Dratini

As soon as the jeweler and I got off the phone, nurse joy called me over. She then proceeded to give back my Charmeleon and Exeggcute.

Smiling, I took both of them and we went upstairs to sleep. After some rest. we'll head into Mt.Moon, to hopefully reach Cerulean in a couple of days.

The reason why it would take so long was that I needed to train both Exeggcute and Charmeleon quite a bit. Misty, Cerulean's gym-leader, was a mean one... That's for sure.

Before going to bed, I made sure to research all the routes and pathways, just in case. Even though I already had everything mapped out with the database, one could never be prepared enough.

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The next morning, I prepared all of the necessities and packed some fresh food, along with some that could last for a while.

Having finished my preparations, I headed for the cave's entrance.

Once I got there, the first thing I saw was Blue, looking like she was waiting for something.

"Shawn!"

When she saw me, Blue started waving.

"Oh, good morning... I'm glad to see that you're okay. How's your Dratini?"

"She's great! Tinie, come out and say thanks."

A small, pink snake appeared from behind her. It seemed shy.

Before anything, I asked the System to give me some data on it. Apparently, it was a level thirteen, female Dratini. It's IVs were decent and its nature was Timid.

Having a better understanding of its character, I got on one knee and gently caressed its fins. I did this because according to a book I read, this was their favorite spot to be petted..

"Tini! Tini!"

Sure enough, Dratini displayed pleasure and jumped on me. It swirled around my neck and rubbed its head against my cheek.

With an expression of shock, Blue was taken aback.

"Wow! How did you do that? Tinie took weeks to start trusting me..."

"Well, I guess I'm just lucky." With a laugh, I petted it some more.

Charmeleon nagged my shirt, so I dropped Dratini on the ground and let them get to know each other. They seemed to get along quite well.

"I... I have a favor to ask... Could you hear me out, please?"

As we watched the two Pokemon play with each other, Blue asked me to let her tag along through the Rock Tunnel.

She said she was scared of the dark and feared Dratini would get injured once again.

I've been having trouble with people lately, so I hesitated... Sadly, her look of pity just made me unable to decline. I mean, she's supposed to be some sort of heroine, right? It's okay I guess.

"Alright, whatever. I have to do a lot of training though, so expect the journey to take quite a bit longer than it should."

"I'm okay with anything! Thank you so much!"

With a smile, Blue almost jumped in joy as she picked up her Dratini and hugged it in celebratory fashion.

She must have something wrong in her head.

"Alright, let's go. Charmeleon, lead the way."

Entering the cave, the scenery changed completely, becoming almost ethereal.

The cave had just enough light to see into, but not enough to reveal all its secrets. Charmeleon's flame lit up the area and we were able to see further inside.

I could hear dripping water around me and smell the humidity in the air. The stalagmites and stalactites looked like huge teeth that protruded from the roof... Dormant Zubats were also hanging from them, only adding to the mystical aspect of the cave.

Blue subconsciously grabbed me by the arm, but quickly released it and blushed when she noticed. I rubbed my nose and continued forward.

Raising my finger and placing it on my mouth, I made sure that we made as little noise as possible. Fighting twenty Zubats at once wasn't really my goal.

A while later, our first encounter with a wild Pokemon happened when we found a Paras. It was drinking some water from a small hole in the ground.

When ithe light from Charmeleon's tail revealed it, Paras hissed and tried to escape. I swiftly commanded Charmeleon to roast it with Ember.

Seeing it faint, I captured it and scanned its data with the Pokedex before applying some Burn-Heals. Blue looked on with amazement at how easy I made it all look.

Nodding, I placed Paras in my inter-dimensional storage.

"The next Pokemon that we encounter, I'll have you battle it. If it's one that I currently don't own, I'll catch it. Deal?"

"Why do you need me to fight?"

She looked at me with confusion.

"I want to see the extent of your abilities, and Dratini's strength. Since we're traveling together, It would be beneficial to learn each other's battle styles."

With a nod, she finally complied. Blue still looked scared though, as she followed behind me.

The cave was big, and we continued walking North.

The guides that I had read all indicated to go in this direction. The system's mini-map made it much easier to navigate the dark cave.

Soon after, we came across a second Pokemon. It was a Zubat that started attacking us, woken up by Blue's sudden sneeze.

Blue dejectedly took the lead and sent forth her Dratini into battle. With some clumsy commands, Dratini managed to beat Zubat, ending it with a powerful aqua-jet.

Honestly, I can't believe she got a boulder badge with this kind of skill. She's lucky to have such a powerful Pokemon, like Dratini, by her side.

With a sigh, I started moving along, and she followed.

We then reached a small hole with a ladder. It led to to the next floor, downstairs. Going down, we reached what seemed like a large tunnel. It must have been dug out by explorers in the past.

As we continued forward, we didn't come across any obstacles and easily made it to the lower floor, where I caught myself a Geodude.

Once we reached this floor, around seven hours of walking had already passed. We decided to settle, and I built a small fire with Charmeleon's help.

"We'll stay on this floor for the next two days. Charmeleon and Exeggcute are nowhere near the level I want them to be at."

Not only did I want to train my Pokemon, but Blue's style needed some tweaking too. I couldn't help but want to teach her some tactics, or else she wouldn't make it past the second gym.

"Eeeeh? Do we really have to stay in this cave for two days..."

"No can do. You agreed to this as soon as you decided to tag along with me."

"I guess you're right..."

With Blue's approval, I got to cooking.

Being the awesome chef that I was, I served our Pokemon their favorite foods. Dry and spicy for Charmeleon, Just dry for Exeggcute and sweet for Dratini.

For Blue and myself, I made some Veggie-Gyozas and a nice serving of home-made Soba noodles... Served in a broth made from the mixture of some oily ingredients, such as Razz-Berries and Bluk-Berries.

Of course, I didn't forget the rice... Any decent man from the land of the rising sun can't skip his daily rice intake.

"W-Woah! So good!"

Blue and the Pokemon seemed very satisfied, and enjoyed their food. Seeing them chomp down on my cooking, I felt a warm current flow through my body.

I guess it can be nice to have companions... sometimes.