Moon: But I don’t know where to find an NPC who rents helicopters.
Naoki stared at that for a moment.
Larry: Do you have a map of the Kanto region?
Mark roughly where you are on it and send it to me.
Inside the cave, Moon hesitated.
What if this person was like the others, trying to get her location so they could hand her over to Team Rocket?
But she had nowhere left to go.
Every Potion in her bag was gone.
She looked at Pikachu and Meowth beside her.
If they did not get treatment soon…
Moon gritted her teeth and decided to trust the player called Larry one time.
She pulled out her Kanto map, marked her position, and sent it as an image.
Naoki received it quickly.
The terrain and city layout matched his memory well enough.
Moon’s marked position put her in the wilderness north of Celadon City.
Larry: Can your Pidgeotto still fly?
If she can, ride her south toward Celadon City.
If you can’t find a helicopter, go to the port and hire a boat.
Have an NPC take you to Paldea.
Moon: Pidgeotto’s wings are hurt.
I’ve used up every Potion I had.
Naoki let out a quiet sigh.
He happened to have a few basic Potions on him, supplies he had prepared for Zorua.
Injuries during training were common enough that it made sense to carry them.
He sent the Potions through the player trading function directly to Moon’s inventory.
Her reply came almost immediately.
Moon: Thank you so much!
Larry: How old are you?
Moon: 14!
I’m in my second year of middle school.
I have my high school entrance exams next year!
Naoki said nothing for a moment.
Minors could play Pokémon?
Lam Star apparently had no age restrictions on the game.
That explained quite a lot about how Moon had been handling things.
After a brief pause he typed out a set of instructions.
Larry: When you reach Celadon City, keep a low profile.
Do not go to the Pokémon Center.
Go straight to Celadon Port and find a boat.
Once you arrive in Paldea, look for an NPC called Naoki.
Show him what you can do and he will arrange for you to join the Paldea League.
From a player’s perspective, a rank-and-file League employee was roughly equivalent to a civil servant in the real world.
Steady income, stable position.
Moon read the message, wiped the remaining tears from her face, and typed back a sincere thank you.
Then she pushed herself up from the cold stone floor of the cave and recalled Pikachu and Meowth into their balls.
She had something more important to do now.
Thanks to the Potions Larry had sent, Pidgeotto’s injuries had eased enough to matter.
“Pidgeotto, I’m sorry.”
The guilt hit her all at once, and her eyes filled again.
If she had gone to the Kanto League sooner instead of going along with Team Rocket for as long as she had, Pidgeotto would not be hurt and Gastly would still be with them.
Pidgeotto looked at her trainer, then gently pressed her head against Moon’s cheek.
She turned and indicated her back.
“Let’s go.
Larry is waiting for us there.” Moon climbed on.
If they made it through this, she was going to find a way to properly thank him.
Once her trainer was settled, Pidgeotto pushed through the pain, spread her wings, and lifted into the air.
The ground fell away beneath them.
Cold wind rushed past on either side.
Evolution had made Pidgeotto faster.
They moved south quickly, and before long the forest gave way at the horizon to reveal a sprawling port city gleaming in the distance.
Celadon City.
Moon’s eyes lit up.
Once they reached it, she could finally leave Kanto behind.
Then a dark shape dropped out of the sky ahead of them.
A Pokémon, black from head to tail, with a yellow beak and the unmistakable silhouette of a crow.
The feathers atop its head resembled a black witch’s hat, and its tail fanned out like a broomstick.
Dark and Flying type.
Honchkrow.
Before Pidgeotto could react, a sphere of purple energy condensed in Honchkrow’s beak and came streaking toward them.
Pidgeotto took the hit without warning.
She cried out and plummeted straight down into the forest below, wrapping her wings around her trainer on the way down.
When Moon pulled herself up from the ground, she found Pidgeotto lying completely still beside her.
“Pidgeotto!” Moon called out frantically.
Then a familiar voice came from ahead.
“Impressive.
You almost got away.”
Moon looked up.
A woman with long red hair and a full figure walked toward her through the trees, dressed in a white coat marked with a large red R.
Honchkrow glided down and settled at her side.
Ariana.
One of Team Rocket’s four senior executives.
A Trainer who had reached Elite Four-level strength.
“Arbok, make it quick.
Let this traitor see what happens when you betray Team Rocket and betray the Boss.”
At Ariana’s command a large purple cobra emerged from behind her, moving in a slow, unhurried slide.
Its eyes were cold.
Its forked red tongue flickered between its fangs as it fixed its gaze on Pidgeotto and Moon like they were already prey.
Moon held Pidgeotto tightly.
What do I do?
What do I do?
Ariana turned away, already certain of how this would end.
“Arbok.”
Arbok let out a low, menacing cry and lunged.
Moon squeezed her eyes shut.
The pain she braced for never came.
Instead there was a thunderous explosion.
She forced her eyes open.
A man stood between her and Arbok.
Short red hair, sharp features, an expression of absolute composure.
“Found you,” he said.
Moon blinked.
The man glanced back at her with a look of genuine regret.
“I’m sorry.
The Kanto League failed to protect you.
But it’s over now.
You’re safe.”
Ariana’s jaw tightened at the sight of him.
She looked at the powerful Dragonite hovering at his side and knew the math immediately.
She could not win this fight.
“Damn it.
Arbok, Honchkrow, we’re pulling out.”
Honchkrow released a dense curtain of black smoke from its beak, and in an instant Ariana was gone.
Lance did not pursue her.
He turned and helped Moon to her feet, then held out a Max Potion.
“Heal your Pokémon.”
Moon did so without hesitation.
The moment the medicine reached Pidgeotto, her eyes opened.
“Thank you,” Moon said, looking up at the NPC with undisguised relief.
Lance’s gaze had already moved to the spot where Ariana had vanished, his brow set with quiet gravity.
“Team Rocket won’t stop coming for you.”
This girl’s actions had cost the organization dearly.
He had believed the Kanto League could keep her safe, but there had been a spy inside, a Team Rocket plant who had given away her location.
As an officer of the law, Lance could not stand by and let her fall into their hands.
But Kanto could no longer shelter her.
As long as she remained in this region, the pursuit would never end.
He considered it briefly, then looked at her.
“I can arrange a place for you.
New Bark Town, in the Johto region.
There are people there who will look after you.
You can train in safety until you’re strong enough to stand on your own.”
New Bark Town was his home.
It was also the territory of the Dragon Clan.
The Kanto League bore responsibility for what had nearly happened to her tonight.
Out of that responsibility, and out of genuine guilt, Lance intended to place her under the Dragon Clan’s protection until she had recovered what she had lost.
“New Bark Town…” Moon had never heard the name.
She did not know this NPC either, only that he was clearly someone of considerable standing within the Kanto League.
But Johto and Kanto sat on the same landmass.
Would Johto actually be safe?
Her mind went to Larry in Paldea.
“I’m sorry.
I’ve already made arrangements with a friend.
I want to leave Kanto and go to Paldea.
My friend will be waiting for me there.”
Lance paused.
Paldea?
That was actually a sound choice.
The distance between Paldea and Kanto was vast.
Team Rocket’s reach did not extend that far.
“What’s his name?” Lance asked.
“Larry.
He’s an important person in the Paldea League.
When he heard what happened to me he invited me to come right away.
He said the Paldea League would protect me.”
“Larry,” Lance repeated quietly.
Then he nodded.
“I’ll arrange your transport to Paldea myself.
The Kanto League owes you that much.”