Chapter 87: Route 7

Any nickname ideas for Itsuki's identity in the underworld? - Ice related.

Let me know!

For those who haven't caught on, his other side is an Aether Admin. He may or may not pay a visit to team rocket's hideout~

Don't forget to drop those power stones!

*

Before we knew it, we were on the road again. The first week if February, 2010 passed in a blink of an eye, where spent it in Vermillion City. A little adventure with one of the mythical Pokemon, Lugia to spending more time hanging out with friends I knew from childhood. Not only that, I came to know how this world worked some more, and that I now have a long term goal, making our way to Ilex Forest in Johto.

Or perhaps it's more of a short term goal?

The Kanto League won't happen until December. It's February but we already have three of eight badges.

I wouldn't be surprised if we managed to gather all eight badges before we make our trip back to Pallet Town in June. But that is still up in the air as we speak.

One simple reason, Route 7.

This route specifically has a couple of rare Pokemon I was wanting to catch before taking on the Celadon Gym with Serena and Lillie.

Everyone's favorite Kantonian doggo, Growlithe.

Catching Growlithe will add in a fire type to my current roster.

According to the style of the Celadon Gym, its Gym Leader, a girl who goes by the name Erika, does three on three battles. That meant I had to choose three Pokemon for this next battle.

The first slot I've already chosen, it will go to Scyther. I've already started to focus on Scyther's training once we exited the underground portion that lead to Route 7.

As for the second slot, it was a toss up between Fearow and Aerodactyl. I am a bit hesitant to use fossil Pokemon, as I don't know if the Gym Leaders have seen them much. But on the other side, Lieutenant Surge was only the third Gym Leader and yet he allowed Mega Evolution. So...I should be fine using Aerodactyl as my second slot in Erika's Gym, right?

Good, it's decided. Second slot will go to Aerodactyl.

As for the third slot, it will go to Growlithe.

Except Growlithe was the problem. Hell, even I managed to catch the other Pokemon that is even more rare than Growlithe, Porygon! Why do people always forget about this guy? Porygon and its evolution line is one of the strongest normal types, even in other regions. Porygon will also be useful to deal with Ghost type Pokemon, since Ghost type moves cannot affect Normal types.

I was also thinking of catching an Eevee, not only for me but for Serena and Lillie as well. I know lots of people like to catch one if they journey through Kanto, but with how special Eevee is, it can round off your typings that one may lack.

Since I'm planning to catch Growlithe now, I will have Fire and Water coverage. I also have Grass and Ice coverage, so that will leave me mainly to choose from Jolteon, Espeon or Umbreon. At this very moment, I'm leaning toward Espeon.

But even with these thoughts, I could only let out a sigh. Serena and Lillie saw this. Lillie tilted her head a bit and spoke.

"Itsuki?", Lillie asked.

"Say, Lillie, Serena, how long have we been like this camping out in Route 7? I mean we can see Celadon City not too far away, but why won't these damn Growlithe show up!? You agree with me, right, Porygon?" I asked, letting out a defeated sigh.

"Pory?", Porygon also replied back, confused.

"Hehe, we've already spent a week like this in Route 7. It's already halfway through February. Growlithe are quite rare. The only Trainers I typically saw them with are those Officer Jenny."

"I don't mind spending time like this with you guys in the wild. Thanks to this one week we've already shown good progress in training our Pokemon for the next gym. I'm already feeling a lot more confident in battling the next Gym Leader, Erika. Isn't that right, Snowy?"

"Vulpix!", Snowy responded happily.

"That is true, we were able to use this time to train. Have you two decided on who to use for the Rainbow Badge?", I decided to ask while taking another sip of my tea. It was morning again, on the seventh day we've spent on Route 7. We had our heavy duty tent out and were currently relaxing in it.

Serena and Lillie both nodded their heads.

"I might have it the easiest actually. Erika specializes in grass types right? I will for sure doubling up, using both of my Fire Pokemon, Vulpix and Litten. As for my last slot, it will be Abra. Oh, wait, you two aren't Litten and Abra anymore, are you?", Serena answered, bringing a smile to her face.

Among Serena's Pokemon right now, two figures stood out from the rest. One was basically a larger red and white cat, about two or three times as big as its prior evolution. As for the other, it was a much larger yellow humanoid Pokemon. It could also be seen holding a metal spoon in its right hand.

"Torracat!", Torracat responded happily, letting out a purr as it coiled up in Serena's lap. Serena petted her newly evolved Torracat.

"Kadabra.", Kadabra also responded. Kadabra was doing...Kadabra things. It often found how to find its own enjoyment, and it was completely fine being near us.

"You are definitely set to take on Erika, Serena. What about you, Lillie?", I asked her.

"I should probably be fine. I'll lead off with Nidorina and then keep Butterfree in the back. If I have to use Snowy, I will. I do say we got quite a few Grass checks already."

"Yes. Even for me, I'll resort to my Flying types, Scyther and Aerodactyl. My last one may have to be Fearow if we can't find this damn Growlithe."

"Hehehe, we'll just keep trying our luck until one shows up."

"I guess that's what we will have to do. As for when we arrive in the city, it is known to have the largest selection of markets in Kanto. It should have a market for Pokemon Eggs too. If we can find such a place, I was thinking of picking up three Eevee eggs for us to hatch while we travel.", I decided to explain.

Hearing this, Serena's eyes lit up while Lillie became interested.

"Eevee eggs? Really? Won't that let us choose who we would want to evolve our Eevee into?", Serena asked excitedly.

"That's exactly the plan. We will determine what type we lack, and buy the appropriate elemental stone to evolve our Eevee. Now would be a good time to stock up of what we need as well, for the next good stretch. After Celadon City, we will rent bikes and travel down the bicycle road to Fuschia City to challenge Koga, the Poison type Gym Leader. After that we can reverse step our way back to Lavender Town and if we want to, catch some Ghost type Pokemon there. By then we will not be too far away to enter Saffron City to challenge Sabrina, the Psychic type Gym Leader.", I explained the game plan to Serena and Lillie.

"This is typically the normal route Trainers take, as far as gym badges go, right?", Lillie asked.

"Yup. As for what we do after, we could cross paths back to Cerulean City and Pewter City to say hi to Misty and Brock again. Otherwise, we can fly out of Saffron City to fly directly into Viridian City to walk our way back to Pallet Town to travel down to Cinnabar Island by sea. Either way, we will make a quick stop st my home.", I continued to say.

"I feel we should do the first option, it would be nice to see Misty and Brock again. If we can knock this next stretch out quickly, we will have plenty of time to travel more before making our way back to Pallet Town.", Lillie answered.

"I also agree with Lillie. I'm already getting a good feeling for what we've got planned next. But that's still on hold cause we haven't found a Growlithe yet, hehe.", Serena said with a giggle.

"Ugh, you don't need to remind me--?", I tried to say, only for us to hear what sounded to be rustling noises in the tall grass near by our tent.

Rustle, Rustle.

Grass rustling became louder and louder, as if it was approaching.

"Shhh.", I immediately said, signaling the two to turn quiet.

Serena and Lillie closed their mouths and nodded. I got up first, bringing a Pokeball with me, which was Wartortle's. It didn't take long for us to find the place where the rustling was happening.

Upon seeing what was in the grass immediately brought a smile to my face. Not only that, it also brought me shock. What I was originally looking for was an orange dog with black stripes, but appeared instead was a yellow dog with black stripes!

It was a shiny Growlithe!

Shiny Growlithe also took notice of me, quickly entering a defensive stance. Seeing it disperse flames from its mouth, it was raring to battle.

"Grrr...", Growlithe said, letting out a low growl.

"Let's do this. Go Wartortle. We mustn't let this guy run away!", Saying that, I tossed out my Pokeball, which brought out Wartortle.

"Wartortle!", Wartortle said, immediately preparing to launch an attack upon seeing Growlithe.

It was time to battle!