AN: Thanks for the favs and follows!
The incessant ringing from her scroll was what finally woke Ruby up from her deep slumber. Her hand missed the rude device a few times, but once she got it, she put it against her ear.
"What?" she asked tiredly.
Her answer was another ring, this time right next to her ear, startling her enough to fully wake up. She opened a glaring, tired and bloodshot eye, pressed the green button to accept the call and put her scroll again to her ear. "Yeah?"
"Is this Miss Ruby Rose?" a friendly, female voice asked her.
"Yeah," she said. "Who is this?"
"Ah, great! Miss Rose, this is Skye Azur from the Emerald Village Pokémon Center. The wild Nidoran you brought during the night woke up, but she appears to be quite agitated. We were wondering if you could bring the male that was with you? The form you filled earlier stated that the male appeared to have been quite worried about the female's wellbeing?"
"Oh!" Ruby, now out of her bed and stripping off her pyjama bottoms, was catching on where this was going. "I'll be right there!"
"Thank you, Miss Rose!"
The call ended with that, Ruby tossing her scroll onto her bed and quickly getting ready.
It didn't take her all that long to leave her room and head to the Pokémon Center. When she checked the time, it said that it was still just past 6 AM, the sun just about rising, painting the horizon in various hues of red. The morning dew was wetting the grass and plants, making her smile as she took in a deep, deep breath. She opted to go without stockings and her skirt this time. Instead, she chose a pair of tight, red shorts and a Pokéball-themed white shirt, which was covered by a black sweat jacket, with the hood pulled over her head; it was still crisp this early in the morning after all.
She glanced down at the yawning male next to her. "Ready to see your friend?"
"Nido!"
Grinning, she started to jog towards the Pokémon Center, which was just about a minute or so away from the hostel. When they arrived there, Ruby picked the small Pokémon up and entered, marvelling at how quickly the little guy had come to trust her. A few hours earlier, he wouldn't have allowed her to hold him like this without putting up a fight.
"Good morning, Miss Rose!" The woman working at the counter waved at her with a tired smile. Night shift must really suck. "I apologize again for waking you up so early, but the female is very...well, stressed, I suppose. Seeing a familiar face might be just what she needs to calm down."
"That's okay!" Ruby was about to hand Nidoran over to the nurse – she had forgotten her name already, something-something blue – but Nidoran was having none of it, the little, pink Pokémon wiggling and struggling and loudly protesting. "Sorry, I guess," she said sheepishly, holding him tight to her chest. "I guess two new people holding him in not even a day is a bit much. He's still wild too."
"No problem, Miss Rose," the nurse said easily, standing up, but Ruby was still unable to catch a glimpse of her name tag. "Just follow me."
Ruby did just so, walking behind the nurse to the treatment area, stealing glances left and right and her heart was clenching up at the sight of quite a few very sick and injured looking Pokémon.
"As supernaturally sturdy and durable Pokémon are, as powerful they are as well. Accidents can always happen because of that power," the nurse said solemnly. "Even amputations, as rare as they are, happen from time to time."
"Gosh...it's kind of easy to forget, isn't it?" Ruby wondered out loud. "How quickly being a Pokémon Trainer and a battle Pokémon can go wrong…"
"Not for us nurses."
The sombre mood didn't last for much longer, however, because, as soon as they entered the female's room, the male started to wiggle in her arms, ready to go to her. That caught the female's attention and she started to squeak and chirp and cheep immediately as well, trying to get out of her wide, see-through sleeping box. The nurse opened the lid with a smile and Ruby placed the male gently inside, both Nidorans wasting no time to start nuzzling each other and sharing affections.
Ruby looked at them with a grin then turned to the nurse. "I didn't expect that she'd get better this quickly. She looked really bad when I brought her."
"She did have a very high fever and food poisoning and that at a very young age," the nurse said. "She's still very weak and the fever is, while nowhere near as bad, still there, but with time and patience, she'll be just fine. It'll take quite a while, however."
"The wild doesn't have time and patience, though," Ruby said with a frown.
"That's why we'll have to put her up for adoption," the nurse explained, looking a bit helpless. "We can't keep her around any longer, now that she's on her path to recovery. It isn't ideal, but that's the best we can do for a wild Pokémon. If she had a licensed trainer..."
"Just her?"
"The male is perfectly capable to survive the wild."
Ruby bit her bottom lip. She didn't like any of that at all. Both Nidorans obviously cared for each other and to separate them was simply cruel. She, of course, understood where the lawmakers had been coming from, but it still sucked.
"What if I took them both?" she suddenly asked.
The nurse smirked. "If they accept, it'd save us a lot of headaches, no doubt." With that, the nurse left the room, leaving her with the two young Nidorans.
Ruby opened the lid of the sleeping box, the female retreating a bit into a corner. The male wasn't as shy and cautious with her anymore, though: he stood on his hind-legs, grabbing and nuzzling her hand as soon as she reached into the box.
"Nidoran...your friend isn't fit for the wild, so they have to put her up for adoption because they can't keep treating her here for free. Not you, though. If you are wild and haven't been caught, you have to go back to the wild."
The Nidoran released her hand, a look of utter shock on his face. Then he stood in front of the now trembling female, viciously barking at her with his high-pitched chirps. "Nidoran! Nido, Nido!"
Ruby sighed and reached towards the male, rubbing him behind his large ears. "I'd be willing to take you both in, though," Ruby said. "I'd take care of you, we'd get to travel a lot, have awesome battles. I'd make sure that your friend – is she your friend?" Ruby scratched her head. "Or are you siblings? I honestly can't tell." Shaking her head, she forced herself back on track. "Anyway. I'd make sure the female Nidoran gets the best care and that she gets healthy as soon as possible. It's up to you, though. I won't force you. Talk it out with each other."
She had left the two small Pokémon over an hour ago, spent a bit of time walking around the village and allowing her Paras to feed on tree roots at the edge of the forest. Now she was back at the Pokémon Center, standing in front of it. A little bit of nervousness was settling inside of her belly. She really, really hoped that the Nidorans would be okay with her being their trainer. They were adorable and if she was honest, she had always found Nidoking and -queen to be very cool. To have them both in her team – well, not quite yet, but in the future – would be amazing.
She took a breath, calming her nerves, and stepped inside. A quick wave for the nurse, who nodded in acknowledgement, and then she went to the treatment area, arriving at the female Nidoran's room. Upon entering, Ruby saw them play-fighting, wrestling around inside the sleeping box. They must've noticed her steps, though, because they stopped suddenly and turned towards her. The female still appeared to be wary of her, but the male looked almost happy to see her – not that she was an expert in reading a Pokémon's facial expressions or body language. With a bit of hesitation, she walked towards them and their box, then opened the lid, peering inside.
"So...have you decided yet?" she asked them with an awkward smile.
The male got up on his hind legs again, reaching for her with his stubby, little forelegs. "Nido! Nido, Nido, Nido!"
"Is that a yes?" Ruby asked, excitement creeping in. "You wanna be part of my team?"
The male nodded vigorously while the female remained quiet. Still, she was apparently willing to trust the male and follow his lead. Ruby grabbed two empty Pokéballs from her belt and placed one in the sleeping box.
"Up to you," she said. The male nudged it with his nose, not a moment of hesitation. Then, in a flash, he disappeared inside of it.
Ruby grinned. She placed the second one in there, the female still looking at her. Reaching in, she scratched the female gently between her ears, making them twitch in the process. "I promise that I will treat you well and if you ever decide that you don't like me or want to be free again, I won't hesitate to release you both," she said, even though the thought alone was quite painful.
The female gave a silent nod, seemingly understanding her, or maybe just catching how earnest she was through the tone of her voice – scientists still weren't sure whether Pokémon could actually understand human speech and the meanings behind words – then she followed the male's example and nudged the ball, disappearing in it as well.
Ruby squealed immediately and threw her hands up in the air in celebration, now that both a male and female Nidoran were part of her team. She grabbed the balls and dashed out of the room and towards the counter.
"Bothnidoransarenowmypokémons!"
"They both said yes? Congratulations, Miss Rose on acquiring two formidable Pokémon and saving me a lot of headaches and heartaches!" the nurse said with a sigh of deep relief. "Allow me to officially register the female for her treatment then, if you please."
Ruby couldn't stop her grinning throughout the whole procedure.
After both Nidorans had gotten various, necessary vaccinations and after she had gotten the female's medication, Ruby was ready to go again.
The next goal of her trip would be Stonehold Town, its name coming from the mountains and caves surrounding it, drawing in a wide range of rock and ground type Pokémon, along with other cave-dwelling Pokémon. That made it the perfect place for the rock type arena. She knew, however, that, even though Stonehold's arena was generally regarded as beginner-friendly, with her Nidorans and Paras, she'd still struggle. Just betting on putting the opposing Pokémon to sleep wouldn't be enough and her Nidorans would struggle even more as poison types because the rock Pokémon would certainly know ground type moves.
She hoped she'd get the chance to catch something helpful against the arena leader's Pokémon by the time she arrived there. Until then, she'd use the time to train what she had now.
"...and then they said yes and got into the balls themselves and now I have three Pokémon already!"
"I'm proud of you, Ruby. I really am."
Ruby grinned at her mum's praise then pointed her scroll's camera at her three Pokémon as they were getting to know each other. After walking for a while now, with a couple or so hours having passed already, she had decided for a break. She was sitting on a bench by the beaten path leading to Flora Village, a small settlement on her way to Stonehold Town. She had also used the time to give her trio of partners something to eat and to give the female Nidoran her medicine. The small, blue Pokémon was certainly looking a lot more lively than before.
"They're adorable! Do you know now what their relation is?" her mum asked.
"They are siblings," Ruby said. "Nurse...ugh, gosh, I've forgotten her name again – anywho, the nurse did a quick test. It's likely their mum got caught or maybe even stolen. A Nidoqueen would never, ever leave Nidorans this young on their own. They are super protective of their babies."
"That's really sad," her mum said. "They must've been really scared, but at least the male tried his best to help his sister. And at least he tried to steal from you. Someone else might've just caught him and left the female to die without even knowing."
Ruby didn't even want to think about such possibilities as she leaned forward and scratched the female behind an ear, causing it to twitch at the touch. "Anyway, I've got to keep going. I plan to reach Flora before dusk. I'll call you again by then."
"Alright, sweetie. See you then and be careful!"
Ruby waved goodbye and ended the video call, rested and ready to continue her journey. "Time to return to your balls guys and gals. Well, just...I mean, you're just one gal, but – we need to get going."
Her three Pokémon just gave her confused looks as they disappeared in their respective Pokéballs, which she pointedly ignored.
As soon as everything was where it belonged, she continued with her journey, but it didn't take very long for her to stop again. A bit to the left from the path, a battle was going on, so Ruby went there to watch. A tall and blonde boy was fighting a tall and athletic-looking red-haired girl. It wasn't going well for him, even though his Rattata was looking strong and fierce. The girl's Cubone appeared to simply be stronger. Ruby quickly used her PokéDex app to register both Pokémons' sightings and get some information about them.
"Finish this with a Tail Whip, followed up by a Mud-Slap," the girl said, her voice strong yet gentle.
"Dodge it, Bucktooth, and use a Quick Attack!" the boy commanded, though he betrayed his nervousness with his wavering voice.
The Rattata actually managed to follow up on both and landed a solid hit, causing the Cubone to wince.
"Don't lose your focus, Cubone. Use Growl."
The Cubone did as told, an otherworldly rumbling growl coming from it, causing the Rattata to freeze for a moment.
"Quick Attack!" the boy said, his Rattata vanishing from sight and landing a perfect hit, but it lacked the punch from before, the Cubone's Growl proving to be very effective.
"Mud-Slap, now!"
The Cubone used his attack from basically point-blank range, the Rattata taking the full brunt of it. Tumbling backwards, it got knocked out.
"Aw man, Pyrrha…you won again." The boy recalled his Rattata to its Pokéball, muttering something to the ball with a fond expression before putting it back on his belt. "You're still light-years ahead of me," he said with a smile.
The girl – Pyrrha, according to the boy – chuckled and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short. You're getting better with every fight. Also, we appear to have attracted a spectator."
Ruby, startled at the sudden attention, waved awkwardly at them. "H-hey – uh, hello! I'm Ruby!"
"Hi!" the boy said, suddenly chipper again. "I'm Jaune, this is my friend, Pokémon Genius Pyrrha!"
Pyrrha shoved Jaune to the side, making him stumble a bit. "Don't listen to him, please. I am just as much of a beginner as every other graduate."
"That's okay," Ruby said with a wave. "You aren't from around here though, are you? Your accent sounds foreign."
"I only moved here recently from Mistral and got my Cubone from Professor Lionheart as a, I quote, 'fitting gift for a new environment'." She did the whole air-quotes-with-fingers-thing. "Jaune happened to be my neighbour, so we decided to start our journey together after he finished his graduation."
Ruby scratched her head in confusion. "Oh...doesn't every kingdom graduate at the same time?"
Pyrrha shook her head. "Mistral's academies graduate a bit earlier than Vale's and Atlas's, but later than Vacuo's."
"Huh. The more you know." Ruby shrugged. "What kinda Pokémon do you guys have? I have a Paras and a male and female Nidoran!" She didn't bother hiding her pride.
"In addition to Cubone, I also have an Oddish," Pyrrha said.
"I have a Weedle and my starter, an Eevee," Jaune said, puffing his chest out a bit.
"An Eevee?!" Ruby's eyes were wide with excitement. "That's so cool! Have you decided which evolution you want to go for?"
"I don't know yet, no," Jaune said. "I always really liked Jolteon, but Umbreon would also be really strong. Maybe I'll just leave it to Eve, my Eevee."
Ruby nodded. "Sounds like a good decision to me. Later you'll end up forcing an evolution on your Eevee which...she?...might not even like."
"So...are you headed to Stonehold Town?" Jaune asked.
Ruby nodded. "Yeah, I want to make a pitstop in Flora Village though. If you guys want, feel free to tag along."
With happy smiles, Jaune and Pyrrha took her up on the offer and Ruby, despite her shyness, had to admit: travelling with others could be a lot more fun than travelling alone.
AN: Jaune just kinda strikes me as the type to give