AN: A quick update! Enjoy!

Summer was approaching faster than ever and the sun was beating down on them, causing them to drench their shirts with sweat. They had left Flora Village behind them and their path was now leading their group to Stonehold Town. Rocky roads and hills had been and still were their current challenges, but they soldiered on. The Tunnel Of The Moon was still a few hours away and they had agreed to spend the night outside before continuing their journey through the tunnel.

Once they'd get past the tunnel, they'd have arrived at their first major town and from then on their travels wouldn't be that difficult anymore.

For now, however, they'd have to keep going through the heat.

"Let's take a break there," Jaune said, unable to hide how tired he was as he was pointing at a spot a bit farther down their path. "I think there's another trainer there as well."

Ruby shielded her eyes with a hand and squinted them, seeing that, indeed, there was a lone figure sitting on a stray patch of drying grass, a large boulder offering a bit of reprieve from the burning heat. As they got closer, they could see that it was a pale girl with white hair in a white and blue dress, though her cheeks were visibly flushed.

Ruby gave her a shy wave in greeting. "Hi! Mind if we join you there?"

The girl looked up, then nodded. "Of course. Let me just –" She scooted a bit over, to the side, to make more room in the boulder's shadow.

"I'm Ruby Rose, by the way. Those are Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc." Ruby pointed at her friends as she introduced them.

"Weiss Schnee," the girl said, then continued with a roll of her eyes. "Former heiress to the Schnee Pokéball Company, which you've probably already heard."

Feeling awkward all of a sudden, Ruby coughed into her fist and was glad to see that Pyrrha and Jaune felt equally awkward if their expressions were anything to go by. "Your family makes the Pokéballs? Uhh...sorry about the 'former'-bit, I guess?"

"You haven't heard? Oh, well. Don't be," Weiss said with a dismissive wave of her hand before giving her a very inquisitive once-over. "It doesn't matter anyway. You said your last name was Rose? You aren't related to the record-holding Champion of Vale, perchance? Summer Rose? I mean, it's a bit of a stretch, I know, because the name isn't exactly rare..."

Now Ruby felt even more awkward and felt her face heat up. Rubbing the back of her head, she just shrugged. "I'm...kinda her daughter?"

The sudden explosive squeal coming out of the elegant and poised looking girl startled the heck out of her – and not just her, considering the way Jaune jumped suddenly. "I'm her biggest fan! Could you get me an autograph? Please? I've watched every single one of her battles in every single tournament she was ever in! The way she surprised everyone when her Jolteon defeated that Golem in the finale of her first championship with Iron Tail – when the steel types had just started to emerge, no less! It was awe-inspiring!"

"I admit, I suspected your relation to the greatest Pokémon Champion of all time, but didn't want to make things awkward for you," Pyrrha said with an amused smile and a shrug.

"I'm more of a Coco Adel fan myself, to be honest," Jaune said and blushed at the three pairs of raised eyebrows he received. "What? She's the rising star of our generation and gorgeous, you've got to admit that."

Ruby, Pyrrha and Weiss all nodded at that. It was true, after all. Coco had surprised quite a few with her third place in last year's tournament and was cruising through Vale's arenas once again. Rumours had it, however, that she planned to move on to South Vale's league after this season. Ruby's mum, on the other hand, had opted to stay in North Vale her whole career. Ruby, however, wanted to see how she'd be doing in the championship first before she would decide.

"If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize...Ruby, was it?" Weiss suddenly said, looking a bit bashful. "I tend to be excitable when it comes to the art that being a Pokémon Trainer is. And, well...your mother was the greatest there ever was and not just in Vale, in my humble opinion."

Ruby waved her off. "Don't worry, I've gotten used to it when my mum used to drop me off at Beacon Academy."

Weiss looked grateful, then cleared her throat. "So...are you all from Vale?"

"Me and Jaune are," Ruby said.

Weiss winced slightly. "It's…'Jaune and I', actually."

Ruby shrugged. "Okay. Anyway, as I said, me and Jaune are from Vale, Pyrrha's from Mistral though. You're from Atlas, right? Schnee Company and all that."

"That is correct."

"Why did you go for Vale's league then?" Jaune asked.

"That's...personal," Weiss said, her tone making it clear that she had no intentions to delve any further into that topic.

Holding his hands up placatingly, Jaune gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry."

"Say, you're going to challenge Stonehold's arena too, right?" Ruby asked Weiss.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

Smiling, Ruby pointed at herself, Pyrrha and Jaune. "Well, we're all going there for that reason. Why don't you join us? It's loads more fun this way than travelling alone."

Looking taken aback by the offer, Weiss didn't answer immediately. She opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Are you sure?" Weiss asked after a few moments. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"'Course! The more, the merrier!" Jaune added while Pyrrha nodded.

A grateful smile graced Weiss's face. "That...would actually be lovely, thank you."

With the entrance to the tunnel in sight, they had set up their camp for the rest of the day. The air was cooling down a bit, but their bonfire still made them sweat while they were cooking their dinner.

Ruby was cooing while petting Weiss's adorable Vulpix, which, according to Weiss, was a parting gift from her sister, and thus, her starter. She had hatched around the same time frame Paras had, which made her just as much of a baby in the group as Paras was.

Other than Vulpix, Weiss also had a Venonat, a Shellder and a Sandshrew. It was a very impressive and diverse team and Ruby told her new friend as much, which made Weiss look very proud of herself.

"Your sausages are cooked, Ruby," Jaune said as he slid them down from the branches and placed them on her paper plate.

Grabbing the plate, she flashed him a grateful grin and took a hearty bite.

She watched their Pokémon, who were all outside to enjoy the cooling afternoon air and get to know their new friends.

"How many battles have you had so far?" Weiss asked them while munching on a few nuts and dried fruits.

As she was thinking about it, Ruby found herself surprised with her answer. "Only one serious battle, actually, and that was at the very start."

"Jaune and I have battled quite a few times. It keeps us on our toes and our Pokémon fit, ready and prepared."

"I've lost every match against Pyrrha," Jaune admitted with a sigh.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, his friend smiled at him. "You're always improving, Jaune. Focus on that and you'll be the successful trainer I know you can be."

"How about we have a two-versus-two battle, Ruby?" Weiss asked her. "I haven't had the opportunity to seriously battle, so far."

Perking up, Ruby nodded immediately. "I'd love to!"

With a smile, Weiss continued eating. "Let's finish our dinner, then we can fight. We should still have a couple or so hours of sunlight."

"Which mode do you want?" Ruby asked as she was standing on her side of the makeshift battleground, which really was just an empty and square-ish patch of dry dirt between her and Weiss.

"Two one versus one rounds. No substitutions. A Pokémon, which has fought its battle cannot fight in the next."

Ruby nodded, then was startled because of a sharp peck on her calf. She looked down to see her male Nidoran staring at her with imploring eyes, making her smile.

"Alright. My first Pokémon is gonna be Nidoran."

"Sandshrew, I choose you."

Ruby immediately frowned at that. Sandshrew had a type advantage and its thick hide gave it a good defence against the fragile darts of Nidoran's Poison Sting attack. It would be a difficult matchup for her Pokémon, but clever tactics and smart use of opportunities could always sway things in her favour.

"I'll referee," Pyrrha offered and stepped up to the 'arena', her outstretched arm separating both combatants. "Begin!"

"Leer, Nidoran!"

"Counter with Defense Curl, Sandshrew."

Ruby breathed heavily through her nose. This was already getting annoying and they had just started. "Poison Sting!"

"Sand Attack, then Scratch!"

"Dodge to your left, Nidoran!" Ruby shouted her command after her Pokémon got dirt in his eyes from Sandshrew's attack. She couldn't even tell if Nidoran's attack hit because of the cloud of dirt and dust floating about, but she could make out Sandshrew's silhouette.

Nidoran barely managed to follow her call, Sandshrew only just missing with his wicked-looking claws. "Keep dodging and use Poison Sting!"

Nidoran dodged another Scratch, then fired his darts from his poisonous spikes, trusting her calls without hesitation and she allowed herself the brief moment of pride.

Sandshrew didn't let up for a moment, though, and went after Nidoran aggressively. It was clear that Weiss preferred her Pokémon to be the ones to dictate the pace of a battle and this one she wanted to firmly grasp in her hands.

It was fine by Ruby, though. It was a challenge and she could only grow and learn when being challenged.

"Leer!"

"Defense Curl."

"Peck!"

"Scratch!"

Nidoran's large frontal fang glowed as he went in. Ruby winced when he yelped after getting caught by Sandshrew's claws, but he didn't falter and landed a direct and hard hit, sending Sandshrew skidding backwards.

"Follow up with Poison Sting, then Leer, then Peck!"

The toxic darts forced Sandshrew to block them with his arm, which gave Nidoran ample time to use Leer again.

"Defensive Curl!" Weiss yelled, her calm demeanour a bit broken now.

Nidoran used the moment Sandshrew curled up to go for his Peck attack, but Weiss had apparently expected that.

"Sand Attack!"

Just as Nidoran was about to hit, Sandshrew uncurled himself and dragged his claws through the ground to throw dust and dirt right at Nidoran's face, hitting him dead on. Nidoran faltered and that was the moment that cost him: he gave Sandshrew the opportunity for an easy dodge and attack.

"Scratch, now!" Weiss yelled, having smelled her chance.

Sandshrew followed the command, landing a vicious hit at Nidoran's side. Yelping in pain, Nidoran tumbled, lying on the ground. With gritted teeth, he tried to get back up, but couldn't anymore. The match was Sandshrew's.

Ruby went to her Pokémon and picked him up. "You did great, buddy," she told him, his disappointment clear and visible. "My mum always says that every defeat is a lesson, so we're gonna learn from this, okay? Now rest up." She put him on the ground, next to the female, who immediately nuzzled into her brother and started to groom him, much to his helpless annoyance. Chuckling, she searched through her back for a moment and, after finding her healing spray, used it a couple of times on Nidoran's rather deeply scratched hide, making him wince. "Sorry, it probably stings a bit," she said, petting him a bit, before returning to the battle.

"Match one was yours, Weiss," Ruby said after taking her place at her end of the 'arena' again. "Who're you gonna use now?"

"How about Venonat for this one?" Weiss asked after giving Sandshrew some antidote, then looked down at the purple ball of fluff, who clicked with her mandibles and got into position.

Ruby thought for a moment, then looked at Staryu. "How about you?" she asked it. "You wanna fight your first battle?"

Staryu nodded and walked in front of Ruby, getting into position in their makeshift battleground as well.

"Begin!"

With Pyrrha's signal given, Ruby got immediately into battle-mode, determined to win at least this fight. "Water Gun!"

Staryu aimed its top appendage at Venonat, but it quickly dodged to the side, to her surprise. She was more fleet-footed than she had expected her to be.

"Great reaction, Venonat! Now use Disable, then Supersonic!"

The bug-type immediately followed suit, her suddenly glowing eyes locked onto Staryu. A snapping sound echoed through the rocky landscape, indicating the successful disablement of Staryu's Water Gun.

"Dammit. Dodge the Supersonic!" Ruby called out the moment Venonat followed her Disable with Supersonic, the air rippling with the confusion-inducing sound waves, and Staryu managed to dodge just in time. "Harden, then Tackle!"

"Tackle, Venonat!"

A glowing sheen moved over Staryu's hardening body, then it jumped at the charging Venonat at a rapid pace, both Pokémon colliding and skidding backwards.

"Get physical, Staryu! Another Harden, another Tackle! Get right in Venonat's face! Don't give her any chance to use her moves!"

Staryu did just that, giving Weiss's Pokémon no time to breathe, forcing it to either dodge or actually landing a hit itself.

Another snapping sound suddenly echoed through the area, causing Ruby to grin and Weiss to frown. "Water Gun!"

"Supersonic!"

The jet of water hit Venonat before it was ready to use her Supersonic, propelling her through the air and causing her to tumble painfully after hitting the ground again, effectively knocking her out.

"Yes!" Ruby jumped up with a fist raised high, then ran to her Staryu and hugged it. "That was amazing!" She then got up and walked to Weiss and her Venonat, who was slowly coming to. "Is she okay? I hope she isn't hurt so bad."

"She'll be fine, she's just a bit rattled," Weiss said while gently stroking through the thick, purple fluff covering her Pokémon. "You did well and it was only your first battle," she told her Pokémon.

"Ruby made it impossible for you to use Supersonic or Disable again, didn't she?" Jaune said when he and Pyrrha walked up to them. "The aggressiveness paid off."

With a sigh, Weiss nodded. "Indeed. Venonat isn't quick enough with those moves yet, but we'll get there. It's all about training."

"As is everything with Pokémon," Pyrrha added.

"Yep! And we'll improve as trainers alongside our Pokémon!"

"Good match, Ruby," Weiss said with a smile, reaching her hand out. "We should do this more often."

Ruby grinned and shook the offered hand. "Definitely! And I wanna fight you too, Pyrrha! And Jaune!"

Chuckling, Pyrrha nodded. "That would be lovely. But first, let us rest."

AN: Fangirl!Weiss is something we need more often.