Journey Through Johto |Discontinued|

Chapter 2.21: Rolling On By the Golderod Gym

After numerous pit stops along the way, Zia, Sky, and Emmy have finally reached Goldenrod City. "There it is!" Emmy cheered as they overlooked the large city from the hilltop.

"This place is huge." Zia observed once they got into town. The streets were crowded with people walking to and fro, cars beeping every which way, the buildings scraping the sky.

"Yeah, and so is the food." Emmy added as she observed someone holding a hamburger as big as their head. "We already ate a little bit ago. Let's go see the gym." Zia pulled her away as they went to the Goldenrod Gym.

"Closed?" Sky read the sign hanging from the closed doors. "It says, 'We're sorry, the Goldenrod Gym is closed until tomorrow.'" Zia read the rest of it. "It always seems the gym's are closed when we come around." Emmy pouted.

Deciding to go around town and do some other things to pass the time, Zia managed to pick up a guide book. "There's a place called the Goldenrod Galleria." She stated as she looked at the dot that indicated it on the map. The other two agreed to check it out.

However, after many twists and turns, they ended up at a dead end alleyway. "I don't think directions are our thing." Emmy muttered as they looked at the Galleria far in the distance.

Suddenly, Sky's ears flicked around as she turned around. "Sky, where are you going?" Zia asked her as the Luxray walked away. Just as she got to the entrance to get back onto the main street, a Clefairy happened to turn the corner and bump into her. It caused the smaller fairy-type to fall down while Sky barely felt a thing.

"Clefariy, Clefairy fairy fairy, Clefairy Clefairy. Fairy." The Clefairy yelled at Sky angrily. Zia chuckled and gently picked the Pokémon up into her arms. "Are you alright?" She asked it.

"Oh no! I'm sorry. Did my Clefairy hurt any of you?" A girl asked as she ran up to them. She was a little older than Zia with a primarily white outfit with pink accents and short, pink hair. "No, we're fine. I'm more worried about your Clefairy. My Luxray's a lot bigger than it." Zia told her.

Now noticing the two foreign Pokémon, the girl smiled at them. "Aren't you two cute?" She asked rhetorically as she pet them. Sky and Emmy accepted the affection, never turning down a good head rub.

After explaining their situation, Zia handed back the girl's Clefairy. "I can take you to the Goldenrod Galleria if you want. I know the way like I know my own name. I'm Whitney, by the way." She offered. "Thank you. I'm Zia, and this is Sky, my Luxray, and Emmy, my Serperior." Zia introduced.

"Zia? You're the new Champion, right?" Whitney asked after thinking over the familiar name. "Yes, but how'd you know? Media coverage of me hasn't really reached Johto yet. The former Champion, Lance, is holding them back so I can get through Johto easy enough to compete in the League." Zia questioned her.

"Oh, I'm the Goldenrod City Gym Leader." The older answered her easily. Zia made a face of realization before nodding. "Anyways, the best way to your destination is right down here." Whitney continued as they walked over to a nearby underground street.

"It's easier to get around underground. There's a shopping arcade down here that leads straight to the Galleria." She explained as they went down. It was full of people down there as well, but not nearly as bad as it was above ground.

Zia and her partners looked around in awe at all the little shops and cafes. It was such a nice place. "Now we just take a little stairway over here that leads right up to the lobby. I discovered this route myself. There's no traffic and it's kind of secret." The gym leader told them. "It's a good thing we ran into you, then." Zia chuckled.

Though, as they arrived back up on the main road, they were still really far from the ever distant Galleria. "I think we're further away than we were before." Emmy sweatdropped. "Sorry, I guess I picked the wrong secret staircase." Whitney gave an awkward smile as she led them back down into the underground passageways.