"Rattata, Quick Attack!", ordered the trainer.

The Rattata launched itself in a fast attack, giving no chance for escape.

Hoppip was hit and passed out.
"Hoppip... come back," Beth returned the pokémon to its pokéball.

"Now, give me the money, " asked the opponent.

Beth was in trouble. She would have to get out of there as soon as possible.

"Sure, I'll pick it now." She made a move to open the backpack, then looked at him and opened her eyes, covering her mouth with her hand. "Is that a Ho-Oh !?, " she exclaimed dramatically.

The boy looked back.
"There's nothing here ..." When he returned to look at her, Beth was already running away.
Beth had heard him screaming behind her back: "You bitch, give me the money you bet!".

She accelerated her escape until she was out of sight of the plateau from where he was. When she realized that she had left him behind and was not being chased, she started walking normally.

"I can't believe I lost almost all of my money ...," she said to herself.
She had battled all the trainers she met on the route and had lost all her money. Of course, she should have stopped after the first defeat, but that feeling told her that she should strive as hard as possible to gain more experience and knowledge about Pokémon battles. She was addicted to it.

On bright side, at least her Hoppip had learned the moves Tackle and Fairy Wind during the battles. For that, she had to make him forget the useless move Splash. She had learned in the worst way that a Pokémon only remember to perform up to four moves.

Useless Pokémon, Beth thought. She had already regretted capturing that Hoppip, at the first opportunity to exchange it she would not think twice.

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed the sweet smell that filled the air.
Beth ran as fast as she could and could see the silhouette of several buildings piled up in the distance.

It was close to Cherrygrove.
She quickened her pace heading for the city, accompanied by the coastal sea breeze that had sent scents of various fragrant flowers, which the city was named for.

She stopped near the city entrance. She looked to the side, there was a sign with the slogan "The city of floral fragrances" saying that she was already in the territory of Cherrygrove.
When walking through the streets of the city, she noticed the inhabitants performing their daily activities and children running through the alleys of the small town. She was suddenly filled with nostalgic memories of New Bark, even their size helped with the comparison.

How are they doing? She thought of her parents' reaction when they found out she had ran away. They were certainly furious and worried.

She stopped in front of the pokémon center and entered. Some trainers were talking out loud. She walked towards the counter with Nurse Joy in her pink dress and hat with the Pokémon center symbol.

"Good morning, it's a pleasure to welcome you to our Pokémon center, how can I help you?"
She picked up her Poké Ball and handed it over.

"My Hoppip is quite tired of fighting, could you take care of him?"

"Of course". She took her Poké Ball and put it in a machine in the center. "Just wait a few minutes".
Beth looked at the great hall of the Pokémon center. She identified an empty chair and went to sit down. She opened her backpack and took out her wallet to see how much money was left.

"Only 12 dollars," she said after putting all the content in her hand. That wouldn't pay for even an day at an inn. Apparently she would have to sleep on the floor again.

A blonde girl entered the Pokémon center and went to sit beside her. She wore a white dress and carried a backpack with her.
"Spark, I already told you not to take off the bow I put on," said the girl struggling to put a pink bow on her Cyndaquil who clearly didn't liked the idea.

She recognized the girl. She was one of the trainers she had seen in Elm's lab.
She seemed to read her mind because she looked at her.
"Hi"
"Hi"
"Are you a beginner or veteran trainer?"
"Beginner."
"Ah, you know, I am too! It is very difficult to find girls around, my grandfather even told me that my mother ..., " she as saying but Beth had stopped paying attention with boredom wide open in her eyes.
She yawned as she heard her speak.
"Ah, I didn't even introduce myself, my name is Malli"
"I already know ...", she realized that she had said too much.
"Where do you know me from?"
"Did I say I did? I wanted to say that ... that ... I've heard that name somewhere, that's it!", She tried to hide it.
"This is not a very common name ...," there was doubt in her voice. "But back to the subject, I said that I knew almost nothing about the Pokémon world, because as I said, I spent my entire life living on an island in front of Cherrygrove with my grandfather and grandmother ..."
"Does your grandfather live nearby?"
"Yes, on a small island off the coast of the city."

She started to see an opportunity to find a place to stay, she just had to become friends with the girl. But that would be an arduous task because she already realized that she was a pain in the ass.
"I would love to see the place."
Nurse Joy called to inform her that the restoration of her pokémon was complete. She got up and went to get the Poké Ball.
"I hope to see you again!," said Joy smiling.

She put her Poké Ball in her backpack. She waited for Malli to hand over her Cyndaquil to Nurse Joy. The woman said there was nothing wrong with the Pokémon, despite the girl's insistence. Malli gave up and left with Beth towards the city's waterfront.
️️️
They entered the point where the city gave way to water. Narrowing her eyes, she was able to see the island she had spoken of, and she had not lied when she said it was small. Malli took a Poké Ball out of her pockets and released it.

"Go, Lapras!"

"Do you have a Lapras?, " Beth said, amazed at the mention of the rare pokémon.

"Yes, it was my grandfather who gave it to me, but he is very old ... The Pokémon I am saying, but so is my grandfather."

Lapras appeared in the water. The two girls climbed into the Pokemon, facing each other. The criature had started to cross the sea.

"Keep calm, Spark!, " Malli tried to calm the struggling Pokémon in her hands.

"I don't think it's a good idea to carry a fire-type Pokémon in your hands when you're surrounded by water."

"You think?" She kept trying to tie the bow on the Pokémon. "My Spark is so cute, I don't want it to ever evolve."

What a dumb, she thought. Which trainer didn't want they Pokémon to evolve? It's simple logic, the stronger the better.

The Pokémon stirred, causing the bow that was tied to his body to fall into the water.

"Spark, look what you did. I spent quite some money on that tie, " scolded Malli. Finally, she gave up and called the Pokémon back.
"And so ... do you already know which gym you're going to face off first?," Beth asked as she watched Cherrygrove get small on the back of the Lapras.

"I haven't thought about if yet, you know, I don't even know if I want to be a Pokémon trainer ... My grandfather wants me to be, and I don't want to disappoint him. But seeing others get excited seeing battles and looking forward to traveling to another city ... I can't feel the same way. " Her blond hair, tied with two pigtails, was blown by the winds. Her look was melancholy.

She nodded.

Malli was in a similar situation to hers, only the other way around. While Beth wanted to be a trainer, she wasn't sure if that was what she wanted to be.

She continued: "I asked my grandfather for some time to think, only then would I make my decision, but I already got my initial Pokémon and I'm still not sure ...".

"Have you ever battled anyone?"

"Not yet..."

"So that's it! I was only completely sure that I wanted to be a trainer after battling using a Pokémon of mine. The feeling is indescribable."

Malli remained thoughtful.
"I even ran into some wild trainers and Pokémon, but I didn't think to train."

"This is what is missing for you to know which way to go. And I already know who you can fight against to clear that doubt."

"With whom?"
"With me!"
She thought it over and seemed to come to a conclusion.
"Then it's fine."

The two smiled.

She looked at the waters that swayed as Lapras crossed the sea. The water was a clear blue, almost crystalline. She could see several

Tentacool and Tentacruel swimming under the water.
"No need to worry, they don't attack Lapras. However, if we weren't on top of the Pokémon, they wouldn't think twice ...," said Malli when she noticed her looking at the water.

"Which Pokémon live in here?"
She remembered the channel she used to fish from in New Bark. There were also other types of pokémon in the waters, but these were smart enough to escape the nets and hooks, so only Magikarps remained to be fished.

"Tentacool, Tentacruel, Magikarp, Krabby, Kingler, Staryu ..."
Beth saw a giant shadow rise and look directly, with a pair of red eyes, at her direction. Its body had blue scales, and it was covered by a strange dark fog.

"Gy-Gy-Gyarados", she stammered when she saw the Pokémon.
"No, there are no Gyarados here," replied Malli.

Shaking, Beth pointed ahead. Lapras had stopped its route. Malli turns forward and, upon seeing the aquatic titan, her jaw dropped.

"This is impossible, there are no Gyarados around here ..."
Gyarados raised its long sea serpent tail. Then, it went down with all its strength towards the poor Lapras, who had not had time to dodge.

Both the girls were thrown into the water, at the mercy of their own luck.