Chee and the nurse helped me to tie up Morty, and we started chatting while I filled them in on what Brock and I had done, as well as how I managed to take down Morty.
The nurse's name was Joy, and by talking to her I was able to get a basic idea of what had happened while Brock and I were infiltrating the museum.
Apparently when Morty had captured Chee, he'd taken her to the same room as the nurse and locked them up together. He'd been thorough enough to take away her Pokeballs and PokeDex, but he'd just left them on the table outside.
So while Joy had tried to soothe Chee at first, the young girl had rapidly gotten bored and freed herself. Then she helped untie nurse Joy, and the two of them managed to break the lock on the door. After that it had been a simple case of reclaiming Chee's belongings and making their way up the stairs, where they'd navigated through the dark halls and encountered me.
Fortunately they'd arrived late enough to miss my violent outburst, which I was somewhat relieved to realise. I'd really lost my cool there, and I didn't want Chee to be frightened of me-Even if she would probably win in any actual fight.
"We should probably go let Brock know you're okay." I began, getting back to my feet. "But I'm worried about leaving this guy alone... His Haunter might still be out there."
"Don't worry, I dealt with the Haunter." Brock's voice echoed from further down the hall, and he walked in with his Graveler trailing behind him. The giant boulder Pokemon held a ghostly Pokemon between it's four arms, securely locked in place. He glanced over at the man on the ground. "You took out the kidnapper?"
"Brocky!" Joy exclaimed, running over to him and throwing her arms around him. "Joy!" He responded by lifting her by the waist and spinning in a circle, equally happy to see her.
"I've missed you." He said quietly, his forehead pressed against hers.
"I've missed you too, sweetie..." She answered, and the two of them stood in a sweet embrace for a long time. I could almost see the hearts flying around their heads as they muttered sweet nothings to each other.
"Good for you..." I murmured, not really wanting to look at the lovey-dovey couple any longer.
Chee tilted her head at the duo, then she leaned her head into her hands as she turned to look at me. Are you supposed to act like that after exploring? Should I be doing that too?
"Don't let it bother you." I dismissed her as she stretched her arms into the air to mimic Joy. "More importantly, Brock, can you deal with our kidnapper over here?"
Brock split from his partner and came to see the man I'd knocked out earlier. He leaned over and squinted, pulling the black robe all the wall off of the tied-up man's face. "...Morty, huh? What's a Gym Leader from another region doing in a place like this?"
Morty spat at him, but Brock deftly dodged by whipping his head out of the way. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter." He grumbled. "You're under arrest for kidnapping and extortion. You can tell me all about it in prison."
"Hah...!" Morty just grinned at him. "I'll be the one who has the last laugh...!"
Brock turned to me, ignoring the foreign Gym Leader. "Thanks for the help, Cyan. Who knows how long I would have just waited, hoping for the best, if it weren't for you and Green." He nodded to me. "You two can go home now, I'll take care of the rest. Will you be alright on your own?"
"We'll be just fine. Thanks for your hard work, sir." I responded, and we both started to leave. I was more than ready to head home, the exhaustion from staying late combined with the adrenaline from my battle with Morty wearing off were really making me feel tired.
"Ah, hold on! Green and Cyan, was it?" Nurse Joy called out to us, quickly stepping over.
Chee paused, looking over with confusion. Quietly, the pink-haired woman held out a pair of pink coupons to us, leaning over to speak softly to us. "Here, they're coupons for the Pewter Pancake Parlour. "
They were clearly coupons designed to be given as a reward, stating that the coupons could be redeemed for a free pancake, or a pair of tickets could be redeemed for a set of three.
She pulled back, fixing us with a sweet motherly smile. All of a sudden I became keenly aware that she must have been a Pokemon Centre nurse for many years, it was obvious from how easily she switched to a sweet persona. "I think my little heroes deserve at least a small reward, don't you?" She winked at us.
"...Thank you ma'am." I answered sheepishly, averting my gaze.
I didn't feel like a hero, little or otherwise. I'd lost my temper and beaten a man, almost as if I were back in the war. And I hadn't been a hero there either.
Only one person was qualified to call himself a hero, as far as I was concerned. And I still hadn't been able to meet him.
Chee seemed to feel differently to me, her eyes shimmering with a quiet excitement as they often did when she was introduced to a new and exciting concept. We're heroes!?
"We did a good deed at least." I smiled. "Come on, let's go back to the centre and sleep."
...
Day 48:
Since today was likely to be our last day in Pewter City, Chee and I mutually agreed to use up one of the pancake parlour tickets in the morning-By which I mean she was practically begging to go as soon as we woke up.
So now we sat in two chairs in the middle of the fancy restaurant, adorned with white and pink floral patterns and several pancake motifs. I felt thoroughly out of place, although Chee seemed to be right at home, kicking her feet excitedly as she browsed over the menu we'd been handed.
"We get three free orders," I reminded her. "So go ahead and pick whatever you want. If you want to pick something expensive, start with that."
She nodded excitedly, then she turned the menu to me and pointed at two different items on the menu. One called the 'Electric Lemon Crackle Pancake Platter', the other simply titled 'Original Pancakes with Chocolate Sauce'. I called over a waitress and placed our order, which left us with a few minutes to kill until the arrived.
Chee could hardly hold herself still, swaying back and forth in her chair as she waited for the pancakes to arrive. I'm so excited!
"...Do you like pancakes a lot?" I asked.
She shrugged at me. I've never had any.
This was a surprise to me. "Did your mother never cook any for you?"
All of a sudden Chee went still, her swaying legs falling limply to a stop. Her eyelids drooped slightly and her smile began to fade. I don't know.
I felt that I had stepped on a landmine, and I was about to change the subject when I received a buzz from my PokeDex, a message from Chee having arrived. 'I don't have any parents.'
"...I see." I answered tenderly.
'They died when I was 6. I barely even remember their faces.'
"I'm sorry for your loss..." I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, and I knew from personal experience just how rough it was to lose your parents. I didn't want to linger on the subject, so after a few moments of silence I tried to bring the conversation back to pancakes.
"What about Oak, did he never cook pancakes?"
She shook her head. He doesn't like sweet things.
"...Hmmm. Well, you'll get to try some now!" I smiled at her. "If there's anything else like that you want to try, let me know and I'll try to cook it for you at some point."
The awkward silence returned, but after a few moments she looked up again and met my gaze. Really?
"Sure, as long as I can cook it!"
She placed her PokeDex on the desk, and started typing rapidly. Moments later, my PokeDex started buzzing with messages like 'Cookies', 'Porridge', 'Chicken Soup' and more. I wasn't sure all of those would be as she was expecting, but I did take note of the requests nonetheless.
Fortunately before she could push our shopping fees too much further, the waitress returned with two sets of pancakes. One of them was done up with a lemony yellow frosting and sauce, which had been drizzled in the shape of lightning bolts. A candy Pikachu head sat in the centre of the pancakes adorning them.
The other set was a simple platter of pancakes with chocolate and whipped cream. The waitress placed them down on the table, but she seemed to misunderstand something as she placed the chocolate one in front of Chee and the Electric pancakes in front of me.
Chee had a devastated expression, but it lit back up as I pushed over the yellow pancakes, and she happily took the plate next to her own.
The waitress frowned at me. "...Are you not having anything for yourself?" She asked me. "The coupon is valid for three pancakes..."
I hesitated for a minute, then placed an order. "I... I'll have a set of normal pancakes with butter and maple syrup." She nodded at me and left. Since it'd be a waste to use up the coupon for nothing, I figured we could get some normal pancakes for Chee to try as well, but I wasn't really in the mood to eat them myself-I preferred my mother's home-made pancakes with lemon juice and sugar. The mixture of sweet and sour was a delight.
...How many years had it been since I'd had them? 10? 12? I couldn't even remember. When I got back to Pallet Town, I would need to ask her to make some for me.
Back on the subject of Chee, she wasn't actually eating anything, she was just staring at the Electric Lemon platter with stars in her eyes. I was glad to see she was happy again, but I was also confused. "Aren't you going to eat them?"
She hesitated, moving her knife and fork towards the pancakes, but for some reason she seemed to really want to leave the electric platter intact. After some hesitation, she cut into the chocolate pancakes instead. She took a bite, and immediately her face curled up in delight.
"...Yummy?"
She nodded eagerly, shovelling forkful after forkful of chocolate and whipped cream pancakes down. She was moving very quickly, and making a mess of her face. By the time she stopped to catch a breath, her mouth was covered with whipped cream.
"Don't eat too quickly, try to savour the taste!" I scolded her, reaching over and wiping the cream off her cheeks with a napkin. "It's alright, I'm not going to steal any from you, I promise."
She slowed down after that, but her eyes began to focus on the yellow lemon platter more and more, until she finally caved in and cut off a slice of those pancakes. She tentatively took a bite, and i saw her face scrunch up immediately.
I could barely suppress the urge to chuckle, but I managed to hold it to a wry smile. "Sour?"
She nodded, sticking out her tongue with a look of displeasure. She looked sadly at the platter for a few moments, then pushed it over to me.
"...You want me to eat it?"
She nodded. Too sour.
I sighed. "Why did you order it if you don't like sour food...?"
She pointed directly at my eyes, and I realised it had been a stupid question. "You picked it because it was yellow, didn't you?"
She nodded cheerfully.
"Of course..."
"Here's your pancakes with maple syrup!" The waitress cheerfully returned, putting the plate down next to me. "We hope you enjoy your stay!"
I glanced at the maple syrup pancakes, and cut out a wedge about the same size as the bite of lemon pancake that Chee had taken, then I placed it on the same plate as the lemon pancakes, and handed the maple syrup pancakes to Chee. "Here, this is the traditional pancake topping."
Chee very slowly and carefully took a small bite, and her face lit up with joy again. Yummy! She began to shovel pancakes again, taking turns between the maple syrup and the remainder of the chocolate pancakes. Seeing her innocently tuck into the sweets was almost enough for me to forget my troubles.
Almost.
Resigning myself to my fate, I took a slice of the mystery lemon pancakes and took a bite. I was met with a delightful mixture of sweet and sour that made me feel right at home. It wasn't the same as the real pancakes my mother would make, but the similarity felt comforting.
Ah... I thought to myself. This is the life. If only things could stay this calm forever.
...
After eating our morning pancakes, Chee and I had made our way to the Pewter City Gym, and I was surprised by the sight I was met with at the entrance.
There were around 12 kids my age actively working out in the training area at the front of the building, with multiple trainers alongside encouraging them, and even more kids talking to trainers at the front. Among them, I saw Brock, who waved me over when he saw me.
There were a handful of kids I didn't really recognise, but among them was the moody teen I'd met outside of Viridian forest on my way here. "Whats going on here?" I asked, confused.
"Well," Brock started, " since you helped me resolve my problem last night, I made it free to use the equipment and get training without a membership again!" He grinned at me. "I'm answering questions for the other trainers-I assume you're here for the girl to take the Gym Challenge?"
I nodded, but the teen refused to remain silent. "Brock, I'm trying to tell you that the physical test is too demanding! I'm 15 and I still can't pass it, but you're expecting 10-year-olds to be able to do it?" He thrust an accusing finger at me. "We all know you're showing favouritism to people from Pallet Town! I bet you had an easier version of the challenge, didn't you!?"
"No, Cyan passed the test fair and square... Sorry, Cyan do you mind demonstrating to them?" He gestured to one of the punching measure machines in the corner.
I shrugged slightly. "Sure, but I do plan to head off for the next town today."
A few moments later, Brock had set up the machine and demonstrated it was measuring accurately by punching it himself. The score read 341, the same as before. Then the arrogant teen stepped up. "I'm the strongest of us, I'll go first."
Despite his bluster, the boy had a pretty good punch-The form was somewhat amateurish, but I could tell he had good fighting instincts from the way he kept it lean and efficient. I expected the boy had experienced his share of brawls over time.
With a ding, the machine gave an answer. '77'
"Huh...? That's all?" I asked without thinking. The teen shot a dirty look at me then crossed his arms.
"If even someone as strong as me can only score 77, there's no way you can expect a 10-year-old to score 100!" He concluded his thoughts.
Brock just smiled at him. "Cyan, would you step up now please?"
At this point I understood what was going on and I stepped up to the machine diligently.
"Now how old are you?"
"Twenty-two, sir." I answered instinctively. Everyone present gave me a incredulous look, and I felt my face begin to flush as I rushed to come up with an excuse. "...Twenty-two half-years, I mean."
"So you're eleven, then?" Brock smiled, gesturing at the machine. "Go ahead."
I punched the machine with a powerful thwack and after a few moments of dramatic calculation it returned the number '110', unchanged from my previous attempt. The kids sat slack-jawed.
"That's... That's impossible...?" The teen asked, dumbfounded.
Softly, Brock knelt down next to him and spoke up. "It's possible for all of you to get that strong with proper training and care, and we're happy to provide all of that for free. You'll pass the physical test with flying colours before you know it."
"No... No this has to be some kind of trick!" The boy snapped. "You're tricking us!"
"You accused me of favouritism earlier, right?" Brock smiled. "I'm normally supposed to keep these secret, but I dug up the punching machine records for the previous Pallet Town challengers..." He lifted up a small sheet of paper.
"Of all the challengers on this list, Cyan's score is the lowest, and closest to a fail."
The boy pushed Brock away and pointed at Chee. "Fine! Then show us her score!"
We all turned to look at Chee, who seemed to shrivel up under all the attention, holding her pikachu plushie tight to her chest. "It's okay, you don't have to." I reassured her, but she shook her head and stood forward, tucking the plushie under her free arm.
Once again the form of the punch was sloppy and there was needless waste of energy, but being closer to the impact this time I could almost feel the sheer force of brute strength behind her swing as the machine produced a result. '287'
Brock coughed into his hand. "...And of all the pre-teen challengers from Pallet Town, Green's score is the highest." He turned over the page in his hand. "11-year-old Cyan from Pallet Town, score 110. 11-year-old Green from Pallet Town, score 286. 12-year-old Blue from Pallet Town, score 165. 10-year-old Red from Pallet Town, score 231. 11-year-old Blue from Pallet Town, score 154."
...Red! The name stuck out to me, and I was reminded that I was following the same path as my hero. From what I recall, a score of 180 is average for an adult, to think that Red was able to score 231 at just 10 years old!
...But that was still less than what Chee had scored... And it was weird, I'd never felt like Red was particularly above average when it came to fitness and physique-Not in the army at least. Then again, the training I had to endure during recruitment was absolutely brutal, so maybe he just got to skip it with talent.
I could only dream of having talent like that.
I spent a while thinking about Red and the rumours I'd heard about him in Pallet Town. Chee had called him a 'Pokemon Thief', and there were various rumours in the town of Red causing trouble, and being cursed. The Red I'd known had always been stoic and mature, but perhaps he'd actually been a mischief maker in his youth?
...I just couldn't picture that.
By the time I'd snapped out of my reflection on Red, Brock had already managed to separate us from the other kids and both he and Chee were getting ready for the Gym Battle. I was pretty sure I already knew how that was going to go, so I decided to turn my attention to something else instead.
...Status.
[Cyan Hughs
Status:
HP: 25/25
Atk: 10
: 1
Def: 10
Sp. Def: 5
Spd: 12
Stat Points (13)
Skills:
Eye to Eye
Regression System
Pokemon Status Lv 2
Type Proficiency 22% {Tap to Expand} ]
I opened my menu planning to look at the quests, but the increase in my type proficiency caught my eye. I expanded the view to take a look and check if I'd unlocked anything new.
[Normal Proficiency: 305% () {VIEW REWARDS}
Fighting Proficiency: 0%
Flying Proficiency: 0%
Poison Proficiency: 0%
Ground Proficiency: 0%
Rock Proficiency: 0%
Bug Proficiency: 0%
Ghost Proficiency: 0%
Steel Proficiency: 0%
Fire Proficiency: 0%
Water Proficiency: 0%
Grass Proficiency: 71%
Electric Proficiency: 5%
Psychic Proficiency: 0%
Ice Proficiency: 0%
Dragon Proficiency: 0%
Dark Proficiency: 28%
Fairy Proficiency: 0%]
Dark Proficiency had reached 28%, but nothing had gotten high enough to give me any new rewards. Normal Proficiency growth had slowed dramatically and I'd barely had any battles to train with. While Dark Proficiency had increased nicely, the amount of it Yeller got with each successful bite was much less than he'd earned from the early normal type moves.
So I turned my attention over to the two quest windows, where the real meat of todays status-check lay.
[Tutorial 4: Optional Quests
Throughout the world you will encounter passing events that you can choose to help with or ignore. If you help, extra rewards will be given, usually in the form of bonds.
Clear Optional Quests: 1/1
Reward: Bonds System {Claim Reward}]
[OPTIONAL QUEST: Brock's Rescue
Help Brock to rescue his wife and alter history.
Rescue Hostages: 2/2
BONUS: Defeat the Kidnapper (1/1)
BONUS: Capture the Kidnapper (1/1)
Reward: Bond (Brock) {Claim Reward}
BONUS: Status Points +5 {Claim Reward}
BONUS: Fate Points +1 {Claim Reward}]
Interestingly the optional quest had adapted to include bonuses for having defeated and captured the Gym Leader from another region. I vaguely recalled getting some bonus reward from my initial quest as well, when I caught my partner Yeller.
Without any hesitation I tapped on the claim reward button for the tutorial quest. After double-checking my status, I confirmed that a skill named 'Bond System' had been added to my skills. I claimed the first reward from the optional quest then tapped on the skill.
[Bond System:
A skill that allows the user to view and create lasting bonds of friendship with people important to fate. When you knowingly make a connection with an important person, their bond will appear in this system.]
I scratched my chin for a moment. ...Bonds.
[Current Bonds:
(Gym Leader) Brock: Lvl 2]
I'd been hoping for a bit more information than that, but fortunately I was able to get a bit more by tapping on Brock's name. Although I almost missed, as at the same time the ground shook from a heavy impact-Chee and Brock were really going at it.
[Current Bonds:
(Gym Leader) Brock: Lvl 2
Brock feels indebted to you for helping him in an important moment. If your life is ever in danger, Brock is willing to help you out.]
The implications were still vague, but I had a feeling these bonds were a bit more than meets the eyes. If anything, it seemed mostly like it was a list of important people who I'd actually managed to leave an impression on.
Now, the next thing I was curious about...
[OPTIONAL QUEST: Brock's Rescue
Help Brock to rescue his wife and alter history.
Rescue Hostages: 2/2
BONUS: Defeat the Kidnapper (1/1)
BONUS: Capture the Kidnapper (1/1)
Reward: Bond (Brock) {CLAIMED}
BONUS: Status Points +5 {Claim Reward}
BONUS: Fate Points +1 {Claim Reward}]
I'd never heard of anything called 'Fate Points' before. I reached a finger to claim the reward and see what happens, but I stopped when I heard a voice call out to me.
"...Hey Kid. I think she wants you to watch, rather than just staring into empty space."
I turned my head back over to look at the battlefield, where the time was already getting low, but Chee simply stood with her arms crossed giving me an annoyed look. I watched your battle! You watch mine! Her eyes called in frustration.
"Ahh... Sorry, I'll watch." I answered, dismissing the status window. I could look into it again at night.
As I scanned the field, I realised that Chee and her Bulbasaur had already handily dispatched the Geodude, since the Onix stood waiting on the other side of the field. I saw Chee's eyes flash with excitement, and I heard a worrying statement from them. Watch closely! I'm gonna make you proud!
She turned and threw her arm dramatically, looking into her Bulbasaur's eyes. Just like we practiced! Go!
The Bulbasaur grew two thick long vines, which it coiled around into a sleeve on top of the bulb on it's back. I looked on with confusion, then I saw it jolt as if it had just fired a leech seed. Then again. What on earth is she doing? I wondered, then the Bulbasaur tilted forward. On the sides of the vines, I saw a fine silver powder shimmering and mixing into the air as it leaked from the insides.
"...Sleep powder?" I mused.
Sleep powder was one of the moves that a lot of grass type Pokemon learnt, where they could emit a powder that could put Pokemon to sleep if they inhaled or ingested it in some way. There were similar move equivalents for poison and temporary paralysis, but all three had very low accuracy. Hitting your opponent with them was always difficult, since you had to get a loose powder close to their heads, or an open wound.
"Onix, Tackle!" Brock called out, tired of waiting for whatever Chee had planned.
The beast charged towards the Bulbasaur, but I noticed that the vine sleeve on it's back was tensing and tightening, a round shape making itself pronounced at the base of the sleeve. Then with a deafening pop, the top of the vine sleeve was forced open and a round projectile fired out like a canon, trailing silver dust. It hit the Onix on the head, the leech seed taking root into the Pokemon and a burst of sleeping powder dispersed in front of it.
The Onix fell to the ground, instantly dropping to sleep. The seed drained away it's energy bit by bit, until the battle was won by Chee once again.
"...What?" I stared in confusion. "What on earth did you do!?"
Chee posed pridefully with her hands on her hips. I used the move cancellations you taught me about! Didn't I do a good job?