Ripley ran back and forth in the tall grass of Route 46. She happened to come across this way venturing back down Route 29. It ended up being a dead-end. But, that was alright. Right now, heading up the mountain that was ahead wasn't her goal.
She was looking for more pokemon, of course.
Lyra and Ethan sat on the plains nearby. The brunette played catch with her Marill with a rock they found. The boy, however, just watched the pink-haired girl, chin rested in his palm as he sat cross-legged in the grass. His Totodile started to tear some out for his own amusement as he sat beside his trainer. Hours have long passed, it was almost evening and the sun was setting behind the mountain of Dark Cave. The poor guy was bored to tears.
"C'mon, Ripley," he groaned; "What are you doing? You already caught a Sentret and a HootHoot. Can't you settle with those for the first Gym?"
The girl popped her head out into view and made a face, "I have a special kind of team in mind, thanks. I can't just go off and catch any kind of pokemon. There are little things called 'type advantages'. We don't know what type of Gym this is!"
"Oh yeah, that's right. You've done this before."
"What the Hell's that supposed to mean?!"
"... Nothing."
Her expression fell, which made him flinch and look away. He didn't mean it. But, damnit. He was tired, and hungry. And BORED.
Ripley had ignored him now, continuing her quest into finding the right asset to her team.
She stood still, coming across a small, darkened mass. She squinted her eyes, then a wide grin spread across her features.
A wild Geodude appeared!
The girl fist pumped the air, silently cheering for joy. The Geodude turned in sensing her presence, surprised.
Crap.
"Wah! Okay! Chikorita!"
The grass pokemon looked to his trainer, attention turned away from nibbling at the dirt. He spotted the rock type, then sprang into action. The Geodude reciprocated, attacking head on.
Ripley couldn't contain her excitement, "Okay, go easy. It isn't that strong yet. Use Tackle!"
It had only took two hits. Geodude was now weakened, and Chikorita wasn't fairing all that well, either. Damn, it hit hard! Ripley grabbed a ball from her bag pocket. Earlier, Ethan's mom was kind enough to buy each of the three basic pokeballs for their journey. She had already wasted two. She tossed it at the dazed Geodude, opening with a pop, then encasing the pokemon inside. Then, she waited, anticipating. The ball trembled.
One.
Two.
Three.
Click.
Gotcha!
Ripley squealed a little, jumping for joy. "Yes!," she shouted; "I got it!" The girl pulled out her pokedex, making sure that she registered this.
"Okay. So, Geodude. Rock Pokemon. Type: Rock and Ground, of course. Nature: Quiet. Gender: Female. It uses it's arms to steadily climb steep mountain paths. It swings its fists around if angered. Likes to thrash about.. Tch, I'll say."
She nodded, satisfied, then retrieved the ball. She tossed it again, letting the pokemon out. Ripley smiled, then knelt down to heal it's wounds with the potions she had left. Calling for Chikorita, she did the same for him. The Geodude looked up at her, confused.
"Welcome to the team," she greeted, holding her hand out. The pokemon looked a little skeptical, then glanced at the Chikorita. He smiled and chirped happily as a hello of his own. The rock pokemon grabbed hold of the girl's hand then, smiling. "Geo-Dude," she responded.
"Alright!," she cheered; "Now we're getting somewhere!"
Ethan yawned, then started to golf-clap. She threw a pebble at his head.
"Eh?," Ripley turned, then shrieked, falling backward into the grass as something collided into her face. After flailing like a maniac for a moment, she summed up the courage to pull whatever dared attach itself to her person.
It was a Spearow.
Ethan laughed out loud, then quieted after getting spritzed by the Marill with a Bubble.
Lyra glared at him, "Ripley, are you alright?"
She blinked, staring eye to eye with the small pokemon. "Yeah," she called, setting it down.
The Spearow squawked, loudly, flapping it's wings violently and hopping to and fro. By the way it was acting, it was jealous of the Geodude that had been recently captured. It wanted to follow, too.
"What? You want to be caught?"
Squawk.
"Uh... Okay then. Well, let's show 'em what you're made of, Geodude!"
The pokemon swung herself forward, pounding on the ground to show intimidation. The Spearow started out with a peck. It barely scratched the surface. Geodude repaid with a tackle. The bird fell, then hopped back up, only to peck at her once again. One more tackle was all it took, since the Spearow was even weaker than the rock type.
"Okay, Geodude, enough!," Ripley hollered. She managed to fish out another pokeball, tossing at the hurt Spearow who struggled. It began to tremble, like before.
One.
Two.
Three.
Click.
"Spearow. Type: Normal; Flying. Gender: Female. Nature: Relaxed. Good perseverance. Very protective of it's territory, it flaps its short wings busily to dart around at high speed. Huh. Interesting."
Ripley popped open another potion. Thank Arceus she had an extra. It's amazing what you can find laying around.
She let out the Spearow, using another potion, having one remaining. The bird pokemon let out a happy cry.
"Well, you're very welcome-Wha?"
The girl blinked, then attempted to look up at the creature that casually perched herself on top of her head.
She smiled, "Okay, then."
"Can we go now?," Ethan whined, obnoxiously. Instead of throwing something heavier at him, Ripley looked over to the boy, and smiled. Which confused him greatly.
"Yeah," she chimed; "We can go now."
"Seriously, I just don't understand why you couldn't just stick with the pokemon you had already caught, instead of putting them into the PC. Seems a little crowded," Ethan said, a little concerned. He wasn't quite sure how the storage system worked.
Ripley handed her pokeballs to Nurse Joy, who took them to the back momentarily. She shot him another look, "They aren't stored in the PC, airhead. The pokeballs are registered then transferred to the lab for Elm to keep in a little area where other pokemon are. Its almost like a refuge."
The trio had finally made it to Cherrygrove a second time. They stopped by at the Poke Center to rest Ripley's poor, weakened pokemon. As they waited, an awkward silence fell over them. Lyra looked to the floor, Marill in her lap. Ethan busied himself by playing with Totodile, having the water pokemon's arms within his hands and flailing them a little at his will. The pokemon cackled and wiggled.
"So... After this," he mumbled; "We're all on our own."
Ripley nodded, "Yep..."
"On to our separate ways."
"Yep.
"Training to be the very best."
"Uh-huh."
"Then one day, we'll cross paths again as rivals and battle to see who's the strongest. It'll all determine our fates."
She nodded. Lyra made a face. "Oh, c'mon, you two. Don't be so down," she huffed.
Ethan looked at her, "Yeah, but, this is actually happening. When you think about it. It's kind of scary."
Ripley snickered a little, "Backing out already?"
He pouted, "Hey! I'm being serious here! Traveling the world, battling trainers that will get progressively stronger, not to mention challenging the Gyms who are probably going to be even more tough to beat. Then you have the Indigo Plateau, Elite Four, then the current Champion. Doesn't it bother you at all?"
She really hadn't thought about that. "A little," she replied after some consideration; "But. I'm looking forward to the aspects of catching more pokemon to fill up my pokedex. Not to mention develop bonds with the ones I travel with. I'm thinking, the stronger the relationship, there really isn't anything we can't do. If we push on, I think victory will be closer than we all think. Your pokemon feel what you feel. So, if we all think positive, they will feed off of that and believe we can actually make it. Which will also make them stronger."
The boy blinked at her, speechless, watching her back as she headed off to the counter to retrieve her pokemon. Lyra grinned, "She's absolutely right." She playfully nudged him; "So stop being so negative! Totodile can feel that." Said pokemon cackled, opening his mouth wide, then closing it. Obviously, he agrees.
"Oof. Okay, okay."
Outside of the Center, the three gathered together for their goodbyes.
Totodile waved at Chikorita, who nudged him affectionately with his nose, then did the same with Marill. Marill squeaked, patting at both as her farewell before shyly hiding behind Lyra.
Ripley watched with a smile, then faced her two friends. "I guess this means goodbye, for now," she said a little sullenly. Ethan nodded, "Yeah. Totodile and I are going to head out and train a little so we're prepared, I hear there are loads of other pokemon up in Dark Cave just down Route 30. It's going to be a little difficult because it'll be pitch black. But, it'll be so worth it!"
"Marill and I are going to train too, and maybe set up camp somewhere," Lyra piped in; "What are you planning on for your next move, Ripley?"
She shrugged, folding her arms behind her head, "I think I will stay here at the Center overnight, then head out early morning. My pokemon went through a lot today, and I think it'll take more than just a few minutes of rest."
The other girl frowned a little, then surprised the pinkette with a tight hug. "Good luck," she told her. Ethan hooked his arms around them, grinning. "Oh, don't be so down," he mocked, imitating Lyra in a high pitched voice. She shot him a glare. Ripley laughed, elbowing him lightly in the side.
"Goof."