"So, where's your boyfriend?" asked Green with a smirk.
"I do believe you two chased him off," said Cinna with a grin.
Blue had all but fled the second he got his badge. Red had only stopped laughing when Cinna kicked him in the shin. She threatened to do the same to Oak when she heard him snickering after Red reported to him. Knowing her luck, her mother would hear of it before the day was out.
"How's it been Green? Last I heard you just caught that Jigglypuff of yours!"
"Great! I heard about this awesome exhibit about fossils, figured you or that mystery brother of yours would be heading there," said Green.
"I bet you were dying to meet him!" cackled Cinna.
"Not really. Klutzy boys really aren't my type."
"It's not that he's a total klutzoid, it's just that he's got really long legs and some days it takes him a few seconds to straighten them out properly."
"Whereas you are a shorty," said Green.
"I'm not short, I'm lanky, there's a major difference. And unlike my brother, I took classes to correct that problem, remember?"
The entire reason Cinna took acrobatic classes was to deal with her coordination issues. Both twins hit a minor growth spurt, but unlike Red, Cinna managed to get her mother to let her take gymnastics classes so she wouldn't trip over her own feet all the time. Surprisingly, she was very good at it once she learned how to stretch properly.
She took off her gun metal gray headband to brush back a few stray hairs. Her hair had spiked for as long as she had it long, and it got annoying at times.
"Still got spike issues?"
"I've tried everything!" said Cinna.
"Love that outfit by the way. I hear there's a salon in Celadon that has the best reviews. Maybe we should try there later and have a girl's night out."
"That sounds like an excellent plan. I bet you anything my brother will hit the Game Corner first thing too!" said Cinna.
Said brother was currently in the Museum avoiding his sister. He loved her, but when she got going on girly things he tended to vanish for a few hours.
Last time he stuck around he got turned into a dress up doll by his sister and mother. He wasn't letting that happen twice! As the two chatted away, catching up on the latest gossip, they enjoyed the day.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" shrieked Cinna. Red did not just say that!
"I said I'm not sure that stuck-up Blue is right for you Cinna," said Red. The guy just stuck him the wrong way with the comments he made about his team.
Cinna seethed. She was not about to let her twin tell her who she could and couldn't date. Blue was a perfectly nice boy, he just didn't like people as much as he did Pokémon. Sure, he was a bit too serious, but that was simply how he was raised. It wasn't easy being the grandson of such a noted Professor!
Cinnamon slapped her brother before she stormed off into Mt. Moon alone.
Once inside, she almost felt bad about slapping her brother, but the fact he dared to make a comment on her love life when he didn't even have a girlfriend or crush of his own was ridiculous. If he didn't apologize by the time they met back up at Cerulean, she was going to find Green and travel with her for a while.
She heard a noise above, and relaxed when she realized it was only a Zubat. The bat Pokémon were a terrible nuisance in caves, and many trainers couldn't stand the things. She had noticed a large number of repels at the Pokémart, and had almost forgotten that there was a cave full of them here.
She almost reached for her own repel, but then decided against it. Zubat were a nuisance, but she was prepared and had a fully stocked medicine kit. She could handle a few Zubat and Diglett.
"Sis! Where are you Cinna?" Red called out. Sure, the slap had hurt, but he still loved his sister.
He had been outside the cave looking for the past hour for his twin when he heard someone battling nearby. He found a girl a few years older than him fighting a Gyarados. She was having a tough time with her Staryu.
"Go Bulbasaur!"
It took little effort to beat the Gyarados...the girl had already worn it out.
"Let's head to the Pokémon Center. Maybe Cinna's there," said Red.
"Who's Cinna?"
"My twin sister Cinnamon. We had a bit of an argument a couple hours ago and she left angry."
"What was she wearing?"
"She was...hang on, I think my phone is ringing."
Red pulled out his cell phone, something his mother had given them both before they left. It only had a few numbers in it: Home, Cinnamon/Red, Oak, and the emergency number that was for Kanto use only.
Of course Cinnamon had quite a few more numbers in it. Hers had Green, Blue, several Pokémon researchers (like Bill for instance) and the Pokémon Nurse hotline in case she needed assistance.
"Hello?"
It took him a moment to realize someone had sent him a text, not called him.
'Be prepared 2 apologize. Heading through the mountain. See U in Cerulean! ~Cinna.'
"Oh, so she already went inside. That's a relief."
"Hang on, how did she get a signal inside Mt. Moon?" asked Misty.
'How did you get a signal inside the mountain?'
'Who said I was inside dummy? I found a minor exit that had a spectacular view and found I had a few bars. Knowing you, you worked yourself in a tizzy wondering where I went off to :P'
"She said she found a small outlet where she could get a few bars," said Red.
"Seems your sister had been using texts before," said Misty amused.
"What makes you say that?"
"That last part was a smiley, though some of the nerds call them emoticons. I have a sister who texts nonstop when she can," explained Misty.
"Oh. What does this one mean?"
"You don't use cell phones much do you? It's the equivalent of giving someone a raspberry," said Misty.
"That reminds me, I better call Professor Oak."
"Man there are a lot of people in here today," said Cinna. Something about them didn't sit right, so she had been avoiding people.
That was when she saw him.
'What's the leader of the Fuchsia city Gym doing here? Isn't he responsible for keeping the Safari Zone safe for trainers?' wondered Cinna. The only reason she recognized him was because she had seen a picture of him in one of the books she had bought in Pewter City. It was a recent one on the Who's Who in Kanto and Johto.
Cinna waited until she got deeper in the mountain. She found a few Clefairy and followed them until she got into open air.
"Come on, come on! Yes! A signal!"
Cinna texted her brother, but couldn't reach him.
"He must already be in the mountain. Well, knowing him I'll sense when he actually needs my help."
Their 'twin-sense' was very refined. So much so that Red knew exactly when his sister broke her leg during class, or the time Cinnamon knew Red had gotten stuck in a tree too tall for her to reach. Their mother often used one twin to keep an eye on the second.
That was the only reason why she hadn't panicked when Cinna first hid in with the food to join Oak outside the region. Red had stayed calm the whole time, although he had been more excited than usual.
Cinnamon was about to sneak past the Clefairy when she noticed on had been injured.
She took out the antiseptic and the bandages.
The Clefairy all went on alert the second she stepped out into the open, though they did relax slightly when they saw what she had in her hands. It took little time to treat the Clefairy's injury, and they were happy to show her the way out when she asked.
No way was she sticking around when Koga was in there. He was a poison-user, and she didn't want any of her team to get hurt from anything he could have cooked up!
One day after their fight...
"Red, thank Arceus! Please tell me you got through that cave without fighting anyone!" said Cinna.
"Well aside from some Team Rocket jerks, we were fine," said Red.
"'We'?" said Cinna, looking past him.
Her jaw dropped. Then she looked at her brother shrewdly.
"Red, is there something you want to tell me? Like why in Arceus are you walking around with the Cerulean Gym Leader?!" hissed Cinna.
"Huh?"
"This is the Cerulean City gym leader, Misty. She uses Water-type Pokémon," said Cinna.
"Wow, you know your gym leaders," said Misty impressed. Few people could recognize her on sight or her Pokémon type.
Cinna held up a book.
"I saw Koga from Fuchsia in there, so I didn't stick around. I made a point to reread this once I was out," said Cinna.
"Koga? Are you sure?" asked Misty.
She flipped through the book and held it open for Red to see.
"Hey, I fought that guy in the cave!" said Red.
"YOU WHAT? Which Pokémon did he use and be specific!"
"He used a Rhydon, though he forcefully evolved it from a Rhyhorn," said Red after a thought.
"Are you absolutely sure about that? And don't lie to me Red," said Cinna.
"What's the big deal sis?"
"Koga is a poison-type user, you idiot! He could have seriously injured your Pokémon, and I only have basic full heals! You are seriously lucky that he didn't use any of his own against you!" said Cinna, whacking him upside the head with the thin book she had in her hand.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" said Red, running from his sister. Misty grinned.
"I like her," she said.
"Most! People! Do! Will you knock it off already?!" shouted Red.
"Have you learned your lesson about being an insensitive jerk?" she said.
"I'm sorry! I'll keep my mouth shut about your stupid crush!" said Red.
Misty was too busy laughing at Cinna's attack to help him. Sadly, this happened quite often for Red.
Misty and Cinna chatted all the way to Celadon, though at least this time Red was able to get into the discussion. Mostly because Cinna had rediscovered a love of battling, so they were discussing moves VS. type advantages.
"You live here?" said Red in shock.
"I am the Cerulean city gym leader. It's been in my family for three generations!" said Misty proudly.
While Red went to take a bath (he was quite dirty) Cinna and Misty got to play dress up for a bit.
"OMG that is such a cute hair accessory!" gushed Cinna.
Misty was busy braiding her hair into a fetching pony tail, but she added the hair accessory as an afterthought. It was a rather nice one that featured a Dragonair that was biting it's own tail.
"Oh no! My sister's gotten to you too!" said Red in despair.
Misty looked at Cinna in question.
"My brother's been terrified of girly-girls since mom and I turned him into a dress-up dummy last year. He needed a new wardrobe anyway," said Cinna smugly. Misty snickered. Cinna was girly, alright, but she was also sensible. She had seen some of the outfits Cinna had in her bag, and all of them were cute and girly, but very easy to move in. They didn't have unnecessary frills or lace.
"I think you should be glad Cinnamon's your sister, and not a real girly-girl. She's far more sensible than my older sisters, who would love nothing more than to do water ballet all day instead of dealing with trainers," said Misty.
Cinna had met the four other sisters, and hid a grimace. She was girly, but not that girly! Red had no idea what true horror was...
Red decided to retell how he saved Misty, to Cinna's embarrassment.
"Is he always like this?" asked Misty.
"Unfortunately. Usually I take center stage, so he generally never shuts up about times when he did the saving not me. Feel free to remind him that he's human," said Cinna, carefully cutting her meal.
Misty growled, and agreed that Red did need the wake-up call.
"I'll be looking at the water types near the town. Call me when he's back to normal," said Cinna after dinner.
"I'll let you know when we actually do start training," promised Misty.
"Let's see...there's Abra!" muttered Cinna. She crept up to the psychic-type and then pounced!
"GOT YA!"
Abra teleported with her still holding on tight. It did this five more times, only to realize she wasn't letting go.
"Go, Umbra!"
"Vee!"
"Umbra, use shadow ball!"
One hit, and Abra was out for the count. It was easy to catch him after that. Cinna was about to leave the area when she heard a snort.
"That is not how you're supposed to catch an Abra," said a familiar voice.
"Blue? And don't talk mister. Do you have any idea how much of a pain it was tracking this one down? It kept teleporting any time I got close to it, or managed to throw a Pokéball at it!" said Cinna irritated.
"Trainers normally don't glomp their Pokémon to make sure it doesn't escape," said Blue, coming out of the tree.
"I just spent four hours tracking this one. I think I can be excused for this one time," said Cinna. She took a long pull of her water bottle and sat on a nearby rock.
"So...how have you been?" asked Blue.
"Great...nearly had a run-in with Koga of all people on Mt. Moon."
"Koga, as in...?"
"Yeah, that Koga. Apparently Red ran into him too, only he was using a Rhydon that he forcefully evolved from a Rhyhorn," said Cinna.
"So the rumors I heard were true...Koga's in league with Team Rocket," said Blue.
"I heard Sabrina and Surge are part of it as well, but nothing has been confirmed. The only reason I recognized Koga was because of his eyebrows."
Blue snorted. He was the one who told her that the newest edition of the only book to mention Gym Leaders by name along with picture had come out.
"So where's Red?" asked Blue.
"Back in Cerulean being reminded that he isn't an all powerful-trainer just yet. He managed to escape Koga one time while saving Misty, and he thinks he's all that," snorted Cinna.
Her phone vibrated, indicating a text. There were several subtle signs of a real trainer from a fake, and one of them was that a real trainer never took a call in the field unless they weren't hunting Pokémon.
'Back to normal, training session starts tomorrow. ~Misty'
"Knew I could trust her to knock some sense into him. Now to catch one more Pokémon and head back to town."
"If you hear anything about the other Gym Leaders being in with Team Rocket..." asked Blue.
"I'll text you. I don't like the rumors I've heard about them, and the sooner they're gone the better," said Cinna. Blue waved her off and started heading off to the next town.
Cinna looked out in the field eagerly.
"Maybe one more Pokémon wouldn't hurt?" she said with a grin.
"What happened to you?" asked Misty and Red.
"Got into a fight with a mean Seaking. Don't ask," said Cinna.
Cinna looked like she had been on the wrong end of a water fight. Her hair was a mess (still in a braid though) her clothes needed a good wash, looking like she had been dragged through murky water, and she was all muddy.
When she had her team healed, Misty noticed that Cinna now had a brand new level 30 Seaking. When it was brought out, she noticed it had a ton of scars, and was clearly the king of whatever water source Cinna had found it in.