"Yes!" Rose throws her fist upward in victory as the ball goes still. Tanna, in turn, leaps upward, tapping her paw against her trainer's raised fists, crying out in victory. She gracefully falls back to the ground as Rose picks up their newest Pokémon. "We're gonna make a good team, Skiddo." She smiles as she hooks the Pokeball onto her belt, then holds her arms out for Tanna to hop up.
"What do you think? Should we look around some more, or head back?" They came up here to battle Fisherman and their water type Pokémon, though they've yet to see a single fisherman. Maybe they only come up here on the weekends. Oh, well, this was hardly a lost cause.
"Vuuuul." The fire fox comments thoughtfully, her eyes scanning the area. "Pix-pix." Nothing else seems to be catching her interest.
"You're right. We'll have plenty of time to see water Pokémon." This region is full of water, after all. Rose holds Tanna to her chest as she begins to head back down the hill, which remained quiet, until the voice of a trainer broke through the peaceful veil.
"Celest, use Swift!"
Rose and Tanna both turned to see the outline of a trainer from yards away; a boy trainer, from the looks of it, and an Aipom. Deciding not to get in the trainer's way, Rose continues down the path back to Oldale town, whispering a short good luck chant to the trainer and his Aipom. "It's good to see Pokémon from home." She explains to Tanna. Johto Pokémon…she'll always have a fondness for them.
Back in Oldale, Rose remembered her note-to-self and stopped by the Pokemart, where she purchased a few potions, and a replacement Pokeball for the one SKiddo now occupies. "You…don't carry fullheals here?" She asks the cashier as she pays.
"No, sorry. We don't get a lot of demand for those around here." The cashier explained, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Most trainers that come in just want the bare essentials."
"Points for simplicity, I guess." Rose sighs as she places her new items in her bag. Looks like they'll just have to be careful to avoid poison stings and such until they get to the next city. "Thanks anyway." She waves as she heads back for the door. Next stop: Pokémon Center, Skiddo needs healing.
"Back already?" Nurse Joy asks. This girl was here a few hours ago.
"Yep. We have a Skiddo, now." Rose explains.
"You two don't take any prisoners, do you?" Joy smiles to the Vulpix as it hops onto the counter.
"That's the plan." Rose grins as she unhooks her Pokémon from her belt and passes them over to the Pokémon Nurse.
"I'll be sure to warn my cousin in Petalburg about you." Joy giggles as she loads the two Pokémon into the machine (Tanna took no damage from their last encounter, and really has no desire to get back into her ball in order to go through the machine). Seconds later the familiar alarm makes its familiar jingle, and Joy hands the Pokeballs back to the blue haired girl. "There we go! Everyone's fighting fit!"
"Thanks again!" Rose chimes as she collects her Pokémon, then makes an excited bolt to the door, Tanna at her heels.
"To route 102 and beyond, right?" She asks the fire fox as they head for the nearest exit to the town.
"Vul vul-pix!" Tanna cheers.
"That's what I like to hear! We'll-"
"DON'T TAKE ANOTHER STEP!" Calls a frantic voice from seemingly out of nowhere. The shock of the unexpected scream, along with the urgency, causes Rose to jolt backward—with an unsteady stride…and fall backwards.
Before she can even begin to process what just happened (and why she's on the ground) a man appears over her, wide eyed and frantic. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" He quickly (and shakenly) reaches down to pull the girl trainer back onto her feet.
"It's…fine." She mumbles, brushing her backside off. "Was I about to step on a mine or something?"
"No, not a bomb, a fantastic find!" The man excitedly gestures to the ground below him.
Rose follows the man's hands with her eyes, blinking in confusion at the bare ground. "…Footprints?" She asks quietly.
"Not just any footprints. Rare footprints! Never before seen footprints!—Not here, anyway. I just had to sketch them before someone steps on them, and they're gone forever…and…that's when you came along."
"…Okay." Somehow, Rose is even more confused now. "But…why are you just sketching the footprints? If the Pokémon is so rare, don't you want to find it?"
"Oh…if only I could." The man sighs. "The footprints end here, see?" He gestures to where the small dirt path ends, now shaded over in grass. "Without its tracks, how can I follow it?"
That is the most logical thing this man has said to her since they started talking. True, they'd have a hard time tracking whatever left these tracks…however. "I have an idea." Rose detaches the friend ball from her belt. "Come on out, Kiba." The light bursts from the ball, taking shape into the little hyena.
"Kiba." Rose smiles. "Do you think you can track down the Pokémon that left these footprints?"
Kiba looks down at the patch of dirt and leans down, giving the ground a hesitant sniff, followed by a longer one. After a few seconds he turns his nose upward and sniffs the air. He barks, then turns to his trainer, his tail wagging with certainty.
"I think he's got it." Rose turns to her strange companion. "Let's go." The Pokemaniac seems surprised, though he gives her a short nod and begins to follow. "What kind of Pokémon usually live on this route?" She asks. She's still yet to figure out how to get her Pokedex to tell her…or if it even can.
"Here, on route 102, there's Wurmple, Zizgagoon, Azuril, Ralts, Lotad, Gothita, Tymple, and Poochyena." He smiles down at the dark type leading them, which causes Kiba to yip happily.
"Wurmple…they evolve into two different Pokémon, don't they?" She asks. "Do you know how their evolution is determined?" She saw a lot of beautiflies in the Bug Catching Contests back home, they often got pretty high marks from the judges…it might be fun to raise a Beautifly.
"If you're looking for a specific one, you're better off catching one of the 'coons. Wurmples are random little guys."
As they walk, The Pokemaniac continues to tell Rose interesting little tidbits about the Pokémon of the area, such as the confusion that surrounds Azuril not being a water type, and Gothita being a psychic type, despite resembling a dark type. Turns out this crazy footprint guy isn't as weird as he comes off; he's just incredibly enthusiastic about Pokémon. It's only when Kiba stops walking that their conversation comes to a stop.
"What is it, Kiba?" Rose asks. Her Poochyena is pointing its nose toward a large bush, his tail held outright and perfectly still. "Is the Pokémon in there?"
Kiba replies with a short bark. His tail relaxes as he trots to the bush, which he sticks his nose into.
"BULBA-SAUR!" The bush cries, a vine whip shooting from the leaves and smashing into the ground about an inch from the Poochyena, which sends the dark type rushing back to its trainer.
"It's a Bulbasaur!" The Pokemaniac exclaims, truly excited.
"Something must have frightened him into that bush." Rose thinks out loud. Aren't Bulbasaur generally docile? This one was pretty intense.
"Do you think we can help it somehow?" Her new companion asks. He looks pretty concerned for the little Pokémon.
If it's not coming out for a Pokémon, it's probably not going to come out for humans…and it definitely won't come out for a fire Pokémon like Tanna, if it's already frightened…but…just maybe. "Let me try something." She whispers, reaching for her last Pokéball. "Help us out, Shura." Shura; she came up with the name on their walk back to Oldale town. It's a strong name, and it just…fits.
"Skiddo?" The little goat asks as its released from its ball. It was told to help. Help how?
"Do you think you can convince the Bulbasaur in that bush to come out? He's pretty scared."
"Skiiiid!" Shura cheers. He turns and quietly approaches the bush. If Bulbasaur was going to come out for anyone, there best bet was a fellow grass type.
The bush wiggles in protest as Shura stands next to it, but the little goat doesn't falter, it continues speaking to the bush, which begins to respond with quiet grunts after about a minute. Finally, vines slip out from Skiddo's grass pelt and reach into the bush. The vines wrap around the timid plant Pokémon and slowly pull it from the bush. The Bulbasaur has a pretty good sized bruise on its head, along with a few cuts on its legs.
"Skid-Skid!" Skiddo smiles as it puts Bulbasaur down in front of it.
"What happened to you, Little one?" Rose asks. In reply, the Bulbasaur only looks to the ground.
"…He must have been running away from some pretty bad people." The Pokemaniac speaks up. "That's how he got all the way out here." The man sinks onto his knees, looking positively distraught by the condition the little dinosaur is in.
"Saaur?" Bulbasaur blinks, its mouth slightly opened. Why is this human so sad? It wasn't the one that got attacked.
"I know it doesn't make up for what you've been through but…here." The Pokemaniac takes out a bandage from his pocket, which he nervously puts over the bruise on Bulbasaur's head.
"Bulba?" A vine comes from the bulb atop the dino's back, which it runs along the bandage in order to feel it. What is this thing?
"You…wanna see?" The Pokemaniac takes his Pokenav out of his pocket and holds it out to the Bulbasaur: Using its blank screen like a mirror.
"Saur?" Bulbasaur looks at its reflection with interest. It seems pretty happy at the sight, with the big bruise hidden. "Saur!" It cheers, doing a small flip in celebration. "Bulba Saur!"
The cute display causes both Rose and the Pokemaniac to laugh. Rose wanted to track these prints for the chance to see and maybe even catch the rare Pokémon, but looking at Bulbasaur now…she's not the one this Bulbasaur should belong to. "Hey, Bulbasaur?"
Bulbasaur looks away from the Pokemaniac, who is currently making silly faces at the dino to make it laugh, to look at Skiddo's trainer. "Saur?"
She cups a single hand around her mouth, as if she's telling a secret, though her voice remains at its normal volume. "I think my friend would really like you to go with him, but he's too shy to ask. What do you think?"
Bulbasaur looks to the Pokemaniac, who seems a little stunned by Rose's sudden proposition. He's no trainer, he's never had a Pokémon of his own, and yet he watches as vines reach out from the dino's bulb and wrap around his own hands. "You…really mean it, Bulba?"
"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" The Pokémon replies excitedly.
There's just the slightest hint of a tear threatening to show itself in the Pokemaniac's eye as he reaches down and picks up the Pokémon—his Pokémon. "Th-then…the first thing we should do is get you your very own Pokeball from the Pokemart, and after that I'll take you to the Pokémon center, and Nurse Joy can fix up these scratches." When he started speaking he sounded pretty nervous, but by the time he finished, his voice was brimming with determination and excitement. He has a Pokémon! "Do you want to head back with us, Rose?"
"I think I'd be a third wheel." Rose giggles. "You two head back. We'll check in on you when we get to the next city." Mr. Footprints mentioned which house was his; it shouldn't be too hard to find the number once she's at a computer. "Take care of each other." With those words she hurriedly begins to back away, hoping her hurried pace will keep him from asking her again. This is a journey those two need to make together, and she needs to get some moving again before the sun sets.
"Same goes for you!" The Pokemaniac calls. Shura and Bulbasaur exchange in a vinewhip-handshake before the little goat trots to his trainer.
Rose walks back to the beaten path and looks ahead. If they follow this path they'll eventually make it to the next city—the key word being eventually. With such a lengthy path, there's bound to be a few trainers looking for battles, and the thought of that really excites her. "Looks like there's a lot of Route 102 to go."