Saffron City, Sabrina's home~
Wearing a pink apron, Gary stood at the stove, stir-frying away.
Stir-fried seasonal vegetables, scrambled eggs with shrimp, spicy tofu pudding, and crab roe soup dumplings.
That was breakfast for the day~
A blonde and a black-haired girl hovered outside the kitchen, practically drooling as they waited to be fed.
"I'm so sorry, Gary. You're our guest, yet we're making you cook~" Sabrina's mother sat in her wheelchair in the living room, looking embarrassed.
"It's fine, ma'am. You've only just recovered. It'll be a while before you can move around normally. Don't worry about it~" Gary shrugged. Feeding one person or feeding a whole family-it was all cooking anyway.
Yesterday, after the Gym battle ended, Gary had received an invitation and come to visit Sabrina's home with Caitlin.
Sabrina's father had finally worked up the courage to accept his daughter's extraordinary abilities, and her mother, who had been turned into a doll, had finally regained her freedom.
The family had put their grievances behind them, and warmth filled the house.
Seeing Sabrina's shy smile, Gary felt he had done a good deed~
Incidentally, the restrictions on Sabrina's Pokémon at the Indigo Plateau had been lifted last night. Her Alakazam had brought the other Poké Balls back to her with a single Teleport.
Caitlin and Sabrina immediately decided to have a friendly battle between sisters.
Sabrina's father had been so frightened that his voice changed as he opened the room she had used for training as a child, looking as though he were preparing for an invasion.
The sealed room had walls made entirely of chromium copper, which conducted psychic power exceptionally poorly, along with protective layers of various kinds of bulletproof glass. It was quite a sight.
And yet, the battle between these two adult girls with little-girl looks went something like this...
Sabrina covered one eye with her hand and struck a Sailor Moon transformation pose with the other. "Burst, reality! Shatter, reason! Banish this world~ Alakazam, Psybeam!!"
"Mwahahaha! False Wicked Lord~ Watch as I, Sailor Caitlin, defeat you!"
Caitlin struck a transformation pose and even used her psychic powers to float in midair. "Shatter, evil! The moon's radiance shall grant me strength! The psychic magical girl is here!
"Gallade, use Psycho Cut!"
Despite all the explosive move effects, they battled for ages without dealing any damage...
Watching from the sidelines, Gary's mouth twitched before he simply turned and left. What was with this overwhelming blast of adolescent fantasy nonsense?!
Later, at Sabrina's parents' insistence, Gary and Caitlin stayed the night at her home.
Seriously, could anyone understand what I went through...? I'd barely crawled under the covers and hadn't even fallen asleep when something suddenly weighed down on me!
The blonde and black-haired girls, both perfectly legal adults, held up game controllers and looked at him expectantly with sparkling eyes...
Caitlin and Sabrina actually both had lovely figures. Their long legs, in particular, were the kind anyone could admire for a whole year.
However, Young Master Mao's stance was that once you'd seen enough of that sort of thing, it was nothing special. You still had to consider the next generation. Pick someone with a bigger milk-bottle capacity!
After breakfast, Caitlin and Sabrina launched into a reluctant, drawn-out farewell.
Gary took the opportunity to call Professor Oak.
"Mmm~ Ahh~ This daily cup is what makes life worth living." Sporting a black eye and three scratches on his chin, Professor Oak took a couple of sips of hot tea, then picked up a boiled egg and pressed it against his eye again.
"Uh... wow. What happened to you?" Gary was baffled. Even a full-strength punch from Machamp had never left the old man this badly hurt...
"Oh, nothing. I accidentally walked into a tree." Professor Oak's eyes wandered as he rattled off the excuse.
"Oh~ You walked into a tree..." Gary pursed his lips.
"Ahem. How's hosting Caitlin going?" Professor Oak hastily changed the subject.
"Pretty well. We've been getting along nicely." Gary shrugged. "Anyway, how's Dragonite's egg doing?"
That was Young Master Mao's payment, after all. Of course Gary cared about it.
"Ah, don't worry. I'm keeping an eye on it for you. It should hatch in about another month. I'll have Dragonite look after the little one for you at first. Rest easy." Professor Oak waved a hand.
"Okay, then. Grandpa, make sure you take good care of it for me." Gary nodded in agreement.
"Oh, right. How many more days until you reach Celadon City? Principal Monet has even been calling me about it," Professor Oak remembered to ask.
"We're leaving Saffron City today, so we should reach Celadon City tomorrow," Gary answered honestly.
"Ahem. Gary, you'd better pick up the pace. Xiao Chen and Xiao Ye have already reached Celadon City. Both of them called me earlier," Professor Oak added in passing.
"What about Ash?" Gary asked.
"Uh... I haven't heard from that boy since Vermilion City. It's been half a month now." Professor Oak sighed helplessly.
"Yeah, sounds like he probably got lost somewhere." Gary shrugged.
Just then, Professor Oak suddenly leaned closer to the camera, raised his eyebrows, and whispered, "My dear grandson, tell me the truth. Have you been flirting with that young lady from Unova? Agatha cornered me at home yesterday and really put me through the wringer..."
A huge bead of cold sweat formed on Gary's forehead. "Ahem, Grandpa~ Don't make things up. Caitlin may be a few years older than me, but I only see her as a little sister..."
"What about Lorelei, then?" Professor Oak asked eagerly. "Don't worry. Your grandpa's very open-minded. A woman three years older brings you gold; one thirty years older brings you a kingdom~ As long as you like her, you have my full support~"
Gary covered his face and explained helplessly, "Well, with Lorelei, I don't know how things will turn out. I really enjoy spending time with her, but isn't it too early to talk about all that?"
Professor Oak nodded. "Yes, yes, I understand. We men of the Oak family are just naturally gifted like that. After all, you've liked more mature women since you were little..."
Young Master Mao had never needed anyone to worry about that side of his life. Even as a six- or seven-year-old brat, the girlfriends he charmed were usually teenage girls of fifteen or sixteen. How could anyone call him ordinary?
"Uh..." Gary was so embarrassed that he had no idea how to respond.
"Anyway, until I reach my goals, I probably won't be dating again." Gary sighed.
He'd been young and foolish before, leaving ex-girlfriends scattered all over Pallet Town. Come on, could anything between kids really count?
With a few of those so-called ex-girlfriends, Gary had only held hands a couple of times!
"All right~ You have your own goals, so I won't stand in your way. Just bring the girl home for a meal once you've made up your mind, so I can meet her too." Professor Oak looked at the egg he had been pressing against his eye, then ate it in two bites...
"That's all, then. I'll call you again when I reach Celadon City." Only after hanging up did Gary let out a breath of relief.
His grandpa had become increasingly wild and carefree over the past couple of years...
They said a proper goodbye to Sabrina's family, and Gary promised Sabrina that he would come back to see her when he had time.
Only then did Sabrina reluctantly watch Gary and Caitlin leave.
Caitlin kept looking back toward Sabrina until they could no longer see each other.
"Phew~ Take care, Sabrina~" Caitlin sighed.
"All right, don't be so down. Parting just means we'll meet again next time." Gary ruffled Caitlin's blonde hair and comforted her softly.
"Does it? But apart from Young Master Mao and Cynthia, she's the first friend I've really felt close to in Kanto," Caitlin said wistfully.
"That's what traveling is about." Gary walked along the straight country path, looking at the grass and woods on either side. "As many Pokémon as there are, that's how many encounters await us. We meet so many people, and part ways with so many people.
"Then we let those encounters give rise to something new. That's the meaning of two people meeting."
"That sounds so familiar. Right! It sounds just like something Cynthia would say." Caitlin clapped her hands. Her attention had finally been diverted, and she temporarily forgot about their parting.
"The Champion of Sinnoh, huh~ What's she like?" Gary asked curiously.
"Hmm~ She's a very beautiful, very impressive woman~" Caitlin answered in all seriousness.
"Uh..." Gary was speechless. That description was pretty accurate.
They chatted as they walked, and by the end of the morning, they spotted a roadside phone booth and a sign.
[Celadon City: 5 km]
"Looks like we're not far now. Shall we have lunch here?" Gary looked at Caitlin.
Caitlin sat on a large rock and nodded. "Okay~ I'm getting hungry anyway~"
"Everyone, come out and eat too." Gary released all the Pokémon he had with him, unfolded his portable cooking station, and began preparing lunch.
Caitlin no longer just sat around leaving everything to him, either.
She opened Gary's backpack and got the Pokémon Food ready for both their teams.
Not that the young lady had to do any of it by hand. With a little wave, the Pokémon Food flew into each Pokémon's bowl on its own.
Gary took out the bread he had prepared and cut off the crusts. He readied some ham, cheese slices, fried eggs, and pork floss, then added mayonnaise and honey mustard. Put it all together, and there were Gary's special sandwiches.
"Let's have milk tea with lunch. Caitlin, would you like black tea or oolong?" Gary asked, taking out two tins of tea leaves and the spring water he had collected earlier at Mt. Moon.
Caitlin looked up and tilted her head in thought for a while. "Black tea for me~ Two sugar cubes!"
Gary nodded and handed the kettle to Gothitelle, who skillfully began brewing the tea.
Before long, the rich aroma of milk tea wafted through the air.
Once they finished eating, Gengar would be responsible for taking the dishes away to wash.
Looking at the other Pokémon with their heads buried in their food, Gary sighed. He hadn't expected Gengar to be the best at housework out of his whole team. Should he have a maid outfit made for him?
With the sandwiches and milk tea set on the table, Gary and Caitlin sat down, ready to eat.
Whoosh! A handful of dark shapes suddenly leaped out of the bushes.
Round bodies, nimble limbs, and adorably goofy pig snouts.
"Mankey, the Pig Monkey Pokémon!" The Pokédex in Gary's pocket identified them automatically.
Caitlin studied the Mankey curiously. "I have to say, these creatures put both pigs and monkeys in an awkward position..."
Gary wiped away his cold sweat. Oh, no. This girl had even learned to make snarky comments.
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