"So, when you going to Kanto?" Freida asked eagerly, peering over her youngest sister's shoulder. It was nearly midnight, and Rarity was packing in anticipation for tomorrow. Really she should've had this done much earlier in advance, but eh. She was used to being up late at night anyways.
"You've asked me that twenty times since this morning," Rarity drawled, considering what to pack. Would she need a compass? Probably not; Monica said she would get a map once she arrived. She put it aside. "You're just doing this to irritate me."
"What gave it away?" Freida asked in pretend shock, before dissolving into snickers as her sister turn to glare at her. "Hey, you can't blame me," Freida replied after regaining her composure. "I don't have much more time to annoy you before you leave. I mean, I only have three siblings I can irritate, and one of them's going away to travel in the neighboring region that could be really far away. At least we aren't separated by water." Technically, they lived in Kanto, but they all did stuff in Johto so they considered their house in Johto as well.
"Go irritate Santos and Sunny, then," Rarity told her in an informative voice, pondering over a bag of snacks. After a moment of thought, she threw it into her backpack. Hey, they were good, and she would get hungry. So what if the Pokecenter served meals?
"Santos is too hard to find," Freida claimed, "And Sunny's too sweet and innocent to tease. That's completely fair." Rarity wasn't buying it. Santos and Sunny were the two sibling between her and Freida. She couldn't argue with Santos, who was undeniably creepy and hard to locate, but Sunny? She was really sweet and nice (and whiny) for her age, so a lot of people treated her like she was five. Still, that was no excuse.
"I can and will blame you, because you are completely responsible," Rarity declared, tossing her long brown hair for effect. Grasping air when she reached to decide over another item to bring, Rarity grinned and shut her bag. She just needed one thing before she was done...
"Where's my Pokegear?" Rarity called over her shoulder. Freida shrugged before heading to her room, ostensibly to find more ways to be irritating and to note who she could irritate when Rarity had left. She might have been annoying, but you couldn't deny she was organized.
Rarity started shuffling about looking for it, before yelping as she felt a swift breeze and something dropped into her hand. She looked down, though she already knew what it was. Sure enough, as she looked down, she saw the familiar gold and silver colors of her Pokegear. "Sanntttooos!" she whined loudly, glancing about the room. She felt another breeze before the short stature of her third brother appeared. Despite being older than her (though comparatively not by much more), she had to look down to meet his eyes.
"What was that for?" Rarity demanded, hands on her hips in an effort to seem more threatening. Santos didn't respond. Rarity turned her eyes upward, mouthing for Arceus or
something to assist her. Something had evidently heard her, for Rarity turned to see Monica (who was probably what had heard her, considering she was screaming), her peacemaker of an oldest sister. She gestured to Santos, in a "help-me-out" kind of way. Monica rolled her eyes.
"Santos, stop scaring your sister. Rarity, stop yelling. Our house is small, and Wesley's trying to get some sleep after his shift so he can be up to see you off tomorrow. Be thoughtful," Monica declared airily. Santos murmured, "She wanted her Poketch... I gave it to her... she should be grateful..." before disappearing in another whistle of wind. Rarity just mumbled, "It's not my fault you decided it's your civic duty to stand out all day because you were named after the day you were born." Monica, with her supernatural hearing, naturally heard her. (Charismatic, peacemaker, smart, insanely pretty? Monica got it all; it just wasn't fair. Then again, she was responsible for taking care of all of them...)
"We can't all be as lucky as you are, Miss February-29th," Monica told her. Rarity scowled at the mention of her birthday and started another round of "it's not my fault". Monica patted her head patronizingly, which made her both feel more irritated and oddly calmed. "Anyways, this is our way of helping out some trainers. No matter. Have you got your clothes? You probably should just bring one and a spare pair, so pick wisely."
Rarity nodded. "They're all laid out in my room. I still need to thank Arthur for taking me to Goldenrod a few days ago..." It was on his way to his spot, and she had wanted some new clothes for the trip. She had picked out a comfortable sea green tank top and a nice red skirt. She had some spare clothes she could use in her closet, as well as a nice white and red hat that she had given Sunny for her birthday and then stole back. Hey, it was cute. She would have bought it for herself, but Monica said it would be rude. Anyways, Sunny hadn't noticed yet, so it was okay, right?
Monica nodded, and they stood there in silence for a moment before Monica spoke up. "Now, about that deal you made yesterday..." Aha. Here we go. The ulterior motive. Rarity just tilted her head, in a "what-might-you-be-speaking-of-I-need-details" way. Monica responded with a "don't-give-me-that-look-you-know-what-I-mean" look before continuing on.
"You don't really plan to follow through with this, do you?" Monica asked, her voice skeptical. Rarity just nodded. That reminded her... She swiped a list off the counter, labelled one through seven and slipped it into her bag. Monica spoke again, "This is just insane! Beating the Indigo League is hard enough, you don't need to add this bet, challenge,
thing to the mix."
Rarity turned to her sister, determined. "I want to do this. It'll be fun! Besides it will be a good way for me to get some money." That was a big thing. Rarity's siblings all got a lot money from the League for helping out the trainers by giving them stuff, so they didn't need to battle and became pretty well-off. Rarity had no such niche, so this was probably her best option to gain some pocket money, which she really really wanted. She didn't have an allowance, after all. (Don't forget, Monica was stingy too.)
Monica sighed. She could see her sister was determined; Rarity could never back down from a challenge. "Well, if you're sure, get some sleep. You can't go through the reception gate directly into Viridian, so you're going to take a boat to Pallet instead first thing in the morning. Get some rest." Rarity, too tired to complain, murmured "Okay" before shuffling into her room. It was kind of unfair that she couldn't walk through the gate (which happened to be right near her house), but going to Pallet Town first was fine. It was right near Viridian, and Professor Oak (who lived there) said he had a present for her when she stopped by.
Monica sighed as she watched her sister go away, before heading off to sleep herself. She wouldn't deny she was worried, but she had her Pokegear, and could call home anytime, after all. Rarity was tough; she'd be fine.
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"Bye, Rarity! Good luck!" chimed all of her siblings, waving as the boat took off. Rarity waved back, calling "I'll call you after the first gym!" until they were out of sight, and then took a seat. The boat was slow; it would be twenty minutes until she reached Pallet Town. She tugged out the list, reading it carefully.
This is a list of challenges that Rarity must do for her journey through Kanto. If she fails to do these things, she will pay a fine to the person who assigned her the challenge (fine rates vary). At the end of the journey, if Rarity has been entered into the Hall of Fame, each member will give her 5000 poke (50 USD). Whoever she hasn't paid a fined to must give her 1000 poke more per challenge not fined. The goal is for Rarity to make as much poke as she can directly from us (funds she gains during her journey do not apply). Following are the challenges:
- Must buy 5 items for every new city with a Pokemart/Department Center. (Monica; 500 poke per failure)
- Can only have +Speed pokemon. (Tuscany; 500 poke per capture)
- Pokemon cannot hold items. (Wesley; 500 poke per equipment)
- Can only use Fresh Water, Soda Pop, and Lemonade to heal HP after Rock Tunnel. (Arthur; 500 poke per item use)
- Cannot use Dark-type moves. (Freida; 500 poke per use)
- Any pokemon that learns Selfdestruct/Explosion must learn and use it when in red health. (Santos; 1500 poke per pokemon/500 poke per failure)
- Cannot catch a pokemon in red health. (Sunny; 500 poke per failure)
In addition, after Rarity conquers a gym, she will call home. Depending on the day she beat the gym, that person will assign her another challenge. Good luck, Rare!
Rarity grinned, shoving the list into her pocket. This was going to be fun.