Hey, guys, I'm back, aah, I don't really have much to say other then that, other then I'm glad you guys like this story so much to leave reviews as well as to fav and follow.
HPfan7-8: No, I'm not going to evolve either Pika-Pals, if I recall correctly one of the first character arcs Pikachu goes through is getting the point across that he doesn't need to evolve to be powerful, so to evolve him, especially this early would be a little...counter-intuitive? Counter Productive? Pointless? It's one of those three. As to swapping the Nidorans around, well...seeing your point, it would make sense, but, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure plenty of Pokemon throughout the Anime have proven able to do things others think they couldn't do, like Dawn's Mamoswine, not exactly a Pokemon you would initially think of for Contests or Showcases, even Serena's Pancham is arguable not best suited for a Performer Pokemon. Switching the Nidorans is something I'll think on.
agent3xq: Thank you for your review, I don't know anything about cute, but I really did try to do the 'Redo Journey' with a bit more of an original twist, since I have seen a lot of these types of Pokemon fics with either Pikachu or a whole different starter entirely, but never with a completely different travel partner, it's always one of the girls from the Anime, the entirety of his travel partners up to Kalos (somehow) or even Green from the original Red, Blue and Green games, so I wanted to give it something different. I am trying to really watch my words and grammar, so, yeah, anyone who can point that out is welcome. As for the capitalization on the Pokemon species' names, well, I'm trying to do this with an almost our-world logistic to it, so, think of as a literary comparison to dog or cat or the canine and feline species as a whole, you don't capitalize dog or cat or lion or wolf unless they start the sentence, so that's basically what I'm applying here. I hope you like this chapter too!
Well, with that out of the way, let's go!
If anyone had told Ash the first big thing to ever happen to him on his journey after beating a group of wannabe Poke-thieves would be sitting with his new-found travel-partner in the PokeCenter after bringing in two Pokemon they found severely abused and abandoned for death, he would asked them point-blank if they were either drunk or on something, irregardless of what his mother may say. Yet, here he was, sitting in the line of chairs closest to the emergency ward's big double-doors, Vivian sat next to him, still leaning against him as she tried in vain to take her mind of the two little creatures they just rescued by drawing in her sketchbook, a different one he noted from last time he saw her with one.
This one was a light bluish-grey with a big, shiny geometric-designed, dark purple diamond-shaped jewel sticker on the front of it. When glancing at it when she flipped the pages for a new blank one, he saw it didn't have fashion designs, rather, it was beautifully detailed sketches of landscapes, rooms, people, seemingly random objects like large, complex-looking machines, what even looked like an almost cartoonish robot in various different poses or actions and, of course, Pokemon, mostly Nicola in different poses, angles and actions.
Four hours; it had been four straight hours since they had brought the nidorans into the Center, four hours since they handed them both to Nurse Joy, four hours since they last laid eyes on those PokeBalls, four hours, thirty-two minutes and twenty seconds without so much as a clue to how the two Poison-Types were doing. And it was driving Ash crazy.
They had let their Water-types back out and all six Pokemon looked no better then Ash was honestly feeling. Both pikachus were pacing, clearly agitated and worried, apparently those two nidorans were younger then he thought, which just pissed Ash off more. Diana, Marina and Aurora looked very concerned, most likely too young and/or innocent to the concept of abuse and intentional harm at the hands of a Trainer, which Ash hoped to keep in them. Aurora sought comfort in her trainer's lap as did Diana in her trainer's side, both would occasionally look over at the doors before curling up closer to their trainers.
Vivina was the hardest for Ash to read at the moment, which he found terribly ironic as he had known the little Bug-Type almost his entire life, but as far as Ash knew, he never really had been around times when Vivina would be potentially exposed to this sort of thing, so he had no idea how she would react to it. At the moment, while she seemed much more tame and quiet compared to her usual boundless display of energy, he wouldn't call it ordinary given the situation as she entertained a confused and distraction-seeking Marina with a small, demure game of chase, being mindful not to stray to close to the tense Electric-Types.
Ash paused in petting Aurora's shell to pinch his nose with a deep sigh, trying to let out his anger and frustration before he unintentionally snapped at one of the Pokemon or Vivian. Even as a child, he despised Pokemon Abusers; he could never understand how anyone could do that to someone, human or Pokemon, that was supposed to be your friend and ally. Pokemon Theft was one thing, but this was a whole other level that always managed to get under his skin and set his nerves alight with a raging inferno not even Articuno couldn't cool.
His mom always said it was yet another trait he picked up from his father; his grandfather and aunt were no better, so he believed her.
A sigh and a sudden weight on his shoulder made Ash blink out of his angered thoughts and look over in surprise only to see Vivian had fallen asleep, resting her head on his shoulder, sketchbook on her lap and her pencil had fallen to the floor. Nicola was quick to dash over when she saw what happened and picked up the pencil in her mouth, climbing up a chair to set it on before returning to her fellow pikachu's side.
Ash's expression eased slightly with as he looked at her now more peaceful expression as she dozed, glasses sliding down her nose and he could've sworn he could hear her muttering random facts under her breath. It was honestly kinda cute...
"Hey," A voice interrupted causing Ash to nearly jump out of his chair in fright, which in turn startled and jerked Vivian awake. "Anti-cyclones rotate counterclockwise!" Vivian shouted in shock to getting woken up, her glasses nearly falling off her face when one arm slipped off her ear, she looked around confused before taking off her glasses, using her skirt to clean them and put them back on right.
They turned to who just talked and were surprised to see it was the purple-haired trainer who had helped them before with Team Rocket, arching a brow at them, a rather dry, deadpan expression on her face. She was dressed no differently to when they first crossed paths with her and to be honest, the bright, harsh daylit lobby made her look colder and more harsher then she did during the battle with Team Rocket. Her turtwig at her feet, looking at the group curiously.
"Hey, you're the girl from Sinnoh, right?" Ash greeted once he got over his surprise, "The one who helped with Team Rocket."
"Now, I remember," Vivian said when the girl nodded in response, "You had a starley."
"We never got the chance to say thank you before," Ash said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't do it for the gratitude, so don't bother," The girl huffed shortly, eyes hard as steel, "People like that make me sick, resorting to such cheap, pathetic tactics for power are less then dirt." The way she spoke and her choice of words made the group, Pokemon included, flinch, as it was clear it just wasn't an opinion for her, as far as the girl was concerned, it was simple fact.
"No one likes a thief, especially a Pokemon thief," Vivian said delicately, not wanting to invoke more anger from the slightly taller girl. "And no one likes a trainer that freezes in the middle of a battle," The unknown girl shot making the blonde cringe and the two's Pokemon glared. "Hey, plenty of people have their fears, including Pokemon and battles!" Ash immediately got to his feet in his friend's defense.
"And none of them go to be trainers, now do they?" The girl rebuffed sharply, furrowing her brow at him, hands on her hips, "A trainer whose afraid to step up and battle, isn't a trainer at all!" Vivian looked down at her feet, ashamed as tears started to prickle her eyes.
"Not all trainers have to battle if they don't want to!" Ash shot back, slowly getting angrier, "And you don't get to talk about someone like that, especially one of my friends!" Vivian looked up shyly as their Pokemon shouted in agreement, prompting a warning growl from the girl's turtwig.
"I'll talk how I want," The girl rolled her eyes uncaringly. "What do you even want?" Ash demanded curious to know why she'd approach them if she didn't apparently like them.
"I just wanted to know what you were going to do with those injured Pokemon you brought in," The girl answered now crossing her arms, much to the two's shock that she even knew, "Oh don't be so surprised, you don't come running in with a girl riding on your back piggy-back style and hand pokeballs to Nurse Joy and not expect people to talk." Both Kanto natives blushed darkly at the reminder of how they got to the center.
"What does it matter to you what we do with the nidorans?" Vivian asked. "Personally, I could care less about what you do with them," The girl answered flippantly, "I'm just giving advice because I get this feeling that irregardless of just how strong they are, you're going to keep them anyways."
"We-what does it matter if they're strong?" Ash asked in disbelief, staring at the girl like she grew a second head. "It's never the Pokemon's responsibility to be automatic powerhouses as soon as they're captured!" Vivian said standing up herself, carefully balancing herself due to the cast still on her foot, a frown on her face and passion in her tone, catching both of her fellow Trainers off-guard, "Its the Trainer's responsibility to help and guide the Pokemon to their full potential and peak of possible, inner and outer, strength!"
Both of her fellow Trainers blinked at her, clearly taken aback, as Vivian instinctively flushed, face turning a dark pink as she realized what she did and looked down shyly, causing the blonde to catch the proud smile on Nicola's face and the awed expressions on the other Pokemon's. Ash, likewise, was also smiling, glad to see even if she wasn't a Battler, she still held a positive opinion of how things between Trainer and Pokemon should go.
"So the little rattata can bite, color me impressed," The mystery girl remarked though it was hard for either of the other two to tell if she was being sincere or sarcastic, yet as Vivian lifted her head, crystal-blue meeting obsidian-black, she could almost sense something akin to a genuine level of respect and a more kinder smirk-like smile, however small, as the girl bent down to scoop up her turtwig, who had been looking curiously at the Kanto-exclusive charmander.
The girl turned to leave, but paused and glanced back over her shoulder, "A word of advice," Both Ash and Vivian looked to her in surprise, "Its been a scientifically proven fact that the males of the nidoran species are naturally more aggressive compared to their female counterparts; so if by some miracle it was Blondie who caught the male, you two might want to think about trading them if you're really keeping them."
"Wha-You-I-We-!" Ash stammered genuinely startled, not expecting to give anything close to advice. "Who are you?" Vivian finally questioned.
The girl seemed to ignore her at first as she turned around and started to walk away, but after a second she answered, "My name if Paulette, and I'll be seeing the both you at the League, if you're lucky," She gave a half-hearted wave with two fingers in an almost a lazy gesture, "See ya...maybe."
"Wow, just wow," Ash said after a few moments of silence, "And I thought Gary was bad; I swear you could fill all the tunnels in Mt. Silver with that ego of hers!" He smiled as Vivian snorted at his attempt of a joke, covering her mouth to keep the mauve-haired girl from hearing, waiting till she was gone from the lobby before finally laughing out loud.
Wiping away a stray tear, Vivian sighed, "I needed that..."
"Yeah," Ash agreed as he picked up Aurora and sat down, Vivina jumped up onto his lap, while Zeus climbed up onto one of his shoulders, "After all this serious business we could use a little laugh." Vivian nodded in agreement about to sit down against too, when the emergency doors opened, prompting Vivian to snap around and for Ash to immediately shoot to feet, sending Vivina flying onto her butt on the floor, but the Bug/Poison Dual-Type wasn't really bothered, immediately getting onto her feet as Nurse Joy stepped out.
Nurse Joy looked up at the two anxious Rookie Trainers and finally gave them a reassuring, genuine smile and two thumbs up for good measure. Ash and Vivian both practically deflated with heavy sighs of relief. Zeus and Nicola also let out sighs of relief, along with Diana and Marina, while Vivina and Aurora cheered at the obvious good news.
"Your nidorans are going to be sore for a while, but they'll make a full recovery with the proper rest of course," Nurse Joy told them. "Do you have any idea what could've attacked them Nurse Joy?" Vivian asked in concern, "I doubt anything like a pidgey or a rattata could cause that much damage." She made a mental note to call Officer Jenny later.
Nurse Joy grimaced at this, looking like she was very carefully choosing her next words, and Ash could guess why, so he asked next, "Did any machines pick up on Breeder Tags?" Vivian blinked at this, perplexed.
Breeder Tags were exactly as it sounded, special little electronic chips the size of a wheat grain that were uniquely designed for Pokemon Breeders so that if any of their Pokemon were lost and it didn't have its tags for identification, an officer or medical professional would be able to find out by scanning the chip. The Tags were also unique in the sense that since they're so small, they're specially implanted into the Pokemon, usually in the back of the neck via injection. It also served as a way to catch Pokemon Abusers since they couldn't remove the chip itself like they can destroy the Pokeball and it was synced with both the Pokeball itself and the trainer's Pokedex, so should the Pokemon be removed from its previous trainer, the Tag would still have the trainer's ID on its records, which could be accessed at any Center or Nursery.
Nurse Joy finally answered Ash's question with a shake of her head and Ash breathed out, sounding relieved, albeit, not by much. It finally clicked in the blonde's head and her eyes widened, "You...you thought they were a-a-ab-abused..."
"Unfortunately, it seemed like pretty likely, given where we found them," Ash said in his own defense and as Vivian thought it over, she could see his point. City parks were less likely to house much wild Pokemon compared to the parks of towns and villages given the amount of foot-traffic, normal people and trainers alike, as well as vechiles.
This also made the likely hood of this being the work of a dangerous Pokemon because the park wouldn't have been as active as it was and there would've been police and/or Rangers to keep civilians and inexperienced trainers from the area and getting seriously hurt. The very idea of abuse of any sort...it brought a lot of...less the pleasant memories that had Vivian rubbing her arm instinctively, face pinching in a slightly pained expression, eyes darkening in recollection;
(Flashback)
Five-year-old Vivian, dressed in a light green sundress, hair in pigtails, peered through a cracked open door, eyes wide as she watched the two tall figures in the room she was peering into. Both male and their features were indistinguishable in the heavy shadows of the poorly lit room. The storm roaring outside certainly not helping.
The tallest, and clearly oldest, suddenly struck out against the shorter. A punch straight to the face. It wasn't strong enough to knock him off his feet or stumble back, but the teen's face had snapped to the side. The man rose his other hand, pointing menacingly. The teen clearly didn't like what he had to say, he took a swing at him, but was grabbed and easily thrown to the ground.
Vivian flinched at the sound mixed with the deafening sound of the clap of thunder. Deafening enough to drown out the man's order as the Pokemon next to him suddenly lit up with electricity. Vivian still couldn't say for sure who started screaming as the teen was struck dead-on by the Thunderbolt, her or him.
(Flashback End)
Nicola immediately noticed and instantly knew what was going on through her best friend's mind and sighed a sad 'chaaa', knowing there was nothing she could do to soothe the mental pain coursing through the blonde's head. She could only pray that perhaps, in time, Ash could finally start the long needed healing Vivian needed so she can finally truly be happy.
"Vivian?" Ash called shaking Vivian out of her thoughts. "Huh? What?" Vivian asked blinking before shaking her head and focusing on her friend.
"Nurse Joy just said we can go see the Nido-Twins," Ash repeated making Vivian realize in embarrassment she basically tuned out the entire conversation up to this point. "Oh," Was all she could say, cheeks dark pink, before she scrunched up her nose at him, "Are we really going to be calling them that? Nido-Twins? We don't really know if their from the same clutch of eggs."
"True, but for now, its not an unfair assumption," Ash shrugged a little sheepishly, "Besides, we already got our Pika-Pals, why not Nido-Twins."
Vivian shook her head, partially feeling exasperated and partially amused, she couldn't tell which was worse, "That is not going to catch on."
Nurse Joy giggled at their banter as she lead the two trainers down the hall to the appropriate room, as Ash said, jokingly, "You never know, it could!"
"They're right in here," Nurse Joy said as she stopped at the room housing their new Pokemon, "We did everything to the best of our ability, but there's only so much even our best of medicine and machines can do all at once."
"We understand," Both trainers bowed their heads respectfully. "Oh and Vivian, I want to take a look at your leg later," Nurse Joy said, "I think you'll be ready to finally have that cast off."
"Oh thank Arceus," Vivian sighed in relief making Ash, Nurse Joy and the Pokemon all chuckle.
The trainers and their Pokemon entered the room cautiously, being mindful to keep their movements slow and careful, as not to make either injured Poison-Type Pokemon. Unlike Marina and Aurora they received much heavier injuries before getting help and didn't have the luxury of the suspended animation of a Pokeball until much later, so they're instincts were most likely still on a bit of an overdrive and the last thing they needed was for one of them to last out and get the other worked up, especially if they felt ganged-up on if they all went in at once.
Thankfully, both of the nidoran were awake and somewhat active. The male, surprising or unsurprising depending on how you look at it, was already on his feet was next to the female, gently licking a visible, though greatly reduced, bruise. The sight made both Ash and Vivian wince, wondering what had hit her so hard that it was able to leave a lasting bruise that even Potions or Full Heals or whatever medicine Nurse Joy had used couldn't completely sooth it.
Neither of them were extensively bandaged, thank Arceus, but enough to make it obvious both had been in a serious fight. Both of them had looked over, twin gazes of red, one the shade of a rose, the other the shade of a garnet, finding their saviors. They had tensed slightly, at the sight of the two pikachus, the venonat and charmander, but relaxed, clearly able to read the room and saw none of them looked hostile in the slightest, quite the opposite really.
"Hey guys," Ash greeted watching his volume despite the underlying excitement and happiness he was feeling to seeing the two up and about, "You had us both worried for a moment there." Both nidorans chirped, sharing a surprised glance.
"Do you guys remember what happened?" Vivian asked curious, yet cautiously as both tensed slightly, "Before we caught you?" Both nidorans shared a glance, rose meeting garnet, before they looked back to meet sky blue and onyx black, and they shook their heads.
Ash and Vivian shared a quick glance, not sure how to feel. Sure, as they were they couldn't do much to find out what had happened even if the nidorans had remembered, they could have gone to the police and hoped they had a certified psychic or psychic Pokemon who could get the two's statements. Technically, they still could and hope the psychics could dig up the memory somehow, but both trainers had their qualms about the idea, fearing it was pull unneeded pain from the memory and cause mental backlash.
In the end, Vivian decided to change the subject with a friendly smile, "We never got to introduce ourselves, I'm Vivian," She then picked up her Fire-Type as both pikachu easily climbed onto the medical table, "And this is Diana," She the motioned to her Pika-Partner, "And that's Nicola."
"Pika pi pikachuuu~!" Nicola greeted warmly with a smile. "Charrr~ mander-char!" Diana added with a little shy wave, the female stood on wobbly legs, but slowly approached her fellow female rodent Pokemon and sniffed her curiously, before chirping again, posture relaxing, allowing the male to relax.
"And I'm Ash," Ash smiled widely, allowing a little of excitement to show as he picked up the only Bug in their entire group, who wiggled excitedly to meet her new friends, "And this is Vivina," He motioned to his own Pika-Pal as the male walked over to sniff him as well, "And that's Zeus!"
"Pika-pika, chu," Zeus greeted with a smile. "Venooo~nat!" Vivina quipped excitedly prompting a wary glance from the male nidoran, "Veno! Veeee~!"
"We have two other Pokemon with us," Vivian continued, "But we didn't want to overwhelm you guys with numbers just yet."
Both nidoran looked quite appreciative of the gesture, if more than a bit surprised.
"Look Nidora-" Ash began before pausing as both turned to look at him, he scratched his cheek as he realized a problem, "I just realized, having two nidoran is going to be a bit confusing if we don't give them nicknames."
"Yeah, a bit," Vivian agreed before looking to the now curious looking blue and purple rodents, "But, is that okay with you guys? Would you like names?" Again, both nidorans looked surprised, sharing another look between each other, along with squeaks, which were met by reassuring coos from the other four Pokemon, before the newest members of their group shrugged and sat back on their hindquarters, looking at them curiously with nods, most likely wanting to hear what the two had to suggest.
"Huh, now what to name them though?" Ash mused finger to his chin in thought, looking at his female nidoran, who watched him curiously, "You're both Poison-Types, so...how about Vira and Venom?"
Vivian wasn't the only one who's face pinched at the suggestion, "No offense Ash, but...no, those just...don't feel right, especially that last one, it sounds more like a name for a beedrill or an arbok; besides, I think we have enough people in this group with names that start with 'V' as it is."
"Ah, true," Ash admitted rubbing his head as the Pokemon giggled. "How about...Rex and Regina?" Vivian suggested after a moment's thought. "Rex and Regina?" Ash echoed in surprise. "Yeah, they mean 'king' and 'queen' respectively," Vivian replied as she rubbed the two's heads after setting Diana down, "I dunno, call it cliche, but...it just...feels right, yeah know?"
"Hmm," Ash thought it over before testing them, "Rex and Regina," Both nidoran were now on their feet and chirped, looking quite satisfied with the names, "I think they like them."
"I think there's one last thing to talk about before we leave though," Vivian said as the newly named Rex and Regina approached their new trainers, allowing them to scratch behind their large ears, being mindful of their poisonous horns, "Rex, my dream is to make people and Pokemon smile by becoming a Pokemon Performer," Rex titled his head curious, yet confused as he chirped at her, "That's a trainer who uses her Pokemon to dazzle others with their moves, basically look pretty; I'm not going to say I won't battle when it counts but, in the long run, I'm not going to actively looking for fights." Rex instantly looked more than a little put-out at this, while Regina's eyes seemed to shine at the idea.
"And my goal is to become the world's best Pokemon Master by competing and winning the Pokemon League," Ash explained once Vivian had said her part, "To do that, I have to travel, catch new Pokemon and battle Gym Leaders to earn badges to enter," Regina flinched slightly at the idea of battling, while a fire lit in Rex's eyes at the idea of getting stronger, "The reason Vivian and I are bringing this up is because we don't want to force either of you to do something you don't want to do; now, I can't say anything about Vivian, but, for me, my Pokemon are so much more than my partners in battle, you guys are my family, and I can't stand the idea of forcing family to do something that's going to make them upset."
Regina and Rex stared at him in open awe at his speech of reassurance, Diana, Zeus and Nicola were also a bit awe-struck but also gained a bit more respect for the male trainer whilst Vivina nodded her body/head in pride for her childhood friend. Vivian could only stare for a brief moment, also a little wonder-struck at his passionate words, cheeks flushing, but she quickly snapped herself out of it.
"I know how it feels to be forced to do something you don't want to do, to feel like you have to meet these expectations that shouldn't haven been put onto you in the first place," Vivian admitted and Nicola's ears dropped sadly, "But, I don't want to do that to my own Pokemon, because, like Ash, for me, you guys are all I have right now, family, and I just want you guys to be happy with what you're doing, so Rex, if you feel like you'd do better with Ash, pursuing the League, and Regina, if you feel more comfortable with me and the girls, we'd be more than happy to trade you guys so you can do what makes you two feel more comfortable."
Rex and Regina looked ready to cry at this point, clearly very touched by the consideration to how they felt being so openly presented and discussed, and by their trainers no less. Ash had a faint flush on his cheeks at her passionate words, but focused on the two Poison-Point Pokemon and nodded in agreement. Both nidorans squealed happily, almost barreling right into their trainers' chests in giddiness and gratitude.
"We're going to put you guys back into your Pokeballs for now," Ash explained as he held up the Heal Ball to Regina, "Its so we can use the machine so you'll legally be switched, then we can start training soon after." Both nidoran nodded and allowed themselves to be returned, Ash then looked to his childhood Pokemon friend, "Do you mind going back into your Pokeball for a bit Vivi?" Vivian jerked in surprise, cheeks flushing as the Bug/Poison-Type chirped in affirmative and was returned.
Vivian silently held out her Pokeball to Diana, who nodded and touched the button, allowing herself to be returned and Ash noticed her embarrassed look, much to his confusion, "You okay, Vivian?"
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Vivian assured as their respective pikachu perched themselves on their shoulders, "Really, I...I'm surprised to hear that nickname is all," She sighed at his surprised, yet confused look, "My cousin used to call me 'Vivi' all the time."
"Oh..." Ash blushed as he caught on as they left, planning to return to the lobby to ash about Trade Machines, "I'm starting to get deja vu."
"I'm just realizing how similar my name is to Vivina," Vivian chuckled, "Its just the last two letters are reversed."
"I guess that means I'm gonna need my own nickname for you so I don't slip up and embarrass myself worse, huh?" Ash said good-naturedly. Vivian hummed before replying, "You could always call me Esme."
"Huh, Esme?" Ash blinked. "Its my middle name, well actually its short for my actual middle name, Esmeralda, my brother called me that all the time when I was little," Vivian chuckled with a little smile, "I got so used to it, I actually tend to forget my actual middle name, like when I signed for my license, so, I wouldn't mind if you called me that."
"Okay, if you're sure...Esme," Ash said testing the name and it made her flush a bit.
"There you are, Vivian, ready to finally get your cast off?" Nurse Joy greeted as they reached the front desk. "More than your willing to believe," Vivian, or rather, Esme deadpanned before sitting in a chair, "I can't stand wearing just one shoe and sock anymore! I'm going to go nuts! And do you know how easy it is to get a cold without both feet covered?"
Both Nurse Joy and Ash shared an amused smirk at her ramblings, whilst Nicola just rolled her eyes. Nurse Joy carefully cut the cast with a pair of medical scissors, handing it to a chansey to get rid of. She then applied a careful amount of pressure to Esme's ankle, asking, "How does that feel?"
"Fine," The blonde answered. "Okay, how about now?" Nurse Joy asked applying a little more pressure, carefully turning her foot to see if it fully healed. "It feels just fine," Esme answered, "Does this mean we can leave?" Nurse Joy nodded and the blonde cheered, "Finally!" She turned to Ash, "Wait here, I'll go get my stuff, then we can find those machines, then we're hitting the PokeMart!" With that, she took off at top speed for her room, nearly throwing off Nicola.
"That girl..." Nurse Joy shook her head in fond-amusement. "Amazing, isn't she?" Ash smiled before blushing as he realized he said it out loud, Nurse Joy just chuckled, before saving him further embarrassment by changing the subject.
"She said something about machines?" The nurse asked curiously. "Oh yeah, Esme and I wanted to trade our nidoran, since we felt they would benefit better with a different training regimen," Ash explained. "Ah..." Nurse Joy nodded in understanding, a little surprised by the mature move, but then blinked, "Esme?"
"Ah, that's what I call her," Ash chuckled, "So, the Trade Machine?"
"Oh, right, we actually have a few right across from the cafeteria," Nurse Joy explained pointing, "Its literally the door right across, you can't miss it."
"Thanks Nurse Joy," Ash said and the nurse nodded before returning to her post at the desk just as the blonde trainer returned, back in her original outfit, boots and all, and hair back in its immaculate bun, bag over one shoulder and all of the purchases nowhere to be seen.
"Ugh...where's...?" Ash began confused. "Pidgey Parcel," Esme explained, "Since we're going straight to Pewter City, figuring there might not be much for us as beginners in Viridian Forest, I may as well."
"Ah, not bad thinking," Ash complimented. "Thanks," Esme smiled brightly.
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The trainers immediately went for the Trade Machines first to get the most pressing order of business over and done with. The machines might've been a bit clunky and a little out-of-date for Esme's taste, it got the job done. A simple setting the Pokeball on the proper slot, enter in their Pokedexes, give verbal consent and let the computer do the rest. It gave plenty of time for them to do some last minute supplies shopping.
Ash still wasn't convinced they needed tents, but Esme won him over via privacy points, purely on the principle of having somewhere safe to change their cloths as she was not going to simple do it in the bushes and hope they're weren't passerbys who just so happened to be looking to peek. Ash almost insisted on paying for both tents himself, but a quick whack to the head with her parasol set him straight, much to the store clerk's amusement, after all, wasn't everyday you see two very young costumers argue over who was paying what like an old married couple, only for one to settle it by whacking the other over the head with a surprisingly sturdy fancy-looking umbrella.
They stalked up on mostly Antidotes since the most common aliment the Pokemon in Viridian Forest could afflict was poison followed closely by paralysis and being put to sleep by a butterfree's Sleep Powder, but butterfrees nested deep in the more dangerous areas of Viridian Forest where it was easy to get lost or hurt, and the colonies of pikachus didn't nest that close to the beaten paths trainers are most known to use, so the most common sights were caterpies and weedles, and freshly evolved metapods and kakunas. Esme insisted on a few Paralysis Heals and Awakenings, just to be safe. They were good on pokeballs though.
"Wait," Esme said as they browsed the farmer's market that was taking place, looking up from a selection of different fresh berries, looking at Ash, "If you had Net and Lure Balls, why didn't you use one when you caught Aurora? I mean, I used one when I caught Marina, so, color me curious." She held up Marina's pokeball, which was a Net Ball with a poliwag sticker on it, to furhter her point, as she was saving her Lure Balls for ocean exclusive Water Pokemon like a horsea or a corsela that migrated over from Johto.
Ash gave a sheepish chuckle, rubbing the back of his head, "I may have forgotten I had them..." In his defense, he was a bit caught up in the moment of catching his first Pokemon and just used the first pokeball he grabbed. This made their female Pokemon all giggle in amusement.
Esme, however, just sighed along with Zeus, "Boys..." Before deciding on some oran, peacha and cheri berries, in case they ran out of Potions, Antidotes and Paralysis Heals, as well as a few chesto berries just on the off chance of at least a trainer with a Pokemon that has a sleep enducing move. Ash just laughed it off, not finding it offensive, just to it from his mother and others from home.
They came back one last time to the PokeCenter to give their Pokemon one last check-up before heading into the unknown of the forest. As they sat down, Ash took out one of his old fashioned paper maps, particularly the one of Viridian Forest's well known routes, but it was a recent, special updated edition his aunt had given him that included lesser known routes that had been scouted and periodically watched by the Rangers for the more experienced trainers to find more difficult Pokemon.
"I was originally thinking of taking a more scenic route," Ash explained to Esme as he pointed to one of the more out of the way paths, "There hasn't been any Beedrill reports of attacks or nests around here, it would be safest for camping and continued training, and hopefully we can catch a new teammate." He privately hoped to catch a stray weedle. Beedrill may have been aggressive, especially in the wild, they were perfect examples of frontline hitters of the Bug-Type family, especially with its recently discovered Mega Evolution and having a wider variety of move-types in both its natural movepool and its usable TM pool compared to the more popular heavy and quick hitting favorite like scythers and their evolved forms of scizors.
Esme gave a little smile, "That does seem like the best idea, I don't have any use for a heavy hitter, born and bred battler like the pinsirs deeper in the forests; I'm actually aiming for a caterpie," She flushed, "I know its probably a stereotype; a girl in a girly, showy profession wanting a butterfree but...I always wanted one when I was little, a butterfree and a vespiquen, those were always my favorite Bug-Types."
Ash gave her a smile, "I don't think its silly to like butterfree, and who knows maybe you'll find a combee someday." Esme smiled at him shyly and happily.
When Nurse Joy called them to the desk, Zeus and Nicola immediately jumped onto their respective Trainer's shoulder and Vivina jumped into Ash's arms with an excited, "Veeeeennn~!" Making Ash laugh happily.
"Your Pokemon are all in great shape and the Nido Twins are healing at miraculous rate," Nurse Joy informed them with a smile, "Though, I'd wait a few more days before letting them join the training sessions, just to be safe."
Ash and Esme both nodded in understanding, giving soft smiles as they picked up their Heal Ball, which Esme had painted to match their respective Nidoran's skin color and darker patches. "Thank you again Nurse Joy," Esme smiled at the pink-haired nurse. "Just doing my duty, Miss Surge," Nurse Joy chuckled with a fond smile, "Now, you two be careful out there, you hear?"
Ash and Esme nodded as they began to head off, waving to her, "We will!" They took their time as they walked towards the city exit that lead to Viridian Forest, waving to Officer Jenny as they saw her waving back to them through the window of the Viridian Police Department building, enjoying their last walk through Viridian City for the next couple of months, releasing the rest of their Pokemon so they could enjoy the walk with them.
The small group stared up at the city gate that led to their destination. Both Trainers felt their heartbeat increase with adrenaline and anticipation for the first step in their journey and respective dreams. For Ash, his first gym was just beyond those woods, so close, he could almost see the tall rocky landscape of Pewter City, almost taste mineral rich air and water. Esme was almost trembling, because her first Showcase was farther, but was slowly getting closer, her debut was closing in on her and it was making her nervous, wondering if it was too late to turn around and ask to be registered in something like Contests instead, at least then, she'd be compromising like her cousin had suggested when intervening a fight between her and her brother.
"Hey," Ash said as he seemed to sense her growing unease, gently reaching and grasping her hand lightly, snapping her out of it, smiling at her, "Ready the next part of our adventure?"
Esme flushed a little and her hand tightened a little on the handle of her parasol, before relaxing that hand and squeezed the one holding Ash's hand, giving a nervous smile, "As ready as I'll ever be..."
"We'll be fine," Ash assured her, giving a grin as he began to pull her in, Aurora nestled in his other arm. "Wha-? Ash!" Esme yelped as she was pulled along, their Pokemon hot at their heels. "With our Pokemon by our sides and with each other, we're gonna go farther then the League one day!" Ash proclaimed unable to help his excitement and grin as Vivina and Aurora chirped and cheered along with him, "And our next stop to get there, Pewter City!"
Esme wasn't sure what it was, but something about Ash's grin and excitement was infectious, unable to help a little smile as she stared at that wide, carefree and confident grin. She couldn't stop the giggles as they started to trickle out of her, "To Pewter City!" Maybe she won't regret joining him after all.
I just want to start and say, sorry to everyone who's had to wait so long and thank you all so much for your patience! Things have been crazy, but I'm back in the saddle and I think I got a handle on things again.
Anyways, we know Genderbent Paul's name; Paulette was my favorite variation, it's French and means 'small', an ironic choice if you ask me all things considered.
Also, HPfan7-8, I thought about it and it made more sense for me to switch the nidorans, even if they're stay loyal and protective and close with both their saviors, its more sense of Rex to be with Ash as he'd be more naturally prone to fight then Regina.
Oh and before I forget, Vivian, our blonde new friend of Ash is now called Esme; for anyone curious her full name is Vivian Esmeralda Surge, Esme is a childhood nickname and since people were pointing out Vivian and Vivina were confusing, I did my best to try and fix and curb it naturally within he story instead of completely re-writing it. Let me know what you guys think; also, if there's any Pokemon suggestions for Ash and Esme's teams, just shout, though I cannot guarantee it'll happen.