Setting:
•Violet City, Johto•
•After 1 PM•
•Late February, the same day•
•Amber (Wolfe Alias) POV•
Chapter Nineteen
The Tower Test
Crossing the bridge, Gold and I marveled at the sight of the immense tower ahead of us. Once again, I felt as if the tower was swaying as I looked up, though I quickly dismissed it to vertigo. Eventually though, Gold spoke up. "Is it just me, or is that tower swaying?"
"Actually, I thought it was just me." I replied.
We continued onward, got off of the bridge, and stood in front of the gargantuan tower. I heard a slight creaking sound from the tower as I watched it ever so slightly yet visibly sway much like a tree. Reaching the entrance, which apparently lacked a door, I entered with Gold trailing right behind me.
We walked into a square room; the only walls of it were the walls separating the indoors from outdoors. In the center of the room slowly swayed a massive wooden pillar. Distracted, neither Gold nor I saw the older man in a white martial arts robe approach us, so when he spoke, it startled us.
"Welcome to the Sprout Tower," he bowed. "You must be the two new disciples who called in last week. I am Sage Chow and will be your personal trainer."
I looked at Gold, and he gave me an incredulous look in return.
Wait…disciple? I didn't sign up for this… My mind started to protest, but I was too curious to state otherwise.
"Here are your uniforms; put them on. The dressing rooms are in the back." He threw two uniforms in our direction and pointed to a blocked off area in the back.
Shrugging my shoulders, I walked to the dressing room while Gold uneasily followed.
Once out of earshot, I thought aloud, "So this is the Sprout Tower Challenge?"
"Beats me. I've never been to the Sprout Tower before. I thought you were supposed to challenge the head sage to a battle or something; not become his disciple."
Realizing the dressing room was no more than a single bathroom, Gold let me change first while waiting outside. The uniform was not meant for a woman, to put it lightly. It felt more like a bathrobe, and I was really glad that I had kept my shirt on underneath since the robe shirt was V-shaped and would've very nicely exposed my cleavage.
As for the pants… Sweatpants? Really? What kind of uniform is this? I thought incredulously.
And to top it all off, everything was white except the trimmings of the uniform, which were black. I could imagine a few scenarios that would turn into an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction.
Exiting the room after stuffing my normal clothes in my bag, Gold gave me a wide-eyed look before walking into the bathroom. "Have fun!" I called as he closed the door.
It took him less time to get dressed than it did for me, and soon enough, he was out of the bathroom and into his "training" clothes, which fit him nicer than my set.
We both walked back to Sage Chow, who gave us a nod of approval until he spotted Chika and Hino following behind us. "Please recall your Pokémon for now; Pokémon classes will start tomorrow. For today, I will simply show you around the tower and introduce you to the head monk, Sage Li."
Gold and I complied even though Chika and Hino didn't seem too enthused about being put back into their pokeballs. Sage Chow then led us upstairs to where a lone sage was doing yoga with two Bellsprout. "Good afternoon, Sage Nico. Engaged in your daily yoga, I see?" Chatted Chow.
"Ah, indeed, brother Chow. My Bellsprouts and I have to be limber in order to battle properly. I see the disciples have arrived," the sage added as an afterthought.
Why do I feel like I'm at a male convent? I thought sarcastically at all the "sages," "monks," and "brothers" being thrown around.
Nico then addressed us. "You'll learn quickly that yoga is the ultimate form of practicing control. Learn control, and you'll be a master at battle."
Yeah, control is nice, but I don't want to be a sage! Hell, has anyone heard of a girl sage, anyway? I sure haven't… I thought sarcastically once again.
At that, Nico went back to his yoga acting as though he never saw us.
Creepy…
Moving onward, we were led up even more stairs, but this time there was no one around except us. Chow then turned to us. "This is the floor on which I train. Here, I practice the arts of karate as well as many other martial forms. To be fit in body is to be fit in mind and vice versa. Having one without the other causes imbalance, and you'll falter. You must have the Yin as well as the Yang." He instructed.
Gold looked at me with a sort of bored "get me outta here" look, and I simply sighed to where only he could hear in return. I meant, as far as martial arts went, Darrius, my boss, had me trained in taekwondo, but this was a bit over the top.
Chow then continued to lead us to even MORE stairs, which we climbed to find a man with three Bellsprouts doing some weird dance routine only there was no music. Really, it looked funny. I mean, this guy who had to have been in at least his forties, was dancing with three Bellsprouts, and there was no rhythm or anything to which he was keeping time. With all the Bellsprout running around the place, I easily guessed why it was called the Sprout Tower, though.
"There is Sage Edmond. He will teach you the art of being limber with your Pokémon and keeping to your own rhythm. Every battle has its own rhythm. If you manage to find it before your opponent, you'll gain the upper hand."
We nodded at the dancing sage, who acted like he never even saw us, though really I was sure Gold wanted to laugh at the absurdity just as badly as I did. After that, Chow led us up even more stairs to a room with three different monks, all seeming to be training their Pokémon.
"This is the battle practice room. As the name implies, you may battle your Pokémon here against the other monks to better train them. However, don't take the other monks lightly. Be sure to practice all of the Tower's training techniques before challenging anyone to a battle; otherwise, you will more than likely lose."
Chow's words may have been stern, but really all I saw were Bellsprout and a Hoothoot—no real big threat, there. I had defeated countless Bellsprout back in Kanto, so I couldn't really say beating one was an accomplishment. Hoothoot, on the other hand, made me remember the other night with the whole Zuku thing… Maybe that would have been a challenge.
Nodding at his fellow monks, Sage Chow led us to the back of the room where I could see, surprise, surprise, another staircase leading to another floor. How many floors are in this tower, anyway? I began to question.
As if reading my mind, Chow replied, "This staircase leads to the top floor where Elder Sage Li resides. Only the skilled may challenge him to a battle, such as traveling trainers who take on the Sprout Tower Challenge to receive the Flash TM from him. As a sage-in-training, you will have to face whatever trainer challenges the tower and do all possible to prevent him or her from reaching Sage Li. Of course, Li is such an expert battler few can pass the test, anyway."
From the floor above, Gold and I jumped as we heard a loud thud and a garbled voice. "Sounds like there's a battle going on up there," I stated blandly.
"Actually, there is a trainer challenging Li right now. I think it best for you two to watch since it will provide a keen learning experience," Chow replied, leading us up the stairs.
"Sneasel, Quick Attack!" Commanded a voice I wished I didn't recognize.
Ugh! Why does Silver have to be here?!
Realizing that my uniform complimented my figure a little too well, I hid somewhat behind Gold, who upon seeing Silver, set his jaw and glared.
"Hoothoot, Foresight!" Retaliated the old man. The Hoothoot managed to predict where the Sneasel was going to land and evaded the attack.
"Useless! Blizzard, now! Teach that old man a thing or two about not being able to escape!" Silver growled.
Did he just call his Sneasel useless?! Seems like I have A LOT to teach that boy whenever I do reveal my identity to him… If only he knew I were watching; he better be ashamed of himself…
Catching myself reverting to my "teacher mode," I snapped out of it as I watched the Hoothoot get caught up in the powerful Ice-type attack.
Well, looks like he did SOME training at least. Sneasel knows Blizzard now. No wonder that "Icy Wind" was so powerful the other day. He upgraded.
The old man watched as the Hoothoot not only was frozen into a bird-sickle, but also fainted. Calling the Pokémon back into its ball, the Elder Sage bowed, signifying that the battle was over.
Silver, confident and rather snarky and rude in my opinion, recalled Sneasel without a word of praise, but instead scolded. "Next time I expect better from you."
That REALLY pissed me off since from what I saw, Sneasel was working his hardest to please his trainer.
Sage Li then approached Silver and handed him a white disc, which I knew to be the Flash TM. "You battled well, so I confer to you this Flash TM. However, I must say, you need to treat your Pokémon better. Pokémon are trusted partners in battle, not tools. You should care more about your Pokémon, or one day they may just turn on you."
"Hmph, save it old man," he replied as he snatched the TM. "Being kind and all that is for the weak. Being tough on them makes them tougher. Pokémon are meant for battling, anyway—nothing more, nothing less."
My blood was boiling already, but this was the final straw… I was going to teach this new Silver a lesson, right here, and right now. As his teacher and his friend and as simply someone who loved Pokémon and respected them, this was totally against my agenda, and I'd put an end to it!
Li responded to Silver, "You poor misguided soul. May you find the light from your dark actions some day and learn that there is more to Pokémon than just battling…" At that Silver merely rolled his eyes.
Stepping up, I glared at Silver who caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to face me.
"Well, well. Look what we have here. If it isn't that Wolfe girl and her little loser friend who works for that dumb Professor. And look, she's all dressed up too," he laughed half with sarcasm and half with menace.
Wanting to beat him up without even using a Pokémon since he had gotten me that pissed off, I gathered my composure since I realized that if I went into "teacher mode" I could very well have given myself away, and it would've defeated the whole purpose of an alter ego that way.
I then looked at him and smirked. "Ah, you do have jokes, don't you Silver? It's a shame so much potential is going to waste. I can see what Sage Li is saying about you. I pity your Pokémon."
I decided to go for an even lower blow. "Hell, I pity anyone who is close to you. With that attitude, I'm certain you must have quite afew friends." I added sarcastically.
Yes, I went for a low blow there, but I didn't care in the moment if Silver always had social issues being that his father was the ex-leader of Team Rocket. Actually, it felt good saying something mean to him.
"Psh. Who needs friends, anyway? All I need is power. Once I'm the strongest trainer around, I'll be the one having the last laugh. Besides, just because you're dressed like one of these crazies doesn't give you the authority to tell me what to do, anyway. I simply won't listen. You train your way, and I'll train mine. In the end, I already know who will come out ahead as the stronger trainer." He seemed a little too self-confident.
Before I could retort and deflate his ego, and oh did I want to say something really mean to him, Chow stepped in. "My lady apprentice, please, that is enough. Violence begets violence. Do not take this boy's taunts, but simply let him go as is."
Gold patted me on the shoulder as a gesture of "I'm with you on this one, but let's listen to these people in charge for now". Sage Li then looked at the two of us carefully, scrutinizing us.
"Chow, are you certain these are the new disciples?"
"Quite certain, sir. They walked in and put on the uniforms without protest."
"Is this true, young man?" Li addressed Gold.
"Well, actually, you see, my friend came here to take the Sprout Tower Challenge so she could battle Falkner. We thought maybe the whole uniform thing was just part of the challenge…" Gold said sheepishly as he rubbed his shoulder.
Silver smirked and gave a short laugh in amusement, obviously enjoying our misunderstanding that was totally at our expense.
"Hmm, I see. Well, looks like you've made it to the top of the tower. If you are here for the challenge instead of being disciples, you are free to battle me for the Flash TM as well." Li looked at me.
Realizing he just lost to Silver, I figured that it might be a bit unfair since his Pokémon were injured. I always tried to be a fair person because otherwise battles just weren't fun. "What about your Pokémon? They just got out of a battle…"
"I have more Pokémon than the ones I used against him," he looked at Silver for an instant. "I will allow these to rest up; they fought vigilantly. I am ready to take you on if you do so challenge me."
"Well, hell then, I challenge you. I want that TM so I can get my badge!" I smiled, forgetting that Silver was around for a second.
"Alright, then, I accept your challenge, trainer Wolfe. Clear the area for the battle, please Chow."
At this Chow, Gold, and Silver all moved to the sidelines. Great, I have Silver as a spectator…this ought to be fun—LOTS of fun. He knows my battle style, and the more he watches me battle others, the more he'll make a strategy against me as well… I knew there was nothing I could do about it, though.
"Since you are the challenger, I will allow you to send out your Pokémon first. The rules are simple. It will be a three-on-three battle with no substitutions. The winner is declared when one side's Pokémon are all knocked out. Are you ready?"
"Yes sir, I am," I replied pulling Umbreon's ball from my bag.
Figured I might as well start with him. Good thing it's not a four-on-four… Chika can't battle.
Pressing the release button on the pokeball, Umbreon appeared with a battle cry ready for action. I braced myself for a Bellsprout seeming how everyone seemed to own one.
"I send out… Zubat!"
At this, the blue bat Pokémon entered the makeshift indoor arena. I was totally not expecting this… Zubat was going to be a bit of a problem, especially with no substitutions.
"Zubat, start this off with Leech Life!"
The bat Pokémon zoomed towards Umbreon, fangs bared ready to suck his blood.
"Not so fast! Umbreon, Quick Attack!"
Umbreon sprung into action, knocking the bat Pokémon out of the air and landing on top of it, pinning its wings down with both of his front paws.
"Can't fly, but get close enough and Leech Life!" replied Li.
Zubat immediately regained its composure and sunk its fangs deep into Umbreon's neck, causing my Pokémon to yelp in pain. Had it been a female Zubat with shorter fangs, Umbreon would have been fine.
"Umbreon!" I grimaced.
I knew that a Bite wouldn't work since the Zubat was already sucking energy from my Pokémon, and ripping the fangs out violently would do more damage than good. As I thought drastically of a move, I heard the cries of my Pokémon getting fainter; he was whimpering in pain now, barely standing.
Ugh this isn't good. Think, Amber. What to do?!
Knowing I had no alternative and time was fading fast, I replied. "Umbreon, you have to trust me on this; use Quick Attack away from Zubat. It'll hurt, but you need to trust me!"
"Umbre," replied the Pokémon weakly as he stepped off the Zubat and darted in the opposite end of the room ripping the bat's fangs out of his neck as he went.
It caused him to yelp even louder. Gritting my teeth, I knew he was on his last legs in this match already.
"Zubat, get up and use your Supersonic!"
The bat Pokémon rose to the air and emitted a terrible screeching noise that sounded much like a game glitching in my opinion.
"Hang in there, Umbreon! Bite it!"
Umbreon, who was getting confused from the Supersonic, lunged at the wall, hitting it head on, and knocked himself out. At that I wanted to face-palm.
Sighing, I recalled the poor worn out Pokémon. "Nice try there, pal. Rest up."
I glanced at Silver out of the corner of my eye and saw that he looked rather smug; he seemed quite happy to see that I was losing.
What a jerk!
Knowing I was setting myself up for failure, I decided that Espeon would be my next choice since, let's face it, Mudflaps had the best move set of my remaining Pokémon, and I wanted to save him for last. Grasping Espeon's ball, I hit the release button and called her to the battle. "Espeon, I'm counting on you!"
"Espe!" She cried defiantly at the Zubat.
My Pokedex light then blinked off and on, which made me check it. "Espeon has learned the following move: Confusion. In return, it has forgotten the move: Growl."
Perfect timing. Hells yes!
"Zubat, Leech Life!" Replied the sage.
"Not this time, you don't! Espeon, Confusion!" Espeon's eyes turned neon blue as a blue aura surrounded the Zubat as well. "Now, toss it around!"
"Esp!" She flung the Zubat telekinetically into the wall behind its trainer causing it to sink down to the ground completely defeated.
"Nice work, Espeon!" I grinned.
"You battled valiantly, Zubat. Return and rest." Li returned the bat into its pokeball. "This battle is far from over yet, though. Haunter! Attack!"
Oh crap, a Haunter…a Psychic's worst nightmare… At least it was a poison type as well, which gave Espeon still a bit of an advantage.
"Go, Haunter! Shadow Punch attack!"
The ghost quickly floated to Espeon and punched her square in the jaw before I could even order a move.
"Grr! Espeon, you okay?!" I asked, knowing the move was super-effective.
Shaking the move off, she replied, "Espe!"
"Good! Alright, use Wish!"
Espeon's red gem on her forehead glowed a brilliant crimson for a few seconds and faded.
"Now, Yawn!" I continued, not giving Haunter time to attack.
Espeon opened her mouth wide and a huge pink bubble floated out of her mouth and hit the Haunter square in the face, popping and startling it.
"Haunter, Hypnosis!" Li retaliated.
Haunter shot an X-shaped ray from its eyes, but it missed Espeon as she dodged out the way as Haunter's movements began to become sluggish.
"Now, Confusion!"
Espeon's eyes turned neon blue once more as the Haunter was rocked gently like a baby, coaxing it to sleep faster. Knowing it was taking damage all the while, especially thanks to its poison type, my grin only got wider as the Haunter fell asleep and landed on the ground with a rather solid thud for a ghost type, soundly knocked out. Meanwhile, a white aura covered Espeon as I noted Wish taking effect.
"You did well, Haunter. Rest easy." Li recalled the Pokémon and looked at me seriously. "Looks like it's down to my last Pokémon; don't count this battle over yet, though. Weepinbell! Let's go! Gastro Acid attack!"
The bellflower Pokémon appeared with a cry and before Espeon and I could respond, spewed clear, foul-smelling acid all over Espeon.
Ugh, I heard about that attack. It neutralizes a Pokémon's ability for the duration of the battle…Guess I won't be using Synchronize to my advantage, but that must mean… I had a feeling a status-inflicting move was to follow.
"Espeon, Wish again! We'll need it!"
Espeon's gem glowed crimson again as she focused on a wish for healing.
"While they take their time, Sleep Powder!"
Weepinbell sent a fine, powdery dust out of its mouth and distributed it across Espeon's field of vision. Knowing I couldn't talk or else I'd be a victim to the Sleep Powder as well, I watched as Espeon immediately went to sleep.
The powder then settled, and Li continued. "Now, finish this off! Knock Off attack!"
The plant Pokémon smacked Espeon with its leaves, which glowed darkly, hitting her multiple times while she slept quite soundly.
"Hang in there. Wake up, Espeon!"
Despite my cries, she was sound asleep, taking a brutal beating from the dark type move.
"Once more! Knock Off!" Ordered Li as Weepinbell complied.
Two more, and Espeon was down for the count even before the Wish could kick in.
Knowing I was in a real bind now, I recalled Espeon, thanked her for her excellent battling, and told her to sleep soundly.
Taking out Mudflaps' pokeball, I knew the odds were against me. Not only did I have a water type against a grass type, but also the grass type out leveled him, and on top of that, it knew how to put him to sleep.
"I know its going to be rough, but I'm counting on you, little guy! Mudflaps, let's do this!" I shouted, releasing the Mudkip onto the floor.
Before we got there, I learned that Mudflaps had already learned a new move called Bide over his Growl attack, and he also managed to learn a move called Mud-Slap as well; that already brought him up to five learned moves—a new record for such a low level Pokémon. The experience at the cave already had the little guy around the same level as the rest of my team, which impressed me greatly.
"Mudkip!" He replied seriously.
"Weepinbell! Razor Leaf attack!"
The Weepinbell launched large leaves at Mudflaps, who was already on to dodging them and doing a very good job at it, too.
"Impressive speed stat," commented Li. "Try a Sleep Powder on for size!"
"Don't let it, Mudflaps! Blow it away with your Blizzard!"
The small blue Pokémon blew a cold gust from his mouth reversing the Sleep Powder, causing it to land on the sender Pokémon, also doing a good bit of damage in the process.
"Quite a little powerhouse there. Weepinbell, Razor Leaf again! Closer this time!"
The Weepinbell itself had a speed that neither Mudflaps nor I accounted for, and it got in perfect range to fire off a critical-hit Razor Leaf, causing Mudflaps to gasp in pain.
"Kiiip!" Cried my Pokémon, as he was hit and knocked backwards, landing on his back.
"Get up, little guy! Just a little more. Hang in there!" I coaxed.
"Kip…" Replied Mudflaps weakly, trying his best to get up.
"Now, nice and easy Weepinbell; finish it with Knock Off!"
The Weepinbell got within striking range and started hitting away on my little Mudkip, knocking him down every time he tried to get up.
"Kiiip!" He replied, frustrated.
Suddenly, he erupted into a blinding white light and began to change form, not only standing up, but also standing erect on two feet.
"No way! He just hatched yesterday!" I exclaimed astounded that my Mudkip was already evolving. Everyone else seemed to be just as shocked as me, including Silver.
"Stomp!" Cried Mudflaps, now back to his normal color.
He looked stronger, though he still took quite a beating. A white aura then interrupted us once more.
No way! There's no way he's evolving again! The light faded, though, leaving Mudflaps looking one hundred percent healthier.
"Oh yeah, Wish… That sure came in handy. Now, back to battling, right Mudflaps?"
"Marshtomp!" Cried my Pokémon in a deeper voice than he originally had when he first hatched.
"Blizzard! Finish this here and now!"
Marshtomp unleashed a very powerful Blizzard, which froze the Weepinbell and instantly knocked it out. After that, Mudflaps ran up to me and hugged me; he now reached my knees.
"Great work, Mudflaps! You were awesome!" I praised truly enthused that he evolved and battled so well.
Li recalled Weepinbell after thanking it for its efforts and walked towards me. "Looks like you needed no training as a disciple here, anyway. I'm proud to confer to you the Flash TM. You have real skill as a trainer and possess the right virtues. I'm certain you'll make a fine trainer and go on to win many gym matches."
He then turned his gaze slightly. "Perhaps you can even teach that red-head over there the true meaning of being a trainer some day as well." He stated as he stared at Silver, who seemed transfixed on me, which really unnerved me because I was really hoping I didn't slip my identity or even clue him in.
I took the TM and replied with thanks after recalling Mudflaps to his ball for a rest; the Elder Sage as well as Sage Chow left the room to let me, Silver, and Gold be together. Gold approached me first.
"Wow! That was…incredible! Your battling skills are really good for a beginning trainer," he grinned.
"Heh, thanks Gold. But really the credit goes to my Pokémon. They know how to battle; though I should get them rested up before I challenge Falkner." I blushed slightly.
I couldn't believe Mudflaps was already so strong, and Espeon and Umbreon gave it their all, too.
Seeing Silver approach me, Gold backed off deciding to stay out of this "battle".
"Cheap trick…" Silver trailed off.
"Excuse me?" I asked intrigued.
"The whole disguise…"
Oh CRAP! CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAPP!! Don't tell me he figured it out! Disguise?! He can't know I'm me… That'd ruin everything I worked so hard to set up… Even though I really wish I could tell him just to set his ass straight!
I decided it best to act naïve about it all. "What disguise?" I asked curiously.
"Don't act all ignorant. You know what I'm talking about," he said sternly.
This. Is not. Good…
"No, seriously… What disguise are you talking about?"
"Quit playing stupid with me, Wolfe! Such a cheap trick… And you chastise me for stealing a run away Totodile and not treating my Pokémon with love. Here you are cutting corners. So pathetic!" He let his distaste for me show in earnest.
Wait… Cutting corners? Okay, NOW I'm lost.
"Cutting corners?" I tilted my head to the side like a confused dog.
"Hmph, maybe you are just stupid after all," he said noting my whole head-tilt thing. He continued, "I'm talking about the whole apprentice disguise you and your little buddy there pulled in order to get passed the other trainers without battling them."
"Unlike me, who took them all on; I bet you wouldn't have survived, anyway. I took out his entire team with two Pokémon. Hell, I took this entire place with my Croconaw, and here you are still toting around that little Chikorita which hasn't even evolved yet. How pathetic!" He growled distastefully.
"I did not do that on purpose! I would have battled if I had known I had to challenge all the trainers! I'm new to this region, thank-you-very-much. And, as for Chika? Who cares if she's still a Chikorita? She's happy, and she's strong the way she is!"
He was so not about to start picking on my Pokémon and get away with it.
"How weak. Evolution is the only key to getting a Pokémon up to its full potential! Why have a Pokémon and not evolve it?! That's just doing things the hard way—which is for losers."
"Hard way?" I head-tilted again.
I never taught him that… Sure, having an un-evolved Pokémon could be more challenging, but evolution was hardly the formula for winning Pokémon battles.
"If you don't understand, I really couldn't care less. Anyway, I'm off. I have a gym badge to earn while you waste time healing your weak Pokémon. See you around, losers!" He called to both Gold and me as he used an escape rope to lower himself from the top floor to the ground outside.
"Wow… That guy has some serious problems." Gold commented.
"Yeah, definitely. Well, anyway, I say we head to the Pokémon center and get my team ready for the gym match. With only Mudflaps able to battle, I think I'm not in such good shape for challenging Falkner." I decided.
"Sounds like a good idea. We can take the stairs down like normal people, right?" He asked as we watched the escape rope disappear; Silver must have been rolling it up from the ground.
"Yeah, definitely. We aren't that desperate to leave this place. Besides, if I stay in this bathrobe any longer, I think I'm going to trip and cause a scene!" I managed to grin, which made Gold chuckle and lightened the mood.
That said, Gold and I headed down the many flights of stairs, floor after floor, until we were at the bottom; we got changed and went outside again.
I then continued, "I think when I'm at the Pokémon center, I might check out Mudflaps' new information. I'm sure him evolving and gaining an extra type is going to make things much different in his entry."
"Good idea. Maybe you might want to check on that Charmander egg, too, to see how it's doing."
"Yeah, nice thinking," I replied as Gold and I approached the center.
Once inside, I handed my pokeballs to Nurse Joy, who rolled her eyes at me unhappy to see my Pokémon were injured once again a day later.
I sat down on the center's sofa as I dug in my bag and rearranged my clothes and checked on the egg, which hadn't changed any. It was going to be a long wait for my Pokémon to heal. If I was lucky, though, I could battle Falkner later in the day and earn my first badge. If anything, I'd have to keep up with Silver since I was still convinced he was on the trail of Team Rocket.