This is the tale of a girl. A girl, who, like many others before her, rose from humble beginnings to become a hero. Along the way, this girl will meet friends, enemies, and all manner of strange creatures. But what does one call such a tale of heroism, of friendship, and maybe even of love?
Well, I call it…
RWBYMON
Chapter 0: Dreams and Fairy Tales
This is a work of fan fiction. RWBY is the intellectual property of RoosterTeeth. Pokémon is the intellectual property of Nintendo and Creatures inc. Please support the official release. All characters are presumed to be 18 years old or older unless stated otherwise.
Once upon a time, in a small village called Patch, there lived a young girl. Little did this girl know at the time, that she was about to embark on a journey that would take her around the world. But what would such a girl be named?
Enter name?
"Ruby… Ruby!"
Ruby jolted into the waking world, her silver eyes flying open at the sound of her sister's voice. She was a girl of 8 years old, having recently celebrated her birthday. Her hair was dark, though the tips were red. It might get redder if she let it grow out, but she liked it short. Ruby rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced at her Jigglypuff alarm clock. It was… Five in the morning!?
"Well, you're finally awake!" the blonde girl at the end of her bed teased. Yang was two years Ruby's senior, with long blonde hair and eyes like lavender. She was already dressed for the day, in a yellow shirt and denim overalls. Ruby groaned and threw her pillow at her.
"Yang, do you have any idea what time it is?" she complained as she fell back into her bed. She pulled the covers over herself, nestling into them like a Swadloon.
"Come on, Ruby! We have to get up early to see them open the new Schnee Pokémart!" Yang picked Ruby up. The young girl shrieked as Yang held her aloft. "You know how adults are always doing things at unreasonable hours."
"You're practically an adult yourself, Yang!" Ruby whined. Yang set her down and pulled the blankets off her, spinning Ruby around.
"Excuse me? I'm only ten, and I don't even have a Pokémon yet! Not until dad decides I'm old enough," Yang said, puffing up her cheeks in a dramatic pout. Ruby sat there in a daze, dizzy from the spinning. Finally, she stood up. Well, she was awake now. There was nothing to be done about it.
"Fine, I'll go see the opening with you. You could've just asked, you know," she said. Yang beamed.
"Great! Get dressed, I'll make us breakfast!" She ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The noise awoke the family Yamper, who barked in surprise.
"Zwei, zip it!" she ordered as Ruby set about getting ready for the day.
Meanwhile…
A private train emblazoned with a snowflake logo trundled down the tracks. Its destination was Patch, where a new store was about to open. The company owner liked to oversee all the openings personally, and for this one, he brought a special guest with him. The young girl sat in her sleeping car, seated before a vanity. She ran a brush through her long white hair before tying it up in a high side pony. But what might this young girl's name be?
Enter name?
There was a knock at the door. Weiss turned to face it, setting her brush down.
"Come in," she said. The door slid open, and Weiss rose. She was expecting her father, but it was only her younger brother. She rolled her eyes and sat back down, continuing her morning routine.
"You look nice, sister," Whitley said with a sly smile. Weiss shook her head.
"What do you want, Whitley?" she asked. Her icy blue eyes flashed toward him in the mirror, but only lingered a moment.
"Father says we've almost arrived. Why we're going to the middle of nowhere, I can't imagine," Whitley said, ignoring the hostility. "He sent me to fetch you."
"Not Klein?" Weiss asked as she rubbed some moisturizer into her hands. "Tell father I'll be there in five minutes."
"As you wish, dear sister," Whitley sneered as he slid the door shut. Weiss stared into the mirror.
"Bastard," she muttered under her breath as she finished getting dressed. She had a big day ahead!
Taiyang was dragged out of the house by his two daughters despite his protests. He was a scraggly blonde man, overdue for a shave and barely out of his pajamas. Zwei nipped at their heels, a happy Yamper with a black splotch on his back. He yawned as Ruby and Yang dragged him by his hands down the road. The Pokémart was just ahead!
"Girls, slow down! The store isn't going anywhere, we have plenty of time," he said, trying to wrest control of his life back in some small way. Ah, but how his daughters took after their mothers.
"But dad!" Ruby complained. "We can't miss the opening!"
"Yeah! How often in our lives would we see Winter Schnee? She's a gym leader, dad!" Yang said, nodding in agreement. Taiyang sighed softly.
"Gym leader in training, Yang. Besides, you'll see her if you take the gym challenge when you're older. Now can we go back to bed?"
"No way!" Yang grinned. "We just wanna see her, we don't want to fight her today. Besides, we can't. We don't have Pokémon, remember dad?"
"What are you talking about? We have Zwei!" Taiyang protested. Zwei barked in agreement, wagging his stubby tail.
"Dad, Zwei is your Pokémon, not ours. He wouldn't listen to us in a battle!" Ruby said.
"Really? What a shame. Sorry girls, I guess there's no battling for you until you're older. I don't make the rules," Taiyang said with a shrug. His daughters tugged at his sleeves.
"Come on, dad! I'm old enough for a Pokémon, at least!" Yang complained. Taiyang sighed.
"Okay. Next week, we'll take the ferry to Vale and talk to Professor Ozpin. He'll see if you're mature enough for a Pokémon," Taiyang finally relented. Yang cheered! She was finally going to get her own Pokémon!
The three continued down the road into town, blissfully unaware of the silver eyes watching them from the tall grass.
Jaques Schnee stood in front of the door to the Pokémart. At his right hand stood his eldest daughter Winter. She was 19 and dressed formally, with a Weavile standing by her side. Weiss stood to the left of Jaques, with no Pokémon partner. She wore an elegant white sundress.
"As chairman and CEO of the Schnee company, it is my honor to announce the opening of the Pokémart here in Patch. Our world is inhabited by strange creatures known as Pokémon…" Jaques began, going off on a long-winded speech that he delivers with practiced ease. Weiss hung on every word, preparing for the day that she would be delivering this same speech. Ruby and Yang split from their father and squirmed to the front of the crowd.
"Who's that?" Ruby asked, her eyes locked on Weiss.
"Your future wife," Yang teased. Ruby scrunched up her face.
"Ew! I bet she's a total princess. I wouldn't marry a girl like her!" she protested. Yang laughed. Weiss heard the noise and shot the blonde a glare. She wisely shut up for a moment.
Taiyang, still keeping an eye on his daughters, kept to the back of the crowd. He was approached by a dark-haired man drinking from a flask.
"Hey, Tai," he said as he settled in beside him.
"Qrow, good to see you. Here for the opening?" Tai asked as he glanced at his companion. Qrow put his flask away and shook his head.
"Just repping the league. Since Winter's gonna be a gym leader soon, Ozpin wants updates on her training now and then," Qrow said with a nod.
"Will you be coming back to teach once her training's done?" Tai asked, glancing at his brother-in-law. "Patch isn't the same without you."
"Ah, you know how it is. How are the kids?" Qrow asked, glancing at Ruby and Yang.
"They're good. Yang wants to be a Pokémon trainer," Taiyang chuckled.
"Just like Summer," Qrow said with a soft smile.
"I… may have promised her a Pokémon next week," Taiyang said with a sigh. Qrow laughed softly.
"Sounds like your house is about to get a little loud," Qrow said.
Weiss snuck away from her father, who was far too preoccupied with his speech to notice. Father of the year! She walked to the sisters, wearing a stern look.
"What do you two think you're doing?" she scolded quietly. Yang looked her up and down – she was a scrawny little princess. If it came down to it, the blonde was certain she could take her in a fight.
"Just watching your dad's boring speech," she said plainly. She shrugged her shoulders. Weiss spluttered at the dismissal.
"B-boring!? Do you know who we are?" she demanded.
"You're the Schnee family. You own like… every Pokémart," Ruby piped up. Weiss turned her fury to the younger girl.
"Be quiet, kid," she ordered. With a proud huff, she drew herself up to her full height – a whopping three-foot-five. "That's right. My father, Jaques Schnee, owns the Schnee company that's responsible for overseeing Pokémarts around the world. "In addition, we also produce Dust. Even you know what Dust is, don't you?"
"Duh, it's the stuff in your TV that makes the cartoons move," Yang replied as if it was obvious.
"That… and everything else in our society," Weiss said, stepping back.
"Cool! Wanna play with us?" Yang asked with a grin.
"What? No! I don't play with little kids," Weiss glared at Ruby disdainfully. Ruby's lip quivered.
"You're a kid too," Yang pointed out. Weiss dismissed her with a haughty flip of her hair.
"I'm a Schnee. There's a difference," she replied flippantly. Ruby stomped her foot on the ground.
"Don't call me a little kid!" she cried. The girl ran off sobbing, blowing by Yang before she could react. She ran right in front of Jaques, past Winter, and far away from Taiyang.
"Look what you did!" Yang accused before running off after her sister. Weiss spluttered, staring after where the girl had run off.
"A father's work is never done," Taiyang said, shaking his head. He ran off after Yang, calling out after her. Zwei barked as he pursued them both, eagerly following his trainer wherever he may go.
"- living together, working together, playing together, and yes, even battling! Our lives are entrenched with Pokémon…" Jaques continued, completely oblivious to the commotion.
Ruby ran down the trail, blinded by her tears. She sniffled, squinting against the harsh light. Route 1 was a dangerous place for a young girl, especially one who didn't have a Pokémon for protection. But right now? Ruby didn't care. She needed to cool down.
"Stupid Weiss! I don't need her! I'm gonna get a Pokémon and be a great trainer like my mom!" she declared. She looked to the sky, as if daring the sun to defy her. "And then they'll see what a grown-up I am!" Ruby's continued stomping drew a pair of silver eyes from the bushes once again. A pair that had been watching her for ages! But another pair of eyes was also watching Ruby. As the girl walked, a devious fox Pokémon leapt from the grass, snatching Ruby's shoe from right off her foot! She fell backwards with a cry of surprise!
A wild Nickit appeared!
Ruby looked up at the pokemon that was gleefully gnawing on her shoe. She struggled to her feet, her mind racing to weigh her options.
What will Ruby do?
Bag
Run
Ruby checked her pockets. All she had was an old hard candy and some pocket lint – nothing of interest to a Nickit. So, she turned on her heels and fled. Scampering through the grass with only one shoe, she fumbled to try and get back to town.
Couldn't get away!
As Ruby tried to escape, the Nickit abandoned its snack of shoe. It chased after Ruby, striking her hard in the back and knocking the poor girl over once again!
The wild Nickit used Pursuit!
Her escape having been foiled; Ruby had no other options. She sat on her knees and started to cry pitifully.
"Someone! Please help me!" She called out, her voice echoing through the forest. It was then that the watchful silver eyes leapt into action. With a determined bark, a small black Pokémon with red tips on its fur leapt between the wild Nickit and Ruby! It glanced back to Ruby for a moment, then growled at the hostile Pokémon. Nickit let out an aggressive yap in exchange before charging!
Weiss stomped through the underbrush, nearly tripping over tree roots as she muttered to herself. The heiress was a mess, covered in mud. That white sundress was never going to get clean. There were twigs in her hair, leaves stuck to her arms, and she had a rock in her shoe!
"Useless dolt! Running off into the grass! Now she's going to get eaten by a wild Pokémon and it's all my fault!" she lamented to herself. "Sure, I was a little cold to her, but I never wanted this!"
Suddenly, she heard a cry for help. The voice frightened off every Starly in the area, sending them flying out of their trees. Weiss turned toward the voice, taking off at a sprint. That was her! She just had to get there first… She had to fix this!
Yang and her father walked down the path, following Zwei. The Yamper had a good nose, and was currently following Ruby's meandering scent.
"What happened?" Tai asked his daughter urgently.
"We were talking to the Schnee girl with the white hair, she called Ruby names, and then she took off running!" Yang explained frantically. "We gotta find her!"
"We will, don't worry," Tai comforted her. He knelt down and gave her a hug. "Zwei's a good tracker. He'll find her soon."
"She's not a pack of bacon in the grocery bags, dad, she's in real trouble!" Yang cried. Tai wiped the tears from his daughter's eyes carefully.
"I think she'll manage for a bit. She's only been gone, what, ten minutes?" he said with a wavering smile. Yang didn't look too convinced. She arched an eyebrow incredulously at her father.
"Dad," she began, but stopped when she heard a cry for help from deeper in the woods. Zwei perked up and started barking, running after the voice.
"That's Ruby!" Tai exclaimed as he grabbed Yang's hand. The pair started running toward the voice.
Ruby stared in awe at the Pokémon standing in front of her. It stood on four tiny paws and had silver eyes… Silver eyes just like hers! She slowly got to her feet and stared at the opposing Nickit. It still had her shoe, and she wanted it back!
What will ? do?
Fight
Bag
Pokémon
Run
Ruby wasn't sure what moves her rescuer knew. But she did have a few moves tickling the back of her brain! She raised her hand, taking a deep breath. Just… do what mom did.
"Pokémon! Use… Tackle!" she called out. The Pokémon growled, wiggling its haunches as it prepared to pounce, and…
? used Tackle!
In a leap, it propelled itself headfirst into the wild Nickit's side. The other Pokémon yelped in surprise, rolling before leaping back to its feet. That stung quite a bit, but the fight wasn't over yet! Growling, the Nickit whirled behind its tail, using it as a distraction!
The wild Nickit used Tail Whip! ?'s defense fell!
Ruby smirked. Is that it? This was gonna be easy!
"Use tackle again!" she ordered. Her Pokémon leapt into action, ramming into the Nickit once again! The wild Nickit was looking worse for wear right now… Desperate and in need of a way out! Baring its teeth, the fox Pokémon growled, then lunged at Ruby's partner!
The wild Nickit used Pursuit!
The strange Pokémon took the hit, reeling a little bit. Ruby gasped and knelt beside her injured companion.
"Little guy! Are you okay?"
It's not very effective!
Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. Her partner didn't seem too injured from that attack. In fact, it barely noticed! The pair stood in unison. Ruby almost didn't need to declare an attack – she and her Pokémon were so in sync, it was already lunging while she was readying.
"Pokémon! Use tackle again! Finish it!"
? used Tackle!
The Pokémon collided, and the strange dark Pokémon triumphed! Sent flying by the impact, the wild Nickit hit the ground with a thump, collapsing from the blow.
The wild Nickit fainted!
Ruby cheered as she grabbed her lost shoe. The spoils of victory were hers! She sat down on the ground to put on her shoe. Wild pokemon of Patch be warned! Ruby Rose was now officially a trainer! With her shoe back on her foot (and only a little soaked with Nickit drool) she turned to see her new companion. However, what she saw when she turned was not a little black Pokémon with a bushy tail. She saw… herself? She stared at this marvel for a good minute… was she dreaming? She raised her hand to touch it, when a crashing sound in the nearby woods made both of her turn their heads.
Weiss charged out of the forest, covered in leaves, and brandishing a stick. She swung it through the air, shaking a few bugs off it at the same time. Her icy blue eyes burned with a cold fury that only a Schnee could effectively weaponize.
"Get away from her, you…!" she began, but paused when she saw the aftermath. An unconscious Nickit laying dazed in the grass… and two different Ruby staring at her? She opened her mouth to try and speak, but Ruby beat her to it! Or rather, one of them did! The girl leapt up and bounced onto Weiss' chest, knocking her to the ground. Then she started licking her face.
"Aahh! Stop it! Get off me!" she flailed under the girl pinning her down. The other Ruby stood up and tried to pull the other off her.
"Little guy, no! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she cried as she tried to haul her mischievous doppelganger off of the poor Schnee heiress.
"Well, this is a thing," Yang's voice interrupted the admittedly very strange moment. Both of Ruby and Weiss turned to look at the source of the voice.
Yang and her dad had followed the source of Ruby's scream until they'd reached the patch of tall grass. Route 1 was a confusing place, even in the least stressful of circumstances. They'd finally navigated the labyrinth of trees to Ruby's rescue, when they entered to a sight of Ruby… pulling Ruby… off of a strange girl. The white-haired girl crawled out from underneath, scrambling to hide behind Yang.
"You need to put a leash on that sister of yours!" she cried, scrubbing her face with her hands. All she was really achieving was getting forest grime on her face. Gross! Taiyang stifled a laugh.
"Ruby, mind introducing your friend?" he asked, opening his arms for his daughter. The creature in her arms sneezed out a puff of smoke, turning back into its original, furrier form. It let out a little bark as it looked up at Taiyang. The man stared in shock at the little creature, his eyes locked on its silver eyes.
"That's Weiss," Ruby said, nodding at the white-haired girl. "And this is… um… little guy!"
"Wow, Ruby, you caught a Pokémon!" Yang cheered, running over to investigate. "Hey dad, it looks just like her!"
"What do you think, Tai? Doesn't it look just like me?"
"Hello? Earth to dad!" Ruby waved her hand, snapping Taiyang out of his daze.
"Oh! Yeah, it does. That's a Zorua, it's a really rare find," he said, looking at the Pokémon in his daughter's arms. Weiss peeked out, her curiosity piqued.
"Rare? Dad, that means we have to let her keep it!" Yang exclaimed. She tugged on her dad's sleeve urgently. "Come on, dad!"
"Please? It saved me from that mean wild Pokémon!" Ruby begged. Her shoe had sizeable holes in it from the vicious attack of the Nickit. Taiyang hummed for a moment. Why did it have to be this Pokémon? But he couldn't deny his gratitude. Zorua had saved his daughter, and he felt indebted to the little guy.
"Alright, you can keep it. But you have to take care of it, and train it. And if you let it get too strong, it's going to stop listening to you, so no battling until you're ready for the gym challenge," he relented. He gave his daughter a pat on the head. Ruby gasped eagerly.
"You mean it? Thanks so much, dad! I promise, I'm gonna be the best trainer ever!" she practically danced, swaying her Zorua happily. The little pokemon wagged its bushy tail and looked up to lick Ruby's cheek.
"Aww, it likes you!" Yang laughed. She reached out a hand to pet it softly. "You're so lucky! I've still gotta wait for my Pokémon."
"Let's go bring it home! I bet all the kids at school are gonna freak!" Ruby cheered. She turned to look at Weiss, who was looking away. Her cheeks were puffed up and her lip upturned in a pout.
"Thanks for coming to save me. It was… really nice of you," Ruby said with a smile. She offered her hand to Weiss to shake. "I'm Ruby."
"I… I'm Weiss," she said, staring at Ruby's hand in disbelief. She slowly extended her own, shaking gently. Ruby gave her a warm smile.
"You wanna come play with us?" she asked, lifting Zorua up higher. The Pokémon wiggled happily in her grip.
"I… No, I need to get back. My father is probably wondering where I am," she said hesitantly. She glanced back down the path, where a familiar form walked towards them.
"Klein!" she called out, running over to her butler. He welcomed her with a hug.
"Where's the danger, little lady? I'll rip him apart, you know I will!" Klein said, his bushy mustache capping a huge grin. Weiss giggled.
"It's okay. Ruby already beat the wild Pokemon," Weiss said.
"Just the same, we best get you back to your father. He's probably about done his speech by now," Klein said, nodding to the family. "Thanks for looking after her."
"Don't mention it," Taiyang said with a smile. "Really, don't mention it."
"Now, how did you get so dirty?" Klein asked Weiss, wiping some grime off her face with his handkerchief.
"I… don't remember. Klein? I want a Pokémon," Weiss said, letting him clean her off.
"We'll talk to your father about it," he answered with a smile. The two walked down the path back towards the town.
"I want a rare one. Oh! And I want it to look just like me!" Weiss continued, practically paying no heed to his words.
"Slow down, little lady! Do you want a Pokémon or a little sister?" Klein asked with a chuckle as the two walked out of sight.
As Taiyang, his daughters, and their Pokémon followed the Schnees, a figure lurked behind a tree. Uncle Qrow took a sip from his flask and offered a berry to the Murkrow perched on his shoulder. Behind him, Winter stood at ease – still quite stiffly. Qrow stepped out onto the trail only once his family was out of sight. They didn't need that kind of bad luck.
"Well, that was lucky," he commented as he tucked his flask away. Winter glanced at him.
"Zorua is a difficult Pokémon to track down. Finding one so obedient… I feel like there was more than luck at play," she replied. She shot a glance at Qrow. "Professor Ozpin…"
"You let me worry about Oz, that's my job," Qrow said with a soft sigh. "All you need to worry about right now is finishing your training."
"I'm more than strong enough to handle leading a Pokémon gym," she said sternly. Qrow chuckled.
"I guess the kiddo's gonna put that to the test for you," he mused as he gazed out toward the sea. The ferry to Vale was coming in soon. He tucked his hands in his pockets and started walking toward the docks. Winter nodded a silent farewell before returning to the Pokémart. After all, she was here as a Schnee. She had duties to tend to, just as Qrow did. Though she couldn't put to rest her curiosity. What was it about Ruby Rose that was so special?
Ruby collapsed into her bed, her muscles aching from her day. It was quite an eventful one! Not only did she make a new friend, but she was also attacked by a wild Pokémon AND she got a Pokémon of her own! It was hard to believe that she was the first in her family to get one. She could sleep for a week after that. Zorua leapt up onto the bed as well, curling up beside Ruby. She smiled softly and brushed her fingers over its soft fur. Zorua smiled, rolling over to expose its soft belly for rubs. Ruby giggled at that.
"We're gonna have an adventure when we're old enough… just you and me, right?" she asked softly. Then she pulled the covers over the pair, closing her eyes. Taiyang watched from the doorway, smiling proudly.
"You sure are, kiddo," he whispered softly. He shut the door gently behind him. He walked to the living room and picked up a ball, tossing it across the room for Zwei. The happy Yamper chased after it on his stubby legs. This was going to be eventful!