Eevee had a very strange dream. It was like soaking in a cool mountain spring, the clear water washing over every inch of its fur, flowing into its body and soaking its blood.
"Eevee...vee..."
Slowly opening its heavy eyelids, its vision went from blurry to clear. A large, pink face suddenly appeared, giving Eevee a big fright.
"Clefairy~~ Clefairy~~" "Clefairy!" "Clefairy?"
At some point, Eevee was surrounded by these plump, pink little guys. Seeing that it was awake, the Clefairy became very happy, waving their chubby hands and starting some kind of dance.
It felt strangely unsettling. This looked like they were going to sacrifice it alive.
"Oh? You're awake." A familiar and kind voice made Eevee quickly raise its head. Its gaze immediately caught the black-haired boy with an Aron perched on his shoulder.
"Eevee!"
"Hmm, you look pretty good... How are your injuries feeling?"
Hearing this, Eevee was surprised to find that it didn't feel any pain or fatigue. The wounds that should have covered its entire body had disappeared without a trace, and it felt as refreshed as if it had just taken a bath.
"I asked the Clefairy to heal you with Life Dew," the boy said with a light smile. Originally, after Eevee fainted, he had thought of quickly leaving Mt. Moon and returning to the Pewter City Pokémon Center to get Eevee treated. But the Pokémon that had followed him led him to this hidden location.
It was also his first time learning that there was such a gathering place for Clefairy within Mt. Moon. But after seeing that ridiculously huge Moon Stone, he was somewhat grateful for the Clefairy's caution.
Walking through the passage that the Clefairy had consciously made way for, Kazuki crouched down so that he could be at eye level with Eevee. He extended a hand forward.
"Although I already understand your intentions, let me formally ask you once... Are you willing to travel with me, Eevee?"
"Eevee~"
Of course! Eevee's fluffy little hand didn't hesitate for a moment and placed itself on the boy's outstretched palm.
...
As soon as they walked out of the Mt. Moon cave, Kazuki and his group were stopped by several police officers at the entrance.
The boy was about to explain, but the leading Officer Jenny stepped forward and waved the others away.
She approached him with a small booklet in her hand:
"You're Kazuki from Pallet Town, right?"
"You know me?" Kazuki was a little surprised. He remembered that when he called the police, he hadn't even given his name because he was in a hurry.
"The Officer Jennys from Viridian City told me... A genius young trainer who single-handedly took down a Pokémon Poacher just after starting his journey. I guess I've seen it with my own eyes today."
Saying this, Officer Jenny intentionally glanced behind her. Her colleagues were escorting a bespectacled man in handcuffs into a police car.
"We briefly interrogated the Pokémon Poacher we caught. He should have a partner still lurking in the Mt. Moon cave. But you can rest assured, all the exits are blocked by our people. He won't be able to escape."
"Um, actually..." Kazuki weakly raised his hand. "I already ran into him in the cave. He probably, maybe, won't be coming out..."
"Huh?" Officer Jenny raised an eyebrow, her strange gaze scanning the boy up and down again. Then she turned her head and sternly ordered a nearby squad:
"Restriction lifted. You guys go search for the remaining Pokémon Poacher. Be careful to avoid conflicts with wild Pokémon."
Watching the officers enter the cave, Officer Jenny turned back. Seeing the other party's innocent expression, she had originally wanted to lecture him for rashly confronting a Pokémon Poacher at such a young age, but now she couldn't say a word.
The handsome and slightly youthful face inadvertently revealed a heroic spirit, making it difficult for Officer Jenny to completely regard the person in front of her as a child.
Honestly, encountering such vicious criminals one after another, winning once could be considered luck, but twice, three times... that meant he was already a mature and excellent trainer.
Thinking this, she was interrupted by Kazuki's voice: "Officer Jenny... can we leave now?"
"Ah, yes. You're heading to Cerulean City next, right? We're going that way, so why don't you just take our car?"
"Eh, wouldn't that be inconvenient?"
"It's no problem. Consider it our thanks for helping us arrest the Pokémon Poacher," Officer Jenny said with a light smile, leading Kazuki and his Pokémon to the police car.
The moment she closed the car door, she had already made up her mind—when she got back, she would definitely recommend this boy to the League. Talent like this must be taken seriously!
...
With a means of transportation, the estimated arrival time in Cerulean City was greatly shortened. When the car door opened, a fresh and moist sea breeze blew across their faces. Looking up, the sun hung on a corner of the sky, bright but not scorching.
"So we've arrived in Cerulean City..." Taking a deep breath of air, the refreshing feeling instantly dispelled the fatigue of the long car ride.
Cerulean City, a northern coastal city in the Kanto region, was located on the main transportation route of Kanto. The city was bordered by the estuary of a river to the north, connected to Saffron City to the south, could reach Lavender Town by a detour to the east, and Mt. Moon, where Kazuki had come from, to the west.
Perhaps because it was a developed city close to the ocean, the League had built a Water-type Gym here. One could imagine, if his dad knew he had arrived in Cerulean City, he would definitely be nagging him to challenge the Cerulean Gym.
Hmph... But times have changed. Without that blockhead Ash, who can force me to step foot in that Cerulean Gym? Who?
Just as Kazuki was showing a mysterious smile and feeling smug, a red sports car sped past him. Then, with a beautiful drift, it stopped sideways in front of him, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Yo, it's Kazuki. Long time no see."
In the sports car, the brown-haired, spiky-haired young man in the driver's seat had one hand on the car body, and the other hand was waving to greet Kazuki.
"Gary?" Kazuki was also very surprised. Fate was truly amazing. He had just met Ash in Pewter City, and now he immediately ran into another childhood friend in Cerulean City.
Gary, full name Gary Oak, that's right... He was the grandson of the renowned Professor Oak. Unlike the blockhead Ash, he had systematically studied Pokémon knowledge and also possessed the talent of a trainer.
Handsome, rich kid, genius rookie trainer... He was almost perfect as a male. The only thing to criticize might be his overly confident personality, which made him seem a bit cocky. But Kazuki had a good impression of him, mainly because when they were young, Gary had provided a lot of business to his family's convenience store in order to buy snacks.
"You're really... as flashy as ever." His gaze couldn't help but look at the back seat of the red sports car... It was impossible not to, that large group of cheerleading girls was too conspicuous.
He didn't know where he learned it from, but Gary liked to show off with a group of "girlfriends" whenever he went out. Honestly, these girls were just average-looking. Would anyone really be envious...
Thinking this, Kazuki reached out his hand and vigorously rubbed the head of Hei beside him.
"Awoo?"
As if he didn't hear the deeper meaning in Kazuki's words, Gary's face became even more confident. He preened and smoothed his bangs, turned his head to the group of "girlfriends" behind him, and said, "There's nothing I can do, my charm is just irresistible. You say so, right, babes?"
"Gary, Gary, you're the coolest!" "Gary, Gary, you're amazing!"
The girls stood up from their seats, waving their pom-poms exaggeratedly, and praising Gary in unison, even their lines were exactly the same.
Sigh, as a trainer, instead of striving to improve your battling skills, you indulge in this kind of womanizing. How can you achieve anything great?
Shaking his head, Kazuki was already planning to say goodbye. Just as he was about to speak, Gary spoke first with a smile of unknown meaning:
"I'm going to see the Cerulean Sisters' water ballet performance. I just accidentally bought a few extra tickets, and I'm wondering who to give them to."
Hmph, a mere water ballet. How could I possibly be interested in this kind of performance that simply relies on being suggestive of sexual impropriety to attract people—
"Count me in... cough cough, mainly I want to help my old friend share the burden."
Almost teleporting to the door of the red sports car, Kazuki said with a firm and righteous gaze.