Morning arrived quickly, to no one's surprise. Excitement and exhaustion brought forth a fast awakening and little to no sleepiness as a result. When even Kwaru was eager to battle, you knew it was a big day.
They'd even eaten enough before bed to not be hungry right now, so they could immediately head to the gym!
Of course, it felt strange to be challenging a gym without a need to do so, but Hogoki had a feeling that this would be preparation for stronger challenges in the future, whatever they'd be. This time at least, they'd give it their all for the sake of it.
"You've got the map, right Foccai?" He looked over to the Popplio, who barked in confirmation while holding paper. "Lead the way, then! We're making a comeback this time!"
And so, they made their way in a mostly sensible manner to the Celadon Gym.
...
And when they at last arrived, went through the tunnels again, and found themselves in the flower field, Erika was of course there, but she seemed slightly surprised, if less... menacing about her calm.
"You've returned a bit sooner than I expected. Are you certain that you're ready for a rematch?"
He didn't even stop to consider. "Even if we lose again, we'll get closer than last time." Kwaru is staring at Erika with a death glare over here.
A sigh. "Very well, very well... This time, I will use my fourth badge team and the appropriate strategy, rather than third badge. Fortunately, Tangela is part of both." She threw the ball to release the vine monster again.
Hogoki and his Pokémon were all momentarily intimidated by the thing, but it wore off fairly quickly. He got in the trainer's box, and then didn't even select a Pokémon before giving the order. "Wing Attack!"
Kwaru immediately shot up into the air, and with an unholy screech of rage, dove at the Tangela. And since the Ducklett was wide open, Erika would probably...
"Bind..."
"Spin!" Note to vines: Don't try to grab a pissed off, t-posing duck that's spinning in midair while rapidly approaching you. It causes pain. Lots of it. "Keep going and use Peck!"
In short, the duck missile caused the arena to explode around the Tangela on impact from all the wind, and the vine monster got such a strike that most of its vines were destroyed on impact, the green glow of Mega Drain still failing to sufficiently repair it. The plant was barely covered by its vines, but it could still fi—
"Water Gun."
Never mind, that knocked it out.
The duck is now continuing his jazz quacking as a mocking celebration while Erika recalls the Tangela with obvious surprise. "You're... much less inept this time. Did you intentionally fail the first match for whatever reason?"
"...Wha–? No, I just got a clear head and remembered how to battle." As if he truly knew the first time.
"...Quite adaptive. In that case, next is Vileplume." She sent the ball flying to unleash the giant flower thing.
Kwaru blankly stared at the flower, then did an about-face, waddled to Hogoki, and pecked a Poké Ball on his belt to go back in. Seems he refused.
The boy then had Foccai hop onto the field, because that was really the only thing left to do.
"We'll begin with Sleep Powder."
...Wait, that wasn't part of the plan. Foccai was dodging well, but that blue powder would eventually catch up if they didn't counter somehow. Maybe some water would be able to keep it down...
"Use Bubble on the cloud!"
Once the usual stream of countless bubbles was launched, most of the powder was luckily either trapped in them or blocked enough to only hit the ground, where no more dodging was needed.
"Very good. I suppose I'll have to go directly to attacking... Petal Dance!"
The flower began to unleash an unholy amount of petals towards Foccai, and the seal got hit by a decent amount of them, though dodging about half. The attack had made its mark, the Popplio having been knocked back and not quite at full energy any longer.
That would be a problem... if they stayed at a long-range. It would be easier to dodge if it wasn't spread out everywhere yet. Erika probably had a plan for short-range attacks, though, so maybe they could deal with that too.
Kwaru wouldn't fight, and Pound would be too direct... he'd use what he had.
"Get in close and just keep using Bubble!"
The Popplio jumped directly in front of Vileplume, sending a strong barrage of bubbles at the flower to stop it from attacking constantly. It tried using Mega Drain but failed due to the sheer number of hits it was getting at once.
This continued for a while, some attempts at Petal Dance mostly failing because Foccai jumped to the side, and accidentally ending in the usual large bubble being created, conveniently.
The barrages had disoriented and weakened Vileplume enough.
"Pound!"
Bouncing off the giant bubble, getting high in the air, and readying a strike with both flippers, the seal opted to not use the bubble cloud this time and simply dive down as quickly as possible, and once the attack connected with the flower, the impact was explosive and clearly decisive... with a shower of spores engulfing Foccai in the aftermath? And that purple tinge once he landed...
"You've made good decisions until now in our rematch, but it seems risking Effect Spore was your first major mistake... Your Popplio is poisoned now." Erika recalled her fainted Vileplume.
...Well, at least it wasn't the Zubat swarm. He was still worried about what that meant, though. Foccai already seemed slightly tired, and the poison would worsen things further the longer he was out. This of course meant he had one good decision: Recall Foccai.
"Are you choosing to forfeit again?"
"What're you talking about? We've just locked in a win! Kwaru, let's finish this up!" Hogoki threw the other ball, and the Ducklett looked around upon exit, trying to find his opponent and eating a flower petal before spitting it out in disgust.
"Very well, then. This is my final Pokémon, so you may find Victreebel to be more difficult." Erika now threw what was apparently the last ball, and... What was that giant yellow thing with a hole on top screeching for? It didn't exactly seem menacing. Leaves for arms, so definitely grass type...
"Wing Attack and Peck!"
The duck shot up with flower petals flying everywhere again and went for the plant, easily landing a sizeable hit on it and somehow knocking it back from the force of the strike.
Erika calmly smiled. "Just so you know, Victreebel's weak point is inside the hole on top of it. If you can enter it, it may decide the match. Of course, that means I'll prevent it... Sleep Powder."
"Water Gun on that cloud!" Gargling hose duck sounds. Erika just... gave away her Pokémon's weak point like that? He'd be a fool to not take that opportunity, so of course, he took it. "Dive into the hole and attack inside it!"
So, as expected, Kwaru dove in while enduring a strangely weak Razor Leaf or two, and then the Victreebel cringed forcefully, ending in... Kwaru screaming from inside and then getting launched out of the plant with strangely purple fluids leaking off him, followed by being hit by a proper Razor Leaf to knock him out?
"...Perhaps I forgot to mention the stomach acids." Not with that smug expression, she didn't.
A poisoned and rather tired Foccai against a heavily damaged Victreebel? He didn't like having his Pokémon fight like this, but it would happen again if they forfeited, so...
"Foccai, let's wrap this up." A ball thrown, a tired seal let out, and a match resumed to soon conclude. "First, a giant bubble..." The usual happened, although the bubble seemed a little less flexible this time.
"Planning to do the same as with Vileplume, are you? We're lucky to be prepared for that this ti–"
"Use Pound from the side and then attack!"
They weren't prepared for that this time. After Foccai cringed from the poison and quickly built up the strength needed, the seal hopped and struck the side of the bubble with enough force to rocket towards an unready Victreebel, readying both flippers to crash into the giant plant with a collision that injured him too.
A Popplio barely standing, a Victreebel barely... uh, upright, and a Bubble was how the match ended. Both collapsed, the plant first, and the Pokémon were immediately recalled.
Cue an oddly still silence that was of course broken by Hogoki.
"...Isn't this the part where you talk about what I did right and wrong, hand me the badge, then ask me a ton of questions?"
"Your progress speaks for itself. I was not aware of Misty having a brother."
Blink. "...What? When did she–"
Cue laughter. "I'm joking, of course! You're quite well-adjusted for your bloodline, though, especially compared to our first match. I suppose there is hope for the Taki lineage after all."
"How did you–"
"That's a trick I can't reveal, child. That aside, I'm sure you're in a hurry, so here's your Rainbow Badge." She flicked a pin to a mildly confused Hogoki and then... fell asleep? What was with this woman?
...Either way, he was eager to heal his Pokémon soon, he supposed.
"I'd prefer not to speak to Surge, so this is directly to you, Misty. I believe I've encountered your apprentice? This is what I've gathered that you might find useful: He was easily defeated in our first match, and appeared to be without direction or stability. I'm calling after his defeating me, and he has changed for the better. Quite well-adjusted for his bloodline, but still without direction and perhaps distressed but motivated. I would recommend further observation."
"Sorry for the wait. Our Chansey team had to heal your Pokémon by themselves this time."
It had been a few hours of worry, looking around the Center lobby, and sometimes eating, but Hogoki's Pokémon were completely revived now. Kwaru seemed rather annoyed — probably from having lost a second time against Erika, despite Foccai defeating her. The seal just seemed relieved.
...They weren't in a hurry, were they? He didn't feel like going to Saffron just yet. He wanted to visit a certain Pokémon again, at least... maybe someone else if they weren't too hyper this afternoon.
Who was he kidding, Tenshou was always hyper. He tolerated it already, he might as well again... First, though, Hanako's alley.
...
After getting lost again and somehow ending up at a building full of strange machines and people shouting about money, he got back to where he wanted to be–
"Shh... She's in there right now." Tenshou moment.
"How long have you been sitting there?"
"I've been staring into the alley for... I think an hour?"
"Aren't you gonna approach her?"
"When she comes out... When's she gonna come out?"
"...She hasn't come out in an hour? What kinda hiding is that– No wait, she's right behind ya."
Shaymin jumpscare.
Kwaru laughed at the girl and the Shaymin startling each other, as expected.
"You weren't even here all this time?!" Shaymin sounds and a sigh. "Guess I can't be surprised…"
Foccai was about to approach Hanako with his usual dramatics, too, but the grass-type had her quills ready to send another Razor Leaf, so he just sheepishly backed away a little.
"...Want Kwaru to fight her instead?" There's the collective look of secondhand embarrassment directed at Hogoki. "What? We fought last time."
"That's not why they fought, though… Anyway! Since we're all in one place and it's not too warm, how about we find someplace fun and just have a good time?"
Foccai immediately agreed to that, Kwaru started salivating because he probably thought food would be there, and Hogoki obviously needed to weigh his options for a minute…
"Y'know what? I just got a badge, and I wasn't gonna leave yet anyway, so sure!"
...Even Tenshou was surprised by that level of decisiveness, but maybe he was just in a really good mood? "R-Really? Great, now we've just gotta find somewhere! ...Let's see, there's a nice amusement park, but it's far and not warm enough to make the most of…" Well, he wasn't contesting that. "An arcade's nearby, but there's not much for the Pokémon to do there…" Kwaru could steal the prizes, but he didn't think that was a good idea. "There's a plain old park too, but you've got two water Pokémon, so maybe a water park's better-"
"I'd wanna go to the normal park, actually!" Why did he seem a little nervous at the idea of a water park? He can handle water, right? Either way, Kwaru agrees with him, Hanako seems to like the idea too, and of course Foccai's excited by a gust of wind so he's agreeing either way.
"Then let's go now, it's not too far from here!" There she goes dashing off, Hanako in tow because the Shaymin can actually keep up, Foccai trying to follow but too slow. Hogoki picked up the seal because of that and started running that way himself, Kwaru flying along… and with that, they've all set off.
Hogoki never really realized how much there was to do in Celadon that Tenshou could name that many places so quickly, and running along, he noticed more than before. ...That said, they eventually arrived where they were headed, and to call it a park was definitely an understatement. It was scattered with trees and full of Pokémon that somehow weren't fighting, and yet because it was the afternoon there weren't many people even on the park equipment.
So Hanako obviously started running in because any Pokémon would enjoy athletics here, Kwaru went to the lake that was conveniently near a food stand, and Foccai ran off towards the trees to either climb them or get a date in them because it's Foccai we're talking about here. Hogoki started running after Foccai but couldn't climb the trees quickly enough, much less jump from tree to tree like the Popplio, and Tenshou, well…
"How are you able to run faster than me?!" Cheeky Shaymin sounds. Looks like they're playing tag, except it's somehow unfair the opposite way of what's expected. "Hey, could ya at least slow down like I do?" Well, she certainly slowed down, right in front of the tree that Hogoki was in, in order to scramble up it and hop onto the confused boy's head while sticking her tongue out at Tenshou, who looked at her like it was a personal offense. "I'll catch ya when you jump down, then! Won't even use a ball!" That the Shaymin could agree with, and so Hanako hopped off Hogo's head and, spreading limbs out, got caught in Tenshou's arms and didn't even move her quills in response when the kid squeezed her a little.
Foccai, meanwhile, used Pound on the branch Hogoki was ready to hop off of anyway as a joke, but ended up not having much to hold onto either when the branch snapped, and so they both ended up a sprawled mess on the ground, if an unharmed one that was unanimously found hilarious.
With that, they kept having their fun, Hogoki trying to chase Tenshou but her just being too fast to keep up with for long, Foccai and Hanako using a slide and faceplanting because these two aren't meant for slides, and Kwaru discovering the joy of using a swing while eating a stolen hotdog.
Alas, even in the best of times, and even with these two, Hogoki had long run out of energy, and Tenshou was starting to seem tired herself… I know, shocking.
"...Hey, hey… We've had a lot of fun, so let's rest a little…" You'd expect Hogoki to be the one to say that normally, but he was too out of breath to speak that clearly. So as a result, they both just fell backwards onto the grass to catch their breaths and get some energy back, and eventually they fell further into a sense of calm… "...So, Hogoki, you've probably met a lot of people while traveling, haven't ya? Who've you met?"
"Dunno if it's really a lot, but I've met four gym leaders, a guy who gave me an egg, some strange guy who was in Viridian Forest, and…" He seemed to hesitate despite even his being ready to start.
"...Someone else you were gonna mention?"
"...Well, I met a trainer in Vermilion, and we spent a couple days doing stuff in the city, and it looked like we were gonna be traveling together for a little while there… I think I just got lost again and couldn't find her, though. Or maybe she went back to Johto? Either way, I get a feeling we'll be meeting again sometime." He hasn't seemed so happy talking about someone for a while, has he?
"Looks like you've finally warmed up to someone then, haven't ya?" Tenshou going in for the trollage.
"...What're you talkin' about?" And he's just confused.
"Your face's pink, you're excited, you sound like ya got close to her pretty fast… You're obviously crushing on her, silly!"
"...What's crushing about it?" He doesn't even seem flustered, just confused, so of course Tenshou sighs and facepalms.
"You don't even know what a crush is yet? No hope for that girl, then… Maybe you'll get it someday…" Quite the assumption. "But speaking of traveling, when I set off again… there's somewhere I wanna go when I'm strong enough to get there. You've heard of the Sinnoh region, right?"
"...I've heard the name a couple times?"
"Well, it's a snowy region east of Kanto, and I've heard it's really unique, more than the other three regions around here. I think I'd feel at home there, and, y'know… if I had the chance, there's someone there I'd like to meet…"
"Who is it? Might run into 'em someday…"
She suddenly froze up, then started frantically talking while waving her arms. "Nobody important, don't worry about it! You'd probably never find 'em before me anyway!"
That seemed suspect to Hogoki, but… eh, what did he know about Sinnoh to worry about that? They'd both be in Kanto for a while anyway, and he didn't think it mattered enough to press… so he changed the topic like a normal person.
"Y'know, all of this reminds me of when I visited Celadon back when I was a kid…"
"Wait, you've been here before?"
"Yep! My dad took me, and we visited the orphanage, too! ...Tell ya the truth, I wish I'd started living there. It's always seemed like a great place to live, yeah?"
"You bet! If someone had tried to adopt me, I would've just wanted to stay here!"
"There was one strange thing, though…"
"...Huh?"
"I got lost one time in the halls, so I kept opening doors to see if I could get back where I was supposed to be… and I saw a kid with blonde hair just sitting in their room lookin' sad. Didn't even notice I opened the door… Never really forgot about that."
Why does Tenshou suddenly look so nervous? "...Yeah, haha, that happens sometimes when a kid's havin' a hard time and they're new…"
"It's been years, though, so they've gotta be a completely different person by now! I bet they're living a great life somewhere…"
That let Tenshou relax, too, for some reason. "...Yeah, they've gotta be." And with that, the silence of something strangely unspoken before it was broken after a few minutes by her getting off the ground. "Anyway, I've gotta go to class today, so I've gotta go back now! Don't get lost again going wherever you'll be!"
And so, Tenshou ran off, and Hogoki felt as if something had changed in that time they spent, somehow. He wasn't gonna think too hard about it, though, mainly because he found himself hungry… so it was time for the Pokémon Center again!
. . .
Except… he couldn't find his way there even with Foccai's help. He could earlier, which made no sense, so why couldn't he now? He was having trouble even finding the orphanage, too, because he'd given up on the Center an hour in, and it was getting darker now…
...And how'd he end up in Hanako's alley again? At this point, the pavement seemed kinda comfy. And… well… y'know, it'd work, probably.
Guess it was time to sleep. He sat on the pavement, getting onto his back, and began to curl up, Foccai joining, Kwaru glancing but opting to just sleep while standing, and it seemed that the boy felt something bushy against him right before he drifted into sleep…
He didn't know how long he'd been asleep before everyone was woken up by the sound of an uncountable number of children shouting and people and Pokémon running towards them. He'd heard words like "catch", "fire", "grass", and "Ember" and "Flamethrower", and then everyone just kinda had to jump out of the way as they were faced with an absolute squadron of Charmander, Charmeleon, Growlithe, a couple Arcanine, and a good amount of Vulpix too, all hurling fire attacks at them.
"What's with you, just sending fire at us like that?!" He had to ask. No amount of kids would normally do this.
"We're trying to catch a Pokémon, so get outta the way and stop blocking us!"
"Isn't this too many Pokémon to catch just one?!"
"It's a contest, so move before we've gotta make you!"
"...Contest?" He remembered something about a contest being held, but how was it related to this?
He didn't have time to ponder that before he heard the voice of an adult shout behind the kids. "This is taking too long, just start blazing the place already! We'll hold a different contest later!"
That definitely wasn't good, and it was even worse when the fire Pokémon started blasting without regard for who got hit, and it ended in… well, fire everywhere, terrifying even the children, and rapidly closing in on Hogoki, his Pokémon, and Hanako. On top of that, people who Hogoki recognized as Rocket grunts began running in, and to top it off, the flames reached Hanako, who Hogoki had instinctually gotten over… and her flower began to burn.
That was when he decided something had to be done, and now. Taking a ball off his belt, he pressed its button against the Shaymin. One shake, two shakes, three shakes… and then a click with the button lighting up.
Now for the dangerous part…
"Foccai, Kwaru, we've gotta fight to keep traveling now!"
Which was of course, putting the fire out and fighting Rockets. Kwaru started blasting some of the Water Guns of all time to put out nearby flames while Foccai continually struck Rockets and Pokémon alike with Bubble and Pound, both of them taking significant damage the whole time and oftentimes seeming on the verge of fainting.
As for Hogoki, even he had to fight: He had to shove kids, Rockets, and Pokémon alike out of the way as he tried to escape this place, and he sometimes had to go as far as punching, kicking, or throwing the more malicious ones as his Pokémon followed behind to clear a path out.
Eventually, he was on the other side of the chaos, and having the advantage, he used what was probably the best possible tactic: Recall everyone and run for his life.
Or, that is, he ran enough to not be caught up to again, and then he just staggered whichever way he could. He was bruised, he had a few scrapes and burns, and he was hit in the head once or twice, though it didn't hurt much oddly, but he was most of all just exhausted, having been woken up and forced to fight for his life.
And with that, he eventually arrived at a Pokémon Center, got his Pokémon and the newly caught Hanako taken for healing, and went to a room to sleep aided by the Center's Chansey. He didn't need to wait for sleep at all, and sleep probably caught him unawares.
In the morning, Hogoki woke up more refreshed, if still exhausted, and decided Celadon wasn't the best place to stay in for now. He took his Pokémon and started walking, continuing… westward to Saffron? Wait, wait, boy, that's not what the map says, DON'T GO THAT WAY-
Onward to Cycling Road… without a bike.