It took the rest of the day to reach Vermillion City, even dodging every other wild Pokémon that crossed Mary-Sue's path. Luckily, the port city wasn't nearly as dizzying of a labyrinth as Saffron - in fact, even next to Celadon, it was more of a quaint little town. Just as the sun set, Mary-Sue dove into the Pokémon Center, hurrying to the front desk.
"Hello there," greeted the woman behind the counter with a patient smile. "I haven't seen you before. Are you a new trainer?"
"Yes, Nurse Joy," Mary-Sue told the woman - there was no question who she was, as, due to some strange quirk of the medical system, all staff of Pokémon Centers had identical appearances, and all went by the same name. Some rumors circulated that they themselves were part-Pokémon, but no adults or official sources had ever done anything but deny this. "My name is Mary-Sue, I'm from Celadon City. Can you please heal my Pokémon?"
"Of course," Nurse Joy said, and Mary-Sue handed her the two occupied Pokéballs she unclipped from her backpack.
As the healing machine hummed and whirred with Mary-Sue's Pokémon inside, the young trainer heaved a deep breath. Magikarp can fight, she reflected. Unless it doesn't obey me either… "Nurse Joy?" she spoke up.
"Yes?" asked the nurse.
"Do you know why a Pokémon would refuse to fight?" Mary-Sue questioned. "My Budew won't obey me when I tell it to use Absorb."
"Did you receive it in a trade?"
"Well, no…I mean, my mom caught it for me and gave it to me for my birthday," Mary-Sue explained. "But it's a baby Pokémon, it was taken down easily by a Rattata, so that shouldn't matter…"
The machine pinged to signal that its job was done, and Nurse Joy took the two capsules out and handed them back to Mary-Sue. "I don't know," she told her. "That is strange…maybe your Budew just doesn't like battling."
"But mom said it had potential," Mary-Sue mumbled, cutting off with a tremendous yawn.
"Why don't you get some rest?" Nurse Joy suggested, and she gestured to the hall to her left. "We have rooms for trainers taking the gym challenge, and most of them are empty right now."
"Can I use the phone?" Mary-Sue asked. "My parents probably want to hear from me."
"Of course," Nurse Joy smiled. "Everything in this facility is for trainers to use as much as they like. Please, make yourself at home."
"Thank you," Mary-Sue chirped, and she followed the directions, taking the first door on the left into a small room with a bed and a tub.
Groaning with exhaustion, the young trainer tossed her bag down by the cot and shut the door. Her back was still a bit sore from Magikarp's Tackle attacks, and she'd basically sprinted the whole way here; but before she could let herself rest, there was something she knew she needed to do, and she filled the bathtub and opened her newly-occupied Pokéball.
"Magikarp karp," the orange fish babbled as it materialized in the basin of water.
"Hello, Magikarp," Mary-Sue said to it nervously. "My name's Mary-Sue, and I'm your trainer now."
"Karp?" It pinned its massive eyes at her, and not in a particularly friendly manner.
"You're, uh…" She gulped. "You're quite a fighter," she remarked nervously. "Everyone says Magikarp are weak, but…you've got a spirit for battle. If you'll let me, I'll train you to be even stronger. Does that…sound okay?"
"Karp…" Her new Magikarp closed its mouth, then swam around the tub in a tight circle before fixing one big eye on her again. "Karp karp," it said, and if she had to guess, it sounded satisfied.
"Great!" she exclaimed, giddy with relief. "Well then, um, you should probably meet your teammate properly." She unhooked Budew's ball. "Come on out, Budew!"
"Dew!" squeaked the baby plant as it materialized.
"This is Budew," Mary-Sue told Magikarp, lifting the little bud in her hands so Magikarp could see it. "You, uh…got poisoned by Tackling it. But, you're going to be teammates now, you'll be working together."
"Dewew," Budew remarked timidly to the fish.
"Kaaarp…" Magikarp splashed abruptly, causing Mary-Sue to flinch as droplets of water hit her and Budew.
"Budew really wanted you to come with us," Mary-Sue told her new ally. "It, um…it doesn't like fighting, though. Can you talk some sense into it, Magikarp?"
"Karp. Karp karp, Magikarp. Magikarp?" the water-type Pokémon said, seeming to address the tiny creature cradled in Mary-Sue's gloved hands.
"Budew!" exclaimed the grass-type. "Dew dew, Budew!"
"Karp." The orange fish flipped its tail fin sharply, splashing water at Budew in what seemed like distaste.
"Dew!" yelped Budew, and it squirmed in Mary-Sue's gentle grip; she let it go readily, not wanting her exposed fingers to get pricked, and it lunged to huddle against her leg the moment it hit the ground. "Budewewew…"
Mary-Sue sighed and knelt down. "You can sleep in your Pokéball tonight, Budew," she told her partner, "but first, would you please stay out here with me for just a little while? I want you to join me on the call with my parents. Okay? You'll go right back in once it's over."
"Budew," squeaked the timid Pokémon, but it nodded, and Mary-Sue rewarded it with a smile.
"Thank you," she told it. "Come on now, I'll carry you, alright?"
"Dew!" it yelped, leaping back immediately.
"Okay, okay, you can walk then," Mary-Sue said quickly. "Um…follow me, the phone's just out front."
The tiny creature trotted after her readily as she went outside, leaving Magikarp to its tub. No one was in the lobby aside from Nurse Joy and the resident Chansey, and the phone booths were perfectly private and unoccupied. Even so, Mary-Sue was a bit nervous about dialing her home phone number.
"Is that you, baby girl?!" came her father's immediate cry as the call went through.
"Hi dad!" Mary-Sue said. "Yeah, it's me."
"Mary-Sue!" the lavender-haired man exclaimed, his face all but pressed to the monitor. "How are you doing?! I've been so worried about you! Where are you?!"
"Calm down, James," her mother's voice cut in, and Mr. Jones was hauled backwards to allow his wife to join in, her painted lips smiling into the camera. "Hey there, sweetie! How's your journey been?"
"It's been…" Mary-Sue hesitated. "Um…I'm okay. I'm in Vermillion City right now…"
"Already?" Mrs. Jones asked. "I thought you'd take your time on the routes."
"I was going to," Mary-Sue admitted, "but, well…"
"Something wrong, sweetie?" her dad cut in. "Come on, baby girl, talk to us."
"It's just…" Chewing her lip, the young trainer bent down and, with a murmured "sorry", picked up Budew and set it in her lap. "Budew here…it doesn't seem to want to fight. I tell it to use Absorb attack, and it just won't."
"Hmm?" Both adults blinked and frowned, their expressions almost identical.
"I was wondering if you could get Meowth for me and have him talk to it," Mary-Sue went on. "Maybe he could help me understand why Budew won't obey me."
"Of course!" Mr. Jones exclaimed, and he dove out of sight.
"How have you been getting on without battles?" Mrs. Jones asked in the meantime.
"I caught a Magikarp!" Mary-Sue offered brightly. "Budew wouldn't fight, but its Poison Point ability gave me an opening, and I just…I just kinda shielded it from Magikarp's Tackles with my body until Magikarp was weak enough to catch."
"You what?!" her father yelped as he returned. "A Pokémon hit you?!"
"It was just a Magikarp, dad, I'm fine," Mary-Sue reassured him. "My back only hurts a little, and it was just this morning."
In response, the grown man squealed and pulled his hair, too upset to formulate words. At least he had the decency to take a couple of steps back while he freaked out, and his wife only gave a small sigh as she bent down and picked up the talking feline who'd been led over.
"Hey dere!" greeted Meowth.
"Hi Meowth!" Mary-Sue smiled. "How are things at home?"
"Nice and quiet," Meowth teased. "So, ya need ta talk to your Budew?"
"Yeah," Mary-Sue nodded, "it won't fight when I tell it to." She looked down at the baby Pokémon she held propped up in her hands so it could see the monitor. "Budew, could you please tell Meowth why you won't fight?"
"Dew?" the little bud blinked its pinprick eyes at the furry face on the screen. "Budewew…"
"Come on, don't be shy," Meowth encouraged. "We're both Pokémon, you and me. One Pokémon to anoddah, what's da trouble?"
"Budew…dew, Budew," the focus of the conversation squeaked softly.
"What's it saying, Meowth?" Mrs. Jones prompted.
"It says it don't wanna talk about it," Meowth answered, frowning.
"Huh?" Mary-Sue gasped. "Budew, what's wrong? Are you…Oh, please just tell Meowth what's wrong. If you…if you can't fight…"
"Budew!" it said. "Dew Budew, Budewewew…Budew dew."
"Hmm," Meowth murmured, putting a paw to his mouth thoughtfully like a human would. "Go on."
"Dew," Budew continued, and it babbled its name for a minute.
"What's going on?" Mary-Sue asked when it trailed off, as her father quietly slipped back into frame.
"It says it don't wanna be a bully," Meowth said slowly. "It…ain't tellin' me much, but I get da feelin' sumt'in' happened to it. It keeps startin' ta talk about sumt'in' and den stoppin'. I don't t'ink it's crippled, but it seems scared of sumt'in'." He blinked his massive eyes and refocused on Mary-Sue. "It does wanna say t'ank you for protectin' it dis mornin', t'ough. Says you remind it of its moddah. You make it feel safah now, it ain't scared a' you no more."
"Oh…" Mary-Sue looked at Budew and forced a smile. "I'm…glad you know you can trust me, Budew. Of course, I won't let you get badly hurt. I just wish…you'd fight when I tell you to, that's all."
"Dewwwwewwww…" it mumbled.
"Yeah, it's sayin' it don't wanna be a mean Pokémon," Meowth supplied. "Battlin's mean."
"It's not mean, it's natural," Mary-Sue insisted. "Pokémon battle, that's just what they do. It's not bullying."
"Dew…Budew dew?" it inquired.
"It's sayin' it wants ta go back in its Pokéball," Meowth informed her.
"In a minute," Mary-Sue told her partner, though she did set the grass-type creature back down on the floor. "You can go back to our room if you want, and tell Magikarp I'll be there soon, but…I want to talk to mom and dad a little longer."
"Budew!" it said, bobbing its body in an approximation of a nod, and it trotted off.
As it disappeared around the corner, Mary-Sue sighed heavily, slumping hard in her seat.
"A Magikarp?" inquired her father.
"Huh? Yeah, I caught the Magikarp I mentioned," Mary-Sue told him. "It's actually a spirited fighter, so…" She sighed again, even more heavily, and cradled her head in her hands.
"Are you okay, baby girl?" her mother asked gently, while her father grumbled something about a Magikarp not being good enough for his daughter.
"I…I'm fine…" Rubbing her eyes and fighting back a yawn, the little girl refocused on her parents. "I'll be okay," she told them. "I just…" She sighed again, the frustration that had been eating at her since the encounter with the Rattata threatening to overwhelm her. "Being a trainer isn't like I thought it would be," she confessed, unable to keep her voice entirely even.
"Oh, honey…" Her mother's sapphire eyes went soft, and she stepped closer to the monitor, edging out her husband and Meowth. "You know…when I was your age, I wanted to be an idol, a performer," she told her.
"Huh?" Mary-Sue blinked.
"I trained and practiced so hard with my friends," Mrs. Jones went on, and Mary-Sue sat up straighter; she'd never heard this before. "When we auditioned…I was the only one who didn't make the cut. All my friends went on to become young idols, and I…didn't really have anything else I could do."
"But…you're a great performer," Mary-Sue said. "You're the most famous coordinator in the world."
"It took me a long time to get there," her mother told her, "and I…" She cut off, eyes closing sharply, as though she was fighting something painful, and Mary-Sue's breath caught; she'd never seen her mom look like that. "Well…there were a lot of struggles along the way," she managed after a moment. "But I never gave up; I just had to…keep trying, until I found my own way to shine." Her eyes opened again, and her face slowly relaxed into a smile. "I know you can find your way too," she told her daughter. "I'm sorry it's not going the way you hoped it would, but I believe in you. Don't give up."
"Mom…" Mary-Sue's eyes burned, and she scrubbed them harder. "I won't," she choked. "L-Like I said, M-Magikarp seems eager to fight, so I'll be fine. I, uh, I'm gonna take Diglett Cave to Viridian Forest tomorrow, so…"
"Sounds like a long trip," Mrs. Jones remarked. "You should get some sleep."
"Yeah…"
"Have you had dinner yet?" her father piped up. "You need to stay fed."
"I'll get something in the morning," Mary-Sue said. "I'm…tired."
"No skipping meals!" Mr. Jones insisted. "You need to eat dinner. I'm sure the Pokémon Center has something for you."
"No, I'm fine," Mary-Sue insisted, even as her stomach growled.
"Just because you're off on your own doesn't mean you can stop taking care of yourself," her dad insisted.
"James, calm down," his wife groaned, slightly pushing him back. "Mary-Sue is free to find her own way now." She looked at the monitor and pointedly added, "If she wants to wake up with the pain of an empty stomach in the morning, that's her mistake to make."
Mary-Sue frowned. "Maybe I'll…have a snack," she conceded. "But I have stuff to do tomorrow, so…"
"Get some rest, sweetie," her mom told her. "Don't press on until you're ready."
"I will be going to Diglett Cave tomorrow," Mary-Sue stated firmly. "And I won't be stopping in Pewter City when I get out, I'll be going straight to Viridian Forest, so…I don't know when I'll call again."
"Take your time," Mrs. Jones smiled as her husband whimpered with the effort of not protesting. "It's your journey, baby girl, do whatever feels right to you."
"Thanks mom," Mary-Sue said, weakly smiling back. "And thank you, Meowth, for helping me with Budew."
"Yeah, just be careful wit' it," Meowth said. "I'm kinda wonderin' what happened to make it hate battlin' so much, but whatever it is, ya gotta work at its level."
"I will," the young trainer promised. "Love, trust, and understanding are key, like the Champion always says. I'll figure things out."
"We know you will," her mother said. "Go get some sleep now."
"And eat something first!" her dad inserted.
"Okay, I will," Mary-Sue relented. "Good night. I love you all!"
"We love you too, baby girl," her mom said. "Good night."
"Good night!"
"Good night!"
~o~
Breakfasts provided by the Pokémon Center for free were as basic as possible - rice and a bit of seaweed - but since Mary-Sue had decided to ignore her father and go to bed immediately after hanging up with her parents, and had resultantly woken with a painfully empty stomach, she was in no position to complain. Outside, the morning was mild, the port town kept cool by a constant sea breeze. It had been hard to see in the dark, and Mary-Sue had been focused on just getting to the Pokémon Center, but now she was stopped short by the sight of the vast expanse of water.
Forgetting her plans for a moment, she trotted down the road to the docks, drawn to the infinite blue, and stopped, dizzied by the salty expanse. It's so big, she thought. The world out there…there are so many places, so many Pokémon…The Champion says that being a Pokémon master is about seeing as much as there is to see, but…how? For the first time in her life, she was faced with the enormity of the world, how incredibly small her hometown was in the grand scheme of things. She had always known, of course, but it wasn't something she'd really dwelt on before.
"Pardon, missy," grunted a man beside her, and she looked behind her and up to see an enormous man in a sailor uniform frowning down at her with his arms crossed.
"Oh, sorry!" she yelped, suddenly realizing she was just standing in the middle of a dock that had several boats moored to it, and she quickly skirted out of the way.
"Heh heh," the sailor chuckled. "Never seen the sea before, have you?"
"N-No sir," she answered. "I'm from Celadon, and I just started my Pokémon journey. It's…so big."
"Aye," the man smiled. "It's like a Pokémon all its own, too - powerful, flighty, dangerous. It's always important to respect the sea."
"So…you're a sailor," Mary-Sue said hesitantly. "Do you, um, see a lot of other regions?"
"I've been around," he shrugged. "But I don't stay anywhere too long. The sea is my only home. Say, you said you're a trainer?"
"Uh, y-yes sir," Mary-Sue nodded.
"Care for a battle?" he asked.
"Um…" Mary-Sue gulped, her blood running cold in her veins. "N-No thank you, I - I only just got my trainer license a few days ago, we're not ready for a battle yet. I haven't even beaten a wild Pokémon."
"Well, ya gotta start somewhere," the sailor remarked, but he started walking away. "Take care of yourself, miss."
"Thanks!" Mary-Sue squeaked nervously, and before she even knew what she was doing, she ran back into town.
It took her a minute to realize what she'd just done. Trainers didn't refuse to battle, and only a few days ago, she'd been eager for her first challenge, wondering who she would fight and how it would go. But after Rattata, and Magikarp…and that man had been so big and scary…
What's wrong with me?! she shouted at herself. I'm a trainer now, and trainers have to fight! Even if Budew won't, I have Magikarp, I can battle! The corners of her eyes began to sting.
Slowing down for a moment, Mary-Sue pressed her palms to her temples and drew a deep breath. Diglett Cave, she reminded herself. I need to go to Diglett Cave. And before that… She looked around, and quickly located the sign marking the local Pokémart. I have a promise to keep.
In her hometown, the "mart" was a massive, multi-leveled mall, the only one of its kind in Kanto, and Mary-Sue had explored it multiple times, admiring all the various supplies for Pokémon trainers. By comparison, this shop was tiny, and incredibly limited in its supply, though of course she didn't need more than the essentials right now.
"Hello, miss," greeted the shopkeeper. "Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Pokémon food," Mary-Sue said, trotting up to the counter, already seeing the rows of cans. "I know different Pokémon have different preferences, and I don't know what my Pokémon might like."
"Well, let's have a look," he said with a smile. "I can give you samples until we figure out what your partner would prefer."
"Oh, okay. Come on out, Budew!" Mary-Sue unclipped Budew's capsule and opened it.
"Budew!" it squeaked.
"I promised I'd get you a treat, remember?" she asked it.
"Dew?"
"Huh, that's a rare Pokémon," the man remarked.
"My mom got it for me in Sinnoh," Mary-Sue explained brightly. "So, um, where should we start? I don't have much money…"
"In that case, spicy food is the cheapest," the shopkeeper told her, and he reached under the counter and pulled out a single pellet of food. "Try this."
"Okay. Here, Budew, do you like this?" Mary-Sue asked, kneeling down to hand Budew the pellet.
"Budew?" The little plant blinked, then bit into the pellet with its tiny mouth and chewed. "Dew!" it yelped, spraying half-chewed kibble on the floor, coughing. "Dewewew, dew!"
"Ooh, looks like it doesn't like that," the shopkeeper remarked. "Maybe try sweet food, then? Pokémon who hate spicy food that much tend to like sweet food."
"Okay then." Mary-Sue took the new pellet and held it out to Budew. "Try this," she told it.
"Dew…" It eyed the food warily, then hesitantly bit off a tiny nibble. "Dew!" it gasped, its little face lighting up, and it leapt up to yank the rest of the pellet out of Mary-Sue's hand and chow down on the whole thing. "Dw dw dw!" it mumbled through the meal with a huge smile.
"It looks like that worked," Mary-Sue said happily. "Can I get five cans of sweet food, please?"
"Sure thing." The shopkeeper started gathering cans from the shelves.
"Oh, and, um…I know that in Hoenn, they make special candies for Pokémon," Mary-Sue added. "I was wondering if maybe…you had some here?"
"Oh, Pokéblocks?" the man asked. "There's not much demand for those here in Kanto…but…hold on one second." He ducked down behind the counter, and the sounds of rummaging and clattering filled the shop for a minute. "We tried selling them once, but they didn't catch on," the man said, reemerging from his search, "but we do have some still. Here, take this Pokéblock made from a Pecha Berry, on the house."
"Really?!" Mary-Sue gasped. "Oh wow, thanks! Here you go, Budew." She took the little pink cube and handed it over to her partner.
"Dew." It chewed. "Budew dew!" it exclaimed, hopping in place slightly. "Dew, dew, Budew!" It looked so happy, and Mary-Sue couldn't help smiling back.
"Anything else for you, miss?" asked the man.
"Oh, I have a Magikarp too, I don't know what it likes," Mary-Sue remembered suddenly. "Um…do you have a tub or something so I can call it out?" Most Pokémon that lived exclusively in water could manage to sort of swim in the air when they had to, though of course they were far more adept and comfortable at swimming in water, but the one exception to this was Magikarp, which could only flop and flail when on land. That was one of the primary reasons it was often cited as the weakest species of Pokémon in existence, its lack of mystical power that would allow it to do what anything else that lived in water could do.
"I'm afraid not," the shopkeeper told her. "But I'm sure it won't mind being out for a minute so you can find out what kind of food it wants."
"I guess…" Frowning, Mary-Sue opened Magikarp's Pokéball, cradling the orange fish in her arms awkwardly.
"Karp karp," it babbled.
"Hey, Magikarp, I'm just shopping for food for you and Budew, and I need to find out what you like," Mary-Sue told it. "Is that okay?"
"Karp." It didn't thrash, at least, so Mary-Sue took that as a yes.
"Can we try the spicy food again?" she asked.
"Of course!" What was left of the same pellet as before was offered to the water-type Pokémon, and Magikarp's gaping mouth closed to crew it.
"Kaaaarp." Its yellow noodle-like mustache twitched as it ate, and when it swallowed, it looked up at its trainer with eyes that seemed hazy with contentment. "Karp karp! Magikarp!"
"Looks like it likes spicy food," Mary-Sue said. "So I'll take five cans of that, too."
"Right away, miss," the man said, and he reached for more cans as Mary-Sue called her Pokémon back into their capsules. "Anything else?"
"I can't really afford anything else," Mary-Sue admitted.
"That'll be 150 Pokédollars, then," he told her.
Mary-Sue handed over the money and packed the cans into her backpack. "Thank you!" she told the shopkeeper before she left.
"Thank you," he responded, "and good luck on your journey!"
"Thanks!" she called on her way out the door.
Alright. Now for Diglett Cave.
~o~
By the time Mary-Sue reached the entrance to Diglett Cave, it was almost noon. The cave wasn't difficult to find, the road east ran right next to it and it was heavily signposted. A bit of her enthusiasm began to return as she ducked into the earthy cavern and clambered down the rope ladder into the terrain of the Diglett. Out of respect for the digging Pokémon's aversion to light, no lanterns were strung up anywhere in the tunnel, but Mary-Sue's Pokédex came with a built-in flashlight, so it wouldn't be too difficult to navigate.
It was colder underground than Mary-Sue had expected, and the seemingly-infinite blackness that stretched out beyond her light attested to the fact that it would take hours to traverse the cave. In the distance, a slight rumble echoed threateningly. Mary-Sue had never imagined herself to be claustrophobic, but she couldn't help hugging herself as she took small, careful steps into the burrow; though she tried to tell her feet to move faster so it wouldn't be too late at night by the time she reached the end, her body simply refused to obey.
Why am I being such a scaredy-Skitty? she thought. First that sailor at the docks, now this cave… She shook her head. There's nothing to be scared of, only Diglett live in here! The Champion did so much more than this when he was my age!
Anger rose, overriding her nerves, and she picked up her pace, her boots all but stomping on the rocky floor. At the other end of this tunnel was Viridian Forest, the place she most wanted to go in all the world, and she would not be put off by darkness.
Though, it was very dark…
Time seemed to lose its hold on the world the further Mary-Sue proceeded; when she eventually turned around out of curiosity, the tunnel looked the same behind her as it looked ahead of her. How much further would she have to go? A shudder wracked her body suddenly, and the walls seemed to close in on her, her heart racing in her chest. Out of nowhere, the idea that the rest of the world had disappeared and there was only this long burrow of dirt remaining seized her mind, and she whimpered and started running, desperate for the outside. Was there even air down here?! How could there be?!
"Oof!"
Something caught the young trainer's foot as she sprinted, and she tumbled across the uneven ground, the air driven from her lungs as she landed on her chest, though she managed to shield her face. Shaking, hurting, fighting the urge to cry, she struggled to her hands and knees and sat up, brushing loose dirt from her clothes and grazed arms.
"Dig?"
"Huh?" Mary-Sue blinked at the sudden voice, and she picked up her Pokédex light and swung it around to illuminate what she'd tripped on: a brown lump with beady black eyes and a bulbous nose.
"Digdig!" grunted the Diglett.
"Oh…" Mary-Sue was so tired - tired of being weak, tired of being scared, tired of being a failure as a trainer. For a moment, she was tempted to just curl up into a ball and shut down, but then a flame lit in her chest: frustration. A wilful rage made her leap to her feet, scowling down at her offender. "You tripped me, you stupid thing!" she shrieked at the wild Pokémon. "You wanna fight?! Fine!" She grabbed the second Pokéball on her strap. "Go, Magikarp! Use Tackle!"
"Kaaaarp!" proclaimed the fish as it materialized from its thrown capsule. "Karp karp!"
"Digdig!" snarled the ground-type Pokémon.
"Magikarp karp! Kaaaarp!" Magikarp trumpeted as it started flopping around the cave, building up momentum so it could hurl itself at the stubby creature.
"Budew, you come out too," Mary-Sue said, opening her other occupied Pokéball.
"Dew?" squeaked her starting partner as it appeared.
"You just watch," she told it. "You don't have to fight, but you need to watch so you can understand how Pokémon are supposed to behave."
"Karp!" roared the fish as it finally aimed a Tackle at the mole.
"Dig!" Letting out only one squeak, the little face disappeared into the dirt.
"Hey, no fair!" Mary-Sue shouted, her voice echoing in the enclosed space.
"Karp…?"
"Digdig!" The wild Pokémon popped up, smacking into Magikarp from below.
"Tackle it before it can flee again!" Mary-Sue ordered.
"Kaaaarp!" Sounding nearly as angry as Mary-Sue felt, the fish out of water quickly flopped about and charged at the Diglett, and this time it hit.
"Diiiiiiig!" cried the dirt-colored stub.
"Yes!" Mary-Sue cheered. "Finally, I got a Pokémon to hit another Pokémon! Keep it up, Magikarp!"
"Digdigdigdig…!" Diglett snarled and slid forward through the ground, almost as though it was swimming.
"Careful!" Mary-Sue called. "It can use Scratch! Don't let it get near you!"
"Karp! Karp! Karp!" babbled the flailing creature, but Mary-Sue was starting to notice its wild, jerky motions weren't nearly as uncoordinated as they seemed - everything Magikarp did directed it or lent its Tackles power. Using Splash worked as a perfect dodge, and it twisted as it came back down to smack its opponent on top of its head.
"Alright! Way to go, Magikarp!" Mary-Sue pumped her fists. This was how she'd thought things would go, and all her rage was melting away at last.
"Dew?" squeaked the little bud by her foot.
"This is a Pokémon battle," Mary-Sue told it through an enormous grin. "This is what Pokémon do, Budew. You could do this too, you know? Heck, you'd be amazing in this fight, you have a type advantage over Diglett."
"Bud…dew…" whimpered the baby Pokémon, huddling closer to her.
"Tackle it again, Magikarp!" Mary-Sue called, not that she really needed to at this point - Magikarp was already lining itself up for another strike.
"Kaaarp!" Roaring triumphantly, Magikarp hurled itself bodily against the wild Diglett, and its opponent cried out and slumped over in its hole.
"Yeah!" Mary-Sue shouted, leaping into the air. "We won, Magikarp! Way to go!"
"Karp karp!" Magikarp said, seeming to echo her enthusiasm.
"I won a Pokémon battle," Mary-Sue said, dazed by the thought. "I just won a Pokémon battle! Alright!"
"Dig dig dig."
"Trio trio."
"Huh?" Forcing her eyes back open, Mary-Sue looked around, shining her flashlight back and forth…only to find a number of little black eyes glimmering in the darkness.
"Dig dig dig. Dig dig dig!"
"Trio, trio, trio!"
A bunch of brown stubs started gathering around their fallen fellow. Most were Diglett, but some were Dugtrio, the total heads numbering about sixteen - too many to stand side-by-side in the narrow passage, by far.
"Uh…" Mary-Sue stepped back hesitantly. "N-No fair ganging up on us," she told the cluster of wild Pokémon. "Your friend fought us fair and square, and-"
"Dig dig!" growled one of the Diglett. All those little eyes gleamed in her flashlight, glaring at her.
"I think they're mad," Mary-Sue remarked to her Pokémon.
"Dew?!" exclaimed Budew.
"Run!" Mary-Sue shouted in a panic, and she turned and started sprinting away.
"Dig dig dig! Dig dig dig!"
"Trio trio!"
A rumbling sound marked two Dugtrio and ten Diglett chasing after the young trainer through their burrow. Too alarmed to think to call back her Pokémon, Mary-Sue just ran; Magikarp kept up with mighty Splashes that were carefully aimed to propel it down the tunnel, but incredibly, it was Budew who led the charge, its tiny little legs working shockingly fast as it sobbed its name in terror, handily outpacing Mary-Sue, Magikarp, and the ground-types pursuing them.
Suddenly, a dark alcove yawned ahead to Mary-Sue's left, and she dove for it. "Over here!" she shouted, shutting off her flashlight, and Magikarp's scaly body slapped against her side as she curled up in the corner. Budew had already run past, though, and as Mary-Sue fumbled in the pitch blackness to return Magikarp to its capsule, she heard the Diglett tear through the dirt she'd just been running on, the ground shaking beneath her as they missed her.
"…Budew?" Mary-Sue whispered as the angry growling faded, hoping she'd misunderstood and Budew had made it into the shelter as well.
No response came.
"Oh no…" Blind, bruised, and dirty, Mary-Sue reached around until she found the edge of the alcove and was able to guide herself out to the recently-disturbed ground. The dirt was somewhat loose under her boots, but not so much that she would lose her balance.
Holding her breath, Mary-Sue switched on her light again. Ahead of her and behind, there was no sign of the Diglett, nor was there any sign of Budew.
"Hold on, Budew," Mary-Sue whimpered, and she took one deep breath to steel her nerves before she started running after the chasing group of wild Pokémon.
This time, she watched her feet carefully, wary of tripping over another Diglett, or worse, a Dugtrio. In her mind, images of Budew all scratched up or beaten to a pulp consumed her, far outweighing her previous fear of the cave. She'd only wanted Budew to watch a proper Pokémon battle, but now it was in danger and there was nothing she could do.
There was no telling how long she'd been underground by the time she felt a shift in the air, but miraculously, no more Diglett attacked in the meantime. It was difficult to pinpoint what had changed, but it felt a bit warmer, and she let herself hope she was almost out. Still no sign of Budew, though, and she wondered if the Diglett had taken it, maybe buried it alive…
Out of seemingly nowhere, a sloped wall appeared ahead of her in her flashlight, dirty ropes marking the means for humans to climb to the exit. Mary-Sue ran the rest of the way, then stopped, searching for some sign of Budew. Beneath her feet, the ground still felt recently-disturbed, so the horde had probably taken the chase this far…
A faint sound reached her ears, seeming to come from the same direction as the incredibly wan light that was almost unnoticeable next to her flashlight. Some scuff marks in the dirt along the rope ladder seemed fresh, she noticed, and too small for a human besides.
Hoping against hope, Mary-Sue climbed out of Diglett Cave, emerging into the light of the setting sun. Right next to the tunnel opening sat a tiny Pokémon, flopped down in the grass and bawling its little eyes out.
"Dewwww dewwww dewwww…" it cried.
"Budew!" Mary-Sue cried, lunging for it and scooping it up in her arms.
"Deeeew!" it shrieked, flailing in her grip.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Mary-Sue said, quickly putting down the struggling plant. "But, you're okay! I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Dew?" it croaked, blinking its pinprick eyes up at her. "Dewew? Dew!" it gasped, seeming to only just recognize its trainer.
"I was so worried about you," Mary-Sue told the tiny bud, kneeling in the grass and lightly cupping it in her hands. "How did you escape?"
"Budewew," it whimpered.
"You're really fast," she told it. "Diglett are fast Pokémon, for you to outrun them all that way is really amazing." Forcing a smile, she said, "I guess mom was right when she said you had a lot of potential."
"Dew…"
"Come on, get back in your Pokéball," Mary-Sue said, activating the capsule. "I'm sorry I didn't call you back right away, I wasn't thinking. You can stay inside until tomorrow at least."
"Dew!" Budew all but cheered, visibly delighted at being able to hide in its home again, before it disappeared in a cloud of red light and was drawn into the Pokéball.
"Whew," Mary-Sue sighed, clipping the ball to her strap. "Glad that's over." She cast one look back at Diglett Cave, frowning. I won my first battle in there, she reminded herself. Budew and Magikarp are both okay, and now I'm-
With a gasp, Mary-Sue leapt to her feet and turned around. There was a dirt road running beside the cave she'd emerged from, but not far away, it disappeared into a dense line of trees.
"Viridian Forest," she whispered. "I…I made it." A smile split her face. "I made it!" she shouted, pumping her fists in the air. "Alright, I made it to Viridian Forest!"
The last of the sun's rays vanished from the sky, and Mary-Sue sighed, knowing that now was not a good time to start exploring the woods - not only was it night, but she was exhausted from her sprint down the tunnel that, she realized, must have taken hours. When that dawned on her, she nearly collapsed, suddenly registering her aching legs. Only by shuffling around on her knees was she able to pitch her tent and climb inside, too tired to cook or make a fire.
Maybe I'll stop by Pewter City first thing tomorrow, she thought faintly as she curled up in her sleeping bag and passed out.