Chapter 12
Author's Note: This is word emphasis
-this is telepathic conversation-
Celadon City:
When the next morning dawns Red extricates himself from the bed without waking Citrine up, he polishes his egg, and makes sure he looks presentable before heading out to the front desk to check on Vee. " Your Eevee will need to stay here for at least another day. What he was put through is abhorrent. The mere fact that he chose to catch himself in one of your Poké Balls is astonishing. "
" Espeon managed to tell Citrine and I through images that he did so after observing me with my pokémon for a couple of hours. He caught himself just after lunch, and only stuck around because of Espeon. " Red admits.
Nurse Joy takes in this explanation, and she knew Red would be the perfect trainer to help his new Eevee overcome the trauma of the experiments he underwent to be able to switch between his base Eevee form, and his fire, water, and electric forms. It would make sense a different Eeveelution would catch the poor Eevee's attention, especially since Eevee only evolved into their psychic form through high levels of friendship during the daylight hours.
Time Gates:
Setsuna/Sailor Pluto starts laughing her ass off at how Red ended up with Vee in this particular dimension. Part of the reason why she was laughing her ass off was the fact that Erika, the Celadon City Gym Leader was going spare over trying to locate said Eevee, unaware that he had caught himself after observing Red with his pokémon. Yes, Erika honestly had Vee's best interests at heart, but in this dimension she would not be able to play the games with Red she did in a lot of others. Who would have thought having her Hime cast in the role of The Healer would elicit such amusing changes. Then again The Healer was now the same age as The Fighter, The Trainer, and The Evolver.
Celadon City:
Red heads back to the room he shared with Citrine, and recalls Kerry and Ignacia, " The rest of you stay here, I'm going to work some more with Kerry and Ignacia. "
His pokémon nod at this, they knew he would only be going to the training field behind the Pokémon Center. He did need to work more with Kerry and Ignacia anyhow. He was also helping Kerry come up with a battling style that would help her kickass while staying put. Ignacia would be put through the ringer working on her base stats. Red would train right alongside Ignacia, but he was keeping part of his attention on the connection between himself and Citrine. Mostly so he could assure her he was close by once she woke up enough to notice he wasn't with her. He hoped that leaving most of his pokémon in their room would help with that as well. She knew he would never abandon his pokémon.
Ignacia uses physical attacks only to help train up Kerry's ability to take a hit since she did happen to have the advantage over her teammate. Soon enough Red would work with Kerry on dealing with elemental attacks. For now getting Kerry to the point where she could take hits, and dish them out was the most important thing. A lot of trainers forgot to make it so their teams could take hits, they would work on speed and evasion, often forgetting about taking hits and dishing them out as well. Red never made that mistake, he knew sometimes you had to be hurt in order to progress. Letting pokémon take hits let them know where the gaps in their defenses happened to be, just like humans and martial arts. Red could not wait until Citrine could start training herself again. He missed sparring with her!
The walking did keep her in shape though. Maybe after the next gym battle, Citrine would likely challenge Erika as well, if only for spending money, he could bring Row to him, and work on bonding with the Fearow that had nearly eaten Bill. No one could blame the researcher, and creator of the Transport system for being afraid of Fearow as a whole. Anyone would that had been merged with a Rattata, and nearly eaten. Yes, it was the Circle of Life, but that didn't make it any better! By having Ignacia work on putting her speed behind her attacks while attacking Kerry he was getting a lot accomplished.
-Easy, 'Trine, I'm just out back training Kerry and Ignacia. There is an upcoming Gym Battle after all.-
He can feel her relax once she hears that, being her anchor meant that he could sense her to a degree. Once he better mastered his Aura he'd be able to sense her a whole lot better than he currently could. He would be in for a major surprise once his new egg hatched, though he would have to borrow one of Citrine's books to identify his new pokémon. Not many in Kanto knew of the Riolu line, except for those in Rota. There weren't many natural human Aura users anymore, specifically Aura Guardians. Rangers may act similarly in some regards, but actual Aura Guardians were few and far between in the world. Red had actually read up about Aura Guardians, what few books there happened to be about them. He knew once he had mastered using Aura he would be able read the minds and actions of others, sense other Auras and view surroundings even with a blindfold, also allows users to view through some objects, projecting of his own Aura to create barriers or attacks. He would also be able to transfer Aura to others, which if he wasn't careful can be fatal to him. Then there was the activation of time flowers, which he had only ever seen pictures of. Time flowers have the ability to record events and play them at a later date as a holographic image with sound, only doing so if it is stimulated by the right aura. In this way, they are almost like living time capsules or natural cameras. One had to have the right Aural frequency to activate them though. There was some debate as to whether they were actually flowers or some form of living crystal.
Red had found all of that fascinating, hence why he had read everything he could get his hands on. If he was actually interested in a subject then he had no problems sitting and reading, though some part of himself had to be in motion. That was something his teachers back in Pallet Town had been unable to comprehend, even though his practical scores had always been better than his theoretical ones. He takes a look at the position of the sun and decides it was time to take a break so they could eat. " Ignacia, Kerry, time to stop for now. We need to have breakfast. " Red says.
He scoops Kerry up, and Ignacia follows him into the Pokémon Center where Citrine and their pokémon are in the cafeteria to get breakfast. Red takes the time to concoct Citrine's Komala Coffee while grabbing his own breakfast, Kerry balancing on his right shoulder as he gets his own food. Chansey handled getting the food for the Pokémon, well, the cafeteria Chansey at any rate. It was just easier to sometimes let the pokémon order for themselves after all. Chansey were always very nurturing after all, and they liked taking care of people. If Citrine happened to have a quiet discussion with Nurse Joy about Chansey's final evolutionary form of Blissey which was achieved through high levels of happiness, well, the Celadon City Pokémon Center would be the first in Kanto to have Blissey helping out. Her Kanto relatives would all descend on her wanting to know where she got Blissey.
Since Vee still needed treatment to fix his malnourishment among other health related issues, Espeon had kept him from bolting, assuring him that Nurse Joy meant no harm, and only wanted to heal him, the Pallet Town natives decide to see how much a saddle for a Fearow or Pidgeot would cost. They could start to plan accordingly once they knew after all. Since they would be staying until Nurse Joy felt safe releasing Vee from her care they reserved their room for the next three days. Red did need to train Ignacia some more, and they needed to battle Erika after all. They had originally planned to camp out while training, but then Vee found them, and caught himself. Since Vee needed to stay at the Pokémon Center until he was cleared by Nurse Joy they decided to stay at the Center.
Finding out that the kind of saddle they would want would cost six thousand Poké Dollars the pair wander off to browse around, though they did start thinking about how they were going to pay for the saddle. Red could always enter some more tournaments that they came across, and there was always pick up battles as well. They could make the money, it just wouldn't be easy since they also needed to make sure they had enough for everyday expenses. Red did manage to get lucky and find a sale on evolution items, so he buys a Fire Stone and a Sun Stone. Kerry would need a Sun Stone to evolve into Sunflora while Ignacia needed a Fire Stone to evolve into Arcanine. Sure, it bit into his money a bit, but a sale on evolutionary items was big, and trainers almost always took advantage when they could.
Citrine does some quick calculations under her breath before buying a TM Case and the TM for Shadow Ball while also paying to get her other TM's reactivated, and the limiters removed. She was so teaching Shadow Ball to Espeon. Few people realized that you could reactivate a TM after all, let alone remove the limiters on them, and Shadow Ball would give Espeon something to use against Dark Types. Dark Types were not immune to Ghost Types, which meant Shadow Ball was a way to overcome that weakness. She was so buying the Toxic TM in the next city they went to though. Espeon could learn Toxic as well, and bar Steel Types always poisoned the one on the receiving end. She was also going to teach Espeon how to use Iron Tail and Signal Beam, it was always better to have diversification in the move pool after all.
After that they just browse, making note of some things they would like to get later on. Red had a list of TM's he would like to get, and since Citrine had removed the limiters on the TM's she owned he was so teaching Kerry Energy Ball. It would give her a ranged attack that didn't take too long to charge. He was already going to get Rain Dance and Sunny Day just as soon as he could. They'd have to discuss whom would purchase Protect, and pay to have the limiter on it removed. Still, it was nice to be able to browse, though he did slip away to get a second Fire Stone since Citrine did happen to have a Vulpix, and they needed Fire Stones to evolve into Ninetails. They do buy lunch when their stomachs inform them it was time to eat.
They also feed the pokémon they have out, they'd feed the others once they reached a picnic area to do so. It was frowned upon to let the larger pokémon out outside of designated areas in cities and towns, and picnic areas always had shaded areas for pokémon that happened to be photosensitive, like Zu. Red and Citrine did receive a text from Blue telling them he would be training in Rock Tunnel for a while, though he'd pop back out once every three days in order to stay in contact. If he missed a contact day then they were to come looking for him. Of course, that would mean teaching the Flash HM to Pika or Kerry, as Sunkern could also be taught Flash. Red had found Cut, won Strength in the Bike Race, and prior to helping Misty Red had found Flash. It's just by catching Zu they hadn't needed it, and Mt. Moon wasn't nearly as dark as Rock Tunnel, which you did need Flash to get through, even with Zu.
The only HM's they hadn't acquired were Surf and Fly. Once they reach a picnic area they call all members of their teams out, and allow them to eat, making sure each one had the proper food, since they did make sure to mix their own up to keep their teams really healthy. Somehow all of Citrine's pokémon had Natures that preferred sour foods. Red had made damned certain to check the Natures of his pokémon so he could feed them the food they preferred. Hell, he had his Dex set up to tell him that now with a little playing around with it. That made things easier on him, though they would eat the generic foods as well. By making their own they could make sure the food wasn't sabotaged in any way.
Citrine was still learning the ins and outs of her new Xtransceiver. There were a few people that asked about it, and she told them about it. Including that Red had won it in the tournament, and given it to her. It had been given as a prize to promote the device in regions other than Unova. The people that asked left looking thoughtful afterwards. Citrine did make sure to memorize the customer hotline just in case something happened to the Xtransceiver, and she filled out the warranty form, and sent it in via Delibird Deliveries. She even filled out the paperwork for the extended trainer warranty! She made sure she kept copies as well, she was not about to get cheated after all. Red had also filled out the warranty paperwork for his PokéGear when he bought it, he'd thought ahead, and paid extra to have it insured for the next three years, and to get a free upgrade should it go obsolete before the warranty was up.
Suffice it to say living with Citrine had, had an effect on Red, not just by maturing him a little faster, but by making him get in contact with his inner devious, conniving, creative, vindictive bastard. Of course, he charged the household accounts to get the wiring and plumbing upgraded, and add in a security system. Since as far as his parent knew he basically lived alone they had no qualms about this. If Red had the wiring and plumbing checked once a month for maintenance they said nothing about it. Red knew how to get his money's worth out of just about anything, though once Green realized this about him she would refine his ability to bargain with the best of them. She'd also make damned certain he learned how to maintain a poker face at all times when he needed to as well.
No one would expect the boy hero type that Red was to be manipulative let alone capable of subtle, creative revenge. The kind he had been getting on his parents for the last three years since Citrine came into his life. He may have upgraded the computer, video phone, and tv while he was at it, along with getting a mini fridge for his room and a tv. Not that his parents noticed that, or the fact he had expanded his closet, or renovated one of the guest rooms as Citrine's room until they could actually share a room, and not have Pallet Town's busy bodies be annoying about it. Daisy was looking after the place while they were gone, along with the garden as well. Sure, it was just a flower garden, but it still needed tending, along with general upkeep.
Daisy didn't mind doing so for them, and should repairs be needed she'd get ahold of Red, he'd called her to give her his PokéGear number, and then he would authorize the repairs. It wasn't like his parents were going to keep his home in good repair after all, they were far too busy with their jobs, leaving him on his own, by and large. Hence why they still had no idea he had someone living with him, someone that could potentially become their daughter-in-law as well, should Red decide he actually wants to pursue a romantic relationship with Citrine.
Up above Red and Citrine is Green, whom has her Jiggly transporting her. Thanks to the help of Blue Team Rocket was no longer in Celadon City. She would so love to rub it in Erika's face that Team Rocket had, had a base in her city to protect, and she had never even noticed. Instead she makes her way out of Celadon City via Jiggly Express. She did have to giggle at the fact that Citrine was snuggled into Red while she was brushing her Vulpix. Vulpix had to be a recent capture, and even a Ghost Type Specialist would catch a Vulpix should one appear before them. Vulpix were rare in Kanto after all, it was easier to find Growlithe and Ponyta then Vulpix or Magmar. Vulpix could learn a few Ghost Type moves after all, like Confuse Ray. Maybe if she got lucky Citrine would breed her new Vulpix and allow her to have one of the eggs, as long as she didn't try to con Red that is.
Erika frowns thoughtfully as they had yet to find that poor Eevee that had been experimented on by Team Rocket. What irritated her was the fact that she was just now hearing rumors that two children had dismantled a Team Rocket base hidden in the Celadon Game Corner. If those rumors were true then she had missed a Team Rocket base in her own city! It was her duty to protect Celadon City and the citizens therein! Missing something like that was quite simply unacceptable! Erika would discover that she had in fact missed Team Rocket setting up shop in her city, and be absolutely pissed and disgusted with herself while also stepping up her security measures. No way in Celebi's name was she allowing herself to be fooled so easily a second time!
She had heard from Misty that Koga was working with Team Rocket, and that friends of hers had confirmed Surge was as well. Knowing that at least two Gym Leaders were working with that deplorable criminal organization was very disconcerting. That just put more suspicion on her fellow Gym Leaders, Brock and Misty could be trusted, she had no idea whether Blaine or Sabrina could be. Not many people even interacted with Giovanni which meant she would have to be exceedingly careful in what she said to those three. She had neglected to mention a certain Eevee during the last video teleconference the Gym Leaders had had, instinct telling her to keep quiet. Then Misty had called her on her private line to tell her about Koga and Surge, telling Erika she had been right to trust her instincts in this instance.
Thankfully she had not written down, in any format, anything about that particular Eevee. She would also be looking into catching a Psychic Type to shield her mind. It was well known Sabrina happened to be a powerful Psychic, and if Sabrina happened to be an enemy...that could prove disastrous. She would catch an Exeggcute as they had a secondary psychic typing, but they would not have the power necessary to keep Sabrina out. She cocks her head to the side, maybe she could catch one to trade with Liza and Tate in Mossdeep City for a Ralts? It was worth thinking about at any rate.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Pokémon Adventures.