Work Text:
“Zwei, you can do it!” Ruby shouted, bouncing in place. “Use Tackle!”
The Lillipup bent its tiny legs, before launching itself forward with a cheerful bark. It slammed into the small, bud-like Pokémon, sending it reeling back. With a grin she pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it, catching the Grass-type inside. The ball rocked back and forth for a moment, making her bite her lip with worry, before it finally settled down with a click.
“Yes!” Ruby shouted, jumping up and down. “We did it, Zwei! We caught the… uh… the something!”
Before she could retrieve the Poké Ball and use her Pokédex to figure out what the cute little Pokémon was, a voice scoffed behind her. “You don't even recognize a Budew? What kind of trainer are you?”
Ruby turned around, and found herself stunned at the sight in front of her. The girl couldn't be more than a year or two older than her own fifteen years, and without her heeled boots she might have been even shorter than her own barely five foot height. Despite that she looked elegant and refined in a way that Ruby had never seen in real life, even standing along the forested trail of Vale Route 4.
“Well, are you going to say anything?” the girl demanded.
Ruby blushed and looked down at herself. She was a bit dusty, having spent the last few days living out of a Pokécenter while trying to fill Professor Ozpin's Pokédex. She'd already caught a few new friends to go with Zwei, the Lillipup her father had bred for her when she was still a little girl, but she suddenly found herself wishing that she'd spent at least a little more time on her appearance. Her dusty, grass stained black and red dress and beloved red cape, looked silly next to the other girl's perfect white dress and bolero jacket.
Why did she care, though? She'd never worried about what anyone else thought of her looks before. In the end she fell back on habit, meeting the girl's blue eyes, one of which had a really cool scar, and offering a challenge. “We've made eye contact. That means we have to fight.”
She smirked. “Hmph. Perhaps you're not a total loss as a trainer if you at least know that. Prepare to be defeated by Weiss Schnee!”
“Well- well you prepare to be defeated by Ruby Rose!” she responded, to which Zwei added a cheerful bark. “That's right, Zwei! Let's get her!”
The two faced each other down, Weiss pulling out a Poké Ball and throwing it out. “Myrtenaster, let's show this girl who's boss!”
From the Poké Ball emerged a Pokémon like nothing Ruby had ever seen before. It appeared to be a fancy, elegant sword, with a long, scarf-like blue tassel emerging from its pommel. The weapon floated in midair, and she could see decorations on the hilt that resembled eyes and a grimacing mouth.
“Alright Zwei, use Baby-Doll Eyes!” Ruby shouted.
Zwei barked, and focused on Myrtenaster, his big, glistening, incredibly cute eyes making it hesitate. Ruby still wasn't sure what kind of Pokémon the sword was, but nothing was immune to Zwei's cuteness.
The other trainer wasn't immune, either. “Ahh! It's so cute!”
“I know,” Ruby said with a grin. “Nothing's cuter than Zwei!”
Finally shaking off the cuteness overload, Weiss pointed dramatically at the Lillipup. “Myrtenaster, use Fury Cutter!”
The sword hesitated, obviously not wanting to hurt the cute little puppy, but eventually it swung its body. Ruby braced herself, worried for her cutie, but the hit didn't do too much damage. Zwei shook it off, barking confidently as he set himself again.
“Good boy!” Ruby shouted, suddenly much more confident. She didn't know what Myrtenaster was, but she wasn't afraid of it if it could only hit that hard. “Use Tackle!”
Zwei jumped forward… and flew right through the Pokémon, not hitting it at all. Ruby blinked, confused, but he hadn't missed. The attack simply hadn't done anything at all.
Besides making the other trainer laugh. “Really? Don't you know Ghost-types are immune to Normal-type moves? Your Lillipup doesn't stand a chance against Myrtenaster!”
“Oh yeah?” Ruby said. “Well, um, your face doesn't stand a chance either! And it's not like yours did much either!”
Weiss smirked. “Didn't it, though? Myrtenaster, Fury Cutter again!”
The sword-shaped Pokémon attacked again, using the same move, but this time it hit harder. Still, Zwei was a tough little Lillipup, and he was okay even with several more hits like that one. She had a secret weapon ready, just for jerky Ghost types. And finding cookies. Mostly the cookies. “Zwei, use Odor Sleuth!”
The Lillipup sniffed the air, focusing in on Myrtenaster. Weiss just ordered her Pokémon to attack again, this time hitting poor Zwei hard. He kept his feet, but Ruby fretted, almost going for some medicine before she realized what was going on.
“Figured it out?” Weiss asked. “Fury Cutter is twice as powerful every time it hits! Next one's gonna take your little doggy down!”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Ruby said confidently. “Zwei, use Tackle!”
“That won't work, you dolt,” Weiss chuckled. “Myrtenaster's a Ghost-type, remember?”
The Lillipup charged forward, but this time instead of passing through he slammed into his opponent, knocking it back a bit. “Now who's a dolt,” Ruby said triumphantly. “Odor Sleuth lets Normal-Types hit Ghosts.”
“You're still the dolt, dolt,” Weiss said, blushing at having not known that. “Myrtenaster, finish that cute little Pokémon off.”
Myrtenaster swung one more time, this time sending Zwei tumbling back. Ruby ran over to him, but while obviously out of the fight he wasn't too hurt. Still, it was with a heavy heart that she had to recall Zwei to his Poké Ball.
“Is he alright?” Weiss asked.
Ruby looked over at the other girl, and felt herself smile just a little. She'd been kinda acting like a jerk, but if she cared about her opponent's Pokémon then she wasn't a bad person. “He'll be okay.”
Weiss returned to her cocky stance, resting one hand on her hip as a smirk stretched across her face. “Ready to give up?
“No way!” Ruby shouted, pulling out another Poké Ball. Silently she thanked her Uncle, grateful for the training trip he'd brought her on that had led to her getting this Pokémon. “Crescent Rose, let's kick her butt!”
The Pokémon was strange looking, with a four legged posture, light pink fur, blue eyes, and a huge red scythe blade sticking out of one side of its head. Ruby felt her chest puff out with pride as she saw her opponent's reaction to the unusual Pokémon.
“No way!” she said. “Is that a Shiny Absol?”
“Yup,” Ruby said. “Your Ghost-type is going down. Crescent Rose, use Bite!”
The Absol jumped forward, opening the mouth in its strangely human-like face and taking a large bite out of Myrtenaster. Crescent Rose was too powerful for the Ghost-type, taking it down in a single bite.
“Alright, so you've got some good Pokémon,” Weiss said, making a face as she recalled the sword-like Pokémon. “I'll still beat you!”
“Bring it on,” Ruby said with a grin.
“Hmph,” Weiss harrumphed, hesitating for a moment, before pulling out another Poké Ball. “Glyph, you can do it!”
The Pokémon had green hair with two red, disk-like horns, and red eyes. Its body looked like it was wearing a white tutu, and it danced in place like a ballerina on two legs.
“That's a Kirlia!” Ruby said, recognizing it from Trainer school. “Absol's are immune to Psychic-type moves!”
“But they're weak to Fairy moves!” Weiss shouted. “Glyph, use Disarming Voice!”
The Pokémon shouted, a wave of energy emerging from its mouth to strike Ruby's Absol, knocking it back and hurting it badly. Still, Crescent Rose was tough, and she wasn't defeated by one hit. “Crescent Rose, use Bite!”
It hit hard, but the Kirlia withstood it. Ruby had forgotten that being a Fairy-type also helped it resist Dark attacks. “Glyph, finish off that Absol!”
Ruby winced, bracing herself for the attack, but the shout left Crescent Rose still standing… barely. Still, she needed something else, so she quickly recalled the Absol, pulling out her last Poké Ball. If this didn't do it she was in a lot of a trouble. “Come on, Wormy, you can do it!”
“Wormy?” Weiss asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
Ruby threw out the Poké Ball anyway, revealing a three foot tall bee with lance like cones for forearms. After seeing it Weiss scoffed and tossed her hair. “Seriously? A Beedrill? Why did you name it Wormy?”
Ruby blushed and poked her finger tips together. “I caught her when she was a Weedle and thought she looked like a cute little worm. I didn't know what she turned into.”
“Dolt,” Weiss said, rolling her eyes. “Glyph, its a poison type, so use Confusion!”
“Wormy, hit Glyph with Poison Jab!”
The Beedrill was fast, much faster than the Kirlia, and it slammed one of its poisonous lances into the other Pokémon, taking it down in one blow before it could move. With a sour look on her face Weiss pulled out another Poké Ball. “This is my last Pokémon, a gift from my sister when I was young. He's more than enough to beat you, though!”
She tossed the Poké Ball, and out came one of the most adorable Pokémon Ruby had ever seen. It looked like a spherical ball of striped fur, but with two tiny slits for eyes, and a pig nose at the front. She couldn't see any legs or mouth, but its little nose moved up and down as it grunted cutely.
“That's adorable!” Ruby gushed. “What is it?”
“This is Boarbatusk, my Swinub,” Weiss said proudly. “Swinub, use Mud Bomb!”
“Wormy, Posion Jab!” Ruby replied.
Wormy was faster again, but this time the hit barely did any damage. The Swinub oinked loudly, before somehow launching a clod of densely packed mud with a flick of its body. It slammed into the Beedrill, doing quite a bit of harm.
“Swinub is an Ice/Ground type,” Weiss said. “Your Poison type doesn't stand a chance. Hit it again!”
Seeing how hurt the Beedrill was Ruby bit her lip, before she remembered what it could do. “Yeah, well… Wormy has the Swarm ability, so Bug-type moves are way more effective now that he's hurt. Wormy, use Twineedle!”
The Beedrill darted forward, slamming its two lances into Boarbatusk. The Swinub was obviously badly hurt by the enhanced attacked, but it wasn't enough. Ruby felt her heart fall as the Swinub replied with another mud ball… only for it to miss completely.
“No!” Weiss shouted.
“Wormy, finish it off!”
The bug darted forward, slamming its lances into the Swinub again before it could move, knocking the Pokémon unconscious. “Alright! You did it Wormy! Good job!”
“Here,” Weiss said, tossing some money at her. She looked upset, and Ruby could understand why since nobody liked losing. Still…
“You were amazing,” Ruby said.
“Not enough, obviously, since I failed,” Weiss said.
“You just lost 'cause you got unlucky,” Ruby said. “If that Mud Bomb had hit I'd've lost Wormy.”
“You still had Crescent Rose,” Weiss pointed out, looking only a little mollified by her words.
“Yeah, but she was hurt pretty bad,” Ruby said. “I'm not sure if she could've beaten your Swinub.”
“I guess we'll never know,” Weiss said with a sigh as she gathered up her Poké Balls.
Ruby bit her lip, before running over and grabbing her own, as well as the Budew that she'd captured before the fight started. When she turned around she saw Weiss already starting to walk off. “Wait! Where are you going?”
“To get my team fixed up,” Weiss said.
“Let me go with you,” Ruby said. “Mine's pretty beat up, too.”
Weiss hesitated for a moment. “Fine.”
Ruby ran up beside her, grinning brightly. “You're really good, you know.”
Weiss shook her head. “I lost.”
“Yeah, but, I mean, we're both pretty new as trainers, right?” Ruby said. “We both only have three Pokémon on our team. The best way to get better is to lose, or at least that's what my dad always said.”
“My father told me a Schnee should never lose,” Weiss said.
“Well, he sounds dumb,” Ruby decided. “I mean, you're awesome and you lost, so losing can't be that bad.”
“You are such a dolt,” Weiss muttered.
Ruby grinned. “Come on, it's getting pretty late. Let's get some dinner while our teams are getting healed!”
Weiss looked at her for a long moment, before blushing and turning her face away. “You're paying.”
Ruby plucked up the courage that led her to become a Pokémon trainer in the first place. “Of course! You're always supposed to pay when you ask someone out on a date, right?”
If Weiss had been blushing before, it was nothing compared to how red she turned with those words. She still managed to raise her chin in the air proudly when she spoke again. “Good, at least you know that much. But if you intend on courting me, I expect you to also prepare yourself appropriately for the evening.”
“I will!” Ruby promised, desperately hoping she had something in her pack to wear on a proper date. She also suddenly wished she hadn't run and hid whenever Yang tried to teach her how to put on make up.
“Good,” Weiss said primly, before looking away as she reached over and grabbed Ruby's hand. It was cool and soft, and fit her own perfectly. She wasn't sure which of the two turned more red at the contact, but while Weiss kept her expression stoic Ruby grinned from ear to ear.
What had she gotten herself into?
“Don't think this means I've forgotten you won by luck this time,” Weiss said, squeezing her hand a little. “I'm going to beat you next time!”
She couldn't wait to find out.