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Description
To get to Diglett’s Cave, Red parted two shrubs off the side of the route, and brought the small group around a nearby huge, packed mound of dirt.

The entrance looked just big enough for taller people to enter without ducking, and Red entered first. Only a few steps in, it was very dark, and Gancena found herself straining to focus on Red.

“Watch your step,” he warned. “It slopes right here.”

“Okay, this’ll be a second…” Gancena paused, looked down, and prodded with her shoe. She took very small steps, still prodding between them, until she felt it. Then she carefully picked up the pace.

When it was completely dark, Red paused. “All right, Pikachu,” he said. “Flash!”

“Pi-ka!” Pikachu jumped from Red’s shoulder. There was a sound of sparking, and bright light came from Pikachu’s cheeks, making them appear white. The area around them was illuminated, and everyone could see around them and farther into the cave.

“Pikachu, pi pika chu pika!?” Ash squealed.

Red chuckled. “Practice.”

“Really?” Gancena asked.

“Yeah.”

“I thought certain moves were taught differently… differently than practice, I mean.”

“Well, sort of. Some Pokémon instinctively know a few moves and pick up more as they get stronger, but new moves have been learned through Trainers encouraging their Pokémon to try new things. Oh, we’ll probably want extra light…” He pulled a Poké Ball from his belt. “Come on, Charmander!”

The Ball opened, and Charmander stood and smiled.

“Charmander, would you mind leading the way?” Red asked.

“Char!” Charmander nodded and stepped in front of Red.

Though the cave looked fairly wide and fairly tall, there only appeared to be one winding, sloping path.

“How long would you say this thing is?” Gancena whispered.

“We’re gonna be in here for a little while. I didn’t really count how long it took, but it’ll probably still be afternoon when we come out.”

“Okay. I mean, I figure it could be a little while. This connects Viridian to…” Gancena briefly drew a blank. “Er…”

“Vermillion.”

“Yes, thank you. Geography slipped. But yeah.” She continued, pointing in various directions. “Without access to this cave, you’d get to Vermillion by going through Pewter, then Mt. Moon, which is pretty big as-is, come out by Cerulean, and then take the underground route, right?”

“Yep. Or we could go straight to Celadon through Saffron, but when I tried, they were doing some work on that entrance,” Red added, shrugging.

“At least the underground routes are streamlined, right? As opposed to going through Kanto’s capital, which is sure to be busy and potentially distracting – unless you need to do some odd jobs.”

“Huh… I hadn’t thought of it that way before,” said Red. “Hopefully that construction’s done, though. Even if the underground routes are straight from one town to another—“

Red stopped when Charmander and Pikachu held still, the latter’s ears pricking. “What is it, guys?”

“Pika chu…”

Ash’s ears pricked, too. Before Gancena could ask her what was wrong, she and Red heard a tiny sound of earth moving, and a little brown lump rose from the ground ahead.

Nobody moved. The lump turned, revealing beady black eyes and a large pink nose. “Diglett.”

“Oh, my God, a Diglett!” Gancena whispered.

Ash jumped off Gancena’s shoulder, and the Diglett pulled back underground.

Ash’s ears lowered. “Chuu…”

“You might have startled it by accident, Ashie,” said Gancena. “I wonder about what’s underneath a Diglett, though…” she continued. “I’ve seen drawings of what people think is underground, but I haven’t seen anything definite. Do we know out here, Red?”

“Well… maybe? I’ve only seen the Diglett’s heads.”

“…Let’s catch one and figure it out,” she said. “We have the means.”

“Yeah… Yeah, I don’t think I caught one yet! Last time I was here, I was so happy just to be coming home that I barely looked at the Diglett. Oh—But what about training it?”

“I mean—oh, that is a good point. Diglett does evolve…” She paused, glancing over the ground. “Hmm… well… maybe it’d only be just briefly? Or maybe… maybe I can help you out with this whole training thing, Red. Maybe I could just take it temporarily…?” she wondered.

“Hey… that’s not a bad idea!” Red beamed. “Maybe we could both just rotate through my Pokémon and keep them even! You’d get used to being a Trainer, and my Pokémon would benefit! I like it!”

“Excellent! We can talk more about it when we get to Vermillion, or maybe even Celadon. Speaking of, you’ll probably want Charmander and-or Pidgeotto to be fighting. They’ll tear right through Grass-types. But Grass-types also have a lot of status-causing powder attacks, so… Antidotes and Paralyze Heals will be helpful to have…” She paused and glanced at Red. “Sorry about that. Got carried away.”

“No, that’s helpful! Thank you! So… do we still want to try catching a Diglett?”

“Only if you want. If you do, Diglett’s a Ground-type, so Bulbasaur and Squirtle would be good choices to weaken them.”

Red tugged a Poké Ball off his belt. “I’m gonna do it. I’ll send out Squirtle first. He still has a little catching up to do.” He lightly tossed the Ball, and Squirtle emerged. With a determined huff, he puffed out his chest.

“Okay, Squirtle, when you see a Diglett, use Bubble,” said Red.

“Squir-tle.” Squirtle saluted and marched forward, looking around the tunnel for any movement… and then another lump emerged from the ground.

“Diglett!”

Squirtle inhaled, turned towards the Diglett, and blew fast-flying bubbles, which exploded and spilled over Diglett, who shook its head strongly and plummeted back underground.

Squirtle snapped his fingers. “Squirt!”

“Does he know Water Gun? It’d be stronger,” Gancena suggested. “And maybe you should have the Poké Ball ready.”

“Right.” Red paused, checked his bag, and pulled out an empty Great Ball. “Anything yet, Squirtle?”

Squirtle shook his head, but kept focused on the tunnel ahead.

Ash quietly approached the first Diglett hole and sniffed.

Pikachu titled his head, briefly shining light onto Gancena by accident. “Pika chu kachu pii ka, pi chu.”

“Pikachu, careful with your flashlight cheeks. Don’t want to be accidentally blinded.”

Pikachu lightly bowed his head. “Pi-chu.”

Ahead of the Pokémon, two more Diglett wriggled out of the ground and simultaneously titled their heads at Squirtle.

Squirtle inhaled and spat a strong jet of water at one, startling both Diglett. Ash leaped at the second one just as it plummeted away, and she landed face down on the hole.

Red threw his Great Ball, but the Diglett ducked, and the Great Ball hit the wall of the cave.

“Aw, man!” Red groaned.

Squirtle frowned and scratched the back of his head. “Squirtle, squir.”

“It’s okay.” Red crossed the cave and retrieved the Great Ball, inspecting it. “We’ll be here a while, so we’ll just keep looking.”

Ash pulled away from the Diglett hole and shook her head.

“You okay, Ashie?” said Gancena.

Ash looked back and nodded, but didn’t push herself back up, peering into the hole instead. Without Pikachu’s Flash or Charmander’s tail, it was too dark to see anything. She turned her head and listened instead. When she kept still, she could hear a faint chanting…

“Diglett-Dig Diglett-Dig Diglett-Dig Diglett-Dig…”

“Pika!” she breathed. “Pika pi Piiii ka kachu! Pika pii-ka!”

Pikachu approached Ash and lowered his head. “Pika?”

“Piii pikachu pika-chu!”

Three Diglett emerged before the group, and Squirtle shot another Water Gun at one. While it was being soaked, Ash ran and leaped for another. Her target Diglett went wide-eyed and ducked, and Ash landed on the hole again. The third fled.

When Squirtle paused his attack, the Diglett dazedly whipped its head towards Squirtle, sending a cloud of sand and dust flying. Squirtle tried to step aside, but the Sand Attack hit him in the face, and he found himself squirting water in his hands to rinse his face.

“Hold on, Squirtle!” Red threw the Great Ball again, and it hit the Diglett.

Gancena watched carefully, but when the Diglett turned into white light and went into the open Ball, it changed form completely, looking nothing like itself. No help there.

The Ball shook once, then twice… and on a vigorous third wiggling, it broke open again. The Great Ball flew back into Red’s hand and the light that was the Diglett returned to the hole and did not return.

“Aww, it looked like it was caught!” Red shouted.

“You’re pulling on my leg,” Gancena muttered.

Ash growled and began to tear at the dirt where the Diglett were, making the hole just wide enough to stick her head in. She dug a little deeper, the Diglett’s chant continuing in her ears. “Pika! Pikachu!”

The chant paused. Then there was a slightly louder rumble, and Ash quickly pulled her head out. Even farther ahead, three huge Diglett heads rose up at once, all scowling, before aggressively shuffling towards Ash.

“TRIO TRIO TRIO”

“Ash, look out!” Gancena exclaimed.

Ash immediately tried a Thundershock. The Diglett heads didn’t even react.

“Piika!?”

“Ground-types are immune to electricity! Thundershock won’t work!” Gancena called. “Watch out!”

Ash’s ears flattened as the Pokémon moved forward, but she scowled and dashed towards it. She leaped, landed on one head, and bounced off. Gancena exhaled.

“Is this what Diglett evolves into?” Red shouted.

“Yes! This is Dugtrio!”

Ash then Tackled the back of the Dugtrio, and all three heads turned in her general direction.

“Ashie, be careful!”

“TRIO TRIO TRIO!” it shouted, its heads sweeping sand towards Ash. A big puff hit her in the face, and she spat, shook her head, and dusted her face quickly, trying to stumble out of the Dugtrio’s way.

Gancena’s heart jumped. “Ashie, run!”

“Squirtle, use Water Gun! Make it a big one!” Red commanded.

Squirtle shot out the strongest jet of water yet, and Ash, squinting, ran around Dugtrio and Tackled it again. When she landed, she shook herself off and fully opened her eyes.

When Squirtle settled down, Red threw the Great Ball at the dazed Dugtrio. The Ball opened, Dugtrio turned into red light, and gathered inside, leaving a hole in the ground.

There was a second of stillness, then the Ball jerked around once, twice… and one more time before stilling. The center’s red light faded.

Red had caught the Dugtrio. The Diglett continued chanting underground.

“Pi!” said Pikachu to Ash. “Pika chu pi kachu. Pii Pika-pika kachu pi ka!”

“Pii, piii kachu pikachu!”

Gancena ran to Ash and picked her up, dusting her off wherever she could.

Then the Great Ball glowed and vanished in a flash.

“Piiika pikachu!?” Ash exclaimed.

“It went to the lab…” Gancena answered. “Right?”

“Yeah.”

“So I guess the question will have to wait…” Gancena looked at the hole where the Dugtrio was. Ash flattened herself against Gancena’s chest. “You did well.” Gancena nuzzled the top of her Pikachu’s head, smelling plenty of dirt. “I think I’m gonna have to give you a bath once we get to Vermillion.”

Ash pulled her head back. “Pika?”

“Oh, my… I’ll show you when we get there.” Then she turned her attention to the hole. She kneeled by it, peered briefly inside, and decided she wanted more light. “Hey, Charmander, come over here a second.”

“Char-mander!” He did, and curled his tail so that Gancena could see.

“What are you doing?” Red asked.

“Seeing if I can try to answer our question, even though Dugtrio’s not here.” Gancena stuck her hand in the hole, and felt the bottom when her forearm was partway down the hole. “Whoa. Dugtrio are bigger than I realized.” She removed her arm. “But there’s definitely something beneath them. An actual body, I mean. So if Dugtrio has it, Diglett probably does, too.”

Squirtle raised a brow. “Squirt squirtle?”

Gancena paused and answered “Yes, it probably would.”

“Squir, squi-squirtle squirtle—“ Squirtle stopped and looked at Red.

Red chuckled. “You said ‘probably’ as if Diglett might not have a body.”

“Oh,” said Gancena, feeling warm. “Well, for all we know… I kind of doubt it, honestly, but sometimes Pokémon only gain certain parts of themselves when they evolve.”

Squirtle nodded. He looked at Gancena, smirking and wagging his finger. “Squirtle. Squi-squirtle squir squirtle-urtle.”

“Um…”

“He’s telling you to keep practicing.”

“Oh. Of course…”

---

The sky was already changing color when Red, Gancena and their Pikachu exited Diglett’s Cave, coming to a wide seaside path. Ash stared at the sea, but Gancena glanced both ways.

“All right, guys,” said Red to his Pokémon. “Thanks for all your help. Return.” Charmander and Squirtle were returned to their Poké Balls. “If we go right, we’ll be at Vermillion City in no time! The other path leads to one of the Routes, which can go to Lavender Town or Fuchsia City, depending on the direction,” said Red.

“Vermillion… quite a city, I’ve heard,” said Gancena, looking towards it. “We both know all about the Gym. And I know about S.S. Anne.”

“I was on there before it left!” Red exclaimed. “It was really cool, but the voyage was to another region, so I just battled some Trainers while I was there.”

Ash then scrambled down out of Gancena’s arm.

“Ah--! Hey, where’re you going, Ashie?”

Ash peered over the edge of the path and into the water. There’d been a river in the forest, but this river was huge! And wide… and it didn’t seem to flow right. She looked towards the city and saw a place where land and water met, the water rolling over the edge and falling back.

“Pika pii pikachu?” she asked, looking up at the approaching Gancena.

“Did you want to see the sea, Ashie?”

“Pi-ka?”

“She was asking why it was big,” said Red.

“O-oh. Thank you,” said Gancena. Oh, Squirtle wasn’t kidding!

Ash tilted her head, but then pointed at the sea and repeated her question. “Pika pii pikachu?”

“It’s big because it covers most of the world, Ash.”

Ash’s ears pricked. “Chu-pi! Pika piika chu? Pika chu pi ka?” she asked, moving her arms in circles.

“Are you asking about swimming…?”

Ash nodded.

“Yes, you can swim in it. Lots of people and Pokémon do.”

“Pika piika chu?” she repeated, cupping her hands and bringing them to her mouth.

“And now you’re asking about drinking?”

“Pi-ka!” said Ash, nodding.

“Well… I wouldn’t. It’s very salty – too salty to drink instead of regular water. That much salt just makes you thirstier, and that’s not good.”

Ash grimaced and stuck out her tongue.

“But in the meantime, let’s get to… uh… what do you want to do, Red? Get some dinner? Find a place to stay? Discuss the training thing?”

“I think we should ask Professor Oak about it first. If it’s okay with the League, then we can figure out how to split it up over dinner.”

---

They stopped by the Pokémon Center first. The moment they stepped in, there was a chorus of beeping machines, chattering Trainers and their Pokémon, and busy Chansey – round pink Pokémon with pouches on their stomachs where they kept giant eggs.

Gancena looked around and realized the place was bigger than the games could ever tell her. She counted not two, but three floors, and several doors leading to various wings on the first floor alone.

When she glanced back to Red, he was already headed towards a central counter. Gancena dashed to catch up, and a pink-haired nurse and her Chansey greeted them.

“Hello. Welcome to the Vermillion City Pokémon Center! How can we help you?”

“Two quick healings, please.”

“Okay. Who’s first?”

“We’ll go first.”

Chansey presented Red with a tray, where he placed his five Poké Balls. The nurse brought out a seat for Pikachu.

“Pikapi,” he said. “Pika pika pi,” he said, giving her a thumbs up.

The Poké Balls were placed onto a machine with a conveyor belt. The belt pulled the tray in, and then the inside glowed white. There was a series of pleasant, melodic beeps – very familiar to Gancena and Red both – and the conveyor belt brought the tray back out.

“All right, and now it’s your turn,” the nurse said to Pikachu, already comfortably seated.

Pikachu was placed on the conveyor belt, and went through. “Pika pikachu~!”

Then it was Ash’s turn.

Gancena nudged Ash off her shoulder and into her hands, but paused. “So, I just put her here and the panacea machine over there does the rest, right?”

“Yes,” the nurse confirmed. “If she’s nervous, you may put her back in her Poké Ball.”

“You gonna be okay, Ashie?”

Ash paused, looked at the machine, then at Pikachu, and nodded.

“Okay.” Gancena carefully placed Ash on the seat provided, and the nurse carried her to the machine.

Gancena watched Ash enter, waited a bit anxiously for the beeps, and watched her come out. Ash didn’t make a sound.

“Pika-pika!” she exclaimed the moment she was out. “Pika pikachu pika!”

“Better?” Gancena asked.

Ash nodded vigorously, and practically leaped back into Gancena’s arms once she was placed on the counter.

“Thank you very much,” said Gancena.

“You’re welcome,” said the nurse, bowing lightly. “Please come back anytime!”

“Thank you!” said Red.

Red then led them to an empty booth with a computer inside. Underneath its monitor was a single slot.

Gancena grinned in recognition. “Ah, the PC!”

“Yep. Another Trainer service. This is where I can make Pokémon transfers, store extra equipment, and even make phone calls! Watch.”

Gancena sat down as Red inserted his Pokédex into the slot. The PC turned on, and Red opened a program.

“Wait, can only League Trainers use these?”

“You can still use it if you’re not in the League. The Pokédex just makes it faster to start, I think.”

“Oh, good,” Gancena whispered. Ash shifted to sit on her lap.

They waited. A phone rang.

The screen showed an image of Professor Oak at his desk, part of the lab behind him. “Hello?”

“Hi, Professor Oak!” said Red.

“Oh, Red! Good to see you. And Gancena, too!”

Gancena nodded. “Hello again, Professor.”

“We had another question,” said Red.

Professor Oak held back a wince, but spoke evenly. “Of course. About what?”

“Gancena and I came up with a plan to train more of my Pokémon at once. But since I’m part of the League and she’s not, we wanted to figure out if it was okay first,” Red explained.

“I see… go on.”

“What would happen is that Gancena would take some of my Pokémon to train, and I’d still have a team to work with. We wouldn’t switch Pokémon in the middle of battle or anything, but we could have mixed teams.”

“And Gancena would only be using your Pokémon temporarily?”

“Yes,” Gancena confirmed, “except for Ash.” She scratched Ash’s head and watched her ears fold back in contentment. “She’s my first.”

“Ah, so you’ve caught a Pokémon of your own?”

“Yes, sir. Wasn’t exactly planned, but we’re both pretty happy about it,” she said, smiling.

“Chaa!” Ash cooed.

Professor Oak smiled, then continued. “Hmm… if Gancena were a League Trainer, this could be accomplished by constant trading. But she’s not. You two can still trade Pokémon, and it’s all right if you gave her one on a permanent basis, but if she’s only using them temporarily… hmm…” He paused and placed a hand to his chin. “Well, I’ve never really heard of a League Trainer trying this sort of strategy. I don’t think there’s an official rule on it.”

“So can we?” Red asked eagerly.

“Er… well…” Professor Oak’s brow knotted. “I don’t think I’d try it.”

“Why not?”

“You see, Red, I think some would see it as a violation of the six Pokémon rule. Since Gancena would be co-training with you on a temporary basis – that is, she’d essentially be training some of your Pokémon – It would be as if you had more than six Pokémon with you at a time. If you were both League Trainers, I think it might be acceptable because you’d each have Pokémon registered with the League, and you’d both be limited to six at a time. All it would mean then is that you’re co-training two different teams. It is an interesting question, though. Would it be all right with you if I forwarded this to the League heads?”

“Um…” Red glanced at Gancena.

She shrugged. “You tell me. You’re the League Trainer. I mean, I think it’d be good to get an official stance, but it’s really up to you.”

“Yeah…” Red nodded. “Okay, Professor. Go ahead. And thanks for talking this over with us.”

“Of course, Red. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?”

Red looked at Gancena again. “Not me, no. You?”

“Nope. That was it, Professor. Thanks a lot!”

“You’re welcome, Red. I must be getting back to work, but I appreciate you calling. May you both continue to have great journeys.”

“Of course! Bye!”

“Good bye, Professor Oak.”

Ash waved. “Pi-ka-chuuu!”

Professor Oak smiled. There was a beep, and the screen went back to the desktop.

“So that’s too bad…” said Gancena. “I hadn’t thought of things that way. Then again, I guess I hadn’t thought the whole thing through.”

“I think it was worth a shot,” Red assured, ejecting the Pokédex. “Now let’s get something to eat. I’m starving!”

---

Afterwards, they decided to stay in a Trainer-friendly inn nearby. Though they ended up with separate rooms, they still took the time to watch the sunset turn the city golden.

Ash got her bath. Of course, she was surprised about being completely soaked, and about the smell of the soap and the bubbles it made, but once she got used to it all, she was very cooperative.

Gancena had already known Ash was affectionate, but she noticed when she came out of the bathroom after her own shower to find that Ash had waited right by the door and not an inch farther.

Now it was night, and Gancena kept very still, watching how Ash went about getting comfortable. Not surprisingly, Ash favored nuzzling her head against Gancena, and let Gancena put part of the blankets over her.

Gancena was fairly tired from the long, long walk, but she didn’t move. She was already thinking – getting to Celadon, where the Runestone and the Thoughtless might be…

Gancena had hoped that Mew would return and give her some idea of it, but with the constant company, she realized that Mew might not have felt comfortable showing itself again.

But if it had been so necessary, Mew probably would have shown, regardless of who was there.

“Stick with Red, he said…”

The Runestone had to be somewhere along Red’s remaining Pokémon journey.

She finally shut her eyes and, as she had practiced, made herself resist the temptation to roll over.

---

The next morning, Blue woke up, still in Lavender Town.

The sun was only just rising, but it was noisy outside. Blue quickly got out of bed and yanked the curtains away from the inn window.

The tall memorial of the Pokémon Tower could be clearly seen from Blue’s room, and people were beginning to crowd around it. From his place, Blue could see one woman wearing large beads falling to her knees and screaming. A policewoman and her Growlithe rode past on a motorcycle. What looked like dark purple fog seemed to seep out of the Tower.

Gastly, he thought. Blue turned and ran to grab his bag.

He had to investigate.

---

“Whoa, what’s going on here?”

The building at the northernmost end of Route 6 was taped off, guarded by a watchman and his Growlithe, a puppy-like Pokémon with the same colors as Arcanine, its evolved form, but not as much white fur. Gancena thought she could see dust beyond the building.

Gancena and Red immediately approached them. “Excuse us,” said Gancena, “but why is this entrance to Saffron sealed off?”

“Construction on the other end,” the guard answered. “Saffron City’s wrapping up a major repaving project, and its entrances are the last thing. It should be done in a couple days, so if you need to get in, you can either wait it out, fly in, or use an alternate route.”

“We’ll have to take an alternate, then,” Gancena concluded. “We’re not going into Saffron itself.”

“We don’t have Flying-types big enough to carry us both, anyway,” added Red. “All we’re trying to do is get to Celadon.”

“Oh, good!” The watchman looked to his Growlithe, who placed a paw on the watchman’s pocket. The watchman pulled it out and unfolded it, pointing as he explained.

“Then you’ll want to go back to Vermillion, head east and then north to Lavender Town. Then, to the west of Lavender, there’s an underground path that’ll take you straight to the edge of Celadon City. I’d sincerely recommend doing this during the day, though. Lavender Town is the spiritual capital of Kanto, which can be both good and bad! The town itself is very quiet, but in the surrounding routes, Ghost-types like to cause mischief with travelers at night.”

“Hoo, boy,” Gancena whispered.

“What’s the best defense against Ghost-types?” Red asked.

“If you need to defend yourself against a Ghost,” the watchman said, “Psychic-type moves pack a wallop, especially against Kanto native Ghost-types.”

“The Kanto natives?”

“The Gastly line,” said Gancena. “Since they’re also Poison-type, it just makes Psychic moves that much more effective.

“Exactly,” confirmed the guard, nodding pleasantly. “But if you can get to Lavender during the day like I said, you shouldn’t have any problems.”

“Got it. Thanks!” said Red.

When they turned away, Gancena continued, “Ghost-type moves don’t affect Normal-type Pokémon, by the way, but neither Normal- nor Fighting-type moves affect Ghost-types. Pidgeotto, I think, would be a pretty good choice to fight off a ghost.”

“Are Ghost-types really that big a deal?”

“Maybe…? I mean, they can be a tough Type to fight against if you’re not exactly prepared.”

Gancena recalled a tower, filled to the brim with Ghost-type Pokémon, a friendly Haunter, and an illusory Gastly. Which would Lavender Town’s Pokémon be like?

---

They passed through Vermillion again and proceeded smoothly through Route 11, a grassy route, and onto Route 12, a set of boardwalks over a wide lake.

A sign directly ahead read:

Silence Bridge:

Turn left for Lavender Town
Turn right for Fuchsia City
However: Fuchsia’s a long way away.

“Almost there,” said Red, glancing up and turning left. “And we should have plenty of time to get to that underground passage. We could be in Celadon before it gets dark.”

Gancena followed briskly, stomach tingling at the idea of passing through Lavender Town. “Will you challenge Erika tomorrow, then?”

“Maybe. If I have to spend an extra day training, I will.”

“We’ll see when we get there?”

“Yeah.”

“Pika…” said Ash.

“What is it?” asked Gancena.

“Pika Pikachu?” she asked, following her question by pretending to snarl and hum and grabbing the air with her paw.

“Are you asking about… the ghosts?”

Ash perked and nodded.

“Ah! Well, maybe not now, since it’s the middle of the day. I don’t think all Ghost Pokémon are that bad, but I don’t think this is the time to take our chances. We’re just gonna focus on Celadon for now.”

“Chu…” sighed Ash. Then she buried her face in Gancena’s shoulder and mumbled something.

“Ashie?”

“Pika pika.”

“Pikapi,” said Pikachu, “Pikachu pii pika pikachu…”

They finished crossing the bridge in a nervous silence, and the pale purple Lavender Town lay before them. Some way away was a tall tower, which appeared to have dark purple Pokémon flying around it.

“Whoa, look at that!” said Red.

“No way…” Gancena breathed. “Ashie, look. Those are ghosts.”

Ash’s ears pricked. “Pika!?” She repositioned herself to hold on to Gancena’s head, staring at the tower.

“Careful up there… but yes, I can see them all. Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar are around the Pokémon Tower!”

“They seem to be gathering there… I guess we should stay clear of that while we’re here,” said Red.

Gancena looked around. No one was out that she could see. “I gotta say, as far as I know, that’s pretty weird… but at least the town itself is pretty quiet…”

The moment Gancena stopped speaking, she realized she was very wrong. Deeper in the town, there was noise.

Description
To get to Diglett’s Cave, Red parted two shrubs off the side of the route, and brought the small group around a nearby huge, packed mound of dirt.

The entrance looked just big enough for taller people to enter without ducking, and Red entered first. Only a few steps in, it was very dark, and Gancena found herself straining to focus on Red.

“Watch your step,” he warned. “It slopes right here.”

“Okay, this’ll be a second…” Gancena paused, looked down, and prodded with her shoe. She took very small steps, still prodding between them, until she felt it. Then she carefully picked up the pace.

When it was completely dark, Red paused. “All right, Pikachu,” he said. “Flash!”

“Pi-ka!” Pikachu jumped from Red’s shoulder. There was a sound of sparking, and bright light came from Pikachu’s cheeks, making them appear white. The area around them was illuminated, and everyone could see around them and farther into the cave.

“Pikachu, pi pika chu pika!?” Ash squealed.

Red chuckled. “Practice.”

“Really?” Gancena asked.

“Yeah.”

“I thought certain moves were taught differently… differently than practice, I mean.”

“Well, sort of. Some Pokémon instinctively know a few moves and pick up more as they get stronger, but new moves have been learned through Trainers encouraging their Pokémon to try new things. Oh, we’ll probably want extra light…” He pulled a Poké Ball from his belt. “Come on, Charmander!”

The Ball opened, and Charmander stood and smiled.

“Charmander, would you mind leading the way?” Red asked.

“Char!” Charmander nodded and stepped in front of Red.

Though the cave looked fairly wide and fairly tall, there only appeared to be one winding, sloping path.

“How long would you say this thing is?” Gancena whispered.

“We’re gonna be in here for a little while. I didn’t really count how long it took, but it’ll probably still be afternoon when we come out.”

“Okay. I mean, I figure it could be a little while. This connects Viridian to…” Gancena briefly drew a blank. “Er…”

“Vermillion.”

“Yes, thank you. Geography slipped. But yeah.” She continued, pointing in various directions. “Without access to this cave, you’d get to Vermillion by going through Pewter, then Mt. Moon, which is pretty big as-is, come out by Cerulean, and then take the underground route, right?”

“Yep. Or we could go straight to Celadon through Saffron, but when I tried, they were doing some work on that entrance,” Red added, shrugging.

“At least the underground routes are streamlined, right? As opposed to going through Kanto’s capital, which is sure to be busy and potentially distracting – unless you need to do some odd jobs.”

“Huh… I hadn’t thought of it that way before,” said Red. “Hopefully that construction’s done, though. Even if the underground routes are straight from one town to another—“

Red stopped when Charmander and Pikachu held still, the latter’s ears pricking. “What is it, guys?”

“Pika chu…”

Ash’s ears pricked, too. Before Gancena could ask her what was wrong, she and Red heard a tiny sound of earth moving, and a little brown lump rose from the ground ahead.

Nobody moved. The lump turned, revealing beady black eyes and a large pink nose. “Diglett.”

“Oh, my God, a Diglett!” Gancena whispered.

Ash jumped off Gancena’s shoulder, and the Diglett pulled back underground.

Ash’s ears lowered. “Chuu…”

“You might have startled it by accident, Ashie,” said Gancena. “I wonder about what’s underneath a Diglett, though…” she continued. “I’ve seen drawings of what people think is underground, but I haven’t seen anything definite. Do we know out here, Red?”

“Well… maybe? I’ve only seen the Diglett’s heads.”

“…Let’s catch one and figure it out,” she said. “We have the means.”

“Yeah… Yeah, I don’t think I caught one yet! Last time I was here, I was so happy just to be coming home that I barely looked at the Diglett. Oh—But what about training it?”

“I mean—oh, that is a good point. Diglett does evolve…” She paused, glancing over the ground. “Hmm… well… maybe it’d only be just briefly? Or maybe… maybe I can help you out with this whole training thing, Red. Maybe I could just take it temporarily…?” she wondered.

“Hey… that’s not a bad idea!” Red beamed. “Maybe we could both just rotate through my Pokémon and keep them even! You’d get used to being a Trainer, and my Pokémon would benefit! I like it!”

“Excellent! We can talk more about it when we get to Vermillion, or maybe even Celadon. Speaking of, you’ll probably want Charmander and-or Pidgeotto to be fighting. They’ll tear right through Grass-types. But Grass-types also have a lot of status-causing powder attacks, so… Antidotes and Paralyze Heals will be helpful to have…” She paused and glanced at Red. “Sorry about that. Got carried away.”

“No, that’s helpful! Thank you! So… do we still want to try catching a Diglett?”

“Only if you want. If you do, Diglett’s a Ground-type, so Bulbasaur and Squirtle would be good choices to weaken them.”

Red tugged a Poké Ball off his belt. “I’m gonna do it. I’ll send out Squirtle first. He still has a little catching up to do.” He lightly tossed the Ball, and Squirtle emerged. With a determined huff, he puffed out his chest.

“Okay, Squirtle, when you see a Diglett, use Bubble,” said Red.

“Squir-tle.” Squirtle saluted and marched forward, looking around the tunnel for any movement… and then another lump emerged from the ground.

“Diglett!”

Squirtle inhaled, turned towards the Diglett, and blew fast-flying bubbles, which exploded and spilled over Diglett, who shook its head strongly and plummeted back underground.

Squirtle snapped his fingers. “Squirt!”

“Does he know Water Gun? It’d be stronger,” Gancena suggested. “And maybe you should have the Poké Ball ready.”

“Right.” Red paused, checked his bag, and pulled out an empty Great Ball. “Anything yet, Squirtle?”

Squirtle shook his head, but kept focused on the tunnel ahead.

Ash quietly approached the first Diglett hole and sniffed.

Pikachu titled his head, briefly shining light onto Gancena by accident. “Pika chu kachu pii ka, pi chu.”

“Pikachu, careful with your flashlight cheeks. Don’t want to be accidentally blinded.”

Pikachu lightly bowed his head. “Pi-chu.”

Ahead of the Pokémon, two more Diglett wriggled out of the ground and simultaneously titled their heads at Squirtle.

Squirtle inhaled and spat a strong jet of water at one, startling both Diglett. Ash leaped at the second one just as it plummeted away, and she landed face down on the hole.

Red threw his Great Ball, but the Diglett ducked, and the Great Ball hit the wall of the cave.

“Aw, man!” Red groaned.

Squirtle frowned and scratched the back of his head. “Squirtle, squir.”

“It’s okay.” Red crossed the cave and retrieved the Great Ball, inspecting it. “We’ll be here a while, so we’ll just keep looking.”

Ash pulled away from the Diglett hole and shook her head.

“You okay, Ashie?” said Gancena.

Ash looked back and nodded, but didn’t push herself back up, peering into the hole instead. Without Pikachu’s Flash or Charmander’s tail, it was too dark to see anything. She turned her head and listened instead. When she kept still, she could hear a faint chanting…

“Diglett-Dig Diglett-Dig Diglett-Dig Diglett-Dig…”

“Pika!” she breathed. “Pika pi Piiii ka kachu! Pika pii-ka!”

Pikachu approached Ash and lowered his head. “Pika?”

“Piii pikachu pika-chu!”

Three Diglett emerged before the group, and Squirtle shot another Water Gun at one. While it was being soaked, Ash ran and leaped for another. Her target Diglett went wide-eyed and ducked, and Ash landed on the hole again. The third fled.

When Squirtle paused his attack, the Diglett dazedly whipped its head towards Squirtle, sending a cloud of sand and dust flying. Squirtle tried to step aside, but the Sand Attack hit him in the face, and he found himself squirting water in his hands to rinse his face.

“Hold on, Squirtle!” Red threw the Great Ball again, and it hit the Diglett.

Gancena watched carefully, but when the Diglett turned into white light and went into the open Ball, it changed form completely, looking nothing like itself. No help there.

The Ball shook once, then twice… and on a vigorous third wiggling, it broke open again. The Great Ball flew back into Red’s hand and the light that was the Diglett returned to the hole and did not return.

“Aww, it looked like it was caught!” Red shouted.

“You’re pulling on my leg,” Gancena muttered.

Ash growled and began to tear at the dirt where the Diglett were, making the hole just wide enough to stick her head in. She dug a little deeper, the Diglett’s chant continuing in her ears. “Pika! Pikachu!”

The chant paused. Then there was a slightly louder rumble, and Ash quickly pulled her head out. Even farther ahead, three huge Diglett heads rose up at once, all scowling, before aggressively shuffling towards Ash.

“TRIO TRIO TRIO”

“Ash, look out!” Gancena exclaimed.

Ash immediately tried a Thundershock. The Diglett heads didn’t even react.

“Piika!?”

“Ground-types are immune to electricity! Thundershock won’t work!” Gancena called. “Watch out!”

Ash’s ears flattened as the Pokémon moved forward, but she scowled and dashed towards it. She leaped, landed on one head, and bounced off. Gancena exhaled.

“Is this what Diglett evolves into?” Red shouted.

“Yes! This is Dugtrio!”

Ash then Tackled the back of the Dugtrio, and all three heads turned in her general direction.

“Ashie, be careful!”

“TRIO TRIO TRIO!” it shouted, its heads sweeping sand towards Ash. A big puff hit her in the face, and she spat, shook her head, and dusted her face quickly, trying to stumble out of the Dugtrio’s way.

Gancena’s heart jumped. “Ashie, run!”

“Squirtle, use Water Gun! Make it a big one!” Red commanded.

Squirtle shot out the strongest jet of water yet, and Ash, squinting, ran around Dugtrio and Tackled it again. When she landed, she shook herself off and fully opened her eyes.

When Squirtle settled down, Red threw the Great Ball at the dazed Dugtrio. The Ball opened, Dugtrio turned into red light, and gathered inside, leaving a hole in the ground.

There was a second of stillness, then the Ball jerked around once, twice… and one more time before stilling. The center’s red light faded.

Red had caught the Dugtrio. The Diglett continued chanting underground.

“Pi!” said Pikachu to Ash. “Pika chu pi kachu. Pii Pika-pika kachu pi ka!”

“Pii, piii kachu pikachu!”

Gancena ran to Ash and picked her up, dusting her off wherever she could.

Then the Great Ball glowed and vanished in a flash.

“Piiika pikachu!?” Ash exclaimed.

“It went to the lab…” Gancena answered. “Right?”

“Yeah.”

“So I guess the question will have to wait…” Gancena looked at the hole where the Dugtrio was. Ash flattened herself against Gancena’s chest. “You did well.” Gancena nuzzled the top of her Pikachu’s head, smelling plenty of dirt. “I think I’m gonna have to give you a bath once we get to Vermillion.”

Ash pulled her head back. “Pika?”

“Oh, my… I’ll show you when we get there.” Then she turned her attention to the hole. She kneeled by it, peered briefly inside, and decided she wanted more light. “Hey, Charmander, come over here a second.”

“Char-mander!” He did, and curled his tail so that Gancena could see.

“What are you doing?” Red asked.

“Seeing if I can try to answer our question, even though Dugtrio’s not here.” Gancena stuck her hand in the hole, and felt the bottom when her forearm was partway down the hole. “Whoa. Dugtrio are bigger than I realized.” She removed her arm. “But there’s definitely something beneath them. An actual body, I mean. So if Dugtrio has it, Diglett probably does, too.”

Squirtle raised a brow. “Squirt squirtle?”

Gancena paused and answered “Yes, it probably would.”

“Squir, squi-squirtle squirtle—“ Squirtle stopped and looked at Red.

Red chuckled. “You said ‘probably’ as if Diglett might not have a body.”

“Oh,” said Gancena, feeling warm. “Well, for all we know… I kind of doubt it, honestly, but sometimes Pokémon only gain certain parts of themselves when they evolve.”

Squirtle nodded. He looked at Gancena, smirking and wagging his finger. “Squirtle. Squi-squirtle squir squirtle-urtle.”

“Um…”

“He’s telling you to keep practicing.”

“Oh. Of course…”

---

The sky was already changing color when Red, Gancena and their Pikachu exited Diglett’s Cave, coming to a wide seaside path. Ash stared at the sea, but Gancena glanced both ways.

“All right, guys,” said Red to his Pokémon. “Thanks for all your help. Return.” Charmander and Squirtle were returned to their Poké Balls. “If we go right, we’ll be at Vermillion City in no time! The other path leads to one of the Routes, which can go to Lavender Town or Fuchsia City, depending on the direction,” said Red.

“Vermillion… quite a city, I’ve heard,” said Gancena, looking towards it. “We both know all about the Gym. And I know about S.S. Anne.”

“I was on there before it left!” Red exclaimed. “It was really cool, but the voyage was to another region, so I just battled some Trainers while I was there.”

Ash then scrambled down out of Gancena’s arm.

“Ah--! Hey, where’re you going, Ashie?”

Ash peered over the edge of the path and into the water. There’d been a river in the forest, but this river was huge! And wide… and it didn’t seem to flow right. She looked towards the city and saw a place where land and water met, the water rolling over the edge and falling back.

“Pika pii pikachu?” she asked, looking up at the approaching Gancena.

“Did you want to see the sea, Ashie?”

“Pi-ka?”

“She was asking why it was big,” said Red.

“O-oh. Thank you,” said Gancena. Oh, Squirtle wasn’t kidding!

Ash tilted her head, but then pointed at the sea and repeated her question. “Pika pii pikachu?”

“It’s big because it covers most of the world, Ash.”

Ash’s ears pricked. “Chu-pi! Pika piika chu? Pika chu pi ka?” she asked, moving her arms in circles.

“Are you asking about swimming…?”

Ash nodded.

“Yes, you can swim in it. Lots of people and Pokémon do.”

“Pika piika chu?” she repeated, cupping her hands and bringing them to her mouth.

“And now you’re asking about drinking?”

“Pi-ka!” said Ash, nodding.

“Well… I wouldn’t. It’s very salty – too salty to drink instead of regular water. That much salt just makes you thirstier, and that’s not good.”

Ash grimaced and stuck out her tongue.

“But in the meantime, let’s get to… uh… what do you want to do, Red? Get some dinner? Find a place to stay? Discuss the training thing?”

“I think we should ask Professor Oak about it first. If it’s okay with the League, then we can figure out how to split it up over dinner.”

---

They stopped by the Pokémon Center first. The moment they stepped in, there was a chorus of beeping machines, chattering Trainers and their Pokémon, and busy Chansey – round pink Pokémon with pouches on their stomachs where they kept giant eggs.

Gancena looked around and realized the place was bigger than the games could ever tell her. She counted not two, but three floors, and several doors leading to various wings on the first floor alone.

When she glanced back to Red, he was already headed towards a central counter. Gancena dashed to catch up, and a pink-haired nurse and her Chansey greeted them.

“Hello. Welcome to the Vermillion City Pokémon Center! How can we help you?”

“Two quick healings, please.”

“Okay. Who’s first?”

“We’ll go first.”

Chansey presented Red with a tray, where he placed his five Poké Balls. The nurse brought out a seat for Pikachu.

“Pikapi,” he said. “Pika pika pi,” he said, giving her a thumbs up.

The Poké Balls were placed onto a machine with a conveyor belt. The belt pulled the tray in, and then the inside glowed white. There was a series of pleasant, melodic beeps – very familiar to Gancena and Red both – and the conveyor belt brought the tray back out.

“All right, and now it’s your turn,” the nurse said to Pikachu, already comfortably seated.

Pikachu was placed on the conveyor belt, and went through. “Pika pikachu~!”

Then it was Ash’s turn.

Gancena nudged Ash off her shoulder and into her hands, but paused. “So, I just put her here and the panacea machine over there does the rest, right?”

“Yes,” the nurse confirmed. “If she’s nervous, you may put her back in her Poké Ball.”

“You gonna be okay, Ashie?”

Ash paused, looked at the machine, then at Pikachu, and nodded.

“Okay.” Gancena carefully placed Ash on the seat provided, and the nurse carried her to the machine.

Gancena watched Ash enter, waited a bit anxiously for the beeps, and watched her come out. Ash didn’t make a sound.

“Pika-pika!” she exclaimed the moment she was out. “Pika pikachu pika!”

“Better?” Gancena asked.

Ash nodded vigorously, and practically leaped back into Gancena’s arms once she was placed on the counter.

“Thank you very much,” said Gancena.

“You’re welcome,” said the nurse, bowing lightly. “Please come back anytime!”

“Thank you!” said Red.

Red then led them to an empty booth with a computer inside. Underneath its monitor was a single slot.

Gancena grinned in recognition. “Ah, the PC!”

“Yep. Another Trainer service. This is where I can make Pokémon transfers, store extra equipment, and even make phone calls! Watch.”

Gancena sat down as Red inserted his Pokédex into the slot. The PC turned on, and Red opened a program.

“Wait, can only League Trainers use these?”

“You can still use it if you’re not in the League. The Pokédex just makes it faster to start, I think.”

“Oh, good,” Gancena whispered. Ash shifted to sit on her lap.

They waited. A phone rang.

The screen showed an image of Professor Oak at his desk, part of the lab behind him. “Hello?”

“Hi, Professor Oak!” said Red.

“Oh, Red! Good to see you. And Gancena, too!”

Gancena nodded. “Hello again, Professor.”

“We had another question,” said Red.

Professor Oak held back a wince, but spoke evenly. “Of course. About what?”

“Gancena and I came up with a plan to train more of my Pokémon at once. But since I’m part of the League and she’s not, we wanted to figure out if it was okay first,” Red explained.

“I see… go on.”

“What would happen is that Gancena would take some of my Pokémon to train, and I’d still have a team to work with. We wouldn’t switch Pokémon in the middle of battle or anything, but we could have mixed teams.”

“And Gancena would only be using your Pokémon temporarily?”

“Yes,” Gancena confirmed, “except for Ash.” She scratched Ash’s head and watched her ears fold back in contentment. “She’s my first.”

“Ah, so you’ve caught a Pokémon of your own?”

“Yes, sir. Wasn’t exactly planned, but we’re both pretty happy about it,” she said, smiling.

“Chaa!” Ash cooed.

Professor Oak smiled, then continued. “Hmm… if Gancena were a League Trainer, this could be accomplished by constant trading. But she’s not. You two can still trade Pokémon, and it’s all right if you gave her one on a permanent basis, but if she’s only using them temporarily… hmm…” He paused and placed a hand to his chin. “Well, I’ve never really heard of a League Trainer trying this sort of strategy. I don’t think there’s an official rule on it.”

“So can we?” Red asked eagerly.

“Er… well…” Professor Oak’s brow knotted. “I don’t think I’d try it.”

“Why not?”

“You see, Red, I think some would see it as a violation of the six Pokémon rule. Since Gancena would be co-training with you on a temporary basis – that is, she’d essentially be training some of your Pokémon – It would be as if you had more than six Pokémon with you at a time. If you were both League Trainers, I think it might be acceptable because you’d each have Pokémon registered with the League, and you’d both be limited to six at a time. All it would mean then is that you’re co-training two different teams. It is an interesting question, though. Would it be all right with you if I forwarded this to the League heads?”

“Um…” Red glanced at Gancena.

She shrugged. “You tell me. You’re the League Trainer. I mean, I think it’d be good to get an official stance, but it’s really up to you.”

“Yeah…” Red nodded. “Okay, Professor. Go ahead. And thanks for talking this over with us.”

“Of course, Red. Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?”

Red looked at Gancena again. “Not me, no. You?”

“Nope. That was it, Professor. Thanks a lot!”

“You’re welcome, Red. I must be getting back to work, but I appreciate you calling. May you both continue to have great journeys.”

“Of course! Bye!”

“Good bye, Professor Oak.”

Ash waved. “Pi-ka-chuuu!”

Professor Oak smiled. There was a beep, and the screen went back to the desktop.

“So that’s too bad…” said Gancena. “I hadn’t thought of things that way. Then again, I guess I hadn’t thought the whole thing through.”

“I think it was worth a shot,” Red assured, ejecting the Pokédex. “Now let’s get something to eat. I’m starving!”

---

Afterwards, they decided to stay in a Trainer-friendly inn nearby. Though they ended up with separate rooms, they still took the time to watch the sunset turn the city golden.

Ash got her bath. Of course, she was surprised about being completely soaked, and about the smell of the soap and the bubbles it made, but once she got used to it all, she was very cooperative.

Gancena had already known Ash was affectionate, but she noticed when she came out of the bathroom after her own shower to find that Ash had waited right by the door and not an inch farther.

Now it was night, and Gancena kept very still, watching how Ash went about getting comfortable. Not surprisingly, Ash favored nuzzling her head against Gancena, and let Gancena put part of the blankets over her.

Gancena was fairly tired from the long, long walk, but she didn’t move. She was already thinking – getting to Celadon, where the Runestone and the Thoughtless might be…

Gancena had hoped that Mew would return and give her some idea of it, but with the constant company, she realized that Mew might not have felt comfortable showing itself again.

But if it had been so necessary, Mew probably would have shown, regardless of who was there.

“Stick with Red, he said…”

The Runestone had to be somewhere along Red’s remaining Pokémon journey.

She finally shut her eyes and, as she had practiced, made herself resist the temptation to roll over.

---

The next morning, Blue woke up, still in Lavender Town.

The sun was only just rising, but it was noisy outside. Blue quickly got out of bed and yanked the curtains away from the inn window.

The tall memorial of the Pokémon Tower could be clearly seen from Blue’s room, and people were beginning to crowd around it. From his place, Blue could see one woman wearing large beads falling to her knees and screaming. A policewoman and her Growlithe rode past on a motorcycle. What looked like dark purple fog seemed to seep out of the Tower.

Gastly, he thought. Blue turned and ran to grab his bag.

He had to investigate.

---

“Whoa, what’s going on here?”

The building at the northernmost end of Route 6 was taped off, guarded by a watchman and his Growlithe, a puppy-like Pokémon with the same colors as Arcanine, its evolved form, but not as much white fur. Gancena thought she could see dust beyond the building.

Gancena and Red immediately approached them. “Excuse us,” said Gancena, “but why is this entrance to Saffron sealed off?”

“Construction on the other end,” the guard answered. “Saffron City’s wrapping up a major repaving project, and its entrances are the last thing. It should be done in a couple days, so if you need to get in, you can either wait it out, fly in, or use an alternate route.”

“We’ll have to take an alternate, then,” Gancena concluded. “We’re not going into Saffron itself.”

“We don’t have Flying-types big enough to carry us both, anyway,” added Red. “All we’re trying to do is get to Celadon.”

“Oh, good!” The watchman looked to his Growlithe, who placed a paw on the watchman’s pocket. The watchman pulled it out and unfolded it, pointing as he explained.

“Then you’ll want to go back to Vermillion, head east and then north to Lavender Town. Then, to the west of Lavender, there’s an underground path that’ll take you straight to the edge of Celadon City. I’d sincerely recommend doing this during the day, though. Lavender Town is the spiritual capital of Kanto, which can be both good and bad! The town itself is very quiet, but in the surrounding routes, Ghost-types like to cause mischief with travelers at night.”

“Hoo, boy,” Gancena whispered.

“What’s the best defense against Ghost-types?” Red asked.

“If you need to defend yourself against a Ghost,” the watchman said, “Psychic-type moves pack a wallop, especially against Kanto native Ghost-types.”

“The Kanto natives?”

“The Gastly line,” said Gancena. “Since they’re also Poison-type, it just makes Psychic moves that much more effective.

“Exactly,” confirmed the guard, nodding pleasantly. “But if you can get to Lavender during the day like I said, you shouldn’t have any problems.”

“Got it. Thanks!” said Red.

When they turned away, Gancena continued, “Ghost-type moves don’t affect Normal-type Pokémon, by the way, but neither Normal- nor Fighting-type moves affect Ghost-types. Pidgeotto, I think, would be a pretty good choice to fight off a ghost.”

“Are Ghost-types really that big a deal?”

“Maybe…? I mean, they can be a tough Type to fight against if you’re not exactly prepared.”

Gancena recalled a tower, filled to the brim with Ghost-type Pokémon, a friendly Haunter, and an illusory Gastly. Which would Lavender Town’s Pokémon be like?

---

They passed through Vermillion again and proceeded smoothly through Route 11, a grassy route, and onto Route 12, a set of boardwalks over a wide lake.

A sign directly ahead read:

Silence Bridge:

Turn left for Lavender Town
Turn right for Fuchsia City
However: Fuchsia’s a long way away.

“Almost there,” said Red, glancing up and turning left. “And we should have plenty of time to get to that underground passage. We could be in Celadon before it gets dark.”

Gancena followed briskly, stomach tingling at the idea of passing through Lavender Town. “Will you challenge Erika tomorrow, then?”

“Maybe. If I have to spend an extra day training, I will.”

“We’ll see when we get there?”

“Yeah.”

“Pika…” said Ash.

“What is it?” asked Gancena.

“Pika Pikachu?” she asked, following her question by pretending to snarl and hum and grabbing the air with her paw.

“Are you asking about… the ghosts?”

Ash perked and nodded.

“Ah! Well, maybe not now, since it’s the middle of the day. I don’t think all Ghost Pokémon are that bad, but I don’t think this is the time to take our chances. We’re just gonna focus on Celadon for now.”

“Chu…” sighed Ash. Then she buried her face in Gancena’s shoulder and mumbled something.

“Ashie?”

“Pika pika.”

“Pikapi,” said Pikachu, “Pikachu pii pika pikachu…”

They finished crossing the bridge in a nervous silence, and the pale purple Lavender Town lay before them. Some way away was a tall tower, which appeared to have dark purple Pokémon flying around it.

“Whoa, look at that!” said Red.

“No way…” Gancena breathed. “Ashie, look. Those are ghosts.”

Ash’s ears pricked. “Pika!?” She repositioned herself to hold on to Gancena’s head, staring at the tower.

“Careful up there… but yes, I can see them all. Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar are around the Pokémon Tower!”

“They seem to be gathering there… I guess we should stay clear of that while we’re here,” said Red.

Gancena looked around. No one was out that she could see. “I gotta say, as far as I know, that’s pretty weird… but at least the town itself is pretty quiet…”

The moment Gancena stopped speaking, she realized she was very wrong. Deeper in the town, there was noise.