“I don’t see too big a difference…” Kerry mused as she watched Azzy intercept yet another Anchor Shot.

Nina shrugged. “Yeah… The Shadow Signs are fiddly because they mean different things to different Ghosts. Some trial and error is expected.”

The girl contorted her hands a little bit more and all of a sudden, Dhelmise was calm again. “Hmm… It seems I might have accidentally insulted Dhelmise’s sensibilities there. If it even had any sensibilities…” Nina hummed as she scribbled in her notes.

“Still, Morty did me a huge favour here. I don’t know if I’ll ever reach a point where I can treat it the same as my other Pokemon. But at least Dhelmise understands now, sort of. Which means I can use it in battles at least.” Dhelmise was strong enough as it was. Nina just needed to focus its attention and direct it to move in smarter, more strategic ways.

“Azzy seems to be getting along pretty well with her new junior though.” Kerry remarked at the sight of the Haunter fearlessly decorating the eldritch horror with origami like it was some sort of exotic house plant.

“Yeah, Azzy’s chemistry with Dhelmise has been a pleasant surprise. But it kind of makes sense? Given how much Azzy loves flowers and nature. Especially now that they could communicate through sign language, having a Grass Type that she can interact with freely without worry must have been cathartic.” Nina had already made the decision to leave Dhelmise’s conditioning to Azzy. Hopefully, her beloved Ghost girl can instill some civility to the feral Pokemon.

Kerry nodded in intrigue and took down notes of her own in her Pokedex.

“Did you know, by the way?” Nina asked. “About the different categorizations of Ghost Type Pokemon?”

“I’m sure it should be in our clan’s database somewhere, but I haven’t exactly picked a specialization yet.” The young Nurse Joy responded with a wry smile. “Even among our clan’s women, Nurses specialized in handling Ghost Types are in the minority.”

In fact, part of what motivated Kerry to catch Kaipo last time was because she wanted to study the living Ghost and learn how to care for them.

“Ho… I didn’t know that different nurses had different specializations.” Nina was still a little bound to her gamer prejudice of Nurse Joy’s just sticking Pokeballs on a machine to heal them. Even though she knew that was objectively untrue.

Kerry laughed. “Of course! Even us humans have different specializations for different parts of our bodies right? Like a cardiologist for the heart and all that. The world of Pokemon is infinitely more vast and complex. It’d be impossible for any one nurse to learn everything.”

“Yeah, that makes sense… Anyways, you said that Ash and Pikachu are discharging soon? Thanks for letting me know. I should go and send them off.” Nina had been so caught up on Dhelmise’s training that she completely neglected to go visit the duo.

“Hehe. No worries. I wanna come and say goodbye to Pikachu too. He looked really cute, being all nervous to be away from his trainer and all.”

“Sure, let me just finish up with Dhelmise and I’ll have Nitey Fly us back.” And so, Nina tried to clumsily sign some compliments to her Ghostly bundle of eldritch seaweed, returned it to its Ultra Ball and blew into her whistle to summon her partner before flying off with Kerry on her back.

***

“Hey, Ash! What’s the hurry?”

“Bi! Bibibi bi!”

“Nina! Celebi! I was worried I would miss you guys.”

“Pika-pi!

The girl giggled at Pikachu’s tingly nuzzles and returned Ash’s hug. “Sorry I got too caught up with my Pokemon’s training.”

“Heh. It’s okay, I get it. Gotta be the very best right?”

Nina laughed. “I’m actually aiming to be an explorer but well… If I win a few Pokemon battles along the way, it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Says the girl who kicked Giovanni’s butt!” Ash guffawed. “Thanks again for saving me. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if I was still just stuck there…” The young man shivered, his bright and sunny expression immediately dimming.

Nina gave the traumatized protagonist a little squeeze. “Hey, you’ll be alright. I’m sure you would have figured a way out even if I hadn’t shown up. I mean, you’re Ash Ketchum — Pokemon Master right?”

Ash laughed. “You know, you’re the only one who's ever called me that. Nobody else does...”

“That’s because we don’t want you to get a big head!” Brock chimed in with a cheeky grin.

“Also, what sort of Pokemon Master runs around without his Pokemon!” Misty piled on with a slap on her friend’s back. “Maybe you wouldn’t have needed my Nina to save you if you hadn’t been such an idiot!”

“Alright, I get it already!” Ash grumbled. “I already had Professor Oak transfer some of my Pokemon over this morning. I won’t make the same mistake again.” He swore with a severe look in his eyes.

“Pika-pi! Pikachu!” Pikachu, perched atop Kerry’s shoulder, cried while glaring daggers at his trainer — a look that screamed; “See! I told you so!”

The group standing in front of the Teleport station laughed.

“Say hi to Mrs Ketchum for me, alright?” Misty said as she pulled Ash in for a hug. She wouldn’t be Teleporting on account of her pregnancy.

Nina and Celebi joined in on the hug as well. “And make sure to take some time off to readjust before wandering off again.”

“Bi. Celebi!”

“Yeah. Will do. Thanks again, Nina, Celebi. If you ever need my help, just give me a call.”

Brock stepped in to say his own farewells as well, given that he was escorting Ash to Pallet Town. In particular, he gave Nina a tight hug and thanked her profusely for saving his friend.

“Likewise, if ever you need anything, anything at all… Just come on over to Pewter. You know where to find me.”

“Thanks Brock. I might just take you up on that.”

The two separated and Nina watched as Ash, Pikachu and Brock walked into the Teleport chamber containing an Alakazam.

“Right!” Misty clapped and turned to address her niece with a mischievous smirk. “Now that that’s done with. Let’s talk about the work that Violet arranged for you here in Goldenrod.”

“Urghhh…” Nina groaned and turned around to hop back onto her Dragonite, only to be grabbed by the hem of her collar.

“Damned Slaking woman! How’s a pregnant lady still so strong!”

***

“I knew I would find you here!” Nina said as she and Kerry entered the familiar confines of a Game Corner in search of their friend.

“Nina, look! They’re giving away tickets to the Johto Safari Zone!” Justin exclaimed.

“They’re not giving it away. You have to win it!” Nina chuckled as she recalled her dad’s words about bureaucrats and grey lines. “They can’t use Pokemon as prizes so they’re giving away trips to a Pokemon sanctuary instead. That’s… acceptable, I guess.”

Unlike the ones in Celadon City, the Goldenrod Game Corner was the only one in the Johto region and was very strictly regulated.

The only games allowed in here were games like Card Flip or Sudoku and other such intellectual challenges. Mindless brainrot like slot machines and pachinko were strictly prohibited. So one could almost consider it as more of a Bingo club as opposed to a casino.

Other forms of card games were present as well but they were balanced by the distinctly underwhelming prize selection as compared to the luxurious pool that Nina saw in the Yamaguchi Game Corner — just potions, sundries and other household items. Really, the only prize worth the time was the Safari Zone tickets.

But the point requirements were so absurd that Justin might as well save himself the trouble and just buy the tickets outright. A fact that he soon discovered after blowing up in Card Flip for the fifth consecutive time in a row.

“I didn’t know there was a Safari Zone in Johto?” Kerry mused.

“The one in Johto is more recent than ours.” Nina explained. “And the owner developed it more as a luxury resort rather than a dedicated nature preserve. They used to have a more diverse ecosystem of Pokemon, but the Kantonian one has caught up since. Even the small Gible colony that served as the main attraction no longer exists after the Blackthorns intervened — Dragon clan accord and all that.”

“Aww man…” Justin whined as he finally walked away from the Card Flip table. “This place sucks! The Game Corner in Celadon was better.”

Nina scoffed. “Gambling’s not good for you, Jayden. Anyways, Kerry and I are heading to the Pokeathlon Dome. Wanna come with?”

“It’s Justin! But sure! What are we gonna be doing?”

***

“Horsies!” Kerry squealed as she threw herself against the fiery mane of a Ponyta.

Meanwhile, Nina smiled as she went to greet the matronly woman who was her manager. “Mizuho…”

“Nina! How are you?” The blue haired woman beamed as she pulled the girl into her suffocating bosom.

“Oomph! I’m fine. Even better if this is the only thing that Violet is making me do.” The girl replied, voice sounding a little muffled.

The woman laughed. “Oh don’t you worry. Once word gets out that Aquarium Girl singlehandedly apprehended THE Giovanni, the Gym will be raking it in. I won’t let Violet push her luck any further than this. And besides, it’s the Crystal Derby! Isn’t it exciting?! I thought you’d be all over this!”

“Sure, if I was a horse girl. Which I definitely am not.” Nina held back her protest.

“Wait, Nina. Are you gonna be racing?!” Justin exclaimed.

The girl sighed. “Yeah… apparently there’s going to be a celebrity exhibition race before the real thing. Which I was told Whitney will be a part of, even though she’s a contender in the derby as well? How does that make sense?”

Mizuho chuckled. “Whitney grew up on a farm, so she’s really good with Pokemon of that nature. I’m guessing part of it is enjoyment and part of it is because that brat just can’t help showing off.”

Nina groaned. “Of course…”

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad. And you get to play with all these cuties.” Mizuho gestured at all the Ride Pokemon roaming about the field.

There were Rapidashes of course, some white, some dark and some with spotted patterns. But there were also Tauroses, Stantlers, Gogoats and the like.

“Ohhh… Is that a Sawsbuck!” Nina gasped, referring to the deer Pokemon with colourful and leafy branches as their antlers, already distracted from her reservations.

“Yup! We’ve got Riders gathered from all over the world to take part in the Crystal Derby. And as a celebrity guest, you get to pick any one of these babies as your Ride — subject to their owner’s approval.” Mizuho beckoned for the girl to follow. “C’mon, let’s go meet your coach. They’ll be teaching you on how to become a proper racing jockey over the next week.”