A/N: Hello readers, thank you so much for taking the time to read my fanfic. I know it is updating at squirtle speed, but I promise to keep working on it as much as I am able to do so. This fic means a lot to me, and I am excited to see your throughts as Abrielle's journey continues to unfold. Looking forward to hearing from you! =)
"They're beautiful . . ." Abrielle mused while staring at the impressive twin waterfalls inside of the cave that served as a connection point between Kanto and Johto.
The sound of the water rushing down the rocks was soothing, but the appeal of this natural wonder soon wore off as she realized there was no walkway or bridge to help her cross over from her side to the other.
How am I supposed to . . .?
As if on cue, another trainer approached her from a few steps away. He seemed a bit winded, and Brie imagined the large backpack slumping against his frame was partly to blame. Setting down his belongings, the young man sighed deeply as he lowered himself to the ground.
"What a pain." He lamented, rubbing his temples. "They didn't look this big in the book my friend showed me. Hopefully golduck will be able to climb them."
"Climb them?" Brie thought aloud.
"Yup. That's what waterfall does – it allows pokémon to climb up waterfalls not only as an offensive move, but also outside of battle, too. Only a handful of pokémon learn this technique naturally. Most need to be taught how to use the move."
"Oh, I see." Abrielle grimaced slightly.
"You don't have a pokémon that knows it?" He asked curiously.
"No." She said softly. "I had no idea I would need to teach them moves like that, let alone how I would go about it."
"Hm, sounds like you're in a bit of pickle." The young trainer acknowledged her with a sympathetic look on his face. "Hold on a sec. I may have still have the HM with me." He said while reaching into his backpack and rummaging through the contents inside.
HM? What the heck is that?
"Well, aren't you a lucky psyduck!" He announced a moment later while holding up something that looked like a DVD. "Here it is, the hidden machine for waterfall. You can borrow it if you want to."
"Is that what HM stands for?" Abrielle wondered aloud and the boy nodded.
"Yup, this is called a hidden machine – it allows you to teach pokémon moves that can be used outside of battle." Scratching his head awkwardly he added, "No offense, but I'm surprised you didn't know that, being a trainer and all."
A flush soon claimed her cheeks and she turned away, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Badges aside, I guess there's still a lot I don't know about being a trainer if this kid ,who is clearly a few years younger than me, knows all of this.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like a jerk." The trainer confessed, his expression more apologetic now. "I guess I just assumed that since you're older than me . . ."
"It's fine." Brie interjected abruptly. "My journey is certainly more atypical than your average trainer's, I'm sure."
Although the boy seemed to be waiting for her to elaborate, she wasn't about to add anything else. So he took the silence as his cue to start anew.
"Well, anyway . . . I'd be happy to let you borrow mine if you'd like?" Clearing his throat, he held the disc out toward her.
"That's very kind of you, but I don't know how to use it." Abrielle confessed.
"Oh, it's really easy!" The young trainer smiled while handing the disc to her and an odd looking machine she assumed would play it. "You insert the HM into this player and then have a water pokémon watch the video so it can learn the move, but not every water-type can."
"I have a seadra." She replied while retrieving its pokéball from inside of her satchel. "Can it learn waterfall?"
"I believe so!"
"Alright then," Brie nodded and released her partner.
It blinked several times, adjusting to the new surroundings. It seemed delighted by the sound and presence of the water, but released an irritated sound when it caught a glimpse of the boy. It puffed up its chest as it usually did just before releasing smokescreen, causing the boy to flinch in surprise, but Abrielle patted Seadra's head and reassured it.
"No need to do that, he's going to help us out."
The aquatic pokémon narrowed its eyes and lowered its head apologetically.
"No need to feel bad, you were just protecting her." The young male trainer spoke. "That's admirable. It must really care about you a lot."
Brie glanced down at Seadra, which had its tail slightly curled around her ankle a bit. A slight smile tugged at her lips. "You think so?" She thought aloud.
"Oh yeah, they're usually rather standoffish. Yours seems quite attached to you – literally!" Nodding happily he added, "I don't think it will have any problem learning waterfall for you."
"Okay, we'll give it a try." Abrielle watched the boy set up the disc player and turn it on. "Thank you for all of this . . . sorry for the inconvenience."
"No need to apologize." The young trainer waved his hand dismissively as he took a few steps away from her. "I'm going to be over there if you need me. Want to rest a bit more before setting out."
"Okay Seadra, I need you to watch this video. It will help you learn the attack called waterfall, which you can also use to climb those." Gesturing to the twin waterfalls looming above them she continued, "It might take a few tries, but I'm sure we can do it."
Seadra released a determined trumpet-like sound in agreement and seated itself in front of the screen.
Thankfully, the video was short and sweet – perfect for replaying the clips a handful of times. It showed several pokémon climbing waterfalls, some with trainers riding atop while others were pulling trainers behind them.
Abrielle exhaled a deep breath before grabbing the technology and returning it to the boy, who appeared to be rummaging through his backpack.
"Thanks again for the support, I wouldn't have been able to continue my journey otherwise."
"No problem!" He shot her a wide grin. "Since you seem kind of unsure still, would you like to go together?"
"That's okay." Abrielle shook her head. "It's important that we do this on our own. We won't always have the kindness of strangers to rely on, after all."
"I see . . ." The young trainer acknowledged her with a nod, a bit reluctant to turn his back on her.
Is he worried about me? She couldn't help wondering for a moment. Because he's younger than I am, but perhaps . . . age really is just a number. Remembering what Steven had told her about the concept of age, and how it didn't always align with one's experiences or ability to connect with others, she felt her stomach squeeze tightly for a few seconds.
The prospect of a relatively "normal" childhood was taken from her by the Rockets, and although it had been her decision to pursue them, it felt as if they were robbing her of a true pokémon trainer experience as well.
Lost in her mind's wanderings she almost didn't hear the boy call out to her from the water. "Good luck with your journey!"
Turning to face his voice she noticed that he was riding atop the golduck he had referenced when he first ran into her. It quacked eagerly before swimming up to the waterfall and scaling it, its webbed hands and feet helping it paddle through the powerful current.
Brie swallowed hard as she lowered herself into the water, surprised by how deep it was after taking only a few steps away from the shore. Reaching out to grasp a hold of Seadra's dorsal fins, fully aware of the venom they could exude, but having enough trust in her partner to use them to hold onto, she breathed the words "Let's go."
Seadra was a strong swimmer, and was able to glide swiftly through the water, undeterred by the rushing water it was approaching. Abrielle braced herself, the force of the water pushing against her as her pokémon steadily towed her along behind it. Gripping its fins tighter, Brie inhaled a deep breath, preparing to hold it in case they became submerged at any point. Her intuition had been spot on as Seadra ended up buoying through the water. Despite her best efforts to maintain her grip, the fins ended up slipping through her wet hands.
In an instant Abrielle, falling backward, somersaulting into the base of the waterfall and sinking momentarily before floating back up to the surface. Seadra stopped climbing upon feeling less weight upon it and released a concerned sound as it swam around her.
"I'm okay." She reassured while grasping a hold of its dorsal fins once again, the scales noticeably slippery to the touch. "I just have to hold onto you better somehow."
On their next try, the twosome found themselves rewarded with the same outcome.
The third try showed some success as they managed to make it further up the waterfall, but Abrielle still couldn't manage to hold on long enough to make it to the very top.
Having been forced down into the cold water several times, and consequently, now feeling slightly disoriented, Brie took a moment of pause. Going ashore, she sought to collect herself, combing her hair back from her face and taking a few deep breaths.
This isn't working. Seadra is too slippery for me to hold onto. She huffed internally. There must be something else I can try . . .
Seadra suddenly released an irritated noise as it swam around in circles. Upon further inspection, Abrielle noticed something stringy attached to its body, mainly around its snout.
"Seadra, come here a moment. Let me get that off of you."
The pokémon did as she requested, and within a few seconds Abrielle had managed to cut the wire-like string from around its snout with her pocket knife.
Is this . . . fishing line? Brie thought momentarily.
As Seadra released a contented noise as it splashed around in the water she gestured for the aquatic pokémon to wait there while she went off to get something.
As Abrielle exited the cave she recalled passing many fishermen along the water-filled route to Tohjo Falls, and thought it made sense to ask one of them for some extra fishing line if they had any to spare. Luck proved to be on her side, and she hastily headed back to Seadra. It seemed eager to try climbing the waterfall again, but narrowed its eyes in discontent upon noticing the fishing line in its trainer's hands.
"I know this is probably a lot to ask of you, but can I use this fishing line?" Abrielle asked it. "I got to thinking it is quite strong, and if I could secure it around your dorsal fins, I may be able to hold onto you better. I think your rough scales will prevent the wire from hurting you, and as for me . . . well, I'll deal with that later."
Despite her reassurance, the aquatic pokémon didn't seem too keen on the idea, but not out of fear for itself. Its eyes seemed fixed on her – more specifically, her hands. Although they were slightly calloused, they still seemed somewhat soft and perhaps even a tad fragile.
Much like the young lady they belonged to, it seemed.
"I'll be fine Seadra, so don't worry." She insisted. "We can't stop here, and there's no way around it."
Although her partner seemed hesitant, it ultimately relented to her request, allowing Brie to create a make-shift harness of sorts. Securing it around the pokémon was the easy part, the scales working with rather than against the fishing line. The true test was whether the small loops she made for her wrists and hands to secure herself would hold.
"Whenever you're ready." She stated, and it was all Seadra needed to hear.
The aquatic pokémon shot across the water like a rocket, zooming through the current at full-speed without slowing down. Abrielle could feel the fishing line digging into her skin a bit, but she wasn't slipping this time – her plan was working! The sting across her hands did not deter her.
"Keep going!" She hollered, spurring it on. "We're doing it!"
A few minutes later they had reached the top, and Brie almost didn't notice that her hands were feeling a bit raw. A quick look revealed several cuts in the flesh, but her plan had worked, and she reasoned that the pain was worth it.
The view from the top of the waterfall was breathtaking, and she managed to climb atop of some rocks to get her bearings for a few minutes. Something reddish in color caught her eye, and she managed to dig whatever it was out of some cracked rocks.
I have no idea what this is, but it's pretty. Abrielle thought to herself, rolling it around in her hands before placing it into her satchel. I think I'll hold onto it.
After a short reprieve, she stood up and set her sights on the second waterfall. This time, they would be descending – a much scarier thought. She swallowed hard and shook her hesitations away, hoping her partner wouldn't sense that her nerves were gnawing at her a little.
"Ready?"
Seadra made a trumpet-like sound, signaling that it was raring to go. Brie secured herself to her partner again and willed it onward. The sound of rushing water was barely audible as her heartbeat echoed in her ears, facing the downward at the base of the waterfall so far away. Gravity was now working with them instead of against them, and Seadra had to actually use its strength to swim slower than the rushing water was pushing it to go. Abrielle held fast to the fishing line as best she could, but about halfway down she ended up being forced out in front of her partner, losing her bearings and plummeting into the water below. Seadra acted quickly, launching itself beneath the surface like a torpedo and curling its strong tail around her wrist to pull her upward. The pokémon breached the surface, yanking its trainer up for a much needed breath of air. Brie's eyes stung, and she was coughing a bit – having swallowed some water on the way down – but she could hear Seadra making a flurry of noises as it swam around her, clearly concerned.
"Well, that could have gone better." She spat, but there was a hint of sarcastic humor in her tone. "Guess I need to do a better job holding on, huh?"
Seadra nuzzled against her cheek as it nudged its body closer, hoping its trainer would use it to float over to the shore. She took the hint and did just that.
Finding her bearings after a moment or two of stepping onto land, Brie cut the fishing line off of her partner before attempting to ring out her hair and clothes as best she could. Ignoring the little sparks of pain in her hands as she washed trickles of blood from the fresh cuts, she glanced over at the infamous Tohjo Falls one last time before returning Seadra to its pokéball and heading for the exit.
"Do you know what you just did?" A booming voice asked, causing Brie to jump out of her skin in surprise.
The gravelly tone resembled the deep sturdiness shared by many hikers she had encountered in her travels, and sure enough her guess had been correct. Standing a few feet away was indeed a stout hiker with a bellowing laugh.
"You've just taken your first step into Johto!" He continued, filling the silence. "Congratulations!"
Abrielle rubbed her eyes briefly and looked around, taking in the sights of this new region. It didn't look all that different from Kanto at first glance, but she knew better. Johto would prove unique in both the experiences it provided and the challenges it presented. Despite those differences, her goal remained the same: train harder, grow stronger, and ultimately, destroy Team Rocket.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
"T-Thanks." She offered much more softly, approaching the man. "Is New Bark Town . . .?"
"Keep going west." The hiker said while gesturing in the corresponding direction. "You'll see a few areas of water and vegetation, but the Pokémon Lab's roof can be see over the tops of the trees closest to the town. You can's miss it."
"Alright, thanks again."
"Don't mention it." The man gave her a thumbs up. "Good luck, kid!"
Brie waved once in his direction before staying the course. She would need more than just luck to see things through, but figured it couldn't hurt to hope for some, anyway.
