June 1, Children's Day. Clear skies.
After holing up in the Whirl Islands for so long, Young Master Mao returned to Goldenrod City.
Lorelei had to attend a meeting to discuss the Gym Leader Ranking Tournament, so she had returned to Indigo Plateau ahead of him.
Counting off the days on his fingers, he figured there was a little over a month left until the Silver Conference.
Right after that came the Little Cup at Indigo Plateau. Once all that was over, it would be time for another pleasant winter of hibernation.
"Being an Elite Four member sure is hard work~" After buying Eevee-chan a hydrogen balloon by the roadside, Young Master Mao eyed the cotton candy on the other side, considering whether to buy a few.
It was worth mentioning that Young Master Mao's bag-carrying sidekick, Ritchie-the man who most resembled Red-had also come along to Goldenrod City.
The kid had been doing so poorly lately that Young Master Mao had simply given him a job as a temporary assistant.
All he had to do was carry bags, help supervise the Pokémon's training, and feed everyone the Pokéblocks Young Master Mao had prepared on time.
Eighty an hour, ten hours a day, with room and board included. Without exaggeration, Ritchie felt he could work this job until he died...
Over the past few days, with highly nutritious Pokémon Food in their diets, Ritchie's Pokémon had all begun growing at a visibly explosive rate.
Combined with the daily beatings Eevee-chan handed out, Ritchie's Pokémon had also made considerable progress in their battle reflexes.
They had no choice. Dodge a little too slowly, and Eevee-chan really would hit you...
Of course, Ritchie was suffering and enjoying himself in equal measure. The most obvious improvements were that Taillow had evolved into Swellow,