Red nodded, looking at her for a moment before he finished packing up and shouldered his bag.

"Are we going or not?"

Ithica nodded and stood up, finishing her coffee and grabbing her own bag.

"Yeah," she said, "let's go. Would you rather go towards Pewter and through Mount Moon, or through Diglett's Cave and then the underground pass to Cerulean?" Because she knew there was approximately no direct path to Pokemon Cave.

"I'll let you decide," Red said. "I have no preference." He shrugged, settling his bag more firmly.

"Then I say we head north and then east," Ithica said as she recalled her team one by one. Only Dragonair stayed out with her. "Through Pewter and Mount Moon. That should spit us out near Pokemon Cave."

Red nodded his satisfaction with that. He recalled his team except for Pikachu, settling in to walk for the day.

They made decent time to Pewter City, and then a few days later they were finally on the other side of Mount Moon, right near Pokemon Cave. They ended up making camp just outside of the cave, rather than camping inside with the high-level wild pokemon.

"So how many times have you actually been in there?" Ithica asked as she set up her half of the campsite. "Like, all the way down to the basement level of the cave."

Red thought about it and shrugged. "Handful," he said with a faint smirk, because he knew it was an evasive answer.

"So you know what's down there," Ithica prodded. "Aside from things like Kadabra and Ditto, I mean."

Red raised his eyebrows at her, both 'why whatever do you mean' and 'of course I know'.

Ithica raised an eyebrow.

"Uh huh," she said. "Well, that is an excellent innocent face, I have to say. Maybe too innocent?" She grinned a bit.

Red smirked. "We'll see," he said, settling down on his sleeping bag.

"Uh huh," Ithica said again. She settled down herself. "I might have an idea or two of what's actually down there. So it'll be interesting."

"It will indeed." Red smirked. Pikachu snorted at him and hopped over to rifle through Red's bag for treats. Red sighed.

Ithica grinned and dug a bag of treats out of her own pack. She pulled one out and offered it to Pikachu. Dragonair promptly trilled and gave her sad eyes, trying to get a treat for itself.

Pikachu took the treat with a chirp and hopped up onto Red's shoulder to eat its treat. Red shook his head good-naturedly.

As soon as Pikachu was out of the way, Dragonair did the 'look how sad I am, pity me' routine again, and Ithica just rolled her eyes and held out another treat. Dragonair trilled happily and took the treat, coiling up next to Ithica contentedly.

Red just shook his head at their antics, but didn't actually say anything. Instead he just stretched out a bit.

The next morning, Ithica was up bright and early. She was eager to explore the cave, and didn't want to waste any time.

Red got up when she did, yawning briefly and getting his things packed up quickly. "Eager?" he asked dryly, smirking at her enthusiasm.

"Of course," Ithica said, grinning. "It's Pokemon Cave, and despite my unbalanced team, I have a very soft, squishy spot in my heart for psychic-types." She paused when she realized what she said and how it was likely to be taken, but she couldn't very well take it back.

Red snorted quietly and looked at her. "Do you now," he murmured. But he didn't say anything else, instead motioning her forward.

"Yup, soft squishy spot for psychic-types," Ithica replied, grinning a bit. She headed into the cave, flashlight already out and on. "I'm sure if I hadn't accumulated the team I have, I'd have rounded up a bunch of psychic half-types." She was babbling a bit, but it was partially to cover the fact that she was pretty sure she'd let on that she knew about Mewtwo.

"You still could collect the half-types," Red said, letting her get away with babbling and misdirection. "Just won't be part of your battle team."

"That's harder," Ithica said. "I don't really have anything that could pass as a home base, so I really don't want more than I can keep with me, and six is plenty in that regard."

"What about with your friend? The one you said is learning at the Daycare currently?" Red glanced at her.