The Kanto Journals: A Pokemon Crossover

Chapter 27: The Tunnel and the Tower

"Is it over?" Arndolfr called out at no one in particular without opening his eyes. He was still crouched down on the ground, but he knew perfectly well that he was transported somewhere else, for he couldn't hear anyone speak, much less hear Sabrina's cold voice that echoed the last time he heard it.

Arndolfr expected Caitlin to answer, since she was the only person who could possibly answer him now. However, he heard the familiar voice of a woman that gave him another question, "Is what over?"

Upon hearing that voice, Arndolfr bolted upright and shot his eyes open to see Caitlin standing with her arms still outstretched from performing a sort of Psychic spell in order to get them out of the Saffron City Gym. They were now in the middle of a route Arndolfr never traversed before. Arndolfr blinked several times to make sure that his eyes were not deceiving him when he saw that Lucy and Lt. Surge were already back to their normal large, moving selves, albeit obviously disoriented since they were holding their temples as if they just got acute migraines.

"You guys!" Arndolfr screamed as he rushed towards Lucy and Lt. Surge and squeezed them in an inescapable hug. "Arceus, you guys are back!"

"Whoa, easy there, puny baby," croaked Lt. Surge, though not moving a single inch in order not to brush off Arndolfr's hug. "This is nothing, really."

"Nothing? You've just been turned into dolls!" Arndolfr interjected, still not letting go of the two, tears starting to flow out of his eyes. "I really thought you guys were goners! You guys scared me to death! Damn you!" Arndolfr then started to sob in earnest.

"There, there, Dolph," Lucy comforted Arndolfr, patting him on the back. "We're here now, you don't have to stress about it anymore. It's going to be okay."

The three huddled together for a long time until Caitlin walked over to them and said, "Forgive me for interrupting your reunion, but I must let you guys know that I must take my leave for now."

"Oh, um..." Arndolfr finally let Lucy and Lt. Surge go and wiped his tears. "Yeah, sorry about this. Um, and thank you so much for bringing them back. And also for the battle earlier."

"Please don't mention it, Arndolfr," Caitlin replied. "In fact, please don't mention this to anyone. We don't want more young trainers to be scared of the Saffron City Gym. As far as I know, it would deal great damage to the upcoming Kanto Pokémon League Tournament if the Saffron City Gym were to fail to fulfill its duty."

"But wouldn't it be dangerous for the trainers themselves to face Sabrina?" Arndolfr asked. "Lucy and Lt. Surge almost didn't make it, and so did I."

At this, Caitlin's eyes glowed a faint blue color and stared at blank space for a few moments, then turned to Arndolfr. "It seems that the next trainer to face Sabrina would be the one to change her heart." Her eyes then stopped glowing as she continued, "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Anyway, I need to go back to Cinnabar Island now. I really have to get back to my interrupted nap. As you may notice, I have teleported you on the path towards Lavender Town. Just go straight ahead and you'll reach it in a few minutes. I'll be seeing you then, Arndolfr."

Caitlin didn't wait for Arndolfr to respond. Once again, she summoned countless white rose petals which spun rapidly around her. Slowly, the petals became thicker, completely engulfing her, until they eventually faded into thin air.

"By the way, Dolph," Lucy then said after Caitlin disappeared, "we weren't able to see your battle, but we were able to hear what happened, and I must say I'm impressed, especially how you did damage on Sabrina's Kadabra."

"I have to agree," commented Lt. Surge. "Though it was a clear overuse of your type advantage over that Kadabra and that Gothorita, it just shows that you knew what you were doing during the battle."