Lots of texting.

Dinner passes by without any major incident, with you and your friends enjoying some of Daniel’s wonderful stew while Blue makes do with whatever rations she has left in her pack. The two girls continue lightly bickering with one another across the fire, though it feels more like banter than anything else at this point. For now, anyway. You and the Vermillion boy chime in on occasion, but let the ladies do the talking for the most part. All in all, it’s an enjoyable meal, despite the earlier animosity from your rival.

After you finish eating, you spend a little time shooting some quick texts to the various people who knew you were traveling through Mt. Moon. You send Mom, Daisy, your girlfriend in Pewter, Silver, and Route 4’s Joy all messages letting them know that you’ve made it through safely, and that you should be arriving in Cerulean City sometime tomorrow. You also take the time to let them know about the Beginner Level Tournament happening in Vermillion City a week from tomorrow, which you’ll be participating in, and let Daisy know that her sister is currently begrudgingly sharing a campground with you. A few moments later, responses start coming in. First, from Mom.

@PalletMaddy: Thank you for keeping me updated buddy! I’m glad you made it through safe and sound. I’m going to try and take some time off work next week, to see if I can take a trip to Vermillion. I would love to be there in person to watch you in your first tournament, and it would be a great chance for you to catch me up on all your adventures so far in person. Hopefully I’ll see you soon, love you <3

@Trainer_Red: That would be great! I’d love to catch up with you in Vermillion, I’ve missed you. And having you there to cheer me on would be fantastic! I promise I’ll tell you all about what’s been going on once I see you again. Love you <3

Your heart swells at the thought of getting to see your mother again. It’s been less than two weeks since you left home, but it feels like so much longer, and you’d seen her literally every day of your life up until then. You’re looking forward to reaching Vermillion City even more now, though… ‘safe and sound’… Probably best to keep the stuff about Team Rocket to yourself for now. No need to freak Mom - or anyone else - out.

A second, similar reply comes in from Daisy.

@Daisy_Oak: I appreciate you keeping me in the loop! I’ll definitely be watching that tournament to cheer you and Blue on, I promise ;) Oh, and tell Blue to text me if she’s out of Mt. Moon already! >:(

You’re happy to hear that the older Oak sister will be cheering you on, even if it’s from afar. If only Kim would let her have a flying Pokémon… “Hey, Blue? Daisy wants you to text her.” You say, looking up from your Pokédex briefly to alert your rival to her sister’s request.

Her head snaps up, and tilts in confusion. “Sis? How would you- Are you texting my sister!?” The sandy-blonde’s eyes narrow in suspicion.

“Uh, yeah? Have been pretty regularly since we left home.” You reply nonchalantly.

“…Right. Well, anyway…” The brown-eyed girl shifts her gaze away from you and down to her own phone, then starts typing away quickly as she texts her sister. The Vermillion pair give you curious glances, but you just shrug in response. You’ve mentioned Daisy to them before as the only person from Pallet Town around your age that you’re on good terms with, so they have an idea of who she is. Though this may be the first they’ve heard about her being Blue’s sister, you can’t remember. Either way, it’s not like you and her texting is big news or something, and it’s really none of Blue’s business who you or her sister talk to, including each other.

The older Pallet girl sends you a quick ‘thank you’ a minute or so later, after she’s heard from her sister, and a third quick reply comes in. From your girlfriend this time, Pewter City’s Nurse Joy.

@PewterJoy: Glad to hear you made it through alright! And your first tournament! How exciting! I’ll do my best to catch it live, as well as all of your gym battles. Thank you for letting me know <3 Oh, and thank you for WHATEVER you did to my relative on Route 4. She’s been messaging both me and our Joy group chat about you constantly, and seems happier than any of us can ever remember her being. So thank you <3

@Trainer_Red: I’ll keep texting you to let you know when my big battles are coming up. And wow, I didn’t realize I’d left such a big impression on your relative. All I really did was promise to come see her again. Which I will do, just like I’ll be back to see you once I get a chance. I’m sorry that I’m not positive when that will be, but I promise it will happen <3

@PewterJoy: Don’t worry, I understand. There’s no rush. I can’t wait to see you again, but your journey is important. Good night <3

Sighing, you think about the two Joys you’ve left behind with promises of returning. You have every intention of fulfilling said promises, it’s just a matter of figuring out a good way to do so. You’ll have access to Fly eventually, so you may just have to wait until then. A Pokémon with Teleport would be the best method, but those are incredibly rare, so you can’t count on finding one. Worst case scenario you’ll just have to backtrack on foot if you feel like it’s been too long. Your promise had apparently meant quite a bit to the placid woman in Route 4’s Pokécenter, so you must follow through at some point. To that point, a reply from her cones in next.

@MoonJoy: Good work, and good luck in Cerulean. I’ll be watching your battles, so win and give me something fun to watch.

@Trainer_Red: Yes Ma’am ;)

A much shorter conversation with her, but that’s par for the course with the more reserved Joy. Despite their appearances, she and your girlfriend are fairly different from one another… Girlfriend… It kind of feels like Route 4’s Joy is your girlfriend as well, though the two of you never talked about that. That’s something you’ll probably have to chat with her about at some point, though you’d prefer to do so in person.

No reply comes from Silver, though that could be for any number of reasons. She could be asleep, in an area without service, occupied with something, or have just decided not to respond. It’s hard to tell with her, but hopefully you’ll hear from her again soon. You scroll through your contacts for a little, trying to see if there’s anyone else you should message. You haven’t heard from Leah since you traded info with her, but Brooke did say she was on her way to Cinnabar. Whatever boat she’s on may not have an internet connection, so that could be why you haven’t heard from her… Oh, and there’s Orion too! You send him a similar text to the ones you’ve already sent, letting him know that you and the Vermillion pair are through Mt. Moon, on your way to Cerulean, and participating in a tournament next week.

A few minutes pass without a response, and you assume the Saffron boy must be asleep or otherwise engaged. You then browse idly through TPP for a while, not looking for anything in particular, before you receive a notification. It’s a message and photo from Orion, but it’s far from what you were expecting. The picture is definitely interesting, and the message says ‘Say hi to Daniel and Kayla for us!’, so… “Oh, wow… Daniel, Kayla, take a look at this.”

“Hm? ‘Sup?” The golden-blonde turns to look at you, and his **** stops bickering with Blue for a moment to do the same. You show them what’s on your screen, and both of their faces become comical masks of surprise. “Daaamn, Oreo! Nice going!”

“I… was not expecting that. That’s awesome.” The green-eyed girl smirks as she takes in the picture you’ve shown her.

The picture is a selfie, taken from Orion’s Pokédex, but not taken by the young man himself. The one holding the phone is a tanned girl with a pink bob-cut and pink eyes, smiling brightly and winking at the camera. The phone’s owner is next to her, grinning nervously and blushing furiously while the girl next to him presses her naked body up against him. On his opposite side, her pale face a similar mask of deep red embarrassment, is a black-haired beauty with dark red eyes, also pressing herself up against the boy. Rose, Orion, And Raven, all lying naked together in what’s clearly a Pokécenter bed. The three are all flushed, sweaty, and disheveled. So if their nude selfie wasn’t enough of a clue to you, it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s happened between Orion and the Celadon couple.

“Heh, look at Orion and Raven blushing! I’m almost more surprised that Rose talked them into the selfie than I am that this happened.” Kayla says, giggling.

“Hold on, did either of you get the girls’ TPPs back in Pewter? I have to text them.” Daniel is sporting a massive grin, and you can’t help but match it. You’ve all only spent a little time with each of them, but you feel like they would get along really well, as they apparently have tonight.

“Raven is @Nevermore and Rose is @AnyOtherName. Oh, this is so fun!” The brunette answers, then sets about typing away on her own Pokédex, and you suddenly find yourself placed into a group chat with the Vermillion pair, Orion, and the girls from Celadon.

@ImOKayla: Hiii :)

@AnyOtherName: Oh hey! Been a few days. What’s this sudden text for? ;)

@SurgingDaniel: Oh, you know. Saw a picture that made us think of you.

@AnyOtherName: Oh yeah? Hope it was a nice picture. :P

@Nevermore: Sorry if that was sudden. Rose insisted.

@Trainer_Red: Oh, the picture is great. Don’t worry about it. :)

@SurgingDaniel: WAY TO GO OREO!

@Saffron_Orion: I didn’t really DO anything though. I just got lucky.

@AnyOtherName: Oh, don’t listen to him. He did PLENTY ;)

@SurgingDaniel: ATTA BOY OREO

The texting between the six of you continues like that for a while longer, as Blue sits on her own and scrolls through TPP, probably looking at Violet’s page. You’d suggest adding her to the group chat, but she’d almost certainly say no, and the three that are back in Pewter don’t really know her. Hopefully at some point you can help her break the ice with them though, she could use more friends. At least Daniel and Kayla seem to be getting along with her okay. Kind of.

You return your attention to the group chat, spending the evening happily joking and talking with your friends both near and far. You’ve really made more friends than you ever thought you would since starting this journey, it’s incredible. At this point it’s almost hard to remember how lonely you used to feel back in Pallet sometimes…

Word from the author: We’ve reached over 2500 likes on this branch! :O Thank you all so much! I know I’ve slowed down a bit with my releases, but I’ve had to for a variety of reasons. I’m still enjoying myself, and my goal right now is just to not STOP. To keep going, even at a slower pace. And your continued support really helps with that, so thank you all again. <3