food containers. The only thing left now was her nearly destroyed tent. Amber looked over it with a frown.
"Wow it looks worse than it did last night," she muttered.
Now that it was light out, she could really see the damage that the Zubat did. There were multiple holes on every side of the tent, and it had begun to fall in on itself. A gust of wind blew by and caused it to shake violently and part of it to fall further. The rustling must have woken Torch up who poked his head out of one of the holes. It managed to squeeze his entire body through before running over to Amber and climbing to rest on her shoulder.
"Good morning Torch. It looks like we woke up just in time," she chuckled.
"Cynda," he yawned.
"It might be useless, but we at least need to dispose of it properly. It's dangerous to leave things out like that you know, it's bad for the environment and wild pokémon," she explained to Torch before she collapsed the tattered tent and placed it in its holder.
Once it was properly folded, she added it to her backpack with everything else from the night, "Wow you really don't run out of space."
With everything packed away, it was finally time for Amber to continue her journey. She pulled her pokédex out to look at the town map, "Alrighty Torch, the map says it's a few more miles forward until we reach Cherrygrove. So, it shouldn't take long to arrive there."
Amber started down the path the map led her. The sun was now higher in the sky as the pokémon began to wake up along the route. A flock of Pidgey flew from the trees towards the opposite directions that Amber was walking. She could see Caterpie and Weedle climbing through the trees eating leaves. While Amber looked at the pokémon start of their day Torch gripped on tighter to her shoulder. Whenever he heard a sound, he jumped a little and looked on cautiously at the pokémon living their lives.
Amber couldn't help but laugh at him, 'Despite the way you battled last night you're still scared of other pokémon. I guess I shouldn't assume things to get better over one night. Last night just showed me that everything I believed you were capable of was right. Now, all we need is time.'
Amber smiled at the thought. Once she helped Torch get over his fear, he would undoubtedly be a great battler as memories of his extrasensory attack replayed in her mind. She was not the only young girl thinking about the future with her pokémon.
~ Johto Saga ~
In Cherrygrove City a young girl was sitting in her living room. She had short blonde hair with pale skin and hazel eyes. She had a pen in her hand and a notebook resting on her leg. She was leaning forward engrossed in what was playing on the television. It was a young man standing in the middle of the arena. Above him, there was a light blue pokémon with wings and torso covered in fluffy white cotton. On the sidelines, there was a table with three people. They consisted of a Nurse Joy and two other older gentlemen.
"Altaria use cotton guard!" the young man commanded.
The blue pokémon, Altaria, flew higher in the air and spun around quickly. As it spun balls of cotton flew into the air till it covered the arena. Altaria flew over the cotton for a few seconds as it waited for its master to make another command. The judges and the audience looked on in anticipation, so did the girl who nearly fell out of her seat.
"Now Altaria, aim down with a dragon pulse! Then follow it up with a dragon dance."
Altaria aimed downward in the floating cotton balls and unleashed a beam of purple energy. It shot through the cotton balls causing them to explode into purple and white lights dazzling the arena. Altaria flew through the exploding cotton balls and danced in the air. Purple energy enveloped it as it danced that matched with the exploding balls. When the balls were gone Altaria soared down to the trainer and landed on his stretched-out arm. It still had a purple aura around it as purple sparkles and specks of cotton floated down to the ground.
The crowd burst into applause as the judges have a combined score of 29.3, "Ladies and gentlemen that was Weston's Altaria earning him a sure spot in the second round battle competition!"
The girl was writing fiercely in her notebook but was distracted when the television was turned off, "Hey I was watching that!" she complained.
She turned around to see an older gentleman holding a remote, "Olivia, I told you to wash the dishes an hour ago. Why are they still in the sink?"
"I said I would get to it, but I was thinking about my routine for the contest and needed some new inspiration."
"You've watched that same contest over 100 times in the last week. Maybe you should focus on your responsibilities in the house. Now because you didn't clean them Fray is having a field day in there."
The girl's, Olivia, eyes widened as she jumped from the couch and ran into the kitchen. When she entered the kitchen, she could see the same pile of dishes from earlier in the sink. Olivia heard some noise coming from under the pile and it seemed that the dishes were moving on their own. She stepped a little closer and was surprised by a pokémon bursting out of the pile. It was a pink bipedal creature with a blue-collar and spots on its torso.
"Snubbull!" it cried out as it jumped out of the sink into Olivia's arms. It was covered in food stains and crumbs from the sink and tried to lick some off its chin.
"Fray what are you doing, I told you to stop playing in the kitchen. Now look at you, you're all dirty."
"Don't blame her Olivia, if you had done the dishes when you were supposed to this wouldn't be a problem right now. Olivia, you want to be a trainer you need to take your responsibilities seriously. How am I supposed to trust you traveling the region alone if you can't even take care of stuff at home?"
Olivia sighed as she tried to rub the food off Fray's body, "Dad you don't have to worry about me, I have everything planned out."
"I find that hard to believe!"
"Trust me, dad, you will see soon enough that I know what I'm doing!" she said gleefully. Her father tried to say something but was interrupted by an alarm beeping from her watch. Olivia looked at the time and screamed in excitement, "It's finally open! Come on Fray!"
"Wait Olivia don't forget the dishes!" her father tried to call out, but she ignored him. Olivia ran out of the kitchen and house with Fray close behind her. She ran down the street and out of her neighborhood towards a large building with a red roof, the Cherrygrove pokémon center.
~ Johto Saga ~
Amber finally arrived in Cherrygrove city in the early afternoon. Though it had only been a day the sight of buildings and other people was a relief after the night she endured. Cherrygrove was a small city as well, but not as small as Newbark Town. Amber could see practically all that Newbark had to offer from her bedroom back home, but you would not be able to do that here.
"Okay Torch let's go to the pokémon center, from what I remember when I visited with mom it should be that way," Amber said as she pointed to the left.
Not even a second after she pointed a woman tapped Amber from behind, "Excuse me, are you lost?"
Amber turned to answer but the woman continued talking before she could do so, "You must be a new trainer. Hello, I'm Daphne, one of Cherrygrove's new trainer tour guides."
"I'm sorry?" Amber said in confusion.
"Because we're so close to Newbark Town and Violet City we get a lot of new trainers that come through. So Cherrygrove created a free tour guide service to show trainers around the city. Now come on follow me."
Daphne did not give Amber much of a choice as she beckoned the young girl to follow. Much to Amber's dismay, they started walking in the opposite directions she wanted to. Torch seemed delighted to go on the tour as he eyed his surroundings with a curious smile, but he still held on strong to Amber's shoulder.
"Now Cherrygrove is known as the city of fragrant flowers. We supply many of the flower shops around Johto with seeds and materials so they can start their own gardens. Fun fact Cherrygrove is home to the oldest known flower fossil in the region. Unfortunately, you can't see it right now because it was sent over to the Violet City academy for study."
The tour was quite thorough. The two seemed to walk down every other street and turn at every corner. Daphne would point out a building and Amber would feign interest the best she could. They walked from the buildings to a small beach on the edge of town. The shore was a little rocky but there were still some people and pokémon swimming in the water, "This is the Cherrygrove beach, it's one of the smallest in the region. It's cut off from the main ocean by a large formation of rocks as you can see in the distance."
Amber did notice that there was a small stadium on the edge of the beach. There was a large television screen mounted on the top of the stadium meant for people to watch what was happening inside.
"That is Cherrygrove Stadium," Daphne started, answering Amber's question before she could ask, "Though we are a small town we have one claim to fame. We are home to one of Johto's contest halls. Here coordinators come to compete in contests to earn ribbons. You're in luck because there is actually a contest happening tomorrow. If you're interested in competing you can register at the pokémon center."
"Interesting," Amber muttered to herself.
They continued their tour for a few more minutes until they arrived where Amber needed to be, "Here is the pokémon center. This is one of the most important buildings for a trainer. Here you will meet Nurse Joy who will care for your pokémon when needed. Trainers are also entitled to a free night's sleep throughout their journey and can stock up on important items inside. The pokémart and pokémon center used to be separate buildings but Johto recently joined with other regions to combine them into one. I hope you enjoyed our tour and have a great rest of your journey."
Amber sighed in relief once Daphne finished talking and ran into the pokémon center. Unlike her mother's center, which was connected to Elm's lab, this one was clearly meant for trainers to relax in. When you entered you were met by an open space with a few benches. On the opposite end of the entrance, there was a long counter with a woman behind it.
There was a café to the left where trainers were talking and comparing their pokémon. To the right, there was a door that led outside to a fenced-in battle area. There were not any battles happening right then though more like trainers having their pokémon perform beautiful tricks. There were stairs that led above the counter with signs that read, "Pokémart and Trading Station". Finally, there pokémon walking freely throughout the building.
"First thing first Torch let's get you and Silla checked in," Amber said as she walked towards the counter.
The woman behind the counter looked identical to Amber's mother. Long pink hair, blue eyes, and a caring smile. She was talking to a trainer at the counter, "Your Phanpy is looking great, it's all set for the contest tomorrow. Good luck!" she said and then handed him a pokéball.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy!" the trainer said before he ran out of the center.
Nurse Joy smiled as she turned to help the next person in line, "I can help who's next...Amber!" she said in surprise. Nurse Joy ran from behind the counter and gave Amber a tight hug, "It's been so long since I've seen you last. Your mom told me you were on your way, but it completely slipped my mind how short the travel between Newbark and here was."
"Hi Aunt Evelyn," Amber managed to say from the squeeze. Her aunt's eyes landed on Torch who looked at her skeptically.
"This must be Torch, the shy Cyndaquil," she said. Evelyn tried to pet him, but Torch flinched away.
Both Evelyn and Amber frowned at his actions, "Don't worry Torch, Evelyn is a nurse just like my mom. She won't hurt you."
"Your mom wasn't lying when she said he was terrified of other people and pokémon was she?"
Amber shook her head, "No, but we're working on it. He even managed to battle a colony of Zubat last night. Though I don't know if that really helped him get over his fear."
"A whole colony of Zubat, how did that happen?"
"Long story, but I managed to catch one of them in the process so there's some good news. Can I leave them here with you for a check-up while I go up to the pokémart?"
"No problems Amber, that's what I'm here for. There are also some phones up there. You should call your mother she would want to hear that you got here safely. I'll also sign you into a trainer room for the night."
"Thank you!" Amber said.
She pulled out Silla's pokéball and handed it to her aunt. She tried to hand Torch over as well, but he was still hesitant. Amber returned him to his pokéball and handed it over as well to make the process easier. With a smile, Evelyn took Torch and Silla towards the back of the pokémon center to give them their check-up. With that out of the way Amber made her way towards the stairs and up to the pokémart.
She walked to the mart counter where there was a catalog of the items being sold, "Potions, antidotes, food," Amber listed off everything she would have to buy. She flipped through the catalog until she came across what she was looking for. There was a list of tents for sale. Her smile quickly faltered when she saw the price listed beside each tent.
"2,500 poké dollars!" she exclaimed, and that was for the cheapest tent available. Amber pulled her trainer card out and scanned it till she saw the amount of money it had. "I only have 3000. That's not enough to get the tent and everything else I need. I guess the tent is going to have to wait for now, I'll just sleep in my sleeping bag. Let's just hope it doesn't rain."
Amber walked over to the counter at the mart and ordered her items. Her account dropped from 3000 to 700 with the number of supplies she purchased. She placed everything in her bag and turned her head towards the video phones to call her mother. It did not take long for the phone to be answered. Her mother was in her nurse uniform in the center at Elm's lab.
"Amber sweetie, how are you doing? How was your trip? Do you miss us yet? How is Torch coming along? Any new pokémon? Is Gray still there?" the questions came out like a rapid-fire.
"I'm doing good mom; the trip was good for the most part. Yes, I miss you. Torch is doing good, still shy but he battled some pokémon on the way here, so we are making progress. I did catch a new pokémon, a Zubat named Silla. She and Torch are with Aunt Evelyn right now! I'm not sure if Gray is still here or not."
"Okay, do you need anything from us?"
Amber almost said something about her money situation. She knew her parents would send the money for a new tent right away, but she did not want to rely on them or have them worry, "No I'm good."
"That's good. I really cannot talk right now sweetie because I'm at work. But call later when your dad and I are home. Be careful love you!"
"Love you too mom," Amber said. Their call ended shortly after, and Amber took the opportunity to take a walk around the pokémon center. It was full of trainers who were mostly talking about the upcoming contest, which got Amber thinking.
'Maybe a contest would be the perfect place to take Torch. The pokémon are not combative, it's all about how graceful they can be. Torch wouldn't have to be afraid.'
Amber was knocked out of her head literally when she ran into a frantic girl. They both fell back hard, and Amber looked up to see the girl looking around the center, panic glued on her face, "Do you need any help?"
"Yes, Nurse Joy, have you seen a Snubbull running around here. Her name is Fray and…. wait, you're not Nurse Joy. Are you?"
Amber couldn't help but chuckle a little, "Not yet, the nurse here is my aunt. My name is Amber Joy, I'm actually just a trainer right now. I just started my journey. I can still help you; did you lose your Snubbull?"
"No, I didn't lose her, per se. I'm just not sure where she is at the moment. Can you help me find her, please? My name's Olivia by the way."
Amber nodded as she pulled out her pokédex and searched for a Snubbull to hear the description, "Snubbull the fairy pokémon. A fairy type, It has an active, playful nature. Many women like to frolic with it because of its affectionate ways."
"Where did you see Fray last?"
"I had brought her here so I can register for the contest tomorrow but there was a line, so I decided to pass the time by watching the tv in the café. Then they started showing some contests from last year, while I was watching them Fray must have wandered off, and now I can't find her anywhere."
The girls split up and searched all over the pokémon center for Fray. They looked under tables, asked trainers who were waiting, and even searched the battle area, but there was no sign of Fray, "My dad is going to kill me." Olivia said under her breath.
"She must have gone outside."
"It would take forever to search for her all over the city on foot. Registration closes in less than two hours," Olivia complained.
"I think I have an idea," Amber said.
She ran over to the pokémon center counter, "Aunt Evelyn how are my pokémon doing?"
"I was just about to ring your name, they are all healed up and ready," Evelyn said as she handed Amber the two pokéballs.
"Thanks!" Amber called as she ran back over to Olivia. The two ran out of the pokémon center where Amber enlarged Silla's pokéball and threw it in the air. A white light formed into Silla who flew towards Amber with a smile.
"Silla, this is my new friend Olivia, can you help us look for her Snubbull?"
"How is a Zubat supposed to help us, they don't have eyes!"
"They don't, but they have spectacular hearing. She can listen for Snubbull cries and use echolocation to find where it's coming from. Hopefully, that will be Fray."
Olivia did not seem completely convinced, but there was no better option, "Fine."
"Silla do you know what a Snubbull sounds like?" Amber asked. Silla shook her head.
"Okay," Amber pulled out her pokédex and searched till she found the Snubbull page. She played the sound for Silla to hear, "You got that Silla, now find Fray! Look all over Cherrygrove."
Silla nodded her head before she took off in the sky, "Don't worry Olivia, we're going to find her."
"I hope we do; I have no idea what I will do without her," Olivia said as she slumped down against the center wall.
"Is Fray you're first pokémon?" Amber asked as she leaned down beside her.
"Yeah, and my only one right now. My parents gave her to me for my 13th birthday as my starter."
"Why didn't you get a starter from Professor Elm, Newbark Town is not that far from here."
"That's easy, none of them are fairy-type pokémon. Fairy types are by the cutest and best pokémon type of them all. I've loved them since I was a kid and Snubbull is my favorite one of them all with its little squishy face. I want to have a whole team of fairy types!"
"You're going to compete in the league with only fairy types. That's going to be hard monotype teams are particularly difficult to travel with unless you are a very skilled trainer."
"I'm not competing in the league silly," Olivia said, almost insulted, "I'm going to be a fairy-type coordinator. I'm going to compete in contests around the world with all my fairies to show everyone how great they are."
"You know there is something beautiful in all pokémon?"
"Yeah, but none of them compare to fairy types!"
Amber just laughed halfheartedly, and Olivia sighed, "You just don't get it, neither do my parents. They don't think I'm ready to go on a journey, even though I'm already 13. If my dad found out that I lost Fray he would never let me leave the street let alone travel the region. That's why I need to find Fray, we're going to compete in the contest tomorrow. When I win, I'm going to prove to him that I know what I'm doing and that I can travel on my own."
"Well, I believe in you, and I'll be cheering you on!"
"Are you not competing in the contest?"
"No, I'm traveling to compete in the league, I just stopped here for the night. When I saw that there was a contest tomorrow, I decided that I would watch some of it before leaving tomorrow. I'm hoping it will be a good thing for my Cyndaquil to watch, he's a little shy."
"Well, then I will gladly take your support!" Olivia said as she stood, "Tomorrow will be the day I make my dazzling debut!" she shouted.
While looking in the air Olivia noticed Silla flying back towards the girls, "Hey Amber I think Silla found something."
Amber looked up and saw Silla as well. The bat pokémon seemed to be trying to get their attention. The girls got up and started running towards Silla. They followed her down a few streets until they arrived at the small beach. Silla led them further down the beach towards the ocean. A look of dread came over Olivia's face at the thought Fray got lost at sea. The look of concern turned to that of relief when she saw Fray dancing in some puddles of water playing with a Magikarp. Fray was covered in sand from head to toe but had a smile on her face as she danced with the flopping redfish.
"Fray!" Olivia called out.
"Snub," Fray said as she turned her head then smiled as she saw Olivia running towards her, "Snub Snubbull!"
She ran into Olivia's arms and hugged her tight, "Fray you had me worried sick, don't run off like that again without me do you understand. Look you have sand all over yourself and me, you're going to have to take a really good bath before tomorrow."
Amber returned Silla back to her pokéball when a look of realization dawned on her, "Olivia if you don't go back and register you won't be competing tomorrow!"
Olivia instantly got up with Fray in her arms, "You're right, registrations almost over!" The girls began to race back towards the pokémon center.
~ Johto Saga ~
"Alright, your Snubbull is doing just fine, and you are registered for tomorrow's contest. You just made it too, I was about to close out the list," Evelyn said as she handed Olivia back Fray's pokéball.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy!" Olivia said as she shrunk it down and placed the ball on her belt loop.
Olivia walked over to where Amber was waiting in the café, "I just made it. I am all registered, next time you see me I'm going to be a new star. Thank you for your help earlier."
"No problem, as a Joy it's my job to help a trainer in need. Good luck with the contest tomorrow, I can't wait to see your performance!"
"Thanks again, I'm going to be looking for you in the audience," Olivia said before she left the building to head back home.
Amber laughed as she looked around the building. It had calmed down from earlier as many trainers went to sleep for the next day. Amber walked over to the counter where her aunt was typing something on the computer, "I'm about to go to call my parents then go to the room Aunt Evelyn, have a good night."
"Goodnight sweetie!"
Amber was about to walk away when she stopped and turned, "Question Aunt Evelyn, did a trainer by the name of Gray Elm stay here? Do you know if he is still here?"
Evelyn thought for a second before she answered, "I believe he did for two nights, but then he left a few hours before you arrived. He was a handsome and polite young man. Is he a friend of yours?" Evelyn asked with a sly grin.
"Yeah, a friend, he left a few days before me. I just wanted to see if he was still here, but I guess I missed him. I'll probably run into him sooner or later. Goodnight!"
Amber walked towards the back where the trainer's rooms were. Inside she placed her belongings on a shelf and got ready for bed. There was a phone inside as well, so she went to call her parents to tell them about her day. As they talked Amber felt excited as another day in her journey passed with more excitement than she would have expected. Not only that she had made a new friend.
Meanwhile, Olivia could not sleep as she studied different contest performances on the television in her living room. Fray was lying beside her playing with one of the couch pillows, 'Tomorrow is going to be my day!' she thought. Olivia could only imagine what her first contest would be like, all good things. She just needed to make sure that everything would work out as she planned, it just had to.
Amber's Team:
1. Torch (Cyndaquil)
Ability: Unkown
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Smokescreen, Extrasensory
2. Silla (Zubat)
Ability: Inner Focus
Moves: Absorb, Supersonic, Astonish
Olivia's Team:
1. Fray (Snubbull)
Ability: Run Away
Moves: Charm, Bite, Thunder Fang, Scary Face
