At Cerulean City

Cinder gazed up at the gates as he and Korrina to a brief stop.

"Alright then, everyone." He spoke neutrally as Starly and Talon descended to the ground beside them. "Welcome to Cerulean City, the rookie capital of Indigo."

Holding Fafnir (who had gotten tired from the walking) in his arms, Cinder smiled in relief towards the city. The day had been nonstop, in order to ensure that they made it by nighttime. But now he and Korrina both just wanted to go to bed, and he was certain that their Pokemon all felt the same.

But they couldn't sleep right away, as much as they wanted to. Their hunger was undeniable, their desire for food keeping them awake even as they fantasized about sinking into the bedsheets and drifting off into slumber.

Not to mention, they both needed a shower.

Cinder was a bit more used to the taller buildings, and the overall greater scope and denser nature of the city, than he used to be back when he had first set out from Pallet Town. This was now the third city that he had been to in his life, and after spending a large chunk of his travels in Pewter, he hadn't necessarily grown accustomed to the much more urban nature of these cities, but he was no longer overwhelmed by it.

Besides, anything was a step up from Mt. Moon. Cinder was going to have a hard time not appreciating the places that he traveled too after an experience such as that.

It was still difficult to get the caverns out of his mind, but he was managing better than before. He wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't confide in his mother about it without her knowing that he was there, which he didn't want, and he wasn't sure if he should tell Professor Oak either.

Unless he already knew. He was a high ranking member of the League, and Cinder and Korrina's names were most likely included in the reports.

Despite his tired nature at the moment, Cinder found himself grinning as he absentmindedly looked around, taking in, and appreciating, the feeling of being part of civilization.

Many trainers loved the wild. Understandably so. Cinder himself enjoyed traveling with his team overall. But he couldn't imagine himself never desiring the comfort of civilization. Even when his enjoyment towards his travels were at their utmost high, he would probably always have that longing for society in the back of his mind. It would always be an excellent break from the action, or the hardships of travels.

Due to the late time of their arrival, the streets of the city weren't too bustling as they stepped through the gates and made their way to the Pokemon Center, Cinder leading the way due to being more familiar with knowing the area. The lack of a crowd was merciful, as it made it a lot easier to proceed through the streets undisturbed.

Nevertheless, their presence still attracted the curious eyes of many who were still out and about. Unavoidable, as it was typically easy to spot a trainer. Granted, it wasn't like it was an unlikely sight in Cerulean City. This place was known for being a hotspot and gathering for beginner level trainers. The most beginner friendly place in Kanto, possibly Indigo as a whole. The outskirts were often populated with rookies trying to hone their skills against each other, often considered the perfect place for a rookie to be. Not to mention that most of the wild Pokemon in the surrounding area had a reputation for being docile compared to most of the other places in Indigo, Cerulean Cave being the sole exception. It was very much unlike Fuschia, which was known for being popular with higher level trainers, and much more dangerous Pokemon in the wild.

Being the seaside city that it was, Cerulean always had the feeling of moisture in the air.

Korrina was thoughtful, looking on ahead. "We should be to the Pokemon Center soon. I call dibs on the shower, got it?"

Cinder frowned. 'Darn it, I should have called dibs.'

...

The welcoming atmosphere of the Pokemon Center's lobby was cathartic to Cinder and Korrina as the two friends walked through the large pair of automatic doors. The sheer size of the building would have greatly intimidated anyone if a person hadn't already been used to it from both Viridian and Pewter. Most of their Pokemon had been recalled, but Storm remained at Cinder's side, Starly now perched on the boy's shoulder while Fafnir slept in the young trainer's arms.

Up ahead was Nurse Joy's counter. It took a moment to check in thanks to all the trainers: veterans and rookies, waiting in a somewhat, long line, but once in, they quickly went to their rooms and cleaned up, and settle their belongings, taking advantage over the wonderful showers. The duo had practically how wonderful it felt to be clean, although their empty stomachs brought them down to the large cafeteria the Center possessed.

Cimder plopped down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling as he lay sprawled out on his back.

It had been 09:00 PM when they had arrived at the Pokemon Center, and after quick showers and a dinner, the two friends and their teams were finally ready to turn in for the night after a long day of traveling and battling.

Sitting on her own bed, Korrina observed with a tired grin as her and Cinder's respective teams worked out their sleeping arrangements for the night.

They were on the third floor of the Pokemon Center, in a bigger room than last time. Understandable, given the sheer size of urban Pokemon Centers. Once again, Cinder's bed was the one closer to the window. He seemed to like those a lot.

Korrina was still feeling fatigue kick in, and the feeling of the bed that zhe was sitting on was already more than enough to be relieving for her.

"I'm not sure how long we'll be staying here in Cerulean." Cinder started, gazing up at the ceiling thoughtfully, before turning to his female companion. "I could start my training for the Gym battle on the next day." Rolling over to get a better look at Korrina, he frowned. "You okay with that?"

Korrina nodded with a smile. "Sure. It's always good to start preparing early. Besides, both one of our pokemon just evolved."

Truth be told, Cimder was, once again, looking forward to battling another gym leader, it made his mind off some problematic matters he was going through.

Suddenly, a frown formed on her face. "Speaking of which… training for the battle is going to be pretty difficult for me. I don't have any water-types, and we need to prepare for the aquatic arena."

Korrina didn't know much about the Cerulean Gym, but she knew that it was a Water Specialist Gym, and that the battlefield took the form of a massive pool with platforms to hop across. Water Type Pokemon naturally would have the advantage with such terrain, but while Cinder currently had two in his cards, Korrina currently had none. Talon's flight would come in handy, but the rest of Korrina's team would be in trouble for sure.

Cinder rolled his eyes. "Way ahead of you, missy."

'That wording was a bit condescending…' Korrina thought to himself with a blush. Not that she wasn't used to it at this point, of course.

Elaborating further, Cinder spoke up again. "I still have to train Storm and Hercule to handle that battlefield properly, the key word is battlefield, I don't have any idea how to prepare them for that at all." He jerked his thumb sideways. "Fortunately, Cerulean City have plenty of bodies of water in the area. I can take us to one that has a lot of rocks to hop around on. The water should be shallow enough so that it won't be too dangerous. Starly and your fighting-types can get some practice in too, but I'll probably have to take Hercule to a deeper one so that he can swim more freely, he and Storm are my trump cards against the sensational sisters."

That could work. It could give the members of his team that couldn't fly a means of practicing to traverse the platforms of the pool.

Korrina nodded with a grateful smile. "That's great! It should still take some time to get a hang of, but I believe my pokemon could do it."

Cinder's countenance morphed on to a prideful smirk in full force as he returned his gaze to the ceiling, arms behind the back of his head. "Your native Kanto trainer, here and at your surface." Hee inclined his head slightly towards her. "Just what would you ever do without me?"

Korrina pouted a bit at that. "I'm sure I could manage…"

A haughty laugh was what she got in response. "Sure, but only about, like, half as well." As her pout grew, he giggled. "Take it easy, Korrina. I know you'd think of something. But you've gotta admit, my presence is pretty convenient for you right about now."

Korrina couldn't argue with that, so he wouldn't.

"I'll try to pay you back somehow-" Cinder cut her off.

"Keep that, whatever you have in store, to yourself. You're one of my rival, Korrina. I'm not just helping you, I'm also helping myself... Anyway, I can't wait for our rematch after we beat the Cerulean Gym." An excited glint had entered his eyes as his eyes found their way to the ceiling once more. "A good way to celebrate us getting our second badges. Wouldn't you say?"

Korrina scratched her cheek in thought. "You don't want to battle before we challenge the Gym? Maybe as a way to prepare?"

Cinder's smirk was back. "Give me a break. I gotta make sure you're ready for me first, right?" He inclined his head cockily towards her with a cheeky grin. "I mean, it's one thing to humiliate some nobody that I don't give a damn about, but you and I are friends. If I completely tear through your ass because you weren't strong enough to face me yet, I'd just feel bad."

Korrina was blinking rapidly. Cinder swapped back and forth between compassion and narcissism as though he was just flipping a simple switch. Not to mention, there seemed to be something in his character that changed. Ignorant? No! Maybe... Arrogance? And Pride? A little bit of Arrogance and Pride, and when you mix'em both, Cinder would be the result of that concoction.

'At least he seems to be doing better after Mt. Moon.' She thought to herself. It didn't seem like his behavior was a facade.

Leaning backwards to lie down on her bed, Korrina giggled nervously. "Yeah…" She paused for a second. "I suppose so."

"Heh." Cinder pulled himself under the covers as he turned off his lamp. "Whelp, see you in the morning, Korrina. Gotta make sure I'm rested up to deal with tomorrow's training session. Plus, I understand from my mother that you girls, need your beauty sleep and the like into account."

Korrina nodded, turning off her own lamp as she retreated under her own covers. "Right, goodnight."

As Cinder dozed off, he inwardly sighed to himself a bit. He also noticed how he was acting, but never thought too much about it, not to mention that he kinda been comfortable around Korrina through the days they've been together, that's why he wasn't so formal in front of her.

It didn't take too long for him to find his rest.

...

The sun shined through the windows when morning came the next day.

Yawning as he rose from his bed, Cinder took the time to smile at the sleeping Storm at the end of the bed. This time, the yellow sheep was joined by Starly, who kept her distance to a degree, but not to the extent that would have otherwise told Cinder that the avian felt uncomfortable being near the sheep.

It seems like what they experienced at the caverns weren't all bad after all, since because of it her teammates was growing on her, and she was attached to Storm, especially. That was a good sign. With her warming up to the sheep, Cinder could only hope that she would drop her hostility altogether on humans eventually, still, it would take time, but Cinder was patient.

Once they started training again, he would have to work on that. He couldn't force them to be friends, but he could hopefully convince them to at least patch things up, and let things go on their own from there.

Perhaps with Starly growing more accustomed to being a member of the team, she would hold hostility towards them and open up, gain her trust and have her rely on their team.

These thoughts ran through Cinder's mind as his feet touched the floor, but he was pulled away from them as he felt Fafnir's head brushing against his legs. Smiling down at the tiny land shark infant, Cinder patted his head for a moment, prompting him to close his eyes and smile at his trainer's touch. Standing back upright, Cinder looked down to Hercule, who was watching the scene with a satisfied smile.

"Look after him for me, okay Hercule? I need a shower." The Poliwhirl nodded and waved his trainer off as Cinder made his way to the bathroom.

Cinder wasn't sure why he felt the need to shower again given that he already had last night, but Korrina apparently showered every morning too. Something about "I need to keep my gorgeous skin healthy." From the way she worded it, he wasn't sure if it was supposed to be more arrogance, or just compulsive behavior about her health.

The boy stepped into the tub and felt the warm water pour onto his skin as he took in the feeling. It was pretty enjoyable to indulge in the luxuries of the Pokemon Center after even just a whole day of traveling. Even if it involved showering twice in a row. He could definitely get used to it. But he knew that he should not do so at all, given that he would be leaving eventually.

It was better to get used to being on the road than in civilization. That way, he'd be better prepared for the road, and would find more relief from civilization. That was how he saw it, at any rate.

After a few minutes of quickly showering himself, Cinder stepped out of the bathroom to find Korrina waiting at the door. Apparently she had just gotten up while he was in.

The two exchanged amicable greetings before exchanging places, Korrina heading into the bathroom for her usual shower to get ready for the day. Just before breakfast, Cinder contacted his mother. After hanging up, they immediately got down to eat their breakfast with their respective team, getting ready for the training and plans they had for themselves.

*Top 51 (2/2), early release. Just for updates, I won't be releasing for over 24 hours, The reason is, I'll be editing and sketching Naruto fanfiction. Another quick question, do you guys like to have advanced chapters on Patreon?*