Chapter 5-The Miracle Named Fern
Chapter 5
I have no idea what time I finally woke up, but I knew it had to be early. I didn't doze off until much later last night, so I was still feeling pretty tired. Eve was still laying over me with her head on my shoulder, sound asleep in my arms. I was too exhausted to put much thought into her being there anymore. It couldn't have been too early, so we should have started on our way to Vermillion soon; but I decided to try and get a few more Z's in. It didn't seem that was going to happen though. The moment I started to doze off again, I could hear someone's footsteps in the grass outside the tent. Squinting a little, I could see a feminine figure pacing about the area around me and Eve. Judging from the height, I'd say she was a young adult maybe. Rolling Eve gently off of me so not to wake her, I went to the tent opening and poked my head outside as the person made another pass. Before I could manage to readjust my eyes to the light, I could hear a cheery, "Good morning!"
Looking up sleepily, I could see a slightly tanned girl in her late teens-bent over and looking down at me with a bright smile on her face. Since the straw hat she wore was blocking the sun out of my own face, I could see her perfectly. I could tell she was a Pokemon breeder by the apron with a pokeball insignia on it. Along with the hat and trademark red apron, she wore a short-sleeved green shirt that matched her the color of her hair and a loosely fitting pair of cargo pants-breezy clothes that one would probably have if they were working outside all day. She brushed her long hair out of her face when a small breeze went by, then lowered to the ground until she was crouched down in front of me. "I'm kind of lost. I was wondering if this was the rest stop?"
I just stared at her dumbfoundedly. How could she possibly think a tent in the middle of the woods was a rest stop of any kind? After not getting an answer for a while, the frowned thoughtfully and looked about the area. "Oh dear," she sighed. "I was hoping I could find it so I could get a trainer or officer to help me."
"Help you?" I mumbled. "Help you with what?"
As if on cue, another voice sounded nearby, causing us both to turn in its direction. There, standing a few feet away, was a man in a black Team Rocket uniform, pointing an accusing finger at the woman. "There you are! There's no use trying to escape, so hand over your Pokemon and I won't have to get rough with you!"
"That." the woman muttered. She looked at me pleadingly before hiding behind the tent. "Please help me! He's already hurt my only Pokemon and I don't want to lose my Ivysaur!"
What a way to start out the day. I crawled out of the tent carefully. I did want to help her. I knew what it was like to risk losing a friend. That and I didn't want this guy finding out about Eve. I didn't want to startle her by making any noise to wake her up either, but I was hoping she'd get the idea and stay in the tent. Getting involved with Team Rocket more than I already was was something I did not want to do, but it wasn't like I could see another way out of this. The Rocket member watched as I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of my pokeballs. Mind you, I had given my belt to Eve and had packed it afterwards rather than putting it back on. I was pretty much standing there half-dressed, holding up my pants with one hand, and holding a pokeball in the other. Upon seeing the position I was in and that I was actually confronting him, he burst into laughter. "Oh, this is rich! You can't even get yourself dressed in the morning! How do you expect to beat me in a battle, kid?"
I tried to hide my embarrassment by focusing on the upcoming battle. When the man saw how serious I was about this, he smirked and reached to his side, unclipping one of the two pokeballs he had on his belt. "Alright kid, I'll humor you. And when I'm done kicking your butt, both you and the lady's Pokemon are gonna belong to Team Rocket!" Once he finished his bragging, he chucked his pokeball to the ground. As it opened, the light that emerged from it began to take shape, forming into a rather mean-looking Nidorino. Pulling my pants further up with my free hand, I tossed my own pokeball down, releasing my Sandshrew. I was a little relieved since I had pulled the ball out of my pocket at random. I had the elemental advantage here, but the Rocket's Pokemon still looked pretty intimidating...
"Ha ha! How sad!" the man chimed. "The kid sends out a kid Pokemon against us! Nidorino, show them how if feels to play with the big boys! Poison sting!" Upon receiving the command, the Nidorino charged towards my Sandshrew; but even if my Pokemon were small, they were no pushovers. I didn't even have to tell Sandshrew what to do. He instinctively, and easily I might add, leapt out of the way of his charging opponent, watching as Nidorino skid to a stop and whirled around to face him.
The Rocket smirked slightly, calling it luck and ordering his Pokemon to try again. This time, I gave Rusty a command as well. Yes, my Sandshrew's name was Rusty. He and my starting Pokemon were both the only ones I had with nicknames...mainly because they were the only two I had. "Dig!" I shouted out to the Sandshrew. Rusty immediately dove underground, narrowly missing getting hit with the poison sting attack this time. Even though the Nidorino stayed on the alert and waited for him to surface, he had no chance to move out of the way as Rusty burst from the ground underneath him and delivered a strong punch to his gut that sent him flying.
The man scowled as the Nidorino landed in front of him, out cold from having so much wind knocked out of him. He then smirked as he returned his Pokemon and brought out another. This time, it was a Staryu. I knew Rusty wouldn't stand much of a chance against a water type, so I called him back and reached into my pocket for my other poke ball. Calling out my Squirtle, Bit (Yes, it's a weird nickname, I know.), seemed to set the Rocket member into another fit of laughter. I didn't think this would be a laughing matter for him. If I were down 2-1 on Pokemon and battling a very grumpy trainer, I don't think I would be. Well, it wasn't my problem; it was his. The Staryu was ordered to attack, and without question, began twirling through the air as it made a beeline for my Squirtle. A simple tackle attack-easily dodgeable. However, I didn't want Bit to move and he didn't. We'd been together long enough, so he knew exactly what I was planning. Once the Staryu came into range, I shouted out my command. "Bite it!"
This was actually why I named him Bit. My Squirtle had the special talent of...how should I put it? Mouth-eye coordination? He could catch a speeding Dodrio by tail in his jaws if he wanted to. The man's own jaw dropped when the Staryu's spin was stopped short when it reached Bit, the Squirtle grinning around the tip of the Pokemon he had held firmly between his teeth. I was expecting him to try and counter that, but whoever this guy was...he must have been more inexperienced than I was. I wasn't going to stand around and wait for him to think of something either. Upon giving my next order to Bit, he tossed the Staryu lightly into the air. The Team Rocket member just continued to stare in disbelief as his Pokemon came back down helplessly, and was swatted off like a feather by the technique I'd taught my Squirtle-mega punch.
For a member of Team Rocket, this guy was pretty sad. It wasn't until he started with his angry outbursts that I realized why. "Worthless Pokemon!" he shouted angrily. "I don't know why your original trainers even bothered keeping you! You're not even worth stealing if you crumble after taking just one hit!"
My own anger flared when I heard that. I couldn't believe this guy. He was actually blaming his own incompetence on Pokemon that weren't even his to begin with. "It's not their fault you suck!" I yelled at him. "Why don't you try practicing with your own Pokemon if you ever plan on being worth somebody's time, you pathetic thug!"
Upon hearing the insult I threw at him, the man completely lost his temper and came charging at me. "I don't even need them! I can still show you some respect if it's just between me and you! Your Pokemon are coming with me and I'll beat you to a pulp if you get in my way, twerp!"
Yeah, this guy was just a complete idiot. I could've probably taken him in a straight out fight too, but Bit didn't feel like being woken up early for this either. The Rocket never saw it coming. The moment he raised a hand at me, a large stream of water from Bit's water gun attack hit him from the side. He literally was sent flying like a rocket out of the clearing I'd set up camp in; and I wasn't going to waste time figuring out just how far he'd gone. I started to head back for the tent and check on the girl who woke me up and Eve, but then I spotted the Staryu that had been left behind. I really did feel sorry for it-stolen from the trainer that caught and raised it, then beaten down by Snaps for following the orders of some moron who'd probably threatened to do his worst if it didn't...I wasn't about to leave it behind. Especially in the shape it was in.
The Staryu was in no shape to argue as I captured it. It was only a temporary fix. Once I could get it to a Pokemon Center so it could heal, I'd find a way to return it. I wish I could have done the same for the Nidorino, but unfortunately it was still with the Team Rocket member, wherever he landed. Once I had the Staryu's new poke ball, I made my way into the tent. It was pretty crowded inside now. Eve was there, Bit had found his way in before me...and that girl that I'd just helped out was sitting inside too. I was a bit surprised at what I saw too. She was actually hugging Eve, and the Eevee...girl...whatever...wasn't making a fuss at all. Instead, she was licking the girl all over the face and clinging to her like a small puppy.
"She's so cute!" The girl cried. "I've never seen a Pokemon like this before! You're a really lucky trainer!"
I stared blankly a little longer, completely at a loss for words. "Uh...thankyou, I...wait a second! She's not mine! And who are you?"
"Oh, she's not? Then can I have her? She's just so cy-u-u-u-ute!"
I swear, this girl had to have been a blonde. She must have dyed her hair green... "No, you can't have her! She's..."
"Yours?"
"No!"
"Then who does she belong to?"
"I...I don't know." What was I supposed to say? There was no way I was going to put Team Rocket and Eve together.
The girl stared at me quizzitively for a moment, then pulled away from Eve's licking muzzle. Eve simply let her go and climbed into my lap to give my face the same affectionate attention when she finally noticed I was sitting there. As much as it got to me, I managed to match the green-haired girl's gaze. I don't know what she was thinking, but I wanted to know who she was...and now that I think about it, why wasn't Eve frightened of a total stranger barging into my tent? It's not that I was jealous of the affection she was receiving or anything. It was a relief to have Eve not pouncing me for a change, but...
After a few moments of silence, the girl suddenly clapped her hands together and smiled brightly. "Oh! I remember you now! You're the boy guy that just fought of that Team Rocket man for me!"
"That just happened five minutes ago." I replied shortly. Maybe the word "blonde" gave her too much credit...
She didn't even seem to be listening. She kept that smile on her face as she held out a hand. "I'm Fern."
Eve slipped out of my lap as I reached out to shake her hand with a dumbfounded look on my face. She started to introduce herself to Bit by pouncing on him and giving him the same care she'd given me and Fern, but the Squirtle immediately got out of the way and waved his claws in protest. I could tell they were talking about something after a while, but I paid it no mind. I was more curious about this stranger in my tent was. "Okay...Fern...I don't mind you hiding in here while all that was going on but I..."
Once again, she cut me off. "Oh, that's right! My Ivysaur probably wants to thank you too!"
My eyes widened as she reached for a poke ball at her side. Judging by how crowded the tent was now, a Pokemon of that size wouldn't be comfortable at all. "Wait! Don't open th..."
Too late. A blinding flash filled the tent, leaving in its wake...a Psyduck? And it looked as puzzled as Fern and I did. "Oh dear." she muttered at last. "I must have grabbed the wrong poke ball before I left home."
This is sadder than that Rocket. I thought. At the same time I was feeling very relieved though. As crowded as it was now, this place might have capsized if somebody or something thing the size of a small person came in. Luckily the Psyduck was just under that limit. I watched as Eve and Bit allowed the confused duck to join their conversation, but I don't think he had a clue about what they were talking about either. Turning back to Fern, I noticed that she had most of her attention on Eve. "She really is something else." she said quietly.
I had to agree with her there, but... "It's strange...she's never taken a liking to anybody besides me so far. What's different about you?"
Fern shrugged her shoulders and gave me another smile. "Well, I am a Pokemon breeder. So naturally, I'm good with Pokemon."
"A breeder, huh?" I did think she was too dense to be a trainer, but I didn't think she'd really be cut out for breeding either. Maybe there was something about her though if Eve liked her that much though. Speaking of Eve, we really did need to pack up and keep moving before that guy that was after Fern came back. Things would be a lot worse if he had reinforcements too. I had no intention of handing her over to Team Rocket, but I wouldn't last long fighting them off either. "Look, I'd like to stay and talk more," I said as I slowly got up. "But we need to get out of here before that guy comes back."
"Oh!" Fern jumped up with me. "Can I come with you? Please? At least until I get back to my ranch! It's on the way to Vermillion!"
"Well, I guess we...wait, how'd you know we were going to Vermillion?"
The girl's face turned a little red as she stammered for a second. "I...I just took a guess. I figured you wouldn't be...camped out here if Lavendar was so close?"
I eyed her a little suspiciously. She did have a point there. Maybe I was just being overwhelmingly paranoid with all that'd happened in the past two days, but something didn't feel right. I'm sure anybody would pay a lot of attention to Eve after seeing her like this, but how could she just be okay with this? Sure, she seemed like a ditz, but she wasn't the least bit curious about her. I thought pretty much anybody would be. Still, there shouldn't have been much harm in bringing her along. I mean, if she did try something funny, how much of a problem could her Psyduck cause? Still, I felt a little hesitant about it. "Well...alright. But just until we..." I didn't even notice, but Fern was back to playing with Eve again now. The other two Pokemon just watched as her and Eve cuddled in each other's arms, and I just wound up staring out of disbelief. "Were you even paying attention to me?"
"Huh?" Fern gave me a blank stare as the looked up at me, trying to tilt her head to escape Eve's licks. "Yeah, right. You said yes, right?"
"What're you asking me for? You're the one who..."
"Hey, why doesn't she have any clothes?" she stared at me thoughtfully for a moment, then gasped and turned bright red in the face. "You...her...you didn't...you wouldn't..."
"What?" It took me a while to figure out what she was hinting at, and when I did, my face turned a brighter red than hers. "No! What kind of twisted person are you? First you're all bubble-headed and now you..."
"Ah, I should have guessed that you wouldn't. You act like a complete boyscout."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" I grumbled.
"Anyways, I was just thinking." Honestly, I don't think she was really listening to me at all. "I'm surprised you got this far without her wearing anything. Somebody'd probably flip out if they found you two. I could give you some clothes if you'd like."
"I'd appreciate that, but..." I noticed that once again she wasn't paying me any attention. She was starting to go through her things and take out a few changes of clothes that she had. I doubted Eve was going to tolerate any of it, but I decided to let her see for herself since she wasn't going to listen to me.
Fern started to hold up something to Eve, then suddenly turned and gave me, Bit, and her Psyduck an evil glare. "No boys allowed!" she huffed. None of us had a chance to scramble outside before she threw us out in a heap herself. I could tell things probably weren't going to go well on the road if this kept up. I hoped her ranch was really closeby. The sooner we got there, the sooner I didn't have to deal with this. After a few minutes, she finally emerged from my tent with that smile on her face. "All done!"
"She didn't keep anything on, did she?" I asked. By now, I was sitting down with Bit and her Psyduck. We weren't really talking about anything special. Just keeping an eye out for that Team Rocket trainer.
Fern tilted her head to one side. "What do you mean? Of course she did! And it looks great on her!"
"What?" I blinked a few times, then looked at the tent opening as Eve slowly crawled outside. I don't know how Fern pulled it off, but she was completely clothed. And it looked a whole lot better than how I had her dressed. Fern had fit her in a long-sleeved, loose T-shirt that covered her furred chest and arms up perfectly. Her lower body was covered by what would have been a mini-skirt on Fern. She was a bit shorter though, so it stopped a few inches above her knees; and there was plenty of room for her to move her tail freely, but still keep enough of it hidden to where it'd look like some kind of accessory. She was also given a bandana to hide hear ears and an apron with the Pokemon breeder emblem on it. My guess was that Fern was trying to pass her off as one. The whole outfit was topped off by a pair of sandals on her feet. Eve didn't look as uncomfortable as she had in my clothes, nor did she seem in a hurry to get rid of them. "Okay," I said, looking up at Fern. "How'd you do it?"
"Do what? I just gave her something that she'd feel comfortable in. It wasn't exactly a hard thing to do, you know."
When I thought about it, she did look a lot more cozy in those clothes than in mine. When I noticed her tail, I remembered that my jeans didn't give her any room for it at all. That explained a lot right there. As for her ears, I didn't have anything to hide those in the first place, but the bandana was perfect. And it was tucked snugly so that it wouldn't fall off easily, but still gave her space underneath to move her ears a little. The outfit didn't cover every last bit of her fur, but what was left out in the open didn't seem too suspicious unless somebody studied her closely. It just looked as if she were dark-skinned. Nobody would bother giving people a second glance on the streets of Vermillion if they were busy...hopefully. Fern did a good job though. Eve looked kind of cute like that, and she seemed rather happy with it herself.
"So are we going or what?" Fern chimed. "Didn't you say somebody was coming back earlier?"
I completely forgot about getting out of there. The moment she said something, I tossed every thought out the window, including my suspicions toward the Pokemon breeder. We'd wasted enough time sitting around and I was in a hurry to get out of there. After I got dressed and packed everything up, I returned Bit, grabbed Eve by the...er...paw...and guided her out of the clearing. Fern returned her Psyduck to his poke ball and hurried after us quickly. I didn't know whether to be resentful or grateful that she came by. On one hand, she was just the answer I needed to disguising Eve; but on the other, she just brought more questions to my mind- about herself and Eve's reaction to her. I was probably getting paranoid again, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was strange about her...
I have no idea what time I finally woke up, but I knew it had to be early. I didn't doze off until much later last night, so I was still feeling pretty tired. Eve was still laying over me with her head on my shoulder, sound asleep in my arms. I was too exhausted to put much thought into her being there anymore. It couldn't have been too early, so we should have started on our way to Vermillion soon; but I decided to try and get a few more Z's in. It didn't seem that was going to happen though. The moment I started to doze off again, I could hear someone's footsteps in the grass outside the tent. Squinting a little, I could see a feminine figure pacing about the area around me and Eve. Judging from the height, I'd say she was a young adult maybe. Rolling Eve gently off of me so not to wake her, I went to the tent opening and poked my head outside as the person made another pass. Before I could manage to readjust my eyes to the light, I could hear a cheery, "Good morning!"
Looking up sleepily, I could see a slightly tanned girl in her late teens-bent over and looking down at me with a bright smile on her face. Since the straw hat she wore was blocking the sun out of my own face, I could see her perfectly. I could tell she was a Pokemon breeder by the apron with a pokeball insignia on it. Along with the hat and trademark red apron, she wore a short-sleeved green shirt that matched her the color of her hair and a loosely fitting pair of cargo pants-breezy clothes that one would probably have if they were working outside all day. She brushed her long hair out of her face when a small breeze went by, then lowered to the ground until she was crouched down in front of me. "I'm kind of lost. I was wondering if this was the rest stop?"
I just stared at her dumbfoundedly. How could she possibly think a tent in the middle of the woods was a rest stop of any kind? After not getting an answer for a while, the frowned thoughtfully and looked about the area. "Oh dear," she sighed. "I was hoping I could find it so I could get a trainer or officer to help me."
"Help you?" I mumbled. "Help you with what?"
As if on cue, another voice sounded nearby, causing us both to turn in its direction. There, standing a few feet away, was a man in a black Team Rocket uniform, pointing an accusing finger at the woman. "There you are! There's no use trying to escape, so hand over your Pokemon and I won't have to get rough with you!"
"That." the woman muttered. She looked at me pleadingly before hiding behind the tent. "Please help me! He's already hurt my only Pokemon and I don't want to lose my Ivysaur!"
What a way to start out the day. I crawled out of the tent carefully. I did want to help her. I knew what it was like to risk losing a friend. That and I didn't want this guy finding out about Eve. I didn't want to startle her by making any noise to wake her up either, but I was hoping she'd get the idea and stay in the tent. Getting involved with Team Rocket more than I already was was something I did not want to do, but it wasn't like I could see another way out of this. The Rocket member watched as I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of my pokeballs. Mind you, I had given my belt to Eve and had packed it afterwards rather than putting it back on. I was pretty much standing there half-dressed, holding up my pants with one hand, and holding a pokeball in the other. Upon seeing the position I was in and that I was actually confronting him, he burst into laughter. "Oh, this is rich! You can't even get yourself dressed in the morning! How do you expect to beat me in a battle, kid?"
I tried to hide my embarrassment by focusing on the upcoming battle. When the man saw how serious I was about this, he smirked and reached to his side, unclipping one of the two pokeballs he had on his belt. "Alright kid, I'll humor you. And when I'm done kicking your butt, both you and the lady's Pokemon are gonna belong to Team Rocket!" Once he finished his bragging, he chucked his pokeball to the ground. As it opened, the light that emerged from it began to take shape, forming into a rather mean-looking Nidorino. Pulling my pants further up with my free hand, I tossed my own pokeball down, releasing my Sandshrew. I was a little relieved since I had pulled the ball out of my pocket at random. I had the elemental advantage here, but the Rocket's Pokemon still looked pretty intimidating...
"Ha ha! How sad!" the man chimed. "The kid sends out a kid Pokemon against us! Nidorino, show them how if feels to play with the big boys! Poison sting!" Upon receiving the command, the Nidorino charged towards my Sandshrew; but even if my Pokemon were small, they were no pushovers. I didn't even have to tell Sandshrew what to do. He instinctively, and easily I might add, leapt out of the way of his charging opponent, watching as Nidorino skid to a stop and whirled around to face him.
The Rocket smirked slightly, calling it luck and ordering his Pokemon to try again. This time, I gave Rusty a command as well. Yes, my Sandshrew's name was Rusty. He and my starting Pokemon were both the only ones I had with nicknames...mainly because they were the only two I had. "Dig!" I shouted out to the Sandshrew. Rusty immediately dove underground, narrowly missing getting hit with the poison sting attack this time. Even though the Nidorino stayed on the alert and waited for him to surface, he had no chance to move out of the way as Rusty burst from the ground underneath him and delivered a strong punch to his gut that sent him flying.
The man scowled as the Nidorino landed in front of him, out cold from having so much wind knocked out of him. He then smirked as he returned his Pokemon and brought out another. This time, it was a Staryu. I knew Rusty wouldn't stand much of a chance against a water type, so I called him back and reached into my pocket for my other poke ball. Calling out my Squirtle, Bit (Yes, it's a weird nickname, I know.), seemed to set the Rocket member into another fit of laughter. I didn't think this would be a laughing matter for him. If I were down 2-1 on Pokemon and battling a very grumpy trainer, I don't think I would be. Well, it wasn't my problem; it was his. The Staryu was ordered to attack, and without question, began twirling through the air as it made a beeline for my Squirtle. A simple tackle attack-easily dodgeable. However, I didn't want Bit to move and he didn't. We'd been together long enough, so he knew exactly what I was planning. Once the Staryu came into range, I shouted out my command. "Bite it!"
This was actually why I named him Bit. My Squirtle had the special talent of...how should I put it? Mouth-eye coordination? He could catch a speeding Dodrio by tail in his jaws if he wanted to. The man's own jaw dropped when the Staryu's spin was stopped short when it reached Bit, the Squirtle grinning around the tip of the Pokemon he had held firmly between his teeth. I was expecting him to try and counter that, but whoever this guy was...he must have been more inexperienced than I was. I wasn't going to stand around and wait for him to think of something either. Upon giving my next order to Bit, he tossed the Staryu lightly into the air. The Team Rocket member just continued to stare in disbelief as his Pokemon came back down helplessly, and was swatted off like a feather by the technique I'd taught my Squirtle-mega punch.
For a member of Team Rocket, this guy was pretty sad. It wasn't until he started with his angry outbursts that I realized why. "Worthless Pokemon!" he shouted angrily. "I don't know why your original trainers even bothered keeping you! You're not even worth stealing if you crumble after taking just one hit!"
My own anger flared when I heard that. I couldn't believe this guy. He was actually blaming his own incompetence on Pokemon that weren't even his to begin with. "It's not their fault you suck!" I yelled at him. "Why don't you try practicing with your own Pokemon if you ever plan on being worth somebody's time, you pathetic thug!"
Upon hearing the insult I threw at him, the man completely lost his temper and came charging at me. "I don't even need them! I can still show you some respect if it's just between me and you! Your Pokemon are coming with me and I'll beat you to a pulp if you get in my way, twerp!"
Yeah, this guy was just a complete idiot. I could've probably taken him in a straight out fight too, but Bit didn't feel like being woken up early for this either. The Rocket never saw it coming. The moment he raised a hand at me, a large stream of water from Bit's water gun attack hit him from the side. He literally was sent flying like a rocket out of the clearing I'd set up camp in; and I wasn't going to waste time figuring out just how far he'd gone. I started to head back for the tent and check on the girl who woke me up and Eve, but then I spotted the Staryu that had been left behind. I really did feel sorry for it-stolen from the trainer that caught and raised it, then beaten down by Snaps for following the orders of some moron who'd probably threatened to do his worst if it didn't...I wasn't about to leave it behind. Especially in the shape it was in.
The Staryu was in no shape to argue as I captured it. It was only a temporary fix. Once I could get it to a Pokemon Center so it could heal, I'd find a way to return it. I wish I could have done the same for the Nidorino, but unfortunately it was still with the Team Rocket member, wherever he landed. Once I had the Staryu's new poke ball, I made my way into the tent. It was pretty crowded inside now. Eve was there, Bit had found his way in before me...and that girl that I'd just helped out was sitting inside too. I was a bit surprised at what I saw too. She was actually hugging Eve, and the Eevee...girl...whatever...wasn't making a fuss at all. Instead, she was licking the girl all over the face and clinging to her like a small puppy.
"She's so cute!" The girl cried. "I've never seen a Pokemon like this before! You're a really lucky trainer!"
I stared blankly a little longer, completely at a loss for words. "Uh...thankyou, I...wait a second! She's not mine! And who are you?"
"Oh, she's not? Then can I have her? She's just so cy-u-u-u-ute!"
I swear, this girl had to have been a blonde. She must have dyed her hair green... "No, you can't have her! She's..."
"Yours?"
"No!"
"Then who does she belong to?"
"I...I don't know." What was I supposed to say? There was no way I was going to put Team Rocket and Eve together.
The girl stared at me quizzitively for a moment, then pulled away from Eve's licking muzzle. Eve simply let her go and climbed into my lap to give my face the same affectionate attention when she finally noticed I was sitting there. As much as it got to me, I managed to match the green-haired girl's gaze. I don't know what she was thinking, but I wanted to know who she was...and now that I think about it, why wasn't Eve frightened of a total stranger barging into my tent? It's not that I was jealous of the affection she was receiving or anything. It was a relief to have Eve not pouncing me for a change, but...
After a few moments of silence, the girl suddenly clapped her hands together and smiled brightly. "Oh! I remember you now! You're the boy guy that just fought of that Team Rocket man for me!"
"That just happened five minutes ago." I replied shortly. Maybe the word "blonde" gave her too much credit...
She didn't even seem to be listening. She kept that smile on her face as she held out a hand. "I'm Fern."
Eve slipped out of my lap as I reached out to shake her hand with a dumbfounded look on my face. She started to introduce herself to Bit by pouncing on him and giving him the same care she'd given me and Fern, but the Squirtle immediately got out of the way and waved his claws in protest. I could tell they were talking about something after a while, but I paid it no mind. I was more curious about this stranger in my tent was. "Okay...Fern...I don't mind you hiding in here while all that was going on but I..."
Once again, she cut me off. "Oh, that's right! My Ivysaur probably wants to thank you too!"
My eyes widened as she reached for a poke ball at her side. Judging by how crowded the tent was now, a Pokemon of that size wouldn't be comfortable at all. "Wait! Don't open th..."
Too late. A blinding flash filled the tent, leaving in its wake...a Psyduck? And it looked as puzzled as Fern and I did. "Oh dear." she muttered at last. "I must have grabbed the wrong poke ball before I left home."
This is sadder than that Rocket. I thought. At the same time I was feeling very relieved though. As crowded as it was now, this place might have capsized if somebody or something thing the size of a small person came in. Luckily the Psyduck was just under that limit. I watched as Eve and Bit allowed the confused duck to join their conversation, but I don't think he had a clue about what they were talking about either. Turning back to Fern, I noticed that she had most of her attention on Eve. "She really is something else." she said quietly.
I had to agree with her there, but... "It's strange...she's never taken a liking to anybody besides me so far. What's different about you?"
Fern shrugged her shoulders and gave me another smile. "Well, I am a Pokemon breeder. So naturally, I'm good with Pokemon."
"A breeder, huh?" I did think she was too dense to be a trainer, but I didn't think she'd really be cut out for breeding either. Maybe there was something about her though if Eve liked her that much though. Speaking of Eve, we really did need to pack up and keep moving before that guy that was after Fern came back. Things would be a lot worse if he had reinforcements too. I had no intention of handing her over to Team Rocket, but I wouldn't last long fighting them off either. "Look, I'd like to stay and talk more," I said as I slowly got up. "But we need to get out of here before that guy comes back."
"Oh!" Fern jumped up with me. "Can I come with you? Please? At least until I get back to my ranch! It's on the way to Vermillion!"
"Well, I guess we...wait, how'd you know we were going to Vermillion?"
The girl's face turned a little red as she stammered for a second. "I...I just took a guess. I figured you wouldn't be...camped out here if Lavendar was so close?"
I eyed her a little suspiciously. She did have a point there. Maybe I was just being overwhelmingly paranoid with all that'd happened in the past two days, but something didn't feel right. I'm sure anybody would pay a lot of attention to Eve after seeing her like this, but how could she just be okay with this? Sure, she seemed like a ditz, but she wasn't the least bit curious about her. I thought pretty much anybody would be. Still, there shouldn't have been much harm in bringing her along. I mean, if she did try something funny, how much of a problem could her Psyduck cause? Still, I felt a little hesitant about it. "Well...alright. But just until we..." I didn't even notice, but Fern was back to playing with Eve again now. The other two Pokemon just watched as her and Eve cuddled in each other's arms, and I just wound up staring out of disbelief. "Were you even paying attention to me?"
"Huh?" Fern gave me a blank stare as the looked up at me, trying to tilt her head to escape Eve's licks. "Yeah, right. You said yes, right?"
"What're you asking me for? You're the one who..."
"Hey, why doesn't she have any clothes?" she stared at me thoughtfully for a moment, then gasped and turned bright red in the face. "You...her...you didn't...you wouldn't..."
"What?" It took me a while to figure out what she was hinting at, and when I did, my face turned a brighter red than hers. "No! What kind of twisted person are you? First you're all bubble-headed and now you..."
"Ah, I should have guessed that you wouldn't. You act like a complete boyscout."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" I grumbled.
"Anyways, I was just thinking." Honestly, I don't think she was really listening to me at all. "I'm surprised you got this far without her wearing anything. Somebody'd probably flip out if they found you two. I could give you some clothes if you'd like."
"I'd appreciate that, but..." I noticed that once again she wasn't paying me any attention. She was starting to go through her things and take out a few changes of clothes that she had. I doubted Eve was going to tolerate any of it, but I decided to let her see for herself since she wasn't going to listen to me.
Fern started to hold up something to Eve, then suddenly turned and gave me, Bit, and her Psyduck an evil glare. "No boys allowed!" she huffed. None of us had a chance to scramble outside before she threw us out in a heap herself. I could tell things probably weren't going to go well on the road if this kept up. I hoped her ranch was really closeby. The sooner we got there, the sooner I didn't have to deal with this. After a few minutes, she finally emerged from my tent with that smile on her face. "All done!"
"She didn't keep anything on, did she?" I asked. By now, I was sitting down with Bit and her Psyduck. We weren't really talking about anything special. Just keeping an eye out for that Team Rocket trainer.
Fern tilted her head to one side. "What do you mean? Of course she did! And it looks great on her!"
"What?" I blinked a few times, then looked at the tent opening as Eve slowly crawled outside. I don't know how Fern pulled it off, but she was completely clothed. And it looked a whole lot better than how I had her dressed. Fern had fit her in a long-sleeved, loose T-shirt that covered her furred chest and arms up perfectly. Her lower body was covered by what would have been a mini-skirt on Fern. She was a bit shorter though, so it stopped a few inches above her knees; and there was plenty of room for her to move her tail freely, but still keep enough of it hidden to where it'd look like some kind of accessory. She was also given a bandana to hide hear ears and an apron with the Pokemon breeder emblem on it. My guess was that Fern was trying to pass her off as one. The whole outfit was topped off by a pair of sandals on her feet. Eve didn't look as uncomfortable as she had in my clothes, nor did she seem in a hurry to get rid of them. "Okay," I said, looking up at Fern. "How'd you do it?"
"Do what? I just gave her something that she'd feel comfortable in. It wasn't exactly a hard thing to do, you know."
When I thought about it, she did look a lot more cozy in those clothes than in mine. When I noticed her tail, I remembered that my jeans didn't give her any room for it at all. That explained a lot right there. As for her ears, I didn't have anything to hide those in the first place, but the bandana was perfect. And it was tucked snugly so that it wouldn't fall off easily, but still gave her space underneath to move her ears a little. The outfit didn't cover every last bit of her fur, but what was left out in the open didn't seem too suspicious unless somebody studied her closely. It just looked as if she were dark-skinned. Nobody would bother giving people a second glance on the streets of Vermillion if they were busy...hopefully. Fern did a good job though. Eve looked kind of cute like that, and she seemed rather happy with it herself.
"So are we going or what?" Fern chimed. "Didn't you say somebody was coming back earlier?"
I completely forgot about getting out of there. The moment she said something, I tossed every thought out the window, including my suspicions toward the Pokemon breeder. We'd wasted enough time sitting around and I was in a hurry to get out of there. After I got dressed and packed everything up, I returned Bit, grabbed Eve by the...er...paw...and guided her out of the clearing. Fern returned her Psyduck to his poke ball and hurried after us quickly. I didn't know whether to be resentful or grateful that she came by. On one hand, she was just the answer I needed to disguising Eve; but on the other, she just brought more questions to my mind- about herself and Eve's reaction to her. I was probably getting paranoid again, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was strange about her...