The travel to Sapphire City

7th of March

You and the girls wake up the next morning and take quick showers to wash away whatever remained of last night.

Luckily for you, Marine is still sleeping while you do that, so she doesn’t notice anything.

Soon she wakes up as well, and you all have breakfast together.

After breakfast, you grab your backpacks with everything you need for the journey and head out.

You walk towards the town hall, where you see that Delia has had two wagons prepared for the trip.

Near the wagons, you spot Delia, Leaf, Emma… and even Marcy and Sig.

“Good morning, dears” Delia says as you approach.

“Good morning to you too, ladies. I see we have some extra guests” you reply.

“Heya, big guy” Marcy grins.

“Hello, Sir Erik. A pleasure to meet you again. Since we share the same destination, my friend and I will travel with you, on Madame Delia’s wagon” Sig says politely.

“Yeah, Mom decided to leave you and your girls on your own wagon” Leaf adds, though she doesn’t seem very happy about it.

“Is that a problem, darling?” Delia asks.

"“N-no, of course not,” Leaf brushes it off, making Emma giggle softly.

“Alright… well, I guess we can go,” you say.

You all load your belongings onto the wagons and climb aboard. Soon, the drivers set off, and the journey begins.

You spend the next few hours chatting with the girls as you travel. The main road you follow passes around Viridian Forest and soon brings you close to the city that gives the forest its name: Viridian City.

Viridian City is one of the largest cities in the Kanto region and also one of the richest, since its mayor is one of the most well-known businessmen in the entire region: Sir Giovanni of the Terranuova Transports Group. If you are to attend the council meeting, you will likely meet him as well.

After passing Viridian, you turn at an intersection and begin heading toward the Indigo Plateau, where Sapphire City is located.

About two hours into the journey, as you make your way up the road to the plateau, you notice something ahead: a wagon has overturned off the road, and both it and most of the path are being occupied by a flock of shadowy birds. They resemble a more monstrous, beast-like version of a Pidgey musu.

“Girls, I think there’s trouble ahead. Get ready,” you warn them.

As you speak, many of the creatures take flight. Even the ones surrounding the broken wagon lift off and start heading toward your convoy. The first group dives straight toward Delia’s wagon.

Marine reacts instantly, jumping off and firing a couple of precise Water Guns, shooting down several of the creatures and momentarily halting their charge.

“No one is better than the great Marine when it comes to precision!” she boasts.

You and the others jump down as well, telling the driver to take cover.

You glance toward the other wagon as its passengers prepare to disembark.

“Keep going! We’ll handle these creatures. Check the wagon ahead and meet you at the destination later!” you shout.

Some of the girls don’t seem happy about that, but Delia nods.

“Very well, dears. We’ll see you later. Be careful,” she replies before their wagon continues on.

More birds dive toward them, but Midori and Charlie fire their elemental attacks, shooting several out of the sky.

The flock quickly shifts its focus to you.

You summon your Bulbasaur blade and whip down a few of them, though their height makes them difficult to hit consistently.

Thankfully, the girls cover you with ranged attacks, while you protect them whenever any of the creatures swoop in too close.

After a few intense minutes, the flock is finally defeated, and the area falls silent.

You approach the overturned wagon, but suddenly recoil as a strong, foul smell hits you.

“God, what is that smell?!” you complain.

“Oh… they went away…?” a soft, calm voice says.

You look over and see someone peeking out from behind the wagon: a Caterpie girl wearing a cute green dress, now dirtied from the attack. Her horn glows faintly.

“Oh… good morning… give me just a second,” she says gently and strangely slowly.

Her horn stops shining, and within moments, the smell fades away.

“Oof… thanks. Are you alright?” you ask.

“Yes… I’m fine… though I ate all my emergency leaves… from the stress” she replies.

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay. My name is Erik, and these are…” you introduce the others.

“Nice to meet you… my saviors… my name is Katy. Katy Piller,” she says with a soft smile.

“Nice to meet you, Katy. What happened here?” Midori asks.

“Well… I was traveling from Viridian… to Sapphire City for a job interview… and those beasts attacked me. They flipped my wagon… so I hid there and kept them away… until you arrived.”

It’s good you’re safe, but your dress got ruined” Charlie says.

“Oh, don’t worry… I’ll make another. I’m a tailor” Katy explains.

“Wow, you made that? It’s really cute!” Marine says, admiring it.

“Thank you… Oh no, right! I need to go or I’ll be late for my interview!” she suddenly says, a bit more agitated than before.

“Mmh… it will take some time to repair this, young lady,” the driver says, stepping in after the battle to inspect the damage.

“Oh no… what will I do…?” Katy murmurs sadly.

“Mmh… Mister driver, would it be a problem if she came with us?” you ask.

“If you pay for her too, I’ll take you wherever you need,” he chuckles.

“Then it’s settled. You’re coming with us, Katy” you tell her.

“Oh, thank you… I don’t know what I would have done without you” she says gratefully.

“Hop on, youngsters. When we arrive, I’ll have someone come retrieve this wagon” the driver adds.

You all climb back onto the wagon and resume your journey.

“You said you’re looking for work, Katy?” Charlie asks, curious like usual.

“Yes. I trained as a tailor for years… and my teacher suggested I try working in different environments. A shop in Sapphire City is looking for a new tailor… so I was heading there for an interview” she explains.

“Then we’ll have to hurry once we arrive. We can help you reach your destination” Midori says.

"“And maybe take a look around the city too” Marine adds with a grin.

“It won’t be a problem. I’ve been there a few times, so I know my way around” Midori says.

“You girls can enjoy yourselves while I attend the meeting,” you say.

You continue chatting for about half an hour until, finally, the city comes into view.

Sapphire City—one of the largest and most ancient cities in Kanto, and the home of the Adventurer’s Guild headquarters.