Chapter 2:
The Girl with White Hair
Hue walked down Route 1 with Douglas resting on his head.
He still had thousands of thoughts racing through his mind.
The sleep he had gotten last night was nearly not existent.
He wondered how Diane was doing. Probably fine, battling everyone she could her hands on no doubt...
He hoped Donovan was alright, although, knowing him. he had probably made a crapton of friends already.
Then there was that Aura girl...what was with her?
Hue wanted to know so badly what she had meant by 'he'd do just fine'?
Furthermore, he was such a nervous wreck last night he thought he saw some stranger wearing a black uniform running around like some kind of shady criminal…
Being alone with his thoughts, when he thinks as much as he does is scary…
He needed someone or something to take his mind off of everything that had happened the previous day.
"Say Douglas…" Hue said after a while, aching for someone to talk to. "Want to find ourselves a new friend?"
"Squirtle!" Douglas wagged his tail cheerfully.
Hue's stomach growled.
"And food too. Friends and food are what we need right now…"
"How To Catch a Pokemon" Dean's robotic voice echoed. "Throw a pokeball at a weakened wild pokemon and pray."
"Pray?" Hue didn't buy it...
"Pray." Dean did not seem to be joking.
"Even a weakened pokemon can still escape capture."
"Then I guess I'll just knock it-"
"Any wild pokemon that are knocked out will return to the wild."
"How does that make any damn sense?"
As Hue yelled into his red piece of scrap metal, thankful no one was around to see him look like a complete idiot, Douglas took off.
"Squirtle!" He called for Hue to follow him across a hill.
There was apparently something he wanted Hue to see...
"Douglas, wait up buddy!" Hue called as he ran after his Squirtle.
When Hue reached the top of the hill, he noticed what had Douglas so excited.
Picking fruit from a tree was a Bulbasaur.
Hue wondered if it might be Donovan's or Aura's.
If it was the former, that would be awesome! He could tell Donovan all about the shit that went down with Aura back in Pallet Town. If it was the latter of the two, a rematch was definitely in order along with some much needed answers.
Then, almost without warning, a flock of Pidgey began to swarm the Bulbasaur.
"We should help that poor guy out." Hue quickly suggested to Douglas, who nodded.
"Squirtle!" He agreed, and the pair rushed forward.
As Hue arrived at the scene, he took out his pokedex and scanned one of the Pidgey.
"[Pidgey]" Dean recorded. " The [Tiny Bird] Pokemon. Pidgey is a Flying-type Pokemon. Among all Flying Pokemon, Pidgey are the gentlest and easiest to capture."
"Nothing looks gentle about them right now…" Hue said as he readied a pokeball.
He might as well sneak a capture in while he helped this Bulbasaur.
"A perfect target for the beginning trainer to test his pokemon's skills." Dean continued. "Pidgey's Gust power creates tornados. It also has a Sand-Attack."
"Awesome!" Hue's eyes glistened. "Making Tornadoes would be amaz-Gahh!"
He realized in horror at what was happening, and turned to Douglas.
"We need to protect that Bulbasaur and make sure no Gust attacks get to it!"
"Squirtle!" Douglas agreed.
"Water Gun!" Hue called out as he pointed to the flock of Pidgey.
Douglas let out blasts of water after blasts of water.
After about two or three each time, a Pidgey would faint.
One Pidgey stood out to Hue, mainly because it used a move on Douglas that Dean had not told Hue about. It had summoned a powerful gust of wind, and would have blown Douglas away had Hue not been there to catch him.
"Whirlwind, A Normal Type Attack." Dean informed Hue. "A strong gust of wind is used to blow the opponent away. In the wild, this would normally mean the end of a pokemon battle."
"Sounds like a fun pokemon to have on my side." Hue said with a smile.
"Douglas, rapid fire Water-Gun go!"
"Squir-" Douglas inhaled.
"-tle tle tle tle tle!" Douglas gurgled as he blew a bunch of bubbles at all the remaining Pidgey.
"Now what the heck was that?" Hue asked Dean.
"Bubble, A Water Type Attack." Dean professed. "A spray of countless bubbles is jetted at the opposing team. This attack can hit multiple pokemon at once and may lower their Speed."
"Alright then." Hue said with a smile. "Time to catch that Whirlwind Pidgey! Douglas, head into a Tackle attack!"
"Squirtle!" Douglas rammed into the Pidgey, who tried to fly out of the way, but the wet wings from the Bubble were enough to keep it at bay.
"Pid-gey…" The Pidgey said, panting.
Hue wasn't sure, but…
It almost looked like the Pidgey was smiling.
Is that Pidgey enjoying the fight? A pokemon eager to battle huh…
"Alright…" Hue said, adjusting his glasses. "Let's give this a shot Douglas…" He threw a pokeball at the Pidgey. "Pokeball...Go!"
It hit the Pidgey and the pokemon was beamed inside by a reddish light.
The pokeball began to wiggle back and forth.
Until finally, it stopped moving.
"Did I...did I?"
"Pidgey has been caught." Dean's mechanical voice announced. "Would you like to nickname Pidgey?"
Chet sounded like a good name to Hue...
"Hell yeah, I'd like to give...her a name? This was a female Pidgey?"
Hue bowed his head.
Chet was not a female name. He'd have to think of another one, pronto.
"I guess...Ace will do…that's more unisex, right?" He asked Douglas who responded with a shrug as Hue entered the name into the pokedex to register his first caught pokemon.
"Now…" Hue said, adjusting his glasses as he turned to the clearly injured Bulbasaur, and took out a Potion.
"This was supposed to be for Douglas, but you clearly need it more than we do, little guy." Hue said as he knelt down.
"S-saurrr." The Bulbasaur hissed as it began to back away from Hue after Hue had applied the Potion.
"Hmm...Bulbasaur are said to be extremely calm." Hue remembered. "This guy must be separated from hi-...Oh you've got to be kidding me."
Hue looked at his pokedex again. "Separated from her trainer." He corrected himself. "Is every pokemon on Route 1 a female?"
"Saurrrr…" The Bulbasaur hissed again.
"I don't know what you think we're going to do to you…" Hue said to the overly cautious Bulbasaur as he rubbed Douglas on the head, who seemed to enjoy it.
"Sqirrrrr..." He purred.
"You're clearly gathering food for your trainer, or something along those lines. We'd like to help you reunite with them if that's okay with you, Bulbasaur."
"S-saur?" The Bulbasaur seemed to be surprised by the generosity. Apparently this was the first time someone hadn't up and tried to catch it.
Hue would be lying if he said the thought hadn't crossed his mind, but he knew better. Besides, if that Bulbasaur had been a wild pokemon, it probably would have attacked Hue and Douglas along with the Pidgey. That wasn't the case though.
"Come on, Bulbasaur." Hue said as he picked Douglas up and put him atop his head and scooped up some berries that had fallen. "Let's go find your trainer."
The Bulbasaur led Hue and Douglas to a nearby area where a beautiful girl with long white hair seemed to be bed-ridden.
"Saurrrr!" The Bulbasaur called. "Bulba-Saurrr!"
"Huh?" The girl sat up and yawned. Upon seeing Hue standing there with the berries Bulbasaur had been picking in his hand, she instantly pulled her sleeping bag back up so that her body was covered.
"Who the hell are you?" She asked in a monotone voice like she was reciting a line, almost as though she thought she was just being polite.
"Oh...I'm-.." This girl was very pretty, and Hue knew if he tried to introduce himself verbally he'd say something stupid and mess up.
Hue reached into his pocket to take out Dean and show this girl his info.
"Hubert Swanson?" The girl asked.
"My friends call me Hue." Hue said as he offered the girl a berry.
She turned her head away similar to the way a cat would refuse being fed food.
"Aw come on, your Bulbasaur picked out these berries for you! It wants you to feel better!"
"Why are you here?" She asked in the same tone as before as she took the berry without looking.
"Well, Douglas and I were in the area and we noticed that your Bulbasaur was being attacked by a flock of Pidgey, so we decided to help out."
"I...see…" the girl said as she sat back up and brushed her hair back. She looked at Hue directly in the eyes. Hers were an ice-blue color, and her stoic face made everything feel rather formal.
"Thanks then…" She said before lying back down. Apparently deciding the conversation was over.
"Are you okay?" Hue asked. "You seem kind of sick to be walking around in the wild. Maybe we should get you to a hospital…"
"I'll be fine…" The girl said, her expression not changing. "I just took the brunt of a Poison Powder attack, that's all. Bulbasaur had just learned it you see, and we wanted to test it out on some pokemon, but...well, things didn't quite go as planned."
"So that's why she was gathering berries for you." Hue determined. "She wanted to help speed up your recovery."
"Saurr." The girl's Bulbasaur nuzzled up next to her.
"Don't worry Bulbasaur." The girl smiled, even if it was only slightly, for the first time since Hue had met her. It was quite radiant, and seemed to make the sun a bit brighter. "This isn't your fault. I really appreciate all that you're doing for me!"
"Did you get Bulbasaur from Professor Oak?" Hue asked, curious.
Bulbasaur seems to be a popular choice these days.
"Mm hm." The girl nodded. "A few days ago actually. Bulbasaur and I aim to win the pokemon league together."
"Well...that's a problem." Hue said with a smile. "Douglas and I won't just hand victory over you know."
"I don't think you'd be much of a problem." The girl said, her smile fading and her eyes closing. "You strike me as the type of person who would try to research their opposition, and to be perfectly honest with you, it's a flawed tactic. Even if any information you find is true, there is no guarantee that your opponent will stick with their script for your battle."
"No. I'm going to win the league tournament." Hue said confidently.
He had to if he ever wanted to be as strong as those trainers he and Donovan owed their lives to...He would win the league and be as strong as them...
Hopefully by beating that Aura girl right in the first round.
"Someone you don't want to lose to?" The girl asked.
"I guess you could say that, yeah." Hue replied.
"I see…" The girl said as she put her hands behind her head. "Someone you've already lost to. Revenge is not a healthy motivator."
"I don't want revenge on her or anything like that! I just-..."
"Relax." The girl said, her expression still not changing. "I was joking."
"You know...It's hard to tell with you…" Hue said as he stood up. At least this girl was finally starting to open up to him, if only just a little.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" He asked.
"I'll be fine." The girl smiled at him. "Thanks for helping Bulbasaur out earlier. We can manage on our own from here."
Hue just didn't feel right about leaving this girl all alone, as stone cold and reserved as she seemed to act, he could tell that she wasn't a bad person.
"Do you...do you want to battle maybe?" Hue asked, hoping to Arceus his voice didn't crack as much as he thought it just did.
"Ask the bedridden girl to battle? That doesn't sound like a robbery attempt at all." The girl said with a sigh and a smile.
"We don't need to put any money up." Hue said. "And it doesn't have to be now either. We could meet at the pokemon center in Viridian City. That way our pokemon can be at full health."
"We're trainers, Hue, we need to put something up. Those are the rules." The girl said.
"Have anything in mind?" Hue asked.
The girl nodded as she lay down and turned in her sleeping bag, away from Hue.
"I'm Ethel." She finally said. "When you get to Viridian City, ask around for Ethel Ross, and someone will point you in my direction."
"Ethel Ross…" Hue said, mainly to himself.
"What is it?" Ethel asked. "Does my name sound familiar to you or something?"
"Not really…" Hue said, scratching his head. "I'm just trying to make sure I've got it right is all…"
After a few moments of silence, Hue finally asked. "Should that name ring a bell to me?"
"No." Ethel replied, almost immediately. "I suppose it shouldn't...Now go. I'll see you in Viridian City."
Suppose it shouldn't?
Hue was apparently this weird-mysterious-girls-with-Bulbasaur-that-seemed-to-know-who-he-is magnet…
Quite a mouthful of a title but, well, that was the truth.
Hue and Douglas entered Viridian City without any further delays.
The very first thing Hue did was double time it to the pokemon center.
"Welcome to the P-"
"Please heal my pokemon!" Hue said as he put Douglas on a tray along with the pokeball containing Ace, his new-ish Pidgey.
"Alright, please wait while your pokemon are being restored. Feel free to rest and socialize in the commons. As a trainer, you have the ability to stay in the rooms here at no cost for as long as you stay in the city!"
"Awesome!" Hue said, excited that he wouldn't have to pay for room and board. "Thanks Nurse...Joy!"
"You're very welcome!" She said. "We hope you continue to use the pokemon center for your pokemon healing purposes!"
After a few minutes, Hue was called up to the desk to retrieve his pokemon, now at full health.
"By the way...Nurse Joy…" Hue said. "Has a girl with white hair come by here recently? Her name's Ethel Ross."
Nurse Joy seemed to recognize the name, and was about to tell Hue exactly what he needed to hear, when the Pokemon Center doors opened, and a chill was sent down Hue's spine.
She was here.
He could feel it somehow in the back of his mind.
It was a small pain just inside his skull.
"Oh? And here I thought we had something special going on Huey…" A voice from behind him chimed. "Hello Nurse Joy!" Aura sang as she set three pokeballs in the tray. "I need a full check-up please!"
Hue noticed that one of those three pokeballs was the one with the strange marking on it.
So she used the pokemon inside that marked pokeball, huh...
"Of course Aura." Nurse Joy smiled, as she took the tray. "This may take a while longer than last time. Hue here just had his pokemon in for a check-up so the machines are running a little slow right now."
"That's quite alright." Aura said politely. "Anyways, what's this I hear about a girl with white hair?"
Her eyes…
The daggers they shot…
Hue didn't want this girl to know any information, but those eyes…
They scared him.
"I'm supposed to have a battle with this girl whose name is Ethel Ross." Hue said. "We were going to try meeting in the pokemon center, but she told me to ask around about her just in case."
"I see…" Aura bit her nail, as though she knew exactly what was going on and was rapidly thinking of a way to stop it. "How much pokeyen are you betting on this match?"
"She had something else in mind…" Hue answered honestly. "I'm not sure what that means."
This seemed to, instead of relieve Aura, make her worry more. Why was money not being betted a bad thing?
"Well, if you're looking for her…" Aura said. "You're in luck. I recently had a battle with her. We're talking about a girl with blue eyes and a Bulbasaur like Fushi, right?"
"Are you telling me that you lost?"
"No, it was actually a draw." Aura said, biting her nail again. "I'm going to say this now, that girl is going to crush you if you take her on alone."
"Why must you attack my self esteem?" Hue asked with a sigh of exasperation.
"Aura, your pokemon are all back up at full health!" Nurse Joy smiled. "By the way Hue. I've noticed you haven't registered yet for the Pokemon League. Would you like to do that here?"
"If you aren't registered…" Aura whispered. "Even obtaining eight badges won't get you into the league."
"I'd love to register here, then." Hue said. Thankful, but somewhat suspicious about Aura's advice.
After some fiddling with machines and whatnot, Hue's pokedex was updated.
"What's different about it now?" Hue asked.
"You're registered." Aura said. "Every trainer you've battled up to this point has been added as a contact in your pokedex's chat. So...let's see!"
She snatched Dean from Hue's hand, and instantly, timidly, handed it back, her face turning red.
Although this was equally as embarrassing for him as it was for her, Hue took comfort in the fact that it was in fact possible to catch this girl by surprise.
"So it's…"
"Yeah. You're the only trainer I've battled so far…"
They stood there in silence for a while.
"You said you had a draw with Ethel?" Hue asked, trying to change the subject.
"R-right." Aura nodded as she brushed her wavy black hair out of her piercing dark green eyes. "We had a three on three battle, and each time...each time both our pokemon fainted at the same time. Then, it was Fushi against her own Bulbasaur...and we decided to end the battle midway because of something that... happened."
Obviously she didn't want to say anything unless Hue prompted her too.
He sighed and gave in.
"What something?"
"A big guy with a red crew cut and stubble came along, and started asking people in the crowd about a blonde trainer with glasses and blue eyes. He said he had something he wanted to tell this trainer."
"And what, you think it's me he's after?"
"Well, I did until...I saw your contacts...Sorry for snatching it by the way."
Hue could barely believe his ears.
Aura?
Apologizing?
For something as pointless as that? Why was she trying so hard to get on his good side now? She didn't seem to care about it yesterday...
"Ah, Hue. There you are." Ethel said as she entered the pokemon center.
"Oh?" She asked, recognizing Aura.
"You two are acquainted?"
"We travel together." Aura said, completely out of the fucking blue, taking Hue utterly by surprise.
"We had just gotten separated earlier when you and I ran into each other."
"We... do?" Hue asked in disbelief.
"You don't seem to have anyone else in your entourage." Aura said, pointing at Hue's pokedex. "So what do you say? You aren't nervous because I'm a girl are you?" She batted her eyes in a flirtatious manner.
"No, it's fine…" Hue said, reasoning that he'd probably get way too lonely by himself anyway. "Were you too nervous to ask yesterday because I'm a boy?"
"Pfft." Aura blew her hair out of her right eye. "As if…"
"Well then, this will work out rather perfectly for everyone." Ethel said, her expressions still nearly nonexistent. However...Hue could swear he detected a hint of disdain in her tone.
She motioned for someone to follow her into the pokemon center.
He was a big guy with a red crew cut. He fit Aura's description to a T.
He was holding a single pokeball.
He pointed to Hue.
"You're Hue Swanson? Donovan Key's friend?" The guy asked.
He looked rather menacing and almost thug like.
People in the pokemon center were beginning to stare.
Strangely enough, it wasn't at Hue or the big guy they were staring at…
It was Ethel.
What the hell had Hue gotten himself involved in?
"I'm Victor Grail." The guy said. "I challenge you to a battle!"
"So you can see the conundrum here." Ethel said, crossing her arms. "You can't fight alone against both of us, so we need a fourth person. As it so happens, I intend to finish my battle with you, hakama girl." Ethel pointed to Aura. "You won't escape defeat that easily."
"Alright, bring it on. Hue and I are more than enough for both of you." Aura said, standing up.
"What happened to 'she's going to crush me?'" Hue whispered.
"That was before I decided." Aura said as she motioned for Hue to ready one of his pokemon.
"This match will be a 2 on 2 tag battle. We'll each use one pokemon." Ethel said.
"Decided what?" Hue asked.
"That the two of us...We're partners from now on Hue!" Aura smiled and winked as all four of them sent out their pokemon.
Hue wasn't quite sure what to make of that…
If she was telling the truth, then awesome, he had someone to travel with but…
No.
Aura wouldn't decide this on a whim.
She had some sort of underlying reason for being so adamant about traveling with him.
She was the kind of person who had a reason for everything she did.
"I'll ref the battle!" Some random trainer said as he got up and looked at Hue and Aura, and then at Ethel and Victor. The group of five then headed outside to a nearby battlefield.
"The tag team battle between Hue and Aura, and Victor and Ethel will now begin!" The referee trainer announced.
"You ready, partner?" Aura asked, almost as though she wanted to rile Hue up. "Let's get you your first win!"