Join my p@treon for more chapters
[email protected]/Tempest_29
"I'm sorry, Erika. It's all because Brock and I are too weak," Misty said, her voice tinged with embarrassment. She was painfully aware of her limitations—among all the Gym Leaders in the Kanto Region, she and Brock consistently ranked at the bottom in terms of strength. The truly powerful ones belonged to Team Rocket's forces.
"Misty, it's not your fault," Erika replied gently, without any hint of blame in her voice. "You and Brock haven't been Gym Leaders for very long. Your strength will grow much stronger with time."
Erika genuinely didn't intend to criticize Misty. She understood that improving one's abilities wasn't something that happened overnight, and the process became increasingly challenging as trainers advanced to higher levels.
"Don't worry too much about it. As I mentioned earlier, Morning Sun has joined our cause, and you've already met his friend Ash. Like Morning Sun, they're both excellent trainers from Pallet Town."
"Speaking of which, there have been quite a few trainers emerging from Pallet Town recently. While their individual strengths vary considerably, aside from Morning Sun and his companions, the strongest among them have reached intermediate level. They represent a valuable fighting force that I believe will prove helpful when we eventually confront Team Rocket."
Erika first discussed Morning Sun and Ash—genuine prodigies among the new generation—before addressing the other, more ordinary trainers. Although she couldn't explain why Pallet Town had suddenly produced so many trainers recently, they clearly represented an additional force that could be mobilized against Team Rocket.
After all, Team Rocket possessed overwhelming numbers, and the League desperately needed to recruit every available trainer to their cause.
Of course, when Erika mentioned the numerous trainers from Pallet Town, those individuals were essentially ordinary foot soldiers. In reality, they could only handle Team Rocket's rank-and-file members, but even this would help offset Team Rocket's numerical advantage to some degree.
"When the conflict begins, the three of us Gym Leaders will serve as commanders and coordinators, while Morning Sun and his friends will act as our ace units, striking directly at Team Rocket's leadership."
This represented Erika's strategic plan. However, she couldn't guarantee whether Morning Sun and Ash would ultimately prove victorious. After all, in this coming war, she couldn't even guarantee her own survival, let alone that of others.
"Fortunately, we have you coordinating everything, Erika. Otherwise, the Kanto Region would face real danger. I truly can't imagine what Team Rocket would do after successfully occupying our region..."
The thought of Team Rocket's past actions made Misty shudder involuntarily. She absolutely refused to let Team Rocket succeed in their goals. Any normal trainer would feel the same way—being ruled by Team Rocket would represent nothing short of a complete disaster.
"Alright, that covers everything for now, Misty. You should get some rest."
Erika concluded her summary and prepared to end their phone conversation.
"Wait! Erika, um... you... you haven't told me where he is right now?"
Despite her usual indirect nature, Misty realized that if she didn't ask directly, she would never learn Eddie's current whereabouts.
Upon hearing this question, Erika's expression revealed her sense of defeat. She had spent the entire conversation circling around various topics without actually revealing where Eddie was at that moment or where he planned to go next.
Erika understood perfectly well that Eddie's location was the real purpose behind Misty's phone call. But when it came to matters of the heart, even she found herself reluctant to be completely forthcoming.
However, Misty was her closest friend, and Eddie had originally been introduced through her connections, so being too evasive wouldn't be appropriate and didn't align with her usual personality.
That's why she had deliberately steered the conversation toward numerous topics unrelated to Eddie, hoping to divert Misty's attention. She had planned to end the call abruptly once she felt enough time had passed.
She hadn't expected that Misty, despite her typically indirect approach to such matters, would ask this question so directly at the very end. This left her in an awkward position where hiding the information would seem unreasonable.
"Morning Sun is still resting here for now, but since we completed our Gym battle today, he plans to leave tomorrow. According to what he told me, his next destination will be Fuchsia City. Although he'll probably visit other places along the way, Fuchsia City represents his next major stop."
Erika finally revealed Eddie's travel itinerary, and immediately after finishing her explanation, she heard Misty's barely suppressed sounds of excitement.
It seemed that Misty, now knowing Eddie's next destination, was probably already formulating some kind of plan. This was exactly what Erika had hoped to avoid, but this time she had lost this particular battle to Misty.
"Wait a moment. Didn't he leave immediately after your Gym battle today? Did you start in the afternoon?"
Misty suddenly realized something didn't add up. After all, when she and Eddie had completed their Gym battle, he had left around noon. If she hadn't been somewhat insistent at the time, Eddie probably wouldn't have even stayed for lunch with her before departing.
"We had our Gym battle this morning, but I felt that he had been working so hard in Rainbow City for several days, so I suggested taking him on a tour of Rainbow City that lasted from morning until evening."
Erika displayed a rather mischievous smile at this point, and her tone carried a note of unmistakable pride.
Unfortunately, Misty couldn't see her expression through the phone. Instead, she found herself regretting why she hadn't used Erika's approach as an excuse to convince Eddie to go sightseeing with her.
Of course, in her regret, Misty accidentally voiced her thoughts aloud. Erika, listening carefully, caught every word and immediately rolled her eyes, sighing internally at how hopeless Misty could be sometimes.
"Misty, if you really like Morning Sun, you'd better take some initiative. Morning Sun is the type of person who, if you don't make the first move, will keep your relationship exactly where it is indefinitely."
Erika finally felt her resolve soften. She didn't want to watch Misty continue being so passive about her feelings. After all, Misty was her closest friend, so her soft-hearted nature compelled her to offer some advice.
Although she was encouraging Misty to be more proactive, she had no intention of giving up on her own pursuit.
"What are you talking about, Erika! How could I possibly like him? It's just... he's my friend, and he's also a key figure in our fight against Team Rocket. That's right—I'm just concerned about him as an ally, nothing more."
Misty seemed to have found what she considered a perfectly reasonable excuse in her embarrassment, though her face had turned bright red.
"Anyway, I need to rest now, Erika. You should get some sleep early too, and call me if anything urgent comes up!"
With that declaration, Misty abruptly hung up the phone.
Erika remained silent for several moments after Misty ended the call, and then she displayed that same mischievous smile from earlier.
"I knew it, Misty. You're still being way too stubborn about this, and that approach won't lead to good results. When it comes to emotional matters, Morning Sun will never take the initiative. If you don't make the first move, you'll end up with nothing."
"And you just said it yourself—you don't like him, right? That means I can pursue him without any guilt or reservations..."
Erika set down the phone and gazed out at the night sky, her eyes sparkling with amusement, as if she had just freed herself from some internal constraints that had been holding her back.