"Alright, Eevee catch this!" I laughed, throwing my ball as far as I could and Eevee darted after it, using Quick Attack to keep up.
"Vee!" She called as she leaped up and caught it, beaming happily before she landed then turned around, tossing the ball up into the air then bat it over to Dratini with her tail.
"Driii!" Dratini moved into position then smacked it with her own tail high up into the sky where Charizard swooped down and caught it, roaring proudly before dropping it back down to me.
"You guys are great at this game, I forgot how much fun it is!" I said, racing to catch the ball then jumped into a forward roll, giggling as Eevee and Dratini then jumped on me, showering me with affection as Charizard landed heavily on the ground as well, growling as he slathered his tongue up my face.
"Chika!" Chikorita called, swinging her leaf around and I looked up at her.
"Oh hey Chikorita, do you want to play too?" I asked and she nodded her head.
"Chika!"
"Okay then! Be ready, this one is for you!" I called then threw the ball. Chikorita beamed then raced after it, watching carefully before overtaking it and turning. With a firm swipe of her leaf she smacked it back and Eevee jumped forwards with a happy call, bouncing it on her head over to Dratini who bounced it back to me. "Heads up Charizard!" I called and he nodded his head, flying back up into the sky.
We played a great game, all the Pokémon joining in one by one until Ash, Brock and Misty were all playing catch as well. It was lucky we had camped out in such a big clearing otherwise we wouldn't have enough space.
Onix bounced the ball off his head and it tumbled straight for Psyduck. "Catch it Psyduck! It's coming your way!" Misty yelled with a bright smile, watching with hope as Psyduck looked upwards.
"Psy?" The ball hit the ground and bounced before rolling to Psyduck's feet, where he just stared at it.
"Ugh…Psyduck! You were supposed to catch it!" Misty yelled in frustration at her dopey Pokémon but I merely laughed.
"Come on Misty. You love Psyduck really." I told her playfully and she growled.
"It gives me a headache." She grumbled as Pikachu walked over to Psyduck, patted his shoulder then picked up the ball.
"Pika!" He called then tossed it up into the air, turning around and smacked it with his tail, sending it soaring into the sky and Brock's Vulpix raced after it with a smile.
"Vulpix! Vulpix!" She leaped up and caught the ball in her mouth which she proudly brought over to Brock, sitting down then placed it at his feet.
"Great catch Vulpix." Brock said with a smile, kneeling down to take the ball and rub her head as she leaned into his touch. "Alright, batter up!" Brock called then flung the ball out into the swarm of Pokémon. I chuckled from the cooking station with Dratini helping me to get lunch ready. Today we were having a special dinner, because, today is my birthday! Yup, I'm twelve years old today and we were all taking a day off to just relax by this lake we had found and have some fun.
"Dratini, could you pass me the lettuce please?" I asked and she nodded her head with a soft coo, wrapping her tail around the lettuce then lifted it up, handing it to me so I could start cutting it up for our barbeque special.
We'd bought all the ingredients in the town we had just passed and head out to this spot for some relaxing time together, however I had insisted on doing the barbeque because I always loved cooking on the grill. Plus Brock was having a lot of fun with his Pokémon that it's kind of nice to see him winding down a little.
Dratini rubbed against my arm and I smiled down at her. "You want some?" I asked and she nodded her head with a pleading expression so I picked up some cut up lettuce and fed it to her, giggling as she nibbled it from my fingers, munching happily until it was all gone. "You don't have to keep me company you know, you can play the game if you want." I told her but she shook her head.
"Driii! Driii!" She snuggled against me so I wiped my hands on a cloth then picked her up, hugging her in my arms as she wrapped her tail around my arm to hold on.
"Okay then, you little cutie." I giggled. "How about you start bringing over the buns then? I think we're nearly ready." I suggested so she leaped off with a happy trill then set to work bringing me the burger and hot dog buns.
"Hey Ruby! How about you go and collect some berries for the Pokémon?" Brock suggested to me, setting his hand on my shoulder. "Misty and Ash have already gone and the Pokémon will be fine here with me. I'll take care of the rest here."
"Okay Brock, no problem." I told him then looked to Dratini. "You help Brock here okay? Make sure none of the other Pokémon try to help themselves."
"Driii!" Dratini nodded her head so I grabbed a large bowel then called out.
"Eevee! You want to help me collect berries?" I asked and she turned around, lifting her ears as she heard me call.
"Vee! Eevee!" She nodded then sprang over to my side, rubbing her head against my leg then walked with me as I head off into the trees. Eevee trotted happily at my side, tail swishing across the ground before she bounded a few steps ahead, sniffing the air. "Vee!" She called back to me.
"Have you found something?" I asked and she nodded her head.
"Vee Eevee!" She led the way, jumping from spot to spot with endless energy before she burrowed through the bushes and I climbed after her, scrambling through the bushes but then stopped, looking around.
"Eevee? Where are you?"
"Vee!" She answered, trotting forwards with a berry in her mouth which she brought to me proudly, sitting down and swishing her tail as I stooped down and smiled, letting her drop it into the bowl.
"Great job Eevee, let's go find some more." I said to her brightly then raced off to where she had come from. I found a neat cluster of berries of different kinds so I picked a few then moved on to search for some more.
The bowl began to fill up thanks to Eevee's keen nose and soon we had a great assortment of berries which I knew the Pokémon were going to love. "Okay, I think we have enough. How about we head back?" I suggested and Eevee nodded her head but then stopped, pricking her ears and listened to something. "What is it?" I asked and she smiled up at me.
"Vee! Eevee Vee!" She told me before bounding forwards into some bushes.
"Eevee wait! Wait for me! Where are you going?" I asked with a little laugh, chasing after her. I followed through bushes, over a log and through the trees until I started to worry, because I couldn't see her anywhere. "Eevee? Eevee where are you?" I called, turning a quick circle to try and spot her. "Eevee!"
"Vee!" I heard her squeal in fear and instantly I was racing towards the sound. "Vee Vee!"
"Eevee!" I called, dropping the bowl with the berries to spring over a cluster of mossy rocks, breaking through some bushes to find Eevee trembling and shrinking back from a group of Beedrill, all of which were glaring threateningly at Eevee. "Hey! Leave her alone!" I bellowed and instantly their attention turned to me.
I reached back to get the flute out of my bag but my fingers grasped at thin air. Stupidly I had left my bag back at camp. "Oh…uh…hi there." I laughed nervously, taking a step back. "We don't want any trouble. We'll just…go?" Suddenly I had numerous spikes pointed down at me and I yelled. "Run for it!" I darted forwards and swept Eevee up into my arms before racing into the trees. I can see in this case why Misty hates bug Pokémon. Not exactly how I planned on spending my birthday, running away from Beedrill.
Suddenly my foot snagged on a root and I gasped, tumbling to the ground and Eevee flew out of my arms as I hit the ground hard. For a moment I was stunned, the wind knocked out of my lungs and I had to take a moment to recover my senses.
Once I was in the right mind set I whirled around, staring as the Beedrill came closer. "Eevee Swift!" I screamed, hoping she would snap out of her shock too. Suddenly Eevee leaped over me, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Ee…vee!" Eevee used Swift, hitting every single Beedrill with a powerful hit and they buzzed in irritation before turning and flying away. I looked at the Eevee before me with a frown as it turned around to face me, giving me a curious look. That's not my Eevee.
"But…" I turned around to see Eevee shaking on the ground, ears flattened back as her eyes grew a little cloudy with tears. "Eevee!" I scrambled onto my knees and crawled forwards. "Eevee it's alright, they're gone now." I said to her, scooping her up into my arms and cradled her gently.
"Vee?" The other Eevee questioned, stepping forwards slowly and Eevee gasped in my arms then hid, blushing deeply as I turned around to face the slightly familiar Eevee.
"Don't I know you from somewhere?" I asked it as it sat down. Suddenly I heard running feet and then someone called out from somewhere.
"Are you alright? Ruby? Can you hear me?" Gary!
"What are you doing here?" I demanded, standing up as Gary appeared, pushing his way through the trees. "How…huh?" He folded his arms and gave a patronising look as he shook his head slightly.
"Don't you know these woods are full of Beedrill nests? You shouldn't have come in here so unprepared. You're lucky you happened to run by and I heard what was going on. You could have been hurt as well as your Eevee. Then how would you feel?" He told me in a slightly angry tone so I stood up and glared at him.
"Well I'm sorry! Next time I'll be sure to bring bug spray and Repel, because then maybe it'll keep other things that bug me away, like you!" I retorted and Eevee glanced up at me before jumping out of my arms but I hardly noticed.
"It's your own fault you're were in that mess, so don't blame me for anything!" He answered back and I growled.
"You're so annoying! Why do you always have to show up when I'm making a complete idiot of myself?! It's not fair!" Gary arched an eyebrow and looked up at me, his expression still stormy.
"Next time I'll keep on walking." He told me so I rolled my eyes. "Though I doubt you'll be able to stay out of trouble for long. You're always in trouble."
"Go suck on a Rawst Berry." I told him, turning around. "Eevee, let's go." I called and marched off. I noticed how Eevee was acting a little timid around Gary's Eevee but still trying to play, however he wasn't joining in, merely sat there and watched us.
Eevee, looking a little dejected, turned and followed after me with ears drooped to the ground and her head hanging low. I'd taken a few steps then realised that she was looking a little down. "Hey Eevee, cheer up. We can go back and play with Dratini and the others." I told her gently. "Who needs them?" But this didn't cheer her up either. "Eevee, what's wrong?" She shook her head, trying to shake it off then sniffed the air carefully before bounding away. "Eevee wait! Don't run off again! You heard Gary, it's dangerous in here if we're unprepared!"
But Eevee didn't stop. In fact she kept running until she was sitting beside the bowl of berries we had collected and was picking the fallen ones up and putting them back in the bowl. "Great job Eevee!" I said brightly but she only nodded her head.
"Vee…Vee…" Now I was worried. What's wrong with her? She's never been like this before, she's always bright and cheerful, I've never seen her so glum.
"Is it because Gary's Eevee wouldn't play with you?" I asked and she nodded her head. "Well then it's his loss. I'm sure it's nothing personal, maybe it just wanted to…" I had reached out blindly to pick up a berry only to find a hand already holding it.
With a start I turned to find Gary kneeling down next to me, focusing on me intently. "Oh…uh…" He picked up the berry then put it in the bowl, not saying anything before standing up. I blushed slightly, looking away and over to see Eevee suddenly brightened up, sitting down beside Gary's Eevee and nuzzled into its fur though it looked slightly confused.
"Listen Rubes, I'm sorry I snapped like that." Gary said to me and I blinked in surprise, standing up with the bowl. "I was just worried about you, okay?" I nodded my head but turned my head to the side, unwilling to look at him.
"I understand." I said then looked to Eevee. "Come on Eevee, the others will be worried." She nodded her head and made to leap forwards but stopped and looked at Gary's Eevee. She then beamed and licked his cheek, making him start in shock before she bounded after me. That's when it hit. She has a crush on Gary's Eevee! Just great.
"Hey Rubes." Gary said, calling after me so I stopped and turned back to him. "You take care, okay?" I nodded my head, turning to walk away but then Eevee jumped out in front of me.
"Eevee! Eevee Vee!" She said, swishing her tail and bouncing from side to side. Understanding her meaning I sighed but nodded my head.
"Okay, I'll ask." I said then turned back to face him. "Hey Gary, we're about to have a barbeque and some awesome desserts, why don't you take a break and come eat with us?" I suggested to him. "Your Pokémon are all welcome too." He paused, considering my offer and Eevee nudged the back of my leg so I continued. "And it's my birthday, just so you know. So…I'd like it if you could join us." I told him then got out of there as quickly as I could.
Eevee trotted after me, her usual happy self once again though she kept on glancing back over her shoulder. When I got back to the clearing everyone looked up and cheered. "There you are! We were beginning to get worried about you." Brock said but I was instantly cut off by Charizard who growled then began to nudge at me, pushing me towards the table as I giggled.
"Alright! I know you were worried but just hold on a moment." I told him as I reached out and put the berries on the table for Brock to spread out for the Pokémon to choose from. "I'm okay, honest." I assured him, leaping up to hug him tightly and he pressed his head into my back, growling affectionately as I giggled. "You big softie."
"Hey." Gary called and instantly everyone froze in place.
"Gary? What are you doing here?" Ash demanded in shock, leaping up with his mouth full of burger he'd managed to swipe from the plate. I smiled without knowing, stepping towards Gary.
"You decided to come?" He shrugged.
"Thought I might as well. I know your friend Brock is a great cook." Brock laughed, flipping a burger on the grill.
"Well actually, the most of it was made by Ruby today, though I taught her myself. Come on and join us, there's plenty to go around." He invited and Misty pulled up an extra chair and smiled warmly to Gary.
"Here, why don't you sit down?" Gary gave a grateful nod of his head and began to walk forwards but then Eevee blocked his path.
"Vee! Eevee Vee! Vee?" She looked around in search of Gary's Eevee but I think he must have returned it to his Pokéball because Eevee was nowhere in sight. "Vee…"
"Hey there Eevee. I know what you're after." Gary said then picked out a Pokéball. "Eevee, someone wants to say hi. Come on out." Eevee did a dance, flipping back over her head as Gary's Eevee appeared then blinked as my Eevee sidled up to him.
I chuckled, picking up Dratini and draped her around my shoulders as she yawned. "Come on, I think it's time we ate!" I said to everyone so I put her down next to Pikachu who smiled at me.
"Pika Pikachu!" I chuckled, assuming he was saying happy birthday.
"Thanks Pikachu, make sure everyone gets a fair share, okay?" I told him, ruffling his fur gently then went back over to the table.
"So Gary, how about a Pokémon battle?" Ash said to Gary as he sat down at the table, though Ash remained standing, too excited and focused at the moment so I smacked him on the back of his head then yanked him down into his seat.
"No battling today." I said sternly. "You promised. Today is for relaxing and having fun only. No training of any kind." Ash groaned, slamming his head on the table.
"But battles are fun!" However when the food was set on the table he was then happily distracted and didn't say anything more about a battle.
"So Gary, what have you been up to?" Misty asked as she fed Togepi some fruit. "I guess you must be training hard for the Johto League." In answer he nodded his head, shifting a little awkwardly.
"Yeah, I've been catching and training Pokémon so I can get a feel for the right team I want to enter with." He answered. "It's really starting to shape up and I'm determined to do better this time."
"Well I'm going to beat you anyway Gary, so you better be ready for defeat." Ash said, tearing through a chicken wing and I stared at him in disgust before shifting my chair a little further away from him. We enjoyed our dinner, talking about anything and everything with ease and even Gary began to loosen up. Misty managed to drag a few childhood stories from us, though we all did our best not to give in however Ash was the first to cave.
When he told everyone about the time I had tried to capture a wild Nidoran with a rubber ball and had been chased all around town by it, I practically died of embarrassment. So naturally I returned the favour and told everyone about the time Ash had gone fishing with his rod and had been dragged in by a Poliwag, only to return soaking wet and without his pants and only one shoe.
We all exchanged stories after that, somehow learning things about each other that we never knew before. When dessert came I was surprised when Brock placed a large cake in front of me. It was chocolate with blue icing and red roses with twelve candles all glowing with a single flame.
"Wow! Brock how did you make this?" I asked, smiling around at everyone as he smiled with satisfaction.
"I whipped it up last night at the Pokémon Centre then went back for it by flying on Charizard whilst you were busy this morning. You didn't even notice we were gone." I laughed, turning around and giving Charizard a big hug.
"Thanks buddy!" He growled then gave a particularly slobbery lick up my face, making my squeal in mock disgust before I turned.
"Remember to make a wish!" Misty said to me, my camera in her hand as she took a photo. "Ready?" I nodded my head, closed my eyes then made a wish. I wish that I'll always have these friends with me. Opening my eyes I blew out the candles as everyone sang happy birthday then we all dove into the desserts.
I had made everyone's favourites, including extra sticky chocolate brownies for Ash and he chowed down on them happily. "I didn't know you could cook so well Rubes." Gary said to me and I shrugged.
"I had a great teacher." I answered, looking to Brock. "Thanks guys, today has been amazing." I told them but then Pikachu sprang up onto the table.
"Pi Pikachu!" He said then presented me with a wrapped gift. It was small and was wrapped very messily with extreme amounts of sticky tape but I was touched all the same.
"That's from me and Pikachu. Hope you like it!" Ash beamed and I smiled at them both.
"Aw! Thanks you guys!" I picked up Pikachu and hugged him, tickling his belly and chin to make him squeal sweetly before I was suddenly bombarded with presents.
"And this one's from me and all my Pokémon!" Misty told me as she held out the very neatly wrapped gift, blue bubbles on the silver background. I thanked them all then turned to Brock who put down his present in front of me.
"And this is from us, I think you'll really like it."
"Thanks Brock! Thanks Onix, Vulpix, Zubat, Geodude!" I called and they all answered back with proud expressions. I started with Ash and Pikachu's first, fighting with the mass of tape before finally I had a little box in my hand, which I opened to find a little Charmander charm made from silver. "Ash it's beautiful!" I murmured, lifting it up then smiled. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome. Misty chose it, I just bought it." Misty smacked him on the back of the head.
"You're not supposed to tell her!" Misty growled and he frowned.
"What? It's true!" I laughed, shaking my head as I secured the little charm to my amberite bracelet, admiring how the colours worked together perfectly. "Come on, open some more! I'm dying to see what the others got you!"
"Okay!" I laughed then started on the others. Misty had bought me a new notebook, a badge case and another case full of her own selection of lures, including her Misty Special. I picked it up and giggled, smiling at it before thanking her too. I've been meaning to get back into fishing for a while now, I just never seemed to have the time!
And from Brock I had three new cookbooks, a neatly written guide to herbs and their uses, some travelling cooking utensils and finally my own map of Johto. Yes! Now I can at least keep us all on track if I have my own map to compare with Ash's stupid directions. I thanked everyone for their gifts but apparently that wasn't it.
"Chika!" I looked down at Chikorita who then gave me a pretty looking feather, a dark brown one with red streaks at the top which I took from her with a smile.
"It's beautiful Chikorita, thank you." I said then tucked it away into my photo album next to a picture of her and she beamed happily.
"Chika!" Suddenly the Pokémon all swarmed closer and began placing things in front of me, from berries to odd leaves to flowers and even some sticks. I couldn't stop laughing, all too glad that the Pokémon were just trying to give me the best birthday ever, however there was just no way I could take all of it.
"Guys come on! Settle down." Brock said, clapping his hands as I began to sort through my things. "How about we all settle down and do some fishing? That'll be a great way to let our dinners go down then we can see what else we want to do." He suggested and I nodded my head, picking up my lure case.
"I can't wait to test out these lures!" I said, putting away the last of my gifts then raced out to the water with one of Misty's spare rods in hand. "Come on!" Gary followed, deciding to join us but didn't do any fishing. He just sat there enjoying the sun and the wind blew through his hair, making it look tasselled but kind of dramatic in a way.
Whilst Brock and Misty did the dishes and Ash snored on the bank, I sat there gazing out into the water, not yet having cast my rod. The surface was so clear and perfect that I didn't want to disturb it. It glittered brightly with the light of the setting sun, sparkling like Eevee's eyes whenever she looked at Gary's Eevee. Speaking of which, it seemed she was getting a hard time for him to notice her, so she pulled every trick out of the book to try, but it all seemed to be for nothing. He just wasn't interested.
"You know, I haven't sat back and relaxed like this for a long time." Gary said quietly after a while. "It feels good."
"Everyone needs a break every once in a while. Even us trainers." I said to him, not taking my eyes away from the water. "But especially our Pokémon." Gary nodded his head, understanding my hint.
"Don't worry, I take good care of my Pokémon." He assured me and I smiled softly.
"I know. Just checking." There was another interval of silence, interrupted only with a loud snore from Ash as he rolled over, Pikachu mirroring his every move even in his sleep. No that's a little scary. Dratini came down to the water and took a dive, squealing happily before ducking down under its surface with Eevee jumping in after her, making me chuckle. "Be careful you two!" I called to them as Dratini began to speed about the water with Eevee hitching a ride on her back.
"You've raised some pretty awesome Pokémon Ruby. You should be proud." Gary said as he stood up. "I better be going. I still have some things I want to work on with my Pokémon before we stop for the day." I stood up too, a little disappointed that he was going.
"Oh…well okay. I hope you had fun." I said to him and he nodded his head with a smile.
"Sure did. You're a great cook by the way. For a while I thought you'd end up with the skills of your mom with the desserts but you sure proved me wrong." Who could blame him? My mom tried her best to bake stuff but it always ended up in a burnt or gloopy mess. If it ever looked normal then…well let's just say looks can be deceiving.
"Thanks." I said, a little colour rising to my face. "And you're not so bad as I thought. You can be halfway decent when you want to be." I replied smartly and Gary gave a little chuckle before stuffing his thumbs in his pockets, eyes still fixed on mine. They were a really gorgeous shade of brown, an intense dark brown which captivated my attention.
"I'm sorry I don't have a birthday present for you." He told me but I shook my head.
"I don't mind. You being nice is gift enough." I said. "Especially to Ash. You're really starting to change, you know that? I think going on a solo journey was the best idea you ever had." I paused. "Except when you decided to put candy into the blender at school to make a sweet tooth smoothie. That was pretty awesome."
"Don't remind me. I got in big trouble for that. Especially after I broke it." He said with a quiet laugh before turning his head to his Eevee. "Eevee, time to go." Eevee lifted his head and instantly was wide awake, hurrying over to Gary's side who bent down to rub his head gently. "Well, see you around."
"Bye Gary." I replied, stepping back whilst wringing my wrists, looking down so I wouldn't be fooled into watching Gary leave, however that power was taken away from me when Gary tipped back my hat to expose my face then kissed my cheek.
"Happy birthday Rubes." He said to me softly, making my spine tingle and I froze in place as Gary pulled back then walked away, mentioning a goodbye to Brock and Misty before disappearing into the trees. When I looked up and saw their faces, I instantly knew they had seen what had just happened. The only question was this.
What had just happened?
