The next morning, the trio exited the Pokémon Center, well- rested and ready to go.
"OK, the nurse said there are two ways to get to Chufisa," stated Violet. "The quickest way is through Nodacel City and down Skateboarding Road. However, we'll need to skateboard our way through there, you're not allowed to walk it." She paused for a moment. "Anyone got a skateboard?" she asked. Red and Orange shook their heads. "Thought not," Violet stated. "Which just leaves the slightly longer east road. Fastest way there from here is to cut through Vandeler Town."
"Well, let's go, then," Orange said. "Maybe we'll get there before the day is done, if we're lucky."
"If we start now, we should get there by nightfall," agreed Violet. "Provided there are no unexpected holdups, anyway."
With that, Violet led the way, and the three trainers headed east towards the city's exit. After they had been walking for about ten minutes, Orange stopped in front of a house that seemed to be constructed entirely out of varied silverware- spoons, forks, knives, even a can opener or two. The sign in front read, "The home of the mystical Ms. Psychic."
"C'mon, guys," Orange stated. "Let's see what this is all about."
"So much for no unexpected holdups, huh?" sighed Red, though he and Violet followed Orange through the door.
Inside the one-room house was a round, wooden table, and sitting at that table was an older woman, whose face gave a distinct air of strangeness. "Aha!" she exclaimed as the trio entered. "Welcome, welcome, and allow me to introduce myself... I am the incredible... Ms. Psychic!" she exclaimed in an overly-dramatic fashion.
"...Yeah, OK," Orange said after a brief moment of silence, "So, we-"
"Wait! Not another word!" interrupted Ms. Psychic. Then, with a flourish, she produced three pink discs from seemingly nowhere and handed them to Red, Orange, and Violet. "You wanted these!" Red accepted his disc, the label of which read "Technical Machine #29- Psychic".
"TMs for Psychic," Violet remarked. "Not bad."
"Well, of course they are not bad," laughed Ms. Psychic. "I foresaw your intent to acquire them, after all!"
"Yeah, thanks a lot, Ms. Psybeam," Orange said.
Ms. Psychic frowned. "That's Ms. Psychic," she corrected him.
"Uh huh," nodded Orange, not really listening. "Yeah, well, we should get going, shouldn't we? Thanks for the TMs, Ms. Psyduck."
"That's Ms. Psychic!" exclaimed the woman as Red and Violet followed Orange out the door.
"OK, that was a waste of time," Violet sighed as they continued walking down the wooden streets. "Well, OK, not completely- Psychic is a powerful move. You guys figure out who you're teaching it to?"
"Q, of course," grinned Orange. "I'll wait till we've reached Chufisa City, though."
"Hang on," Red said suddenly. "Chufisa... spelled C-H-U-F-I-S-A?"
"Yeah, it is," nodded Orange. "Let me guess- rearrange the letters and...?"
"Fuchsia City," finished Red, nodding. "And from what I've heard, the positions match up, too. Anyway, I don't think Charizard, Parasect, Dodrio, or Raticate can learn Psychic. I'm just gonna hang onto this until I catch something that can learn it."
"Yeah- you haven't caught a Pokémon since Doduo," Orange said suddenly. "Why is that? It's not like you haven't had opportunity."
"Nothing really caught my eye, I guess," Red shrugged. "I'll catch something when I see something I like."
"I'm probably going to use mine on either Flutters or Tombstone," Violet stated. "Yeah, I'm thinking Tombstone, Flutters already knows Confusion, and I'm sure I can help it learn Psybeam, too."
"But is that Ms. Psywave strange or what-" began Orange.
"THAT'S MS. PSYCHIC!" came a shout from up the street.
Red, Orange, and Violet exchanged surprised glances. "How did she do that?" asked Orange.
The rest of the trip to Fansfor City's exit was uneventful, and before long, the group found themselves traveling back down the rocky, grassy, wet road of Route -8. Before long, a young boy wearing a yellow t-shirt, a blue cap, and a pair of blue shorts approached them. "Hey!" the Youngster exclaimed. "You guys are Trainers, aren't you?"
"Yep," grinned Violet. "Name's Violet. This is Orange, and this is Red."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, nice, now which of you wants to battle?" the Youngster demanded, producing a Poké Ball.
"Hey, you know what? I'll do it," Violet said.
"Thought we were in a hurry, Vi?" said Orange.
"Yeah, but I'd kinda like to get the hang of using my newest Pokémon in battle," replied Violet as she too prepared a Poké Ball.
"OK, 44Hy, let's go!" shouted the Youngster as he threw his ball, unleashing a red, white, and black cube-shaped Water/Psychic-type into the open.
"I choose you, Skelefly!" Violet called as she threw her Poké Ball, and in a flash of light, the Aerodactyl Skeleton Form Missingno. emerged, screeching loudly.
"Whoa, a Missingno.!" the Youngster exclaimed. "44Hy! Use Headbutt!"
"Hyyyyyy!" squealed 44Hy as it flew up to meet the Missingno.
"Skelefly, Defense Curl!" Violet ordered.
Skelefly, however, merely screeched its apparent displeasure with the order, and instead blasted the Riverside Pokémon with a Flamethrower attack. This did not deter 44Hy, however, and the Headbutt connected.
"What?!" Violet exclaimed. "Skelefly, I said Defense Curl, not Flamethrower! Now try your Egg Bomb attack!"
"44Hy, use Aurora Beam!" yelled the Youngster.
While 44Hy complied with its trainer's order and unleashed a rainbow-colored ray of light, Skelefly once again took issue with its trainer's order, and instead dove down, clearly intent on using Bone Club instead.
"Skelefly, what are you doing?!" Violet shouted.
"Not obeying you, that's for damn sure," sneered the Youngster as the Aurora Beam sent the Missingno. crashing to the ground. "Let's wrap this up, 44Hy! Confusion attack!"
"Skelefly, come on!" Violet called desperately. "Please, use your SmokeScreen attack!"
Skelefly instead fired off three large, white eggs from its bony mouth, which were promptly exploded in midair by the blue ray of energy 44Hy was giving off. Then, the Confusion continued its course, striking Skelefly and knocking it out.
"But- but- but- HOW?!" Violet exclaimed. "When you fought it yesterday, Orange, it held its own for the longest time, and now..."
"Yeah, but yesterday it was battling effectively," Orange observed. "Now it just seems intent on not following your orders, Vi."
Violet sighed. "Skelefly, return," she sighed, holding out the Poké Ball.
"Yeah, we won!" the Youngster cheered as his 44Hy flew circles around him, squealing happily. The two then went off, still happy about their victory. Once they were out of earshot, the trio set off again, this time with Violet in a significantly less pleased mood.
"Aw, cheer up, Vi," Orange said as he put an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. "You just need to work with Skelefly, is all. I'm sure you'll-"
"Hey! Red!" came a voice from behind the trio. Red, Violet, and Orange wheeled around, and there stood a boy in brown clothing with spiky black hair. "Heh, I had a feeling you'd pass through here again," smirked Terrence. "I've been training, see, so now we're gonna have a rematch, and this time, you're going down."
"Yeah, not right now," Red said. "We kinda want to get to Chufisa City by nightfall-"
"Oh, come on, it won't take long for me to thoroughly destroy your team," pleaded Terrence.
"OK, you know what? I accept," said Red. "I think I got time to cream you. But since we really are in a hurry, we'll make it a quick one. Just one Pokémon each, OK?"
"Fine, let's just get going with this!" exclaimed Terrence as he threw a Poké Ball. "Golem! Go!" he shouted.
In a flash of light, what appeared to be a large spherical creature, covered in odd grey-greenish plates of rock, with two arms, two legs, and a head sticking out materialized. "Golem gol," it rumbled. Red held out his Pokédex, aiming it at the creature.
"Golem, the Megaton Pokémon, and the evolved form of Graveler," droned the device. "Golem's hard shell is as tough as rock. Once a year, it sheds this shell to grow larger."
As he put his Pokédex away, Red took a Poké Ball off his belt, enlarged it, and threw it. "Raticate, I choose you!" Red yelled as the Rat Pokémon appeared in a flash of light.
"Rrrrrraticate!" screeched Raticate.
Violet made her way to the sidelines and said, "Alright, begin!"
"Golem! Double-Edge!" ordered Terrence.
"Raticate! Water Gun!" Red commanded.
Both Pokémon started their attacks at once. Golem tucked in its head and limbs and proceeded to roll forward as Raticate unleashed a forceful stream of water from its mouth. Golem rumbled in discomfort as it rolled valiantly against the Water move.
"Don't give in, Golem!" commanded Terrence. "Hit it hard!"
"Lem... Golem!" shouted Golem as it crashed into Raticate with a valiant effort. The Normal-type was sent flying backwards, and though it fell to the ground, it got back up very quickly.
"Raticate, try your Tail Whip!" Red ordered.
"Golem! Harden attack!" yelled Terrence.
Raticate wheeled around and started to whip its tail back and forth, as Golem struck a pose, its entire body seeming to gleam for a moment as it stood completely still.
"Well, that flopped," remarked Orange. "Harden upped Golem's Defense just enough to cancel out the Tail Whip."
"Raticate, use Water Gun once more!" Red ordered.
"Rrrrrati...caaaaaate!" exclaimed Raticate as it wheeled back around and blasted a forceful jet of water from its mouth, causing Golem to cry out in pain.
"Golem!" shouted Terrence.
"Finish it! Quick Attack now!" Red yelled.
Almost before Red had finished giving the order, Raticate sped forward, slamming into Golem. While this obviously was less than effective against the rock-hard armor covering Golem, it did nevertheless cause it to tip over backwards and roll right into a nearby rock with a loud CRASH.
"Get up! Golem, come on!" Terrence ordered. "Get back in there! Use Mega Punch!"
However, as Golem feebly rolled back forward, it became clear that that last impact had knocked it out. It made no effort whatsoever to get back to its feet.
"OK, Golem is unable to battle, so the winners are Red and Raticate," stated Violet.
"Nicely done, Raticate!" Red congratulated his Pokémon. Terrence, on the other hand, was decidedly less than pleased with the outcome.
"GAAAAAAAH!" he roared as he returned Golem to its Poké Ball. "This isn't over, Red, do you hear me?!" he demanded, storming over to Red. "This! Is not! Over!"
"Dude, relax," Red said. "Why are you always getting so worked up whenever you lose a battle?"
"Because the world's strongest Pokémon Trainer does not keep losing to the same guy over and over!" replied Terrence. "And if I'm gonna be the strongest Trainer in the world someday, then I can't keep losing to you! So we're gonna keep this up, see. We're gonna keep this going, so you will eventually realize that I am not someone to mess with!"
With that, before anyone could get in another word, Terrence stormed off in the direction of Fansfor City, grumbling various swearwords under his breath. Once he was out of sight and earshot, Red, Orange, and Violet all exchanged glances.
"What's his deal?" Orange said. "Every time we see him, he demands a battle from Red, and then gets all enraged when he loses."
"He's crazier than those Team Debug and Team Error guys we keep running into," Violet added, shaking her head.
"Or that Ms. Psybeam," added Red.
At this, however, an echoing shout sounded from the direction from which they had come; "THAT'S MS. PSYCHIC!"
Again, the trio exchanged glances. "How does she do that?" asked Orange.
For a good hour the trio continued on their way. Every so often, Orange would point out a wild Pokémon and urge Red to catch it, and every time, Red declined.
"Why?" asked Orange as Red decided against pursuing the wild 7g that had been pointed out to him. "Why not?"
"I don't want to catch a 7g," Red replied. "What's wrong with that?"
"Well, you also didn't want to catch the .4 we saw, or the pPkMnp," Orange said. "You only got four Pokémon, Red, you're gonna have to catch something new one of these days."
"I don't disagree," nodded Red. "But when I'm ready, OK?"
"Oh, fine," sighed Orange.
"Relax, Orange," said Violet. "Let Red catch something when he's ready, OK?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Orange conceded reluctantly, though he couldn't help but smile as Violet smiled at him. They exchanged a quick kiss as Vandeler Town came into view.
"Let's get through here quickly," Red stated. "Vandeler Town gives me the creeps."
"I second that," Violet nodded.
"I third, fourth, and fifth it," chimed in Orange as the trio quickened their walking speed simultaneously, making their way through the ominous town, past the ominous structures, the dead trees, and the massive, tombstone-shaped structure that was the entrance to Pokémon Tunnel.
"Hold up," Violet said suddenly, coming to a stop. "Pokémon Center's right here," she added, pointing to the nearby building, made from crumbling rocks, dying hedges, and rotting pieces of wooden fence. She then led the way into the building, pushing open the two rotting pieces of fence which served as the doors.
"Hi! Welcome to our Pokémon Center," smiled the nurse as the trio approached her.
"Nurse, can you please treat my Missingno.?" asked Violet, handing the nurse a Poké Ball.
"While you're at it, maybe heal up my Raticate, too?" Red added, also handing her a red-and-white sphere.
"Certainly," the nurse nodded as she walked off towards the center's healing machine.
"OK, so, according to this map," Orange said, indicating the map of the Tanko region attached to the wall while Violet sent out her h Poké and dug her Psychic TM out of her fanny pack. "To get to Chufisa City, all we gotta do is head south from here and follow the path. As long as that Snorlax has moved, we shouldn't have any problems."
Red nodded. "Let's just hope it moved, then."
Before they could talk any further, the nurse called them back over, declaring both Raticate and Skelefly to be fully restored. Violet withdrew Tombstone, and as she and Red collected their Poké Balls from the nurse, the trio exited the center.
"All right, I checked the map, and we head south from here," Orange stated.
Red nodded. "Let's go, then," he stated.
Mercifully, it didn't take them long to leave Vandeler Town, and they were headed back down Route -12, across the concrete and wooden docks serving as walkways across the water. Before long, they happened upon a bored looking man who was sitting on the dock, holding a fishing rod, and staring out at the water. After a moment, he noticed the approaching trainers, reeled in his rod, and climbed to his feet. "Hey, you guys!" he said. "You three Pokémon trainers?"
"Yeah," nodded Orange. "What's it to you?"
"I've been fishing for the past three hours, and no bites," the Fisherman explained. "I'm bored out of my skull, and I want a battle."
"We're kinda in a hurry-" began Red.
"I'm game," grinned Orange. "One Pokémon each sound good to you?"
"Works for me," the Fisherman grinned back as he clutched a Poké Ball in his hand and threw it. "I choose you, Clefairy!"
In a flash of light, the small, pink Fairy Pokémon materialized. "Clefairy," it said in a soft voice.
"Alright, Eevee, let's go!" shouted Orange as he tossed a Poké Ball of his own, unleashing the small, brown, furry Evolution Pokémon, who faced Clefairy and growled with determination.
"I'll be the referee for this," Violet said as she stood off to the side. "Aaaand, begin!" she stated.
"Clefairy! Horn Attack!" commanded the Fisherman.
"Eevee, Reflect!" ordered Orange.
The curl of fur on Clefairy's forehead unfurled itself, sticking straight out in front, coming to a particularly nasty point. As it charged forward, however, a shimmering, semitransparent dome of energy formed around Eevee, and Clefairy bounced right off.
"Horn Attack?" Red remarked. "How the..."
"Clefairy obviously learned that attack in the LM4 stage," Orange said.
The Fisherman nodded. "You got that right! Clefairy, now use your Quick Attack!"
"Eevee, use your Quick Attack, too!" Orange shouted.
"Vee!" barked Eevee as it charged forward at the same time as Clefairy, both Normal-types dashing at each other at high speeds. They collided, each bouncing off the other. Both were thrown back, but were able to climb to their feet very quickly.
"Eevee! Swift!" said Orange.
"Clefairy! Water Gun!" said the Fisherman.
As Clefairy opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of water, Eevee opened its own mouth and unleashed a barrage of glowing stars. The two attacks met in midair, but the stars merely sliced their way through the jet of water, and before the Water Gun could even get close, Clefairy was forced to stop the attack as the stars pelted its body relentlessly.
"Don't give in, Clefairy!" called the Fisherman. "Wrap attack!"
"Fairy!" responded Clefairy as it lunged forward, its swirly pink tail uncoiling like a little Ekans. Eevee barely had time to react before it found itself wrapped up in the tail.
"Eevee!" Orange exclaimed. "Come on, get out of there!"
Eevee struggled, but Clefairy's grip tightened, and the Evolution Pokémon could not break free. This did not deter Eevee, however, but it only got free when Clefairy finally let it go. Eevee, however, was now pissed, and immediately bit down on Clefairy's tail.
"Wait, was that just, like, regular biting," Red asked, "or did Eevee just learn how to use Bite?"
"...Looks like Eevee learned Bite!" grinned Orange as he glanced down at his Pokédex. "Nice one, Eevee! Now use Swift!"
"Clefairy, time for Metronome!" yelled the Fisherman as Eevee relinquished its grip on Clefairy and backed off. In response, Clefairy raised its arms in the air and waved its fingers back and forth.
"Oh, boy," Red murmured. "Metronome... there's no telling what move Clefairy's gonna use now!"
As Eevee opened its mouth to unleash another barrage of stars, Clefairy stopped waving its fingers back and forth, and sprung into the air, its left knee glowing red.
"Oh, not good," Orange whimpered, watching Clefairy. "Metronome must've called up Hi Jump Kick!"
Eevee unleashed Swift at that moment, and as the stars pelted Clefairy, the Normal-type was knocked off course, and crashed into the concrete portion of the dock just behind Eevee. It made no effort to move whatsoever.
"Right, it looks like Clefairy cannot continue, so Orange and Eevee are the winners!" declared Violet.
"Return, Clefairy," sighed the Fisherman as his Normal-type was withdrawn to the spherical confines of its Poké Ball. "That Eevee of yours ain't bad," he added to Orange.
"Thanks," grinned Orange as he withdrew Eevee. "Same goes for that Clefairy. I had an LM4 myself, but mine evolved all the way to Nidoking."
"As fascinating as this all is," Violet cut in, "We're kinda trying to get to Chufisa City today, so..."
"Right," nodded the Fisherman. "Just a second, though," he added as he dug through a backpack sitting on the dock next to his fishing gear. He produced three glassy stones from within the bag- one was a greenish color with a lightning bolt engraved in it, one was a fiery orange stone that looked as though it had a small ember trapped within, and the final one was blue, and it looked as though numerous bubbles were trapped inside. "Nodacel Department Store had a sale on evolution stones not too long ago, so I just bought one of each. I didn't need them, but I figured it couldn't hurt to be prepared. But here, you take 'em. You can use at least one of them, once you decide how you want to evolve Eevee. Plus, I still got the Leaf Stone, if I ever get a Gloom or a Weepinbell.
"Oh, sweet!" Orange exclaimed as he accepted the stones and dumped them into his backpack.
"You sure you just wanna give those out like that?" Red asked.
"Yes, he's sure, Red!" Orange said loudly.
"Relax," the Fisherman chuckled. "Besides which, you gave me a good battle there, you earned them."
"Thanks," Orange grinned.
As the trio walked off, the Fisherman went back to his fishing, and now Orange was starting to talk about a subject that had yet to come up before.
"What should I evolve Eevee into?" Orange murmured. "I mean, I already have Q, so I'm pretty well set as far as Water-types go. That leaves Flareon and Jolteon... but what would Eevee want to evolve into? I can't ignore that, it's gotta be something Eevee would be happy with- aw, crap," he groaned as he saw just why Red and Violet had come to a stop.
They had arrived at an all too familiar three-way intersection. The path which led away from the sea and towards Miliovern City was completely unobstructed. The path which continued south, however, was still obstructed as it had been the last time they had gotten there- by the rotund bulk of a large sleeping Snorlax.
"Mew damn it," sighed Violet. "Well, we gotta wake the Snorlax up. Orange?"
"Hmm?" Orange said, turning to face Violet. After a moment, a look of dawning comprehension came over his face. "Wait- are you saying... are you giving me permission to-"
"Yep," smirked Violet. "Play that Poké Flute, Orange, and wake up Snorlax."
"Are... are you sure?" Orange asked. "I mean, I did promise you..."
"Yeah... but that promise, and my reason for making you make that promise, utter Tauros crap," said Violet. "Go ahead and play it."
"You know what? I just might," smiled Orange. "And I'm telling you, Vi, someone as great as you, I just know Skelefly will be warming up to you in no time."
"Orange, you're so stubborn, and you can be annoying... but you're sweet," Violet said softly as she moved closer to Orange. Before he knew what was happening, they were kissing. Not long after, however, they broke apart as they heard a familiar whirring noise. Simultaneously, Orange and Violet turned to look at the Snorlax- or rather, the large mass of transparent red energy being sucked into a Poké Ball. The sphere landed on the dock and wobbled back and forth for several seconds before it gave off a low-pitched ping and was still.
"Honestly," Red remarked as he picked up the Poké Ball containing his new Snorlax, "I can't believe nobody's thought of doing this sooner. Seriously, it's just laying there, fast asleep, and it takes nothing less than Orange's snoring to get it to so much as stir, and nobody else thinks to throw a Poké Ball at it?"