บท 49: Farewell Pewter
As morning dawned I woke feeling refreshed and ready to get on the road.
Beside me of course was the still slumbering Maid and Captain Jenny, as well as Daisy. Poor girls were put through the ringer last night.
I quietly crawled out of bed to let them get a bit more sleep, and dressed myself before collecting my bag and exiting the room to go and get my Pokemon ready.
I found them in the inn's arena along with the girl's Pokemon, and a dispirited looking mini Nurse Joy.
"Morning everyone! Ready to hit the road?" I asked them cheerfully, making everyone excited to do just that.
"Morning Ace..." Joy said as everyone turned towards me.
"What's wrong Joy?" I asked while greeting everyone, especially a particularly excited Cranidos since it had never even left the sanctuary until yesterday.
"Oh! Uh.... Nothing..." Joy said evasively, though it was incredibly obvious, even without looking at her aura, that she wanted to say something.
I wasn't going to say anything about that though, as whatever she wanted say or felt was something she'd have to sort out for herself. And it appeared she wasn't up to that just yet, as Joy instead told me,
"Your packages are here by the way. They're up at the front desk."
"Thank you Joy." I told her with a sincere smile, making her blush as I got up to leave.
I hurried to the front desk, picked up my packages, and then hurried back to the arena where I'd left my Pokemon.
"Now let's see here..." I uttered while opening the first of the boxes, the smallest one.
Inside was a pair of walkie talkie type devices that also had a keyboard to type on. They were a pair of communication devices that ran on their own private channel, but had a horrible range compared to the more widely used Pokenav. Perfect for what I needed them for though.
I opened them up and got them ready to go, before glancing around at my team. Of them, none of the group could be relied on for what I needed, so I glanced over at the girl's Pokemon.
"Chatot, can you come here?" I asked Dawn's little chatterbox.
"Chatot, can you come here?" It Chatotted at me even as it flew over and landed atop Miltank's head.
I held up one of the radios for it to see as I told it, "see this Chatot? Well I want you to... ... ... Got it?"
"Got it?" It Chatotted once again with my voice, affirming that it understood before taking flight as it took the radio in one of its talons.
I watched it fly away until it exited the inn, before turning my attention back to the rest of my packages.
The vast majority were basic supplies like food and medicine to last us until we all got to Cerulean city. But, I had also ordered numerous other items and equipment that we'd probably need while crossing through Mt. Moon.
Helmets, spiked shoes, climbing picks, an emergency beacon, and even a few THOUSAND feet of parachute cord for rope. It there was one thing I learned from survival shows, you can NEVER have too much rope.
Aside from the supplies and my own equipment, there were also a few items I ordered for my Pokemon.
The first one was a large seed that I could feel potent grass type energy coming from, which I tossed to Exeggutor. It was a Miracle Seed, and his prize for winning the little competition I started between them all when we fought the Beedrill. It just took that long for it to get here, compared to the overnight delivery I got on his chosen move, Solar Beam.
Exeggutor readily caught the Miracle Seed with his telekinesis, and placed it neatly on the top of his head within the numerous bushy leaves up there. And as he did so I could feel the grass type aura being emitted from his body intensify quite a bit, which means that all of his grass type moves were now more powerful.
"Tor Tor!" Exeggutor exclaimed as he began to happily stomp his feet from his power up.
"Congrats." I told him in encouragingly, before turning my attention to the rest of the items I had yet to open.
"And this is for you." I said to Cranidos while pulling out numerous weights, who seemed excited as he came to check out the box.
"Dos dos!"
"Here you go." I told him while putting one weight on each of his legs, before putting a Macho Brace on his body.
"It'll probably take a little getting used to." I told him as Crandios tried to adjust to the added weight on his feet, and the strain on his body from moving.
It was ok though, as I planned to have him walk alongside us as we made our way to Mt. Moon. That, combined with our daily training, should quickly help him adjust to the added weight and strain.
After that I worked to pack away everything I had bought, which had basically drained the small fortune I had received from beating Brock, and then some. Of course I bought only the most necessary of supplies to limit costs, prime rib Tauros steaks, giant Kingler legs, a rack of Oinkologne ribs. You know, only the most vital things.
But packing my things could only take me so long. And once that was done, I had no choice but to face the music.
Taking the Pokeball belonging to my only Pokemon not currently present, I tossed it out before a large shark appeared before me.
"Hey Sharpedo." I greeted her, feeling awkward for what I was about to do.
"Shar?" She asked, obviously noticing my awkward atmosphere.
"I'm planning to send you to professor Oak's lab." I told her bluntly, which prompted an immediate reaction.
"SHAR!"
"Ace!"
I heard Joy cry out in fear as Sharpedo lunged at me, her VERY lethal teeth bared. But I had my guard up since I figured she wouldn't take it well, and quickly threw up a pair of large hands I created out of aura.
I caught Sharpedo in midair and held her in place, even as her jaws snapped at me repeatedly. She then activated the jets on her backside, shooting herself forward with enough force that my feet began to slide across the ground.
"Piny!"
"Dos!"
Happiny and Cranidos both cried out as they tried to help me, only to be held back by Grovyle and Riolu as they and the others watched readily.
"Shar?!"
"No, my reason has nothing to do with how you did against Aerodactyl."
"Shar!?"
"Because I have something I want you to do there. Something that ONLY you can do." I told her calmly even as I tried holding her in place.
Thankfully that seemed to get through to her as Sharpedo calmed slightly, though the glare never left her as she waited for my explanation.
"In two months I plan on boarding a ship called the SS. Anne." I whispered to her quietly so Joy couldn't hear me. Not that I did trust her, I absolutely did, but I wanted to keep as many people from finding out as possible.
"That ship will be attacked by Team Rocket, so we will have to fight them back. I want you to go to professor Oak's lab in order to train the rest of your pack that are still there."
Sharpedo was silent as she hopefully digested what I told her.
"Shar?"
"Because, I want to have all of you acting as an additional guard around the ship while we're all on it, just in case. If you can get the rest of your pack to evolve before then, then I know I'll be assured with an entire pack of powerful Sharpedo watching out for us."
Sharpedo seemed to puff up slightly from my praises, which weren't too far off if I was being honest. A SMALL pack of Carvanha and Sharpedo can easily overwhelm even a Gyarados with minimal effort.
A pack as large as the one I had if they all evolved into Sharpedo? Let's just say they're called the 'bully of the sea' for a reason.
"Shar." Sharpedo eventually said, agreeing to go and train the rest of her pack.
"Good. And I expect you'll keep up on your own training as well. After all, the next Gym in Cerulean city is a water type Gym, and I'll definitely want my 'bully of the sea' with me when I challenge it!"
Sharpedo flashed me a toothy grin as I promised she'd rejoin me when I challenged the next Gym, before I returned her to her Pokeball. I then pulled out my Pokedex and pressed the little white button that we could use to change our our Pokemon whenever we wanted. So long as we had service.
I was then surprised when the screen changed to show the same box type screen we'd see in the games, which showed little sprites of all the Pokemon I'd caught so far. Further mimicking the games, there was even a section showing my current line up along with how many empty slots I had left, two out of ten since Miltank, Combee and Happiny didn't count as my breeder Pokemon.
I then moved the icon over Sharpedo's sprite and selected her, before moving her over to the box along with the rest of her pack, minus the Carvanha I gave to Misty. While I was there I also added a small icon on Sharpedo, marking her so that I could tell which amongst them was her when I needed to call her back.
When I was finished the Pokedex asked for a confirmation regarding the changes I made, which I gave it before Sharpedo's Pokeball disappeared from my hand in a flash of light. With the disappearance of her Pokeball, a strange sense of loss filled me despite the fact that I could call her back whenever I wanted.
"Good morning Ace!" Dawn greeted me suddenly, alerting me to the arrival of her, May and Misty.
"Good morning." I answered her back, though it was directed to all three of them.
"Hmph!" Misty harrumphed at me before turning away angrily, prompting me to cock a brow at the other two questioningly.
"Misty is a little annoyed about you spending that last night with other women." May explained quietly, to which I nodded in affirmation.
I wasn't too worried about her though since, over the next few days, she'd probably learn to take whatever breaks she could when it comes to my libido.
"Hey, where's Chatot?" Dawn asked worriedly as they went to go check on and prepare their Pokemon.
"Chatot?" Dawn's own voice replied back at her, signaling the return of the aforementioned Pokemon.
"Welcome back. Did it go well?" I inquired as the little bird perched on my shoulder.
"Well? Well?" It Chatotted back at me in my own voice.
"Excellent." I stated while pulling a treat from my bag, which I gave to Chatot in thanks for doing as I asked.
"What did Chatot do?" Dawn asked curiously, even as she returned it to its Pokeball.
"I asked it to help me run an errand." I replied without giving any details whatsoever, which annoyed Dawn slightly from being kept out of the loop.
"I'll explain later." I told her while kissing the top of her head, making Dawn smile instead of sulking.
The four of us then quickly prepared our Pokemon for travel, before returning to the room we had been using the last few days to make sure we had everything else. There we found Daisy getting ready for the day herself, all alone since apparently both Jenny's had already left.
"Good morning~!" I greeted Daisy happily, which she responded to with a warm smile before saying,
"Good morning. Those two left to go and get ready themselves. But we'll all see you guys out of town."
I nodded in affirmation as the girls and I checked to make we got everything of ours, clothes that had been washed and folded by the inn's cleaning service, utensils likes combs and toothbrushes, and anything else we might accidentally leave behind.
Soon enough that was finished as well, along with Daisy getting ready, and we were all off to leave town.
"Where's Ash and Tracey?" Misty wondered out loud.
"Probably sleeping in." I immediately responded, knowing how lazy my brother could be at times despite how hyperactive he usually was.
"Ri!" Riolu barked in agreement, having been sent by me to wake Ash up numerous times in the past.
We made our way through the inn to find Joy waiting for us by the entrance, her Happiny in her arms as she said to us,
"I'm coming to say goodbye too!"
"Of course!" I answered her with a smile, making her blush and fidget awkwardly in place.
Our trip through Pewter was relatively quiet since it was still well before noon, though the morning chill was already beginning to burn off. But when we reached the eastern edge of the city we found a small crowd of people waiting for us.
Standing there was Brock, Wendy and Kate, along with both Maid and Captain Jenny.
"Good morning!" Brock greeted us energetically, though his expression cramped as Wendy and Kate both approached me.
"Are you sure about this Ace?"
"Yeah! It might be dangerous by yourself!"
I smiled at their concerns regarding what I said yesterday about my plan to deal with any Rocket agents I 'accidentally' stumbled upon, and told them,
"I'd argue you two have the more dangerous job. 'If' I encounter Team Rocket it'll be in the wild, where we can battle on even footing. You guys meanwhile will be taking the fight to their home turf."
"Yeah, but we'll have an entire team behind us." Wendy countered.
"So do I." I told her, indicating Dawn, May and Misty as I said so, all of which puffed out their chess proudly at my acknowledgement.
"I guess so." Wendy said wryly, before looking back to me. "But remember, you can always call for backup."
I nodded slowly in acknowledgement, but at the same time I also swore I wouldn't call for backup unless I'd personally met whoever would come to help me. I still recalled the teacher who took part of my exam, Kincaid, and knew he had to be either involved with Team Rocket, or something even more sinister.
While I was lost in thought, I was surprised when Wendy suddenly planted her lips upon my cheek.
The kiss was brief, less than a second. And when she pulled away Wendy told me, "you earned that with everything you've done in Pewter. Keep it up and you might just earn more, Ranger."
If looks could kill then Brock probably would've murdered me tens times over at least in those few seconds as Wendy backed away, while I could also feel the gaze of a less-than-pleased Misty on my back. Ignoring both of them though, I looked to Captain Jenny as she cleared her throat.
"If you run into any trouble at Mt. Moon then give us a call. Our jurisdiction extends all the way to the Pokemon Center at its base on this side of it." She told me professionally.
"And?" I asked with a teasing edge to my voice.
"And..." She began, before suddenly grabbing my shirt and pulling herself up to my level for a quick kiss.
"And you better come back. Last night was the best fucking I ever had." She finished with heat in her voice, and desire in her eyes.
"Yes ma'am." I told her with a mock salute, making Captain Jenny scoff as she turned away embarrassedly.
"U-um..." Joy spoke up suddenly. "I-i-um..."
We all waited for her to finish what she had to say, but the entire time Joy could only stutter and blush heavily.
I could probably guess what it was she wanted to tell me, and I could make it a bit easier for her to say, but I decided not to. Joy would undoubtedly come with me if I asked her, but given what was in store for my future it would have to be something SHE chose. Not something I asked her to do.
Instead I merely placed my hand atop her head, startling Joy as she looked up at me uncertainly.
"B-be safe..." Was all she was able to get out after all of her previous effort.
"Always." I told her reassuringly, before turning to Daisy as the last one left of the group.
"Take care of yourself out there." She said while stepping forward to fix the collar of my shirt like a doting housewife.
"I always do." I told her like I had to Joy, though Daisy just cocked a brow at me as she lightly traced her finger over the new scar on my chest.
"Not like I got it on purpose." I told her defensively.
"It doesn't matter if it was on purpose or not. Accidents are called 'accidents' for a reason." Daisy replied sternly, before planting a quick kiss on my lips.
When we separated Daisy took a step back before waving her hand dismissively.
"Now get out of here. I know you're all itching to leave."
"Yes ma'am." I told her jokingly, before turning about as I started walking down the road.
"Goodbye!"
"I hope we see you all again!"
"Take care!"
The girls cried out behind me as they followed me, waving to the group as we left.
"Pip piplup!"
"K-ken!"
"Psy?"
"Ri!"
The Pokemon we had out all also said their farewells, particularly to Joy since she had spent so much I've taking care of them during our stay.
The moment we stepped beyond the city's boundary though, the strangest thing happened.
"!!!"
Riolu and I both looked around as we felt a wave of emotion pass through us, before something warm and wet trickled down my cheek.
"Ace, are you crying?" Dawn asked incredulously.
"Wait, what!?"
"So you DO have emotions!"
May and Misty exclaimed one after the other, while I reached up to wipe away the tears.
"No.... I'm not crying." I tried to deny, though I was more confused than they were since there was no reason for me to cry. And even more confusing was that Riolu was similarly wiping away tears from his face as well.
"It's ok to cry." Misty said in a comforting voice while rubbing my back, though I could tell she was reveling in this situation since I was apparently showing weakness.
"I already said I'm not crying." I stated irritably, though all three of the girls began comforting me while Piplup and Combusken both did the same with Riolu, despite our protests.
***
Meanwhile, at a park a few blocks away from the city's eastern limit, a beautiful woman was lounging in the shade of a tree.
She appeared to be in her early twenties and had a long flowing red hair, with looks that made several of the men walking the park paths around want to talk to her. They didn't however because of the menacing looking Rapidash that was curled up beside her, along with a stroller containing a baby.
And at that moment the baby began crying loudly to demand its mother's attention, which she readily gave it as she lifted the infant girl out of the stroller.
"What's wrong Amber?" The girl asked as she checked the baby over. She'd just fed her not too long ago, so she couldn't be hungry, and her diaper was clean as well.
Thankfully she began to settle down after several minutes of crying, allowing the woman to lovingly hold her in her arms.
"My beautiful little darling." The woman said as she admired her baby, while combing her tufts of red hair out of her eyes with her fingers.
This allowed the woman to see the beautiful eyes that her daughter had inherited from her father, and the inspiration behind her name. And they were truly beautiful big amber eyes, even if they were still red from crying.
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