Disclaimer: I do not own anything, I make no money or profit from this.
Chapter 39: Small Rest and Meeting Someone New
[Route 7]
The trio of trainers had left Saffron City and were now making their way towards Celadon City. They all discussed it yesterday while eating, all agreeing to go to Celadon next. They knew Celadon City wasn't that far and were hoping to get their fast for their next badge.
Right now they were taking a break from traveling to have lunch. All of them let their Pokemon out to stretch and have some fun, including Lynn's Ghastly. Alcremie, Gloom, Combee, Blissey, and Houndour all played together. Murkrow, Misdreavus, Salazzle, and Nidorina all slept in a pile under a tree. Lycanroc, Infernape, Poliwrath, and Mienshao sat in their own little group. With Mightyena, Ghastly, and Kommo-o by themselves. As for their trainers, Ronnie Anne was looking at Pokemon's moves with her poketch, Clyde was cooking lunch, and Lynn was relaxing on the grass looking up to the sky.
"Lunch is almost ready!" Clyde shouted, loud enough so all people and Pokemon could hear. Ever since he got the cookbook for Christmas, Clyde had been volunteering to cook more. While Lynn and Ronnie Anne still did cook from time to time, it was nothing like his cooking.
"Sweet!" Ronnie Anne said, closing her poketch. She then got up to set everything up. She was soon joined by Lynn who started helping her.
Soon they got the plates and utensils set and put out all their Pokemon food. The Pokemon came running and started eating, while Clyde brought the trainer's meal. The trainers started to join their Pokemon in eating and making conversation.
"So Celadon is a Grass gym right?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Yeah with the Gym Leader named Erika," Clyde replied. "However I only learned this from talking to someone at the pokecenter. I haven't actually seen any of her matches on TV in the lobby. I was hoping to see Lincoln's match against her, but they never showed it."
"I might know the reason behind that Clyde," Lynn spoke up with a frown. "But before I continue, how about the person hiding behind the tree comes out!" She shouts, looking behind her at a tree a good distance away. Her students look at her confused, before they see someone come out from behind a tree.
It was a girl who looked to be between 15-17 years old. She had long braided maroon hair and sky blue eyes. She wore what looked like a school uniform that consisted of a red blazer with a white button under shirt and matching skirt. There also was a black tie and brown loafers. She gave them a nervous smile at being caught. "I wasn't spying on you, I swear," she said in an embarrassed tone. "How did you know I was here?"
"He told me," Lynn replied, pointing a finger at Ghastly. "He found you and told me telepathically, so who are you?"
"Right, I'm sorry," she started saying with a bow. "I'm Mina, and I'm a trainer heading to Celadon City for the gym. I'm a rookie trainer and this is my first Gym Challenge."
"Really! Us too!" Clyde said happily.
"Yeah, why don't you join us?" Ronnie Anne added.
"Sure! I would love to!" Mina replied cheerfully, quickly taking the seat beside the oldest trainer. Clyde then gave her a plate with some of the food that would've become leftovers. "I really wasn't spying. I just saw all of you and wanted to say something, but I wasn't sure if you were friendly or not."
"That's understandable," Lynn said, giving the girl beside her an odd look. "There are a lot of asshole trainers out there."
"I know, right!" The braided hair girl replied with a smile. "By the way, I absolutely love your jacket! It looks great on you."
"Uh, thanks," the athlete said in a surprised tone.
"So Lynn, you said you know something about Erika?" Ronnie Anne suddenly asked, giving Mina an odd look.
"Yeah, right," Lynn said, recomposing herself. "Well, when I talked to Lincoln during Christmas, he told me of things he heard about the gym."
"Lincoln?" Mina asked, confused.
"He's Lynn's younger brother and another trainer doing the Kanto Gym Challenge," Clyde answered her.
"Anyways," Lynn said with an eye roll. "When he faced her, he beat her with just one of his Pokemon. It wasn't with Sister Grimm or any of the Fire Pokemon he has, he beat her with Wolfsbane."
"Wolfsbane?! But how?" Clyde asked dumbfounded. "She's a Rock Type! She should've been at a disadvantage."
"Which makes things all the more strange," she said to the male trainer. "While Wolfsbane is strong, she shouldn't have been able to sweep the entire team. He said the Pokemon acted like they haven't battled or trained for weeks. Not only that, he said Erika didn't seem to be in the right mindset during the match. She acted like the match was a chore to her and like she wanted to do anything else at that moment."
"Really?!" Mina asked with a stunned expression.
"After his match, he went back to the pokecenter to ask around," Lynn continued. "From what he heard from Nurse Joy and the few trainers that would talk to him, Erika is on a losing streak. Not only that, people haven't seen one of her matches on TV once this season."
"How is that possible?" Ronnie Anne asked, confused.
"That's not all," she continued, not answering the question. "Some trainers even claim they didn't even get to challenge her, all because they said something bad about perfume. Erika and the girls in the gym, supposedly, threw them out of the gym."
"Why?" Ronnie Anne asked, even more dumbfounded.
"She supposedly has a shop in Celadon Mall that sells perfume made from Grass Pokemon," Lynn replied. "It seems like she takes any insult to perfume personal."
"Maybe the league is embarrassed and that's why they're not showing her matches," Clyde suggested.
"No, that's not possible," Mina said to his suggestion. "The league doesn't have access to the gym's cameras. The gym leaders have to submit the videos of their matches to them for broadcasting. Every gym leader has a losing streak, so they would still air the matches. The only ones who would be embarrassed are the gym leaders themselves."
"How do you know all this?" Lynn asked with a questioning look.
"I learned all this in school," the school girl replied. "I went to Trainers School and they teach us things about the League average people won't know."
"Makes sense," Lynn said with a shrug. "So does that mean Erika hasn't submitted her gym matches?" Mina simply nods in confirmation.
"Can she run a business while being a gym leader?" Ronnie Anne asked the new girl.
"Yes they can," Mina started to answer. "However they are expected to balance their business and gym leader responsibilities."
"Sounds like she's not doing that," Lynn commented with a frown.
"Will we even be able to challenge her?" Clyde asked worriedly.
"Yes, you should," Mina answered firmly. "Unless they have a valid reason, they must accept every challenger."
"So she already messed up by refusing those trainers?" The tan skin girl asked, which Mina simply nodded.
"Linc told me the trainers that said that, have reported this to the League," Lynn told the little group. "If we have the same problem, then we'll do the same."
"I hope that's not true," Mina muttered, looking away. "Since we're all going to the same place, would it be alright if we travel together?" She asked with puppy dog eyes.
"I don't mind," Clyde said with a smile.
"Yeah, sounds like fun," Ronnie Anne added.
All 3 trainers then looked to the veteran trainer, to which she let out a sigh of frustration. "Fine! She can travel with us," she said with a defeated tone. The 3 younger trainers cheered at hearing that. "Now let's finish eating and then clean everything up. Well rested up for thirty minutes after, before we hit the road again." They all nodded, soon they finished eating and started to clean everything up.
After cleaning everything, Mina started to show her 3 Pokemon to Clyde and Ronnie Anne. Lynn meanwhile went to rest under a tree a distance away, but having Lycanroc and Ghastly follow her. "I want you two to keep an eye on our new guest," she told her Pokemon.
"You think she's planning to hurt you and your friends?" Ghastly asked, while Lycanroc started to growl.
"No, nothing like that," she replied in a calm tone. "I just got this odd feeling about her. I don't think she's lying, but I don't think she's telling us the whole truth. Just keep an eye on her." Both Pokemon nodded and went off to do their own thing. Lynn looked at the girl one more time, before looking up to the sky.