— — — — — —
Sabrina's face lit up immediately when she heard this, her earlier disappointment vanishing. "Really? We can go?"
"Of course!" Eevee and Cynthia both nodded. "As long as your parents agree!"
"We're in!" In an instant, Sabrina's parents appeared, smiling warmly.
"That's awesome! Thanks, Mom and Dad! You're the best!" Sabrina grinned, her happiness shining through.
Compared to just six months ago, she was so much more cheerful now.
Eevee and Cynthia had played a huge role in that, and Sabrina's parents were incredibly grateful to them for helping their daughter open up.
Traveling was something they were more than happy to support!
"Let's go buy the tickets right now!" Cynthia smiled.
"No need for that!" Sabrina's dad laughed and waved his hand. "At least here in Saffron City, we have our own private plane! We'll just fly in our own plane."
"Right, forgot you're rich, Uncle!" Cynthia laughed, impressed.
Private planes, huh? Cynthia actually had access to one too, but it wasn't hers—it belonged to her grandmother.
As for Eevee, he had a special flying machine of his own, but this time, since they were flying commercially, Cynthia didn't want to risk Eevee's unique abilities being exposed too early. She vetoed that suggestion right away.
---
One hour later, aboard the private plane...
After just an hour of flight, they arrived at Vermilion City. Then, they boarded the next cruise heading for Cinnabar Island.
"This is the sea? It's so beautiful!" Sabrina, holding Eevee, stood on the deck, gazing out at the vast, crystal-blue ocean in awe.
This was her first time seeing the sea, and everything felt so new to her. Occasionally, she even spotted some Water-type Pokémon swimming under the surface.
"If you like it, we can travel more often, Sabrina! What do you think?" Sabrina's mom crouched down and lovingly patted her head, her voice warm.
"Can we go with Eevee and Cynthia too?" Sabrina blinked her eyes, full of innocent excitement.
"Umm…" Sabrina's mom paused for a moment, then chuckled and shook her head. "That's not so easy! Cynthia and the others have their travel challenges, gyms to conquer, and whatnot. They probably won't have the time for that."
In just half a year, her daughter had changed so much, and she felt incredibly satisfied with that progress.
Before, things were far worse. Sabrina used to be unreachable, and if you made her upset, she could turn you into a doll for days without a second thought.
"It's okay!" Eevee spoke in her mind. "Sometimes, Cynthia and I can take some time off and tour around the city with Sabrina. If Uncle and Auntie don't mind, they can join us when we have free time! Right, Cynthia?"
"Mm-hmm!" Cynthia nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! When we're on the road, we often stay longer in cities that interest us!"
Sabrina's eyes sparkled as she looked at her parents. Her mom and dad exchanged a glance and nodded. "Sounds good to us! As long as we can make sure Sabrina has fun, we're all for it."
They readily agreed. "Let's make a plan! Cynthia, if you find any great places, make sure to let us know. We'll come over as soon as we can!"
"As for the gym stuff?" They shrugged. "We'll just get someone from the family to help out. We've got plenty of Psychic-types in the family to handle that."
"Eevee can help too!" They added with a grin.
"Hahaha!" Sabrina laughed, excited." That's awesome! You're the best, Mom and Dad! Cynthia and Eevee.."
---
One day later
Finally, after a day and more, they arrived at the port of Cinnabar Island.
Eevee and the others disembarked and quickly found a nice hotel to settle into. They wasted no time, heading straight out to shop and relax in the hot springs.
...
While soaking in the warm water, Eevee quietly asked, "Red Queen, what's the current situation? Any confirmed intel on Articuno? And what's going on over at the Seafoam Islands?"
"Reporting in, Master," Red Queen's voice came through the nano-Bluetooth earpiece. "We've got confirmation. The scanners managed to capture a glimpse of Articuno."
"But there's more—you'll need to be on guard. The Hunter Guild has sent people after it too. Team Rocket's also made a move."
"They've dispatched two high-ranking operatives—Ariana (Athena) and Vicious (Iron-Masked Marauder)... Both are strong, not to be underestimated."
Eevee frowned, cutting in mid-report, "Wait, did I hear that right? Ariana? Didn't we screw her over and have the League arrest her? How the hell is she out again?"
"Uh… yeah," Red Queen replied with a sigh. "Seems like Giovanni pulled some strings and got her out. You know how deep his connections run among the League's top families. Honestly, keeping her locked up for half a year was already better than expected."
After all, Giovanni's true identity hadn't been exposed yet.
On the surface, he was still Giovanni, the Ground-type Gym Leader of Viridian City, a successful businessman and respected trainer. Clean record, barely any dirt on him.
Eevee could technically expose him using the evidence they'd collected from the Rocket base under Celadon Game Corner. But with how tangled Giovanni's web of influence was in the League, even exposing him might not take him down completely.
At best, it'd force him underground.
And in the process, it could piss off a whole bunch of powerful people and risk exposing some of Eevee's own secrets—definitely not worth it right now.
Besides, Eevee still wanted more data—especially about gene research and Legendary Pokémon from Team Rocket. Better to play the long game.
Not to mention… it wasn't even clear if Mewtwo had been created yet.
If it had, Eevee definitely wanted to get it on his side.
Just then, Red Queen continued, "Also, the League's already caught wind of Rocket's and Hunter's actions. They've sent Blaine from Cinnabar Island and Lance. They're waiting for Team Rocket to make their move before stepping in."
"So, if you want to go for Articuno, you'd better act fast."
"Based on my projections, Team Rocket will reach Articuno in about four hours and launch their capture operation."
The data had been calculated precisely—margin of error was minimal.
"Lance and Blaine, huh?" Eevee muttered, frowning slightly. "Lance is one thing… but if I remember right, isn't Blaine technically still working with Rocket? He was involved in the Mewtwo Project, wasn't he?"
Red Queen replied, "No idea. Nothing about that in the Celadon base's records. And you haven't uploaded anything on him either, Master."
Eevee spread his paws in exasperation. "Can't help it. I don't have a way to digitize all my memories yet. Maybe in the future."
"Wasn't there Archive Magic in Fairy Tail for that?"
"Anyway, if Blaine really is working with Rocket, then Lance might be in trouble. He might have to play along more than he wants just to get the job done."
It was a messy situation.
And this time, Team Rocket had the upper hand in terms of manpower and planning.
"Still, Blaine might not openly betray the League either," Eevee added. "At most, he'll just go easy on them. Might not even lift a finger."
"After all, we're talking about Articuno here. And his relationship with Rocket is probably more of a partnership than anything else."
That old man was sharp.
The fact that he still managed to remain the Gym Leader of Cinnabar even after all these years said a lot.
The internal politics of the League and its noble families were way more complicated than Eevee had originally thought.
"Anyway, we're doing this," Eevee declared. "Can't miss this opportunity."
This was the first real chance to encounter a Legendary Pokémon.
Without wasting time, Eevee pulled Cynthia out of the hot springs, gave a quick excuse to Sabrina and her parents, then hopped on Garchomp and flew straight toward the Seafoam Islands.
"Cynthia, here—wear this!"
On the way, Eevee used his Fantasy creation cheat to conjure a full set of magical defensive gear. He also made her a bracelet equipped with a protective shield and optical camouflage.
Basically, he wouldn't stop until Cynthia was fully geared up like a walking fortress.
Cynthia couldn't help but laugh and feel touched at the same time.
.
.
.