My first morning in Celadon found me standing face to face with the Celadon City Gym. I had read in a brochure that only local females were allowed to join the gym as members which made it a bit intimidating for shy male trainers like myself. I took a deep breath and walked inside. It was humid and balmy, as it was partially a greenhouse. There were plants everywhere making it difficult to see much of anything. Blue had told me this should be my first stop in Celadon and to wait for further instructions. As I pushed my way through the dense plants, I stumbled into other trainers. I startled them as much as they startled me!
I decided that since I was here waiting for Blue, I'd challenge the gym. So I battled my way through the vines and grasses; I battled my way through the strikingly beautiful trainers that Gym Leader Erika had assembled at her gym to test challengers. As expected, Celadon's specialty was Grass-type Pokémon and most of the Grass-types in Kanto are also Poison-types which made them particularly susceptible to Dustin's psychic assaults, but I was saving Dustin for the finale. I didn't want to show my hand too quickly. It was Shakespear who helped clear the way through the gym trainers to face the leader. Shakespear pecked his way through the crowd of Oddish, Bellsprout and the occasional Ivysaur.
"Blue sent you, did he not?" Erika asked me when I found her lounging in the shade under a tree. I nodded and she smiled softly. "I can see why. I train with these girls every morning and your Spearow put all that training to shame." She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. She was dressed in a beautiful, ornate kimono. She looked a bit like a samurai princess. "Are you ready to face Team Rocket, I wonder."She stood up and brushed the grass and dirt off her clearly expensive attire. She smiled her lazy smile at me again before throwing a Pokéball in my direction, unleashing a Victreebel. I didn't open with Shakespear this time. Instead, Dustin took the field and Erika looked surprised and also satisfied. Dustin tore through the Victreebell with a psychic confusion attack. Erika tossed out a Tangela, which were a rather rare species of Grass-type Pokémon. It was a pure Grass-type and wouldn't be utterly defeated by a psychic assault, but Dustin was well versed in the Fox-school of Pokémon battling. He hypnotized Tangela and lulled it to sleep, then began to rejuvenate himself with Dream Eater. He faced off against Erika's final Pokémon, a Vileplume, at full strength and won a decisive victory.
"I am impressed," she said as she stepped forward with her hand extended. In it was the Rainbow Badge her gym bestowed on worthy challengers. As I took it from her, our hands touched and I thought perhaps lingered a moment. Her skin was so soft. She blushed a little when I looked at her. "Would you take a moment to accompany me to the shopping plaza?" she asked. "We have some time before other things require our attention."
"I … uh … yes?" I was a bit flustered. Was she asking me out? "I have some things I need to pick up at the store, too," I finally managed to stammer and she laughed very softly. It was true I'd had a close call with Royal on the way over from Lavender as I scrambled to dig my last poison antidote out of my bag. I needed to resupply and reorganize before something terrible happened due to my absent-mindedness.
"Let me speak to the trainers here for a moment and I will meet you outside," she said with a smile. "We are waiting for a few more to show up, as well." I nodded and made my way back out of the steamy gym. As I stepped out into the cool spring air, I wondered if it was the greenhouse or the girl's hint of flirtation that had gotten me so hot and uncomfortable. Had Erika asked me on a date? It was distracting to say the least at a time when I should have been focused on what we were about to be up against. Perhaps it was just the kind of pleasant distraction I needed, though.
The Celadon Shopping Plaza was extraordinary. A shopping mall built six stories tall and specializing in all things Pokémon related. There were other shops and restaurants, of course, but it was truly a trainer's paradise. As I followed Erika through the crowds of busy shoppers, my eyes drawn equally to every flashing sign as they were to every brief smile on Erika's face. I restocked all the items I needed to keep my Pokémon healthy. She helped me find everything I needed at the the right shops for the right prices, smiling shyly and giving a few brief laughs here and there. She also took me to an old man selling rare stones, explaining one in particular would allow Arnold to evolve into a more powerful form if I so chose. It was something to consider and I was grateful for her expertise on both shopping and Grass-type Pokémon!
As we made our way from shop to shop, I noticed people were giving us a bit of a wide berth. All around us was an ocean of people, but for some reason Erika seemed to remain the eye of the storm. As if on cue, the calm was broken by a young interloper who came crashing out of the crowd and into our small private bubble."Who the hell are you and why are you so familiar with Gym Leader Erika?" he demanded. His outburst turned more than a few heads in the crowd, but people continued about their own business. This guy was younger than me, younger than Erika, but he stood his ground firmly.
"My name is Fox," I stammered.
"Don't pay him any attention, Fox. He's just jealous."
"Damn straight, I'm jealous!" the boy shouted. A few more heads turned, but when they saw Erika was involved they kept walking. "You don't just get to walk side-by-side with the Princess of Celadon City."
Erika blushed deeply, her porcelain skin turning bright red. "Don't call me that!" she snapped. She grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me forward. He nearly jumped out of the way to avoid her crashing into him. The crowd parted around us as she rushed us forward. It was so strange to observe. She was actually being treated like some kind of royalty, now that the kid mentioned it.
We finally stopped at a quiet spot in a less busy area of the plaza. Erika sat down beside a fountain in the shade of a nearby indoor tree planted by the fountain. "I'm sorry about that," she offered. "Every time I go out something like this happens, so I mostly stay at the gym, surrounded by my girl friends who aren't so damn aggravating."
"What was that all about?" I asked cautiously. I stood near her nervously for a moment before deciding I was being an idiot. Then I sat down next to her, but not too close.
"My father is … perhaps was … the most wealthy man in Kanto. He helped build this place," she said making a sweeping gesture to the grand shopping plaza. "He's pretty much the reason Celadon City is such a booming success. So that dumb kid wasn't wrong when he called me the Princess of Celadon, but I just hate that title." Her rather soft-spoken demeanor had all but evaporated now that we were fairly isolated and alone.
"Honestly I think Team Rocket runs things, now. Daddy won't admit it. He's very proud and stubborn. Still, I think Rocket has all but publicly taken over this town. They operate out of the most successful casino parlor and arcade, and up until recently they've been mostly hiding in the shadows. Something changed, though. No one knows what, but now Team Rocket is not just a shady organization operating discreetly behind the scenes. They are committing real crimes right out in the open - like at Mount Moon, Cerulean City and whatever's going on in Saffron City. It's as if they feel invulnerable. The police have done almost nothing in the last few months and that's why we need to stop them. Apparently, no one else will."
"I didn't know things had gotten so bad," I offered.
"It's understandable. You aren't from Kanto, but Kanto needs you. We all need you. We need all the help we can get to flush these criminals out of our streets before things get any worse."
After a moment's hesitation, I put my hand on hers. She was depending on me and suddenly that felt vastly more important than Professor Oak's research, my dreams of running a sanctuary, or some League challenge. "I'll do everything I can to help," I said it with confidence. On the inside I was terrified, but I tried not to let it show. I was terrified of facing Team Rocket. I was terrified of sitting next to a girl as pretty and apparently powerful as Erika. I tried to channel my inner Blue and his tremendous amount of self-confidence and hoped it was working.
Erika looked up at me and smiled a genuine, beautiful smile. I felt true calm and confidence sweep over me briefly. Then bells began ringing and sirens began blaring both inside and outside the plaza. Erika's smile vanished in a heartbeat and was replaced with stoic determination.
"Let's go," she said. "It's time."
Current Team:
Attacks in Blue are recently learned.
Bill's Storage: Kiwi (Pidgeotto) & Vesper (Zubat)
Old Man Daycare: Charlie (Pidgey)
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