Chapter 79 – Reflection and Relaxation
As May and I continued across Kanto, we reached a small village in the middle of some woods called Moss Green Village. It was very small, with no Pokemon Gym. I said to May, "We should really stop here to stock up on supplies before we get to Viridian City. We're nearly out of potions and antidotes." May said, "That's a good idea." So, we dismounted from our riding Pokemon and recalled them. Then we walked through the small village, with Flamefox, Amber, Firestorm, Inferno, Redfur, and Fiona. May said, "I don't see a Pokemart anywhere." I saw a person walking by and asked, "Do you know if there are any Pokemarts around here? Somewhere we can buy potions or antidotes?" He answered, "You want Cassandra's place." He pointed and said, "Her house is right down that way" and he walked on. "Thank you, sir" May said, and he just waved as he walked on. We looked and saw a quaint, oriental style house surrounded by trees at the outskirts of the village. "That must be it" May said. I said, "Doesn't look like much of a mart." We continued walking that way, and the entrance was only covered by a tarp! I lifted the tarp and said, "Ladies first" to May. She said, "Thanks a lot!" and walked through the doorway under the tarp. The Pokemon followed suit. Inside, it was dark. The walls were made of brick, and there were cabinets, cupboards, and tables lining all the walls, full of jars filled with various herbs, roots, and other things. In the middle of the room, there was a hooded, cloaked person sitting in a chair by a table, crushing herbs in a bowl. I asked, "Is this the Pokemon pharmacy?" The cloaked person was an old lady, and she cackled. May said, "We'd like to buy some potions." She replied, "I have a potion that cure a headache, and grow hair in your ears and hands." I said, "That's… nice." Just then, a younger woman, who had green hair with pink bows, a white shirt, and red pants, said, "Grandma!" The old lady said, "I was only joking with them." The young woman said, "I'm sorry about that. How can I help you?" I said, "Well, we were just passing through town, but realized we need more potions and antidotes." She said, "I have just what you need. My name is Cassandra, by the way." I said, "I'm Joe" and May said, "I'm May, and these are our Pokemon." Cassandra asked, "Are both of you Pokemon trainers?" I said, "Well, yes, but May is currently not in training." May said, "Actually, I want to become a Pokemon breeder." Cassandra said, "That's a lot of hard, but rewarding work." May said, "I know, but it's what I want to do. I've always known." Cassandra's Grandma said, "It's good to follow your heart's calling. You're following your heart, so I know you'll achieve your dream." I said, "And I want to be a gym leader." To me, she said, "You have a good understanding and close bond with your Pokemon. You shouldn't have any trouble achieving your dream, as well." Cassandra then asked, "So, are you heading for Viridian City?" May answered, "Yeah. Joe is going for his 8th badge. That is, after we have a little birthday dinner for him." She asked, "It's your birthday? How old?" I said, "13." She replied, "Well, then I'll give you a little deal on these potions and antidotes, 3 for the price of 1." I said, "Wow, thanks!" Then she said, "And, if you're looking for a good place to eat, I recommend Mount Moon Square. It's not too much further from here." I said, "Wow, thanks!" She said, "You're welcome. Good luck, to both of you!" Her Grandma said, "Take care now."
Now that we were stocked up on potions and antidotes, we continued riding our Pokemon across Kanto, until we passed Mount Moon. May said, "It's hard to believe I caught Clefairy there almost a year ago already." I said, "Yeah. I can't believe my Kanto journey is almost over, either." We soon reached town, and found Mt. Moon Square and recalled our riding Pokemon. There were actually several restaurants to choose from. We finally settled for a nice, bar and grill restaurant that overlooked Mt. Moon. The best part was this restaurant allowed Pokemon to eat, too, and had special meals just for them! "Now order whatever you want! It's on me!" May said. I said, "You don't have to do that, May!" She said, "I want to! Your friendship has meant a lot to me over the past few years." I said to her, "Same here." I asked her, "So, what do you think about what we discussed a few months ago – opening a Pokemon Gym/Breeding Center together?" She answered, "I love the idea. But I know the gym is your plan, and I don't want to interfere." I said, "You wouldn't be interfering! I love the idea, too! I've even had ideas in my head for how it will look! Of course, I'm sure you have ideas, too, so we really need to get them down on paper!" She said, "Slow down! Even after you battle the Elite Four again, IF you make it that far, we'll both still have to attend gym leader and breeding school." I said, "That's true…" Then I shot her a glance and asked, "What do you mean by 'IF'?" She smirked and covered her face with the menu, saying, "Let's see… what looks good?" I dropped the subject and looked at my menu, and we ordered shortly. Our Pokemon also decided what they wanted, and we ordered for them, as well. Clefairy looked out at the view of Mt. Moon, and May said, "Are you homesick, Clefairy?" She turned to May and smiled, then hugged her, as if to say, "No, being with you is all the home for me." She said, "I feel bad that I don't have you out more, Clefairy. I promise once we do have a Pokemon sanctuary, you'll be out all the time." Clefairy nodded and said, "Clefairy" then sat down to eat. Our waitress soon came with our food, and it was delicious. After we ate, I said, "It's been some past year, huh?" May said, "Yeah! The whole Abra/Kadabra thing, the MechanPokemon, the Unown." I said, "Seven more badges, several near death experiences." She asked, "Did you ever imagine this is where you'd be when you started your first Pokemon journey 3 years ago?" I said, "I'm not sure. I didn't really know what to expect. I love where things seem to be heading, though! I mean, it really looks like I might actually achieve my dream of becoming a gym leader." She said, "I know you will." I asked, "What about you, May? Is this where you saw yourself when you started out? Just following me around and giving me advice?" She laughed and said, "You know that I'm not really as into battling. Besides, I'm having a really good time accompanying you on your Kanto journey and I'm glad to be here. And if it wasn't for you, I'd have given up a long time ago." I said, "I'm glad you came along, too. It would have been a lonely journey without you." She said, "Hard to believe our journeying days are almost over." I said, "Yeah! But being a gym leader will be great!" She replied, "So will being a breeder!" I said, "We'll raise the best Pokemon anyone can get! With our Pokemons' genes, they're all sure to be winners!" May said, "You bet they will be!" Pretty soon, a bunch of waiters rolled a cake over, with 13 candles on it, and started singing. I looked at May, who started laughing. I half smiled, then said, "Thanks, May." They began to cut up the cake, and the Pokemon each got a piece, as well as both of us.
After dinner, we walked along the square by the moonlight, accompanied by our fire Pokemon, who were paired off – Flamefox and Amber, Firestorm and Inferno, Redfur and Fiona. I said, "What a beautiful moon tonight." May said, "It sure is." I watched the paired-off Pokemon and said, "Someday we'll probably look back on all of this as the best time of our lives." May said, "I think the best times are still to come." We decided to camp out under the stars that night, since it was probably the last time we would. It sure had been a fun journey. We slept that night to the comfort of our fire foxes sleeping on our chests. First thing tomorrow, we were finally going to reach Viridian City.