AN: Thanks for reading, faving and following!
Pyrrha Nikos was a very hard worker, demanding the absolute best and most, not only from her Pokémon, but also from herself. Ruby found that very intriguing and motivating. After she had caught the redhead doing a morning run together with her Pokémon, she had quickly decided to join her and now she was doing the same with her Nidorans and Paras, though Paras was struggling a bit. That was only natural, though, considering his biology and anatomy, so, she didn't worry about it. He scuttled after them and pushed himself and that was what counted.
For her, it was quite a new experience as well. She never had been much of a sporty type, preferring to laze around in her bed with a box of cookies or a bowl of strawberries – whichever she craved more at the given times – instead of going for runs or other training. Thanks to her fantastic metabolism it never really showed...aside from the lack of firm muscles literally anywhere on her body, that was.
And now she paid the price with burning lungs and being drenched in sweat after just a few minutes. Her struggling Paras was overtaking her and she whined in embarrassment. Then she let herself fall onto her knees before the rest of her body followed.
"Everything hurts!"
"That may be so, but you will reap your rewards later, Ruby," Pyrrha said with mild amusement.
"Why can't I reap them now?!" she whined, then glared at the sounds her Pokémon were making, which sounded suspiciously like giggling and snickering.
The male Nidoran and Paras were poking her, urging her to get up, while the female was still a bit shy and careful, though she did open up a bit these past couple of days: right now, she was urging her to get back up as well, leaping a bit closer to her and then leaping back, her high-pitched and soft "Nido, Nido!" coming in-between those small leaps. It was these small things that made Ruby smile the most. She reached an arm out and collected her small Pokémon in one wide sweep, pulling them in closer.
"I'm gonna punish you for all the poking and your punishment will be cuddles!"
The retaliation she received were nuzzles from the male Nidoran and her Paras climbing on her head. The female looked content enough with just being there, though Ruby added a few gentle scratches behind her ears, which she knew the female loved the most.
"That's my preferred kinda training as well, to be honest," Jaune said while feeding his Weedle a bunch of leaves and his Eevee Pokémon vitamin treats.
"Oh, you two." Pyrrha sighed though she did so with obvious humour.
"We should reach Flora in a few hours, right?" Ruby asked.
Jaune watched the digital map on his scroll and tapped around a bit. "Well, Droogle Maps calculates another three hours of walking."
"Is there somewhere a lake or river or something close by?" Pyrrha asked. "I really do dislike the feeling of drying sweat and just using a wet cloth to freshen up is getting tiresome."
"Amen, sister!" Ruby added, then perked up at the sound of her scroll ringing. "Could – oh, thanks." She smiled at Pyrrha, then squealed at the name and picture she saw on her scroll, startling all of her Pokémon. Wasting no more time to accept the video call, she beamed at the smirking man with his stubble, messy hair and dark, red eyes. "Hi, Uncle Qrow!"
"How ya doin', kiddo? Sorry, I couldn't be there for your graduation and sorry for not calling earlier," he said, his voice as rough and raspy as ever.
"Don't worry!" Ruby said with a bright grin while lying on her stomach, her legs kicking happily behind her. "You're calling now and that's what counts."
"So, you wanna show me what you've got so far?" her uncle asked with a grin.
Ruby only nodded and turned her scroll to show her playing Pokémon, who only stopped to look curiously at the device. Paras even went and tried to grab her uncle through the screen with his pincers, making him audibly chuckle.
"A Paras and a male and female Nidoran. I approve. They'll always punish their attackers, as long as the attack is direct and physical."
"Yep!" Ruby stated proudly.
"Plus, Nidokings and Nidoqueens are fiercely territorial and protective." Her uncle looked at her seriously. "Anyone so much as looks at you wrong, those two alone will chase them across all of Remnant, I can promise you that."
"I know, Uncle Qrow," Ruby nodded. "They also are really cool, just like Parasect will be." She cooed while allowing her starter to nibble on her finger. "So cute!" She then looked back at her uncle. "How's the detective work going?"
"You know I can't talk about that," he said with a grin.
"You have a lead, don't you?" Ruby grinned. "You're onto the PokéShop Thieves!"
Her uncle shook his head in amusement and chuckled. "I never said anything like that." He then sighed. "Listen, kiddo, I've got to go. Work calls."
"It's okay, Uncle Qrow! I'm just glad you called! Tell Aunt Raven I said hi!" Ruby said.
"Will do." He gave her a lazy wave. "See ya 'round, kiddo."
"Bye, Uncle Qrow!"
The call ended, Ruby turned onto her back with a happy grin. "That was my uncle and he is the coolest!"
Jaune pointed at her scroll with wide eyes. "I saw him on TV!"
Pyrrha looked impressed as well. "I remember him as well. I didn't expect you to be related to Vale's Master Investigator."
"We aren't related by blood. Me and my sister have different mum's and he's my sister's mum's twin." She shrugged. "He still doesn't treat me any different though. Aunt Raven – Yang's mum and Yang's my sister, by the way – is a bit more distant, but I think that's just who she is and that it doesn't have anything to do with me. She and my mum get along great, after all."
"Kind of a complicated family you've got there," Jaune commented with a chuckle. "Things like that can get messy real quick. One of my sisters got a similar situation and is always complaining about it. Not that we're blaming her. I mean, that can't be easy."
"I know! That's why I'm grateful every day that my family really puts in the effort to make it work for me and Yang." Ruby knew how easily her childhood and family life could have been very different from what she had known and experienced and not in a good way. She was very aware of just how lucky she was in that regard.
"I'm sorry for the sudden change of topics but...about that lake…" Pyrrha looked around to make sure she had her and Jaune's attention. "There isn't one nearby, but about half an hour to the south there is a river called Midway River. It is, apparently, clean enough to take a dip and a popular stop with travellers."
Quickly onboard, Ruby immediately got to her feet. "Let's pack up and go then!"
In her two-piece swimwear, which was black and covered in red strawberries, Ruby enjoyed the gentle, cooling current of the deep river while giving her body a thorough scrubbing. Her Pokémon weren't daring to get in the water and, as young as they all were, she wouldn't have allowed it anyway. Paras still reached out his clawed foreleg to touch the cool water, then peered at his wet appendage curiously.
"Aren't you the cutest?" Ruby cooed, scratching his chitinous head gently.
Paras hissed and blubbered happily in reply, but then he squinted his eyes at the lake, causing her to follow his gaze out of curiosity. She cocked her head when she saw yet another small, dark shape rush past her legs in the water.
"Pyrrha?" Ruby called out to her new friend on her right, who enjoyed the water with closed eyes. "Are there many Pokémon in this river? 'Cause I think I saw quite a few already. Could've just been some fish though."
Now apparently curious herself, Pyrrha reached for her backpack behind her and took out her scroll, leaning against the riverbank while tapping around on her device. "Indeed, Midway River appears to be quite populated with Pokémon. Not as much as other freshwater habitats because it connects to the Eastern Sea, but still."
"Great!" Jaune called out to her left. "I'll go get my PokéRod!"
Not wasting any time, Ruby scrambled out of the water as well. "Me too!"
"A water type could certainly be useful," Pyrrha agreed while starting to search through her backpack.
Moments later, the three of them were sitting on towels by the riverbank, their PokéRods firmly in their hands. PokéRods were just like normal fishing rods, but with a few upgrades to be able to handle Pokémon. The name was given to distinguish it further from average fishing rods.
It didn't take long for Jaune's to jerk in his hands, a clear sign that a Pokémon had gone for the treat he had used as his bait.
Struggling only for a short time, he pulled a small Poliwag out of the river. It dropped onto the grass, tumbling around a bit, then quickly got back to its feet and made a mad dash for the river.
"Eve, block its path! Buggy, String Shot! Bucktooth, Quick Attack!"
Ruby desperately wanted to keep watching the battle and she knew that Pyrrha wanted to as well, but both of their PokéRods started to jerk now. She could see Pyrrha pulling a Horsea on land and immediately began fighting it.
Gosh, she's so lucky! Horseas are so rare in rivers! She had to admit the stinging envy she was feeling, but knew that Horsea was equally as lucky if Pyrrha managed to catch it. Ruby was very aware that she was still very far away from Pyrrha's natural talent and instinct and strategic expertise as a trainer.
Still struggling with her catch, she used a mighty pull with her eyes squeezed shut and then she heard the splash of water as the Pokémon got thrown out of it.
"Wow!"
Jaune's reaction made her open her eyes to look at her catch, her mouth falling agape immediately. "Ohmyfreakinggosh!" There, in front of her, was a greenish-white Staryu with a blue core. Not only was it exceptionally rare to find a Staryu in the middle of the day in freshwater, but for it to be a shiny variant – she had got to be the luckiest girl in Remnant right now and she had a feeling that she had used up all of her luck in that single moment for quite some time.
"Nidorans, Growl and Leer, Paras, use Spore!" she shouted.
The Growl paralyzed the Staryu for a moment, visibly draining its attack power, while the leer made it drop to a...knee? Appendage? Whatever it was called, its defence was being visibly drained as well, and that was what counted. It managed to dodge Paras's powder though, then attacked with a spray of water from its top appendage, hitting Paras dead on. It didn't do all that much though because of Paras's type advantage
"Nidorans, use Poison Sting! Paras, Scratch!"
The Nidorans shot the toxic darts from their spikes at the Staryu, while Paras scuttled towards it. A few grazing hits were enough to damage and poison the wild Pokémon, giving enough time and space for Paras to land a hard hit. The core began to blink and Ruby took that as her cue to throw an empty Pokéball at it. With a flash, it disappeared in it, the struggle to get out made visible with the wildly moving and blinking ball, but moments later it was caught.
The now still ball was immediately grasped by Ruby, who jumped up and down. She then dropped to her knees with her arms spread wide, welcoming her Pokémon to a group hug, which even the female Nidoran joined of her own accord this time.
"You have got to be the luckiest trainer in Remnant...you know that, right?" Jaune said good-naturedly with a gentle slap on her back. "That was like a one in a million catch, given the circumstances. Congratulations"
"I know! I still can't believe this actually happened! And thank you, you both have got great catches too!" She was shivering with the sheer adrenaline still rushing through her body.
Calling Staryu back out, Ruby immediately went to work with an antidote and a Pokémon treat. It was fascinating to see how Staryu wrapped its appendages around her hand, holding it in a death grip. Once it was done feeding, it released her hand and all that was left was a dried up treat. Letting the dry crumbles fall to the ground, Ruby grabbed her scroll and pointed it at it.
"Staryu, the Star-Shape-Pokémon. An enigmatic Pokémon that can effortlessly regenerate any appendage it loses in battle."
"Coooool." She then smiled at it. "I'm your new trainer and I'm really happy to have you in my team, Staryu. We'll do great together!"
The Staryu appeared to nod, then held out an appendage. Ruby took and shook it with a giggle.
"Get to know your new friends!" Ruby said and pointed at the other Pokémon, both from her and her friends' team, who were back to playing around. Looking at Jaune and Pyrrha, Ruby could only grin brightly. "I feel so ready for Stonehold Town!"
Her friends only nodded and grinned in return.
They had arrived in Flora Village. It was almost something out of a picture-perfect village used as a cover for a postcard: the vast tulip fields, the glasshouses in almost every garden, the small, wooden houses lining the streets. Pidgeys were roosting on the many fruit trees, while Caterpies were nibbling on apples and pears. She could imagine settling down in a place like this with a significant other, should it ever come to that.
"There's the Pokémon Center," Jaune said as he pointed at the building.
A couple of moments later they arrived, the automatic door she was used to not there. So, she pulled, but apparently, she had to push, so she did that with a small, embarrassed chuckle. They handed over their Pokémon for routine checkups and for their new ones to get vaccinated and officially registered. Then, they paid for their rooms for the day and cleaning services for their dirty laundry, before they found themselves a quiet table to eat.
"Man, I'm never gonna take food like this for granted ever again," Jaune said as he took a healthy bite from his double-cheese-burger. "I mean, cooking out in the wild is all fun and well, but it just doesn't compare to this greasy beauty."
"Agreed," Ruby said while nibbling on her spare ribs.
Pyrrha chuckled, then nodded. "It is something different to eat professionally prepared food compared to what we can do in the wild, that is true." She took a piece of daintily cut steak in her mouth and chewed with a pleased smile.
While they continued chatting, Ruby still caught herself thinking about her Staryu. She couldn't wait to call home.
In her rented room, Ruby was in her bed, lying on her stomach and her Pokémon were out of their balls, exploring their new surroundings a bit. With her scroll in her hands, she made the video call to home – to Yang, to be exact. She hadn't talked to her sister in a while, aside from a few text messages here and there, and she missed her terribly. So, she felt like today was as good a day as any to call her for once instead of her mum.
"Hey, sis!"
Ruby grinned at hearing Yang's jovial voice. "Yang! It's so good to see you! How're you guys?"
"We're fine," Yang said with a grin, though it looked a bit sadder than before. "It's still kinda weird without you here, to be honest."
"Aww, I miss you guys too!"
"Enough of that, though," Yang said with a wave of her hand. "Anything new to tell or show? You wrote something about meeting some new peeps the other day."
"Yeah, Pyrrha and Jaune," Ruby said. "They're really nice and great."
Yang nodded. "That's great to hear. I know I can trust your judgement."
Grinning, Ruby scrambled out of the bed. "I wanna show you something." She took the scroll, pointed its camera at Staryu and waited. And waited.
"No. Freaking. Way. Summer! I'll have to tell mum about this too. Seriously, what the hell, Ruby?!"
Ruby's grin was so wide, she felt like her face was being split in half. "In freshwater, Yang! Freshwater! In a river! In the middle of the day!"
"Okay, now you're just messing with me."
"Are you talking with Ruby? Is that a Staryu? Those colours are gorgeous!"
Ruby turned her scroll to have the camera face her again and waved at her mum. "Hi, mum!"
"She caught it in a river. In broad daylight. A shiny one."
Her mum's eyes widened. "In my twenty or so years of being a trainer, I've never even seen a wild shiny Pokémon in person. Congratulations, sweetie!"
"Thank you, mum! And Pyrrha and Jaune caught new Pokémon, too!"
She went on to talk to her sister and mum and every once in a while did her eyes search for her Staryu, as if to make sure that it was still there. It still felt unreal, after all.
Such luck.
AN: Various Pokémon Wiki pages said that Staryu's are found in saltwater habitats like Seas and Oceans, instead of freshwater habitats like lakes and rivers. So, I wondered how they fight in arena battles when there's a sea/water biome. I'll just assume that any Pokémon can survive/live in both salt- and freshwater and that there's just preferences.
Ruby's Staryu landed accidentally in the river, as Wiki Pages also stated, that sometimes a Staryu can find itself there if the river is connected to seas or oceans. It can happen with storms or things like that, so that's what happened to this Staryu. I wanted Ruby to have a shiny Staryu because they are so pretty.