A/N: In my opinion, this is where Nanka's Pokémon Miiverse Adventure really begins to pick up. It's where I become more comfortable with the (now defunct) format of Miiverse posts and how to apply my writing to it; as well as what liberities and branching of events and characters I can do with the story of Pokémon Yellow. You'll see I become a bit more daring with certain types of humour thrown in, as well as more expansive on battle scenes and more original in how events unfold.
In this opening Author Notes segment, it is best to mention here that I shall be taking a brief break from NPMA uploads so there will be now new chapter next week. Act 3''s first chapter will be uploaded on Sunday 8th March. Until then, please do enjoy what is here of Nanka's Pokémon Miiverse Adventure, including this latest chapter.
Director's Cut: Nanka's Pokémon Miiverse Adventure Act 2 Continued!
Making a quick return to the Pokécentre to patch up her Pokémon up after a thrilling battle against G-Man, Nanka continued to sight-see at Nugget Bridge. Nanka stared out at the bridge, taking in the sights of the nearby Cerulean Cave and wandering what could lie within the mysterious sealed off area.
"Pika Pi, Kachu?" Jolt said to get his trainer's attention as he pointed to a row of trainers along the bridge.
The words of the defeated Bug Catcher rang in Jolt and Nanka's heads.
"Beat us five trainers and win a fabulous prize!" was a line that got Jolt's cheeks buzzing with excitement. Nanka's thoughts lay instead with the surprise, curious as to what it could be.
She had considered it being a nugget, but dismissed it as being too valuable to be given away through winning this simple challenge.
The Nugget Bridge challenge had been tougher than Nanka had expected. Jolt and Arid had exhausted themselves out, having charged head first into tough matches with their usual glee. Venom had become more relaxed and cautious since evolving, but even she was bested in battle after several Sand-Attacks and weakening Growls allowed her opponents to gain the upper hand.
Dusty had been lucky; having had type advantages in all her matches and going through the Bridge with barely a scratch.
It was hard work, but Nanka and her team had beat the challenge.
"Congratulations!" The dark haired man at the end of the bridge announced as Nanka arrived. "You beat our five contest trainers!"
"Pika-chuuu!" Jolt said, puffing his chest out with pride, whereas Nanka simply smiled.
"You just earned a fabulous prize!" The dark haired man announced as he presented a golden nugget in the palm of his hand.
"A g-golden nugget!" Nanka exclaimed, eyes lighting up as any glimpse financial woes dissipated from her mind.
"By the way," The thickly dressed man said, tugging at his collar, "Would you like to join Team Rocket?"
Nanka almost dropped her newly gifted nugget off the bridge.
"W-what kind of question is that!?" Nanka yelled out in shock. "Why would you even ask that?"
"You see…" The thickly dressed man began to say as he threw off his clothes.
"I'm sorry! I really don't need to know why!" Nanka screamed out, covering her eyes.
"Hey! I was wearing my Rocket uniform underneath!" The man yelled back.
Nanka cautiously peeked out from the cover of her hands, seeing that the man was indeed wearing a uniform; a black uniform with a large red R emblazed on it.
"Thank gosh, you're just with Team Rocket." Nanka sighed in relief, before realising. "Oh no! You're with Team Rocket!"
"Yes! Now what do you have to say about joining, missy?" The Rocket asked with a snap of his fingers.
Nanka had no intention of saying yes, no matter what was offered, but she was curious enough to ask, "If I joined… would Jolt and I get our own motto?"
"Oh, I see you bumped into Jessie and James…" The Rocket said as he shook his head, "No need to worry, you wouldn't have to prance about and regurgitate their idiocy if you joined."
"Jolt." Nanka said; all goodwill drained from her voice. "End him."
Jolt weakly punched the air in triumph, as per his trainer's orders, he sent the Team Rocket inviter scurrying away.
"Hold on a second, Jolt." Nanka said as she knelt down to her Pikachu with her only antidote in hand. "I'm not letting you run about poisoned again."
Jolt did not argue, feeling immediate relief as the antidote's spray caused the light poison to seep away from his body. Once cured, Jolt strongly punched the sky with vigour.
Nanka exhaled a deep breath and with a content smile noted, "This day has been pretty exhausting."
For November time, the morning sun had arrived early; perhaps a sign of the year's last moment of warmth. With this warmth came a Spring like beauty, one that was hard not to wish to take advantage of.
Having crossed the now Rocket-free Nugget Bridge this fine morning, Jolt's eyes turned to the nearby plains of grass, looking forward to dashing through and fighting a few battles.
Nanka's eyes turned instead towards the small hills nearby; sunbeams gently falling onto them and creating a perfect spot for a picnic.
"Jolt, what do you say to having a picnic on the hilltops over there?" Nanka said, still pointing to the hilltops as she looked back to her Pikachu.
Jolt looked over to where his trainer was pointing, briefly considered, but then shook his, "Piii."
"Pika!" Jolt said, pointing behind himself to the patch of lush grass, before running over to it, briefly throwing invitational head movements to his trainer. "Kachu! Pikachuuu, Kachu!"
'Welllll, it is probably better to wait until Spring for a picnic.' Nanka thought to herself as she ran after her Pikachu and into the tall grass. "Wait for me, Jolt."
Jolt didn't seem to heed this clear request as he should have; instead he took it as the initiation of a game of tag with his trainer. Eager to run about and play, Jolt dashed over to his trainer, weaving between her legs and then away again before she could grab him. Jolt was going to enjoy playing a game where he had the clear advantage; being a speedy Pikachu after all, whilst his trainer was a sluggish in comparison human.
Nanka had plenty of stamina, but try as she might; she wasn't swift enough to grab her nimble Pikachu. After another failed attempt to grab him, Nanka witnessed Jolt turning towards her and stick his tongue out at her teasingly.
It was to Nanka's amusement then that a Pokémon suddenly latched onto Jolt's ear, causing her Pikachu to jump up in shock.
"Pikaaa!" Jolt yelped, as a yellow-headed Bellsprout tried to devour him; ear first.
As her Pikachu ran about with a Grass type firmly latched onto his ear, Nanka giggled, "It looks like you've found us a new friend, Jolt."
The Bellsprout ate. It ate and it ate and it continued to eat.
It was quick and easy to catch the wild Bellsprout; he ignored the attacks he received, too busy trying to consume Jolt than to fight back. Once caught, Nanka took the Bellsprout back to the Pokécentre to heal him up. Now healed, the flower Pokémon devoured every morsel of food it could find with glee; hence why Nanka decided to name the fellow, Devourer.
"I hope the others get along with you, Devourer." Nanka mentioned to her all-consuming Bellsprout, looking over to a niffed Jolt, nursing his soggy ear.
"Aird, Venom, Dusty; I'd like you all to meet, Devourer." Nanka said to her Sandshrew, Nidorina and Butterfree. "C'mon Devourer, introduce yourself."
Devourer looked up from his plate of berries, seeing a happily dancing Sandshrew, only to return immediately to devouring his meal. After another mouthful, he looked up again to see a disinterested Nidorina; then went back to his food. Having consumed all of his meal, the ever-hungry Bellsprout looked up to a meekly waving Butterfree; then continued to stare at the Bug type.
Dusty continued to wave back at the staring Bellsprout, until a line of drool fell from his mouth, causing her fly on behind Venom in fright.
"B-Bell…" Devourer spoke for the first time, sounding… upset.
"This… this will take forever." Nanka commented as she looked out to the ever stretching Route 25.
She thought her journey to Bill's Seaside Cottage would be a quick one, even given the detour of training her new travelling companion. Nope; for it turned out that the Route leading to the Seaside Cottage was a popular training spot for all of Cerulean City's trainers. Her team tired out from prior training and with the night stars beginning to twinkle, Nanka opted to leave reaching the Seaside Cottage for tomorrow.
Having changed into her pink nightgown, Nanka dropped down onto her Pokécentre bed, unfortunately knocking her bag off of it.
"Ooops." Nanka uttered as she begun to pick up her bag and its spilled contents.
Picking up a blue wrapped sweet, one of the many items she had found at Mt. Moon, led Nanka to do a bit of thinking and in turn a bit of sorting. Nanka begun to laying out the items she had found at Mt. Moon; the odd sweet, a bottle labelled 'HP Up', a Moon Stone and more.
"I wonder… should I test some of them?" Nanka asked herself, as Jolt remained contently asleep in a small basket in the room.
On the morning marking the 10th day of her Pokémon adventure, Nanka decided to try out the HP Up item she had found at Mt. Moon.
She had doubts about it; she had found the bottle of vitamins abandoned at a mountain, but everything on the labels assured it was safe, in date and intended for Pokémon to consume.
Besides, she didn't have much time to question her decision, as Arid the Sandshrew quickly gobbled them down without her noticing.
After numerous battles against what felt like the entire population of Cerulean City, Nanka and Jolt had managed to arrive at the Seaside Cottage. It seemed fairly obvious that the only quaint and lovely cottage on the Route had to be where Bill lived, but it also helped that G-Man had scribbled on the house, 'Bill lives here!'
"Oh, G-Man…" Nanka giggled, knowing she shouldn't find an act of vandalism amusing, but being unable to help herself at the antics of her childhood friend.
After admiring the building and the glistening river for a bit, Nanka opted to knock at the door, only for the door to slowly swing open from the gentle impact.
"H-hello?" Nanka called out as she poked her head into the cottage. "Is anyone there?"
Jolt decided to stroll on in, something in the building having caught his attention, leading to Nanka to shout out after him, "No, Jolt! That's trespassing!"
Despite Nanka's call, she ended up reluctantly following her Pokémon into the quaint building, filled to the brim with technology.
The blinds were shut, with a lone monitor being the primary source of light. On this brightly lit monitor, the word 'teleporter' boldly flashed up on the screen every few seconds.
Nanka's focus was on Jolt though, whereas her Pikachu's focus was on the face down Clefairy in the room.
"Pika?" Jolt seemed puzzled by the unconscious Clefairy, whom smelled… unusual.
"Hey there, Cleafairy; are you okay?" Nanka asked the Normal type as she swiftly squatted down to check if it was okay.
The Clefairy raised his head, a look of despair and anguish spread across his face; all hope lost.
"Huh?" The Cleafiary mumbled as if half-asleep. "Orange is an unusual choice of knickers."
"Eeek!" Nanka screamed, bolting upright out of her squatting position, blushing bright red as she pulled down on her skirt. "D-don't look! Don't… Another talking Pokémon?!"
Snapped awake by said scream, the Clefairy jumped to his feet and proclaimed, "Yes! I am a talking Clefairy… no I'm not!"
"I'm a talking human! I'm Bill; the Pokémaniac!" The Clefairy stated loudly.
Jolt was confused; not enough to hit himself, but confused nonetheless.
"Oh no! The poor Clefairy thinks it's a human." Nanka said to Jolt as she turned back towards the Clefairy. "Don't worry; you're not the only talking Pokémon out there."
"Enough with the scepticism! I am Bill!" 'Bill' snapped, stomping the floor in anger.
"I'm not joshing you; I screwed up an experiment and got combined with my Clefairy!" The supposed Bill explained with his high pitched Clefairy voice. "So how about helping me out here?"
Nanka was unsure about trusting the talking Pokémon; given his 'orange' comment, she'd find it even more embarrassing if he was actually a human. Still, her curiosity led to her to lend a hand; surely it couldn't hurt to try and help the Pokémon.
'Bill' gave a quick explanation of what to do as he leapt into one of the large silver cabinets in the room.
Nanka ran the Teleporter's Cell Separator program, all whilst wondering why the teleporter even had a built in cell separating function.
After both steel cases emitted blinding lights and deafening noises, the doors came open on the cabinet. Not the one the Clefairy had entered, but the cabinet on the opposite side.
Jolt almost hit himself in confusion as a plain looking man with curly hair appeared; smelling just like the previous Clefairy.
"Yeehaw!" The un-kept young man said with a think Johto regional accent. "Thanks, lassie. I owe ya one."
"D-don't mention it." Nanka managed to utter, having a hard time believing what she was seeing.
Jolt had meanwhile pushed himself up against the teleporter cabinet, in order to peek through the glass window on it. Inside was a snoozing Clefairy. Jolt hit himself in confusion.
"I've got ta thank ya…" Bill declared, immediately pondering what he could do.
"Here, maybe this'll do." Bill said as he handed Nanka a ticket. "One ticket for tha luxury cruise ship; the SS Anne."
Nanka's eyes lit up, "L-l-luxury cruise!?"
"Yeah, I can't stand dem fancy do's. So why don't you go instead, lass?" Bill explained as Nanka continued to stare awestruck at the ticket.
As a girl from a remote town, whose family got by mostly on bargain sales and reduced items, boarding a luxury cruise was unbelievable for her.
"His frank remarks aside…" Nanka said with a faint blush as she and Jolt walked along the bridge by Seaside Cottage, "…I'm glad we were able to help Bill out."
Jolt gave a slow, unsure nod; still wrapping his head around what had just occurred.
"I can't believe we'll be able to board a luxury cruise!" Nanka squealed as she looked down at the ticket in one hand, before turning to the nugget held in her other hand. "We even have a nugget! It's almost as if we were actually rich!"
Having strolled on a cobbled path running alongside Route 24's river, the trainer and her starter arrived in Cerulean City once again. Hopping over a small ledge, Nanka and Jolt begun to walk on… in different directions.
"Jolt, where are you going?" Nanka called out to her Pikachu, who spun around and pointed excitedly to the Cerulean Gym.
"Ummm, l-let's do that later, Jolt." Nanka called back, unsure if she wanted to participate in another Gym battle or not. "Can we look around the city first?"
"Piii…" Jolt grumbled, sighed, but relented with a nod as he ran back over to his trainer.
"P5000!" Nanka blurted out in shock.
The store clerk nodded as he finished appraising Nanka's golden nugget, "A nugget of this size is worth P5000. Are you planning on selling it now?"
Nanka had not encountered so much money in a single instance. Her own funds had been built up slowly but surely; this was instantaneous wealth.
"Yes! I'll sell!" Nanka agreed, already having an idea of what she'd purchase with such wealth.
Nanka didn't remember falling asleep nor hitting her head, but she awoke to the panicked calls of Jolt, along with a pounding headache.
"O-owwww… g-good morning, Jolt." Nanka winced as she sat up, greeting her distressed Pikachu. "I just had a terrible nightmare."
Rubbing the back of her head, a bruised bump already forming, Nanka explained, "I dreamt… of bicycles… costing lots… so much money."
"That wasn't a dream, miss." A toothy-grinned clerk said. "I have a monopoly on bicycles. Only place in Kanto that sells 'em."
"W-wha…? Nanka had started taking in her surroundings, seeing rows of bicycles with long price tags.
"You fainted when you heard the price." The store owning clerk explained as he begun to rub his hands together. "Now, do you want to purchase a bicycle for the cheap-cheap price of P1000000?"
Nanka felt like crying.
Jolt was worried for his trainer. She was off in her own world, mumbling nonsense and incapable of walking in a straight line. After witnessing her stumble a few times, the concerned Pikachu took action, grabbing hold of his trainer's hand and dragging her to a spot to sit down.
That spot was a chair… in someone's house. Jolt didn't care.
"Oh dear." The softly speaking owner of the house gasped at her unexpected 'visitors'.
Half an hour later, over a cup of green tea, Nanka found herself apologising for her intrusion.
"There's no need to worry about it at all." Melanie the caretaker said with a smile. "Though I'm more used to caring for Pokémon than people."
Nanka chuckled, before turning to Jolt, "Thanks for bringing me here, Jolt… even if you did barge into the place."
"Pika-pi!" Jolt said as he gave a thumbs-up.
"You've caught a lot of Pokémon, Melanie." Nanka remarked as she looked around the room at the many Pokémon, ranging from Oddishs to Sandshrews.
"O-oh, well technically, they're not mine." Melanie explained with a gentle smile. "I run this place as a sanctuary for injured and abandoned Pokémon… and you're quite right; there are a lot of them right now."
With that said, Melanie sighed, turning towards a serious looking Bulbasaur, who was keeping his eye on each and every Pokémon within the sanctuary.
"Normally I let the Pokémon back into the wild once I've nursed them back to health…" Melaine turned back to face Nanka as she continued to explain, "…but that Bulbasaur refused to leave. I enjoy his company and he looks out for all of the Pokémon, but because he's watching over them, none of the other Pokémon have wanted to leave either."
"Hmmm, maybe he'd rather go with a trainer instead." Nanka suggested, loud enough for the Bulbasaur to hear, but he did not appear to care.
After finishing her tea, Nanka and Jolt said their goodbyes to their new friend and her sanctuary.
Nanka had spent longer in Cerulean City than she had intended and she wanted to move onto her next destination, but there was still one last thing to do. Something she had promised Jolt.
Jolt eagerly rushed through the doors of the Gym; seeing this as his reward for helping out his trainer.
"Jolt, please wait." Nanka called out as she entered the Gym after him, just in time to witness the Pikachu slip into a pool of water.
Nanka went to retrieve Jolt out of the water, only to see he wasn't minding it all too much, beginning to do backstrokes in the pool. It was at this point that Nanka remembered that the Cerulean Gym also doubled as a swimming pool. A smile blossomed on Nanka's face.
The Gym's Aide spotted Nanka and called out, "Yo! Champ in-," but didn't get to finish as Nanka quickly retrieved Jolt from the water and left the building.
A few minutes passed before Nanka returned, this time wearing a dark blue one-piece swimsuit.
"O-oh… I thought you were here for a Gym Battle." The Aide said.
"We are, sir." Nanka replied, one eye on the pool as Jolt dashed back over to it. "But I'd also like to use the pool… and I was worried my clothes would get wet."
"Well, uh… ahem," The Aide cleared his throat before explaining. "The Leader, Misty, is a Water type pro. You're best off draining the water with plant Pokémon or zapping it with electricity.
'Splash!'
Nanka was immediately proven right for wearing a swimsuit to the Gym, as the first Gym trainer drenched her with his exaggerated swimming. The Gym trainer stayed within the pool as he proclaimed that he was up first, sending out a Horsea.
"How about we start things off with Devourer?" Nanka asked Jolt, when a flash of light erupted from her bag.
"Sand, sand, shreeewww!" Arid the Ground type cheered as he jumped out to face the Water opponent.
Arid was proving to be a handful.
The Sandshrew's playfulness meant he wanted to play wherever he was. Unfortunately, the current area was a pool; hardly ideal for a Ground type.
Venom and Dusty were content to relax at the side of the pool, watching the others as Dusty dipped her feet into the water. Devourer sat quenching his thirst, gulping down the pool water in-between quick glances over at Dusty. Jolt sat on a float, attempting to Surf and keeping his balance surprisingly well. Arid on the other hand kept trying to dive-bomb into the water, resulting in Nanka's peaceful swim time to be more… frantic, having to catch her Sandshrew before he drowned.
The Boulder Badge pinned inside Nanka's bag now meant that she had to follow the Pokémon team rule limit for Gym battles. She could only bring her contesting Pokémon; in this case they were Jolt the Pikachu and Devourer the Bellsprout.
Arid was not happy about being left out. Venom and Dusty were perfectly content to wait, but the youngest member of the team wanted to come with.
"I'm sorry, Arid, but you really do need to stay here for me… okay?" Nanka explained to her Sandshrew, only for the Pokémon to continue staring up at her with teary baby eyes.
Nanka averted her line of sight from her adorable Pokémon pleading expression, trying to think of what to do to keep Arid occupied. Already dressed in her swimsuit, Nanka looked down to her bag and her clothes bundled atop of it.
"Actually, Arid… I have something really important to ask of you." Nanka begun to say, grabbing her Sandshrew's attention. "I need you keep watch and guard my stuff. It's a reeeaaallly important task… can you please do this for me, Aird?"
It wasn't the most exciting thing to suggest, but giving her Pokémon an important task to occupy his time seemed to convince Arid, as he finally agreed to stay.
Even as she entered the Gym, Nanka's mind was distracted by her worrying over Arid, 'I'm sure he'll be alright… he can't get into that much trouble at a Pokémon Centre… right?'
"Hi! You're a new face!" A voice greeted Nanka, snapping her out her thoughts.
Nanka quickly realised that she was already standing before the Gym Leader; an orange haired girl not much older than herself, and begun to stammer out a greeting, "O-oh my; I'm sorry! H-hello, I'm Nanka."
"Well I'm Misty; Gym Leader of Cerulean Gym." The Gym Leader grinned as she tugged at the blue two-piece swimsuit she was wearing and pointed over to Nanka. "An now that I look at you, I'm sure I've seen you enjoying the pool."
"Y-yeah… although my Sandshrew did keep trying to jump in." Nanka said with a giggle, causing Misty to giggle in turn.
"I'm guessing you're here for more than a little swim now." Misty, the tomboyish mermaid declared. "Misty, the world famous beauty, is your host! Are you ready?"
Nanka and Jolt nodded; the Gym Battle beginning.
The battle arena was the largest pool within the Gym, three giant floats serving as the battle arena.
"I hope you're alright with waiting, Jolt." Nanka mentioned to her Pikachu as she sent out Devourer onto the float nearest her.
Jolt grumbled but nodded, hoping that he'd at least get a turn.
"Just because you're using a Grass type doesn't mean you'll beat my Water types." Misty shouted out from the other side of the pool as she sent out a golden-brown star shaped Pokémon. "Staryu here will prove that!"
Nanka was taken aback when Misty started off the match by using an X-Defend, "You're allowed to use battle items in a Gym battle!?"
"You sure are!" Misty replied confidently. "Now any physical attacks against my Staryu are far less effective."
'So much for chipping away at it with Wrap.' Nanka thought, her original plan kaput. "Devourer, I think it's best for you to use Growth!"
Devourer nodded, growing slightly bigger and boosting his Special stat. Devourer kept doing this a few more times, even as Staryu barged into him with a Tackle attack, before striking down the Water type with a single almighty Vine Whip.
"Yippee! Good work, Devourer!" Nanka cheered on her now slightly larger Bellsprout.
Devourer turned around and lethargically waved back to his trainer.
"Okay, so your Vine Whip was strong enough to take down my precious Staryu." Misty accepted as she returned her fainted Pokémon. "But you'll be able to do nothing against my amazing-Stop drinking the pool water!"
Devourer paid no heed as he continued to drink the pool water; his trainer apologising the entire time.
Starmie was nowhere near as large as Brock's Onix, but Nanka felt the same intimidating presence from it. This time though, she was calmer; she was prepared.
"I'll be using my 2nd X-Defend on Starmie here." Misty declared as she threw the powdered item over her violet Water type.
"Now Devourer, use Poison Powder!" Nanka shouted out, taking advantage of the opening and having Devourer poison the clearly tougher foe. "Then let's follow it up with a Vine Whip!"
"Starmie, interrupt it with a Tackle!" Misty commanded, with her speedy starfish immediately launching itself at Devourer.
The two collided, both getting strong hits off one another, both staggering from the damage. Devourer had built up a lot of damage though, so despite Nanka's cries for him to dodge, he was unable to avoid Starmie's follow-up Tackle.
"I'm sorry, Devourer." Nanka apologised as she returned her fainted Pokémon.
"Jolt, it's your turn!" Nanka announced, her Pikachu already leaping onto the floating battle field at the mention of his name. "Go show Misty what you can do!"
"Pika!" Jolt nodded, sparks flying from his cheeks in anticipation.
Misty smirked, "Starmie… use Water Gun."
The fully evolved Pokémon fired off it's Water Gun, propelling forth a blast of water more akin to a water canon. The Water Gun struck Jolt before he could even notice and broke apart the very platform he was on.
The Water Gun propelled Jolt was smashed down through the destroyed platform and into the pool, water splashing up high into the air, drenching both trainers as it descended down like heavy rain.
Nanka didn't care about the water. She had only one thing on her mind.
"Jolt! Jolt!" Nanka screamed out, unable to see her starter past the raining pool water.
"I-I guess we overdid it." Misty noted to her Starmie. "You better go find him before he drowns."
It seemed like she'd lost. It seemed like she'd been defeated. Nanka could accept this, but she knew of someone who wouldn't; someone who would still be fighting.
"Jolt! Use Thundershock!" Nanka shouted out as her Pikachu leapt out of the water from behind Misty's Starmie.
"Piiikaaachuuu!" Jolt roared as his close range Thunder Shock impacted with Starmie, slamming the Water type down against the platform.
Jolt landed on the same large platform, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"W-we won, Jolt. We won!" Nanka shouted out to her Pokémon, tears of relief welling up in her eyes. "We did it! We… did… it?"
Nanka had begun to trail off as Misty's Starmie stood back up, having withstood the Thunder Shock. Jolt put up a display of bravado, but it was clear that the injured Pikachu wouldn't be able to withstand another of Starmie's fast firing Water Guns.
Starmie stared at the resolute Jolt, before staggering from poison and collapsing down.
Nanka dove straight into the pool and speedily swam over to her barely standing Pikachu. Soaked to the bone and with dishevelled hair, Nanka hugged Jolt tightly.
"We won, Jolt! You and Devourer were amazing!" Nanka cheered as she continued to hug Jolt, whom was too tired to protest said hug.
Misty stood amazed, a sense of disbelief passing over her as she looked to her fallen Starmie, "I can't believe I lost."
A short while later; the trainer, her Pokémon, and the Gym Leader sat by the poolside wrapped in towels and holding onto warm beverages. Jolt and Devourer sat alongside Nanka, whilst Misty's Pokémon were more at home with dipping back into the pool.
"Ahhhh, nothing like hot chocolate after a dip in the pool." Misty sighed with content as she savoured the beverage.
Nanka hummed and nodded in agreement, even though she was drinking a milky tea instead.
"I almost forgot!" Misty suddenly blurted out, putting down her hot drink and handing a badge and a TM box over to Nanka. "You won after all; so here's your Cascade badge and my favourite TM."
The two girls continued chatting away for a while, slowly warming up and recuperating from the match. Several minutes ticked by and with her Pokémon waiting for her, Nanka realised that she would have to be going.
As she begun to depart, Jolt and Devourer sluggishly tailing along, Misty called out to Nanka, "Nanka… aren't you going to get changed first?"
"My clothes are back at the Pokémon Centre with my Pokémon. After all there's no…" Nanka noticed the direction Misty was pointing to, finally noticing the Cerulean Pool's changing rooms, "…changing rooms here."
Venom dreamt of lush fields and large mountains, blessed by summer sun; a perfect place to nap in. A voice echoed from the mountains, a sweet voice to her, even if typically toned with worry.
"Venom. Venom, please wake up!" The voice called out until Venom reluctantly obeyed their command.
Venom awoke to see her trainer with unusually unbraided hair and a usual worried expression across her face, "Venom, where's Arid?"
Venom the Nidorina looked left and right with half opened eyes, before responding to Nanka with a shrug.
"Dusty, do you know?" Nanka asked her Butterfree, who had been nestled by a plant pot.
Dusty nodded and pointed over to the spot on the bench beside Venom, only to panic when she noticed that Arid was no longer there.
"My bag is missing as well…" The presently swimsuit wearing trainer noted as she and her Pokémon scanned the room for a sign of Arid, "…And my clothes!"
Perhaps it was due to the Cerulean Gym and its swimming pools being a key attraction, but the citizens of Cerulean seemed unfazed at the sight of a swimsuit clad trainer running around the city.
What they did find unfamiliar was when the girl ran up to them and asked, "Have you seen my Sandshrew?"
Nanka continued to dash around the city, calling out for Arid, even as night and rain both came about.
Rain trickled down from a dim, violet sky as Nanka ran up to the local Jenny-on-the-job.
"E-excuse me, officer! H-have you seen a Sandshrew around here?" Nanka asked wearily.
Officer Jenny exhaled, clearly exhausted as she looked to Nanka glumly and replied, "I have, but…"
The dark clouds above Cerulean City remained, but in Nanka's mind, they had just parted, "Really!? Where!?"
Officer Jenny sighed dishearteningly.
The blue haired officer pointed over to a house just behind her, "Unfortunately, he was in the hands of a R"-Nanka did not listen to the rest.
It was unusually rude of her, but concern for her Pokémon overrode all her manners as she sprinted into and through the house. As she sped through the residence, she barely noticed the wrecked state of the occupancy, barely hearing the rants and gasps of the couple living there.
Nanka stepped out into the pouring rain, followed by her breathless Pikachu. The chilled Autumn rain splashing against her went unnoticed; the only thing Nanka was noticing was a Sandshrew carrying a bag.
Her Sandshrew carrying her bag!
"Arid! I'm so glad you're okay!" Nanka called out.
The second thing Nanka noticed was the disgruntled Rocket member carrying her Sandshrew.
"Shreeewww!" Arid called back, waving innocently.
Nanka froze upon noticing the Rocket member. She had defeated many of them, but the fear that came from facing these criminals never disappeared.
"You…" The Rocket said with a fierce glare of his teal eyes, which soon relaxed into an expression of bemusement, "…must be freezing! Why are you out in the rain in a swimsuit?"
Nanka looked down at her soaked swimsuit clung tightly to her body, then looked back up to the Rocket with a reddened face, "Y-y-you stole my clothes!"
"N-no, I didn't!" The Rocket member yelled back. "All I've done is vandalise a house, steal a TM, stole this Sandshrew, and loitered about whilst listening to the radio. I'm innocent!"
"You Pokénapped my Sandshrew, who is carrying my bag, which has my clothes in it!" Nanka fumed, pointing over to Arid, who once again waved back as obliviously happy as ever.
"Well I'll give you your bag back," The Rocket said as he tapped his chin, "but not your Sandshrew."
"N-no! I want both back! Give me back Arid!" Nanka yelled back defiantly.
"Well I'm not giving him back." The Rocket Thief declared as he stuck his tongue out at Nanka and begun to pull out a Pokéball from his trouser pocket. "I've finally got myself the TM Dig and a Pokémon perfect for it."
The thief sent out a Machop; the Fighting type immediately displeased at being sent out in the now pouring rain.
"Jolt, go get him!" Nanka shouted out as she turned to her Pikachu, only to find her ragged Pokémon still collecting his breath. "Oh no… the Gym Battle… we never healed!"
Luckily for Nanka, her Nidorina was fit and healthy, and was ready to take on the Machop.
Unluckily for Nanka, she wasn't fit and healthy. She was exhausted from running and freezing from the cold rain. Her suggestions were uttered out to Venom between deep breaths and chattering teeth.
Despite this, she and Venom managed to best the Machop, but it was a struggle that had Venom struck many a time.
The thief sent out a Drowzee next, whom directed a broad smile towards Nanka. For some reason, this smile sent more shivers down her spine than the freezing rain.
Venom struck Drowzee with a flurry of Double Kicks, bringing the pudgy Psychic type to his knees.
"Drowzee, Hypnosis!" The Thief ordered; his teal eyes ablaze.
The Drowzee begun to wave his hands about at the charging Nidorina, whom begun to slowly drift off to sleep. "Now Drowzee, Confusion!"
The Psychic attack blasted Venom back, knocking her back and crashing her into Jolt.
"Venom! Jolt!" Nanka cried out in concern, as she reached for Dusty's Pokéball with trembling fingers.
The Pokéball slipped from her hands.
Nanka panicked, trying to catch the falling ball with her wet and trembling hands, only for it continue to slip away. Dusty's Pokéball landed, rolling away as Nanka dove for it.
A brown foot stepped in-between her hand and Dusty's Pokéball. Looking up, Nanka's situation seemed hopeless as the Rocket Thief and his Drowzee stared down at her with malicious grins.
"You lose, swimmer girl." The Thief declared; him and his Drowzee continuing to grin.
It was at this moment that the Drowzee was knocked away, a powerful Slash attack propelling him off his feet and down to the muddy ground; unconscious.
"Shreeewww!" Arid joyously called out, as he ran up to his fallen down trainer.
"Arid!" Nanka immediately yelled out, getting to her knees to hug her victorious Pokémon.
Exhausted, cold, wet, hurt; Nanka still had enough energy to stare down the Rocket thief, as her Sandshrew sharpened his claws.
"Stop! I give up!" The Thief begged as he dropped to his knees. "I'll give back your Sandshrew and the TM."
"And my clothes."
"And your clothes!"
It had been a long, hectic day, but thankfully for Nanka, it ended with a smile on her face.
When trainers tell of their Pokémon journeys, having left their homes as teens, they rarely mention what they did if they ever fell ill.
Nanka was experiencing this predicament, and she found out that what trainers did was hope they made friends along the way, and that one would accommodate them. Luckily for Nanka, defeating the thief had put her on good terms with a local couple.
Mr. and Mrs. Phthalo were a couple whose house had been wrecked, and Mr. Phthalo's precious TM stolen, by the very same Rocket Thief that Nanka had apprehended. So when Nanka caught a fever due to chasing said thief in the pouring rain, wearing but a soaked swimsuit, they gladly offered her a place to stay.
As such, Nanka's 2nd week of her Pokémon journey ended with her in bed, feverish and having soup.
"Well... it's not like we're in a rush or anything." Nanka mused aloud as she petted a snoozing Jolt, curled up on her bed. "Still, I'd like to continue our adventure tomorrow."
Nanka looked up at the ceiling, glimpsing a sight of the stars through its Confusion induced holes. This reminded her of Mr. Phthalo's thanks, and how he had gifted her his TM for Dig. She began to wonder if she should teach it to any of her Pokémon or save it for another time.
A/N: As mentioned above, there will be no new chapter next week. I need the time to catch up on editing the rest of the Acts so I'm always a little ahead of the uploads. I may have to go back and edit certain aspects of previous chapters (such as the random capitalisation made for the benefit of Miiverse), so if you see any faults; now is the time to point them out to me.
As for this Act, as mentioned, I feel things begin to pick up here. I did have to pause and think things through quite a bit though. I came up with the 'Nanka and Bill orange joke' before I even reached his cottage, but pondered for ages whether it might be too risque to include it (it was a lot more subtle in the original form); I'm far more comfortable with including humour that starts to lean into 'ecchi' territory as it were. The Rocket Thief scene is truly a highlight for me; the start of when this story really becomes it's own thing rather than a simple telling of Pokémon Yellow. By the way, whilst never mentioned in NPMA (though I hope to add it into the story via this Director's Cut), I dubbed the Rocket Thief, Carl Grey Archer. This isn't the last you've seen of him in NPMA, that I can say.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter of Nanka's Pokémon Miiverse Adventure! Thank you for reading!