A/N: Oh neat, a new comment! Thank you for the comment, Megaer; they are always appreciated!
Anyway, welcome folks to the 9th chapter of Nanka's Pokémon Miiverse Adventure. This one took a lot longer to edit than I thought it would, which I'll get into later, but I managed to get it done in time. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as Nanka and her travelling companions go on a shopping spree!
Nanka's Pokémon Miiverse Adventure Act 4 Continued!
"It looks like Saffron City is our next stop." Nanka noted as she put away her town map, and gazed out at the route before her.
Jolt was plodding along Route 8 ahead of her; plodding due to his insistence of carrying his fished up Magikarp. Nanka worried about taking the inexperienced Chu-Chu with them, but with any luck, she figured they would find some wild Pokémon for Chu-Chu to train against.
Sometimes, trainers did not want to fight. Sometimes, trainers only fought due to being challenged. Sometimes, trainers only fought because they respected the trainer code and had made eye-contact with another trainer.
This happened with Nanka and the Lass she started talking to, both girls would have been happy to only chat about their cute Pokémon, yet they ended up in a battle.
"I guess I'll send out…" Nanka had started to say, when she noticed Chu-Chu splashing aggressively towards the Clefairy.
"Chu-Chu! Pikkkaaa!" Jolt cheered for the 'charging' Magikarp.
"Don't encourage him!" Nanka snapped. "Chu-Chu, please come back!"
Chu-Chu did not heed the distressed pleas of his princess and continued his valiant splash against the beastly Clefairy before him. With the captain of the knight's encouragement, there was no way he could lose; his first battle as the newest member of the knighthood shall bring forth a victory.
The Clefairy used pound. Chu-Chu was knocked out.
"Well… that could have gone better." Nanka thought aloud as a fully healed but downcast Chu-Chu laid on her lap.
'Chu-Chu needs to gain some experience…' Nanka pondered in her head as Jolt spoke to Chu-Chu, trying to cheer him up. '…but most of the wild Pokémon around here are far too tough for Chu-Chu. I'm pretty sure his splashing doesn't actually do any damage.'
The worried trainer let these thoughts brew in her mind, until an answer boiled.
"I'm a rambling, gambling dude!" The elderly Gambler declared, snapping his fingers as he sent out his Pokémon. "An this is my rough and tough Growlithe!"
"Go, Chu-Chu!" Nanka declared enthusiastically as she sent out her battle-ready Magikarp.
Naturally, this confused the Gambler, "Uh, girl; that seems like a poor bet to-"
"Chu-Chu enough! Come back!" Nanka interrupted, returning her red scaled fish, confusing the Gambler even more.
'Huh? This strategy is going a lot better than I expected.' Nanka thought as she looked at the erratic and confused Gambler. 'It seems to have confused him quite a bit; all he did was have his Growlithe use roar.'
"C'mon Vulpix! Wake up, darn it!" The Gambler yelled to his dozing Vulpix.
'Part two of the plan is also going well' Nanka thought as she called out to her Jigglypuff, "Melody; time to come back! It's Chu-Chu's time to get out there and learn some more."
"I think it would have been easier if I had brought Popper along." Nanka said to Jolt as they looked to Route 8's wild grass, inaccessible due to immense foliage.
Nanka had been training Chu-Chu by sending him into battles and then withdrawing him from the fight as soon as she could. It led to Chu-Chu learning from the battle, seeing new Pokémon and witnessing the moves they used, without being harmed. Against trainers though, this was a tough and tiring strategy for the rest of her team. Unfortunately that was Nanka's only option, for as she found out, the nearest patch of wild Pokémon thriving grass was blocked off from entering.
A whole day was spent teaching Chu-Chu, sending the fish onto land and into battle to make him watch and study the art of Pokémon battling. The next day continued this activity, and it was as Melody fought off a trainer's Magnemite that something seemed to click in Chu-Chu's head.
Chu-Chu was splashing on the spot beside his princess and his captain, when he decided to try something new. Against all the instincts of his Magikarp body and brain, Chu-Chu used his newfound knowledge to stop splashing. He then lunged forward, not at all like his splashing motion, but rather threw his body forward into a… into a tackling motion.
Chu-Chu learned Tackle!
Brimming with happiness from the results of Chu-Chu's training, Nanka skipped with glee into the gateway leading to Saffron City.
"Oh, wait there!" A voice called out to the cheerful trainer, said trainer turning around to see the caller was a heavily uniformed guard.
Nanka and Jolt walked over to the sweltering guard who kept tugging at his collar as he explained, "I'm sorry, kid. The roads closed right now."
"Piiiikaaaa." Jolt said as he stretched his body.
"Yeah, it's good to be out in the open again." Nanka said in agreement, looking back to her Pikachu. "Those underground paths feel like they go on forever."
The duo had just walked through an underground path, emerging on the outskirts of Celadon City. The dark grass and bounty of vibrant flowers dancing in the gentle breeze seemed at odds with the nearby bustling noise and stale, smoky scents.
As Nanka headed for Celadon City, though Jolt's ears and nose seemed to be displeased with this idea, she noticed a small patch of tall grass. Seeing a nearby wild Pidgey fly down to the patch, Nanka recognised this as a perfect opportunity.
"Go, Chu-Chu!" Nanka declared as she sent out her Magikarp, pitting him in his first battle against a wild Pokémon. "Tackle that Pidgey!"
Chu-Chu launched himself at the wild bird with incredible speeds, tackling hard into the Pidgey with his tough and solid body… and barely harmed it.
Having learned that her Chu-Chu's freshly learnt Tackle was hardly the strongest, Nanka left the Pidgey alone and started searching for weaker Pokémon to encounter. The results of her various searches were… not quite what she wanted.
"Eeeek! Not again!" Nanka screamed, one hand holding onto her hat and one hand holding down her skirt as the Pidgeotto's whirlwind attack blew by.
The strong winds blew back Chu-Chu, causing him to tumble along to where Nanka and Jolt stood; the latter clinging onto his trainer's leg to avoid the same fate.
When the wind subsided and the Pidgeotto culprit flew off, a scarlet faced and fuming Nanka yelled to the sky, "Curse those singers, curse those teleporters, and curse all these whirlwinds!"
After several frustrating attempts to train up Chu-Chu, which mostly resulted in brief naps and wind generated skirt lifts, Nanka had to call it a day due to night approaching. She was ragged from constant searching and the occasional failed leap towards the psychic yellow creatures, but thankfully the nearby city of Celadon wasn't far to walk to.
Her first reaction upon arriving in Celadon City was to cough. As someone who grew up in the quaint Pallet Town, the thick and stale air of Celadon with odd clouds of smoke rising up was quite a contrast. Even at this late hour, the paths were still busy with people, numerous lights from houses and advertising boards lit the area as a mixture of cheery and argumentative commotion sounded throughout the city.
"Pi! Ka! Pi! Ka!" Jolt shouted out as he threw a flurry of punches at the air, a determined but happy expression glued onto his face.
Nanka meanwhile yawned as she watched her Pikachu, brushing her long dark green locks of hair, "Hooowwww can you be so active already, Jolt? I could barely sleep."
"Pika pi, Kachu." Jolt retorted to his trainer, though said trainer was far too sleepy to even guess as to what was said.
"I hope I can"-Nanka began to say only to yawn once again-"wake up a little on the way to the Celadon department store."
"It's… huge." Nanka muttered under her breath, as she stood before the towering Celadon department store.
Celadon City was different to Nanka's small hometown in many ways; its huge buildings being one of those. Nanka thought she had walked by the tallest building in Kanto when passing the Celadon Mansion, until she arrived at the city's unique Pokémart, which dwarfed everything in its vicinity.
Nanka was ill prepared for the Celadon department store. At once both massive and yet overcrowded; the small town girl felt the environment a tad overwhelming.
People flocked to the numerous stores, enthusiasm leading to rushing, as trainer items, games, clothes, dolls, stones, and medicines were all purchased. A little disoriented, Nanka decided to focus on trainer items for now, and do a little shopping herself.
Nanka was quite careful with her money, some would say stingy even; a trait she had inherited from her mother. So it took a while for her to decide to spend a decent amount of money on TMs, and she only did so in the knowledge that for once in her life she was fairly wealthy.
Not having memorised all the TMs though, it was a bit of a lucky dip as to what she'd get.
The second floor was a TV and Games shop; brimming and buzzing with technology. On this unrelated floor though, Nanka still ended up obtaining a TM, given to her as a freebie by a member of staff. The jovial counter clerk's pun went unnoticed by Nanka though, as he gave her the TM for Counter.
Nanka curiously browsed along the games section, whilst Jolt eagerly jumped to the nearest demo booth to begin playing. Amongst the various SNES games, a sports game caught her eye.
'Dad… Dad would have liked this.' Nanka thought as childhood memories brought about a melancholic smile.
The gameplay of the football game on screen blurred with memories of a game of tennis, the football morphing into a tennis ball, but still buzzing away on the TV. For a brief moment, Nanka felt herself become a little kid once again, sitting beside her scruffy haired Father, each with a SNES controller in hand.
He had never really sat down to play video games before, her broad but short Father preferring to be outside tending to the Mareeps or jogging with Mum. Nanka remembered offering him the controller, begging him to give it a go, having carefully picked out a game she hoped he'd enjoy. He did, they did; many fond memories shared over a computer game.
"Jolt…" Nanka sighed, returning to the present, "…let's move onto the next floor, okay?"
The third floor was the Wiseman Giftshop; the 'Wiseman' part being the stones and the 'Gift' part being the dolls. Unsurprisingly, the various soft and plush Pokédolls were more popular than the stones.
Interested in both, Nanka chose to queue for an adorable Pokédoll first, the crowd leading Nanka to worry that they would sell out soon.
"Awww; their super-duper cute!" Nanka squealed as she hugged both the Clefairy dolls she had purchased. "Mum might not be into cuddly toys, but she loves souvenirs, so I'm sure she'll like the spare I bought."
Nanka packed away one of the Clefairy dolls in her bag, but carried the other one tightly to her chest as she walked over to the stone display.
There were a wide variety of stones for many occasions, but the ones that interested her most were the elemental stones. It wasn't just their practical purpose that drew Nanka to them, they seemed to glisten and sing more than the other rocks about. Staring at the yellow stone with what appeared to be a small red flame inside, Nanka felt she could feel heat emanating from it, hear the roar of fire. Likewise with the green thunder stone, she swore that it would briefly flash like lightning, crackling away with jolts of electricity.
Speaking of jolts, Jolt seemed to not be a fan of any of the stones, steering well away from them with a look of disgust.
The sapphire blue water stone captivated Nanka most of all and thus it was the stone she purchased. As Nanka purchased her selected stone, she briefly gazed back at the stone display, the leaf stone in particular.
"Hmmm, was it Gloom or Weepinbell that evolved with a leaf stone…?" Nanka mused, thinking about Devourer. "I should try and ask someone with a Victreebel."
Having medication for her Pokémon would always be a good thing and Nanka soon arrived on the fourth floor, the pharmacy.
She browsed the selection of ability enhancing supplements, which she was assured were completely legal, and so considered purchasing one for one of her travelling companions to try.
"Excuse me, sir." Nanka inquired to the nearest staff member. "How much would one of these cost?"
Upon hearing the price, Nanka felt like she needed medicine.
"W-who… has that kind of… m-money?" Nanka mumbled to herself, still in shock from the pharmaceutical prices of P9800 per supplement.
She had ascended to the roof space of the department store, a lovely picnic area, to get some fresh air. She sat peacefully, trying to forget the very concept of spending, when she felt a tug on her blue shirt.
Nanka turned around to see a short haired girl with stern eyes, holding a carefully groomed Vulpix.
"I'm thirsty." The even younger trainer than Nanka, by a couple years at least, blurted out. "An Pixy here is thirsty too."
This abrupt statement did not startle Nanka, perhaps due to similar experiences with G-Man, "I-I apologise, but I don't have a drink on me."
Without even a second thought, the Vulpix owner pointed over to the nearby vending machines, "I spent the last of my money on TMs… I'll give you one of my spares if you buy us a drink."
Hopping on over to the vending machine, Nanka saw that there were three drinks available: Fresh Water, Soda Pop, and Lemonade. Seeing how much cheaper the fresh water was at a mere P200, naturally Nanka purchased it over the other drinks. She couldn't resist getting plenty for herself and each of her Pokémon as well.
With an armful of bottles, Nanka went back to the girl with the Vulpix, who cheered, "Yay! Fresh water! Thanks!"
"That's okay." Nanka said as she handed over a bottle. "I'm glad you pointed out such a great bargain."
"Did you know… that getting lots of fresh water… is better than getting lots of super potions?" The green dressed girl said between gulps of water. "Of course, any competent trainer knows that."
"Oi!" A tall boy who looked a couple years older than Nanka, with green eyes and black hair akin to the water-drinking girl, yelled out from a nearby table. "I know what you're implying."
The girl grinned at the boy's irritation, before passing Nanka a TM, "Oh yeah, as I said, you can have this from me."
"This TM contains Ice Beam! It freezes the target… sometimes." The girl explained with a proud, smug smile.
"Thank you very much! Are you sure you don't need it, ummmm…?" Nanka had begun to ask, but only just now realising that she did not know the girl's name.
"Vicky." The younger trainer stated. "An I'll be fine as ever. My Vulpix and Doduo will be creaming Celadon gym, so go ahead and take it… ummm…"
"Nanka; my name is Nanka." Nanka greeted with a broad smile, as Jolt did a small wave. "And over here we have my Pikachu, Jolt."
"Oh, Pokémon as well? Well the most amazing Vulpix in my arms is Pixy…" Vicky chirped, holding up her Vulpix as high as she could and for as long as she could, which was only a few seconds. "And… over there's my brother, Ricky."
Ricky coughed twice, getting up from his seat, his circle of Arceus necklace swinging as he walked over to Nanka, "Nice to meet you, Nanka."
"Nice to meet you as well, Ricky." Nanka greeted the tall and lanky boy, having to crane her neck to meet eye-to-eye, when suddenly a yellow dozing Pokémon teleported between them. "Eeeep!"
A startled Nanka leapt back, screaming as she stumbled backwards and dropped down onto her behind. Vicky and Jolt were barrelling over with laughter as an Abra floated over to a dismayed Ricky, latching onto his thin arm.
"I'm so, so sorry, Nanka! My Abra likes to join in conversations like that! Really sorry! Truly!" Ricky blurted out rapidly as he helped Nanka up to her feet.
"My brother and his Abra suck at battling, but their teleporting sure is handy…" Vicky chimed in, Nanka blushing at the embarrassment at falling over and Ricky glaring daggers at his giggling sister, "…and funny too! That's the best-no, hold on… second best spook by teleport yet."
Having had enough of spending and already engaged in conversation, Nanka and Jolt sat down and joined the brother and sister for a spot of lunch. The two of them had come to Celadon Mart so Vicky could prepare herself to take on the Celadon Gym; her confidently claimed, 'soon to be first' gym badge.
Nanka soon learnt that Vicky was a rare case, a travelling trainer under the qualified age of thirteen, so she was required to have an escort in the form of her brother. Vicky was gung-ho about battling and knew what she was talking about whereas Ricky… was not; he wasn't keen at all on Pokémon battles.
After food, friendly chatter about their respective adventures so far, and some helpful advice; Nanka and Jolt left their newly made friends.
Having finished her shopping trip and with plenty of time left in the day, Nanka continued to sight-see around Celadon city. Her sightseeing led her to Celadon Mansion, which was actually an extravagantly named condo, where she met and chatted with the residential and working folks inside.
Many of the elderly residents took an instant liking to Jolt, though each time they complimented his cuteness, he turned away with a huff and a frown.
The condo was where game developers, Game Freak, worked. As such, Nanka found herself enjoying a tour of their game studio and their perhaps 'too friendly' staff.
"Isn't Erika cute?" The team's writer asked Nanka.
Taken aback, the young girl could only stammer, "M-maybe, yes, but I've never met,"-
"I like Misty too!" The writer interrupted, twirling a pen between his fingers. "She's got charm."
Nanka thought back to the friend she had made back in Cerulean city; the gym leader's vibrant face and confident smirk… and found herself blushing as she agreed. "S-s-she was quite charm,"-
"Oh, and I like Sabrina too! She's beautiful!"
Nanka was having a hard time following the conversation, as each pretty girl mentioned led her face to heat up, the writer's complimentary descriptions really emphasising their qualities.
Whilst Nanka was processing whether she thought each of the girls mentioned were cute, her face a constant blush, the writer proclaimed, "Y'know, you've a pretty cute style yourself."
Once again, Nanka was taken aback, unsure what to say or think, "I-I, ummm… t-thank you?"
Turning to a nearby graphics artist, the writer suggested. "Hey! You should give Jill an outfit like what this girl's wearing. Calming blue shirt, tiny red skirt, adorable white hat; it'll look great on our Drill Dozer heroine."
'My… my skirt isn't that tiny.' Nanka protested… in her head, as she tugged down on her red mini-skirt.
"Game Freak are certainly… quirky." Nanka summed up as she surveyed Celadon city from the rooftops of the second tallest building about. "To think that I'm going to be starring in a video game… or my clothes are at least."
Jolt nodded, then turned around and called out, "Pi? Kachu, Pika-Pi?"
The trainer spun around to see her Pikachu pointing to a small shed-like structure, fenced off from the rest of the roof.
"Huh? I wonder how you reach that?"
Nanka was a curious girl, eager to see and find out things. She was also a cautious and well-mannered girl, which often halted her curiosity.
Jolt was not afflicted by the latter two traits and so trespassing was A-OK with him.
"Jolt! Come back!" Nanka called out as she chased after her Pikachu.
Having left Celadon Mansion, the mystery of the shed on top still plagued their minds, so the curious duo begun looking around the outside of the mansion. Making their way behind a long line of fencing, they found the back-door of the mansion with a large 'Keep Out!' sign in plain view.
This did not stop Jolt from barging the door down and begin running up the stairs; not for even a second.
Nanka was cautious for a reason. After all, you never know when you could encounter a big and burly lunatic who'd tie you and your Pikachu to a chair with rope and then proceed to lecture you on how you're all nothing more than Game Boy characters.
Of course, that didn't actually happen… they were tied up with Game Link Cables; not rope.
"Piii!" Jolt grunted, attempting to chew the cables but finding he couldn't quite reach.
Eevee awoke, unfortunately to the usual sights of messy wires, ugly green-screened boxes and life scarring posters of Jynx about the shed. Within his clear Pokéball he peered out into the world, seeing his 'trainer' once again at his blackboard, sweating away as he talked and pointed, mere muffled sounds to the caught Eevee.
Spinning around in his Pokéball, the bored normal type noticed something new; other people. Obviously they weren't there willingly; bound to chairs by wretched wires, but seeing the stylish young girl and savage ruffian of a Pikachu within the room was his first opportunity for freedom in weeks. Today was the day he would finally escape the muscular nerd's clutches!
"Now let's talk about using your Game Link Cables, much like the ones you're tied up with." Mr. I Know Everything stated as he turned around to the blackboard.
It was as the delusional man began reading off the blackboard that a Pokéball, resting on a velvet cushion upon the table, burst open. A long eared and brown furred Eevee popped out of the ball, looking to the tied up Nanka and Jolt with a determined expression. The evolution Pokémon looked over to Mr. I Know Everything's back, and confirming he wasn't looking, proceeded to leap over to Nanka and begin chewing through the binding link cables.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Nanka cheered as she hugged her small, brown, furry rescuer.
"Eeeev!" The Eevee replied with a flick of his paw and an expression which suggested, 'It was nothing.'
"Now Jolt, do you see what happens when you trespass?" Nanka addressed her Pikachu, whom rolled his eyes at the expected comment from his trainer. "You should also thank our saviour Eevee here."
"Pika… Pi, Pi, Chuuuu." Jolt said dully, not even facing the Eevee.
The day had been... memorable.
Nanka's first experience in the shopping behemoth that was the Celadon Department Store was memorable enough in of itself, but she also toured around Celadon Mansion. She was also briefly held captive atop Celadon Mansion, hardly the fondest memory to have of the day.
"Ee-eeev!" Ion, the recently named and obtained Eevee, purred on her lap.
Well... even that experience had its fond moments.
It was a brand new day and one question dawned upon Nanka first of all; where should she visit first?
"So we can either visit the Celadon Gym now..." Nanka suggested, Jolt cheering at the mention, "...or check out this Celadon Game Corner nearby. It's always busy, so something fun must go on in their."
"Piii..." Jolt hummed, actually considering the alternative option to a battle, his curiosity leading him to wonder what went on in the Celadon Game Corner as well, "Pi!"
Jolt piped up, clicking one of Nanka's Pokéballs and sending out his fished up friend; Chu-Chu, "Magi, Magi."
"Oh right, we should continue a bit more of your training first, shouldn't we Chu-Chu." Nanka addressed the Magikarp, whom respectfully bowed, or at least as best as the upright fish could manage atop a bed. "We can think of where next to visit afterwards."
"I think that's enough training for one day." A blushing Nanka noted as she walked over to her whirlwind blown Magikarp, Eevee, and hat.
"Pi-Chu, Pika!" Jolt agreed, as he picked up Chu-Chu.
"How about we do something relaxing for the rest of the day?" Nanka suggested as she put her hat on. "I think it's about time we check out that Celadon Game Corner; I'm sure that will provide us some easygoing fun."
A/N: There we have Nanka's Pokémon Miiverse Adventure Act 4 Continued! It took a little longer than usual due to wanting to apply some additional scenes to the shopping trip. Some I did, others I felt did not, and others I edited a couple of times to bring up their quality. For the most part, I feel the chapters from the 5th onwards have plenty of detail to them, but there are occasional moments I feel are ripe to expand upon.
For instance, Nanka making friends with Vicky; something that was originally a much smaller scene in the original version. Given how Vicky and Ricky are reoccurring characters in this story, I really wanted to use this director's cut opportunity to expand upon their introduction. There will be more scenes later on with them, but I feel they have plenty of detail later on; this was the moment I wanted to give them more attention.
The introduction of Vicky and Ricky also allowed me to introduce some interesting aspects to the world of NPMA; both in the original and in the director's cut. For instance, establishing a required age for travelling Pokémon trainer approval. Rather than saying that all 10 year olds can go off into the world, in the world of NPMA, they need to at least be thirteen... or have an escort. This doesn't mean they can't be trainers though, they just can't wonder off everywhere without supervision, until they are at least thirteen of course.
By the way, Nanka doesn't have a specifically set age in NPMA; she's around 13-17, with it being up to your interpretation as to which age she is. There is more I can comment on, such as including a hint to Jolt's refusal to evolve (which is otherwise never directly addressed in NPMA) or the additional scenes for the introduction of Ion the Eevee... but I don't have much else to say on that subject. What I can tell you is that the next chapter has been progressing very well; in fact, it's almost done already, and you can look forward to it next weekend. Until then, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.