Back by popular demand and because of special requests, here is the next adventure of our favourite Ruby Bates! Because you guys have been so patient with me, I've decided that I will post this story all in one go because you're all amazing and you deserve it, so don't worry about reviews! You guys have all been so supportive and giving such good advise to me I've done my best to provide the best material I could for you all to read, I hope you all enjoy this next story of the Ruby Saga. Please, sit back, relax, and let the world of Pokemon surround you.
It's show time!
It's been well over a year since I've last seen Ash and the others. With my travelling, I made sure to stop by and see all my old friends, including Misty. I even helped her train her water Pokémon with some new contest styles so she could use them to surprise her challengers.
However now that I was in Sinnoh, searching for a Lucario or Riolu of my own, I'd heard that Ash and Brock were here, so I'd set out to find them. In the time I was gone, I'd seriously honed my aura skills and I was doing well with my training, so it didn't take me long to get a location on them through their aura.
When I found Ash, however, it was to see Team Rocket trying to fly away with a Pokémon in their net, it was a Turtwig, one of the Sinnoh region starter Pokémon. Ash had called out, telling Team Rocket to give it back to him so I assumed Ash must have caught this Turtwig himself.
"Okay Charizard, let's help 'em out!" I called and instantly he replied with a thundering roar. Everyone froze in place and Team Rocket looked up, only to let out a scream.
"IT'S THE SCARY TWERP!"
"Oh yeah, and you're not getting away that easy Team Rocket. Charizard, burn through that net!" I ordered and Charizard instantly blasted through the ropes with his Flamethrower, dropping Turtwig down and I jumped over the side, plummeting down however the moment I had Turtwig in my arms I rotated in the air to land on my feet, positioning myself before standing upright.
"It's Ruby! Ruby you're here!" Ash laughed. "I can't believe it, it's been so long!" I turned back and gave him a wink and a smile as Turtwig cheered at being released.
"Hey Ash, Brock, you boys miss me?" I questioned then noticed a third standing with them. He had dark purplish hair and a sour expression, however when he looked at me his eyebrows lifted slightly, taking me in curiously as he stood with a Chimchar. It was a little cutie! "Okay Charizard, Fire Blast into Dragon Tail, let's go!"
"Whoa, Dragon Tail?" Ash questioned then looked up. Charizard blasted the balloon with his fire, a powerful attack that consumed it completely however when his tail flame started to glow purple and was surrounded with a similar glow, he whirled his tail around and sliced through the balloon with ease, blasting it apart and Team Rocket flew into the air.
"No! It's all that little twerp's fault!" Jessie wailed before they all yelled together. "Now we're BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" I flicked out a hand from my hat, tilting it down with a smirk as I still held the Turtwig in my arms.
"My work here is complete." I nodded then looked down at Turtwig. "Hi there! Hope you didn't mind that little freefall there, sorry if I startled you." I said with a smile.
"Turtwig!" Without warning it suddenly leaped out of my arms and clamped its jaws down on my head with a painfully tight grip and I yelled, throwing up my hands and began to run around in circles.
"Ow-wow-wow-wow-ow! GET IT OFF ME!" I shrieked, Ash chasing to try and catch up.
"Hold up, just stay still! Turtwig, let go of Ruby's head!" Ash managed to grab Turtwig, however as he pulled, he began to yank on my head too.
"Genius! This is totally your fault!" I accused, trying to break free.
"Here, let me help you guys." A pretty girl said as she ran over with her Piplup and they both grabbed onto Ash to help him pull.
"Just hold on a moment Ruby, we'll get you out of there." Brock said as he turned to help too. Charizard landed and reviewed the scene carefully before starting to snort with laughter.
"Don't think I can't hear you Charizard!" I yelled at him before finally, my head was pulled free, though Turtwig took my hat with him. With a cry I stumbled backwards, arms flailing but then someone pressed their hand against my back, steadying me so I opened my eyes and blinked up at the stranger. "Oh. Hi. Thanks for that." I said and he gave a simple nod of his head. "Is that your Chimchar? It's really cute." I said as the others tried to free my hat from Turtwig's mouth.
"Chimchar!" The little fire type cheered, lifting its little hands up in clenched fists to show off its strength and I giggled.
"There's still training to be done. It's not all that impressive yet. Chimchar, retu-"
"Oh I don't think so." I cut in, making the guy blink in surprise as I lifted Chimchar up, making him stare up at me, surprised also but then smiled as I hugged him. "You're a strong fella, I can tell. Though you're doing a terrible job with its care. You need to brush its fur more often, that'll help Chimchar to look his best." I said to his trainer. "I'm Ruby by the way."
"Paul. And I don't need your advice on how to take care of my Pokémon. Especially from a girl." Instantly my eyes narrowed and Chimchar flinched slightly and we turned to look at one another. I began to sense a lot of repressed emotion from the Chimchar, a beaten down spirit and now that I was focusing, I could tell that Paul wasn't a very nice guy. His aura was repelling, one of the kind I like to stay away from.
"Hey! That's my friend you're talking to." Ash said with an angered expression as he and the others walked over to me. "So you'd better take that back, Ruby is a great Pokémon trainer and coordinator." Paul arched his eyebrow.
"You're a coordinator?"
"Something wrong with that?" I questioned and Charizard stomped his foot as he moved closer, growling down at Paul who arched an eyebrow at my tough looking friend.
"Not really. I just can't imagine you winning a lot of pathetic ribbons with a Pokémon like that." I rolled my eyes then smirked, lifting Chimchar up to my shoulder where he stood as I folded my arms.
"Shows how little you know. Coordinating is all about style, not beauty. Obviously you are just an arrogant jerk who thinks he knows it all. And anyway, I don't use Charizard in contest, because I use him in leagues." That got Paul's attention. "He's my powerhouse butt kicker, and if you're not careful, I may turn around and then I won't be able to account for what he might do to you since you've mocked me. Twice." That shut him up and Ash smirked as Paul looked at me with a stony expression before finally lifting a Pokéball.
"Chimchar return. You've got a lot of work to do." He said then turned to walk away. "I hope I don't run into you losers again." In answer, Charizard snorted and a shoot of flames shot out at Paul, who stopped but didn't make another move until his path was clear.
"Return Charizard. Before you set the whole forest on fire." I said, glaring after Paul before smiling at his Pokéball. "Great job today, you take a rest." Once Paul was gone, I turned around. Brock chuckled and slapped my hat back on my head, wriggling it around.
"Great to see you again Ruby. It's been a while."
"That it has Brock."
"So you're Ruby?" The girl questioned and I looked at her. She had indigo hair which she pulled back from her face with twin yellow clips and wore a white beanie hat with pink. She wore a short pink pleated skirt, a white tank top and a black waistcoat that shaped her slim figure perfectly. "The guys talk about you all the time!"
"Pikachu Pi!" Pikachu leaped at me and I giggled, catching him and hugging him tight as I spoke.
"That's right, Ruby Bates. It's nice to meet you." I said, holding out my hand and the girl instantly gripped it tightly with both hands.
"Wow! This is so great! I'm Dawn and I want to be a top coordinator, you can help me practice! Oh this is my partner Piplup, we've only just started working together, it's my first Pokémon journey you see, so Ash and Brock offered to help me out and keep me company. But I'll be so great with you traveling along with us!" She said and I smiled.
"Sure thing. I'd be glad to help you out, though I'm still training myself." I told her as Brock laughed.
"Don't let her be modest. Between her and May, they always put on the greatest shows you could ever see. They both finished in the top four at the Hoenn Grand Festival." Instantly Dawn's eyes sparkled brightly as she clapped her hands together.
"Really? Top four? In your first years as coordinators? That's amazing! Oh I can't wait, this is going to be so great! No need to worry, Dawn is ready to rock and roll with Ruby in tow!" I gave a little laugh, smiling nervously as Pikachu turned to face up at me.
"So Ruby, what are you doing here anyway?" Brock asked as I put Pikachu up on my shoulder.
"Well, I'm here looking for a Riolu or a Lucario, actually. I want to catch one for myself to help with my training. When Professor Oak told me you were coming, I flew straight down to try and find you guys so we could go travelling again. If that's okay of course." I explained but Ash instantly grinned.
"Of course it's okay! You can watch me get all eight badges before I go win the Sinnoh League and beat that stupid trainer Paul! I'll show him how to raise Pokémon the right way." Ash growled at the end so I whacked the back of his head, not even looking at what I was doing.
"Cool it genius. Let's get walking, okay?" I suggested as Dawn stared.
"Is that…normal?" She questioned Brock as Ash groaned on the ground.
"Well actually, that was pretty gentle compared to what Ash is used to." Brock gave a tiny laugh as I pulled out a Pokéball.
"Okay little on, flight's over, so come on out!" My little fluffy bundle of joy instantly appeared in my arms, giving a smile to everyone.
"Eevee?"
"Oh it's so cute!" Dawn squealed, getting closer for a better look. "It's so small, but just look at its shiny fur! You've done a great job raising it, right Piplup?"
"Piplup." Piplup agreed with a proud look on his face, closing his eyes as he lifted his head to try and appear taller, making me giggle.
"Eevee Vee."
"Hey, is this little guy one of Vaporeon's?" Ash asked and I nodded my head.
"Yup. I took one and Gary's going to raise the other. Vaporeon and Umbreon were glad to finally put the responsibility on someone else, I think. They're resting at home now along with all my other Pokémon." I told them all as we began walking. "Professor Oak's research into evolutionary stones is going great, he thinks he's found a major breakthrough."
"Really? That's great! Are you still collecting for him?"
"Only if I find something rare and unique. Otherwise no, he doesn't need me to." I replied. "So Dawn, tell me, have you always wanted to be a coordinator?"
"Yeah! My mom was a coordinator and she's won loads of trophies. I've grown up wishing that one day, I'll be just like her and now I finally can. With Piplup at my side, there's no stopping us now!" Dawn declared, holding up her fist as Piplup copied her stance.
"Piplup!"
"Have you caught any other Pokémon yet?" Instantly their faces fell and their torsos went slack with a groan.
"No need to worry…we'll catch one eventually." Dawn said so I smiled.
"Hey, exactly as you say. No need to worry. You know, it was months before I caught my first real wild Pokémon, even after I'd started on my journey." I said then explained to her how I'd caught each of my Pokémon, the boys adding their own stories as one conversation led to another until finally, we had to stop for the night.
I don't know how many times I'd promised Dawn I'd bake her my famous cookies and brownies one day, but I'm pretty sure it's a promise I'm not going to forget. My little Eevee rode on my shoulder all the time, preferring the fresh air to anything else and he became fast friends with Pikachu, the two of them playing around with Piplup who Dawn also kept out of its Pokéball a lot of the time.
Once we'd had dinner and I'd played everyone a song on my famous flute, we all went to bed peacefully and all slept well until the morning.