Chapter Text
Long grass. Carmilla hated long grass. To be clear, it wasn’t the vegetation itself that she hated but rather it was the Pokemon that lurked within the long grass that had troubled her ever since her grandfather Giovanni’s lab exploded when she was younger. Of course, Mother had never treated her the same way since that day, either.
“Tyranitar, darling...” Carmilla shuddered and shoved her Mother’s voice from her mind, focusing on the task at hand. She should have stopped by the PokeMart before she’d left but she’d been so intent on finding her brother she’d completely forgotten that there’d probably be long grass on the way to Saffron. She made a quick mental note to buy some Max Repels as soon as possible as she scratched the bridge of Buttercup’s nose with her finger and dodged another patch of ridiculously long vegetation. She was prolonging the inevitable, she knew, but she could see the field that lay just ahead and she wanted to delay as much as possible, if she could.
William wouldn’t be afraid Carmilla’s heart whispered to her as she looked out at the vast expanse of menacing grass and watched it wave in the wind as if it were taunting her. She lingered for a few moments more than she probably should have as she tried one last time to devise a way around the large expanse of greenery but eventually had to merely gather her courage and step out into the grass with Buttercup at her heels.
Carmilla seriously loathed long grass.
From the moment her lower body was engulfed in the ridiculously long foliage, Carmilla was in a constant state of tense panic and her eyes were glued to the ground in the hope that she might be able to discover and dodge a Pokemon before she disturbed it and was forced to fight. She had, amazingly, managed to make a significant amount of headway without running into a single creature when suddenly she heard an excited yipping from her right. Quickly turning on the spot she found Buttercup playfully batting at an aggravated Zigzagoon. She groaned. This was what she’d been dreading.
“Buttercup.” She tried to call to him, desperately hoping to distract him from the fight she knew was about to commence. She would have had more success trying to rearrange the heavens. The Zigzagoon’s tail bristled and then whipped around in a movement Carmilla recognised as tail whip and begrudgingly told the eager young Vulpix at her side to counter with Ember. She winced at the heat that radiated from the tiny Pokemon’s body as it obeyed her request but was happy enough to endure it when she saw that the Zigzagoon had backed off a little. Her happiness was short lived, however, when the wild Pokemon regained its composure and tackled Buttercup, who yelped in pain.
“Hey!” Carmilla grit her teeth together and managed to swallow the anger that had risen in her throat. She bent down to stroke Buttercup and make sure he was okay before ordering him to try ember again. He happily obliged. The two Pokemon carried on for a little while longer, trading blow for blow and causing Carmilla strife as she began to worry that her low level Pokemon couldn’t handle the fight until finally Buttercup got the upper hand and sent the Zigzagoon scarpering off into the grass to lick its wounds. Carmilla smiled fondly at her Pokemon and let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding as Buttercup frolicked around in a circle, trying to catch his tail. Did he look a little bigger? Maybe his tail looked slightly longer...
“I suppose the experience did you some good, huh?” She asked him with a smile as she leant down to pick him up and cradle him in her arms. She supposed the experience may have done her some good as well. Maybe. The two carried on down the path, stopping only to snack on rations and to finish fights that Buttercup had decided to start with the local Pokemon when a figure appeared, blocking her way.
“Oh, here we go” Carmilla murmured as she rolled her eyes and rested Buttercup on her shoulder, trying to walk past the stranger without taking her eyes off the ground.
“What is this??? A challenger approaches! Hello! Do you wish to battle the Illustrious Elsie!?” The stranger demanded, throwing her hair over her shoulder and sliding easily into a superhero pose. She was posing.
“I’d rather be Fury Swiped by an infernape, so no thanks.” Carmilla told her, eyes still trained on the floor.
“Well, you’ve obviously realised that you’re no match for the greatest trainer on Route Eight! Good choice.” The illustrious Elsie boasted with a smirk as she stepped aside to let Carmilla pass. Carmilla’s head snapped up and she fixed Elsie with a judgemental stare, her eyebrow raised.
“You’re the ONLY trainer on Route Eight” She corrected the girl who paused for a second, outrage evident on her face.
“Well… Well uh…” Elsie sputtered and Carmilla had to hold back a biting comment as she tried to latch onto an excuse.
“Well, OBVIOUSLY, that’s because I have beaten them all and word of my greatness has spread to all corners of the land” Elsie offered as she smoothed back her hair and pulled a Pokeball from her belt, tossing it up in the air and then catching it again.
“Come now, we shall battle and perhaps you’ll can learn something from a great Pokemon Master such as myself” She preened and under any normal circumstances Carmilla would have just barged past the arrogant girl and gotten on with her life but Buttercup was yipping in excitement and she desperately wanted to knock the Illustrious Elsie down a few pegs.
“Buttercup.” She stated as she placed him on the ground. He looked up at her and waited for her nod before turning to face their enemy and bristling his coat up in order to look more menacing. Carmilla took this approach too and squared her shoulders, hoping to make her battle opponent think that she wasn’t absolutely terrified and desperately questioning her sanity because why had she agreed to a Pokemon battle?
“Aha you’ve chosen to use the Ketchum technique, I see. It may have worked for him but friendship will not save you.” Elsie laughed as she threw her Pokeball into the air and Carmilla swore that her heart probably stopped for the few seconds that it took for Elsie’s Pokemon to reveal itself.
“Go, Magikarp, use splash!!! Destroy!”
Carmilla stood in silence, not even able to laugh at the sight of Elsie staring at her Magikarp which flailed uselessly. She allowed herself to relax for the moment and gently told Buttercup to tackle, drawing out the fight in order to give her new friend some more experience; if this was going to happen regularly then he had to be able to fight, she supposed. Elsie, for her part, never gave up on her Pokemon. She continually called out encouraging statements and thanked it for it’s hard work before sending it back to it’s Pokeball when it was too worn out to fight anymore. Then she addressed Carmilla.
“Your Vulpix managed to best my Magikarp, even with a type disadvantage. Pah, beginners luck. Let’s see how you handle...THIS!” She cried out dramatically as she flung a second Pokeball haphazardly into the air. Time seemed to slow as the Pokeball opened and a red beam of light struck the ground, dislodging a cloud of dust. Carmilla stood her ground, hoping that it wasn’t going to be some high level Staryu or something that Buttercup couldn’t handle but she relaxed once again when the dust settled.
“Mmmagikarp karp” Carmilla’s shoulders shook as she held in her silent laughter as Elsie crowed triumphantly, taking Carmilla’s trembling as a sign of terror.
“Yes, quake in fear at the wrath of my Magikarp. Quick, use flail and show her how inferior her Pokemon really is!!” The Pokemon did as she commanded and Carmilla was finding it more and more difficult to not burst out laughing at how serious Elsie was about her Pokemon. However she soon noticed that the shadows of the trees had grown longer and panic settled like a rock in the pit of her stomach.
“Buttercup, let’s get this over with. I need to find my brother.” Carmilla told her faithful companion and the second Magikarp followed its predecessor after a couple of embers had been thrown it’s way.
“Another lucky shot. You will not defeat my final Pokemon, though!” Elsie yelled confidently. As the girl fumbled through her theatrics, an exasperated Carmilla fed some of her healing salve to Buttercup in order to get his strength up. She’d never have admitted it but she was beginning to like having him around. Once she was done she stood calmly and together they faced Elsie’s remaining Pokemon: a Garydos.
“Yes, I can see y-”
“Look can we get on with it? I have some more important things to be doing.” Carmilla interrupted, fearing another monologue. Elsie grumbled a little but agreed to cut short her speech.
“Buttercup, go all out on this one okay? Whatever your strongest move is: use it” Carmilla coached and to her surprise it seemed that Buttercup had the speed advantage because he immediately started to attack. Carmilla and Elsie both watched in amazement as her Vulpix shrouded himself in fire and charged at his opponent, an intense ferocity in his eyes. Elsie’s Garydos didn’t stand a chance.
“What was THAT??” Carmilla asked incredulously as Vulpix limped back into her arms, triumphant. He yawned and ate some more of the Oran Berry healing salve before curling up in the crook of her elbow. Carmilla smiled fondly and pulled a scarf from her backpack, fashioning it into a sleeping sling that she could transport Buttercup in before standing to go and shake Elsie’s hand.
“Well, it seems you have bested The Illustrious Elsie. Obviously I underestimated you and your Vulpix and mistook you for completely new trainers when, in fact, you’re quite experienced” Elsie commented as she handed a small pouch of coin to Carmilla who took it with a sarcastically sweet smile.
“Actually this was our first day together as trainer and Pokemon” She corrected the girl before leaving her dumbstruck and carrying on her way towards the next town. She had almost made it out of Elsie’s line of sight when she heard the girl’s annoyingly high pitched voice call out once more.
“Wait, stop!” Elsie practically shrieked as she came to a halt next to Carmilla and heaved in lungfuls of air. “I’m headed to Saffron too, we should go together. I can teach you some moves on the way” she grinned.
“I suppose you can come with me. If you can keep up.” Carmilla stated plainly before setting a fast pace towards the next town. She had lost a lot of time because of this nitwit, she wasn’t about to be slowed down by her anymore; she had to find her brother.
The two travelled together until Elsie declared that she was hungry and Carmilla, with an eyeroll and a sigh, was forced to stop and make camp with the girl. The two talked into the night, sharing stories and boasting about their many achievements. Well, Elsie talked. Carmilla just listened and made nodding gestures and affirming noises when her travelling companion stopped for breath. Buttercup awoke at one point and happily wolfed down some of the “Brock’s PokeKibble” that Elsie offered him before he bathed himself and curled back up into Carmilla’s lap.
“That’s quite a bond the two of you have” Elsie remarked as she held her Pokeballs close and watched Carmilla interact with the Vulpix. “How long have you had him? He seems low level” She asked.
“A couple of days. Found him stuck in a Teddiursa trap on route 16 so I rescued him. I was just going to release him again but he’s grown quite attached” Carmilla admitted as she stroked Buttercup’s fur absentmindedly. Elsie smiled as if she knew something Carmilla didn’t and then the conversation stopped before it came to the ‘so why are you on the road’ part, which Carmilla was thankful for. She stayed up for a long time afterwards, cradling Buttercup to her and sticking close to the fire which she continually fed in order to make she it didn’t go out and leave her in the dark. She hated the dark more than she hated long grass. When she finally slept, it was fitfully. Her dreams had never really made sense; they were always murky and fuzzy, as if viewed through a soot covered window pane. At times she was unsure if they were dreams or memories but she always forgot the specifics by the time she woke up. There was always the same voice, though. That deep voice. And the shooting star.
“You were taken and moulded against your will, just as I was in that lab. We are not so different you and I.”