Author's note:

Double release today, because Chapter 190 feels quite transitory and I feel bad about releasing it by itself.

***

As someone who spent such an inordinately long time of her new life in the Cerulean Gym, the idea of a major city without a Pokemon Gym just seemed odd to Nina.

She tried to look up the reason for it, studied the history of Cherrygrove City to find out why. But in the end, came up empty. As far as she could tell, the place had just always been like this. Or more than likely, the Great Clan that used to preside over the city fled to Kanto during the Blackthorn conquest and was never replaced.

Cherrygrove City was a quaint little place, not quite as backwards as Viridian City, but not as developed as some of the other cities that Nina had been to in this world either. 

There were a couple of taller buildings jutting out here and there and a fair bit of commercial activity thanks to the region’s central bus station being located in the city. But otherwise, despite its mid-sized port, actual shipping activity was scarce, owing to Goldenrod City having largely subsumed that sector.

“So, how long are we supposed to wait for Justin here?”

Nina sighed. “Don’t know, he couldn’t say… You know how he is, fickle as the wind and the attention span of a Growlithe with ADHD.”

The trip from New Bark Town to Cherrygrove, after accounting for all their detours, took the two girls over a week, even with their Mach Bikes, owing to Nina’s penchant for deviating off route whenever any of her Pokemon sensed anything interesting.

It was now February, temperatures were a lot warmer thanks to Johto being closer to the southern hemisphere, and the new Gym season had officially begun.

And when Nina called in to check on Justin, who somehow managed to get fifth place in the Indigo Conference, he expressed an interest in wanting to join Nina’s journey. Usually, most people would opt for some down time back home before setting off again, but the boy was evidently too restless for that. 

“I’m gonna go crazy if I have to listen to that old hag’s nagging for even one more day!” He exclaimed, during their call.

Kerry frowned. “His childhood friend is coming along right? Doesn’t that girl have a Charizard? They could probably Fly here today if they wanted to.” She whined, eliciting another sigh from her friend.

“Apparently, he wants to try climbing Mount Silver as well. Probably shouldn’t have told him about our encounter with Red…”

Nina tilted her head in consideration. While all the cute little statues of Quagsires in Jojo poses were charming, there wasn’t really much to do in Cherrygrove. “Except maybe the Quagsire Shrine down the river, but that’s like half a day at most.”

“Screw it!” Nina exclaimed. “We’ll stay a couple of days here to rest and restock. And if Justin and Lucy still aren’t showing up, then we’ll head up north to Route 30. There’s a little off route village there with an Apricorn orchard and a community of artisanal Pokeball smiths.” 

And according to Professor Elm, Nina could also meet with Mr Pokemon, one of the Gold and Silver NPCs in her past life who was also an eccentric researcher and Pokemon breeder in this world.

“If those two kids show up in Cherrygrove in time, then I’ll send them a coordinate to meet us in the village. If not, then we’ll head straight to Violet City and tell them to meet us there instead. The both of us need some time to prep our Pokemon to challenge Falkner anyway.”

The Violet City Gym Leader was not a pushover like in the games. Flying Type Pokemon, alongside the likes of Normal Types, were species that had the widest range of Type diversity. So the girls would have to be very tactical about their approach. 

Not to mention, as a former law enforcer and the patriarch of a very old and conservative noble family, Falkner himself was also quite the stringent hardass when it came to his Gym’s pride.

Nina groaned internally. As far as the difficulty level of Star badges went, Falkner’s was pretty up there. So she wasn’t harboring any hopes of earning one from him. At most, she could maybe strive for an Expert badge if she did well enough in the screening battles.

“But then again, I suppose I do have to train my team to be strong enough to wrench that Volcano Star badge from Volcarona. How am I supposed to overpower an ancient Alpha Pokemon if I can’t even beat at least some of Falkner’s Star team.”

In truth, Nina had originally decided to go to Azalea Town next. She wasn’t even really planning to challenge Falkner, just help out Kerry with her training and coach her by the side while she commuted back and forth to the Ruins of Alph during their time in Violet City.

But considering she was planning on spending an inordinate amount of time in Ilex Forest to look for Celebi, and ran a high risk of being incommunicable, it was more convenient for Justin to meet them in Violet City instead. And if it was going to be a long wait, then she might as well spend her time productively.

“Also, if I remember correctly, there’s a cave up in Route 31 with Dunsparce in it…” The idea of owning a drill that could pierce the heavens appealed greatly to Nina. “But, we’ll see how it goes.”

She already had Sir Clodington for all her Digging needs anyway.

***

In the end, Justin never showed up. So Nina and Kerry were now trekking up a precariously steep trail on a mountainous forest, to reach the village of Pokeball smiths.

They had tried to use their bikes to go as far as they could — the Mach Bikes, despite their speedy nature, were quite competent off-roaders as well. However, the trail eventually became too narrow, forcing them to get off and continue on foot.

Kerry huffed in exhaustion, nearly falling from being startled by an Ekans that tried to bite at her. But luckily, she had Rocky the Geodude with her who blocked the attack and fought it off. “How much longer, Nina?” The girl whined.

Nina halted to take in a breath of her own as she checked on her map. “This should be the last uphill portion that we have to get through. After that, the terrain should level off and open up a bit. Do you need a break, Kerr?”

The nurse apprentice shook her head. Kerry wasn’t so fragile that she couldn’t handle a little rough trek. Though she was regretting not staying an extra day in Cherrygrove — the girl missed hot showers.

Nina smiled and exchanged a few words of encouragement with her friend before continuing on the trek with Poppy resting on her head, just like how Espy used to when she was an Eevee. “In hindsight, I probably should have just used Nitey to cheat this part.” She mused. It wasn’t like she or Kerry were adrenaline junkies or anything. “Lesson learned for next time…”

“Kukuku…” Eventually though, Brucey, whom Nina sent ahead as a scout, came back with good news — signs of civilization. And so, with renewed vigour, the two girls forged ahead and were able to encounter an older girl, who was out gathering wild Apricorns with a basket strapped to her back.

“You two out here to commission Apricorn Balls?” The older girl asked, with a stoic face and a curt manner. The dark haired girl wore a set of light blue haori with a pair of straw sandals and a layer of Sentret fur on her back, looking like she had just walked out of an old Ghibli movie.

But the two travellers were undeterred, merely returning the sentiment with friendly smiles. “Hi there, we’re actually here primarily to visit Mr Pokemon. Is he still living in these parts by any chance?”

The older girl nodded. “Aye, that old fart. Do you need a guide to the village?”

“We do have a map and coordinates. But if it isn’t too much trouble…” Nina replied sheepishly, only to earn another curt nod from the girl as she hollered at the tree she was standing under, summoning a Heracross that poked its cross shaped horns from the treetop, indicating that it was a male.

“Oi! Kuwamushi! Let’s wrap up and head back home!”

“Cross.” At his trainer’s words, the Heracross fell from the tree and fluttered gently down the ground with a pair of rapidly flickering insectoid wings sheathed underneath shiny blue elytra shells.

As he landed, Nina could see that the Heracross held a little net of pale green Apricorns in his grasp. “Oh, I didn’t know that Apricorns were available so early in the season?”

“They ain’t,” said the older girl as she grabbed hold of her Pokemon’s haul and examined the Apricorns one by one. “But the unripe ones have a sharp flavor that my grandpa loves, and we can only really get them around this time.”

Nina nodded in curiosity and thanked the girl for her insight. “Sorry to cut your harvest short. My friend and I are happy to wait for you to be done before leaving, we’re not in a rush or anything.”

But the older girl merely shook her head and gestured for them to follow, her Heracross in tow. “Nah, we’re about done here. Can’t take too much, else we won’t have enough for crafting.”

“So it’s true then, that your village consists of mostly Pokeball smiths?”

“Just a few of us. The rest have their own business.” The older girl replied, curt as ever.

Nina nodded. “I wouldn’t mind commissioning some custom Apricorn Balls if any of the esteemed craftsmen of your village are willing.”

“We do take commissions, aye. But only if it's worth our while.”

Nina smiled. “Very pragmatic…” She tried to make more conversation. But unfortunately, the older girl wasn’t very receptive. Though Nina could tell that she wasn’t entirely unfriendly, just a little distracted, her mind seemingly preoccupied with other matters.

***

It was approaching dusk by the time that the three girls reached the village. The skies tinged a fiery orange, casting a greyish purple tint over the rural village.

The Apricorn Village itself was an interesting place; houses of wood and tarpaulin built upon pitched slopes of the mountain amidst empty rice fields. A quaint little shrine adorned the highest tier, beyond unkempt bushes and overgrown trees.

All around, Nina could see residents going about their daily routine, most of them skewing towards the older side with the occasional laughter of children running amok.

The girl who guided Nina and Kerry pointed towards an unpaved path which led down the slope, towards a little clearing at the bottom. “Head down this way until the end and you’ll find the man you seek.”

Nina and Kerry thanked the girl for her kindness, making sure to introduce themselves before they parted ways since they hadn’t done so yet.

The girl nodded in acknowledgement. “My name is Maizie, may we meet again.” And with that, the older girl left, taking a path that led upwards instead of down. Heracross, though, was friendly enough to wave goodbye with a happy expression before following suit.

***

Author's note:

Cherrygrove City is probably the most pointless city in the whole of Pokemon in my mind. There's really nothing there at all.