Celadon City lay southwest of Saffron City. Compared to Saffron's restless bustle and towering skyscrapers, Celadon was calm and verdant, blanketed by greenery that covered nearly thirty percent of the city—a number that would sound absurd anywhere else. The abundance of plants made the whole city feel tranquil and fresh.
"Ahh, breathing in the air of Celadon City makes me feel alive again," Nozomi said, taking a deep breath of the cool air.
From Lavender Town to Saffron City, and then from Saffron to Grampa Canyon—none of those places had truly fresh air. Whether it was Lavender's somber atmosphere, Saffron's choking smog, or the damp caverns beneath the canyon, all of them had left him longing for clean air. Now that he was here, it felt as if his lungs were reborn.
"First things first—find somewhere to stay," he muttered.
He didn't know much about Celadon City, but finding lodging was never hard when there was a Pokémon Center nearby. All you had to do was ask.
"Good morning, Nurse Joy," Nozomi greeted as he entered the Center.
"Good morning. How can I help you today?" she asked with her usual warm smile.
"I'd like you to take care of my Pokémon, and also… could you recommend a good hotel in Celadon City?"
Nurse Joy accepted the Poké Balls, thinking for a moment. "Let's see… the best hotel here would probably be the Celadon Grand Hotel. It's right across from the Celadon Department Store."
"Thanks," Nozomi said.
"No need to thank me—helping Trainers is part of my duty," she replied kindly.
Before long, his Pokémon were fully healed, and she handed the Poké Balls back to him. As Nozomi was about to leave, she called out, "Please wait a moment."
He turned back. "Yes? Is something wrong?"
"If you see any children wandering the streets alone—or anyone acting suspicious—please report it to us or the police."
"Why? Did something happen?" His brow furrowed; the tone of her voice hinted at trouble.
"There have been several missing child cases in Celadon City recently," she explained softly. "The police have issued a public bounty, asking any passing Trainers to assist in finding the missing children. I'm simply passing the message along."
"I see… I'll keep an eye out." Nozomi nodded gravely.
That reminded him—he vaguely recalled something like this happening in the original storyline. There was an incident involving missing children in Celadon City. If his memory served right, it was caused by someone misusing Psychic-type Pokémon… though he couldn't remember the details clearly.
"Well, if I have time, I'll look into it. After all, I'm half an official League investigator now," he thought to himself as he walked toward the Celadon Grand Hotel.
After checking in and dropping off his belongings, Nozomi set out again—this time for the Celadon Gym.
"Welcome!" The greeter's cheerful voice met him as he entered.
Unlike most Gyms, where the staff were usually male, every employee here was a woman. Each one was young, graceful, and lightly perfumed, giving the entire place a pleasant and elegant atmosphere.
Looking at them, Nozomi couldn't help but think of the original anime episode—how Ash had once insulted the perfumes made by the Celadon Gym's own shop. He sighed inwardly. "That's Ash for you. The ultimate steel-hearted straight man."
"Hello, I'm here to challenge the Celadon Gym," Nozomi said politely.
"I'm sorry," the receptionist said apologetically. "The Gym Leader isn't available for battles right now."
"Why not? Is something wrong?" he asked.
"The Gym Leader is currently at the perfume shop. According to her schedule, she won't be available for battles until this afternoon."
Nozomi frowned. He wasn't thrilled about having to wait hours for a Gym battle—but it wasn't as if he could drag Erika back by force. Waiting until the afternoon was his only choice.
"There aren't any other challengers booked for today, are there?" he asked. "I'd rather not spend the whole afternoon in line."
"Not at all, Mr. Nozomi. You're the first challenger today," she assured quickly. "Our Gym Leader being unavailable like this is quite inconsiderate—we apologize for the inconvenience."
"Mind telling me where exactly your Gym Leader is?" he asked.
In the anime, Erika first appeared managing the Celadon Gym's perfume shop. That shop was located right beside the Gym itself. If she was there, it would be simple enough to call her over.
But Nozomi had passed by the perfume shop earlier, and she wasn't there.
"I'm not entirely sure," the receptionist admitted. "Officer Jenny came earlier and asked the Gym Leader to help investigate the recent missing children cases."
"More missing kids…" Nozomi exhaled heavily. "Of course."
It seemed like every time he tried to challenge a Gym, something chaotic happened. At Pewter Gym, Team Rocket's meddling had drawn in a flood of challengers. At Cerulean, he'd waited in line an entire day only to be told to come back tomorrow. At Vermilion, Lt. Surge turned out to be a Rocket plant within the League. And in Saffron, he'd fought Giovanni himself.
"I really am cursed," he muttered. "All my luck must've gone into the gacha rolls."
"Well, I'll come back this afternoon," he said finally.
Since the Gym was unavailable, he returned to his hotel instead—planning to use the downtime productively. After all, he still had some unclaimed rewards from his victory over Giovanni.
Between uncovering the secrets of the Saffron Gym, earning the Marsh Badge, and defeating Team Rocket, he had racked up two Silver Draws and one Gold Draw from the system.
The Saffron Gym's mystery and the badge itself had each given him a Silver Draw, while taking down Team Rocket had earned him the Gold one.
"Shame I didn't manage to capture Giovanni," Nozomi sighed. "If I had, maybe the system would've given me a Platinum Draw."
Then again, with Mewtwo under his command now, he wasn't desperate for one.
Settling into the sofa, he took a deep breath and said aloud, "System—draw!"
[Drawing in progress. Please wait.]
[Congratulations, Host. You've received—]