I jumped off Gyarados last, turning to pat his face. "Thank you so much, we won't ever forget this." I told him then smiled as he leaned closer and rubbed into my body. "Haha! That tickles!" I giggled.
"Hey Ruby, why don't you catch Gyarados? He'd be great for your team." Brock suggested and I looked at him, my hand restign against Gyarados's face.
"Capture Gyarados?" I questioned then looked up at the Gyarados, who was watching me carefully.
"You two seem really close, it'll be great for you to have such a strong Pokémon to work with." Brock continued. "He can help you learn more about his kind and develop your skills at dealing with Pokémon." I continued to watch Gyarados before closing my eyes and resting both my hands against his face, allowing myself to realx and think over what Brock had suggested.
Something told me that it wouldn't be the right thing to do, to capture Gyarados. Just a gut feeling that told me he wanted to be in the wild more than being something to be studied and worked with. He's too much of a free spirit.
Smiling contently I looked up then stepped away. "Don't worry Gyarados, I won't make you stay when you don't want to. Be safe now, and please be careful!" I added, waving to him as he nodded his head then turned into the sea to dive into its depths.
"Ruby…why'd you let it go?" Ash asked in bewilderment. "You two really hit it off." I turned around and held up two fingers in a victory sign with a wink.
"He wanted to be wild, so it's okay. Besides, I think I've made a friend for life, which is just as good as capturing him." Looking to the city we'd just been dropped off at, I couldn't imagine anywhere better to spend a good vacation. "Last one to the beach buys ice cream!" I suddenly yelled then raced past them all, hurtling to the beach to soak up some sun.
"Hey no fair, you started ahead of us!" Ash grinned then chased after me.
"Yeah, you cheated!" Misty yelled after me as I laughed.
After several days enjoying the sun, I felt the call of the road so I packed up my gear and faced my friends. "You sure you won't stay?" Brock asked and I smiled to them.
"I've got some research to do, Professor Oak has already given me some pointers and I need to head over to Cinnabar Island as soon as I can really." I explained to them. "But I'll see you all again really soon, I promise. I'll be in touch!" I assured them then took a step back.
"But where will you go?" Misty asked me.
"Well, I hear the Safari Zone has loads of rare Pokémon, I want to go and check them out and ask some questions about how they're all looked after." I answered her. "It'll be a great experience and maybe I'll meet my next Pokémon partner when I'm out there." They all smiled at me.
"Well good luck, we'll see you soon!"
"Good luck with your battles Ash, I know you'll do great." I told him then made my way to the train station where my train was waiting to take me further inland. I used the ticket I had bought to get me through the gates then found a seat on my own in the train to read a book in peace and quiet.
By the time my stop came, I was two thirds of the way through it. "Huh?" I looked up as we pulled in then jumped out of my seat, eager to get going again. I sprang off onto the platform then ran into the town, briefly stopping for lunch then head down the road I would need to get to the Safari Zone.
"Alright guys, come on out! Time for some good old fresh air and exercise!" I called then with both hands, sent out my Pokémon. Pidgeotto trilled and flew a circle around me, rushing up a gust then flew up into the air. Charmeleon huffed then yawned, strolling along with his nose in the air. "Hey Charmeleon, catch!" I yelled then threw the tennis ball at him, grinning wickedly as it sailed towards him.
Charmeleon cracked open an eye then snagged the ball easily out of the air, hardly needing to look before tossing it back to me over his shoulder. "Alright!" I grinned as I caught it, though inwardly I was disappointed with how unenthused he was. "Pidgeotto your turn! Let's see who's the best at this game!" Instantly Charmeleon lifted his head, interest peaked. At least I knew how to get his attention, just turn something into a competition. So we played down the path, Charmeleon putting in the effort to jump higher and run faster than before and caught many awesome saves before throwing the ball back to me.
Slowly he began to smile, calling out as he jumped up and down. "Char! Char!" I giggled then tucked the ball in tight, preparing to fling it as far as I could when a shouting voice made me stop.
"Go away you useless Pokémon!"
"Huh?" I stopped and looked around, not seeing anything but then I heard the voice again.
"Stop following me! I don't want you anymore!" Instantly my anger burned and I crushed my fingers into the tennis ball, making my hand ache but still, I didn't care. I head towards the voice, pushing apart the bushes to see a girl my age glaring down at a tiny Pokémon, possibly the cutest I had ever seen.
The girl had long blonde hair which was tied in plaits with large pink ribbon, her dress frilled and sparkly and obviously very expensive. She was glaring down at the Pokémon, whose ears were flattened against their skull with terrifyingly sad expression, its eyes misty with tears. "Vee?" Its body was a light brown and it had a thick pale cream collar of fluff, with large, long ears and its puffy tail was tipped in the same creamy colour as around its neck.
"How many times do I have to bring you out here? I keep on telling you, I don't want you anymore. You're nothing special, you never even evolve!"
"Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. It has the potential to evolve into any one of three different Pokémon." Dexter supplied for me. So that's an Eevee, I remember mom used to talk about them all the time, saying how adorable they were and how she always wanted one. The girl kicked at the little Pokémon and instantly I leaped forwards.
"Hey! Stop being a jerk!" I yelled and they both looked at me as I stormed over. "What do you think you're doing? You can't just abandon this Pokémon like this, you have to take it somewhere it can be properly cared for!" The girl blinked then lifted her nose up at me.
"Why should you care? Besides, I can't be bothered. It's just a little Pokémon, who cares what happens to it? I don't want it anymore so why should I bother?" Growling I shoved my face in hers and bellowed.
"I'll tell you why, BECAUSE I SAID SO!" Raging with anger I then put my hands on my waist. "Why would you want to abandon it anyway? It's adorable!"
"Because I wanted it to evolve into something cuter, but it never does, no matter how much training my butler does with it. Apparently you need stones but the stone I gave to this fleabag didn't work. Besides, I've seen a better Pokémon. My daddy's going to get me a Ninetales, so I don't need that little beast anymore." The Eevee had tears in its eyes, obviously hurt by this cruel, spoiled brat's words.
"Look what you've done! You've made it cry!" I snapped, stooping down to rub its head. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"If you care so much then take it, it's not like its any use though." She snorted then made to leave but then she faced my Charmeleon, who roared at her after he'd materialised from popping out of his Pokéball. "ARGH! MOMMY!" She leaped up into the air then took a few steps back. "Someone save me!"
"It's just my Charmeleon, stop being such a cry-baby." I snapped at her so she glared at me.
"Put your ugly beast away! It's frightening me!" The brat ordered and I looked at her. She would dare call my Charmeleon ugly? I'll show her ugly!
"Charmeleon! Use Ember, let her feel a little heat at the edges!" I yelled, letting my anger get the better of me. Charmeleon growled then shot a short burst of fire at the spoiled rich girl, who screamed as her dress caught alight.
"Help me! Someone help me!" The Eevee blinked and watched as she ran around, trying to outrun the flames and Charmeleon laughed with satisfaction. My spite not able to hold up, I pointed to her.
"Pidgeotto, put out those flames with Gust!" Pidgeotto dived down from the canopy then flapped her wings, blowing a breath of wind which dimmed down the flames then put them out completely, much to the girl's relief. I strode forwards then gripped her arm, hauling her to her feet. "You don't deserve a Pokémon, not until you learn to love and respect them like equals! Now go home to your room and stay there!" She blinked, tears running down her face before she screamed.
"MOMMY!" She ran through the trees and out of sight, much to my satisfaction. I turned around to see Charmeleon trying to approach the Eevee but it backed away, despite Charmeleon's soft sounds and small movements.
"Easy now Charmeleon, it's okay." I told him, rubbing his head as I stepped past him and he looked at me with surprise as I lowered myself onto my belly to make myself as small as possible. "Hello there, I'm Ruby." I smiled to the Eevee who continued to sniffle and cry. "Are you hungry? I bet you're hungry." I decided then hunted through my bag until I'd found some food. "You know, how about we all have a picnic? It's really pretty here." I said with a smile, looking at all the violets that filled the clearing, streams of sunlight peaking through the trees.
I set up a nice meal, putting bowls of Brock's special food down for Charmander and Pidgeotto, who muched away happily and I tempted the Eevee with some of the berries I had saved from the unexpected trip to Pokémon Land we had made. "Come on, I know you want some." I heard its belly rumble so it slowly moved forwards, sniffing the berry in my hand before taking a little nibble. "That's it, good little Eevee." I smiled then put it down in front of her.
"Vee!" She trilled happily then finished it quickly, no longer crying. I laid out some more and the Pokémon selected the ones she wanted then perked up, ears twitching towards me, brown eyes shining brightly.
Reaching out her ears flattened but when I began to rub her fur, it stretched up into my hand then stepped closer. With a smile I picked it up then sat it in my lap, running my hand over the soft fur, though it was a little knotted in places and also could do with a good wash as it was covered in dirt and leaves from its time in the woods. "You poor thing." I sighed softly, watching as it rubbed into me then curled up into a cute little puffball, taking a nap as the others finished their food. "What do you think guys, shall we bring this little sweetheart along with us?" I asked and Charmeleon nodded his head.
"Char, Char."
"Piedgeo." Pidgeotto nodded her head then lifted herself up into the air, going over to my bag then poked her head inside before bringing out the tennis ball. She started a game between herself and Charmeleon, the two of them launching the ball at one another and they practiced certain moves to catch it. For example Pidgeotto would use her Gust and Charmeleon would swipe at it like he was using Slash, practicing his accuracy.
I watched them happily for a long time, not joining in because I didn't want to disturb Eevee, however when it woke up it blinked then watched the game, ears standing directly upwards as it watched the ball as it journeyed. "Do you want to play too?" I asked and it leaped up.
"Vee! Vee!"
"Okay." I grinned as it jumped forwards then got to my feet. "Hey guys, we're joining too!" I called then ran forwards. "Eevee, catch the ball in your mouth!" I directed and Eevee leaped forwards, jumping into the air as Pidgeotto let it go.
It caught the ball easily, landing with an elegant flick of its tail then bounded over to me, putting it at my feet. "Great catch Eevee!" I beamed, rubbing its head then threw the ball to Charmeleon who bounced it on his knee then onto his foot, looking up to Pidgeotto then kicked it up to her.
She swept down and caught it on her tailwind, letting it rise up in the air again before it began to fall. "Vee!" Eevee's eyes sparkled and it bounded forwards, leaping up to headbutt the tennis ball then continued to keep it from hitting the ground with either her head or tail before flicking it back to Charmeleon with a look of determination, slapping the ball with its tail.
"Alright! Now things are really heating up!" I called with laughter then tried to dive for the ball but Charmeleon leaped over me and used me as a stepping stone, jumping up into the air then caught the ball himself and I fell to the ground with a giggle.
We played for what felt like hours until finally, we all collapsed from exhaustion. Eevee rolled on its back, looking a lot better as it squirmed in the sunlight then squealed further as I began to tickle its belly. Charmeleon beamed happily, chanting his name softly.
"Char! Char!" Laughing myself I rolled onto my back then sighed.
"That was fun, we should do it again tomorrow!" Eevee looked up and blinked winsomely so I looked at it with a welcoming smile. "How about it? Would you like to come with us?" I sat up and both Charmeleon and Pidgeotto came to my side, nodding their heads invitingly as the Eevee stared at us.
After a long while of it thinking, it suddenly beamed and nodded its head. "Vee! Vee!" It leaped into my arms and I beamed, hugging it close to me and nuzzled into its soft fur.
"I'll never abandon you, I promise. We'll be friends forever." I murmured then stood up. "Come on guys, you'd better take a rest. We've got a lot of ground to cover before nightfall." I said then returned them to their Pokéballs. I picked up a spare I had and offered it to Eevee but it instantly shied away, shaking its head then sprang over to me, rubbing its head into my legs. "You don't want a Pokéball yet? Okay, I'll just carry you." I lifted the Eevee up, tickled its chin then head back onto the road towards the Safari Zone. I won't get there today, but that's okay.
There's always tomorrow.