Chapter Text
“No, no, no, no, no!” Beca chanted to herself, tears pricking at the side of her eyes. This wasn’t how her journey was supposed to go. It couldn’t end like this. Not when it had only just begun.
She’d left Pallet Town three weeks ago, equipped with a Pokédex, a set of Pokéballs, and the Bulbasaur gifted to her by Professor Oak. It was supposed to be the beginning of the greatest adventure of her life – travelling all throughout Kanto, earning gym badges and catching more Pokémon.
And it had been going so well. She’d breezed through Viridian City, stocking up on supplies, and had entered Viridian Forest undaunted. There, she had miraculously managed to capture her Pidgeotto, and she had felt on top of the world after catching her first Pokémon.
And then she had gotten lost, and then she had decided to keep going after nightfall, and then she had literally walked off a cliff.
Her Bulbasaur had been an absolute life-saver, using his vine whip to break her fall, at the expense of himself. Now here she was, at the base of the cliff, with her badly injured Bulbasaur in her arms, and of course she didn’t stock up on medicine when she could have.
Rookie mistake.
“Hey! Are you okay down there?”
Looking up, Beca could vaguely discern a silhouette at the top of the cliffs. “Um… No. Not really. Like, not at all, actually,” she called back, biting back the sob that was about to break free as her Bulbasaur whined pathetically.
“Okay!” came the immediate response. “Hold on!”
With growing astonishment, Beca watched the woman kneel at the edge of the cliff, and then lower herself over it, clambering down the rugged rocks. While not entirely effortless, it looked a lot smoother than Beca’s tumble had. Or so she assumed.
It took a few minutes, but then the woman jumped the last few feet to the ground, landing with an audible ‘oompf,’ before jogging the little distance towards her. She knelt down beside them, and even then Beca could barely see her. “What happened?”
“We fell off the cliff,” Beca grunted. “I’m fine, but my Bulbasaur… He broke my fall.”
“That’s a brave little Bulbasaur you’ve got there,” the woman told her cheerfully, rubbing its head. Then, without another word, she reached behind her, and then there was the sudden red flash of a Pokémon coming out of its ball. “Ralts, use Heal Pulse.”
Beca had to squint as a bright, pink glow engulfed them all. She had just enough time to make out her new companion was a young woman, about her own age, when she suddenly felt the sting fade from her hands, and the cut on her arm stopped bleeding too. When the light faded, her Bulbasaur let out a happy little sound, jumped out of Beca’s arms and jumped around them happily.
“Thank you,” Beca sighed, feeling eternally grateful.
“How did you fall off a cliff, anyway?” the woman asked, getting to her feet again.
“I um… Got lost. Thought we’d be fine to keep going a little longer…”
“You should know better than to walk through a forest in the dark,” the other woman admonished. Beca wanted to bristle at her tone, but she couldn’t deny that the stranger was right. She should have known better.
“Yeah… I’m an idiot. But um… thanks for helping, I guess.”
“You’re welcome,” the other woman replied, and Beca could actually hear the smile in her voice. “Where are you headed?”
“Pewter City,” Beca grunted, reaching for a Pokéball to return her Bulbasaur. “Hoping to earn my first badge.”
“I’m headed to Pewter, too,” the woman told her, still with that damned smile. “If you’re lost, we can travel together? Like, once the sun’s up. Obviously.”
“Yeah, obviously,” Beca responded snarkily, before reigning her attitude in. “I mean, that’d be great, actually. I don’t feel like wandering around this forest for weeks.”
“Okay, then it’s settled. I have a camp up there,” the woman mentioned casually, and Beca imagined she was pointing at the top of the cliffs. “You can sleep by my fire?”
“That’d be nice,” Beca agreed, only now realizing she was freezing. “But there’s no way I’m climbing up there without dying.”
“Ralts,” the woman called. “Use Teleport.”
Beca barely had time to blink, and then she was suddenly standing in a small clearing, with a modest campfire burning in the middle of it. A sleeping bag was rolled out next to it. “Thank you, Ralts. You can return now.”
The light from the fire allowed Beca to observe her saviour. She had been right in ascertaining it was a woman around her own age. She seemed slightly taller, with long wavy hair cascading past her shoulders. It seemed lighter than Beca’s own hair, but its exact colour was impossible to make out in the light of the fire – bathing everything in a red glow.
“It’s getting pretty late,” the woman muttered, stifling a yawn. “We should probably go to sleep. If we leave early, we can reach Pewter City in time for lunch.”
Taking her own sleeping bag out, Beca stretched it out on the other side of the campfire, placing her backpack next to it. “That sounds great. Thank you, again.”
“You’re welcome,” the other woman smiled. “I’m Chloe, by the way.”
“Right. I’m Beca. It’s um… nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, totes!” Chloe smiled back, stretching out on her sleeping bag. “Well, goodnight Beca.”
“Goodnight.”
--
Beca wasn’t necessarily very fond of mornings.
The promise of food tended to make her more amenable to them, though. And even before she’d opened her eyes, her nose had caught the scent of food coming from quite nearby. Her ears also caught on to the sound of chirping Pidgey, and the gentle humming of a distinctly human voice.
Last night’s memories came flooding back in an instant, and she felt overcome with the need to check how her Bulbasaur was doing.
“Good morning!” came the immediate greeting as she sat up, stretching her tired limbs.
“Morning,” she grunted in return. “That smells good.”
“Glad to hear it,” Chloe smiled, and only now did Beca turn her eyes toward her companion.
She swore her breath froze in her lungs for a moment. Chloe was drop-dead gorgeous, with crystal blue eyes, fiery red hair, and a slightly tanned skin, as if she’d been journeying through the sun for a lot longer than Beca had.
The fact she had six Pokéballs on her belt sort of confirmed that, Beca figured.
“Come on out, Bulbasaur,” she muttered, smiling as her Bulbasaur appeared from its ball, giving a happy wiggle before jumping onto her lap. “How’re you feeling, buddy?”
“Bulba!”
“That good, huh?” she grinned. “I’m sorry I got us in trouble like that.”
Her Bulbasaur headbutted her softly, making Beca grin. “Alright, we’ll just forget it happened, hm? Why don’t you go and thank Chloe. She saved us, you know?”
Bulbasaur leapt out of her lap, skipping over to Chloe to rub its face against her leg, making the redhead giggle. “You’re very welcome, Bulbasaur. You hungry?”
“Bulba!”
“Thought as much. I made some of Ralts’ favourite snacks yesterday. I’m sure she won’t mind sharing,” Chloe laughed, taking a case of Pokéblocks from her bag.
Beca was still looking at her Bulbasaur, happily munching on the snacks, when a bowl of soup was placed in front of her. “It isn’t much, but I’m running a tad low on supplies, so it was the best I could manage,” Chloe smiled apologetically, making Beca huff.
“Dude, I usually eat a piece of bread with some cheese or whatever. This is like, ten times better than anything I’ve had since leaving the Pokécenter in Viridian.”
“Well, in that case, eat up! The sooner we get to Pewter, the better.”
“You’re in a hurry,” Beca commented idly, taking a spoonful of soup and only barely refraining from moaning at the taste.
Chloe shrugged. “What can I say? I love the forest, but I’ve been in this one for a while now. I need a change of scenery.”
Almost an hour later, their camp was broken up, and they were all set to continue their journey to Pewter City. Beca was about to walk down the clearly visible path when Chloe stopped her. “No wonder you got lost,” she chuckled. “Pewter City isn’t that way.”
--
It wasn’t long until Beca noticed the forest growing less dense, and after about an hour, she suddenly found herself standing at the edge of Viridian Forest, Pewter City stretched out below them. Chloe gave a happy little hum, setting off down the path and leading them into the city.
They walked for another half hour, and then found themselves on Pewter City’s main street, where Chloe pointed out various possible destinations. “Over there is the Pokémon Center. If you turn down that road there, you’ll find all the shops you could wish for, and it eventually leads to the museum.”
“Museum?” Beca questioned.
“Yeah, they have Pokémon fossils and stuff. Pretty neat,” Chloe nodded. “But! Most importantly, that large building you see over there? That’s the Pewter City gym.”
“That’s where I need to be,” Beca responded decisively. “You know, after I visit the Pokécenter.
Chloe gave an appreciative nod. “Well, I need to stock up on supplies, so I guess this is where we part ways, then.”
“I guess so,” Beca nodded slowly. “Thanks for helping me out.”
--
Beca spent two hours at the Center, resting herself, eating some lunch, and having Nurse Joy check out her Bulbasaur and Pidgeotto – both in perfect health, no thanks to her own efforts.
When, a few hours later, she made her way to the Pewter City gym, she was greeted by the doorman. “I’ve come to challenge the Pewter gym leader to a gym battle.”
“You are the second one this hour. Brock’s probably not ready yet, but go on in. Good luck, trainer!”
Beca walked into the dimly-lit gym, finding a battlefield scattered with large rocks and boulders. To be expected, in a rock-type gym. What she hadn’t expected to find, was Chloe amicably chatting with a man with short, spiky hair and a dark skin tone. “Chloe?”
“Oh, Beca,” the redhead smiled, waving her over.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to challenge Brock to a gym battle,” Chloe smiled, motioning over at the man she was talking to.
“You didn’t mention this gym being your destination,” Beca muttered.
“You didn’t ask,” Chloe shrugged. “But I’m not in a hurry, so you can challenge him first, if you want?”
Brock nodded. “Works for me. I can do two battles, back-to-back. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you look like a beginning trainer?” he asked Beca.
“That’s right,” Beca confirmed. “I’m from Pallet Town, and this is going to be my first gym battle.”
Brock nodded again, crossing his arms. “Well, I give every trainer that challenges me the option of a one-on-one battle, or both trainers using two Pokémon. Rookie trainers usually choose one-on-one.”
“Yeah, that works for me,” Beca answered immediately. Her Pidgeotto would be at a disadvantage here, but her Bulbasaur should be able to beat a rock Pokémon.
“Mind if I watch?” Chloe asked, pointing over at the stands, off to the side.
“Be my guest,” Beca smiled, excitement bubbling up now that her first gym battle was about to start.
Once everyone was in place, the judge raised his two flags. “The gym battle between Beca from Pallet Town and Pewter City’s gym leader Brock is about to begin. Both trainers will use only one Pokémon, and the Pokémon that is unable to continue the battle loses!”
Brock reached behind his back, reaching for one of his Pokéballs. “For this battle, I choose my Geodude!”
Beca warily eyed the little boulder with arms. She knew Brock was going easy on her, with this being her first official battle. But she also knew that Geodude was well-trained, its rock-body gleaming in the light from the gym’s lamps.
“Then I’ll go with my Bulbasaur!”
Her little champion literally growled at the Geodude in front of him, not at all intimidated by his opponent or his surroundings. “Let’s do this, Bulbasaur!”
“Let the battle commence!”
“Bulbasaur, use Tackle!” Beca immediately called, watching her Pokémon dash off towards his opponent, launching into a jump and connecting with it full-force.
She watched the Geodude being tossed backwards a few feet, but it recovered before it even hit the ground. All-in-all, it seemed the tackle had hurt her Bulbasaur more than that Geodude. “Damn it!”
“You’re gonna have to do better than that!” Brock called from the other side of the battlefield. “Geodude, use Rock Throw!”
“Dodge it, Bulbasaur!” Beca called out, watching her grass Pokémon dodging the thrown rocks without too much trouble. “Now use Razor Leaf!”
“Defense Curl!” Brock called, and Beca watched as Geodude crossed its arms in front of its body, her Bulbasaur’s leaves connecting but not doing any damage. “Now use Rollout!”
Arms still crossed, Geodude came barrelling towards them, and Bulbasaur only barely managed to dodge it. Despite Beca’s warning, he didn’t have enough time to dodge the Rollout attack when Geodude seamlessly spun around and hit it from behind. “Bulbasaur, are you alright?!” Beca asked, watching him get back to his feet. “Hit him with Vine Whip!”
Without prompting from its trainer, Geodude caught the vine in one of his hands, giving it a sharp yank to pull Bulbasaur off its feet. “Finish this fight with another Rock Throw, Geodude!”
“Bulbasaur, another Razor Leaf!” Beca looked on in awe as Bulbasaur’s Razor Leaf attack cut through the rocks Geodude was chucking their way. One of the leaves slipped right in-between the rocks, hitting Geodude squarely in the face – immediately stopping the attack.
“Not bad, Beca,” Brock complimented.
“Bulbasaur, Vine Whip one more time!” Beca called out, an idea forming in her mind.
As he had done last time, Geodude caught the Vine Whip, one of Bulbasaur’s vines in each of its hands. Beca waited with bated breath, calling out her next command the exact moment Geodude yanked the vines. “Razor Leaf, now!”
With both of his hands occupied with Bulbasaur’s vines, Geodude found itself without a way to defend itself against the barrage of razor-sharp leaves, each of them hitting their mark with expert precision. After the fourth hit, Geodude let go of Bulbasaur’s vines. “Alright Bulbasaur, let’s end this battle! Use Vine Whip!”
Bulbasaur’s vines wrapped around the rock Pokémon, and with a loud cry Bulbasaur lifted the Geodude up in the air, only to smack it into one of the rugged boulders making up the battlefield. When the dust settled, Geodude was lying in a small crater, groaning weakly.
“Geodude is unable to continue!” the referee called out. “The winners are Bulbasaur and Beca!”
“You did good, Geodude. Return!” Brock called, recalling his Pokémon from the field. Bulbasaur, meanwhile, came bounding towards Beca, effortlessly jumping into her arms.
“You were amazing, buddy!” Beca told him, petting his head as he tried to lick her face. “No, no, none of that!”
“Congratulations, Beca,” Brock said, having come up to her. “That was a good battle. It was smart to distract Geodude with that Vine Whip to open it up for another attack. You’ve earned this,” he smiled, holding out his hand. A shiny, silver octagon that could only be the Boulder Badge, was presented to her.
“Thank you!”
“You earned it, Beca!” came Chloe’s voice from behind her. “Safe for that tackle at the beginning, you did an excellent job!”
“Um, thanks? I guess?” Beca muttered, not sure whether it was a compliment at all.
“You ready for your fight, Chloe?” Brock asked.
“Totes!”
“Can I watch?” Beca asked. At the two responding nods, she made her way to the stand to observe the battle. She had been a nervous mess before the battle, but Chloe didn’t seem fazed at all.
“We’ll use two Pokémon each,” Brock called out.
Chloe nodded wordlessly, expression calm and focused.
Brock threw his first ball out, revealing a stone rhino. Beca quickly took out her Pokédex, aiming it at the new Pokémon. “Rhyhorn, the spiked Pokémon. Rhyhorn runs in a straight line, smashing everything in its path. It is not bothered even if it rushes headlong into a block of steel.”
“So that’s a Rhyhorn,” Beca muttered. “Chloe better have something strong to match it.”
“Go, Ralts!” Chloe called, throwing her Pokéball. The tiny little Pokémon that appeared on the field appeared to be no match to the stone behemoth. Changing her Pokédex’ aim, Beca observed the little thing.
“Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon. Ralts senses the emotions of people using the horns on its head. This Pokémon rarely appears before humans. When it does, it draws closer if it senses that someone has a positive disposition.”
“A Ralts, huh?” Brock called out with a disbelieving voice. “Are you sure about that?”
Chloe merely nodded, expression as focused as before.
“Rhyhorn, use Take Down!” Brock called out, and Beca watched in horror as the giant stone Pokémon charged at the tiny little Ralts. For a moment, Beca thought Chloe wasn’t going to do anything.
Right before they would collide, Chloe called out her move. “Ralts, Teleport!”
A quick flash of light, and then Ralts was suddenly standing behind the Rhyhorn, which kept charging straight ahead. “Now use Hypnosis!” Chloe called out, mouth quirked in a faint smile as Rhyhorn fell asleep mid-stride, sliding across the ground for several more feet before coming to a stop. “Ralts, Dream Eater!”
Chloe’s Ralts lifted its little arms, and a line of blue energy connected between the two Pokémon. The moment it did, Rhyhorn started shaking and shivering, never waking up from its sleep. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped, and Rhyhorn’s eyes snapped open. With some effort, it got to its feet, only to immediately collapse back onto its belly.
“Rhyhorn is unable to continue battling!” the referee called. “Ralts wins the match!”
“I can’t believe it,” Beca muttered to herself.
“I didn’t see that one coming!” Brock called out at the same time. “Rhyhorn, come back!”
The referee sent a quick glance at Chloe, who gave a decisive nod. “I’ll continue with Ralts.”
Brock gave a nod as well, reaching for one of his remaining Pokéballs. “And I’ll go with this one. Go, Onix!”
Beca wasn’t an idiot. She knew what an Onix was, and what it looked like. Nevertheless, she visibly startled at the giant Pokémon materializing on the battlefield. Ralts had looked tiny in comparison to Rhyhorn, but now she could barely even make it out.
Neither Ralts nor Chloe looked particularly impressed, though.
The referee had barely given the call for them to commence or Brock was already calling out his first attack. “Onix, use Iron Tail!”
Onix’ massive tail began glowing brightly, and Beca knew for certain that Ralts would be smashed into oblivion if the attack were to hit it. “Ralts, Confusion!” Chloe called out calmly.
Beca knew better than to underestimate Ralts by now. Still, it was impressive to see Ralts’ attack stopping Onix’ tail in mid-air, the faint blue outline indicating the massive rock Pokémon’s tail was under the influence of the psychic attack. “Onix, use Dig!” Brock now ordered, and then the massive Pokémon was gone from view, only a hole in the spot where it had been moments before.
For several minutes, absolutely nothing happened. Beca could only assume Onix was tunnelling underneath the battlefield, but Chloe didn’t appear to be making any move to counter it. And then, out of nowhere, Onix suddenly came blasting out of the ground, right behind Ralts. “Teleport!” Chloe called out, and Beca couldn’t help but be impressed at her reflexes.
Ralts reappeared on the other side of the battlefield a second later. “Psybeam!”
A beam of multi-coloured energy hit Onix straight between the eyes, making the massive being stagger backwards. “Onix, focus!” Brock yelled, sounding a lot less focused and controlled than Chloe had. “Use Bind!”
The rock-snake slithered towards Ralts, and was just closing in on it when Beca saw the redheaded trainer smiling slyly. “Okay Ralts. Use Psychic!”
Ralts lifted its little arms skyward, and a blue energy outlined Onix, who squeezed its eyes shut and seemed unable to move. Beca actually rose from her seat to watch as Onix’s entire form was lifted into the air. This little Ralts was proving to be much more powerful than Beca had ever anticipated. With a shrill cry, it swung its little arms, and Beca’s eyes grew wide as Onix was launched away, harshly crashing into the gym’s wall, where it ended in a crumpled heap.
“Onix is unable to battle!” the referee decided as Brock was already recalling it. “The winners are Ralts and Chloe!”
Chloe ran onto the battlefield, scooping Ralts up in her arms, but barely slowing down on her way to Brock. “Are your Pokémon alright?” was the first thing she asked.
“Yeah, they’re fine,” Brock sighed. “It’s been a while since we were trounced like this, though. And by a Ralts, of all possible Pokémon…”
“Yeah, she’s pretty neat,” Chloe smiled proudly.
“I’ve never seen a Ralts so powerful,” Brock commented just as Beca joined them.
Chloe nodded. “I think she could have evolved already, if she had wanted to…”
“I’d say,” Brock nodded, procuring another Boulder Badge. “Regardless, you’ve earned this.”
With a few parting words, Beca found herself following Chloe outside. “That was an impressive battle,” she commented casually. “I’m guessing that wasn’t your first gym battle, huh?”
Chloe smiled back at her. “No, it certainly wasn’t. It was Ralts’ first battle in a gym, though we’ve had plenty of practice with other trainers before now.”
Beca nodded silently as she followed the redhead to the Pokémon Center.
“So, I imagine you’re off to Cerulean City now, huh?” Chloe asked when the Center came into view. “To challenge the Cerulean Gym?”
“Yeah,” Beca confirmed. “That’s the plan. You?”
Chloe shook her head. “I’ll stay in Pewter for a few more days. I want to check out the museum, and maybe do some more shopping.”
Beca smiled, holding out her hand for Chloe to shake. “Well, it’s been nice meeting you. Good luck on your journey!”
“You, too!” Chloe smiled back at her, giving her hand a firm shake. “Try not to fall off any cliffs, okay?”