Oak's Gift

It had been a long walk, the trio even having had to stop and make camp for the night. Miku, Rokas, and Professor Oak were headed through Viridian Forest, with aims to hit Viridian City. It had been a spontaneous event, and it was pure happenstance that the three should run into each other at all. Still, Miku being Oak's fan helped her overcome her antisocial personality, and generally shy behavior. Well, sort of. 

The awkward teens had been invited to Viridian City by Oak himself, with promises of gifts of knowledge, and otherwise. They agreed to accompany him, Miku a bit more enthusiastically than her artistic acquaintance. Still, the girl was quite odd, clad in traditional garb of a shrine priestess and wielding a katana. It was a good thing Professor Oak was used to meeting characters of all sorts.

Miku stretched her petite arms above her head, rolling her neck to stretch it as well. "Ungh, I forgot how big this forest was supposed to be. When you look at it on a map of Kanto it seems like such a small blip," she said, before pulling her hair behind her back. It was weighed down and unkempt from the day prior and her fit in the woods. She hadn't had a proper mirror since to arrange it nicely.

"It looks like we're almost out though," Miku commented, noticing the tree line was thinning. She inhaled deeply, even the air around them was beginning to smell different. "It's pretty amazing how scenery can change so abruptly." They continued on, toward the exit and Viridian City.

"Tsk, you couldn't take all my money even if you did win," Miku announced, rather irate at the childish claim. He apparently had one Pokémon, so even if she did lose he couldn't force her into anything. Not to say she wouldn't give some prize money, there was no honor in cheating someone out of their winnings, after all.

Unfortunately, Miku wasn't in a position to turn down the battle. If she planned on taking the Gym challenge, the league rules stated that unless your Pokémon were incapable of fighting you must accept any challenges. Miku already hated that rule.

"Right then, I'll take you on," she glared at the boy. Slowpoke looked up to her, which she held out a hand to halt him back. As the challenger, he was to choose his Pokémon first. Not that Miku had much variety anyway. Still, depending on the Pokémon it could be good training for Clefairy.

"Hmph, we'll see alright," Miku said to herself, as she unclipped a ball from her waist. "Sorry Slowpoke, you'll have to sit this one out. Go, Clefairy!" She tossed the ball into the air, letting it roll from her slender fingertips. It burst open, Clefairy forming in the glow as the ball returned to Miku's hand. The girl looked proud of her Fairy Pokémon, as she clutched the ball gently, free hand on her hip. She smirked at the ignorant boy, in such a hurry to challenge whomever he could.

"I think your luck just ran out, kid!" Miku started, pointing to the foe's Butterfree. "Start off with your Disarming Voice," she commanded, heart fluttering in her chest. She wanted to put on a good show, especially with her idol watching from the sidelines. Clefairy began her haunting song to emotionally damage the foe and make things easier on herself.

Miku smiled back to her travel partners, "You may want to cover your ears for this next one, Sing!" She turned back to the battle for the last word. Miku clasped her hands over her ears, humming to herself a monotonous tone to keep herself from hearing the enchanting lullaby. Clefairy did as told, trying out her new song on the pretty fluttering insect.

The sticky string on Butterfree could potentially be good for Clefairy. It would be harder for it to hear incoming attacks and commands from its trainer. Still, Clefairy was trapped in the bug's psychic attack for its duration. She cringed, wincing as she tried to fight it. Clefairy was stronger that the Butterfree, though not by much. Still, she managed to slowly stand back up to shake off the attack.

"Tsk..." Miku was disappointed that her attack had failed. "Clefairy, use Double Slap, and finish it off with your. Pound attack!" Miku hoped Clefairy could strike, and strike hard. She figured if Butterfree continued using Confusion, it would be pointless to use growl. But since Clefairy had lowered Butterfree's accuracy and evasion, she felt good.

"Cl'fairy!" The little pink star chimed, running forward on her stubby little legs. She jumped, trying her best to slap the butterfly for the first attack. She hoped if it hit, it would bring Butterfree down to her level at least a bit. She unleashed her flurry, then went in for one final Pound, a stronger move to finish off the combo.

The first time. Miku had been lucky, but as she heard the second call she became worried. "Use your Disarming Voice again, Clefairy!" She hoped the Pokémon would be quick enough. Yet, the Butterfree's string began weighing Clefairy down physically. Still, she sang her song of sorrow as the shower of web came. 

She pulled off what she could, still being slowed a bit physically by it. Fortunately Butterfree's aim seemed to be off now, Confusion missing this time around. Miku felt her heart thump in her chest as the events unfolded. "Quick, Double slap once more!" Clefairy ran toward the foe, feet sticking and peeling from the forest floor with every step, making an awkward gait. She tried hitting the bug with her attack again, slapping furiously as many times as she could muster.

"Damn," Miku hissed to herself, watching Clefairy's attack miss. The swing through caused her to tumble to the ground, making Butterfree's next attack all too easy. Clefairy again began ripping off some of the excess string, though it was impossible to get it all off. He waddled even slower yet now, but luck seemed to be on their side this time around.

Miku blinked, watching the Butterfree as it seemed to be in a daze. She pulled out her mother's old pokedex, wondering what was going on. "Clefairy's cute charm can sometimes cause infatuation in a foe of the opposite gender, though only spread through physical contact." She looked back up to the other trainer, and smirked.

"Seems your Butterfree has a crush on my Clefairy," she chuckled. "Well Clefairy, go and use your Double Slap again!" Miku ordered. Clefairy nodded, wanting to make her trainer proud. She waddled over to the Butterfree whom was staring endearingly at her. She hesitated, feeling awkward hitting a foe who was looking at her like that. Still, she shook her head, putting her battle face on and attempting to assault the foe yet again.

Miku had claimed the victory, and with one of the weaker members of her party too! Well, aside from the fish, but they would have a hell of a time trying to battle on land anyway. She felt the excitement well in her, and ran to meet Clefairy, helping to clear the sticky web from her before giving her a big hug.

"You did great, Clefairy," Miku beamed, returning the fairy to her ball. She glanced over as the boy approached, taken aback by his attitude. It actually kind of pissed her off! But before she could react, Oak jumped in. She blinked, not knowing how to react to the situation. The boy's apology was less than heartfelt, but it was still more than she might have managed to get out of him. No wonder he was her idol!

"Th-thank you," Miku stuttered, turning to the Professor. It had been a long time since anyone aside from Mako had stood up for her. So, she wasn't quite used to a relatively positive outcome, to say the least. She took a deep breath, calming herself before looking onward. "I think Viridian City is just a little ways off, now, right?"

Miku nodded in acknowledgement, most distances were measured to the center of cities, not taking into account the city limits. She walked on with Rokas and the Professor, more or less missing the potential indicators of Rokas' words as she brushed them off. The city was within reach, she lugged up her partner into her arms so they could walk faster.

The excitement and wonder drove her ever forward, a nice distraction from her usual morose temperament. With the forward attitude, it didn't seem like long at all before they could see the sign for Viridian City just up ahead. Miku pointed it out, where the dirt path turned to road and brick and the city began.

Miku followed Oak and Rokas into town, taking in the sites the knowledgable professor pointed out. Johto, that was a place Miku would like to visit some day. She'd heard of a city, Alto Mare that was built on water. There were no roads, only water ways. Gondolas and water chariots pulled by Pokémon were the most common method of transportation, and it fascinated her.

They were finally in a familiar setting though, as the trio entered the Pokémon Center. Most were set up almost identical, though some had a few minor altercations. There were some she'd heard of that you wouldn't even recognize as Pokémon Centers, but those were in far off lands like Orre.

Following the Professor's instruction, and Rokas' lead Miku approached the counter. She set Slowpoke down on the counter, then moved to set her pokeballs down as well. "I still can't believe all this is happening..." Miku uttered, looking to Rokas.

"Yeah, I suppose so. Still, the odds of running into him like that are spectacular to begin with! I heard he doesn't go out on field exploits much anymore, leaves that stuff to Professor Birch in Hoenn," Miku went on, turning to find they were being beckoned to a room. She smiled faintly, though her heart skipped a beat.

As the Professor talked, she stared at the shining red devices he had presented. She had her mother's old one, but one a pokedex was attuned to a trainer it couldn't serve as an I.D. for any other. As such hers was old, beaten up, outdated, and held her mother's information. She pulled out the dull and scratched device, looking down to it sorrowfully.

Still, having one of her own that wasn't outdated would be useful in many ways. "My mother got this Pokedex from you when she was young," Miku uttered, hand rubbing the worn details subconsciously. It was a clear difference between that one and the ones the Professor presented now, advancements in technology and what have you. "Now I'm getting one of my own. It's kind of like a dream, and a lot to take in," she laughed to herself, breath as shaky as she was.

Still, she gratefully took the new device, then looked up to Rokas. She knew he didn't have any water types on his team yet. Still, he offered the Seel up for her. He did say he was rather particular about his Pokémon, though. So though she was unsure at first she smiled and nodded, looking back to Oak. 

"Yes, I'll take the Seel with me. If you're sure. I started looking out for a Feebas as well a while ago. I'm sure the Seel will get along," or at least she hoped. Sandshrew was difficult, and she felt bad for him but understood his disdain for her at the same time.

"Hm?" Miku responded, more habitually than meaning an actual question. "Oh right, well she didn't get too far in her journey before she met my Dad. She said they settled down just a couple years after meeting, and it wasn't long after that when I came along. Heh, guess she got a late start on her journey too," Miku said, referring to her age in comparison to most starting trainers.

Still, he handed the pokeball over and Miku peered down at the translucent shield. She smiled softly, Seel were adorable Pokémon, and better yet evolved into gorgeous Dewgong. She nodded to the Professor, indicating she understood the rarity of some of the Pokémon she held.

"I wouldn't dream of pitting my Pokémon against Surge, that would just be suicide!" She gasped, appalled at the thought. Then again, it wasn't unreasonable for Oak to have assumed she would be going after the badges. Sure, she wanted to kick Brock's ass, but that was more to prove a point than anything. She doubted she'd go after too many unless she ran short on cash.

"Still, thank you so much for this..." Miku said, holding her pokedex, and a new partner for her team. She sighed in relief, but when she went to clip the ball to her waist it was engulfed in light, and vanished. "Eh-uh... WHAT?! Where'd Seel go?!" Miku stood quickly, turning around and panicking. She hadn't experienced the new system yet, but now that she had more than 6 Pokémon her Seel had been sent to storage until she would switch out team members.

"Oh, right..." Miku muttered, looking at the flashing device in her hands. She opened it up to see that Seel's data had registered when she claimed the ball. "Neat..." She closed the device, placing it in the pocket on her bag. She rubbed her head awkwardly as she tried laughing off how ridiculous she had probably looked, panicking over her pkmn just being sent to storage.

The thought that Professor Oak offered his services overwhelmed Miku for a moment. She blinked, thinking about his expansive ranch. It housed plenty of Pokémon, but mostly only those from trainers originating in Pallet Town. She knew they would be in good hands with him. "Yes! Er, I mean, yes I would like that..." She reached for Sandshrew's pokeball. "This Sandshrew...I caught him back in Mt. Moon, but...he doesn't really like me. Could you look after him, and see if you could get through to him?" She asked, looking at the Professor longingly.

"I mean...I'd love to bond with him, but-" Miku tossed the ball out onto the floor. Normally under such circumstances, the ball would pop open and a Pokémon would emerge. Instead the ball lit up, then dimmed down again, coming to a rest. "He wont even come out of his ball. I think the nurses can coax him out for food, but even on the road he refuses to come out for snacks. I think I was too assertive when I caught him..." Miku explained, ashamed of herself. "I was actually thinking about taking him back to Mt Moon to release him, but now I wonder if that would be best with his condition."

She sighed, shaking her head. "I just- I know you could get through to him. I heard you had a Muk that just fell in love with you!" She picked up the ball, holding it out to the Professor. "Please, just help me get that far, then I can bond properly, or at least release him back to his home..."