Thankfully, the Rangers had managed to calm the situation down again overnight, with the Forest as a whole somewhat returning to normal. Slowly, at least. No one was being let in at the moment, only out, and the Forest would remain in ‘yellow’ travel status for at least a week or two. Possibly longer if anything else disrupted the return toward normalcy.
Also thankfully, they’d actually covered a fairly decent distance the day before, before the Scyther/Beedrill incident. Despite having stopped several times previously to patch up various pokémon, their cutting away from the official paths had shaved a lot of time off the winding route said paths followed. As a result, they were finally able to reach the edge of Forest right around mid-afternoon, on the third day after leaving Viridian City. Not much longer, in truth, than the trip would have taken without interruption.
Pewter was, in fact, an actual city. Yet it was only perhaps a third the size of Viridian. Constrained by the surrounding mountains, the city hadn’t been able to spread out nearly as far. Doubly so as it was difficult enough to move foodstuff to and from the city that it needed a sizable area of farmland immediately around it. This, over the last few decades, had led to a somewhat odd situation where the traditional stone-architecture of the city had slowly given way to metal and glass as buildings were forced to grow UP to accommodate any growth to the city population.
That population was thriving, approaching a hundred thousand now when it had been less than half that just a few decades previously. Something which made the mixed architecture increasingly common, and walking through the streets a little surreal. On one lot you would see a very traditional stone-and-mortar corner store…and then two lots down was an ultra-modern high rise apartment block.
The Gym, when they finally made their way to it, was a surprising fusion of the styles. The extremely large ground floor was made of nearly-unfinished stone, which had been smoothly transitioned to a more polished looking granite with lots of windows for the upper floors. It was a clear, and mostly successful, attempt to fuse the two architectural styles that now made up Pewter City, though 2B knew that had not been the case until quite recently. Something she explained to Zoey when the girl expressed her surprise at first seeing the Fusion-Style Gym.
“Technically, the Gym leader here in Pewter is still Flint, but the reality is a little more complicated. There was drama two years ago when his wife attempted to turn it into a Water Type Gym. The end result was his son, Forrest, mostly taking over so that the Gym didn’t get demoted to a Minor Gym. He’s had the Gym rebuilt over the last few years into something more modern. Which the Mayor’s helped fund it as a political move.”
Zoey blinked, then frowned.
“Wait, so…who’s actually doing battles at the Gym then?”
2B waggled her hand.
“It depends. Forrest isn’t actually old enough to be the official leader, yet. So Flint is still technically in charge and handles both low-level challengers and many of the non-battle aspects of being a Gym Leader. Forrest is the real powerhouse that fights the rarer high-level matches, however, and everyone knows the Gym is essentially his. Even the League, after having him tested, made a special accommodation for it. We would normally fight Flint, but the chaos in Viridian Forest might mean Forrest takes the challenge. Assuming the Gym isn’t shut down completely.”
Thankfully, they reached the doors a moment after 2B’s explanation finished, and found at least the reception area was open. There were a few Trainers lingering about, along with a single receptionist that quickly greeted them.
“Hello! I’m afraid there are no battles today, due to sudden issues in Viridian Forest and at the ExoDrilling mine site! I can, however, still get you scheduled for a future timeslot if you are willing!”
2B nodded, with Zoey speaking up for both of them.
“We sort of expected that, since we just came from the Forest ourselves. We would both like to put in for a match as soon as possible, however.”
The receptionist sighed and nodded, before looking down at her computer. A few tapped keys to pull up the schedule and she spoke again.
“Badge level and Trainer IDs, please!”
Both of them quickly stated First Badge and presented their IDs. Zoey’s was on her pokégear, but 2B’s was in her pokédex. The receptionist perked up at that, as such was generally only the case for Lab Trainers and similar.
“Normally, we give some preference to Lab Trainers. But I’m afraid, with the matches that already had to be rescheduled, that the earliest I can get you in is ten days from now. There are back-to-back slots available at 2:00 and 2:30 in the afternoon on the 15th.”
The woman winced a bit at that, but neither Zoey nor 2B really minded. Both of them had new teammates that they really needed to get up-to-snuff before challenging a Gym anyway. Besides, it was near enough to the start of the season that at least a few days of delay had been practically guaranteed. With the chaos in the Forest, it was honestly amazing the delay wasn’t longer. The receptionist untensed, visibly relaxing when they said as much.
“Oh, thank goodness! You would not believe the number of times we’ve gotten yelled at in the last few days. Normally, there are two of us up here at a time, but we’ve taken to rotating so we can blow off steam from all the angry Trainers…”
Both of them winced, and Zoey instinctively reached forward to pat the wilting receptionist on the shoulder. The woman perked up and smiled more naturally this time. She quickly noted down their times and handed them back their IDs, along with a pair of appointment cards.
“Well, there you go! I also must warn you that the Battle Courts are temporarily out of service, since we can’t spare the Gym Trainers to keep an eye on them. However, a small event by the local trainers has been arranged at the Pewter Coliseum, where you can run a gauntlet battle, if you want! The local Nurse Joys have sponsored that, complete with lending a few Chansey to look after injuries!”
Taking the flier she presented them with the information about said event, they thanked her and left the building. Zoey was looking over the pamphlet as she walked and quickly nodded.
“Something of a rushed printing. Likely an effort to bleed off the tension from the Gym suddenly being shut down and so many Trainers trapped here unless they want to go through Mt. Moon or hire a flight pokémon.”
2B took the pamphlet, noting its crude graphics, a few typos and the limited prizes. Without the official support of the local members of the Joy Clan, she might have been inclined to report it to the local Jenny. As it was, even if she might not have put the pieces together without Zoey’s comment, she could see the reasoning.
“That makes sense. The city must be somewhat overloaded with Trainers and one of the two places they would normally go exploring for wild battles and captures is currently off limits. This gives them something to do.”
Zoey nodded.
“The token prizes are all things the Pokémon Center likely stocks in bulk at wholesale prices, or were authorized through the Joy Clan. The biggest are the two TMs, Rest and Calm Mind, and I’d bet the Joys have a ton of copies of those technical machines lying around. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked if they were the primary supplier for the input of those two TMs.”
2B pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and nodded her agreement. While most thought of Calm Mind in particular as a setup move for battles, the truth was it helped pokémon focus on anything. It would be utterly unsurprising if every Joy Clan pokémon that could learn it knew the move. To help with delicate surgery and other moments where total focus was needed, if nothing else. Rest, too, would likely be a major boon for pokémon that were ‘on call’ a lot.
“You are most likely correct.” Humming for a moment, she added a bit more. “It might be a good opportunity to practice against rock and ground types, since the Trainers running it are locals. Rock, Ground, and Bug are by far the most common pokémon in Pewter.”
Zoey blinked at that, taking the pamphlet back to check something, then nodded.
“They are running it through the end of the week. We can rest and train for a few days to plan strategies, then test them against this Pewter Gauntlet Challenge before our Gym challenges. That sounds like an excellent plan.”
2B nodded agreement, even as the two of them continued onward toward one of the town’s Pokémon Centers…
… … …
It was a few hours later, just after dusk, when the pair finally found a place to stay. The difficulty hadn’t been entirely unanticipated. Pewter was always busy this time of year, though each of its two Pokémon Centers were also significantly larger than normal, having been built with a greater number of accommodations. The Trainer surge hitting Pewter first was hardly a new thing, and the city had long ago adapted. Both centers had over three times the number of rooms available as the average Pokémon Center, and Pewter always set aside campground space during the first half of the League Circuit as well.
In this case, it hadn’t been enough.
The full stop on travel through Viridian Forrest for the last three days had slowed the number of Trainers leaving the city, without affecting the number still arriving nearly as much. Worse, the Gym being closed to battles for the same period had farther frozen the trickle that would normally be leaving only after a challenge. The result was that even the usual precautions taken by the city hadn’t been sufficient to keep from causing overflow issues when it came to places to stay.
Thankfully for Zoey and 2B, most Trainers just starting their Journeys were, frankly…sort of poor.
That wasn’t a knock on the system. The League-provided stipend for new Trainers was, in fact, honestly quite generous. Doubly so when one considered that medical treatment for both pokémon and humans was completely free, and Trainers could stay for free at Pokémon Centers most of the time. However, the start of any Journey tended to be where the greatest pinch was felt by average Trainers. Supplies for both themselves and their pokémon were required, with many of those supplies being things they would use for years, but which still needed to be provided for at the starting line.
The result was that most Trainers weren’t well enough off for fancier accommodations at the start of their Journey. This wasn’t honestly a bad thing, in most cases, as it actually served to teach new Trainers about money management. Enough services were available, both in the form of side-jobs posted at Pokémon Centers and Gyms, and in basic food provided by Centers if you were broke, that no one would starve out of anything other than pride. Yet a poorly managed budget would put you on the back foot, causing you many minor to moderate problems and teaching you some important life lessons.
It was, of course, not a universal problem. Trainers with rich and indulgent families rarely suffered the issue, just as one example. Likewise, those who spent a year at an Academy or PokéTech school usually built up their initial starting supplies long before their Journey began, on the recommendation of their instructors. Lab Trainers or those with other sponsors also had larger support networks and better stipends. Then there were the extremely rare cases like 2B who were independently well-off before they ever got their starter.
Which, as it happened, was how Zoey and 2B were eventually able to solve the issue of where to sleep. While Zoey wasn’t the same level of rich that 2B’s additions to the Pokémon Storage System and invention of the Storage Bracers had made her, she was still an experienced Trainer on her third year. She had plenty of money from various Contest wins, modeling deals, etc., and 2B had more still. As such, after striking out at the Pokémon Centers, they’d started checking hotels. Even there, most of them were full for regular rooms, but they’d found one with a high-end suite available.
One suite. Which they had to share.
Which is how Zoey had found herself subjected to 2B’s version of sleepwear again.
This time it wasn’t the nipple-revealing negligee, but Zoey legitimately wasn’t sure if what she got instead was better or worse for her growing levels of horny regarding her companion. Instead of the flimsy, nearly transparent negligee, 2B had put on an honest-to-Arceus teddy. One with enough transparent bits that there was more skin revealed than not. It was, without question, lingerie rather than normal sleepwear, which was throwing Zoey for a massive loop.
Mostly, of course, because the other girl was utterly nonchalant about wearing it.
With almost literally anyone else, Zoey would have assumed wearing something like that was a deliberate invitation. Yet, when she’d managed a strained question about it, 2B had simply preened and happily explained that one of Daisy’s Coordinator friends had picked it out for her, saying it was good for ‘wearing when sleeping with others.’ 2B was so obviously pleased to be using it that Zoey was almost certain she hadn’t quite understood what this ‘Mitsumi’ had meant.
Zoey couldn’t exactly bring herself to explain, and not just out of embarrassment. She was very much enjoying the view, after all. She also had trouble summoning any guilt over that fact. Mostly, it had to be said, because she’d already realized that 2B had basically zero body modesty, at least around other women. Though, something told her that even around men, any body modesty would probably be an artificial reaction.
She had finally gotten a basic description of the ‘Common Sense Checklist’ out of 2B while they were leaving the Forest after all. She had, in fact, almost tripped into an outright comedic faceplant at the reveal that it was literal. That the other girl literally had a mental checklist of things she was supposed to review as ‘Common Sense,’ before she did anything new.
The reveal of the list had come complete with a few cheerfully offered examples.
Some of which, like ‘don’t fistfight Gyarados without a good reason,’ were more than a little alarming.
It did mean that she now had a much better picture of 2B’s oddness. Not a complete one by any means, but a better one. Apparently, the other girl was simply too…Zoey didn’t want to say ‘inhuman,’ as that wasn’t quite right. Whatever it was, Zoey couldn’t quite put a label on it, but the result was that she just didn’t quite mentally register the same things as Common Sense that other people did.
Which, given that she apparently had beat up a newly evolved Gyarados with her bare hands and then scolded it into better behavior? It sort of made sense. If you had the physical strength, stamina, and durability of at least a mid-level Pokémon, a lot of the things that a regular human needed to be wary of just…weren’t much of an issue. Combined with what Zoey was pretty sure was very limited socialization prior to her meeting the Oaks, and the basic puzzle of 2B’s odd behavior started to at least loosely resemble logical.
None of which was helping her keep her eyes from wandering to 2B’s ass whenever it was in view. She was pretty certain the other girl had noticed Zoey’s eyes falling below her neck repeatedly when she was facing her too. The fact that she didn’t seem to mind, at all, was another mental turmoil-inducing problem. Zoey wasn’t at all sure if that meant 2B was interested, oblivious, or just uncaring due to the lack of body modesty.
She was increasingly hoping for the ‘interested’ option. Otherwise, sticking around the girl might just kill her. As it was, she was going to need a long shower. She was actively debating if it should be a cold one, or if she should just give in and take advantage of the fact that this super-nice suite had a ‘wand’ type shower head that would be great for resetting her hormones…
... ... ... ... ... ... ...
A/N 1: Right! Quick reminder...I'm using the ANIME appearances of the various cities, not the games. Pewter is odd in that it's DESCRIBED as being Rock and Granite everywhere, but the anime appearance is a fairly generic modern city. So I split the difference a bit here architecture wise.