AN: Yes, a RWBY/Pokémon crossover. Read one (Pokémon RWBY: Journey through Vale by BranwnOSV), got inspired, couldn't resist. Here we are. Have fun!
"You need to eat something, sis," Yang said, her mouth filled with cornflakes. "It's your big day today!"
Ruby could only groan, her stomach twisting and turning painfully while butterflies of hell wreaked havoc in there. She was so nervous. It was true: today was her big day. Today she would graduate from Vale's greatest Pokémon academy and get her license to be an official, actual, honest-to-god Pokémon Trainer. She would start her journey across Remnant, she would get to catch Pokémon, she would challenge Gym leaders. Suddenly, her entire life would change from the comfort of being her family's baby, from being doted on by everyone to being someone who would make her own choices and who would take on so many responsibilities. It was an exciting thought, yet so scary at the same time.
"Good morning, sweetie," a musical voice said. Ruby beamed at the kiss on the top of her head. "Are you excited?"
"Super nervous, mum," she said, whining a bit.
Her mum also kissed Yang on the top of her head and combed her fingers through her blonde locks. "That's normal. I still wished you'd have chosen a career as a Pokémon nurse or even a police officer, like Yang. You'd still be around Patch or Vale City at least."
Ruby sighed a bit. They'd had that talk a lot and, even though her mum had supported her decision from the very beginning, it had always been with a twinge of regret. At times it was annoying, but Ruby always knew that her mum was just sad because she'd be home very rarely from today on. She'd be her own person now and not the family's baby anymore.
"Is dad going to come to the ceremony?" Ruby asked.
Her mum smiled sadly. "He can't, sweetie. He has to be at his Gym the whole day."
Ruby sighed again. It sucked, but there was nothing she could do about it. Still, she knew he was proud of her and he'd be there if he could. He had his responsibilities as a Gym Leader though.
"You really should eat something, Ruby," her sister said again. "Starting your journey on an empty stomach is just asking for trouble."
Her mother nodded and started making her a sandwich. "Listen to Yang."
She smiled at her sister and mum. It'd probably be the last time for a while that she'd have the chance to enjoy a homemade sandwich like this, as simple a thing as it was. "Yeah, I know you're right."
Acting all shocked, Yang gave her an unbelieving look. "I'm not sure I got that. You'll have to repeat what you just said."
"Leave her alone, Yang." Her mum put the plate with the sandwich in front of her. "Eat this up, Ruby. I'll have to finish preparing your backpack and everything else before we leave. I know you want to start your adventure as soon as possible."
"I already have everything prepared though."
"I checked earlier and you've forgotten your sleeping bag, underwear and drinking bottle to only name a few," her mum said teasingly.
Ruby just blushed and took a bite of her sandwich. She hadn't forgotten to pack all the Pokémon-related stuff though.
With headmaster Ozpin's speech ended the ceremony and Ruby, her graduation certificate in her hand, ran past all the other students towards Yang and her mum, all beaming smile and excitement.
"I'm so proud of you, my little rosebud," her mum whispered in her hair, hugging her tightly. "So, so proud."
"Me too, Ruby," Yang said, joining in. "I always knew, you could do it."
Ruby couldn't stop herself from grinning. "Thanks! I still kinda can't believe it!"
Yang ruffled her hair, making her puff out her cheeks. "When are they gonna hand out your first Pokémon?"
"Any minute now, but they're doing it alphabetically."
"That blows. It'll just leave the leftovers for you."
"Yang Xiao-Long!"
Her sister paled immediately and turned to her mother. "I didn't mean it that way, Summer!"
"It certainly sounded as if you did!" her mother scolded Yang. "What have I taught you, every day from the moment I became your step-mother?"
"There are no weak Pokémon, only bad trainers," her sister mumbled.
"Exactly. So, what do you tell your sister?"
Yang sighed but then gave her a genuine smile. "Sorry, Rubes. You know I didn't mean it like you'd have it worse because you'll get to pick yours late. You'll do amazing with any Pokémon you'll get."
Ruby grinned at her sister, then at her mother, who stood there with her arms crossed over her chest and a satisfied smile on her face.
The first graduates were called to a room behind the stage and, after a few minutes in there, would return, usually with a Pokéball raised high in their fists under the cheers of their peers, while holding a bag and a binder in the other hand. It was an amazing scene, every time, and it made her so nervous she felt like throwing up.
"Rose, Ruby."
The loud voice calling out her name made her jump, but yes, it was her turn now. This was a lot more nerve-wracking than going to the stage to pick up her graduation certificate. Yang squeezing her shoulder encouragingly and her mother rubbing her back comfortingly helped her relax a bit. She gave them a nervous smile, then walked up to the stage, the butterflies of hell more active than ever. Professor Goodwitch, Beacon's deputy headmistress and Professor Ozpin's assistant, lead her to the room where she would finally get her very first Pokémon. It still felt a bit unreal.
The room was large and bright and there was even a small banner hanging from the ceiling, saying 'Congratulations, Pokémon Trainer!'. It was a nice gesture to acknowledge her and the other graduates' achievements. Left and right were many shelves, stocked to the brim with Pokéballs. A few desks with computers and other sciency things were placed across the room. At the far end, Professor Ozpin was waiting, his kind smile always putting her at ease. He had the aura of an eternally patient man and there was just something about him that made her trust him and his judgement.
"Congratulations on your graduation again, Miss Rose," he said, then stepped to the side to reveal a large container with several Pokéballs, but also with even more empty slots. "These are the Pokémon still left. It's your choice."
Ruby nervously stepped up. She looked at all of the balls but ignored their labels, unable to pick one over the other. It would be like judging one more worthy than the other Pokémon and that wouldn't sit well with her. It just wasn't fair. She wanted to be a good trainer, like her mother had been, and treat every Pokémon equal. So, she did what she felt was right: she closed her eyes, let her hand circle above the container a few times and then reached blindly for one of the balls. At first, she only grabbed empty space, but, after adjusting her reach a bit, she felt the cool surface of a Pokéball with her fingertips before enclosing it with her hand.
"This one!" she said with a grin. She had her first Pokémon!
"That...certainly was an interesting technique to decide for your future partner," Professor Ozpin said with a chuckle.
Ruby shrugged. "It felt like the fairest way."
"You truly are Summer's daughter through and through," Professor Goodwitch said with one of her very rare smiles.
Ruby, with a shy smile on her face, took it as a compliment.
"Well, your first Pokémon is a...Paras."
"Oh! Th-the mushroom Pokémon, right? It's a bug and grass type and it evolves into – into Parasect!"
Professor Ozpin smiled. "I see, your A+ was well earned in Pokémon Biology and Evolution class." He then pointed towards the door, but not before handing her a binder. "Treat your Pokémon well. It is still very young, hatched just a month ago. It will have to trust you, your judgement and your sense of responsibility. Good luck with your endeavours, Miss Rose. And don't forget to look into the binder."
On her way out, she was also handed a belt for Pokéballs and a bag with a Pokémon-trainer-starter-kit.
And when she was finally back on the stage, there were the cheers. She blushed and smiled immediately, raised the ball high, but quickly left the stage to be with her family again. Then, a squeal escaped her when seeing the messy mop of blonde hair that was her dad's.
She ran up to him and jumped into his arms, allowing him to twirl her around before giving her a bone-crushing bear hug.
"I thought you couldn't be here today!" She grinned up at him after he put her down.
Returning her grin, he ruffled her hair. "We thought we'd mess a little with ya."
"C'mon sis, which Pokémon did you get?" Yang asked, sounding more excited than she still felt.
"I'll let him – or her, I don't know yet – out of the ball when we're outside," Ruby said before leading her family out of the amphitheatre and to the garden.
"Don't forget to check the binder, sweetie," her mum said. "It has your verification code for your PokéDex app, once you've downloaded it. You'll need the app to access your license."
"The binder also has a list of Northeast-Sanus's local Pokémon," her dad added.
Yang grinned. "And information about dangerous wildlife and plants and reminders for first-aid-treatments, depending on what the emergency is."
"Don't worry, guys, I'm gonna look at it," she said with a sigh. "I'll even put it in my backpack, just in case."
They were outside, many of her fellow graduates already there with their families and their new Pokémon released from their balls. After wandering a bit around the academy's garden, Ruby found a nice spot under a large tree. She sat down, leaning her back against the tree, pressed the button on the ball and, with a bright light, her very own Pokémon was finally there in front of her. Her mum, dad and sister sat down as well.
Her Paras made a few high-pitched hissing and clicking sounds, looking at her curiously.
"Hi!" she said brightly. "I'm Ruby and I'm going to be your trainer!" She leaned a bit forward and stretched out her index finger at its clawed first set of legs.
It still kept looking curiously, then pinched her finger lightly.
"So cute!" she said with a squeal.
"A Paras can be pretty strong, but you should definitely not let it fight against fire and flying types," her dad said.
Humming, Ruby nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it'd be stupid fighting against double-weaknesses."
Ruby pulled out her scroll from her skirt's pockets and, after tapping around a bit and getting distracted by Paras, she quickly downloaded the PokéDex app. After creating her new account, she verified it with Yang's help, who read the code in the binder out loud for her.
"Let's try this out then," Ruby said, grinning at Paras, who was still holding her finger and gnawing gently on it with its small mandibles.
"Paras, the Mushroom-Pokémon. It burrows to suck tree roots. The mushrooms on its back grow by drawing nutrients from the bug host," a mechanical voice explained.
Next to the entry, there was even a bit of information about her Paras and it turned out to be male. Her sister, who had moved to sit next to her, leaned her chin against her shoulder to look at the entry herself.
"Hey, you've got a dude."
"He appears to be sweet," her mum said, giving her Pokémon a few scratches on his carapace, right between the two small mushrooms.
Seemingly enjoying it, her Pokémon allowed her mum to continue her ministrations for a bit longer before he moved towards the tree and started to burrow himself under the ground, the end of his small abdomen sticking out and its movements betraying his feeding on the tree's roots.
"I'll have to leave Paras out sometimes, I guess," she mused.
"So, what are your plans now?" her dad asked.
"Well, mum's already got all my stuff prepared and in the car, so I can start with Emerald Forest and head to Emerald Village. It's a good first stop for rookies."
"Correct answer."
Smiling at her dad, she knew that slowly but surely her time to begin her journey was coming; her time to say goodbye, her time to take her first steps towards her very own adventure.
Silence settled over them and got only interrupted when Paras returned, climbed onto her lap and started to sleep his full belly off. She couldn't help but giggle.
"He's still basically a baby," Yang said. "How're you gonna catch anything with it?"
She put her Pokémon back into the safety of its ball. "We'll start small and train hard!" Then, getting up to her feet, she put on her new PokéBelt and secured Paras's ball plus five empty balls on it. "It's time, guys," she said softly, her eyes on her mum, whose look was a conflict of pride and sadness.
They were walking to the family car – without anyone talking – where her equipment was stored. Left and right from her parents were saying goodbye to their children; some crying, some grinning, some conflicted like her mum.
After opening the car's trunk, she stowed away her starter pack and the binder in her backpack and shouldered it with everything else she needed. Then, she turned to her family. "This is it."
"Pfft, don't be so dramatic, sis," Yang said and pulled her into a fierce hug, failing at trying to hide her sniffles. "It's not like you'll never call or visit."
Then, it was her dad's turn after her sister released her. "I can't wait until you are ready to challenge me," he said, lifting her again and pressing a kiss on her temple.
And then, it was her mum's turn. She just hugged her wordlessly, sniffling and sobbing silently.
"I'm gonna miss you too, mum," Ruby whispered. "All of you. But especially you," she added conspiratorially.
Her mum just chuckled, then released her. "Don't forget to call every evening."
"I won't."
"Eat healthily."
"I will."
"If anything is ever wrong or you feel like –"
"I know, mum," Ruby said, hugging her again. "I'm gonna be okay. I've had the best family ever to raise me after all."
She earned herself a light punch on the shoulder from Yang. "Hell yeah, you did!"
Her mum just smiled instead. "I'll always worry. It's what parents do. But...go now, before I'll drag you inside the car."
Chuckling, Ruby turned and watched the path on the farthest end of the parking lot leading to the Forest. She then turned back to her family, all standing shoulder to shoulder and watching her.
She waved at them and they waved back. Then she started walking.
"Bye, guys," she whispered under her breath, heading towards the official entrance of the Emerald Forest. Passing more cars and families, leaving her own behind, she kept walking through the parking lot until she reached the sign:
"Emerald Forest. Follow Path To Reach Emerald Village."
She touched the Pokéball sheltering her Paras, then made her first step to start her adventure.