Chapter Text
Some people could get used to the way things ran in the Erotanis region. It had come under the ownership of team Panacea a few generations back and that was more than enough time for the team to work its way through everything from businesses to education facilities. Sadly, even the pokemon league challenge had changed. Because the different regions had taken a pledge a long time ago not to over stretch their boundaries by crossing borders, Johto, Kanto and the rest couldn't interfere without permission or pleas from someone who lived in Erotanis. And Panacea made sure that everyone was silent so they could continue to run things the way they wanted to.
So people went about their daily lives, and they adjusted. People with soft temperaments turned just a little mean out of self preservation. People that were weak either got weeded out or they became stronger and kept a stranglehold on what made them strong for fear of slipping back into the dregs of society. Young people were taught to look out for themselves first and joining gangs wasn't uncommon because if you walked with a lot of other people it was a little safer. Unless Panacea thought you might be trying to threaten their team. Children weren't truly a threat so they would be slapped around and sent home. Teenagers had it harder because they could be a problem. And adults we're strongly suggested to either fall in line or suffer the consequences.
The legal age to go out on a pokemon journey was still ten, but now parents were less likely to send their children out on the road alone. Most children stayed in their home town or city and trained until they were of an age their parents said they could leave. Or until their pokemon were strong enough that they could run away from their parents. Some came home in tears, some victorious. And some not at all.
Ruby looked out through the bars on her bedroom window, her heart beating hard at the thought of going out on the road. Since she was little she had held onto the idea of traveling the region to see everything she could and becoming powerful. She had no idea what she would do with power, but if she had an unbeatable team of pokemon then she could be anything she wanted. She could open her own gym. She could become a breeder. The sky was the limit, but only if she could get a full, unstoppable team. She had studied in secret for so long, memorizing the type advantages and strategies of different gym leaders that she read about in magazines. Her father had different ideas for what she would do and she had been home schooled, learning all the necessities and niceties that he thought were good for a growing girl.
Her fingers curled on the bars and she grit her teeth. They were in place to keep others out as much as they were to keep her in. And she knew that she didn't have it nearly as bad as some others out there, but it was still more than she could stand. She hated her father's lessons, hated that he praised her and hated that a small part of her wanted to make him happy. She shook her head and looked over at the clock on her nightstand. This would be about the time that he would be going to bed. Slipping under the covers, she let her eyes half close and listened for the sound of footsteps. She tried to think of it like some sort of action movie, like she was the beautiful main character about to make a daring escape. But as the seconds ticked by and silence ensued, all she could picture was her father waiting up outside her room or her falling asleep by accident and missing her great chance.
But she needed to stop panicking about this moment. Because if she couldn't get through this night, how was she ever going to make it on the road to the championship? She read the statistics about wipe outs on the road to the Elite. Some people couldn't even make it all the way through their gym training. If she was to fail then would she live on the streets or would she come home to her father? No doubt he'd take her back, but she'd never get to go outside without an escort ever again…
Her thoughts were spinning around so much that the sound of the stairs creaking actually made her jolt. She bit her lip and hugged the blanket close to her, counting the seconds to the next sound that would indicate he reached the top most landing. She did the same thing now that she used to do as a little girl, praying that he would just go to bed and not look in on her. She already gave him a kiss goodnight before she came up to bed, he didn't need more. Her lips moved silently repeating “don't come in” as she heard the footsteps moving from the staircase landing and over to her bedroom, pausing where she was sure was right in front of her door. She willed herself to stop breathing, for her heart to stop beating, straining to hear where he went and finally relaxing when his steps went away from her door and down just a bit to his own bedroom. She could have cried with relief and she sat up, looking up at the ceiling. By the time she grabbed all her things she was taking, he should be asleep and she could finally get out.
Swinging her legs out of bed, she smiled and pressed her hands to her face, holding in her excitement. She wasn't outside just yet, but every second brought her closer to her goal. She had been planning this for so long and it was only now that she had enough stashed away to actually make this a possibility. Running away cost money and trade, something she had in short supply thanks to her father's hold on the family assets. And yet, she had managed to save enough to start her off. She had taken a little at a time for about a year, tucking money into one of the stuffed animals on her bed, terrified her father might raid her room and find it in her sock drawer.
Pulling out of bed, she grabbed the stuffed animal and pushed open the seam that she used as a pocket, taking out the couple hundred dollars there. Quietly, she snuck around her room to take other things out of hiding. She had tucked a pair of sneakers into her closet and she put them on now, her favorite hoodie tugged on since she wouldn't have time to mess around in the downstairs closet looking for her jacket. A thick satchel that was in the back of her closet to keep supplies in. A box of granola bars and a water bottle with extra filters. She couldn't do more than the basics and she knew she would be relying on pokemon centers if the weather turned nasty. In one of her drawers she took out a mint tin and she stuffed that in alongside her birth control pills. Some liners in case she started spotting and… sadly that was everything she had. A couple changes of clothes that would hopefully be durable enough for the road, and that was it. The one who held her hopes was the pokemon professor and she would see him soon hopefully.
Not for the first time she wondered if the professor was just going to steal everything she had and turn her back over to her father. He had no reason to help her except from the goodness of his heart. And really, who actually helped someone just because they could? But she had to take the chance. She slipped the satchel on and crept over to her bedroom door, listening again. Licking her lips, she turned the knob on her door and pulled it open so she could slip out through the small opening and make her way to the stairs with a fast beating heart. She couldn’t remember which one of the stairs would make a creaking noise if she stepped on it and her throat went dry as she looked back over her shoulder towards her father’s room. Gripping the hand rail, she felt her nerves practically vibrating as she made her way down slowly. Everything that she did right now was so slow and she craved the moment when she’d be outside and be able to actually stretch her legs into a run. Smiling to herself, she turned at the bottom of the stairs and looked towards the kitchen area. Her father would see that she was gone in the morning anyways, so this would be a good opportunity to grab more food. She might even be able to use it as trade on her journey. She didn’t dare try to take any raw meat of course, but some fruit? She stuffed some apples into her bag, keeping an eye on the stairs as she went. Would she ever get out of the habit of looking over her shoulder and expecting her father to show up at every turn? Probably not. He was a shadow that would loom over her all her life…
At least until she got a team of powerful pokemon. Just enough muscle to protect her from him and anyone else that wanted to push her around. Maybe if she was really lucky she could find a dragon type? It was really rare and any that were in breeding centers were watched by team Panacea because of how strong they could be, but possibly in the wild she might come across one if she was diligent in her searches. Although she wasn't certain where to start… maybe she'd just have to study maps and research at pokecenters once she was on the road.
There was a soft creak from upstairs and she froze in horror, nearly dropping the tinned ham that she was taking from the cupboard. Not waiting to see if there would be another sound, she stuffed the tins she hastily grabbed and made her way towards the door. Unlocking it, she felt her heart rise in her chest when she saw the moonlight streaming down on everything. For just a second she was frozen by how peaceful everything outside looked. Edgedale had never been beautiful in her memories. There were patches of dead grass from the lawn being cut too short, the driveway had crushed beer cans scattered from her father having guests over. Yet it was still a beautiful sight to her simply because she would be able to be out in it as much as she pleased now. Her breath caught in her throat and she closed the door after her, her knees wobbling as she walked away from the house without looking back. The night air was cool on her skin and Ruby made her way towards the main street of the small town, looking around to make sure no one else was around.
In the neighbor's yard she could see a mightyena was tied up, sleeping not far from the gate to act as a watch dog. The moonlight on the black and grey fur made it look unreal and she wondered if catching one of those might be a good idea. She could train it to keep watch while she slept… and if it got too cold then it might be good to curl up with. She was also certain that there were some in the nearby area. It wouldn't be too difficult to catch one if she came across it.
Continuing down the street, she adjusted the satchel she was carrying, acutely aware of how much weight she would have to carry every day from now on. She didn't even have a full pack of proper supplies and it felt heavy on her shoulder. That would be another thing she would have to get used to. Could she find a way to train herself as she trained her pokemon? Perhaps they could share an exercise routine? Something to strengthen the muscles and help her stamina. Most likely the other trainers in the pokecenter could give her some advice.
The gravel crunched underfoot as she went and Ruby reached up so she could twist her hair up and out of the way. Depending on how things went she might want to get a hat and baggy clothes to hide the fact that she was a girl, but if the weather was too hot she might not be able to manage it. As nervous as she was, and even knowing how much danger would be ahead, she was still happy to run. If she went far enough, fast enough, her father probably wouldn’t even try to come after her either. Edgedale was a small town so she couldn’t stay here even if it was overnight, she would have to reach Fairwick at the very least. Better if she didn’t stop until she got to the next town over with the first gym though. Bleakburg was home to a strong gym and she was sure once she reached there at the very least, she could rest easier.
But first she needed to get to the Professor. He promised that he would be waiting near the edge of town with her pokemon. He was a breeder, licensed by the region to give starter pokemon so she would be sure to get something stable. He had already warned her that he couldn’t give her anything too special. Team Panacea took record of all the pokemon that had superb genes, monitoring the pairings that happened in certain breeding centers so they could take the best of what was there and determining who of the normal public was allowed to take the ‘leavings’.
Passing by an old abandoned house, she barely glanced at the graffiti that was sprayed across the boarded up windows. It was something that she’d seen on any broken down building, she figured. Messages about whores and murderers that may or may not be true. Gang signs from fledgling punks that wanted to be tough and might actually turn out to be tough in the end if they were lucky and followed a good set of rules. As she turned the corner, the next wall that she saw was filled up with names and she paused briefly. The entire wall was white washed and it was one of the few that wasn’t graffitied. Instead of the gang symbols; the crude drawings of dicks; the declarations of death, there was a list of names and dates and occasionally places. Trainers that went out on the same path that she did, looking to get glory or freedom and never came home. And these were just the names of people from her own town. As she went forward, she’d probably find a monument of some sort in each city. Wanting to pay her respects, she bowed her head and then hurried on, not wanting to think about the fact that there was at least a few names on there that she recognized.
Once she reached the edge of town, she looked up at the large gates that proclaimed the name, the broken letters that sat crookedly on it. On impulse, she turned to look back at the houses and wondered if there was anyone else that was going to be following her lead once she was gone. There were a few of the names on that wall that left together, either as a couple or a gang to be better protected. Would she be responsible for someone else surviving out here?
“Ruby?” A deep voice called out and she spun around, her eyes wide.
She felt a small smile quirk her features, however, when she saw Professor Snag waving to her. He had a small backpack of his own and she looked up at him in worry as she went over to him. The husky man knelt down and took out a pokeball from his backpack, handing it over to her quickly. He hadn’t even asked for payment yet and he was trusting her with the pokeball. She could feel the weight of it, able to feel that it was heavier than a normal one, telling that this one had an actual life inside and wasn’t just waiting for whatever she could catch.
“I’m glad that you made it.”
The Professor looked tired and she shivered as she gazed up at him, the bags under his eyes making him seem even older than he already was. The Professor was one of the few who grew up able to see the last of the rebellions against Team Panacea. While he likely didn’t see the region as it originally was, his parents had tried to fight to get it back to normal and failed. Was that why he was doing this now? Was this his small way of trying to hold onto something good? There was no way for him to tell which trainers he gave pokemon to would act for good or bad though, so maybe that’s why he looked so sad and tired.
“I’m glad I could too.” Ruby crouched down, swinging her satchel off and digging inside for his payment. Taking out the mint tin, she offered it over to him. “Here, I’ve been taking vicodin from my dad’s stash a little at a time. I know it’s not a lot but--”
“Ruby…” Professor Snag shook his head a little and she tensed up, pulling back from him. “I didn’t do this for drugs or money.”
“I don’t…” Ruby tensed, waiting for him to reach out and grab her, expecting him to take his payment with something else.
“I want you to get out of here.” He spoke softly. “I can’t give you the best pokemon and I can’t afford to give you a lot of supplies either, but I can give you a start.”
He passed her a small handful of pressurized pokeballs. Ten to start her out with. Ten little chances at gathering a good team. She looked from the balls in her hand to him and carefully put them away in a side pocket so they’d be easy for her to reach when she wanted to make a catch. Snag was looking at her sadly and his hand was stretched out for her to take, staying a few inches away to let her know that he wasn’t about to touch her without permission. It was so… alien to her. So kind that she couldn’t really fathom it.
“Once you get to Fairwick you’ll be able to get a pokenav at the center so save your money for that. You’ll also have to register once you’re there and that’s going to put you on the radar. Everything that you do from this point on, every battle you get into, whether it’s with a trainer or a gym is going to be recorded by your nav and wirelessly uploaded to the league’s data center.” Professor Snag explained quietly.
And anything that the league knew, Team Panacea would know as well. She would have to make a decision soon whether she wanted to stay solo or whether she could trust someone else to help her on her way and be part of a duo or a gang.
“What now…” She looked at the Professor nervously, holding the full pokeball to her chest, letting the small creature inside feel her heart beating and willing it to understand that she wanted to stay beside it for the long run.
“Now? Say hello to your starter, name him if you want to. And don’t stop running until you reach Fairwick at the very least. You’ve still got some hours ahead until daylight when your father wakes up so take advantage of that.” Professor Snag instructed her, standing up and brushing his knees clear of any dirt.
Looking at the ball in her hand, Ruby aimed it at the ground and activated it. A small, green pokemon appeared and blinked up at her, resting a hand on his hip with a saucy little grin. Just looking at him she could tell that he was naughty, would get into trouble if she wasn’t careful.
“I… think I’ll call you Hoshi.” She smiled nervously and offered her hand to her new partner.