Choosing Gifts

Xia You's Pokémon attacked Gyarados one after another. When Jolteon unleashed one final flash of electricity, dealing quadruple damage, Gyarados could take no more and toppled stiffly to the ground.

"Now you'll finally behave, won't you?"

According to what people said, Gyarados became so violent because the structure of its brain cells reorganized during evolution, drastically changing its temperament.

Only after it grew familiar with its trainer or accepted them would it truly settle down.

Remembering someone once saying that stroking the horn on Gyarados's head would calm it, Xia You walked over and gently rubbed its hard horn with his right hand.

Sure enough, the resistance in its eyes gradually gave way to acceptance.

After resting there for a while and recovering some strength, Xia You adjusted his backpack and set off for Celadon City again.

What he did not know, however, was that a plot against him was already underway in a secret room beneath the Viridian City Gym.

In the dim room, Giovanni sat upright on a sofa. A Pokémon resembling a large cat, with a ruby set into its forehead, lay quietly at his feet.

A knock sounded at the door, and a bespectacled woman with a bob haircut walked in.

Giovanni glanced at her impassively. "Ah, Matori. Well? Have you finished investigating?"

Matori took out a file and handed it to Giovanni. Attached to its upper-right corner was a blurry photograph of Xia You!

"The investigation is complete." As a capable, meticulous secretary, she was naturally very efficient. "His name is Xia You, and he is twenty years old. He arrived in Kanto from the Kalos Region half a month ago and has been traveling around challenging the various Gyms ever since. According to Lambda, he and the International Police interfered with our operation aboard the S.S. Anne. Including the recent Silph Co. incident, he has now obstructed us twice."

Giovanni flipped through the file, which also contained basic information on all of Xia You's Pokémon, including Zapdos and Gastly.

"Where is he now?" Giovanni asked.

Matori adjusted her glasses. "Judging by his movements, now that he has left Saffron City, his next destination should be the Celadon Gym in Celadon City."

"Celadon City?" Giovanni frowned slightly. "Isn't that International Police officer investigating our base there?"

Matori nodded. "Yes. He has been prowling around Celadon City for several days. Although we managed to shake him off in time, he apparently still hasn't given up searching."

"We can't let them meet again. Send someone to eliminate that trainer." Giovanni spoke as casually as if he were crushing an ant. "Which of our field operatives are near Celadon City right now?"

Matori thought for a moment. "Aside from the base's guards, all our executives have been dispatched to the Johto Region. Most of our other personnel are scattered across other cities. Only Jessie and James are still roaming around Celadon City."

"Then send them." Giovanni made his decision, but when he noticed Matori looking as though she wanted to say something, he asked, "What? Is there a problem?"

"There is a slight problem..." Matori hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "Given Jessie and James's abilities, I'm not sure we can rely on them. Why not deploy my elite unit, the Matori Matrix, instead?"

"That won't be necessary." Giovanni slowly lit a cigar. "Even if they can't eliminate him, they should at least delay him for a while. Meanwhile, have your unit take the opportunity to exterminate that rat in Celadon City first."

Celadon evoked the dreamlike colors of a rainbow.

As the second-largest city in Kanto, surpassed only by Saffron City, it was best known for its internationally renowned university, its abundance of large shopping malls, and the famous Celadon Game Corner.

Walking down the street toward the Gym, Xia You suddenly caught a waft of an unusual fragrance.

It smelled like many different perfumes mingled together, drifting gently on the breeze and filling the entire street.

Following the scent, Xia You looked ahead and spotted a fairly large perfume shop nestled between several tall buildings.

An idea struck him, and he walked over.

"Welcome."

When he entered the shop, several fashionably dressed female assistants were chatting at the counter. At the sight of Xia You, they began to giggle.

"Are you looking to buy some perfume?"

Xia You nodded, but the dazzling selection left him feeling rather overwhelmed. He had no idea where to start.

One of the girls approached him, looked him up and down, and smiled. "Is it for your girlfriend?"

"No, I don't have a girlfriend yet. I just wanted to buy a few bottles for some friends."

"Friends?" A group of women could certainly put on a show. Perhaps the assistants were used to teasing one another, because they clearly did not believe Xia You's explanation. Exchanging smiles, they asked slyly, "Surely they're more than just friends? Are you dating several girls at once?"

"Well..."

Before Xia You could say anything else, a gentle yet somewhat authoritative voice suddenly came from behind him.

"You girls, stop teasing our customers like that!"

At the sound of that voice, the assistants immediately became much more proper. Xia You turned to see a beautiful girl walking slowly toward him, wearing a kimono and a red headband over her shoulder-length hair.

"Manager, what brings you over here?"

The girl said, "Another shipment of perfume has arrived at the storeroom. Go and sort it out. I'll take care of things here."

Then she stepped up to Xia You and bowed lightly.

"I'm sorry. They're used to joking around, and sometimes they don't know where to draw the line. Please don't take it to heart."

"Not at all."

Xia You waved a hand, not taking the incident to heart. By now, he had recognized the girl: she was Erika, the Celadon Gym Leader!

Erika walked over to the shelves and asked, "So, what sort of perfume would you like to buy?"

After a brief hesitation, Xia You described Chloe's, Misty's, and Sabrina's personalities to Erika. Then, remembering how much Yoshino Cerise had helped him, he asked Erika to pick out a perfume for her as well.

"I see." Erika nodded and moved over to one section. "All the perfumes in our shop are lovely, but based on your descriptions, I would recommend these."

As she spoke, she pointed to several perfumes in the middle of the shelf.

"These are all familiar floral fragrances, and they're our shop's signature products. Of these two on the left, one is better suited to a lively girl, while the other suits a quieter girl. As for the two on the right, their scents aren't very strong, but they last quite a long time. They should be just what you're looking for."