Return to the Beginning

(Wait, does this follow real life weather patterns?)

Miku was fortunate to have been raised in that small cabin. She had become accustom to the colder weather, especially since she spent so much time in the water as a child. Still it did send a chill through her, at least it cleansed her of the dirt of the day though. As Miku slept, she did her best to fight off the nightmares of the night when she lost everything, holding Slowpoke close to her chest.

Late to mid afternoon quickly came, jolting Miku awake as she heard the cries of spearow in the trees above. Annoying little birds sometimes. She tried to calm her breathing and heart rate, waking up was never a comfortable thing to do. She looked around, Slowpoke by her side and Psyduck sprawled across her legs. Her partner looked up at her with a grin and greeted her a new day.

"Mmmneh, morning, Slowpoke," Miku said with a stretch and yawn. She looked down to Psyduck who was still out cold. She poked at the yellow duck a few times in the haunches, before she reacted and quickly scrambled to her feet alertedly. "Heh, it's alright Psyduck. It's just us, you remember?" 

"Duck," Psyduck responded, flopping onto her rear and placing her wings to her head. "Psaiaiai...duck." It was obvious she was suffering from a headache, but not much could be done about that.

"Sorry, but we need to get moving, into your ball," Miku said, holding up the red and white orb in her hands. A red light enveloped the complaining duck, sealing her inside for the time being. "Let's get moving, Slowpoke," the girl said as she packed up her 'camp' site. She then headed into town, and West toward Mt Moon and Pewter City.

(Unless you want to throw in an obstacle like a battle or something here, I'll post a new topic in Pewter for Mt Moon)

Miku was walking along, and had by this time set Slowpoke down to use his own four legs. She saw the girl, and it became quickly clear they would be crossing paths shortly. She gave her a one-up, a natural reaction really. There weren't many people out and about at this hour so it came across as quite odd. Gaze falling on her pokeballs Miku feared what would happen. Okay Miku, just make sure to avoid- CRAP! she flinched as the two made eye contact.

Halting in her steps, Miku froze as the girl quickly approached. She kept trying to open her mouth to say something, but words wouldn't come out. Of course, it didn't help that the girl wasn't giving her any opportunity to do so anyway. It seemed there was only one way out of this situation, Miku swallowed hard.

"Okay then..." Miku stammered, selecting Psyduck's ball from her waist. "Go, Psyduck!" She called, closing her eyes as she tossed the ball into the air. It burst open, the yellow duck coming into being before her. Her heart racing, Miku tried to get a grip. She had to stay focused for this battle.

"Duck?" Psyduck queried in a rather confused tone. "Psaiaiai," she complained, feathers to her temples as was usual for the species. 

Psyduck apparently had yet to gather what was happening, as Squirtle's tackle landed, sending Psyduck tumbling backward. Looking horrified, Miku tried to think up a plan, and fast. "Quick Psyduck, u-use your tail whip!" She commanded, though seemingly without confidence.

"Duck?" Psyduck questioned momentarily, turning to Zen. "Psaaaiii duck, duck duck!" She complained, before turning around and awkwardly twerking her rear end a bit. Her tail feathers twitched around with the hopefully off-putting move. Psyduck used tail whip!

"Duck, duck, duck," Psyduck chanted, shaking her rear. She suddenly stopped and turned around as she heard the other trainer start giving commands again. "Psy? Duck!" She exclaimed, spinning on one foot and nearly avoiding Squirtle's attack. "Psy, duck, duck, duck!" She gloated, hopping between her two webbed feet excitedly.

"At least she's faster than Slowpoke..." Miku said quietly, blinking in a bit of surprise. However, she doubted the duck would be able to recreate that move again any time soon. As such, if she was to act it should be quickly. "Go now, Psyduck! Scratch it!" Miku pleaded urgently.

"Psy?" Psyduck stopped her gloating, waddling over to Squirtle awkwardly. "Duck, duck duck!" She yelled frantically, swiping her claws at the foe. It looked more like a child in a slapping fight, waving her arms around like that. Still, Miku hoped it would at least be effective.

Psyduck continued scratching fruitlessly at Squirtle's hardened shell. Miku sighed, this wasn't going to work well. She wasn't all too sure of what moves Psyduck knew, so pulled out her PokeDex. Scrolling through the move list, she decided on a tactic that was questionable at best.

"Okay Psyduck, stop scratching! Grab Squirtle's shell, and use WaterGun into one of the holes!" Miku commanded shakily. It seemed she was getting a bit stronger with her commands as the battle wore on, but her nerves were clearly on edge.

"Duck!" Psyduck exclaimed, hopping back when she finished scratching. She waddled forward, attempting to grab Zen's shell. Rhardless of if she could or not, she prepared a pressurized water spout at the back of her throat. She aimed for Zen's head hole, and released the jet stream of water at her foe. Psyduck used WaterGun!

(In case you're wondering, Miku is purposely ignoring the other trainer's comments)

(You don't need to explain these things to me. Hell, that could've gone in the narrative, but k.)

Miku was clearly too focused on the battle to pay attention to her. She was shaking like a cheap wind up toy, and on that note, the girl decided not to address her any further. They would win and be on their way. The next command had her taken aback as Zen's shell was suddenly held onto, a jet of water surprising Squirtle, who popped back out looking utterly thrown.

"Tackle!" It was going to be weaker without a run up, but also unavoidable with Psyduck's hold on him. He lunged forward and crashed the duck to the ground, getting up to go and jump onto it the moment she got to her feet.

Psyduck fell back, Zen's head clashing with hers and landing her on her rear. "Psaaaiiii..." She complained, the Squirtle having made her headache worse. "Duuuuck!" She said angrily, a faint purple glow emanating. She was apparently using a move without Miku's permission, probably angered by the Squirtle.

"Umm...Psyduck?" Miku asked quietly. It then hit her what she was trying to do. She recognized the move from her own battle with the little duck. "Right, use...Disable!" Even though the Pokémon had clearly begun the move before the order was placed. Psyduck used Disable!

Alright! Miku thought to herself, letting her teeth show a bit. It seemed as if Squirtle was out of luck offensively, at least for now. This fight would have been easier with slowpoke, sure. But she knew Psyduck needed the experience.

"Duuuck!" Psyduck cried, swatting at the bubbles popping in her face. It didn't do much, but it was still uncomfortable and at the very least irritating. She opened her beak, readying another water gun which rolled in the back of her throat.

"No, Psyduck!" Miku ordered, Psyduck confusedly clamping her beak shut. The water dribbled from her mouth in an unsightly fashion. "Use tail whip again, Squirtle's defense is back up and we need to rectify that!" It seemed as though the more Miku forgot that there was another trainer involved, the more eloquent she became.

"Duck!" Psyduck exclaimed, again turning tail to Squirtle. She began her awkward dance once more, twitching her haunches and tail feathers in a quick rhythmic pattern. Certainly one of the more odd tail whips experienced, but it seemed to be effective nevertheless. Psyduck used Tail Whip!

"Psyduck, scratch those bubbles. Don't let them get in your eyes!" Miku called worriedly. She could well understand her foe's tactics, though they seemed almost dirty. Still, Miku had to try and finish what was started. "Close your eyes and swat through the bubbles at Squirtle!"

"Duuuck," psyduck complained, squinting one eye and shielding it as she used her free claw to swipe at the incoming bubbles. They were doing their job, and stinging a bit. Still, she did her best to follow Miku's advice, as it seemed better than what she would have done right now (turn tail and run!).

It was rather ridiculous looking, what this battle had degenerated into. A squirrel-turtle spitting weak bubbles at a ditzy duck. Psyduck tried to gather best where Squirtle was, then went all out. She closed her eyes, rushing thrugh the bubbles and slashing furiously. "Psy...DUCK, duck, duck, duckduckduck!" She cried, hoping to get to the squirtle as she moved her flippers fast as could be.

Miku saw Squirtle retreat once more. She pointed at the shell, "Psyduck, one more time, just like before!" It could have just been a fluke, but this time around Miku was sounding...confident? No, surely must have been a fluke. Still she felt her heart flutter as she slowly gained the upper hand.

"Psaaiii, duck!" Psyduck called, water bubbling in her throat again. She waddled up to the shell again, attempting the same tactic as before. Going to grasp it, she released the jet of water aiming into one of Squirtle's shell holes. Squirtle used WaterGun!

Miku grit her teeth, watching as Psyduck was soaked in Squirtle's water gun attack. A partially fortunate fact was that Psyduck's feathers were water resistant, so at least she wasn't going to catch a cold from it. Still, the other trainer was adapting and Miku's time of rest from tackle was dwindling fast.

"Now or never!" Miku proclaimed, pointing at the dizzied foe. "Go and give him all you've got. Scratch him, aim for his face!" She seemed to be getting violent over it, but was getting sick of the battle of defense now.

"Duck," Psyduck acknowledged, waddling swiftly over to the dancing Squirtle with her wings clasped tightly over her head. "Psy," she said. Releasing her head to prepare,"Duuuuck!" She cried out in attack, this battle was dragging on and beginning to wear her out. Psyduck used Scratch!

As the Squirtle stopped resisting, Miku realized what had happened. They had won, won their first real trainer battle with Psyduck! The feeling welled up inside her, "Psyduck enough. You did it."

"Duck?" Psyduck blurted, stopping her attack, and falling back onto her rear tiredly. The battle had taken a lot out of her, but hopefully made her stronger as well.

"Good job, Psyduck," Miku said quietly, returning the Pokémon to her ball for a rest. "I-if it's alright with you, I'll pass..." Miku stuttered, falling back into old habits as she interacted with the other trainer. She had another Pokémon as well, but she would need him at full strength to make it through Mt Moon safely. "I wasn't sure if I would win or not at first..." She muttered, getting more quiet as she talked more.

At the girl's compliment, Miku wondered how well Psyduck really would do. The PokeAthlon in Johto always intrigued her, Contests less so. That was more her brother's thing. Still, Psyduck really did like to dance. Maybe at the very least they could make some money doing street shows? She blinked, trying to bring herself back into the moment.

Shyly, she took the money from the stranger and gave a bow. "Thank you. Your Squirtle fought well," she said, awkwardly sounding as if she were straight out of a feudal era. Rising back up she gave a nod to the trainer, trying not to choke on anymore words as she lifted Slowpoke and made her way toward Mt Moon abruptly.