Nina grunted as she struggled to untangle the knots in her raven black hair. The most inconvenient thing about becoming a girl was how much more work went into grooming herself

It was no wonder that the girls she dated back in her past life went to salons so frequently. Having someone else deal with all this tediousness must have been quite the indulgence.

Oh how she wished she could just cut her hair short. But when she brought this up in the past, her mother was vehemently against it, saying that long hair looked cuter on her. Nina chose to believe that treating their daughters like dress up dolls was just a quirk that all mothers share rather than being part of Leanette's unhealthy obsession towards her.

Speaking of, Nina had no idea what was going on with her mother. It had been a month since Patrick’s meeting with the principal, but her father refused to divulge much information to her, just saying that, “You mother is fine, she’s getting the help she needs,” everytime she asked.

As difficult as it was to believe, Nina actually missed Leanette. Her mother usually took extra care in making her daughter look presentable. Without her mother around, Nina didn’t even know which brand of conditioner to use for her hair. Or maybe it was just Stockholm Syndrome, who knows?

After spending a bit more time on the futile endeavor, Nina simply decided to tie her hair up in a ponytail and hide the rest underneath a cap, before leaving the hotel room for school.

Yes, Nina was still living in a hotel room. Patrick was quite adamant that she not return home for now. Saying that he needed to clean up first.

After some subtle prodding from Nina, she found out from Ms Roxy that the initial attempt to convince her mother to visit the hospital's psychiatric ward went extremely poorly. Apparently the police were called in to assist, and in the end, she had to be put to sleep.

“Ready to go, Pikachu?”

“Pika!”

On the bright side, the principal gave special permission for her to bring Pikachu as an emotional support Pokemon to school.

The presence of the cute mouse pokemon did wonders in helping her make friends, as evident by all the people who greeted her on her way into school, and who she greeted in return. Of course, none of Nina’s new “friends” shared the same lofty ambitions as her, so she mostly kept them at arm’s length, never really developing long lasting bonds.

***

“And that was how the ascension of Dragon Master Lance Blackthorn as the dual-Champion of Kanto and Johto put an end to the age-old conflict between the two regions.”

Ms Roxy was currently giving a lesson on the Kanto-Johto war. The two regions have been bitter enemies for as long as anyone could remember, much like North and South Korea back in Nina’s old world.

“But what happens when Lance is no longer Champion,” asked Nina. “Surely someone will topple him at some point? And if not, the man isn’t immortal, it's only a matter of time before the inevitable happens.”

Roxy sighed. “Nina, what did we discuss last time about your questions?” Admonished the history teacher, eliciting giggles from the class. By this point, everyone was already used to Nina being an eccentric overachiever. “You can come by the office later for answers if you’re still interested in the topic.”

Nina nodded and approached Ms Roxy after school, having learned not to take up her teacher’s limited lunch time. Besides, she would be afforded more time after school as opposed to the measly one hour lunch break.

“First off, how are you Nina? Is everything okay?” Began Roxy.

“I’m alright, just getting a little sick of staying in a hotel room.”

Hotel rooms weren’t exactly well suited for long term stay. There was something about them that feels perpetually foreign, making it difficult to really settle down.

“I know what you mean,” nodded Roxy. “It’s a similar feeling to being on the road, without a permanent place to settle. Something you’ll need to get used to if you really want to be an explorer. But if it becomes unbearable, make sure to speak to Patrick about it, okay?”

Nina did not miss how Ms Roxy referred to her father as Patrick as opposed to Mr Jones. The two of them had really gotten close over their short acquaintance. Not that it was any of Nina’s concern.

“So about your question earlier, what do you think will happen once Champion Lance retires?”

Nina scoffed. “As if an egomaniac like that would ever retire.”

Roxy chuckled. “You never know… Just think of it as a thought exercise.”

Nina pondered. “From what I understand, the political climate of Kanto-Johto is largely split into two camps; the warmongers who can’t seem to get over their grudges, and the pacifists who are trying to make the most of Lance’s tenure to remove any seeds of conflict among the people. That’s why our textbooks are conveniently vague about why the conflict broke out to begin with.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

In truth, even Nina with all her meta knowledge was unsure why there was beef between the two regions. The games never gave any detail and what she could find on the internet during her past life was just a bunch of fan theories.

Roxy nodded in affirmation. “Very good, Nina. It seems you’ve been keeping up with current events,” she praised. “You’re correct, the peacemakers among the Kanto-Johto populace have been striving to ensure that the current peace we enjoy will last long into the future, even past Lance’s tenure.

“The good news is that they have the full support of the Pokemon League. Lance, for all his flaws, serves as a powerful unifying force. None dares to defy his will. The man is also known to be quite hands off when it comes to League matters, interested only in training his pokemon, which makes things fairly easy for the actual decision makers.

“The bad news is that malicious actors still exist. Mostly in the form of older veterans who hold a personal grudge against their former enemies, and certain criminal enterprises who would seek to profit from conflict.”

“Team Rocket…” Muttered Nina.

“That’s right,” agreed Roxy. “The short answer to your question is that we don’t really know what will happen once Lance is no longer Champion. One can only hope that the people who still remember the war would have all died off by then. But it’s hard to say really, the flames of hatred are strangely persistent and have a tendency of spreading. That’s not even taking into account how external factors like Team Rocket might complicate things.”

Nina replied in understanding and thanked Roxy for her time. She had wanted to ask why the war broke out to begin with, but her teacher had already made it clear during class that she wouldn’t be willing to answer that question.

“Before you go, Nina. Take this.” Roxy handed a colorful pamphlet over to her student.

“The Cerulean Gym is holding an exhibition?”

The local gym is known for holding Water Type exhibitions every month, where the Cerulean Sisters will perform all sorts of incredible water acrobatics with their Pokemon to promote their image and the adoption of Water Pokemon. Nina had been to a few herself whenever Patrick was free to take her, much to his wife’s chagrin.

“That’s right, but not just any exhibition. They’re also holding a Little League where underaged children can use loaner pokemon to compete in Pokemon battles.”

Nina’s eyes immediately lit up at the thought of doing more Pokemon battles.

Roxy then leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner and whispered to Nina. “The prize isn’t anything remarkable — just a pat in the back and a commemorative medal. The real benefit is that any promising children gets put into a list to be considered for a sponsorship with Professor Oak’s laboratory.”

Nina was already interested before this, but the cherry that was a sponsorship with Prof Oak served to further reinforce her motivation.

It was common for regional professors like Oak to sponsor promising children on their journey. But Samuel Oak, being the most renowned academic in the Pokemon world, tends to only sponsor around a dozen children each season. The actual quantity itself would depend on how many good seeds were available during that time.

“Remember, this is just a preliminary list. So don’t get your hopes up just yet.” Cautioned Roxy. “Also keep in mind that winning isn’t everything, the scouts are more so looking at your aptitude and temperament as a Pokemon trainer.”

Nina nodded furiously as she jotted everything down. What Ms Roxy said made sense, there were plenty of incredible battlers out there who were also scumbags that treated their pokemon like dirt. Giovanni, Team Rocket’s boss, was a good example of that.

“How do I sign up?” Asked an eager Nina.

Roxy chuckled. “I already signed you up. Patrick wanted to surprise you, but I figured you’d want a heads up to do your own research.”

Nina grinned. “Thanks, Ms Roxy. I won’t let you down!”

***

Nina’s eyes sparkled at the sight before her.

The Cerulean Gym was a large domed building. The same marble-esque white material ubiquitous throughout the city made up the frame of the dome with clear glass panes in between.

The inside was like a water themed amusement park with all sorts of rides and attractions to entertain visitors. If one were to head downstairs, they’ll even find a full fledged aquarium housing all sorts of marine life and Water pokemon.

Meanwhile, the Cerulean Sisters will be performing in the central arena where all the Gym battles take place. The headliner will of course be the Gym Leader, Misty. But unlike the Misty that Nina was familiar with in the anime, the Misty in this world was all grown up.

The gym leader looked to be in her late 20s, her orange hair allowed to grow out into wavy curls. Her figure had fully developed to rival, and perhaps even surpass, that of her older sisters, curvy and buxom in all the right ways.

Had Nina still been a male like in her past life, there was no doubt that she would be drooling all over the orange haired beauty. It was interesting how a change in brain chemistry and hormones could affect a person’s sexual interest.

Nina considered her lack of romantic inclinations a blessing really. Makes it easier to focus on more important things. Though it’ll be hard to say how things will go once she hits puberty and her hormones get out of control.

One thing she knows for certain is that she was not attracted to men in any way, since she was as straight as a ruler in her past life. Mentally, it just felt wrong to her.

The performance opened with Dewgongs jumping through the air, performing various tricks as they went through hoops. Staryus and Starmies flew around the space, their jewels flashing in multicolored lights.

In the foreground, the Cerulean Sisters sang and danced with a whole school of Goldeens as their backup vocals. A team of Psyducks led by a Golduck helped levitate the goldfish Pokemon, moving them around in a pattern that perfectly complemented the rhythm of the song, much like a conductor.

Misty’s Azumarill shot out an endless stream of Bubble beams which continued to curve and curve until it formed the likeness of a Gyrados, demonstrating the pokemon’s perfect control over Water.

The audience screamed out in excitement as the faux-Gyarados moved, looming over everyone before bursting out into micro-bubbles which reflected the light in a dazzling way.

And finally, the climax. The part that Nina always looked forward to no matter how many times she’s watched the show; a Dragon Dance between two Milotics.

Without fail, Nina would jump out of her seat and start clapping enthusiastically every time she saw the two majestic looking water serpents take the stage. Milotic was probably her favorite Pokemon in the games, alongside Dragonair. There was something about an elegantly designed serpentine form that just really appealed to her.

The lights went out, leaving only the dimmest of glows to serve as backlight. The audience were dead silent as the two Milotics began singing, their voices harmonizing perfectly to produce a beautiful, melancholic melody.

Then, out of nowhere, the prismatic scales of two of the world’s most beautiful Pokemon started shining as they rose to the sky. The two serpents intertwined, forming complex patterns and beginning a beautiful dance mid-air, leaving behind trails of lights as they went.

Nina was absolutely mesmerized. This was one of those moments where she was glad that she came to this world. Because nowhere in her old life could she have encountered such a magical sight.

But alas, all good things come to an end. With a single powerful pulse of Dragon Type Energy, the dance ended with both Milotics diving back into the water.

Silence remained as the audience members each took their time processing what they had just experienced. Nina could even hear some sobbing here and there from people who had literally been moved to tears. But not long after, the sound of a single clap could be heard, kickstarting a whole avalanche of applause to commend the wonderful performance.

Nina was there with them, passionately clapping along as the Cerulean Sisters took the stage once more with all of the performing pokemon to do a bow. To her side, Patrick smiled warmly at his daughter’s happiness, feeling glad that he had taken Roxy’s advice to bring Nina here.

“Before we leave, a quick reminder that the Little League will take place here in this arena in two hours time. All contestants must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to check in thirty minutes prior to the scheduled time. Latecomers will be disqualified,” announced Misty. “Thank you all once again for coming, and we hope to see you again soon!”