Outside the gatehouse was a dirt road that cut through wilderness, leading to Saffron City. The largest city in Kanto was only an hour away on foot using the path, and clearly visible on the horizon, but of course, Mary-Sue didn't have to stay on the road anymore. Giggling with delight, the young trainer immediately turned to her right and dove into the undergrowth, pushing past shrubs and trees, half-hoping something would jump out at her. Even though nothing did, it was still fun to just go her own way - no rules, no supervision, she could just crash her way through the wilderness and not worry about anything.
After a couple of minutes, Mary-Sue found a small clearing, and she stopped, plucking her new Pokéball from the left strap of her backpack. "Come on out, Budew!" she called, tapping the button twice, and the capsule opened to release the tiny plant in a flash of white light.
"Budew?" squeaked the baby Pokémon.
"Hey," Mary-Sue smiled, kneeling down to talk more on its level. "We're outside now. I told you we'd need to get some things done once we were out here, remember?"
"Budew…"
Mary-Sue reached into her backpack and pulled out her town map, unfolding the massive sheet of paper and spreading it out on the grass.
"Dewew?" asked her partner.
"This is a map of the Kanto region," Mary-Sue explained. "You're from the Sinnoh region, but that's way far north of here…" She blinked, realizing the implication that this living being had been stolen from its home, then shook her head. Pokémon get taken all over by people all the time, she reminded herself. "As for us, right now, we're here," she went on, pointing to the spot just to the right of Celadon City. "Over here is Celadon City, that's where we came from; and over here, not too far east, is Saffron City."
"Budew…" The little creature trotted its way across the spread-out paper to look closer at the short line between the two city spots, seeming hesitant but curious.
"I guess I should explain what we're doing," Mary-Sue chuckled. "See, all over the Kanto region are eight gyms, where powerful trainers wait to test the skills of new trainers, like me." In quick order, she tapped the eight cities that had gyms. "Viridian, Pewter, Cerulean, Saffron, Celadon, Vermillion, Fuchsia, and Cinnabar. Our goal is to defeat all eight gym leaders, and get the eight badges we need to be allowed into the Indigo Plateau, up here." She tapped the spot far out to the upper-left corner of the map. "That's where trainers compete to become champion of the region."
"Dew…"
"Now, of course, there's a gym in Celadon, where we just came from," Mary-Sue carried on, ignoring the way her partner Pokémon seemed to curl in on itself in fear, "but the thing is, we're nowhere near ready to take on a gym right now - we haven't even won a single battle yet, not even against a wild Pokémon! Plus, we need to expand our team, too - regulations say I can carry up to six Pokémon with me at a time, so we have five open spaces." Frowning, she fingered the loops on the left strap of her backpack where more Pokéballs could be clipped. "I…don't know what to look for, really. The Champion only ever caught Pokémon he felt a connection with, so I guess we just have to wait to meet the right ones." She turned back to Budew and smiled. "In the meantime, though, we need to train!"
"Dew?!" exclaimed the little bud, flinching back in horror.
"Yeah!" Mary-Sue grinned. "I'm your trainer, and I'm gonna teach you to be the strongest Pokémon you can be! As for where we go, I know the perfect place." She pointed to a marking south of Pewter City. "I wanna go to Viridian Forest."
"Dew?" Budew trotted over to where her hand was, peering closer at the spot.
"That's where the Champion faced his first real adventure," Mary-Sue explained. "He came from Pallet Town, down here, but Route 1 and Route 2 aren't all that interesting. Viridian Forest is like this big, expansive place full of wild Pokémon - some Pikachu even live there! It'd be so cool to make friends with a Pikachu, or even a Pichu…" She trailed off, getting momentarily lost in a daydream of forming a bond with a Pokémon just like the Champion's signature partner, then blinked, refocusing on the map. "So anyway, that's where we're going," she told Budew. "It's a ways away, but we have two choices for how to get there."
"Budew?"
"See, there's the obvious route," Mary-Sue began, and she traced her finger along with her words. "Once we get to Saffron City, we can head north to Cerulean, then west to Pewter, and Viridian Forest is just south of that. The problem there is that we'd have to go through Mt. Moon." She tapped the icon between Pewter and Cerulean. "It's this big cave system that technically acts as a passage between the two cities, but it's like a huge maze, and a lot of strong Pokémon live there." Tilting her head, she appraised Budew. "You're a grass-type, so you could probably handle the Geodude just fine, but…the Zubat might give you trouble - if we ran into one with wing attack, it'd be all over for you."
"Dew!" Budew exclaimed, hopping away from the spot Mary-Sue was pointing to.
"Of course, we might have more Pokémon on our team by the time we get there," the young trainer continued, "but I'm not sure we should count on that. Our other option…" Her hand drifted back down the map. "Is to go south once we reach Saffron, to Vermillion City. Right next to Vermillion is the entrance to Diglett Cave, which tunnels under the ocean and the wilds and comes out just north of Viridian Forest. Since it's made by Pokémon, it's a straight shot, it's not a maze like Mt. Moon - plus, since it was made by Diglett, only Diglett live there, and you could probably handle those pretty easily. It's a longer route, but probably safer."
"Dewew," Budew remarked, and it walked over to the gap in the map directly between Celadon City and Viridian Forest. "Budew dew?"
"We can't go directly," Mary-Sue explained. "There's no path there, it's just wilderness and ocean. Mom's Corviknight could probably fly us over it all pretty easily, but, well, we don't have that. So, it's Mt. Moon or Diglett Cave. What do you want to do, Budew?"
"Budew?" The tiny bud looked up at her, blinking its pinprick eyes in confusion.
"We're partners!" Mary-Sue laughed. "We're in this together! I could go either way, so you should decide where we go."
"Dew…" Budew examined the map beneath its tiny feet again, then trotted over to Celadon City and sat down. "Budew," it stated.
"Well, we're not going home," Mary-Sue chuckled. "This is a big adventure, we have to go places and meet people and Pokémon, that's the only way we're gonna get strong enough to compete in the Pokémon League."
"Dew." It didn't move.
"Mt. Moon or Diglett Cave, which is it?" Mary-Sue asked patiently.
"Budew dew," squeaked her timid partner. "Dew dew, Budew!"
Mary-Sue sighed. "Maybe I should have let Meowth come along," she mused ruefully. "He could tell me what you're saying. But…if you won't pick, I'm gonna go with Diglett Cave - we won't have as many chances to meet new partners on the way there as we would in Mt. Moon, but it's probably way safer, and anyway, I just wanna get to Viridian Forest." Carefully, she picked Budew up and set it on the grass beside her, then folded her map and put it away. "Alright, Budew, let's go!"
"Budew!" it squeaked, and it hopped towards where she'd stowed its Pokéball. "Dew, dew, dew!"
"No, come on, stay out here a little while!" Mary-Sue urged it. "You can't skulk in a Pokéball all day, you're my starting partner!" She stood up, then considered Budew's little stub legs and added, "Though, I guess it's not fair of me to expect you to keep up on foot…Tell you what: the Champion's Pikachu rides on his shoulder all the time. You…don't have hands for that, but, I'll just carry you!"
"Budew!" protested the baby Pokémon as Mary-Sue picked it up and wrapped it in her arms. "Budewew, dew dew Budew!"
"No, you can't hide in your Pokéball when we're out in the wild," Mary-Sue told it firmly as it squirmed in her grip. "You need to be ready to battle!"
"Deeew!" wailed the little plant, and it writhed harder. "Dewewew, Budew dew dew dew dew!"
"No, Budew," Mary-Sue grunted, trying to hold on. "Come on, you need to - OUCH!" Searing, white-hot pain erupted in her left forearm, and she screamed, dropping Budew roughly. "Ow ow ow ow ow, owww…" she whimpered, dropping to her knees and clutching her arm. Through foggy eyes, she examined the spot, and saw a bright purple bump on her skin. "Ow…"
"Budew?" squeaked her partner, taking cautious steps over to her.
Mary-Sue forced a pained smile at the creature. "I guess your ability's Poison Point," she ground out, fighting back tears. I'm not going to cry on my first day as a trainer, she told herself firmly. I'm not going to cry. "That's - ow - that's good. That's a good ability. Oww…"
"Budew," it said, frowning at the angry spot it had left on her skin; it seemed sad. "Budew…"
"I forgive you," Mary-Sue told it, still holding a smile in place. She tried flexing her arm, and was hit with a jolt of pain. "Ouch! Dang it…" Pokémon poison worked differently on humans than it did on other Pokémon: in Pokémon, poison spread throughout the body and drained their energy slowly, but in humans, it stayed in place and usually dissipated after a few minutes. Rationally, Mary-Sue knew it would make more sense to just wait it out…but…it really hurt.
Gritting her teeth, Mary-Sue reached one-handed into her backpack and fished around for the little spray bottle of antidote. It wasn't meant for use on humans, but the poison was too painful for her to just leave it; she sprayed the dose on the purple spot and gently rubbed it in, cool, soothing relief washing over her almost instantly as the purple faded.
"There, you see?" she panted to Budew, who was still looking on with an unhappy expression. "No harm done. And we probably didn't need that antidote anyway - you're a poison-type, right? Oh, I guess I should use my Pokédex to learn more about you!" Mentally slapping herself for not thinking of it sooner, the young trainer took the electronic encyclopedia out of her pocket and aimed it at Budew.
A bunch of information popped up, and Mary-Sue glanced through it quickly.
"Okay, yes, you're poison-type as well as grass-type, so you can't get poisoned anyway," she murmured. "So yeah, we didn't need that antidote, it's fine. Um…oh yeah, you evolve into Roselia, and with a stone you can even become a Roserade." She looked up and gave Budew an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I don't know as much about you as I should - you're really native to Sinnoh, we don't get much of your kind down here. Roselia have been known to migrate south to the Hoenn region, but that's about it. I spent a lot more time studying the native Pokémon of Kanto and Johto."
"Dew…" It blinked at her curiously.
"It looks like you don't learn any poison-type moves naturally, at least not yet," Mary-Sue continued, scrolling through the dex's information. "Technical Machines are an option, but I can't afford those…and…the only other ability you could have had is Natural Cure, which isn't great, so yeah, you have the best ability you could." She stood up, pocketing the device again. "Okay, now I know what you can do, so let's go!" she said to Budew.
"Dew?!" it exclaimed.
"I won't carry you if you don't want me to," Mary-Sue told it, "but I'm not putting you back in your Pokéball. I'll slow down so you can keep up, but you can walk."
"Dewew!" squeaked the tiny bud, and it started hopping towards her left shoulder, where she'd left its Pokéball.
"Oh, come on," Mary-Sue groaned, "where's your sense of adventure?! We're on an adventure! Don't you want to see the places and Pokémon and people we meet?!"
"Dew! Dew! Dew!" It continued single-mindedly hopping for its container.
Baffled, Mary-Sue eyed the red-and-white capsule. Why would anything want to be shut in a tiny ball? she wondered. It's just a little cage. No one likes cages, and it's so tiny…I know Pokémon can shrink, but still…
A rustling sound caught her attention over the sound of Budew's pleas, and she looked up to see a nearby bush shaking. "A Pokémon?" she asked, and Budew stopped jumping and turned around, questioning the noise.
After a moment, a small purple-and-white creature crawled out into the clearing. Its beady eyes fixed immediately on the young trainer and her partner. "Rat!" it spat.
"Oh, a Rattata!" Mary-Sue exclaimed. "That's not so bad - a Pidgey or a Spearow would give you trouble, since they're flying-type, but Rattata are easy. Alright, Budew," she declared, and she thrust her hand forward in a forceful gesture to direct the baby creature, "go! Use Absorb!"
"Tata!" hissed the Rattata, taking on a defensive stance.
Budew didn't move.
"Huh? Budew?" Mary-Sue blinked at the little bud. "Go! Attack! I'm your trainer, and I'm telling you to use your Absorb attack on that Rattata!"
"Budew…" it whimpered. It took a half-step away from the wild Pokémon, visibly shaking.
"Rattata!" Budew's opponent lunged at it, teeth bared.
"Deeeeew!" Budew shrieked, and it turned and ran away from the Rattata's attack.
"Wait, no!" Mary-Sue exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"
"Dew! Dew! Dew!" sobbed the baby Pokémon as Rattata chased it around the clearing, circling the new trainer who didn't know what to make of this.
"Budew, don't run, use Absorb!" Mary-Sue urged. "You're a Pokémon, you have power, you can fight! Just do as I say and you'll be fine!"
"Rattata!" snarled the wild creature, and it suddenly moved too fast to see, slamming into Budew with a Quick Attack.
"Budeeeeeew!"
"Budew, no!" Mary-Sue yelped as her partner screamed in pain and tumbled across the grass. "Come on, get up, you need to fight! Just use Absorb! I know you can, you're a Budew, Budew are born knowing how to use Absorb!"
The Rattata bore down on Budew again, spitting its name, and Budew struggled to its tiny feet, only to start running again.
"Stop it!" Mary-Sue shouted. "Why aren't you fighting?! You're supposed to obey me, I'm your trainer! And you're a Pokémon! Pokémon fight, that's what they do! What's wrong with you?!"
Completely ignoring her, Budew kept running, trying to escape Rattata's Tackles, crying and wailing in terror. Before long, Rattata used another Quick Attack, then another, and Mary-Sue couldn't do anything but watch as Budew tumbled into a tree and stopped moving.
"Budew!" she cried, dashing to her fallen comrade.
"Dew…ew…" mumbled the little bud, all its strength to move gone, and Mary-Sue got down and picked up the battered creature in her arms.
"Tata!" hissed the victor.
"Go away!" Mary-Sue yelled at it. "You won, alright?! Just go away!"
"Tata!" With one final snarl, the Rattata turned and dashed away into the undergrowth.
"Oh, Budew…" Mary-Sue scrunched up her face, trying to keep it together. I will not cry on my first day as a trainer, she told herself firmly, but she could feel the burning in her eyes that threatened to overwhelm her. Inhaling sharply through her nose, she took off her backpack and fished around half-blind for medicine, pulling out the little diamond-shaped packet that could revitalized a downed Pokémon. After taking a single swipe at her face, Mary-Sue cracked the revive open, allowing it to disintegrate onto Budew and sink into the baby creature's skin.
"…Dew?" whined the little plant, blinking its pinprick eyes open, and it looked up at Mary-Sue. "Budewew?"
"Why didn't you fight?" Mary-Sue asked it.
"Dew…"
"Do you…just not know how?" Mary-Sue pressed her palms to her temples. "Okay…okay, I…I…" Come on, think! "You…If you could just use Absorb, you could heal yourself, so…so I'm not gonna use a potion on you - I'm sorry, but I can't afford to buy more, I need to save them for emergencies. But…um…if you don't know how…" Desperate, she pulled out her map, and was suddenly struck by a surge of inspiration. "Okay, there's a lake on Route 6, south of Saffron, which is where we're going," she babbled. "And I have a fishing rod, so - so we'll go there, and I'll fish up some Magikarp for you to practice on. Yeah. Yeah, that'll work! Magikarp can't hurt you, and they're water-type, so they'd be perfect for you to learn how to fight with. Okay? How does that sound?"
"Budew," whimpered her partner.
"You're still hurt," Mary-Sue said slowly. "I'll…I mean, you'll be able to recover fully if you just use Absorb on a Magikarp, so…" Sighing resignedly, she took the Pokéball off her backpack strap. "You can ride in your Pokéball for now, I'll let you out when we get to the lake. Return."
"Dew," squeaked the tiny plant before it dissolved into a cloud of red light and returned to its beloved home.
Groaning, Mary-Sue stood up and turned back the way she'd come, pushing through the undergrowth until she was on the road again. Just gotta get to the lake on Route 6, she thought, and she steeled herself and started sprinting for the massive city that stood at the center of the region.
~o~
Saffron City was massive, and crowded; even just trying to make her way to the south gatehouse took far too long, as Mary-Sue found it was way too easy to get lost. Three times, she had to ask for directions, and it was already late afternoon by the time she finally emerged back into the wilds, even though she didn't bother stopping at the local Pokémon Center.
Out in nature again, Mary-Sue dashed down the road, already losing hope that she'd even get to the lake before nightfall. Sometimes, Pokémon popped out at her, but she ran past them, focusing entirely on her goal.
Sure enough, it was sunset when the lake came into view. Tired, hungry, and frustrated, Mary-Sue found a spot by the shore that was fairly flat and started setting up a basic camp. Just pitching the tent was a struggle; she'd practiced at it plenty of times at home, but when one of the telescope rods slipped out of her hand, it nearly broke her. To say nothing of building a campfire; the lake provided water, but of course, she needed to boil it, and starting a fire was something she only barely knew how to do - she'd banked too hard on having an electric-type for a starter. The only upside was that hitting the handle of her pot and a rock together was remarkably therapeutic, given what a rotten day she'd had.
Water boiling, tent ready, sleeping bag unfolded inside, Mary-Sue dumped a packet of easy-make rations into her pot and sat down, huddling by her tiny campfire as the cool summer night pressed in. It was so dark…Darkness like this wasn't easy to come by in the city, even at night, but she was out in the wilderness now. Distant Pokémon cries echoed eerily across the lake, and Mary-Sue whimpered.
When she took her dinner off the fire and tossed a pan of water onto the flames, Mary-Sue was all but dragging herself to and fro. She set the pot by the entrance of her tent to cool and crawled inside in the meantime, working her way out of her adventure gear and putting on her pajama shirt, fingers wandering over the patchwork of textures in hopes of soothing herself. The tent was a small, three-point triangle, only big enough for her to sleep in with her stuff; the canvas was treated with a mild Pokémon repellent, just enough that no wandering nighttime creatures would be inclined to investigate, and Mary-Sue debated inviting Budew out for dinner before deciding it would probably just hate the tent.
At last, she ate, zipped up her tent door, and slid into her sleeping bag, huddling in on herself. Her first day as a trainer hadn't gone at all as she'd thought it would, and she stroked and tugged on her shirt to soothe her nerves as the sounds of nature leaked into her little fabric shelter. Only because she was utterly exhausted did Mary-Sue sleep at all.
In the morning, Mary-Sue was groggy, but she felt warm and comfortable, and she stayed curled up in her bundle for a minute. We're going to practice with Magikarp now, she reminded herself, rubbing different spots on her shirt. I need to meet my partner on its level. We can make this work.
With one last groan, Mary-Sue opened her tent and set to getting ready for the day. She knew what to do, even if it was all new, and by late morning, she was geared up and mostly packed.
"Okay, Budew," she murmured, and she opened the Pokéball on her backpack strap. "Come on out."
A flash of white light revealed the timid little bud. "Budew?" it squeaked at her.
"Hey." She got on her knees. "Are you doing alright? Hey, um, are you hungry? I'm sorry, I didn't think of that, but…I'm just gonna wash the pan I made breakfast in, you can lick it if you want." She held out the metal utensil to the baby Pokémon.
"Dew…" It blinked at the morsels clinging to the iron, then turned around. "Dew!" it exclaimed when it saw the lake, and it trotted over immediately, dipping its face just below the surface.
"Thirsty, huh?" Mary-Sue asked, walking up beside it so she could start washing her dishes. "I'm sorry."
For once, it didn't speak, too enamored with drinking in the crystal water. It was done by the time she was finished, and once she'd packed away the last of her stuff, she took out the fishing rod that had come with the new-trainer care package and unfolded it.
"I'm going to start fishing now," she told Budew gently. "If anything other than a Magikarp bites, I'll throw it back, okay? You won't be in any danger. But when I do fish up a Magikarp, you need to use your Absorb attack on it. You'll have plenty of time to figure out what to do."
"Dewew," moped the little creature.
"Come on, Budew, you need to know how to do this," Mary-Sue told it. "You're a Pokémon. What kind of Pokémon doesn't know how to fight? But we can take our time here. I'm…I'm really trying to work with you here, Budew, but you need to meet me halfway, alright?"
"Dewew, Budew dew," it squeaked, seemingly confused.
"Mom said you have potential," Mary-Sue said, "and she's never wrong about Pokémon. She took a Trubbish to the final round in a contest once, one she just caught, she only lost because she didn't know how to battle with it! If she says you can be great, I believe her. But you need to try, okay? I'm doing my best here."
"Budew…" The little bud drooped.
"Look, just take down one Magikarp," Mary-Sue told it. "Just one. If you can defeat one, just one, then we'll move on to Vermillion City and…I don't know, do some shopping? Yeah, I'll buy you a treat as a reward. Okay? Just one Magikarp."
"Dewwww…"
Sighing heavily, Mary-Sue turned to the water and hefted her fishing rod. "Okay," she sighed. "We can do this, come on."
She cast the line and waited. The floater bobbed on the small, mild waves, then suddenly went under. Mary-Sue gasped and quickly started reeling it in, pulling and winding the cord until an orange-and-white Pokémon erupted from the water.
"Goldeen!" sang the fish.
"Whoops!" Mary-Sue exclaimed, meeting the Goldeen in the shallows and quickly trying to remove the hook from its mouth. "I'm sorry," she told it, "I wasn't trying to catch you, please just go on your way."
"Deen…" The horned creature glared at her with its big, blue eyes.
"I'm sorry," Mary-Sue repeated timidly, backing out of the lake and onto the shore. "Please, please just go."
"Goldeen," remarked the fish, and then it turned and swam back into the depths.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Mary-Sue readied her fishing rod again. "See?" she said to Budew. "I won't make you fight something that can hurt you, I promise. We just need to take out a Magikarp. Just one Magikarp…"
The next Pokémon to be hooked was exactly what Mary-Sue hoped it would be, and she let out a triumphant laugh as she heaved the flopping orange fish onto the shore. "Karp! Karp! Karp!" babbled the helpless Pokémon.
"This is a Magikarp," Mary-Sue told Budew, and the little bud tentatively waddled over to inspect the water-type creature that was twice its size. "Don't worry, it can't do anything but Splash, and that's harmless. Now…" She brandished her hand. "…use Absorb attack!"
"Dew…" Budew squeaked hesitantly, keeping back just enough that the flailing fins of the Magikarp wouldn't hit it.
"Come on, now," Mary-Sue coaxed it gently. "I know you can do it, you're a Budew, it's something all Budew can do. You have power inside you, you're a Pokémon! Come on…" She walked over to kneel beside her partner. "I…don't really know how to use a Pokémon move, since I'm not a Pokémon, but…like, you must be able to. Just…I don't know…try?"
"Budew…" It blinked at the floundering fish. "Dewew…Bud…dew…"
"Karp! Karp! Karp!" The Magikarp thrashed, flopped, then started hopping back towards the water. "Karp! Karp! Karp!"
"Hurry!" Mary-Sue exclaimed. "Before it gets away!"
"Kaaarp!" With one final lunge, the wild Magikarp splashed into the lake and swam away.
"Ohhh…" Mary-Sue sighed, but she forced herself to smile. "Well, we can keep trying. We're not leaving until you defeat one Magikarp, Budew."
"Budewew, dew!" Budew exclaimed.
"No, you have to take out one," Mary-Sue insisted, casting the line again. "Just one. Then we'll go to Vermillion City, and I'll buy you a treat."
"Budew dew!"
"You'll feel better if you just use Absorb on a Magikarp," Mary-Sue stated. "I know you're still a little battered from yesterday, but you can heal yourself. Just do as I say, and you'll be fine. Better than fine!"
It took a few more tries, as two Pokémon got away before Mary-Sue could haul them to shore and one was another Goldeen, but finally, she got another Magikarp in front of Budew. This one was smaller, but that didn't seem to make it less intimidating to the tiny plant; it still whimpered and hesitated, long enough for the orange fish to flop its way back into the lake. Feeling like she might scream, Mary-Sue set her jaw and continued fishing until she got another one.
"Stop stalling, Budew," she told her partner angrily. "Just use Absorb, and you'll feel better, and I'll buy you a treat as a reward."
"Budew!" protested the baby Pokémon.
"Come on!" Mary-Sue shouted, dangerously close to losing her patience. "You're a Pokémon, Pokémon fight! What's wrong with you?! Why won't you attack?!"
"Dew," whimpered Budew. Its tiny eyes fixed on the wildly flailing fish in the grass, and Mary-Sue couldn't begin to interpret its expression. "Budew dew, dewew," it squeaked, seemingly talking to the wild Pokémon.
"Karp! Karp karp!" it babbled, hopping and hurling itself into the air.
"Budew?!" Budew cried, seemingly terrified.
"It's just a Magikarp, it can't hurt you!" Mary-Sue groaned. "Just use Absorb attack already!"
"Magikarp karp! Karp!" trumpeted the water-type creature, and suddenly, to Mary-Sue's alarm, it managed to fling itself directly at Budew. "Kaaaaarp!"
"Bud-deeeeeeew!" wailed the little Pokémon as it took the Tackle attack head-on.
"Karp!" roared the fish that should have been harmless, building up its momentum to attack again. "Karp karp!"
"Wait, no, stop!" Mary-Sue shouted, running towards the two Pokémon, though she wasn't sure what she intended to do. "No, this isn't how this is supposed to go!"
"Deeeeew!" shrieked her partner as the wild Pokèmon managed to smack into it again.
"Stop!" Mary-Sue cried; Budew was on the brink of getting knocked out again. "Just stop it, stop it, stop it!"
With absolutely no thought behind her action, Mary-Sue dove for Budew and covered it with her body, just in time to shield it from another Tackle attack.
The Magikarp slammed into Mary-Sue's back hard, and she yelped, but she dug her fingers into the grass and held firm, covering her partner.
"Karp! Karp! Karp!" proclaimed the fish, followed by another smack.
"Ow!" Mary-Sue choked, and she couldn't help that her eyes leaked a little. Even so, she forced herself to smile at the Budew beneath her. "I'm sorry, Budew," she whimpered. "I didn't think I'd fish up a Magikarp strong enough to know Tackle. I'm sorry - aaagh!"
"Karp! Karp! Karp!"
"Dewew…?" Budew blinked up at Mary-Sue, tiny button eyes wide.
"I won't let it hurt you," Mary-Sue continued, crying as the Magikarp hit her again. "You'll be okay. It'll just…have to get bored…Ouch!"
"Karp! Karp! Karp…kaaarp…"
Suddenly, the roaring fish's trumpeting trailed off, and the sound of flopping stopped.
"Huh?" Mary-Sue sat up, and saw the Magikarp laying in the grass, seemingly unconscious. Edging closer to it, she noticed a purple spot on its side. "Oh, you must have gotten it with Poison Point," she realized out loud.
"Dewew?" Budew trotted over to the downed Pokémon, nudging it slightly with its face. "Budew?" it asked. "Budew dew dew?"
"I mean…I guess you technically defeated it," Mary-Sue said. "See? This is what you're supposed to do. Doesn't it feel good?"
"Dew…" whimpered the little bud, in what sounded like disagreement.
Fed up, Mary-Sue sighed heavily. "I did say you only had to defeat one," she conceded. "Come on, let's go to Vermillion City. Maybe someone there can help you."
"Dewew?!" cried Budew, bumping its face into the fainted Magikarp again. "Budewew, dew dew dew?!"
"What?"
"Dew!" Budew insisted, pressing its whole little body against the scaly side of the Magikarp. "Budewewew, dew dewew dew!"
"You…don't want me to leave it here?" Mary-Sue guessed, and she eyed the fish. "I mean…I could try to catch it, I guess. The Champion never caught a Magikarp, but…I mean, they do evolve into Gyarados, and…if it already knows Tackle, it can fight. I guess…why not?" Swallowing hard, she reached into her pack and took out an empty capsule. "Go, Pokéball!" she shouted, throwing the device at the Magikarp.
It smacked against the water-type Pokémon and opened, and the Magikarp dissolved into a cloud of red light that was sucked inside. The ball closed, then twitched in the grass for a minute, the button flashing red; Mary-Sue held her breath. Then, with a click and a ping!, it went still.
"I…caught it?" Mary-Sue breathed. For a moment, she couldn't move, just waiting for the capsule to burst open and release the Magikarp, but…it didn't. "I caught it," she said again, eyes widening at the realization, and she ran over to the Pokéball, laughing. "I caught a Pokémon!" she shouted gleefully, scooping up the now-occupied device and lifting it above her head in triumph. "All right, I caught a Magikarp!" Filled with her old energy, she hopped in place several times, then turned a smile on Budew. "And I couldn't have done it without you, partner!" she told it.
"Dew?" blinked the battered plant.
"I guess you're really injured now," Mary-Sue said, clipping Magikarp onto its new spot just below Budew's home. "I…you know what? Here." Digging around in her bag, she pulled out one of the potions and bent down. "You won a fight, so you've earned this." And she sprayed the medicine on Budew's wounds.
"Budew!" it exclaimed. "Dewew?"
"There!" Mary-Sue grinned. "All better." She stood up. "I…don't have any more revives for this Magikarp, but…well, we should just get to Vermillion City anyway. Return," she told Budew, holding out its Pokéball and tapping the button, and it disappeared in a cloud of red light.
I have two Pokémon now, Mary-Sue thought, eyeing the two occupied capsules on her backpack strap as she turned for the road to Vermillion City. The thought was surreal and exciting enough to make up for the fact that, overall, as far as she could tell, her journey thus far could not have gone much worse.