A/N: Just spent all day making a proper cover for this story! I'll be posting chapters here pretty regularly until it's up to speed with where the fic is on AO3.
Things were not going well. Ivy had spent the past few hours losing over and over again against the weakest of route 1 Pokémon. The only things Marcus had been able to defeat were other Blipbug. She was certain the Wedgehurst Pokémon center was already sick of her showing up every twenty minutes or so. She'd received the money and endorsement she'd won, but she was seriously considering giving them back. There was definitely someone out there who deserved them more than she did.
Don't be so hard on yourself, Marcus tried to reassure her, It's not your fault your parents made things hard.
"No, if I could just get my telekinesis to actually work, then I wouldn't be in this mess," Ivy sighed, sitting sadly on the slightly soggy grass, "But now I can't just go back or they'll be worse than ever…"
Is a telekinesis like telepathy or something? Marcus asked.
"Well, they're both psychic abilities," Ivy explained, "But telekinesis is more like… You can move stuff with your mind. You'll probably be able to do it if you evolve."
Cool! What does it look like? Marcus looked up at her curiously.
"Fine, I'll show you, I'm really bad at it though."
Ivy took out Marcus' Poké Ball and levitated it a meter or so in the air. Marcus stared at it as if he'd never seen a psychic type before. Ivy was about to ask whether he even knew his parents when something slammed into the back of her head. She picked herself up before grabbing the Poké Ball that had been unceremoniously flung in her direction.
"Hey? What was that for?" Ivy half-yelled, looking around.
"Oh my! I'm terribly sorry, I was trying to catch this Yamper, but I was distracted by what I thought was a floating Poké Ball!" someone behind her said.
Ivy turned around to see a girl her age who looked like she had gotten lost on her way to a formal dinner party. She stood there in a pale pink dress covered by a white cardigan. True to her word, her Galarian Ponyta had clearly just been battling a Yamper, who was still facing its opponent, daring her to throw another Poké Ball.
"Oh, it's fine, it's my fault for sitting here!" Ivy replied.
"No, I sincerely apologize. Is there any way I can- Hey! That's my bag!" the girl exclaimed as the wild Yamper snatched what was presumably her bag and ran off towards Wedgehurst.
"Dang, I'm so sorry," Ivy apologized again.
"Why are you sorry? I should have known not to leave my bag on the ground like that. Anyway, I'll just buy a new one."
"No, you don't have to do that! I'll help you get your bag back!"
"Really? I'm grateful for your offer, but It would be far easier to just buy a new one."
"No, I insist. If I hadn't made that Poké Ball float, you wouldn't be in this mess now. Anyway, can you really replace everything in your bag that easily?"
"Well, yes I don't have any other Poké- Wait a second, how could I have forgotten about my Poryphone?! Okay, I'll accept your offer. You know what my bag looks like, don't you?"
"Duh! It was a pink leather bag with a Mew keychain, right?"
"I guess you have a better memory than I do," the girl said, turning to her Ponyta, "Juliet, you're okay for now, right?"
The Ponyta nodded.
"Okay then, let's head to Wedgehurst!" the girl said, beginning to walk towards Postwick.
"Erm, that way leads to Postwick," Ivy pointed out.
"Right, thank you. Wait, I never asked for your name."
"It's Ivy."
"Pleased to meet you, Ivy. My name is Emily. Anyways, how about you lead the way to Wedgehurst?"
"Erm, sure," Ivy said. She knew the way far too well already.
The pair headed into Wedgehurst. It was surprisingly quiet, like how Ivy remembered it when she was younger. In recent years, Wedgehurst had become quite popular with tourists because it contained the closest train station to Postwick, which had become famous after the events involving Zacian and Zamazenta. Of course, Wedgehurst was also where Galar's Pokémon research lab was, which attracted quite a few science types. Today, however, the only people who seemed to be around were locals. The lack of crowds would've made it easier to spot a Yamper carrying a bag, but it still managed to elude them.
What's a "low cal"? Maybe they could help? Marcus asked, making Emily jump.
"Wait, what was that?!" Emily yelped, looking around anxiously.
"Don't worry, it's just my Blipbug, Marcus. He can talk using telepathy."
"Phew, it's not a ghost. Wait, how can a Bug type do that?"
"Telepathy is the hidden ability of the Blipbug line!"
"Fascinating."
Erm, I still don't know what a "low cal" is, Marcus chimed in.
"Oh, right, I meant local," Ivy explained.
"Sorry, what were we about to do again?" Emily asked.
"I think we should ask one of the locals if they saw the Yamper," Ivy said.
Hey! That was my idea!
"Okay, fine. Marcus thinks we should ask one of the locals if they saw the Yamper," Ivy corrected herself.
"I wonder who we should ask?" Emily pondered, "I guess, if the Yamper went by here, the people who are just walking by now would be less likely to have seen it. In that case it would probably be best to ask someone who would have been here to see it. I know! We could ask that gentleman at the berry stand!"
"I guess so."
Without thinking twice, Emily strode confidently up to the berry salesman at his stand.
"Excuse me Sir, but have you seen a Yamper run through here carrying a violet-coloured bag?"
The salesman looked slightly surprised.
"Erm..." he said, "I've seen plenty of Yampers wander through here, but none of them were carrying a bag."
"Sorry dearie, but did you say a Yamper stole your bag?" asked an elderly woman who had just arrived, "You wouldn't be the only one. This Yamper's worse than a Nickit! There are rumors it keeps its hoard on route 2, but no-one's been able to find it…"
"Well, I guess we'll have to be the first ones then. Thank you for the help!" Emily said, turning away, "Come on, Ivy! Which way is route 2 again?"
The pair quickly made it to route 2, the only delay being caused by Emily pausing to admire the architecture of the town. They headed down the path and sat by the lake to formulate a plan.
"I'd forgotten how beautiful this lake was," Emily said, "It's been years since my family and I visited."
"I guess it's been a while for me too, but weren't we looking for something?"
"Right, my bag." Emily began to pace up and down, "Seeing as no-one's been able to find this Yamper's hoard, it's probably not going to be somewhere obvious, like by the main path. But it's probably not across the lake, unless this Yamper is a particularly good swimmer. I'd say it's likely there's a nook somewhere that's small enough to go unnoticed by humans, but big enough to fit a Yamper and some stolen goods!"
"Makes sense, but how are we gonna check all the possible places?"
Emily stopped her pacing.
"Hmmm… Wait, I've got it! You have a phone, right?"
Ivy took her old brick phone out of her pocket, "Does this count?"
"That phone can call another phone, can't it?"
"That's pretty much all it can do."
"Phew. Okay, I'll give you my number then."
"Erm… I'm sorry but I don't quite understand?" Ivy said, confused.
"I just need you to call my phone so I can listen out for its ringtone."
"Oh, right, yeah! Okay, I guess we could give it a shot! What's your number?"
Emily pulled a notebook out of her pocket and hurriedly flipped through the pages.
"Give me a minute…"
Almost half an hour and many phone calls later, they were still no closer to finding Emily's bag.
"I'm so sorry…" Ivy sighed, trying to call Emily's phone again.
"What are you apologizing for?" Emily asked, "You didn't- Wait, quiet! I think I can hear it!"
Ivy listened closely, but couldn't hear anything.
"Are you sure you're not just hearing thin-"
"I said be quiet! I'm trying to figure out where it's coming from!"
Emily looked around, before suddenly running to the water's edge. Sure enough, Ivy could now also hear the faint ringing. Unfortunately it stopped before they could pinpoint where exactly it was coming from.
"I wonder why we can hear it here? Could that Yamper really have swam across the lake? But then how is your phone still working?" Ivy pondered, looking around, "Wait, look!"
Ivy pointed to a small hole in the hill, the shallow water splashing in and out of it.
"Oh yes! Thank you! Wait, can you call my phone one more time, just to make sure?" Emily asked.
Ivy sighed and dialed the number again. As expected, the ringing was coming from the hole.
"Now you can just use your telekinesis to float my bag out, right?"
"Um… Erm… Well, I mean I…" Ivy stumbled over her words.
"You were the one who made that Poké Ball float, right? Isn't that telekinesis?"
"Well, it is, but…"
Of course she'd never be able to just leave it all behind. Ivy was a failure of a psychic, and that's all she'd ever be.
I think what Ivy's trying to get across by all the horrible things she's saying is that she's not very good at it yet, Marcus interrupted her train of thought.
"I'm sorry, what was Ivy saying? I didn't hear anything," Emily said.
"Can you please not narrate my thoughts to a random stranger?" Ivy said, giving Marcus a withering look. Emily seemed slightly offended at being called a random stranger.
"Well, I guess I'll have to do it myself then," Emily said resolutely, taking off her cardigan and handing it to her Ponyta, "Juliet, look after my things, please."
Emily's Ponyta stepped away from the edge of the water, the cardigan resting on its back.
"Wait, surely there's another way we can do this? You'll ruin your dress!" Ivy said, concerned.
"Don't worry, I can just drop it off at the dry cleaners in Motostoke!" Emily said, before attempting to squeeze herself into the hole.
"Oh dear, it's too dark to see- Owww!" Emily exclaimed, seemingly having been zapped by something inside the den.
The struggle began. Or at least, it looked like a struggle from where Ivy was. All she could see was a pair of legs sticking out of a hole while presumably the rest of Emily was trying to fend off an angry Yamper.
"Oh, stop it you-"
"YaaaamPER!"
Emily backed out of the hole slightly.
"Wait, there it is! Maybe if I-"
Emily began crawling further into the hole as the Yamper attacked again.
"You are a rude thing, aren't you! Owww! Good thing I packed a first aid kit! Wait, that's in my bag."
Emily pushed herself further into the tunnel, to the point where Ivy could only hear what was going on.
"See, I'm not just going to give up! No matter how hard you hit me!"
Ivy continued to listen intently. In a strange turn of events, the Yamper's distressed barking seemed to stop.
"Oh, you like headpats? Would you like more? Good boy! Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?"
Suddenly the Yamper yelped in surprise. A few seconds later the faint clicking of a Poké Ball could be heard.
"Phew. Okay, where are you now? Here you are. Porygon, are you alright?"
Ivy could hear a Porygon beeping happily
"Phew!" Emily continued, "Okay, please turn the torch on so I can see where we are."
A faint light came out of the hole.
"Wow, that's a lot of things. This Yamper must have been busy. Anyway, we should get out."
Slowly, Emily started to emerge feet first from the hole again, managing to get about half of herself out before stopping abruptly.
"Are you okay? You need me to pull you out or anything?"
"No, I'm fine! I can do this!"
Emily struggled for a few minutes to little avail.
"I guess I'm stuck. Fiddlesticks. Can you give me a hand please?"
"Erm, okay."
Ivy waded into the shallow water. Marcus hopped off her head to go and wait with Juliet on the dry land.
"Okay, I'm gonna try and pull you out, are you ready?"
"Yes, but please be careful, I happen to be very-"
As soon as Ivy tried to grab Emily's ankle, she began to squirm.
"...ticklish."
"Well, this is going to make things harder."
"I'll try not to squirm this time. Maybe if you try holding on to my shoes?"
"Okay, I'll give it a go."
"If you let me know when you're going to pull, I'll try and push with my free hand too."
"Let's give this a shot."
Ivy managed to get a solid grip on Emily's shoes.
"On my count. One, two, three!"
Ivy gave a powerful tug. Emily came flying out of the hole and Ivy fell over backwards from the force.
"Not the most dignified of escapes, but at least I've got my bag now," Emily said, picking herself up.
The two of them were soaking wet. Emily was also covered in dirt from her scuffle with the Yamper. Her arms were covered in marks from where it had attacked her.
"Hey, you in the lake! Are you two alright?" A voice coming from the path called.
Ivy and Emily looked up to see a woman who looked to be in her mid twenties. She had wavy red hair and wore a lab coat. They both recognised her instantly.
"Professor Sonia?!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Yup, that's me!" Sonia said, smiling, "So, what's a pair of young trainers like yourselves doing wading around in the lake?"
"Oh, nothing much. My friend and I were just retrieving my bag from a particularly larcenous Yamper," Emily explained, heading out of the water. Ivy followed suit shortly after.
"Well, I'm assuming by the fact you seem to be carrying a bag that you managed to get it back, right?" Sonia asked.
"Indeed. I got into a bit of a scrap with it, but everything's fine now."
"Okay! I guess I'll be on my merry way then-" Sonia paused, "Wait, are your arms okay? They look like they've gone through quite the ordeal."
Emily looked down at her arms, only now realizing that they had been injured quite badly.
"Erm, I'm sure I'll be just fine!"
Sonia shook her head.
"You really need to get those wounds cleaned up," she said, concerned, "My gran's house is just down the path and I've got plenty of medical supplies there."
"Don't worry! I was given a first aid kit for a reason!" Emily said, rummaging through her bag and pulling out a soaked first aid kit, "On second thought, I accept your offer."
"It's settled then! Follow me. Your friend can come along too!"
"You're talking about her Ponyta, right?" Ivy asked.
"No, silly! Of course, the Pokémon are invited too," Sonia replied.
"Um, okay," Ivy said.
Sonia led the pair down the path to Professor Magnolia's house. An hour or so later, Ivy and Emily were sitting together at a table in the garden. Sonia had invited them inside, but Ivy refused. She didn't want to just walk into a stranger's house, no matter how famous the stranger was. Emily had gone inside, and had emerged a while later in a new (and cleaner) dress, with her arms covered in sleeves of bandages. Sonia insisted they stay for a curry, seeing as it was lunch time. Emily's Ponyta was sitting on the grass and Marcus was sleeping on Ivy's head.
"Father told me to always pack spare clothes. I guess it was going to pay off eventually," Emily mused, sipping the tea she had bought out with her, "Hopefully this one will last until I can get to a dry cleaner's."
"Well, hopefully you won't have to dive in any more holes."
"Yes, though I can't guarantee anything."
They both paused awkwardly for a few seconds, unsure of what to say next.
"So," Emily broke the silence, "Why did you stay?"
"Stay?" Ivy replied, confused.
"You could have left when that Yamper ran away, or when we couldn't find my bag, or after helping me out of the hole, or while Sonia was bandaging my arms. But you didn't. I was just wondering why."
Ivy thought for a while.
"Well, I guess I just wanted to make sure everything got fixed, seeing as this mess was my fault to begin with."
"Why would it be your fault?"
"If I hadn't made that Poké Ball float, you wouldn't have gotten distracted and lost your bag."
If you're using that logic then it's my fault. You were just demonstrating what "telly can eat sis" was because I asked, Marcus added, surprising Ivy.
"It's telekinesis. But I still shouldn't have gone along with it."
"The curry's ready!" Sonia called.
Sonia emerged from the house carrying three plates of steaming salad curry. It smelled delicious, as one would expect from one of the best amateur curry chefs in the region. Sonia wasn't just the Pokémon Professor, after all. Ivy dug right into the meal as soon as the plate hit the table. She'd hardly been hungry until a few minutes ago, but now she was ravenous. The curry had a wonderfully rounded flavour. The slightly spicy flavour tickled at the back of her throat, while the hint of sweetness was balanced out by a sour kick. It was truly a culinary masterpiece. After devouring half of her plate, she looked up to see Emily staring at her in horror, while transferring some of her curry onto a side plate to give to her Ponyta. Sonia also looked surprised by her enthusiasm. Ivy berated herself internally for her terrible manners.
"I'm so sorry about that! The curry was so good I couldn't help myself," Ivy half panicked. She may have embarrassed herself in front of a national celebrity and someone who was clearly far richer than her, but she wasn't going to take it lying down. She was going to try her darndest to save their opinion of her.
"Oh, it's okay! I'm glad you like the curry!" Sonia smiled.
"Indeed, the curry is delightful, Professor." Emily said to Sonia, "It's safe for Pokémon to eat, I presume?"
"Yes! That's one of the reasons I decided to make salad curry."
"Perfect! Here you go, Juliet!" Emily said, placing her side plate down in front of the Ponyta.
"Marcus, you want any?" Ivy asked, attempting to look up at Marcus, who fell off her head onto the back of her chair before crawling over Ivy to get on top of the table.
Yeah, can I have some? Marcus responded. Ivy nodded and Marcus started nibbling at the corner of the curry. Sonia raised her eyebrows.
"So, your Blipbug has its hidden ability? Where did you find it?"
"I don't know, my parents caught it for me. Marcus is my first and only Pokémon."
"Your parents sent you out with just a Blipbug? Hidden ability or not, that's pretty rough," Sonia turned to Emily, "I take it you're also a new trainer?"
"Indeed," Emily nodded, "This is Juliet, my starter. There's also Hermes, but he's resting in his Poké Ball right now. What happened in that hole by the river was a harrowing experience for the both of us."
"Well, Juliet looks like she'll grow up to be a beautiful Rapidash, if you raise her well."
"Thank you, Professor!" Emily smiled.
"Yeah, Rapidash are really cool!" Ivy added.
The meal continued in silence for a few minutes.
"So, how long have you two known each other?" Sonia asked unexpectedly. Ivy and Emily looked awkwardly at each other.
"Only a few hours. We met earlier today," Emily said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah," Ivy added.
"I couldn't tell. You two seem like good friends."
"Well, I never said we weren't friends," Emily mentioned.
Ivy was surprised. Did Emily really consider her a friend already? They'd only known of each other's existence for a few hours at most, because of an incident that was her fault. How could someone like Emily consider someone like her a friend?
Maybe because you helped her out and stayed with her? Maybe she's also lonely? Marcus interrupted. Sonia and Emily turned to look at him, confused.
"I wonder what that was all about?" Emily pondered.
"Well, I wouldn't say we're friends yet, but you do seem like a nice person!" Ivy said suddenly, trying to change the subject.
"Erm… Thanks?" Emily replied.
Ivy couldn't tell if Sonia was pleased with the awkward situation she'd created, or whether she felt as awkward as they did.
If it helps, I think it's a mix of both, Marcus added.
"It must be pretty awkward having a Pokémon that can hear what you're thinking all the time," Sonia smiled.
"Yeah, it's gonna take some getting used to…" Ivy laughed before finishing the last few morsels still on her plate. Emily finished her food a few minutes later.
"Thank you for the wonderful curry, Professor," Emily said.
"Thanks! It was interesting chatting with you two," Sonia smiled, "Unfortunately I've got to clear things away now. I've got an important call in ten minutes about my new book."
"Sorry for keeping you back," Ivy apologized.
"Oh, it's not your fault! Your friend needed first aid and I just happened to be walking past!"
"Oh, that just reminded me of something! Before you go, would you mind signing my copy of Galar: A History?" Emily asked, taking a slightly damp copy of the book and a pen out of her bag.
"Sure, I can do that!" Sonia took the book and pen and hurriedly scrawled her signature on the first page.
"Thank you so much!" Emily said enthusiastically as she retrieved her book, "I'll be waiting for your new book with baited breath. If it's anything as good as this one, I know it'll be an amazing read!"
"Why thank you!" Sonia said, stacking up the plates on the table. Ivy and Emily headed towards the bridge back to Route 2.
"Thanks for the lunch, it was great!" Ivy said, waving.
"Thank you for letting me use your first aid kit for my arms!" Emily added.
"You're welcome! Good luck on your journeys!" Sonia called back as the pair headed back towards Wedgehurst.
The two walked together, occasionally exchanging small talk. After what felt like only a few minutes, they reached a fork in the path outside Wedgehurst's Pokémon Center. Ivy paused for a second and took out her map.
"Wait, why are we pausing? Isn't the train station that way?" Emily asked, pointing down the hill.
"I'm not taking the train. I don't have any tickets," Ivy sighed.
"Really? Your parents didn't buy you a rail pass?" Emily frowned.
"Nah, but I don't need one. I can walk."
"But it's such a long way to even get to the Wild Area!"
"I'll live."
Emily started to pace up and down.
"Hmm… I can't just let you suffer such a hardship…" She stopped abruptly. "It's settled. I'll buy you one!"
Ivy was taken aback. Was this girl insane?!
Maybe, Marcus responded.
"But they're so expensive! I know you can probably easily afford this, but please don't waste your money on someone like me!"
"No, I insist. Please, at least let me buy you a ticket to get to the wild area."
Ivy sighed. It was obvious Emily couldn't be reasoned with.
"Okay, it's a deal. Though please make sure you get the cheapest possible ticket."
"I can do that. I've always wondered what the economy class seats are like…"
True to her word, Emily bought Ivy a one way ticket to the wild area station. They got on the train, and Emily decided to sit opposite Ivy. It seems they were going to be together longer than Ivy had originally predicted, though she was never the sort of psychic who could see the future in any kind of clarity.
