"Gyarados, you wouldn't happen to know where the first Gym is located do you?" Garnet had reached the beach, Beldum resting on her shoulder as she stood in the shallow water facing the great sea monster. It was hiding behind her shining red hair, fearing the great beast, but she stood there quite at ease, patting the little Pokémon's head to ease his fear.
"The first is Rustboro, the white city across the other side of the region. It will take all day to swim across to Petalburg Woods, so if you intend to force me to take you, we had better start moving." His booming voice was irritable - he did not wish to go all that way - his home was in these oceans not in those seas filed with small-fry who believed themselves kings of the oceans. He despised going there.
"No thank you, I believe I can make it there by myself. You've been a great help to me, I thank you." She patted his blue head, seeing the relief in his eyes at not having to go to that neck of the seas. "However, before I set off, I'll need a new bag, this one's broken, but I have no money to purchase one." All the money she had hoarded had sunk to the bottom of the ocean when her bag tore, to be fair it had been a pittance.
"Then sell those pearls. I have no need for them and humans seem to like them." He swept a gathering of small and big pearls onto the beach with his tail; she picked them up, cupping them in her hands watching them twinkle.
"Thank you once more." She nodded to the very helpful Pokémon as he turned away to leave, swimming out to sea before diving down into the depths from whence he came. "Let's go Beldum, hmm; I need to think of a good name for you if we are to be travelling together for an elongated period of time." She felt the Pokémon nuzzle against her cheek, his ruby eye gazing down at the pearls in her hands.
He was a very loving little thing; she couldn't quite understand why he was so attached to her this quickly. Usually Pokémon were wary of her, because they could sense what humans could not. This little tyke had swooped right in for a hug from the get-go and hadn't left her side since then.
She received quite a hefty wad of cash for the five pearls she held. Much more than enough to buy a new bag, a fairly large bag which fastened around her waist, hooking through the belt loops on her trousers. It had plenty of sections within it and tons of room for many, many items. On the strap were little magnetic slots, where PokéBalls were to go. She attached the Beldum's PokéBall onto the first slot and placed the leftover money and her item within the bag, the money having a little zip-up compartment and she dumped the item in the largest section of the bag, hoping to gain many items to bury it with.
She had checked with the woman standing behind the counter, the bag was waterproof, heatproof and made of a material which didn't tear easily. It was a bag designed and made for trainers in this region.
Once her shopping was complete, she walked back out, staring around the city. It was far more hectic here now, the sun was high in the sky and everyone had surfaced from their slumber. It was such a lively city. It felt strange for her to like a human place. But this city resonated with her, she hoped to return here soon, it felt safe here.
"Are you ready to go Beldum?" She looked to the Pokémon, he had helped her to choose this bag, it was a deep purple hue and hugged her hip tightly, no chance of it being stolen from her or be lost to the sea.
He bounced in the air, mimicking a nod of the head. This silly little action made Garnet smile fondly, he was such a funny little Pokémon, but he was only a baby after all.
She reached the beach, taking off her socks and shoes, dumping them on top of the hated item in her bag. Standing for a second, she allowed the sea to wash over her bare feet, feeling the soft sands under her soles. It was so different from where came from; the sands were soft and silky, not grainy and painful to stand on. The water was warm and welcoming, not freezing cold like the seas she had swam in before. This was a fantastic place to be! Yes, she could see herself settling in this region, it was just so, so perfect!
She hurtled into the water, the land dropped away quickly and she splashed down into the sparkling aquamarine seas, Beldum floating above her head. She splashed water at him playfully.
The little Beldum zooming along above the sea-level while she swam swiftly, the little island was lost behind her within moments, as she pushed towards the mainland. She remembered seeing a city of white paving when she was riding on Articuno before arrival. So she knew exactly where she should be headed thanks to Gyarados. Her powerful strokes took her across the waters at a speed only the fastest Water-type Pokémon could match.
The sun had just started its decline into afternoon when she reached the mainland; it had only been a few hours since she set off from the quaint island. She pulled herself out of the water onto a southern bank leading up into woods on unpaved wildness. Clearly trainers did not often walk this way, as not even a pounded down track led through the trees, the only tracks which could be seen were those of small Pokémon zigzagging through the trees.
"There are so many Pokémon here," She gasped as she listened to the noises of the seemingly empty woods. She could hear the scuffling noises of Flying-type Pokémon and the scampering of many more Pokémon shuffling through the grasses and bushes, which grew wildly all about her. "We should be just south of a small town. Come on, let's go Beldum." She saw he was tired and so carried him in her arms for the rest of the journey, he had exhausted himself on the flight over here. Poor little tyke.
They saw many Pokémon from small Bug-types to wary Normal-types. She ignored them all, not wishing to disturb them in their home. That would be at the height of rudeness which normal trainers didn't quite understand.
The trees were thick. They're strong branches burdened with many peridot leaves, which threw dancing shadows over the landscape, emerald sunlight which managed to filter down to them shone off of the grasses and plants, making everything look so very healthy and undisturbed, it was the perfect hideaway for young weak Pokémon who needed to grow before venturing out on their own journeys to grow stronger. When she spotted a berry bush, she moved across to it, plucking a few ripe berries from it, offering some to Beldum, pocketing the others.
A little snuffle brought her attention downwards, a small brown Pokémon was snuffling at her hopefully. It was a tiny little thing, with shaggy fur decorated with zigzag stripes. She plucked a few more berries from the higher branches of the bush and held them out on her hand to the tiny baby. She felt his wet nose snuffle against her skin before he gently started eating the berries, licking her hand gratefully after all the berries had vanished.
She patted the scruffy fur on its head. It was a sweet little thing which - as it walked - shuffled in a jagged zigzag motion, so as it tried to rub its body against her ankle it head-butting her instead, confusing itself and tottering around on its tiny paws. She tutted as she crouched down, scratching behind its ears fondly, still with Beldum cradled in her free arm. "Where's your mother little one?" She scanned the foliage with her sharp eyes, searching for a maternal figure through the trees. But none could be seen, no trace of an adults scent permeating the forests around them. This little fellow must be left all alone in the world.
Guilt tugged at her heart, she couldn't leave one so tiny all on his own here, anything could happen to it, especially if he couldn't even find food for himself. He would not last another day out here on his own.
"Would you like to travel with me for a while?" She asked the little Pokémon who squeaked and beamed at her, showing all his little teeth off in merriment. "Well then, welcome to the team." She ruffled the hair on his head fondly as he continued to squeak his joy.
She did not capture him in a PokéBall, because she didn't wish to force him into accompanying her forever or be doomed to life in a computer like a lot of trainers did. He scurried around the grasses, hurrying along his unusual walking pattern around the trees. No matter which direction they headed in he always scrambled in this zigzag motion. He was intrigued at the world, sniffing and rifling through everything he came across, from a patch of knotted grass to a shrub growing around a tree. He never slowed or ceased his examination of the world around him.
She smiled at the scruff-ball as they reached the edge of the forest. He stopped, staring unsure at the little town ahead of them. He looked to her for reassurance. Of course, this little guy had never had to deal with humans before, so a human town was incredibly scary for him. He darted, zigzagging quickly to her side. She lowered her arm, scooping him up and letting him scramble onto her shoulder, feeling his hind paws on her back as he rested his weight on her shoulder, hiding behind a curtain of hair, much like Beldum when faced with Gyarados.
"It's alright little one, we're just passing through. I wish to reach the white city before sundown." She patted his furry head once again, feeling his little nose snuffle against her palm as she stepped into the small town. It looked to be empty.
She looked around herself, looking for any sign of life in the few houses scattered around here. But none could be found. The only building which had whirring life within it was marked 'Pokémon Lab', she stayed far from that building as she could. As she walked through the town she was greeted by a yell for help, rushing footsteps circled around the route ahead, scampering paws chasing right behind.
She jogged towards the noise, keeping her pace smooth enough that her furry friend didn't fall from her shoulder. The route was filled with slopes and little drops preventing a direct route through the winding path being taken instead. She could see clusters of tall grasses making a patchwork pattern of the ground here and there.
A large man was hurtling around in a crazy circle, being chased by a small doggish Pokémon which was growling and barking as it snapped at his ankles. She whistled, catching the attention of the angered Pokémon, Dark-type, she could sense it. It hurtled towards her, making to attack her instead. She glared down at it darkly, it stopped in its attack, glancing up at her, unsure of how to react to her, she did not show fear or unease even when he was rushing towards her. She had stood her ground and was looking at him quite sure of herself.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" She crouched down, offering her hand to the Pokémon. "Is it your tail? Are you in pain?" She looked at its tail, which it was holding at a funny angle, keeping it from dragging across the floor as if it were hurt.
It hobbled towards her slowly, sniffing her hand suspiciously before allowing her to touch him. She ran her hand across his back and gently down his tail. It seemed as though he'd been stepped on, his tail seemed sore but not seriously damaged. She pulled out a berry, offering it to it. The Pokémon took the berry then shuffled off into the tall grass.
She stood up, facing the man who was staring at her in awe. "How did you do that?" His voice was shocked, as if he had never seen someone befriend a wild angry Pokémon before.
She shrugged lightly, feeling the weight of the rodent Pokémon on her shoulder; she wrapped her free arm around Beldum so he lay in both her arms. Stepping forward, she passed him by without a word.
"Wait, are you a trainer?" He asked her as she turned back to him.
"I guess you could say that, I am simply travelling, but I might as well take on the Gym's here." He was looking at the two Pokémon who were supported by her. His eyes settled on Beldum in her arms.
"If you are a trainer here, take these." He approached her, digging around in his pockets for a moment before pulling out a red device and five PokéBalls. He offered them to her but she hesitated. "This is a Pokédex; it'll tell you everything you need to know about every Pokémon here in the Hoenn region." She took the device, slipping it into a small, padded section of her bag. She left the PokéBalls in his palm.
"Thank you, but I am not a fan of using PokéBalls, I prefer to allow Pokémon to accompany me of their own will." He looked at the PokéBall evident on her belt. "This Pokémon was given to me by a kind man, so his is the only PokéBall I carry," She explained plainly, lifting her arms slightly to indicate the Beldum who snoozed there.
The man nodded, confused at her strange approach to training Pokémon but not challenging it. He had met many a trainer with varying methods to their training, some strange, some cruel, some confusing. She was simply another one of the strange variation of trainer. But she'd learn soon enough that PokéBalls were a handy item to own.
"Can you tell me, how far is it to Rustboro?" She asked him, wishing to set off as soon as possible.
"Its a little ways away, you'll need to travel north to Oldale, then work your way west to Petalburg, travelling through the woods will bring you to Rustboro. It usually takes about three hours to get from here to there on foot."
"Thank you, I'll set off now then." She smiled falsely at the man wearing a white lab coat, her instincts mistrusting him simply because of the colour white, but she kept her voice polite and her face calm as she dealt with him, so that no suspicions would be raised on his part. She assumed that if he did try anything, she could outrun him, he was a little too large to chase her very far at all; the exercise he had received running from the little Pokémon seemed to have taken his breath and caused quite the sweating fit.
She turned to the north, seeing the next location she would arrive at. With no more distractions, she moved towards it, weaving in and out of the tall grass, ignoring all those who were curled within the waving grasses. Her companions beginning to snooze deeply, not stirring as she walked smoothly and silently through the route.
A/N: Hello! So glad you made it this far! I drew the cover photo yesterday so I apologize for the shoddy quality of it, I just thought it'd be more interesting than the picture of a garnet I put on this fic before. Thank you for reading and a big thank you to those following and ChibiHarmonia for favouriteing and reviewing this sotry! Please drop me any suggestions for nicknames for a shiny Beldum and a Zigzagoon! Thank you very much once again!