“Remember, Tini. If they make you do something you don’t like, just zap em. Remember all the things you learned from Pikachu? Well, Water Types are weak to Electric. So a good old Thunder Bolt should teach them a lesson.”

“Tiin~” responded the pokemon.

“Hey, I resent that! I would never mistreat cute lil Tini.”

Nina glared at Daisy, thinking about that one time her cute noodle was almost turned into a popsicle.

“That was just an accident!” Exclaimed Daisy. “Sometimes, we get hit by a stray Ice Beam or two. No big deal. Besides, Tini’s a big strong boy, he can take it.”

Nina ignored Daisy and simply looked at Misty with pleading eyes. Nina had always been around to accompany Dratini during his training with the Sisters, and she was finding it extremely difficult to let go of him for a day.

Misty gave her a reassuring pat on the head. “It’ll be fine, we have a direct transfer line to the Pokemon Center. If Daisy fucks up your little boy, we can get him priority treatment. And I’ll even personally spank the bitch for you,” she said, earning a yell of indignation from her sister.

“You’re such a worrywart Nins. Come on, let's just go already,” said Beverly as she grabbed hold of Nina’s arm and dragged her towards the exit.

Nina looked behind her reluctantly, waving at her partner with concerned eyes.

Dratini did a little swirl and a cry, also looking a little reluctant to be without Nina for the day.

The place that Nina and Beverly were going to was a long stretch of street colloquially known as the Cerulean Stretch. The Stretch was flanked on both sides by a dizzying variety of boutique shops and cafes. And during this time, there were also a myriad of temporary stalls set up along the road to take advantage of the upcoming holidays and Indigo Conference.

Unfortunately there were no department stores in Cerulean City. Nina noticed that the people here had a bit of a hipster mentality.

“Oh! That guy’s selling cotton candy.” Beverly’s eyes lit up at the sight of sweets and ran over to buy some with Nina in tow.

“I don’t know if we can finish that, Bev…” Nina said, referring to the rainbow monstrosity that Beverly was holding in her hands.

“Aww don’t be such a downer. We’ll be fine.”

They continued going down the Stretch, wanting to browse the various stalls before heading into any of the shops. Nina noticed there was quite a lot of Conference related merch on sale, mostly pertaining to some of the more popular trainers and their respective pokemon from this season.

“Oh look, they’re selling recordings of Star battles from this season.” Nina had not been following the season closely this year, so she was quite eager to catch up on some of the highlights.

“Urgh. You’re such a nerd, Nina. I guarantee you it’s a rip off.”

Beverly was right. “TWO HUNDRED Pokedollars for a single match?! This is ridiculous!” Exclaimed Nina.

She was referring to the video disc contained within an obviously bootleg packaging of Blaine and his Magmortar. Because of course the former Champion of Kanto would have the evolved version of Magmar. It just made sense. It was the reason why Nina was drawn to it since she had never seen Blaine in action before.

“Look, girlie. This here is a Star battle between an Ace Trainer from Hoenn and Blaine. Do you know how much trouble I went through to get this? That old fart doesn’t like it when people record in his not-so-secret volcano arena. If anything, 200 bucks is a steal!”

Nina scoffed, “So what you’re saying is that not only is this video illegally recorded, but it’s also unwatchable because it’s probably all pixelated.”

“Hey now, watch your mouth there, girlie. Ricky only sells discs of the highest fidelity.”

“Oh yeah? Prove it, show me a sample of the battle,” dared Nina.

“I don’t got nothing to prove to a squirt like you. If you ain’t buying then screw off!”

“Told you so,” said Beverly, with a smug grin as they were being unceremoniously chased away.

Nina was fuming. “That has to be illegal! I’m going to report this to the nearby Jenny.” She began storming off to the blue haired police officer who was patrolling with her Growlithe but was held back by Beverly.

“Hey… Relax, girl. No need to get your panties twisted for an asshole like that. Here, have some sugar, that’ll help cool you down.” Beverly pulled off a tuft of her cotton candy and fed it to her friend.

“Come on, I’ve seen enough. Most of these are junk anyway. Let’s go to Saphira’s so that we can get some stuff for your hair. And your skin too. Holding you is like touching a Sandshrew.”

“It’s not that bad…” Whined Nina.

The first thing that Nina noticed after she walked into the midnight blue storefront was not the beautiful attendant who greeted them, nor was it the colorful array of cosmetic products on offer, but rather the Gardevoir and Lopunny duo behind the register.

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“Bev, look.” Nina pulled on her friend’s sleeve. “Those two aren’t pokemon native to Kanto, it's so rare to see them around here. Especially Lopunny.”

“Hmm… Oh yeah. They belong to Saphira, the owner of the place,” responded Beverly in a disinterested tone.

“She’s a globe trotting supermodel who likes to collect beautiful pokemon. The other Milotic that performs in the gym is actually hers. She pays us to take care of him and use him in the shows to show him off. Misty’s Milotic is his mate, not that we needed more Feebas,” she explained, while picking up various products to inspect.

“Huh, I didn’t know that. I wonder why your cousins don’t evolve more of the Feebas, they should be able to afford it right.”

“Here, try this.” Beverly squirted some sort of lotion in Nina’s hand and made a motion for her to rub it on the back of her other hand. “Nah, Milotics are divas, they’re a real pain in the ass. Two is more than enough. Though I think I overheard them talking about wanting to convince you to breed Tini with Milotic when he evolves into Dragonair.”

Midway through applying the lotion, Nina paused and stared at Beverly with bulging eyes. “What did you just say?”

Beverly giggled and pulled her indignant friend in for a hug, gently caressing the back of Nina’s head. “Don’t worry, those bitches can’t force you or Tini into doing anything you don’t want. ‘Sides, by the time he evolves, you’ll be able to put up a good enough fight if it comes down to it.”

“I don’t get it, why even bother when they already have a mate for Milotic?” Egg moves were a thing of course, but it wasn’t as important as it was in a game where everything was hard coded.

As Nina was talking, Beverly was busy loading a selection of liquids and lotions into their basket. “You’re going to need this for your hair. Put it on before you go swimming. Helps protect against chlorine and salt damage,” she explained.

“And I don’t really know, honestly. Something about Dragon genes and Type Energy and stuff. People can be real fussy, especially those hoity-toity collectors. That’s why Ditto mutts are cheaper than the pure breeds.”

Nina winced when she checked the price tag of some of the things that Beverly selected for her. “40 Pokedollars for a single lotion?! You gotta be freaking kidding me! And it’s tiny!”

“These are really good for your skin,” continued Beverly, completely oblivious to Nina’s distress. “I line them up next to my bed and use them every night before I sleep. You just go boop — one, two, three. Mix em all together and smother your face with it.”

Nina did some calculations in her head of her available budget. “Bev… I don’t think I can afford most of these,” she pleaded.

Beverly, after finally realizing her blunder, gave an apologetic look to her friend. “Aww… I’m so sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to be a bitch to you.”

She pulled Nina in for another hug and then returned some of the items she picked up, completely ignoring the condescending look that the attendant had subtly given her.

In the end, they decided to keep the hair protection substance and chose some of the cheaper facial products. The numbers still stung, but not as much.

“You shouldn’t cheap out on the money maker, Nins,” said Beverly. “We should head to a Pokemart later to get something for your body as well — moisturizer, sunscreen, and I know there’s a pretty decent conditioner they sell. Not as good as Saphira’s but it’s good enough. You gotta look good in a bikini if you wanna be a mermaid.”

Mermaids referred to people like the Cerulean Sisters who perform live shows with Water Pokemon. They didn’t wear a tail of course, because it’s impossible to swim in. But Nina knew that to become a mermaid was Beverly’s dream, just like how she wanted to become an explorer.

Nina chuckled. “Maybe. If I wanted to become a mermaid. But I don’t. My dream is to go out there and explore the world. Do you know that almost forty percent of the world’s landmass is still unknown to us?”

“Aww…” whined Beverly. “And here I was thinking we could team up and conquer the world! Imagine the two of us walking down the red carpet, with a whole bunch of hunks drooling after us like Growlithes…” She went on to describe her fantasies in vivid and, at times, explicit detail while Nina just nodded along without taking her friend too seriously.

After Beverly picked out some make-up for herself, the two left Saphira’s and moved on to some of the other shops in the area. Stopping at some point in a cafe to rest their weary feet.

As someone who spent thirty years as a male in her past life, Nina found the entire experience to be quite novel, if tiring. Window shopping was a term she was familiar with, but she never cared for it. Unlike Beverly, who went through several different clothing stores, trying out a myriad of outfits before leaving without buying anything.

Nina almost felt bad for the store attendants who had to cater to Beverly’s fickle whims while they were browsing. “Well, at least Bev’s not a Karen. That’s something to be thankful for.”

Their final stop was the neighborhood Pokemart because Beverly claimed that the store was “basic and boring”. If Nina was in charge then she would’ve chosen to come here first, since she could buy most day to day goods there. Nina probably wouldn’t have needed to spend so much money in Saphira’s if she had bought the cheaper alternatives in Pokemart beforehand.

The first thing that Nina always did whenever she went into the Pokemart was go gawk at the Pokeballs on display. She couldn’t afford most of them of course, but it was fun to look at. And this particular Pokemart they were in was the second largest in the City, so they had quite the selection.

Even Beverly was enamored with the multicolored Pokeballs, being an aspiring trainer herself. “You ever thought about changing Tini’s basic ass Pokeball, Nins?”

Nina nodded. “Yeap, Premier Balls are pretty. But at the end of the day they’re just recolored Pokeballs at ten times the price. If I have the money then definitely a Luxury Ball, I think Tini would enjoy that.”

Similar to the games, the different variations of Pokeballs weren’t just for looks. They each possess different functions as well. However, Nina’s eyes began to water when she saw the 1,000 Pokedollar price tag on a Luxury Ball.

Beverly laughed. “Good luck trying to afford that as an explorer. Maybe if you find a hidden Gimmighoul hoard or something. I think Love Balls are cute and it’s only a bit more expensive than a Pokeball.” Love Balls were 150 Pokedollars while standard Pokeballs were 100.

“Then you can just go ahead and buy one right now, and change Luna’s Pokeball, no?”

Nina’s fellow apprentice shook her head. “Nah, I decorated her Pokeball with a bunch of stickers. Luna got to chip in and picked the ones she liked so she’s quite attached to it. It’s… What’s the word? Nostalgic, you know?”

Nina smiled. “I think you mean ‘sentimental’. But that’s a great idea actually. Since I don’t have any money, I can just go and buy some stickers to decorate Tini’s ball.”

It would also serve the practical purpose of differentiating Dratini’s Pokeball for when she inevitably catches more pokemon. In fact, Nina distinctly remembered a character in the anime doing the same thing.

“Ooh… Let’s go buy some later. I’ll show you the arts and crafts store I always go to,’ declared the excited Beverly.

One the way to the human section of the Mart, they also stopped by the section selling grooming kits.

“This stuff is expensive. I don’t need to bother with Tini yet since he’s still growing. Whatever scales he has will shed every month or so anyway. But once he evolves…” Nina sighed. “You’re lucky the Kingdra line doesn’t need any grooming.”

Beverly tutted at her junior. “Nina, Nina, Nina… Shows you’ve still got lots more to learn about Water Pokemon. Let big sis teach you...”

She went on to explain that a trainer of the Kingdra line needed to diligently clean their Pokemon’s back fins, since they can’t clean it themselves. Otherwise they get all sorts of nasty algae and barnacles that latch on, leading to bacterial infections and diseases.

“In nature, Horseas, Seadras and Kingdras will clean each other. But in the hands of a trainer without an equivalent support system, said trainer will need to do it themselves with the proper equipment and appropriate solution.”

For all of Beverly’s flippantness, she was still a legacy Pokemon Trainer descended from a very prestigious family. It was honestly impressive how the girl’s personality can shift so dramatically when it comes to Pokemon she had an expertise in.

“Also, you know that you can sell Dratini sheddings, right?” Added Beverly at the end.

“Wait, what? No way…”

Beverly nodded. “Yes way. Remember that cute lil place we went to just now that sells artisanal purses and shoes? I betcha they’d pay top Pokedollar for some Dratini shedding. You didn’t throw them away right?”

Nina shook her head in denial. She did keep Tini’s sheddings, partly for sentimental reasons and partly because, at the time, she thought that the pastel blue membrane of skin and scales was quite pretty. It never occurred to her that it might have its use in fashion.

The girl made a mental note to look into the fair market price of Dratini sheddings.

That night, Nina laid out a whole bunch of stickers in front of Dratini and had him direct her on how to decorate his Pokeball. Her little dragon noodle was ecstatic, and Nina had to hold him back from overcrowding the palm sized sphere, lest the Pokeball gets sealed shut.

He ended up going with a Dragon Type icon placed in the center, probably because it reminded Tini of his mother, and a whole bunch of glitter-y star stickers surrounding it.

It was actually uncanny how the stickers would shrink alongside the Pokeball when she minimized it. Indicating that there was some sort of spatial manipulation going on around the device. Probably the same sort of tech that allows a Wailord to be stuffed into such a small space.