As the morning sun crept back over the treeline Green sat crouched down in front of her bag. Spread out on the ground was a blanket with several groups of items sorted into clumps. In the top right-hand corner was her medicine pouch stuffed full of small purple squirt bottles filled with healing liquid. Below that was an assortment of berries, all different shapes, sizes and colours in a plastic zip-lock. Several containers of nuts, fruits and dried salted meats were clumped together beside them. As well as a metal water bottle. Green noted the small collection of supplies and picked up a small notepad beside her.
"More food," She muttered as she jotted it down.
Standing behind her, Machoke placed a hand on his stomach. It growled loudly and he frowned.
"Ma…" He complained.
Green patted his leg and smiled sympathetically.
"I know buddy, we'll get you some proper food soon." She promised.
Green reached for the bag of dried meat and offered it to him.
"You want some jerky?" She asked sweetly.
Machoke plucked the bag from her hand with his finger and thumb. In his hand, the bag looked pitifully minuscule. He gave it a sniff and smiled.
"Machoke!" He exclaimed.
Machoke threw his head back and dumped the contents of the bag straight into his mouth, chewing the tough meat happily. Green giggled and returned to taking stock of their supplies. In the top left corner of the blanket was a smaller collapsible backpack with a bottle holder and two storage compartments. It was wrinkled, the shiny plastic material crumpled from being stuffed into the bottom of her main hiking bag. Green picked it up, gave it a shake and began packing the little food and medicine she had into the front compartment. As she did she took note of the bottom half of the blanket. Three black trash bags were lined up in a row, each full of her clothes. In the first bag were her casual everyday clothes like shirts, pants, skirts and underwear. In the second bag were the clothes she needed for different climates like jackets, raincoats, swimsuits and other weather-specific clothing. The third bag was full of her dirty clothes and was quickly reaching its capacity. Again, Green jotted in her notepad.
"Wash clothes." She muttered.
Her eyes rose up Abby. She was sat on a rock by the river watching Dratini and Magikarp playing in the river together. Her clothes were filthy and torn in places. Green nodded to herself and looked back down at her notepad.
"More clothes for Abby." She muttered.
Her eyes flicked back up to Abby.
"Abby! What size are you? I'm gonna get you some new clothes in Vermilion!" She called out.
Abby spun around and beamed excitedly.
"Thanks! Smalls usually work for me!" She called back, cupping her hands around her mouth.
Green nodded and wrote that down in her notepad. She snapped shut her notepad and placed it in the front pocket of her small backpack. As she opened her bags of clothes to pick some clothes for the stay in Vermilion, Mankey came scurrying up to her. Proudly he held out his hands, showing her a small collection of nuts and berries he had gathered.
"Mankey!" He exclaimed brightly, placing them down on the blanket.
Green ruffled his fur and scooped them up, adding them to the appropriate bags.
"Nice work Mankey." Green congratulated.
Mankey hopped from foot to foot happily, beaming with pride. He then clambered up her arm and sat on her shoulder, watching her hands curiously as they sorted through clothes. Green folded up an old, slightly torn pair of jeans along with a faded beige t-shirt. She placed them into the bottom of the main compartment of her small backpack. Followed by a long sleeve, red plaid shirt and pair of blue jean shorts. A couple pairs of socks, her only remaining spare chest wrap and some underwear went in too. Until finally she forced the trash bag full of dirty clothes back into the bag, barely getting it so she could zip the bag up. She folded up the blanket and returned it to her main bag along with the two remaining trash bags before pushing it up off the ground. Green rose to her feet and brushed off her skirt. She fidgeted with it, adjusting slightly so the waistband barely touched the bottom of her rib cage just below her breasts. Tucked into the waistband was a low cut tank top. The top of her breast wrap peeked out from the low cut neck of the shirt. Green ran her fingers through her hair, shaking some of the persistent dirt that clung to it.
"I need a shower," She complained to herself, kicking at the dirt unhappily with her hiking boots.
She grabbed her pokéball belt from the ground and fastened it around the thick waistband of her skirt, letting it hang slightly on one side against her hip. Mankey eyed the pokéballs unhappily from Green's bare shoulder.
"You can stay out, don't worry." She assured him with a laugh.
Mankey seemed satisfied with that and turned his attention away from the belt. He eyed Machoke deviously as Machoke sat on a rock still chewing away happily at hit jerky. Mankey leapt from Green's shoulder with a screech, opening out his arms and legs as he went to latch onto Machoke. Without so much as looking at him, Machoke extended out his arm and grabbed Mankey out of the air. Mankey squirmed unhappily in the grasp of Machoke fingers, flailing his little skinny arms and legs wildly. Machoke watched with amusement, chuckling as he shook Mankey back and forth.
"Play nice you two." Green instructed as she gazed out at the meadow, squinting her eyes as she looked for something.
Machoke opened his hand and sneered at Mankey, letting him sit on his palm. Mankey sat dazed and rattled, teetering back and forth. Machoke laughed and placed him on the ground, watching Mankey with a satisfied smirk as he stumbled about.
"There he is," Green muttered, "Graveler!" She called out.
Out in the meadow, Graveler was lazily shovelling mud and small rocks into his mouth, digging in happily to his meal. He looked up as he heard Green's calls and met eyes with her. Immediately, he tucked up and began rolling over to her. Terrified Rattatta scampered out his path as he trundled by, flattening the grass and flowers in his path. He skidded to a halt in front of Green and tucked his four arms and flat feet from his body.
"Grav?" He asked curiously, keeping a cautious eye on Mankey as stumbled about.
Green crouched down on one knee before him, meeting his eye level.
"We're going soon, you wanna walk or go in your pokéball?" She asked, unclipping the ball and offering it to him.
Again, Graveler glanced at Mankey. Mankey shook his body, getting his bearings back. He bared his teeth and Machoke and pounded his fists against Machoke's leg with little effect. Graveler gulped.
"Graveler…" He murmured nervously and gestured to the pokéball.
Green looked behind her and sighed. She plucked Mankey off the ground and held him by a scruff of fur. He flailed unhappily. Green placed him on her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Behave," She scolded firmly.
Mankey narrowed his eyes back at her but when Green didn't budge, he huffed and crossed his arms. He sat down on her shoulder sulking. Green turned her attention back to Graveler.
"You sure?" She asked, readying the pokéball.
Graveler nodded and Green pressed the button on his pokéball. A thin red beam of light hit him and Graveler materialised away with a flash of light. Green clipped the pokéball to her belt and rose back to her feet.
"Know your limits little guy," Green told Mankey, gesturing to Machoke.
"If you wanna fight him you're gonna have to evolve." She explained.
Mankey's ears picked up when he heard the word. He looked up at Green excitedly.
"Mankey?" He asked, tilting curiously.
Not really sure how to interpret that Green simply smiled and ruffled his fur.
"You'll evolve eventually, hopefully, sooner than later." She assured him.
Mankey hopped up and down excitedly, punching at an imaginary enemy in the air.
"You heading off now?" Abby asked as she approached the group.
Dratini, still wet from the river, was coiled around her neck. His head hovered just above her shoulder, watching Mankey with a curious grin. In her arms, Abby held an exhausted-looking Magikarp. He lay lazily in her arms, watching Green with his eye.
"Yeah, we should only be gone a couple days at most," Green answered with a nod, walking over to meet Abby.
Abby retrieved a pokéball from her pocket and returned Magikarp. She then flung her arms around Green's shoulders and hugged her.
"Stay safe okay?" She whispered, resting her chin on Green's shoulder.
Green returned the embrace and patted her back.
"I will I will, it's you who needs to stay hidden." Green reminded her.
Abby pulled back and smirked.
"And I will! You can count on it!" She exclaimed boldly.
Machoke came up behind Green and smiled warmly at Abby, placing a hand on Green's stomach. Abby beamed at him and punched his shoulder lightly.
"You keep them safe big guy, alright?" She exclaimed, grinning as Machoke tightened his hold on Green.
He nodded sternly.
"Machoke!" He proclaimed, making both the girls laugh.
"Same goes for you," Green said to Dratini, scratching under his chin with her finger.
Dratini turned his head, exposing his neck to her and crying out happily. His tail flailing as Green scratched right in a sweet spot. After another embrace Green turned with Machoke and entered the forest, heading towards route 8. It only took a few minutes of walking through the open, lush forest to find a small dirt trail. They followed it and it took them to a small opening in a row of densely packed trees. Green popped her head out and found herself on the wide, stone path of Route 8. With Machoke behind her and Mankey perched on her shoulder, they made their way down the route. Without Abby they could afford to walk on the main paths again, not having to worry about rangers seeing them. It was a nice break of pace to be able to walk in calm silence, not tripping over roots or worrying about being found. The empty route made Green feel calm and safe, especially with Machoke towering above beside her. However, that serenity would only last a moment as it was interrupted by the screeching of a Golbat. Green whipped around and saw the pokémon flying down the route towards her rapidly. She ducked out of the way and whizzed by Machoke's head. It spun around and hovered in the air, flapping its wings wildly. It looked down at the startled Green and stern, defensive Machoke with wide wild eyes.
"Gol! Golbat! Bat! Gol!" It screeched at them, swooping down at them.
Machoke swatted at him but he nimbly dodged out the way.
"Golbat! Wait!" A desperate voice cried out from behind them, panting furiously.
Green whipped around with a terrified look, sure some ranger had someone found out she was helping Abby. Instead, to her unusual relief, she saw Jackson sprinting down the route clutching his safari hat to his head. He skidded to a stop beside Green and leaned forward on his knees, heaving and gasping for air. Golbat flew over to him and danced around his head.
"Gol Gol Bat! Gol Gol Bat!" It sang in its high, screeching voice.
Jackson tipped back his hat to look up. When his eyes met Green he immediately jumped back, standing up straight and tall despite the fact he was still huffing for air.
"You!" He declared with a shock.
Green tilted her head with a curious look.
"Me," She agreed.
Jackson sucked in a deep breath, composing himself.
"When did you get in front of me?" He accused, eyeing her suspiciously, "I never saw you in Saffron!"
On Jackson's worn leather belt he now had a third gym badge pinned alongside his Boulder and Cascade Badge. This one was a small, golden circle with a smaller golden button on top. The Marsh Badge of Saffron City Gym.
"You beat Sabrina," Green noted, not hiding the bitterness in her voice as she dodged his question.
Jackson smirked proudly and thrust his belt forward to show the badge off.
"Yeah, simple really. She is such an overrated leader." He replied snarkily.
A stomach-turning grin plastered his face as he cockily turned his nose up at Green.
"Looks like she must have been too hard for you, had to give up huh?" He teased snootily, eyeing the two badges on her belt.
Green had to fight to hold her tongue.
"He's just a kid, he's just a kid, he's just a kid," She repeated to herself, forcing a tense smile.
"Yeah, she was." She said through gritted teeth.
Jackson scoffed and shook his head.
"Don't feel too bad Green, you'll get there one day." He assured her, his grin never faltering.
Green nodded and turned around.
"Thanks, Jackson." She replied with feigned positivity as she walked away from him.
Jackson followed after her, running to catch up. He walked beside her and eyed her smugly.
"If you skipped Sabrina then you gotta skip Surge too, he's waaaay harder than her." His continuing undeserved smugness made Green twitch as it grated her nerves.
Green continued to look straight ahead.
"Looks like you were having trouble with your Golbat. You struggling with the change in personality from Zubat?" She asked, desperately trying to change the subject.
Jackson awkwardly glanced at his Golbat. He opened his huge jaws and stuck out his long tongue at Jackson before perching on his head. Jackson unhappily swatted at the Golbat to Green's immense amusement.
"No!" He blatantly lied.
Green chuckled as Golbat dodged Jackson's attempts at swatting him off. His face had begun to burn red with embarrassment. Eventually, he gave up and refused to look at Green, pretending to be looking at something in the forest. Green covered her mouth as she giggled, the twang of envy she had felt disappearing. She couldn't help but feel bad and decided to help in the little way she could.
"Try not fighting it so much, you gotta embrace the way he is now. Not try and make him the way he was." She suggested gently, patting Jackson's shoulder.
He scowled and shook her off, briefly glancing over at her.
"Yeah." He muttered.
Green shrugged, not really caring enough to push him any further. She turned her attention back to the route before her as they reached the peak of a slope in the path. Before them, the sprawling metropolis of Vermilion city stretched out across the southern shore of Kanto. Countless lights from the city blinked, looking like a hoard of fireflies from this distance. Beyond the blinking buildings, a seemingly infinite expanse of blue sparkling ocean stretched out to the horizon. Small dots that must have boats littered the water, moving slowly back and forth as they bobbed over waves. The forest opened up, transitioning from dense woods to open rolling plains. Small villages could be seen dotted on the plains, small dirt paths twisting together to form paths all leading towards the city. Running from the city to the treeline of the forest a huge above-ground power cable snaked through the plains. Its metal coating gleamed as it caught the orange morning sun, sparkling and shimmering. All along it Green could see the small, yellow forms of electric pokémon nuzzling the cable for energy. Their sparks were visible even from far away.
"I'm gonna catch one of them, I need an electric type." Jackson seemed to say to himself.
He stared at the cable with a determined look and clutched hostlers on his belt. He still used the same belt Green had seen him wearing in Viridian forest. Old and worn with shabby, makeshift plastic holsters that now at closer inspection appeared to be repurposed food containers. Four of which housed a pokéball.
"What's your team looking like?" Green asked with genuine curiosity.
Jackson smirked at her.
"You'll have to wait till we battle next to see. You're gonna need another badge before that though. I don't fight low rate trainers." The snark in his voice returned much to Green's annoyance.
She sighed.
"Okay, I'll beat Surge then we'll battle deal?" Green suggested.
Jackson looked at her doubtfully.
"Yeah okay, IF, you beat Surge we can battle." He agreed.
Green looked over at Machoke and nudged his arm.
"Hear that? Pressure's on now." She said with a grin.
Machoke chuckled and looked down at Jackson with a dismissive look. Jackson frowned and huffed.
"You better beat Surge, you don't have an excuse with that pedigree pokémon." He jeered, frowning at Machoke.
Machoke frowned back in a mocking, over-exaggerated fashion. Which only made Jackson frown even further. Mankey meanwhile eyed Jackson curiously, keeping tabs on his Golbat as he raked at Jackson's hat with his talons. Neither annoyed nor accepting of Jackson, Mankey seemed undecided on the young trainer.
"Okay, Jackson." Green agreed, deciding to go along with what he said rather than let him annoy her all the way to Vermilion.
The images of what she had done the day before played over and over again through Abby's mind as she walked down the same small path. Her stomach flipped and churned as she cringed at herself. Dratini watched her curiously with an unsure look.
"Dratini?" He asked wearily, analysing her face closely.
Abby snapped out of her flashback frightfully and shot him a stunned look.
"Oh! Uh hey Dratini," She replied unsteadily, trying to sound upbeat.
Dratini narrowed his eyes at her sceptically.
"Tini…" He murmured, bringing his face right up to hers.
His piercing purple eyes felt as if they were looking right through her. Abby quickly turned her gaze away from his and directed her attention down to Magikarp. She cradled him in both arms, holding him securely to her chest. When his eyes looked up at her, his gaze lacked any of the accusations Dratini's had. He simply stared plainly at her with a neutral, unreadable stare. She stroked his scales, letting her fingernails bump over the hard scales gently. Hanging from her forearm was the portable healing machine that Green had left behind for her.
"Not much further now Magikarp, we can get you back in the water soon." She promised cheerfully, fighting to not let her voice waver as Dratini's gaze bore into the side of her head.
Magikarp wiggled in her arms and beamed at her.
"Magikarp!" He exclaimed excitedly.
Abby giggled and craned her neck to see around the bend of the path, hoping to spot the crashing water of the waterfall. Dratini sighed and slumped his head down onto her shoulder, looking off into the forest with an annoyed look. Abby felt a twang of guilt as she heard him sigh but still pushed through it, the memory of yesterday in the forefront of her mind. Which only got worse as they arrived back at that very same spot. This time without two people fucking to distract her from the majesty of the grand waterfall. It plummeted down from the top of a tall cliff, spraying mist and white foam into the air as the water formed the beginning of the river that bent through the meadow. Magikarp gazed at the waterfall in awe as he wiggled excitedly in Abby's arms.
"Okay okay, go on then!" She laughed, running to the river and opening her arms.
Magikarp leapt from her arms into the river with a splash. For a moment the strong current caught him off guard and began sweeping him away. He spun with the current, turning and adjusting his fins until they caught the current in just the right way to angle him straight into the current. Swiftly, Magikarp began speeding up the river against the current, leaping from the water proudly as he celebrated the feat. Abby grinned wildly and pumped her fist into the air.
"Alright good job! Now go up the waterfall!" She cried enthusiastically.
Magikarp's elated expression disappeared in a flash as he splashed down into the water. Again he leapt into the air and stared at Abby baffled.
"Karp?" He asked wearily before splashing down again.
Abby grinned, undeterred by his hesitancy.
"You wanna evolve, don't you? Then you gotta climb that waterfall!" She yelled confidently.
From under the water, Magikarp looked at the huge mass of white foam forming from the crashing water. He could feel the powerful shock waves from the impact ripple through the water on his scales as it formed waves above him. Unsure, he leapt from the water again to look at Abby. He saw her determined and confident expression, so far from anything, he felt about doing this. It inspired him and he readied himself as he crashed back down into the choppy river. As soon as he was back under the water he began swimming with all his might, cutting through the intense current seamlessly. As he got closer and closer he could feel the shock waves from the crashing water getting more and more powerful. The current was no longer a straight and simple force pushing in one direction, now it moved wildly, bending and twisting. It pushed him down, up and sideways, throwing him around like a rag doll. Still, he tried his best, angling his fins and body with the wild swinging current as tried to move with it. His tail flailed furiously and his muscles screamed as tried to fight back against the brutal power of the current. Until suddenly he felt a dramatic shift in the current, like a huge weight had just been dropped on him. He was violently pushed straight down and slammed into the river floor. No longer did he feel the current clawing at him to pull him back down the river. Instead, only this weight held him, pinning him to the river bed. White foam surrounded him, blinding him of his surroundings while the roaring of the crashing water above deafened him. Helplessly, he squirmed and writhed trying to fight back but it was no good. No matter how hard he struggled or how hard he fought he couldn't move. Even as his body began to shoot white sparks and glow with pulsing white energy he couldn't fight back.
A red beam split through the foam and struck his body. He was abruptly dropped back into the warm, calm waters of his pokéball environment. Exhausted, he lay on the surface of the infinite expanse of calm crystal clear water letting the water pass over his gills. It soothed him, washing through his body and relaxing his burning muscles. Again, he was abruptly moved and found himself on the ground with Abby kneeling above him.
"Magikarp?! Are you okay?" She asked frantically.
She grabbed his body, turning him as she checked for injuries. Along with his side, small patches of scales had come loose, with fine cuts on the exposed flesh. Abby froze as she saw them, tearing up slightly as she gingerly touched them. Magikarp winced in response.
"I'm sorry…" She whispered with a tremble.
She grabbed for the portable healing machine and pointed the pokéball at Magikarp again. He looked up at her plainly with that same unreadable look. She returned him, hitting him with the red beam and materialising him back into the pokéball. Quickly, she placed the pokéball into one of the six sockets of the healing machine and turned it on. Golden light engulfed the ball and the machine began to hum gently. Abby picked up the machine and sulked over to the large tree stump, slumping down against it with a defeated look. She placed the machine down next to her and tucked her knees into her chest. Struck with overwhelming guilt she did her best to try not to cry, although a few tears did run down her cheek. Dratini watched her with a gentle look and nuzzled her cheek, which made her smile briefly.
"Thanks, Dratini," She mumbled softly as she prodded at the grass around her.
As she ran her hand through the grass, focusing on its soft and soothing feeling her hand hit something. It was hard but smooth, her finger grasped it and pulled the Pikachu ears headband Darcy had been wearing from the grass. In a shocked panic, Abby gasped and flung it away getting a puzzled look from Dratini. Abby sighed, finally relenting to his knowing gaze.
"Okay fine, you wanna know what's wrong right?" She muttered, forcing herself to keep eye contact with him.
Dratini nodded as he slithered from her shoulder onto her knees, coiling around her shin as he awaited an answer. Reluctantly, Abby began. She told him about everything from yesterday. How she had stumbled across Darcy and Matis fucking, how she had watched and how they had seen her. Even admitting that she had cum while watching them. After she was finished explaining she waited to see Dratini's reaction, expecting disappointment or disgust. Instead, Dratini began laughing and Abby scowled.
"It's not funny!" She exclaimed, "I'm a pervert now!"
That made Dratini laugh even harder and he had to press his face against her knee to muffle his laughter. Abby folded her arms and tried to be mad with him but found herself fighting off a grin.
"Stop laughing!" She begged, half laughing herself now.
Dratini snickered gleefully. His gaze didn't feel as if it were trying to shoot through her any more. Instead, it felt more relaxed and inviting as he stared with a half-mocking, half endearing look.
"Oh fuck off Dratini," She giggled, pulling him to her chest to give him a hug.
Dratini accepted the hug and nuzzled her chest, crying out happily. Abby looked back up at the waterfall, her mind wandering back to the problem at hand. Ever since she was little she had heard the Magikarp fable. How back long before the integration of humans and pokémon an ancient Magikarp became the first to evolve into a Gyarados by leaping over a mountain. Determined to swim through a cloud, he swam up a waterfall and leapt over the peak. Her book of dragons had confirmed the story. In its Five Pillar Trial section, it had said the way to evolve a Magikarp was to have it leap over the top of a waterfall.
"A test of willpower and patience," She muttered to herself, repeating the words from the book.
She missed her book and her tree, her home too although not the people. Her bedroom was one of the few places she felt safe. Secured with a lock, she often used it to escape from her life into the fantasy of being amongst dragons. She had believed if she could train dragons everything bad in her life would disappear and only happiness would remain. Now she sat on the ground with a dragon, on the run, hiding from people who meant her harm with no clue how to complete the very first step of her trial. The bad things in her life hadn't disappeared, they'd just been replaced by new bad things. Defeated, she just stared at the waterfall blankly hoping the solution would just magically pop into her head. Abruptly, Dratini rose his head. His fin-like ears pricked up and his purple eyes opened wide as he scanned the treeline. The sound reached Abby soon after, a rustling of leaves and snapping of twigs came from the forest. She tensed up and just stared at the source of the sound, frozen with fear. Dratini began charging a ball of purple energy in his mouth, his eyes glowing purple furiously.
"Woah! Stop I'm not gonna hurt you!" An alarmed voice cried out.
To Abby's initial relief, swiftly followed by a terror, it was Darcy who stumbled out the woods with their hands up. Dratini spat the ball of energy up above him. It shot like a bullet up into the clouds, exploding and punching a hole through them. Darcy sighed with relief and lowered their hands, wearily they pointed to the Pikachu ears beside Abby.
"Uh, I left those here." They explained nervously, watching Dratini with a cautious glance.
Abby stared blankly at them, too struck by terror to move. Darcy stared back, her anxious look becoming confused. Until a flash of recognition crossed their face and they covered their mouth with their hand.
"Oh my god, you're the girl from before." They laughed, their tense body relaxing completely.
Abby's face burned red and her eyes widened.
"N-" She began but Darcy interrupted.
"Poor thing, I saw how scared you got. Don't feel bad about watching, I like being watched." They assured her, making their way over to Abby.
They bent over and plucked the ears from the ground, fitting them back onto their head. Abby felt a flood of relief.
"Really?" She asked with a twang of excitement.
Darcy laughed and nodded. Abby grinned, sitting up straight.
"So you don't think I'm a pervert?!" She exclaimed delightedly.
The question took Darcy off guard, blinking blankly at Abby.
"Well no, but I don't hold it against you." They eventually answered with a giggle.
Abby's relief turned bittersweet but she decided that answer was better than a straight no. She looked Darcy up and down, a little baffled. Their gender was a complete mystery to her, she'd never seen anyone who managed to look like a girl and boy at the same time. Their features were soft and smooth like a girl, clearly aided by makeup while their body was flat like a guy's. Abby thought maybe they were trans but the voice was throwing her off. While sounding feminine it sounded just slightly forced, sometimes slipping down into a lower register only to jump back up. Darcy looked back at her with a knowing look.
"It's okay, you can ask." They said like they read her mind.
Abby looked away from their body awkwardly.
"Oh, no I'm not- it's just…" She stammered.
Darcy laughed again and crouched down before her.
"I'm non-binary, I use they them pronouns."
That didn't really help Abby.
"Non-binary? But what's your gender?" Abby asked cautiously, afraid of offending Darcy.
Darcy smiled patiently at her.
"That's complicated but just think of it as gender-neutral, in between masculine and feminine." They explained gently.
Darcy rolled back on their heels and sat cross-legged across from Abby, watching as the gears turned in Abby's head. Abby nodded slowly.
"Okay, I think I understand. You're in between, like a spectrum?" She responded, looking to Darcy for confirmation.
Darcy grinned excitedly.
"Yeah exactly!" They exclaimed.
Abby smiled, glad she was able to get it right eventually. The idea of gender being a spectrum fascinated her and she found herself staring at Darcy's body again. They were still dressed up in their yellow clothes from before. Abby blushed again as she noticed the Pikachu tail poking out from behind them.
"Why do you dress like a Pikachu?" She asked, trying not to stare at the tail.
Darcy clutched the back of her head awkwardly.
"Oh, this? It's for my boyfriend, it turns him on. Well actually, I guess it only started off like that. After doing it a couple times I kinda found myself liking the aesthetic. Guess I'm a bit of an attention whore, can't get enough of people looking at me." They explained, rambling frantically.
Dratini wriggled free of Abby's arms and slithered forward in between them. He raised up off the grass and examined Darcy curiously, his eyes gazing analytically into Darcy's.
"Hi Dratini, sorry for scaring you before!" They exclaimed cheerfully, reaching down to pet him.
Dratini accepted the petting and beamed happily at Darcy.
"Dra!" He peeped, shutting his eyes as Darcy scratched the back of his head.
Darcy's eyes lit up and they looked back up at Abby excitedly.
"He's so cute! I've never seen a Dratini before they're so rare! How did you get one?! Are you like a super experienced trainer or something? Are you here to challenge Surge?" They rambled, the words pouring from their mouth rapidly.
Abby laughed, matching their energy.
"Nah I'm not, he's my only dragon! I wanna get more though! I'm trying to evolve a Magikarp into Gyarados but I'm having soooo much trouble!" She exclaimed with a sigh, scowling at the waterfall.
Darcy cocked their head, with a confused look.
"Is Gyarados a dragon?" They asked hesitantly.
Abby giggled and shook her head.
"No, but apparently they used to be or are related to ancient dragon pokémon. I need one to be recognised as an official Dragon Tamer by the Dragon Taming Guild." She explained warmly.
"Ahhh, makes sense!" Darcy replied.
They looked up at where Abby had been looking, studying the waterfall curiously.
"What's got you so stuck?" They asked, still scratching Dratini, making his tail slap the ground happily.
Abby sighed and glanced down at the healing machine with a defeated look.
"I gotta get Magikarp to swim up the waterfall but he's not strong enough and I don't reckon he will be strong enough no matter how hard we train. Every pokémon has its limits." She answered glumly.
Darcy thought for a moment, staring up at the waterfall.
"Well I'm not a proper, like, professional trainer but I do pick stuff up from my boyfriend. What energies can Magikarp even use, not many right?" Darcy pondered, stroking their chin as they tried to find a solution.
Abby gazed at the waterfall too and sighed.
"Only three, normal, water and…" Abby paused and considered the next word, cocking her head slightly.
"Flying," she whispered.
Abby shot to her feet and focused intently on the waterfall and river. In her head she mapped out the path Magikarp had taken, visualising him struggling up the river. She remembered how he had leapt from the water and that image sparked an ember of inspiration.
"Magikarp struggled to climb the waterfall because he's not strong enough to swim up it, but what if instead, he flew up it?!" She exclaimed wildly, retracing a new approach in her head.
Darcy smirked and rose to their feet, joining Abby by her side.
"Yeah, if you can cross-train Magikarp to use flying type energy maybe he could make it!" They added gleefully.
Full of inspiration Abby checked the healing machine. It had finished, no longer humming or creating golden light. Eagerly, Abby grabbed the ball from the machine. With a mighty swing of her arm, she threw the pokéball towards the river, pressing the ball with her thumb. The ball stopped in the air like it had been caught by a magnet, little purple dots glowing in the base of the white half. It opened, erupting with red light and materialising a confused by healthy-looking Magikarp. He glanced nervously at the waterfall.
"Karp?" He asked hesitantly.
Abby grinned and placed her hands on her hips.
"Don't worry buddy, I've got a plan!" She assured him confidently.