Chapter 14
Author's Note: This is word emphasis
-this is telepathic conversation-
Blessed Be and Merry Meet until we Merry Meet again to all my fans, and may whatever holiday you're celebrating be merry and bright.
Celadon Gym:
Citrine gets to her feet from where she had observed Red and Erika's fight, " You up for another battle, or should I come back tomorrow. I don't really care about entering the Indigo League, I just battle the gyms for spending money. "
Erika cackles at how refreshingly honest Citrine is, " Tomorrow would be better for me. It would be nice to see you compete though. "
" Too much exposure. I'm Elite Four Agatha's granddaughter, and the last thing I want is for my parents to find me. I still don't know how I made my way from Ecruteak City in Johto to Pallet Town in Kanto, but I'm not complaining. Let Red compete, and I'd recommend getting a Joltik and a Murkrow. Murkrow could sit on your shoulder and keep Sabrina from reading your mind while Joltik, well Psychic Types are weak to Bug Types as well. Know anyone whom would be willing to trade with you? Or you could call Professor Kukui in Alola and trade him a Kantonian Meowth or Rattata for an Alolan one since both are Dark Types there. " Citrine states.
Erika smirks wickedly, " I do happen to know Roxie, the Gym Leader of Virbank City, so getting a Joltik wouldn't be too hard. Rattata are plentiful on Route Seven here in Kanto so getting one of them wouldn't be a hardship either, and Meowth can also be found on Route Seven. I think I'll get both of them to trade with Kukui. Thank you for such suggestions, Citrine. "
Citrine smirks, " Anything to make life harder for Sabrina. By the way, Eevee are also plentiful in the wild in Alola, and when evolved with high levels of friendship at night Eevee will evolve into Umbreon, a Dark Type whilst doing the opposite, high friendship during daylight hours gives you Espeon, a Psychic Type, my little lavender colored lady. "
Erika grins widely at this information, " I could always breed a hard to find move into another Tangela for an Eevee since Kukui studies pokémon moves. I'd have to get two Exeggcute though, one for myself, and one to evolve and trade to Kukui for an Alolan Exeggutor which are Grass/Dragon Types. That would be a boon for me since Kanto doesn't have many Ice Types, and I can plan around Fairy and other Dragon Types. I do read up on Grass Type discoveries. "
" What pokémon would Roxie want in return? " Citrine asks Erika.
" Weedle, as they can't be found in Unova. " Erika says immediately, " Though they can't be found in this area. "
Citrine cocks her head to the side, " You could call Brock and ask him to catch you one. "
Erika blinks at this, " You do raise a good point, I think I'll do that so I can have the Weedle on hand when I call Roxie asking her to catch me a Joltik. "
Red rolls his eyes good naturedly at this, he knew Citrine didn't really have any decent female role models she could turn to. If letting her bond with Erika gave her that he could deal with it. He just sets to meditating while the females plot, he needed to do some more work on his Shields, and organizing his mind as well. If he figured out how to wield his Aura even a smidge while doing so he'd be thrilled. He does call Vee out so he can pet the traumatized little fella while he meditates. He still couldn't believe anyone would be so callous as to experiment on an Eevee just so they could shift between some of their evolutionary paths! Still, he would do whatever he had to do to protect Vee from those that would exploit him for his unusual abilities.
Red was extremely grateful he was so deep into his meditation later as Erika and Citrine delved into actual Girl Talk, though not about fashion, celebrities, and make up. Instead theirs was about pokémon battling styles, boys, and Erika's perfume lines. Erika frowns when Citrine informs her that there are those that are allergic to the powder attacks that Bug and Grass Type pokémon use. " I hadn't even thought about that. I'll need to diversify my perfume lines then, though I'll need another facility for that to ensure there's no cross contamination. "
" You could also work on Beedrill repellent scents as well. There are some that are allergic to Beedrill stings, and others that just don't want to deal with them. Repels work for Zubat, not sure they would for a pissed off Beedrill. "
Erika cocks her head to the side as she considers this, " It's a sound idea, and could prove to be profitable in the long run. Thank you for reminding me about the powder allergies, I had forgotten about those. It would explain why some people avoid my perfume shop. "
" As long as they take certain precautions they can battle, but it makes life difficult otherwise. Maybe you should also market a distinct antidote for Vileplume's Stun Spore which needs Salveo Weed. " Citrine points out, " Perhaps teaming up with a Honey Farm to make specialty products for those with powder or pollen allergies. "
" That could work, though we would need an honest lawyer to broker a proper deal. That idea is definitely worth pursuing. I'd need a well ventilated separate addition to my perfume shop though. I should probably look into getting my shop better ventilated as well, as I do sell some things that aren't perfumes. Novelty tees, hats, bookmarks, postcards, guide books, maps...mostly for those that don't want to hit up Celadon Mart. "
" Maybe broker a deal with the Mart too about selling Leaf, Sun, and Shiny Stones since Grass Types evolve with those and maybe Rose Incense and Miracle Seeds as well. " Citrine muses.
" That would make sense. Sell items associated with Grass Types since I am the Grass Type leader in Kanto. " Erika says.
" Precisely, and maybe work out a deal with the other Grass Type leaders in the other regions as a promotional type of thing where people can win contests for Grass Type Eggs, evolutionary stones, and maybe a trip to Sinnoh to evolve an Eevee in Leafeon. " Citrine suggests.
" I really like that idea, and like you said, it would promote the other regions in all the different regions open to travelers. " Erika admits, " It would be fun to set it up, and ensure that Kanto native eggs aren't won here...yeah, I'll most assuredly be talking to the other Grass Type leaders about this. It'll take a lot of Coordination, and working with Breeders, but the end result would be worth it. "
" Maybe talk to Misty and Brock about doing the same for Water and Rock Types too. Especially the items associated with those types like Mystic Waters, Hard Stones, Sea and Wave Incenses, Iron Balls, Float Stones…" Citrine proposes.
" I will, because it is hard to find some items unless you go into the bigger Marts like here in Celadon, or in Lilycove City in Hoenn. " Erika says, " Though Flying Type specialists will not like people turning up with their pokémon holding Iron Balls. They like their immunity to Ground Types, and most Rock Types are also Ground Types as well, at least of those found in the Kanto Region. "
" Fair point, there are some Rock/Water types out there, like Johtonian Corsola, Binacle...to name a couple. I've read that Corsola is a Ghost Type in the Galar Region, and the Meowth line are Steel Types. " Citrine admits, " While Galar may not allow travelers yet, they do allow researchers, and that allows those of us whom keep up to date on new discoveries to find things out, as long as the information is not printed in dry academia form. "
Erika winces at the mention of dry academia, she'd read some dry academia papers and articles. They were duller than dirt, and had her ready to tear her hair out, mostly because they made her feel like an Idiot, which she was not. She did happen to have a Bachelor's degree in finance and business management, and was currently working on her Masters in both. Why couldn't the intellectual types realize no one liked reading dry academia? " I completely understand. I much prefer layman's terms for getting my information. Are you and Red continuing your education? "
Citrine rolls her shoulders, " Red is a kinesthetic learner, right now I'm getting Pokémon Abilities taught to him. We are way ahead of the curve for our age group though in several non-pokémon related subjects, like History, Science, Geography, Literature, and Computer Programming for Red. I take Art Courses via correspondence. Math is harder for both of us, me because I suffer from Dyscalculia and Red because as he puts it, he does not need to know all the fancy shit. Straight up number crunching is his preference. "
Erika grimaces, " Yeah, I can get that stance. A lot of that crap they teach you most people will never use in their lives. If they could give someone practical applications of what they're teaching that would be different. They just teach it to you because they government says you need to know the shit without bothering to tell a student why. "
That started a long debate on the merits of the educational system, and by the time their stomachs growl Red has left his meditation. Erika decides to treat them to dinner where Red throws in his own opinion on the educational system debate. Red and Citrine make their way back to the Pokémon Center after dinner, settling back into their room. " Enjoy your time with Erika, 'Trine? " Red asks her.
" I did, almost felt like I actually had a big sister there for a little bit. Daisy's good and all, but more into the things I avoid on principle. " Citrine admits, snuggling into him as they release their pokémon to join them in the room.
" Stay in touch with her. It'll do you some good to have someone you can turn to for advice. " Red says, at least his dad was good about that. Mr. Ketchum would at least take time out of his schedule to answer any awkward questions after Blue's father read him the riot act for not giving his own son The Talk. All their talks may be via video phone, but at least Red could get much needed advice from his father, once the man's head was pulled out of his ass by Navy Oak. Yes, the males in the Oak line did seem to have names related to the color blue, hence Blue Oak's name. Why color names were so popular at the moment no one knew. Even a lot of Towns and Cities in several regions were named after colors, it was maddening to some people.
" I plan to, I have several ideas that Erika could help get off the ground to promote interregional cooperation, or at least the other regions. Do you know how nice it would be for the evolutionary stones for Water Types to be sold either at the Cerulean City Mart or the Gym itself? It would make things a lot easier, as evolutionary stones are generally very expensive to buy. Selling them at a discount at the gym specializing in the type in question however... "
Red hums thoughtfully, it did make a lot of sense as there were a lot of people whom couldn't afford to evolve their pokémon because they needed an evolution stone. Then there were the pokémon that evolved through trades. Red knew Citrine and Blue had an agreement to trade with each other and then trade back. Trade evolutions were a bitch to deal with. At some point Haunter and Citrine would agree that Haunter was ready to evolve. It made far too much sense for Citrine to arrange a trade situation with someone she could reasonably trust. They also still needed to decide which pokémon was going to learn Flash. " 'Trine, whom will we teach Flash to anyhow? Pika, ChuChu, and at least Misdreavus can all learn the HM. "
Misdreavus appears in front of Red, spooking him, causing the other pokémon to snicker in their own ways, and twirls around, " You want to be the one to learn Flash? " Red asks Misdreavus.
Misdreavus bobs up and down in an approximation of a nod, and Red shrugs, " That's settled, though I am not looking forward to Rock Tunnel. "
" It'll mean it'll be that much longer until we have to deal with Sabrina. I just know I'm going to end up in a psychic throwdown with her. We have to make sure we're more than ready for facing her, and our luck Team Rocket will have taken over Saffron City too. It is the home of Silph Co, which creates a lot of the tech we use along with Devon Corp in Hoenn. Hoenn has their own evil teams, plural, to deal with, Teams Aqua and Magma. Johto and Kanto share Team Rocket. " Citrine points out.
Alola, Melemele Island:
Setsuna can be found resting at one of the Pokémon Centers in Hau'oli City, she had succeeded in catching a female Zorua, and the little vixen was more than willing to end up with someone that had passive aggressive Trolling Tendencies. Setsuna had made certain to explain why she was catching her to the vixen. Being a tourist in Alola made things so much easier, and the cool thing was that Zorua happened to be Dark Types. She was definitely ensuring Red received his new Zorua before the showdown with Sabrina!
She was not thrilled with the fact that her Hime would end up having to battle the more experienced psychic, but understood it was necessary. Hm, maybe she should get a Dark Type for her Hime as well. The viridian haired female sips her Tapu Cocoa as she contemplates what her next move should be. Thankfully she was allowed to look after her reincarnated Hime as long as she only directly interfered if there was no other damned choice in the matter. Having Dialga and Palkia to guard the Time Gates was a relief to her. As far as they were all concerned, anyone that got past all three of them earned the trip. That didn't mean they wouldn't act if they had to, like say with that moron that happened to be the leader of Team Galactic in Sinnoh. He did not need to be allowed to muck around in the past!
Setsuna pauses in her thoughts as she remembers the fact that Rowlet's final evolution was part Ghost Type. Time to talk to Professor Kukui and see if he'd be willing to part with a Rowlet. After what happened with Usagi-chan Setsuna had vowed she would do whatever it took to protect her Hime. She had failed twice now, though to be fair part of that was Queen Serenity's fault, and the rest of it lied firmly with Luna. If not for the fact that Setsuna happened to like Diana she would have killed that insufferable Mauan years ago. How to get Kukui to agree to handing over a Rowlet though? Her Hime needed all the advantages she could get this time around.
It had been a sobering experience to watch the entirety of Tsukino Usagi's life once she had been over the hardest bite of her grief. Usagi's life went to absolute Hell after Luna woke her up as Sailor Moon. Isolated from her support network, mocked for her grades and combat ability, and her instincts and insights outright ignored. Setsuna understood the combat ability thing though, their princess had been trained to rule, and fight with magic, not physical combat. The klutz attacks could actually have something to do with Luna/The Moon's gravity being less than Earth/Terra's gravity. Hindsight, in this case, really was a bitch. It wasn't the end of the world if Usagi hadn't married Endymion. The mere fact that she had been able to take out Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, and Venus spoke to the fact that she had learned how to fight, and well.
Setsuna still didn't know whom had taught the Hime, but was grateful all the same. She had watched the Hime's life with Red and compared to that with her birth family this time around, and had shuddered upon realizing that had the Hime not run away she most likely would have ended up dead before her ninth birthday. Her parents had toned their behavior down whenever Agatha had been around, and Setsuna would grant that the woman did love her only granddaughter very much. She was not looking forward to the mess that the Elite Four would cause in a few years' time, and Agatha would end up on the receiving end of her granddaughter's ire. Though Agatha would get off light in comparison to what the Hime would do to Lorelei.
Just seeing the Hime's Ninetails by the time that all went down tear through Lorelei's team like wet tissue paper with ChuChu was enlightening. ChuChu handled Cloyster and Dewgong while Ninetails dealt with Jynx. The Hime also had a rather interesting pokémon as well, one that was Electric/Ice Dual Type. The look on Lorelei's face when that one came out. The Electric/Ice one was rather unusual in that it has a light-blue body with a snow-like patch on the top. Its body has blue fins with white patches on the ends and some spots. It has a mosasaur-like tail with a fin on top. It has two yellow hands. Arctozolt has a raptor-like head with closed eyes and a blue spot on each cheek.
It would only be later that Setsuna would realize that Electric/Ice Dual Type happens to be a Fossil Pokémon from the Galar Region. She only got to see bits and pieces of the future as it was constantly in motion. The Hime's beatdown of Lorelei happened to be time locked, and more to the point so was the use of the pokémon the Hime used to do so. Upon realizing that Setsuna would go looking for how the Hell the Hime ended up with an Arctozolt of all pokémon.
Celadon City, Kanto Region:
The Pallet Town pair have curled up and gone to sleep by this time. Vee curling up with Espeon, Pika, and ChuChu. While skittish around most of the other pokémon Red's presence was soothing for Vee. Though he didn't expect to see an actual Lunar Wing start glowing around Citrine's neck. It was Pika whom quietly explains about the Lunar Wing, and Haunter about her mistress' past. Vee was startled to find out that the human girl had a past somewhat similar to his own. He hadn't thought humans could be just as cruel to their own kind as well. This new knowledge gives him some food for thought even as he settles down to sleep himself. With Dor around he knew no one would be sneaking up on any of them.
Rock Tunnel:
Blue swears under his breath as he has his Elekid take down some more annoying Zubat. Thankfully his Elekid didn't mind learning Flash, which made getting through this Tunnel a lot easier. His new Snorlax was getting quite the workout dealing with all the damned Hikers in the place. He would use his Growlithe but there was a distinct type disadvantage for the moment. He was only here training until Red and Citrine were ready to head out to Saffron City. He was just glad he had already faced Erika. He does catch himself a Machop that he keeps with him, an Onix, making a note to get a Metal Coat to evolve Onix with later, a pair of Cubone, as he'd talked to his Gramps' cousin Samson, Alolan Marowak was a Ghost and Fire Type.
He also caught himself a Kangaskhan while he was at it, but for the most part all he was doing was grinding for experience for his team. He so wanted a Machamp, and Citrine had already said she would trade with him. Too bad he had no idea how to get his hands on an Electrizer, though he had looked up Electivire later, and that pokémon looked badass. Then again so did Magmortar. Looked like he'd have to do some traveling once he was done with his home region. He knew Red fully intended to keep traveling until he and Citrine could tell the busy bodies of Pallet Town where to shove their opinions. He also made sure to scour every area he was in for items, and found X items to boost stats in battle, revives, items to boost base stats like HP Up or Iron, Repels, Pearls, some TM's which was always welcome, Potions, Ethers, Elixirs, Heart Scales, Escape Ropes, Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow Shards, a few Oval Stones, which if he remembered correctly allowed for Happiny to evolve into Chancey.
While it was good training, it was highly aggravating too, though battling all those Hikers was giving him some more disposable income. Traveling was rather expensive, especially when one added up the costs of Poke Balls, or rather Great Balls now, Healing Items, food, camping equipment, and other necessary supplies as well. Blue did happen to have a very good stock of Quick Balls, he was so using one on the first Abra he saw. He'd had to battle a lot of trainers to save enough money for that. Any items that could be found lying around were usually snapped up by the lucky trainers that found them. He had ended up fighting a Nerd and gained a Dome Fossil from him. It meant he would have to make sure to swing by the lab on Cinnabar Island to restore it.
The next trainer he comes across is a female Ace Trainer, and Blue rolls his shoulders, waiting to see which pokémon she tossed out, as she declared a two on two elimination match with no substitutions. When she sends out a Rhyhorn he swears under his breath, Elekid was out for sure, and so was his starter. His Magneton on the other hand...oh, this would be good. His Magneton knew the move Magnet Rise, and with the steel type moves...he barely refrains from cackling. His opponent blinks when he sends out Magneton until he calls out Magnet Rise for his first move, then she swears vociferously, " Aren't you a rookie trainer? "
" I'm also the grandson of Professor Samuel Oak. " Blue deadpans, " I do keep abreast of new discoveries. "
" You, are a menace. " Ace Trainer Elana moans, her Ground Type moves were now useless, Rock Type were not effective, Poison was a no go unless she had a Salandit, and she didn't have any that knew any Fire Type moves on hand.
Blue smirks, " I do try. Stick around to face Red, also from Pallet Town. He's a battling genius, even I can admit that. Theory isn't his cup of tea, but practical applications of information on the other hand...that he can do. Though his Pikachu pwned Brock's Onix thoroughly. I was there to see it happen. "
" Rhyhorn, use Stomp! " Elana calls out.
" Magneton, Flash Cannon! Follow that up with Gyro Ball! " Blue counter orders.
Poor Rhyhorn didn't know what hit her, and Elana recalls her Rhyhorn, sending out Graveler next. Blue buffs the nails of his right hand on his shirt, he wouldn't need to change pokémon, though Graveler could have the Sturdy ability, which would be irritating to deal with. He was also keeping track of how much longer Magnet Rise would last. No need to get caught flat footed in this battle. " Graveler, use Self-Destruct! "
Blue swears at this, though he would still win, as he had one pokémon left, " That's it, I am getting a pokémon that has the Damp ability. "
" I may have lost, but I took one of yours down doing it. " Elana says, as she hands over what she owes him.
" That was annoying, but good battle. " Blue says and continues on his way, mentally going over the list of pokémon that have Damp as an ability. He was so catching a Psyduck that has Damp for an ability, no more getting taken out by Self-Destruct or Explosion, dammit! He would catch a Poliwag, but evolving one into Politoed was too much hassle. Psyduck it was, though making sure it had Damp would be a pain.
Celadon City, Next Day:
Red's eyes are wide as he watches Citrine and Erika battle it out in a three on three battle. It wasn't often Citrine didn't hold back, and it was always a nice treat to see her go all out in a pokémon battle. Espeon, Haunter, and Misdreavus all put on good shows, as did Erika's own team. Vee was out to watch Espeon battle, and since most Grass Types were also Poison Types, well, Espeon was a good choice. Haunter had learned several moves through TM which was made known to Erika in spades. Haunter went up against Erika's Vileplume, that meant it was a starter versus starter battle. Pika, on his shoulder, is very quiet during the whole gym battle. The electric mouse had honestly had no idea that Citrine had that kind of talent when it came to battling.
Then again Pika hadn't seen her training back in Pallet Town. She was almost completely healed up from getting backhanded by that Machamp after all. Misdreavus had really shone in battle too. All told Red was glad he'd been able to witness this battle in person, they'd stocked up on what they needed to travel again, so would be leaving shortly. He knew Citrine would be training her Vulpix more heavily once they were back on the road. Misdreavus had already been taught Flash, and they had also made sure to have human medicines too. " Citrine, it is my great pleasure to award you with the Rainbow Badge, the TM for Solar Beam with the limiter removed, and 2170 poké dollars. You were a marvelous opponent and I wouldn't mind a rematch with either one of you. I have your X-transceiver number, please stay in contact as well as you can. I'll work on all those ideas you've given me as well. " Erika says.
Citrine stows her newest Badge away safely, and rolls her shoulders, " Right, training our teams up, working on my powers, while making our way to Saffron City. This is going to be a pain in the ass, I just know it. "
Everyone in the gym is startled when they hear a pokémon's cry they had never heard before, and head outside. What looks like a Rattata approaches Red, and when it butts its head against him turns into an entirely different pokémon, that is mostly black with its paws tipped in red, along with its tail, what resembled eyebrows, and the tuft of fur that stuck out on its head. Citrine's eyes are wide as she recognizes this pokémon, " Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokémon, and can be found in Unova, Kalos, if I'm not mistaken, Alola on Melemele Island in Hau'oli City, and in Galar on the Isle of Armor. Zorua are pure Dark Types, and evolve into Zoroark. Can't be sure they're in the Kalos Region or not. Zorua's ability is Illusion which takes the appearance of the last conscious party member until hit by a damaging move when sent out in battle. "
Zorua yips again and shakes its neck to show the Luxury Ball hanging there, " You want to belong to me? Don't you have a trainer? "
Zorua shakes its head at Red's question, and moves to the side so they can see the note attached. Red detaches it, and his eyes widen, " Apparently this little lady was caught specifically for me, and she agreed to be my pokémon. The Luxury Ball is not attached to a trainer ID until I catch Zorua. " Red says, he was rather shocked that someone caught the little lady just for him.
" Damn, Zorua are predominantly male, with eighty seven and a half percent being born male leaving twelve and a half percent as female. Whomever caught her went to a lot of work to find her for you, Red. " Citrine states.
Red calls Dor out, " I'm gonna send you back to Oak's Lab since Psychic Types are really strong against Poison Types. Keep training, okay. "
Dor nods at this, and Red sends him back before catching his new Rua. He calls Rua back out and looks her in the eye, " I'm going to be training you hardcore as we have a Psychic Type specialist to deal with. I'll also need your mere presence to help shield me, okay, Rua. "
Rua yips an affirmative to this, and Erika just shakes her head. Red does have Ignacia destroy the note he'd gotten. Better to leave no evidence behind, especially with Team Rocket around.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Pokémon Adventures.