'She's gone.'
Walda's gaze turned to regard her so-called 'companion.' She could tell from a glance that he was definitely one of those Scientist types. Her nervousness skyrocketed, and she became too shy to speak now that she was left alone with him.
Sending out Rockruff just because she was scared of her traveling buddy felt offensive, right? So she hesitated, reluctant to let go of Rockruff's Pokéball. Surely, an opportunity would present itself soon.
Hopefully, it would be closer to now.
Meanwhile, Ross couldn't understand why the Rockruff chose to follow someone without any coaxing. As he thought it over, his face scrunched up when he remembered that his Ralts had been captured the exact same way. Perhaps there was something to this unorthodox strategy. Another experiment was in order.
"Do you want to stay behind and do the gym here first?" Ross finally asked once he finished his train of thought. "It's not as if we have to travel yet; the closest gym is in the city we're in."
It took Walda longer than she would have liked to form an answer. "Um... no."
"And why's that?"
"Because... this is my Teacher's gym. She trained me, so I want to fight her last. I want to show her how much I've grown when I defeat her," Walda explained, her confidence rising the more she spoke.
"Alright then," he said, quickly accepting her explanation. "That's as good a reason as any. We should probably head to Petalburg then. That's the closest gym from here - other than the one we're at, of course."
Taking her nod as a sign of confirmation, Ross pulled out a small notebook. "We'll need to stock up on supplies first. We should get a backpack, some potions, Oran berries, Pokéchow, and Pokéballs too – can't forget those. Who'd be dumb enough to do that..."
As Walda listened to Ross drone on, her stomach curled at the thought of carrying so much. How did ten-year-olds like her bear such a heavy weight? She'd collapse in two seconds!
"How are we supposed to carry all of that?" Walda asked, voicing her concerns.
"With the power of money, of course," answered Ross. "It'll cost us a bit, but I can get us some backpacks with a special storage system that will keep them as light as a feather."
Walda sighed in relief. Maybe this guy was more reliable than she thought.
"Trust that you will have to pay me back, though."
'Nevermind,' she thought, her hope plummeting.
"But I'm just starting out!" Walda hastily reasoned. "I can't pay you!"
"Maybe not," Ross responded, and Walda's hope soared once again. "But... then you'll just have to pay me back when you become a big hotshot trainer, and the amount I'm asking won't matter to you. Sounds good?"
'That... actually sounds fine.' Walda didn't take long to okay the idea because, honestly, she was more focused on the fact that this complete stranger had such high expectations of her.
It irked her. But in a nice way? Yeah, in a nice way.
So they went shopping, which took a while, but at least the time felt productive. Disregarding the fact that the Scientist was a bit too keen to get her out of her Pikachu hoodie because it was, quote on quote, "Not suitable for traveling."
The hypocrite was wearing a freaking lab coat! Walda may not know her proper camping attire, but Arceus knows that a lab coat was not one of those.
She didn't point this out, though. She's too nice for that.
That, and she still hadn't known him for very long. Maybe pointing out his inadequacies would flare up his temper or something.
She didn't want to risk offending the person who got her such a nice bag.
It was Pikachu themed, of course, as were all her worldly possessions.
No one could deny the awesomeness of Pikachu!
"That's it, then," Ross said as they finished shopping. "I suppose we should head to the Pokémon Center to get our Pokémon registered, introduce our Pokémon to each other, do some training, and call it a day."
"L-let's go!" Walda said, almost losing her stutter. 'Baby steps, Walda,' she reminded herself as they awkwardly walked to the Pokémon Center together.
'Darn, we're too late.'
The Pokémon Center was crowded. Ross studied the crowd in front of him, calculating the amount of time it would take to get to the front desk.
'Roughly thirty minutes. That's way too long.'
And yet, there was nothing to do but wait. Securing a spot on the line was far too important to do anything else, and the line wasn't getting any shorter, unfortunately.
So they stood, and waited, and waited, and waited...
"Why do you wanna be a Pokémon Trainer?"
He bit the bullet. Ross was never good at standing still for long periods of time. He was an impatient man by nature.
He hoped that this question of his would lead to an actual conversation.
"Uhmmm... Battles."
"Battles?" Ross said, tilting his head in question.
"Battles." Walda nodded, satisfied.
"..."
'That was your cue, you socially awkward ingrate. Man, and here I thought I was the introvert.'
"Why battles, exactly?" Ross inquired, genuinely curious.
"Well," Walda began, her enthusiasm evident, "I like everything about it, really! I like the cool moves, the strategy, the preparation, the Pokémon... it really is a culmination of a Trainer's true skill. Not to say contests don't require any skill whatsoever, but if you were to ask for my opinion on the matter..."
Ross chuckled inwardly at her excitement. 'And now she's talking AT me. This girl's a riot!'
"So that's why I think that Pokémon battles are a better evaluation of skills of both the Trainer AND the Pokémon. That makes sense, right?" Walda finished, looking at Ross expectantly.
"Certainly," Ross replied, finally getting a word in on the one-sided conversation.
"So what about you, Ross? Why do you like Pokémon Battling?" Walda asked, genuinely interested.
'Bold of you to assume I like Pokémon Battling specifically.'
"Actually, I'm more inclined towards the Pokémon themselves than the battling," Ross confessed.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well..." Ross began, trying to explain. "I went to school for another few years to upgrade my license so that I could become a Pokémon Researcher. I like learning more about the Pokémon than battling with them, you see."
"Huh," Walda hummed, considering his answer. "That sounds boring!"
Ross couldn't help but smile sinisterly. 'Oh, I'll show ya what's boring, you Pikachu-lovin', nitpicking, dang-nabbin'—'
"Welcome to the Pokémon Center. Would you like to heal your Pokémon?"
'Money-stealin', Bag-wearin', Rockruff-ownin'—'
"Excuse me, Sir?"
"Hmm?" Ross blinked. He quickly surveyed his surroundings, only to come to a startling conclusion.
He had gotten distracted.
'Time to amend that.'
"Sorry, I spaced out. We would like to register two Pokéballs, please."
"Of course," Nurse Joy nodded, carefully handling Ross's and Walda's Pokéballs before placing them on the machine.
"One of these Pokémon was owned by another trainer. Whose name do I register him to?"
"Walda Pepper," replied Ross.
Walda watched the process curiously. She observed the strange white glow on the Pokéballs, while Ross continued to answer the Nurse's questions.
Eventually, their Pokéballs were returned.
"Your Pokémon are in perfect health! Although I would mind the weight on the Ralts if I were you; she's been eating a little too much," Nurse Joy advised.
Ross raised an eyebrow.
His Pokéball shook indignantly.
"I'll keep that in mind."
As the duo left the Pokémon Center, newly registered Pokéballs in hand, Ross asked Walda one more question.
"Training?" He asked.
"Training," she agreed, nodding cutely.
Ross grinned.
'Now you're speaking my language!'
-Chapter End-