This chapter was definitely not easy to make, but with some creative inspiration and some confidence, I managed to finish this chapter. As for this chapter itself, you get to see more of how the Kanto region has changed over the years.
The group entered Celadon City, the city had grown over the years, the Dept. Store was larger, the Team Rocket Base underneath the game corner was reopened and converted into a training ground. The Celadon Gym was also no longer blocked off by a tree (the old man in front of the gym is still there for some reason).
"So we're here! What should we do first?" Jack asked
"First things first, we're going to the gym!" Diego exclaimed before running off into the city, the others soon chased after him, though they all got separated into different parts of the city.
Julia ended up in front of the Game Corner, she was to tired to keep running and decided to take a break, a Youngster exited the Game Corner and approached Julia.
"Hey, you look strong! Why don't you come and train with us!" The boy said
"Well I'm looking for my friend but-" Julia argued, but the trainer took her hand and ran into the basement of the Game Corner (the former base of Team Rocket). The basement looks much cleaner and more friendly, there are trainers all over the place!
"What is this place?" Julia asked the boy.
"This is Celadon City's very own Training Grounds! If you want to make your pokemon stronger then you've come to the right place!" The Youngster answered. "I'm Joey by the way!"
"My name's Julia! But, I was supposed to be looking for my friends!" Julia replied
"I'm sure you'll find them! In the meantime, why don't you stay and train for a while! It certainly couldn't hurt!" Joey said, Julia smiled.
"I'm guess you're right!" She agreed, she began to join the other trainers.
Meanwhile, after getting lost and eventually asking people for help, Diego found the Celadon City gym. There was an old man looking into the gym from a window.
"Um... excuse me sir but what are you doing?" Diego asked the man
"What? Oh I was just looking into this gym, it's great and it's full of women! Hehe!" The old man answered, he had a very suggestive grin on his face, Diego gave him a very disgusted glare before heading inside. The Celadon Gym was indeed full of women, most of them were tending to the many flowers in the gym. Diego stepped onto the arena to battle the gym leader, but found someone else had already beaten the gym leader! It was Styles Kaizu! Styles received his badge and began to leave the gym when he saw Diego.
"I assume you're here to battle Erika as well?" He asked, Diego nodded his head
"Then best of luck to you. Erika may be the second gym leader, but she is not a pushover!" Styles warned, he left the gym. Diego stepped onto the arena and approached Erika. Erika herself looked older, her hair was longer and she was a bit taller as well. She wore an orange and green kimono dress with sandals.
"You're the gym leader right? Well I'm here to challenge you!" Diego said eagerly
"Another challenger? Well, I would enjoy battling you, but I'm sorry to say that my pokemon are in no shape to battle. So I'm afraid I'll have to postpone our battle." Erika replied, Diego looked disappointed.
"in the meantime, why don't you stay for a while and help around the garden? It's your choice!" Erika added.
"Sure!" Diego agreed, the two began to tend to the garden with the others.
At the same time, Renée was still looking for Diego, she took a break from her search to sit down on a bench in front of an apartment building. An elderly woman approached her.
"Hello dearie, is everything alright?" She asked
"Hm? Oh, I was looking for my friends, we must have gotten separated." Renée answered
"Well Celadon City is a big place, but once you get accustomed to the area it becomes very easy to navigate, and there are maps of the city everywhere just in case!" The woman replied "Why don't you come inside for some tea, your friends will most likely find each other or find the Pokemon Center and regroup there!"
"Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Renée responded, the two entered the building, the old woman gave Renée a cup of tea and sat down with her.
"I never told you my name did I? I'm Mrs. Masters! I own this building, and I was once the champion the Unova Region!" Mrs. Masters explained
"Really? What are you doing here in Kanto? Oh, I'm Renée by the way!" Renée asked
"I much prefer the quiet life, my husband, Alder became the champion, though he passed the position down to a young girl named Iris, though I've received news that my grandson plans on challenging Iris soon!" Mrs. Masters said.
"That's amazing! How long have you been in Kanto?"
"Many years! I've seen many trainers become strong! Many years ago, back when Celadon City was much smaller, a boy named Red defeated all of the gym leaders, took down the criminal organization of Team Rocket, and become the champion of Kanto!" Mrs. Master continued to tell Renée stories of Kanto and how it had changed over the years. Outside, a boy with short blond hair, peachy skin, And green eyes was running along the streets, he seemed very worried. Just as he turned around the corner of the street, he bumped into Jack.
"Ow, what was that about?" Jack asked, he was rubbing his head in pain.
"Sorry about running into ya'! I'm worried about my Azurill, it's gone missing!" The boy responded, he spoke with an Irish accent.
"No need to worry, I'll help you find it, my name's Jack by the way!"
"The name's Ronan, and I greatly appreciate the help!" Ronan answered, the two boys searched around Celadon City for Ronan's Azurill.
Back in the Training Grounds, Julia seemed to be defeating trainers all over the place! Her pokemon learned a variety of new moves, her Spheal learned Aurora Beam and Protect, Jigglypuff learned Draining Kiss and Mega Punch, and Ralts learned Magical Leaf and Lucky Chant! Joey stood onto the arena.
"Wow Julia, you're really strong!" Joey said in admiration, he took out a pokeball with a star shaped sticker from his belt "But now you'll battle me! My dad gave me this pokemon, and it's top percentage!" Joey sent out the pokemon which turned out to be...
.
.
.
A Rattata!
Julia sent out her Jigglypuff to battle, both pokemon traded blow for blow, neither side gave an inch!
Jack and Ronan's search lead them to an alleyway where they found a group of people just like the group at Mt. Moon, they put Azurill in a cage.
"Hey, what do ya' think you're doing with my Azurill?!" Ronan shouted, the group turned to face the two trainers, their masks began to glow an eerie red from their eyes. One of them spoke up.
"Leave now, or else you'll be introduced to a world of pain! Courtesy of Team Dark Star!" The TDS grunt threatened, the two boys stood their ground.
"So be it..." The grunt said, Jack sent out his Poochyena while Ronan sent out a Swablu, the battle was on. As they boys were battling the Team Dark Star grunts, Renée and Mrs. Masters continued their conversation.
"You must be cautious Renée, Kanto has been up in arms about the caves in Mt. Moon collapsing, the Officer Jennys around the region have teamed up and discovered that the group of people behind the collapse are known as Team Dark Star." Mrs. Masters explained
"I know, I was in Mt. Moon when it collapsed, me and my friends thankfully made it out safely, but who exactly is Team Dark Star?" Renée asked
"They've been around much longer than you may think! They started appearing ever since the knew Silph Co. Building opened up here in Celadon, but that must be a coincidence, Silph Co. may be the largest corporation in Kanto, but it would make no sense if they were to destroy it! They would just ruin their own business!" Mrs. Masters said
"Shouldn't we fight back?" Renée proposed
"Perhaps... though it would take a strong trainer to defeat them. If I can get in contact with the champion of Kanto then maybe I can get him to help!" Mrs. Master answered "in the meantime, I may have something that may very well be a great help to you!" Mrs. Masters stood up from her seat and left the room, she quickly came back holding an incubator with a pokemon egg inside. The egg was yellow-green with some red markings on it.
"This egg contains a pokemon that my family highly regards! It is very powerful and few trainers have one, and I would like you to have it!"
"As Are you sure?" Renée questioned, Mrs. Masters nodded her head in approval
"it will take some time to hatch, but once it does, it should prove to be a very worthy addition to your team!" Renée looked at the egg with wonder in her eyes...
Meanwhile at the Celadon Gym, Diego and Erika were taking a break from the gardening, Diego and Erika were talking about how Kanto had changed over the years.
"So what happened after Ethan beat Red?" Diego asked
"Im not sure what happened to either of them, but about 9 years after the battle, the princess of Kanto was born!" Erika said
"Wait, Kanto has a princess?" Diego asked, Erika nodded
"Yes! Though i can't completely remember her name, I believe it was Ella? Anyway, the royal family does not fully control Kanto, though they have a large role in this region's government! Anyway, around that time the Vermilion Pokemon Academy was built. Most trainers attend that academy if they plan on pursuing a career involving pokemon, whether it's becoming a pokemon coordinator, ranger, scientist, or a trainer!"
"Hey, my friends and I graduated from the academy!" Diego added, Erika smiled at him
"That's really great! Around 2 years after the Academy was built, Silph Co. built another building here in Celadon. Though I find it a bit confusing as to why since they seemed well enough with their main building in Saffron. Ever since then, the champion of Kanto, Red, left Kanto to explore the world. Eventually his rival, Blue Oak, took over as Champion again." Erika continued
"Wait, Blue Oak? Again?" Diego asked
"Oh Blue is the grandson of Professor Oak, and he first became champion almost 30 years ago! Just after he became champion though, Red beat him. He then became the gym leader of Viridian City, but when Red left he reclaimed his former title!" Erika explained
"So who's the gym leader of Viridian City now?" Diego questioned, Erika smirked at this
"I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!" Erika teased, Diego pouted at this response
Julia and Joey were still battling, Joey's Rattata managed to take out Jigglypuff and Ralts, though Spheal began to gain the upperhand.
"Rattata use Hyper Fang!" Joey called out, Rattata charged for Spheal at breakneck speed
"Spheal, Aurora Beam!" Julia retaliated, Spheal sent a rainbow colored beam of energy towards Rattata who was hit by the beam. Rattata was knocked back several feet and stood up right again, though it looked very tired from the battle, it only stood for a minute before it collapsed again, giving Julia the win!
"Aww man, my dad's top percentage Rattata!" Joey whined "That was an awesome battle Julia!" The two trainers high-fived. Everyone else was shivering due to Spheal lowering the temperature of the room substantially from its attacks, the only person who didn't seem cold was Joey, despite him wearing a yellow t-shirt and shorts, Julia took notice of this.
"Aren't you cold?" Julia asked
"Nah, I wear shorts all year!" Joey answered, Julia looked at him strangely
"Why?" She asked
"Because they're comfy and easy to wear!" Joey responded, Julia looked dumbfounded by this.
Jack and Ronan managed to put up a good fight against the Team Dark Star grunts, the tag team of Poochyena and Swablu turned out to be fearsome, though the two pokemon were beginning to struggle.
"Scraggy, use Headbutt!" "Baltoy, use Psybeam!" Two grunts ordered, their attacks connected with Swablu and Poochyena, Swablu had fainted while Poochyena barely hung on. It looked as if it were going to go down as well, until it began to glow a familiar white. Poochyena was evolving! When the evolution had been completed the new pokemon was larger, broader, and looked much stronger! Jack scanned it with his pokedex.
'Mightyena: the Bite pokemon; They chase down prey in a pack of around ten. They defeat foes with perfectly coordinated teamwork.'
"That's awesome! Mightyena, use Bite!" Jack commanded
"I'm not finished yet! Jigglypuff let's do this!" Ronan sent out his own Jigglypuff, in contrast to Julia's, this Jigglypuff looked a bit more aggressive and ready for battle, hinting that it was most likely male, where as Julia's was female. "Jigglypuff, use Draining Kiss!" The two attacks connected with the grunts' pokemon, knocking them both out.
"Damn, those were our last pokemon! You've won this round, but you won't be so lucky next time! Take your dumb Azurill, it isn't worth it anyway!" One of the grunts shouted as they ran away, Ronan unlocked the cage Azure was trapped in and hugged his pokemon, happy that they were reunited.
"Thanks Jack, sorry for dragging you into all of this!" Ronan said
"No problem Ronan, we should probably go to the Pokemon Center and heal up!" Jack replied, the two trainers went to go heal their pokemon.
Diego helped Erika with her tasks around the gym for the rest of the day, the sun was beginning to set, Diego had a look of shock on his face.
"Oh crap! I forgot about my friends!" He yelled
"Diego please take it easy, your friends are most likely at the Pokemon Center waiting for you! I've kept you for too long anyway, come by tomorrow and we'll battle then, I promise!" Erika assured, Diego promptly left the gym.
At the same time Julia exited the Training Grounds and was shocked to see the sun was setting.
"How long was I in there?" She asked herself, she began to walk to the Pokemon Center to stay there for the night.
Meanwhile, Renée was still talking with Mrs. Masters in her home.
"And that's how I became the champion of Unova!" Mrs. Masters said, Renée was in awe
"That was absolutely incredible, maybe I should head to Unova!" Renée exclaimed, Mrs. Masters smiled at the girl, then was looked surprised and worried.
"Oh my, look at the time! Your friends must be worried sick! Yoh should head to the Pokemon Center, most trainers head there if they need a place to stay for the evening!" Mrs. Masters explained, Renée left the building, she still had the egg Mrs. Masters gave her. She was watching it intently, wondering what it would hatch into. The three trainers arrived at the Pokemon Center's entrance.
"Diego! What were you thinking, running off like that! Where were you?!" Renée questioned him with an aggravated tone.
"S-Sorry, I guess I was a bit impulsive, but I found the gym and I was helping the gym leader most of the day!" Diego explained
"Did you get a badge?' Julia asked, Diego shook his head
"No, when I got there Styles already beat the gym leader, I took the time to help the gym leader around her gym, she even told me about some of Kanto history! Where were you two?" Diego said
"I was in the Training Grounds inside of the Game Corner, it use to be Team Rocket's base!" Julia said "Where'd you get that egg, sis?" She asked
"Oh, I met this old woman, her name is Mrs. Masters, she was actually the former champion of Unova, she gave me this egg!" Renée answered, Diego and Julia were gobsmacked at Renée's explanation. The three of them entered the Pokemon Center and met up with Ronan and Jack.
"Jack there you are!" Julia called out, she hugged Jack, making him blush again
"I-Its nice to see you too Julia, hehe!" Jack answered, he was still blushing, he turned to Diego. "Where were you dude?"
"I found the Celadon Gym and I helped the leader, Erika, tend to the flowers and some other business she had." Diego answered
"Did you get your badge?" Jack asked
"Nope." Diego replied flatly.
"Oh! Everyone, this is Ronan, I helped him get back his pokemon from this bunch of thugs who are a part of Team Dark Star!" Jack said, Ronan gave the group a friendly smile
"It's good to meet you! Jack's been saying a bunch of good things about ya'!" Ronan greeted, while they trainers continued talking, something was going on in the Celadon Silph Co. Building.
Simon, Ray, and Pandora were looking at 3 containment tanks. One of them contained a pink, embryo-like being, the second had a gold and white life form with ribbon like appendages streaming out of its head. The third contained a large black mass. The three graduated were awestruck at what they were seeing, but the sound of a door opening snapped them out of their daze.
"You three, I want you to get some rest! Your training continues tomorrow!" A voice called out to them, the graduates turned to face the voice. They looked incredibly nervous.
"Y-Yes sir!" Simon answered, the three of them left the room and went to bed. The person who sent them off walked closer to the 3 containment tanks.
"This is just part one of my greatest plan, soon... I will rule!" The voice exclaimed, from the other side of the room two large machines were being built and a large containment tank (3 times as large as the others) was beginning to form something.
And so our heroes have explored Celadon City and each has gained something from it! What pokemon will hatch from Renée's egg? What is going on with Simon, Ray, and Pandora? Who are they working for? All will be answered in due time. As for our heroes, looks like they'll have another gym battle in their hands, but should I make gym battles one battle per chapter, or should I just put more variety in the pokemon the gym leaders use? Anyway hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
