Day 39 of the journey to Kanto. Clear.
Reiji woke up early. A new day meant the same routine: feed the Pokémon breakfast, pack up, head down to the Pokémon Center lobby, and call Mikan Gym.
A maid answered. Reiji transferred Escavalier back and reminded her that if anyone at the Gym asked about it, she should tell them to read the newest evolution paper on the academic forum.
There was no helping it. Reiji had no way to explain that he already knew the answer, so all the maid could say was that the two Pokémon were in a food-chain relationship. They had been together when he found them, so he had caught them together.
Hopefully Cissy wouldn't push too hard. Either way, he wasn't going to explain much. Believe it or don't.
Once Escavalier was sent back, he hung up, ate breakfast at the Pokémon Center, then went outside and rode Pelipper out of the little seaside town, heading inland toward Celadon City.
The coastal town and Celadon were almost in a straight line, so he flew north. There was no need to ride Tauros for the last stretch, and the old bull deserved a few days off.
Tauros was only a support Pokémon, but Reiji still wouldn't mistreat it. It never lacked Pokéblocks, had far more freedom than it ever would in the Safari Zone, and even got to eat grass from different regions. Not a bad deal at all.
After flying for a little over an hour, he finally reached the outskirts of Celadon City. He had Pelipper land outside the city, then they walked in.
His main reason for coming here was the Gym challenge, so he headed straight for Celadon Gym. As he passed the Celadon Game Corner, a buried memory suddenly jumped him from the back of his mind, reminding him that the place was connected to Team Rocket.
Team Rocket's base was right under the Celadon Game Corner. No thanks.
Why play games in the Pokémon world anyway? Could a game ever be more fun than a Pokémon battle?
After asking a passerby for directions, Reiji found Celadon Gym. His first impression was that it looked more like a garden than a Gym. The descriptions hadn't been wrong. Erika was a Trainer who loved plants, and stepping inside this place really did feel like walking into a forest.
This was still the edge of a city built from steel and concrete, yet someone had turned it into a garden Gym.
When Reiji reached the entrance, a female attendant was there to receive challengers. Only after he stepped inside did he see the state of the Gym itself. The interior was badly damaged, with a huge hole torn through the roof and burn marks everywhere. He had no idea what had happened here.
"Are you here to challenge the Gym?" the attendant asked when she saw him.
"Yes. What happened here? Can I still challenge the Gym?" Reiji leaned forward to look inside. A lot of the plants had burned, leaving blackened patches all over the place.
"There was a fire at the Gym some time ago, so repairs are still underway. If you want to challenge Leader Erika, please come with me." The attendant gestured for him to follow.
Reiji followed her to a building beside the Gym. There was an open-air battlefield there, along with a group of girls chatting nearby. He also caught the smell of perfume. His nose started to itch. He really didn't like the way several different perfumes mixed together, especially not in this heat.
"Leader Erika, a Trainer is here to challenge the Gym," the attendant said, bringing Reiji over beneath a parasol.
"Check the challenger's Pokédex first and have him wait on the battlefield. I'll be there in a moment," Erika told the attendant, then turned back to her friends and continued talking about perfume.
Reiji looked at the girl speaking with the attendant. She wore a fresh green top, had playful short blue hair, and a bright red hair clip that stood out neatly against it. Her skin was pale, and there was something clean and graceful about her whole look. He had heard she was a teacher too.
The attendant registered his Pokédex soon after. There were no issues, so Reiji was led to the battlefield to wait.
Once Erika saw him enter the field, she said goodbye to her friends and slowly took her place on the opposite side. Then she explained the rules of the Gym battle.
"Challenger, Celadon Gym uses a three-on-three format," Erika said. After explaining the rules, she threw out her Poké Ball. "Go, Tangela."
"A Tangela?" Reiji thought for a moment, then threw out his own Poké Ball. "Scyther."
"Scy!" The moment Scyther appeared, its sharp eyes locked onto Tangela. Tangela stiffened, clearly unsettled by that stare.
"Those are good eyes," Erika said. The moment she saw Scyther, her eyes lit up as well. This Bug-type had been raised well.
"Not bad," Reiji said casually. Then he immediately called out, "Focus Energy. Fury Cutter."
"Scy!" Scyther fixed its gaze on Tangela, wings beating fast. As it rushed forward, it focused its mind, completed Focus Energy, and even used Agility on the way in.
"Tangela, it's coming. Be careful!" Erika had been relaxed at first, but Scyther's opening burst of speed made her heart jump.
Scyther was fast. In one instant, it had already cut into Tangela. Erika didn't even have time to give another order before Tangela was sent flying.
"Tangela?"
"Tang!" Tangela slammed into the wall, shook its head, and ran back. It told Erika not to worry. It had used Protect just in time and blocked Scyther's Fury Cutter, so it hadn't taken damage.
"Tangela, use Bind!" Erika saw that Tangela was fine and gave another attack command.
"Tang!" Tangela's vines shot outward, stretching quickly toward Scyther as it tried to wrap it up.
Scyther only raised its blades and swung. The incoming vines were sliced apart one after another. Then it used Quick Attack, rushed in, lifted its blades again, and struck Tangela with another Fury Cutter.
"Sleep Powder!"
Erika had barely spoken when Scyther reached Tangela before it could release the powder. One slash sent Tangela flying again.
The Sleep Powder that had just begun to scatter was blown away by a single beat of Scyther's wings. It didn't work at all.
"Tangela?" Erika hurried over and helped Tangela up.
Tangela shook its head. That Fury Cutter had been a Bug-type move, and against it, that meant x2 weakness. It had hurt.
Tangela still wanted to fight, so Erika said nothing more. She returned to her side of the battlefield and called out, "Tangela, use Reflect!"
"Tang!" Tangela cried out, and a pale green screen appeared in front of it, cutting the damage from physical moves in half.
Reiji only smiled. "Ignore it. Keep using Fury Cutter."
"Scy!" Scyther beat its wings again and rushed toward Tangela.
At that moment, Erika called out, "Grass Knot!"
"Tang!" Tangela's eyes glowed green. Grass suddenly burst out of the bare ground, growing wildly as it lengthened and tied itself into knots, blocking the path Scyther had to take.
"Scy!" Scyther saw the grass beneath it and immediately climbed higher, avoiding the Grass Knot on the ground. With Quick Attack, it shot behind Tangela's unguarded back and struck with Fury Cutter again.
"Tang!" Tangela was knocked backward. Scyther gave it no time to recover, chased after it, and landed several more Fury Cutters in quick succession. Tangela crashed back down at Erika's feet, already unconscious.
"Tangela?" Erika saw that Tangela could no longer battle. After soothing it softly, she recalled it into its Poké Ball.
She could tell now that this challenger wasn't ordinary. He definitely wasn't a normal rookie. She needed to raise the difficulty a little.
"Go, Jumpluff. Use Cotton Spore!"
"Jum!" The moment Jumpluff appeared, it raised both arms over its head and scattered soft, cotton-like spores from the fluff on its hands and head.
Once those Cotton Spores attached to an opponent, they would cling tightly and obscure its view of Jumpluff, lowering its Speed by two stages.
"Scyther, use Double Team, rush in, and hit it with Fury Cutter!"
"Scy!" Scyther split into eight copies in an instant, charging at Jumpluff from eight different directions. For a moment, Jumpluff lost track of its target.
"Don't panic, Jumpluff. Sweep the field with Cotton Spore!"
Scyther wasn't falling for that. In the time Jumpluff needed to sweep the spores around, Scyther had already closed the distance and slashed it with Fury Cutter.
By now, Fury Cutter's power had already climbed to 160. It didn't have a type advantage this time, but Scyther got lucky and landed a critical hit. The slash sent Jumpluff flying.
"Jum!" Jumpluff crashed hard into the wall by the spectator seats and fainted from that one Fury Cutter.
"Jumpluff?" Erika looked at the unconscious Jumpluff and could only recall it with a helpless sigh.
She had sent Jumpluff out for the second match because she wanted to lower Scyther's Speed. Instead, Scyther had only gotten faster and faster. Its Speed boosts were nearly maxed out.
A Scyther that fast was too hard for Jumpluff to deal with. Jumpluff's attacks were too slow, and before it could slow Scyther down, it had already been knocked out.
Her Grass-type Pokémon were generally slow. They had a hard time suppressing a fast, agile Pokémon like this. At this point, the third match had no meaning. Sending out another Pokémon would only mean letting it take a beating.
Scyther countered her Pokémon too hard. After thinking for a moment, Erika took out a rainbow-colored Badge and tossed it toward Scyther. Then she waved to Reiji. "You win, challenger."
That was it? Reiji complained silently. Were these Gym Leaders acting for him? and the third battle?
He took the Rainbow Badge from Scyther's mouth and looked at the seven-colored Badge. Then he let it go. If every Gym Leader were really that strong, how was that idiot Ash supposed to make it into the Indigo League Conference?
If every Gym Leader had Giovanni's level of strength, there would probably be single-digit competitors left for the Indigo League. At that point, they wouldn't even need to battle for first, second, and third place. They could settle it with rock-paper-scissors.
This Rainbow Badge was his fifth Badge. Reiji said goodbye to Leader Erika and left Celadon Gym without staying any longer.
Erika quietly watched him leave. Only after he disappeared from sight did she return under the parasol, where her friends immediately started chattering around her.
"Erika, that Trainer was really strong. Much stronger than the last one."
"Erika, why didn't you fight the third match? You should've used your ace Bellossom and taught him a lesson."
"Haha, you're all overthinking it. A Gym Leader's main job is to test whether a Trainer has the qualifications to enter the Indigo League Conference. We're not here to crush challengers until they lose all confidence. Anyway, let's talk about this perfume. I heard it's selling very well."
"It's all because our perfume business is doing too well. That's why so many competitors have popped up around us. The moment people see something making money, they swarm in like hungry wolves. Now there are perfume shops everywhere."
The girls went back to talking about perfume. If Erika wanted to change the subject, choosing something everyone liked was always the easiest way.
...
Reiji had already left Celadon Gym, so he had no idea what was happening inside. Once he finally escaped the perfume-heavy Gym, even the air felt much fresher.
Those girls had at least four or five kinds of perfume on them. Each one probably smelled good on its own, but mix them all together with sweat and, wow.
Cough. Girls were always pretty. Girls always smelled nice.
He didn't dare say anything, and he definitely didn't dare ask.
After getting a free lunch at the Pokémon Center, Reiji looked over his new Rainbow Badge and started thinking about his sixth Gym. Which one should he challenge next?
The remaining options were Pewter Gym, Cerulean Gym, and the Fighting Dojo.
The closest was the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City to the east. Second was Cerulean Gym to the northeast. Third was Pewter Gym to the northwest.
Among those three, the obvious choice was to visit the closest one first. The Fighting Dojo was in Saffron City, along with Sabrina's Saffron Gym.
He wasn't going to challenge Saffron Gym. He would go there, get the Fighting Badge, and leave Saffron City. Sabrina's Gym was off the table because that woman was bad news. She could actually turn people into dolls.
He suspected it was Hypnosis making people think they had become dolls, then placing them in her toy box to play with. He didn't understand the twisted hobbies of a Psychic, but no matter how he looked at it, something was wrong with her head. He had no interest in taking that trip.
First he would get the Fighting Badge, then head to the easiest one, Cerulean Gym. The three Cerulean sisters didn't even require a battle. They handed out Badges directly.
Pewter Gym could wait until last. The Gym Leader was very likely Brock's father, and that man's strength couldn't be underestimated. Reiji figured he was at least quasi–Elite Four tier, and possibly Elite Four tier.
Sure, that man liked making babies and running off with his wife, but he used Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon. He probably wasn't as soft as these other Gym Leaders.
After reading Brock's father's background, even Reiji didn't feel fully confident. If that man had focused seriously on being a Trainer, reaching Elite Four tier would have been all but guaranteed.
Even a wild-card Trainer like Naoki had managed to grind out an Elite Four-tier Golem. Brock's father was a Gym Leader with family inheritance behind him. There was no reason he couldn't reach Elite Four tier too.
That was why Reiji would save him for later. If he couldn't get the Boulder Badge, he could challenge another Gym instead. He only needed one more Badge after that, and there were plenty of Gyms left. He didn't need to fight the Gym run by Team Rocket's undercover boss to gather eight Badges, so there was no rush.
And who knew? Maybe Brock's father would slack off and let Brock's little brother battle for him. If that happened, Reiji wouldn't accept anyone saying he bullied a kid. Taking the Boulder Badge would be easy.
After lunch, he set off immediately. Celadon City was very close to Saffron City. Not only was there an expressway, there was also a high-speed rail line.
Reiji flew there instead. Saffron was directly east, a straight line all the way, and he could reach it by evening.
In the anime, the Fighting Dojo's master was Master Hamm. In the games, it was Koichi. Reiji had no idea which one this world used.
After everything he had seen so far, the world felt closer to the anime, so the Gym Leader would probably be the anime version too.
Honestly, it didn't matter who the master was. Once Reiji got the Badge, he would leave. He had no plans to linger in Saffron City.
He didn't even know whether Silph Co. had already fallen under Team Rocket's control. This whole place was full of thieves' dens. He wouldn't sleep easy here.
There was also a Magnet Train here, the high-speed line he had seen from the air. It ran straight to Johto and even passed through Celadon. Reiji had no idea how the builders had bored through the Indigo Plateau, but he didn't dare ride it.
If a Pokémon damaged the tracks, the whole thing might turn into a crash on the spot. A high-speed train running at five hundred and fifty kilometers per hour would probably leave nothing behind but meat paste. Ships were safer.
Pushing those stray thoughts aside, Reiji officially entered Saffron City. He hailed a taxi by the roadside and headed for the Fighting Dojo. Luckily, the sky hadn't gone dark yet. It was only a little past four in the afternoon, and the Dojo was still open. Reiji got out of the taxi and walked straight inside.
[End of chapter]
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