Ava trudged through the tall grasses of Route 1, scoping her field of vision for anything of note. Bulbasaur stretched, jumping up from the floor to Ava's backpack and onto her head, squishing her hat. The yellow dirt pathways seemed to go on forever. It was all big, holey trees and screeching birds for miles on end. "You see anything yet, Bulbasaur?" Ava asked, her eyes squinting. Bulbasaur shook his head, his nose twitching. Ava kept walking, scratching the back of her neck as she plodded on. Squinting his eyes even more, Bulbasaur began to sniff the air, eventually hopping down from Ava's head to lead the way.
"Bulbasaur, where are you going?" Ava asked, accelerating to a steady jog to keep up to Bulbasaur's run. Bulbasaur, however, kept running, adamant to sniff out this elusive creature. Along the end of the trail, Ava could make out some sort of fuzzy silhouette. It had two body segments, with at least six legs; three from each side. Something stuck out from the front of it, but she just couldn't figure out what. It was hanging from some sort of thread, almost like a spider web. The thread hung off from a tree branch up high in the air. Ava's eyes widened. What could it possibly be?
"Is that…" Ava said, slowly moving closer to the Pokémon. The Pokémon swung backward, away from her. Ava moved even closer, just enough to make out its face and its prominent colors.
The Pokémon snapped off the web, scuttling closer.
A Spinarak emerged from the darkness, the light of the sun beating onto its surroundings.
Ava's eyes slowly drooped, her face contorting into an almost repulsive emotion. "...Oh."
It took her so much to look the spider Pokémon in the eyes, and with the extra face on its abdomen, she couldn't tell which eyes to look in.
The Spinarak muttered something as it got closer. Bulbasaur backed up, shuddering next to Ava's leg, almost feeling the same disgust she did. Bugs were the thing Ava hated most in the entire world.
Ava slowly backed up, bending down to face the tiny spider. Spinarak was barely as tall as Ava—not even a quarter of her height.
"Hi. I'm… A- Ava," she said, shuddering with every word. Spinarak tilted its head, poking Ava's finger with its mandibles. Ava winced. "...d- don't do that."
She slowly pulled her Pokédex from her pocket, opening the device and pointing its light towards the spider Pokémon. The robotic voice rang, shining with light.
[Spinarak, Pokémon #0167. A Bug/Poison-type. Spinarak can climb any surface easily, and shoot a strong web from both the front and back of its body. Its prey is caught and suspended in its web.]
Ava slowly shut the device closed. "Okay… So… you're Spinarak?"
The Spinarak nodded.
Without any other choice, Ava slowly grabbed a Pokéball from her pocket and held it into her hand. "And you won't mind if I caught you, right?"
Spinarak's eyes went wide. It has never been caught before, and was always scared of getting trapped in a cramped ball for god-knows-how-long. The face on its abdomen shifted from a neutral to an angrier expression. Spinarak hissed as it backed up.
"I won't hurt you… I won't hurt you… All I wanna do… is catch you." Ava reassured, slowly advancing toward Spinarak.
Spinarak got madder, as it started shaking. It hissed louder, piercing through Ava's ears. As a last resort, Spinarak reared its abdomen in the air and spat a web straight at Ava's head, only missing her by a few inches. Ava flinched, almost bouncing back as Bulbasaur got in front of her, growling.
"This thing's got a temper on it…" Ava said, slowly backing up into the tall grass. She heard something click in the near distance.
Suddenly, a Pokéball emerged from the foliage across from her, hitting Spinarak's abdomen and successfully capturing it. Ava slowly advanced toward the ball, bending down. She heard a voice yell.
"HEY!"
She recognized the voice, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint where. Something stepped out of the grass. It looked about as tall as her. It bent down, grabbing the ball in its hand. "Temper, huh?" it said, walking out of the shady greenery.
Ava blinked. She couldn't believe her own eyes. "Aiden? The boy from class?"
"In the flesh," Aiden remarked, holding his arms out. "Autographs later."
Ava walked closer. "Nobody told me you were starting your adventure the same time as mine."
"I had to find something to beat you in," Aiden replied cunningly. He reached one of his arms up to grab two Oran berries from a tree overhead, offering one to Ava. "Oran?"
Ava grabbed the berry, angrily taking a bite. "This is really good."
Aiden took his bite. "It's fresh, isn't it?"
Ava took another bite. "But what's your ploy here? I know you're working for someone and trying to get something out of me," Ava said with her mouth full.
"Ploy? Of course not," Aiden finished his berry. "Friendly competition, is all."
Ava swallowed down another bite, extending her arm downward to give half of her berry to Bulbasaur. He happily ate, chomping into the blue fruit, getting juice on his face in the process. "There's a catch. There's always a catch."
"Catch? Boy, what neighborhood did you grow up in? I'd never do something like that to such a good friend of mine." Aiden remarked, putting a hand on Ava's shoulder.
"Get your hands off me," Ava barked, shooing Aiden's hand away. "But what's with that spider?"
"The spider will evolve soon—as all Pokémon do—into something bigger and better." Aiden said, ending the conversation as he grabbed the ball from the ground. "As for now, this spider's on my side. See you out in the Elite Four, Avesie. I'm hoping you make it that far."
Aiden smirked, walking away onto another route.
Ava grumbled as she watched Aiden walk away, crossing her arms. "'Bigger and better' my ass… He'll mess up someday, I know it."
Bulbasaur chirped in agreement.