Chapter 124: The Itinerary

After arranging Clefable and Abra’s “special training,” Amu’s plan for his nine-Pokemon roster gradually began to take shape.

Clefable and Abra would handle unconventional situations. Whenever they encountered an opponent Amu was not confident against—especially one skilled in physical attacks and physical defense—Abra could launch a surprise assault and break through their defenses. And once Clefable mastered its “mutual-destruction punch”—ahem, once it mastered the “Life-for-Life Fist”—it would be able to deal with opponents who were extremely powerful but hesitant and indecisive in their tactics.

Of course, Clefable could still be deployed under ordinary circumstances.

“Physical-attacking Clefable is only the second layer. Life-for-Life Clefable is the fifth…”

Among the other seven Pokemon, Ditto and Electrode leaned toward support roles. Venusaur and Exeggutor could employ sunny-day tactics, while Exeggutor and Rhydon could make use of spatial tactics. Gengar and Nidoking were relatively versatile offensive powerhouses.

“Rhy, once Garlic comes back, remember to practice coordinating with it,” Amu emphasized.

Whether it was Rhydon, its evolved form Rhydonior, or its final evolution, Rhyperior, all of them possessed the dual Ground and Rock typing. They were therefore four times as vulnerable to Grass- and Water-type attacks. If they encountered a powerful attacker with Grass- or Water-type special moves, they could easily be knocked out in a single blow.

Venusaur, however, with its Poison and Grass typing, took only half damage from Water-type attacks and quarter damage from Grass-type attacks. It could form a defensive rotation with Rhydon perfectly.

If Rhy encountered a Pokemon capable of defeating it in one hit, all he had to do was switch Garlic in at the instant the opponent attacked and have it take the move. Combined with Amu’s weakened version of the Regenerator ability, the exchange would effectively amount to a damage-free switch, successfully protecting the team’s offensive ace.

Amu remained at the battle club until evening, standardizing their training. More importantly, he was also experimenting with using Animal Senses to establish a connection between two Pokemon at once.

If he succeeded, the efficiency with which the Pokemon learned moves from one another would increase dramatically.

One-on-one was relatively easy, but connecting three of them at the same time required considerable finesse. Amu was still experimenting with that.

At five in the afternoon, Amu left the battle club and headed to Heiji’s home.

Ran, Sonoko, and the others had arrived long ago, and Aunt Gin was there as well. Amu also met Heiji’s father, a full-time househusband.

“I’m not bragging, but my old man’s cooking is absolutely Elite Four level! You could call him the Dinner Champion!” Heiji declared proudly.

It certainly smelled wonderful, but…

Judging from appearances alone, Heiji’s fierce-looking father resembled a member of the Jenny family far more than a chef.

Not long after dinner began, Yumi arrived after finishing her shift. If anyone else had invited her, she might well have slipped away from work for a while and arrived on time. But since the invitation had come from her aunt, the superintendent, she could only come after work.

Seeing that, apart from the familiar faces, no one else was present, Amu finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least he would not have to worry about someone collapsing later with the scent of bitter almonds on their breath.

Aunt Shizuka had said she wanted to entertain Heiji’s friends. After all, Amu and Conan had also helped solve the case this time.

But…

Under the imposing presence of Aunt Shizuka and Aunt Gin, even Yumi felt somewhat restrained.

Heiji had originally been perfectly at ease, but after noticing Aunt Gin casting glances at him and Kazuha, who was sitting beside him, he began to fidget as though sitting on pins and needles.

As for Kazuha…

She worked especially hard to behave like a refined young lady in front of Aunt Shizuka. The possibility of her relaxing simply did not exist.

Even Yumi, with her superior present, pretended that she did not drink.

To ease the atmosphere, Aunt Shizuka, speaking as an elder, asked everyone about their plans for the future.

“We’re going to Bluepool City!” Sonoko immediately exclaimed with renewed energy.

Ran reminded her from the side, “We have to finish our practical assignments along the way first.”

At the mention of assignments, Sonoko’s head drooped again.

“Bluepool City… In that case, I hope you have a wonderful time,” Aunt Shizuka said, apparently assuming they were going there for vacation.

After all, Bluepool City was a famous resort. It was not far from Vermilion City, lay within Vermilion Bay, and was highly suitable for beginners learning to surf or dive. It also boasted vast stretches of sandy beach.

Sonoko really was going there to have fun. It was just that… apparently they still had other assignments to complete along the way.

“Misty and I are planning to head straight to Vermilion City. We’ll book our tickets tomorrow,” Amu said. He and Misty had already discussed it.

Misty wanted to go directly to the beach at Vermilion City, while Amu intended to concentrate on training for a while.

Since they were at it, the two of them planned to buy plane tickets and fly straight to Vermilion City.

“What? You’re not going to Celadon City?” Sonoko asked in surprise.

“I’m planning to go in July,” Amu replied confidently.

“You really are confident…” Sonoko sighed. Seeing that Heiji and Aunt Shizuka still did not understand, she explained, “This guy is planning to take the Expert Pharmacist examination in mid-July, and he even swears he’ll pass it!”

It was already late May. Sonoko had originally assumed that Amu would go straight to Celadon City to begin preparing for the examination.

But judging from the situation, Amu had no intention of studying for it. At most, he would go there half a month early to calm his mind and find his rhythm.

Everyone hearing about it for the first time stared at Amu in astonishment.

“For an Expert Pharmacist examination, if your ability is sufficient, you’re bound to pass as long as you don’t make any mistakes,” Amu said modestly. “If your ability isn’t sufficient, no amount of specialized preparation will help.”

“We probably won’t reach Bluepool City for another half a month either. In July, we’ll go to Celadon City and cheer you on!” Sonoko declared solemnly.

“Of course. And I’ll cheer you on for your final exams while I’m there,” Amu replied with a smile.

At the sight of his smile, Sonoko stuck out her tongue sheepishly. That was right—they were going to Celadon City mainly because of her final exams. Otherwise, what was there to cheer for in a pharmacist examination? It was not a competition!

The Point Guard Is Here

They were merely going to take their exams and, incidentally, see how Amu did…

“At least we can throw you a celebration party!” Sonoko insisted.

Celadon City was the central city of the Kanto region. Yet in both area and population, it was actually inferior to Saffron City. When people spoke of the six major cities, Celadon was not included; when they spoke of the seven major cities, it was. By convention, the other six were called major cities, while Celadon was known as the “central city.”

This was because Celadon had been established during the League era after Viridian Forest was developed and expanded. Its purpose was to connect eastern and western Kanto. Otherwise, the two halves of the region would have been completely cut off from each other by Viridian Forest and Kanto Bay.

Overall, Kanto was also heavily weighted toward the east rather than the west. Not only were just two of the major cities located in the western region, but history had always followed the same pattern. After all, the east consisted of the Fire Nation and the Lightning Nation, while the west was made up of the Earth Nation and the Wind Nation. It was obvious which side was rich and which was poor.

Celadon City had originally been positioned as the “heart of Kanto.” Later, however, out of consideration for protecting Pokemon habitats, the League ceased developing Viridian Forest for nearly thirty years, and Celadon’s size stopped expanding as well.

Apart from geographical factors, another reason was the Quartz League’s decision to strengthen ties between Kanto and Johto by placing the headquarters of both regional Leagues on the Quartz Plateau. Although transportation there was inconvenient, the plateau lay between the two regions. As a result, Celadon City, originally intended to be the “heart of Kanto,” declined considerably in status.

What Giovanni was now pushing for was to move the League’s center back to Celadon City after becoming the Champion of Kanto. That was why Team Rocket had established so many industries there.

“Bluepool City… Oh! Then I’ll go challenge the Bluepool Gym for my sixth Badge in late June!” Misty decided.

Amu did not object. Since Misty had not challenged the Saffron Gym, she was now one Badge behind him.

As for Amu’s remaining Badges, their general route had already been settled. Once he reached Vermilion City, he would certainly challenge its Gym. After the pharmacist examination, he could conveniently obtain another Badge in Celadon City. Then he planned to head to Fuchsia City, which would also let him stop by and visit Pineweed Town along the way. Finally, for his eighth Badge, he would definitely have to go to Cerulean City, as Teacher Giantwood had instructed.