“Naiirr~”

  “Nite…”

  “Naiirr~”

  “Nite…”

  “NAIIIRRR!!!”

  Nitey whimpered and tried to shy away, only to find the beautiful serpentine coils around his neck tightening in response.

  “I-It’s n-not like we’re desperate to see your Mega Evolution or anything! Hmph!” Lilian proclaimed while nervously fiddling with the hems of her half cape.

  Nina groaned as she turned to walk away, willfully ignoring the curious gazes being directed towards her motley crew as they made their way through a metropolis of steel and concrete.

  “This feels like home — like I’m back in New York. Even smells the same, though not as bad.” Nina sniffled at the mild whiff of sewage and rot tickling at her nose, and caught sight of a Grimer sliding down a storm drain in her periphery.

  Back when Cianwood City’s mines were still active, all of that raw iron got shipped over to their neighbour, Olivine City, for processing. As such, the city was second to none when it came to their metalworking prowess. Not surprising really, given that Olivine was governed by a clan of Steel Type specialists.

  These days, the city was more of an industrial complex, as evident by the towering smoke stacks in the distance and the abundance of Poison Type Pokemon roaming around to absorb all of the pollution. But still, enough of the city’s more boutique workshops remained. Which made it perfect for Nina who was looking to commission a new collar for Nitey to house his Mega Stone.

  League regulations stipulated that only one Held Item may be brought into battle. So naturally, Nitey would have to give up his Mystic Water pendant to Brinny, which necessitated that a new accessory be made for the baby seal as well. Additionally, Nina also wanted to have a new necklace made for both her Key Stone and the Mew Gem — the one she was wearing now was a spare that Espy helped to tweak.

  Unfortunately, such an errand required that she flaunt her newfound treasure in front of her friends which, inevitably, invoked the ire of the red-haired Dragon princess and her partner Dragonair.

  Their response? Sapphire slithered all around Nitey and began cooing at him in a sickeningly sweet voice, practically begging her beloved to show off his dashing new Mega form for her admiration. Until she eventually lost her patience and lashed out at him that was — a delicate young maiden Sapphire was not.

  As for the Dragonair’s trainer? As usual with the socially awkward Blackthorn girl, Lilian cranked her tsundere dial up to the max and began pestering Nina in the most endearing way possible. At the beginning that was. After a whole hour of non-stop cliches during their Fly over, the novelty had long begun to wear off even for the weeaboo isekai girl.

  “Urgh. I told you, you’ll find out when we meet again in the conference. Nitey and I still don’t have a handle on Mega Evolving just yet. It’s not safe to have an audience around when we do it.”

  “All the more reason to have a strong trainer on hand to hold your reins!” Lilian exclaimed. “O-Or are you saying that this esteemed personage isn’t good enough to lay eyes upon your Dragonite’s Mega form?!” As if offended by her own words, the noble girl huffed. “I’ll have you know, the Blackthorn clan is the ONLY established clan of Dragon Tamers in this part of the world. You will find no greater experts on Dragon Pokemon around!”

  “Esteemed personage?” Nina desperately wanted to pull at her friend's cheeks and make her squirm. But instead, she settled for a gentle hug. “You’re absolutely adorable, Lil. But the answer is still no.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “A-Adorable?!” Lilian shook, blood rushed to her head and dyed her cheeks a burning red.

  Nina giggled. “That aside, are you sure it’s okay to tag along with us? I mean, Chuck just accepted you as a disciple yesterday? Shouldn’t you be back in Cianwood being initiated or something?”

  The other girl scoffed. “Do not attempt to finagle your way out of this, Melina Jones! And besides, I have already discussed the matter with the man and received his approval. Master Chuck and I both agreed that it would be best to start on Mega Evolving sooner rather than later. So he sent me here with a letter of endorsement for Lady Jasmine, despite the fact that I have yet to fulfill all of her conditions.”

  “Awfully nice of him…” Nina mused, still refusing to indulge the girl’s demand.

  “Does that mean I’ll get to battle two Mega Pokemon later?!” Justin chimed, eliciting an eyeroll from Nina.

  “I never said I would battle you, Jamaica. In fact, Nitey and I both agreed that he wouldn’t be safe to battle in his Mega form until we get a better hang of it.” Because if just a minor injury to Nina was enough to destabilize him then she did not want to imagine how bad it would be during a high stress battle.

  Kerry nodded. “I made a call to the Joy compound and the matriarch I talked to said much the same. When a trainer and their Pokemon Mega Evolve, their minds are linked as one. Every blow that Nitey suffers in battle, Nina would feel as well. So until they can learn to better compartmentalize their bond, it is ill advised to engage in battle.”

  Being the absolute saint that she was, Kerry was naturally very concerned with her best friend’s well-being. So she made sure to gather as much information as she could on the matter, knowing how confidential the subject of Mega Evolution was.

  Naturally, Nina had her own sources from the Cerulean Gym. But it didn’t hurt to have an extra avenue for verification. And given the differing principles of the Joy clan, they might even be able to offer an alternate perspective.

  Even Lilian chimed in on her agreement, citing how dangerous a berserk Mega Pokemon could be. “I only want to see a Mega Dragonite, not battle one. The idea of a rampaging Dragonite is… horrifying — a Mega especially. Which is all the more reason why you should Mega Evolve under my supervision, Melina Jones!”

  This ultimately hammered home the point to Justin, who simply whimpered like a Growlithe that was denied treats.

  ***

  The quartet of teens and their Pokemon decided to stop by Jasmine’s Gym first, thinking that the Gym Leader might have good recommendations for craftsmen in the City.

  The Gym itself was massive; a towering skyscraper styled in the shape of a lighthouse with a sprawling, multi-storey shopping complex underneath that surrounded a stadium sized arena where the actual Gym was.

  “Wow…” Nina gasped. “I can see why they say that Jasmine is one of the richest women in Indigo.”

  “The Hagane conglomerate is indeed a force to be reckoned with.” Lilian echoed. “Which is all the more reason why it’s important that we mind our words when in the presence of Lady Jasmine.” She added, while leveling a glare at Justin.

  “Es. Espeon!”

  The squish of paw beans on her leg prompted Nina to look down, only to be assaulted by the beam of a pair of Baby-Doll Eyes. She recognised that look, it was the look that Espy made whenever she wanted to go shopping for cosmetics!

  “We’re busy right now, babe. I’ll come back with you after we put in the commission for Nitey and Brinny’s stuff okay?” Since there would be a waiting period anyway.

  “Es! Es!”

  “Saphira’s flagship store? Three storeys?” Nina frowned while Lilian chuckled.

  “If Espy wishes to go perusing then feel free to make your own way. I can help relay your inquiry to Lady Jasmine and convene with you later.”

  Nina sighed as she knelt down to nuzzle her demanding Espeon. “Let’s go meet Jasmine and put in our commission first, okay? We can spend the rest of the day and an extra day tomorrow shopping, just for you.” The mall was big enough that she doubted they could finish exploring it in just half a day. And while she felt an urgency to continue on her journey, Nina’s Pokemon would always take priority.

  A Psychic wave of frustration permeated Nina’s mind. But ultimately Espy nodded in agreement, with the caveat that Nina doubled her shopping budget. The haughty Espeon was inordinately proud of the fact that she could do maths and understand money now.

  Nina giggled and smothered her princess in smooches. “Of course. Tell you what, I’ll even let you hold onto your debit card and you can pay for stuff on your own. How’s that sound?”

  “Es, es!” That was more than enough to mollify Espy who returned her human’s affection with loving licks, eliciting more giggles from the girl.

  It was a long time coming anyway. Since Nitey got paid for all his performances and Espy had her own share of sponsorships from various promotional work. All that money went into a separate bank account that Nina set up for all of her Pokemon. This was so that her team would have a fallback in the event that Nina was indisposed. She had already been meaning to teach Espy how to access the debit card at some point. “Though I’m pretty sure she already tried to use it behind my back…”

  Espy, fully in tune with Nina’s intent, nuzzled her in affirmation and even made a promise that she wouldn’t spend all the money on beauty products when no one was looking.

  “Of course! That goes without saying! You naughty little diva, you…”

  “Es~”

  With that settled, they made their way through the mall and into the part of the building where the Gym began. All the while, resisting the urge to wander into the myriad of colorful storefronts surrounding them, a catchy little jingle blaring from the surrounding speakers.

  From fashion to electronics to myriad eateries and many more, the behemoth shopping center was beyond anything that Nina had ever seen in both her lives. “Man, how does anyone even keep track of what’s where… I reckon it’ll take a whole week just to fully explore all the shops here.”

  It was a good thing that the path to Jasmine’s Gym was just a straight shot through the main avenue. So there was no risk of getting lost.

  after the Radio Tower arc kinda makes it superfluous.