[attr="class","vbox"]

[attr="class","vpostbg"]Her body ached and the world smelled like crap.

She was on the ground. She could feel the decaying leaves and grass and tiny, prickly stones underneath her. For some reason the spot of dirt in front of her smelled rank, and she could tell it was dirt because she could hear something walking around her, stopping just beside her head to drop what was probably a pile of leaves on the stench.

She opened her eyes and slowly the world’s colors smashed into view, leaving the back of her skull reeling from the impact. It all blurred into a single color – pink, dotted twice by blue. “Dii?”

She groaned, finally pushing herself off the dirt and pushing more of it off from her cheek with the back of her hand. Blinking until her sight cleared, she was greeted by her Audino, Cheri, standing timidly in beside her with its tiny hands poised reserved in front of its body, its large doe-eyed stare directed straight to her own. The sight made her heart drop ten feet.

Her brows furrowed. “Cheri… What are you doing outside your ball?” Her voice slurred as she spoke, garbled by shit feelings and raspy from her dry throat. Cheri still understood—always did—and toddled over to Vera’s other side to hand her a purse.

Vera sat back, one hand supporting her body off the ground while the other took the black purse. Past the gold clasp was her basic supply for a night out; phone, makeup, wallet, ID, and a few other odds and ends, including an empty flask. She snorted, a small smile on her lips when she realized the only reason these things were still here was because Cheri must have been keeping guard.

She pursed her lips, noticing there were only two minimized pokeballs at the bottom. Looking around, she saw they were in a clearing surrounded by some bushes. There weren’t any signs of the missing ball. She sighed, rubbing her temple as she closed the purse and hung it over her shoulder. “Guess we gotta find it before we go.”

She forced herself to stand, staggering heavily and having to slap a hand over her mouth. Cheri looked alarmed, already hopping over with a pile of leaves and picked shrubbery. So that was what she was doing.

“I’m fine,” Vera hastily responded, waving her hand at the concerned Audino. “M’not gonna,” she gagged, then cleared her throat, straightened her back. “Not gonna puke.”

The Audino frowned but dropped the pile in her arms.

Taking a deep breath, Vera motioned for her to follow. “Let’s go. Make this quick.” She turned and walked, her legs long and confident in their stride, but her head thrummed in reminder. She had to focus. Once she got Cheri back in her ball, she could go back to the city and pass the fuck out like a proper woman.

It seemed they were in the outskirts of Petalburg Woods. The two walked out of the bushes into the less claustrophobic environment of Route 104, and Vera was practically slapped with the smell of salt. She scrunched up her nose and searched. The grass and dirt revealed nothing, and the route was practically barren save for a few Wingull trailing the skies and the tiny pier at the coast.

She wandered to the sand and saw a girl running after some shoes in the water. “Oh, oh! Hey you!” She called out, hand waving high as she quickly approached the water’s edge – or as quickly as she could in heels. She was still in the same clothes from last night. Cheri was not far behind her, staying close with her arms outstretched as though getting ready to catch Vera should she fall over.

“Uh, sorry about your shoes! Have you seen a pokeball around here?” She yelled, hands cupped around her mouth. It did not occur to her how weird she looked – a grown woman in a red dress and heels covered in dirt and stray leaves, yelling from the beach.

[attr="class","vbox"]

[attr="class","vpostbg"]Her shoulders slumped, eyeing the little annoying Buizel carrying the shoes in its mouth. “Right,” she smiled weakly, ignoring the thrum of her head and the ache of her body as she addressed the girl. She was a girl right? She looked young, very young; Vera would’ve pegged her for a teenager. Though each passing second made her more aware of how disgusting her state was, she couldn’t say no. “Sure, sweetheart.”

Turning to Cheri, who had expectedly taken refuge behind her legs, her voice grew soft. “Cheri, be a dear and work your magic so that Buizel can fork over the shoes, please.”

The Audino’s face immediately burst into red. Her little ears shook wildly as she denied the request, covering her face with her hands.

Vera sighed, exasperated and impatient, her fingers pressing on her temple. “Cheri, oh my god, just do it.”

Cheri looked quite displeased with this. She donned a pout and fiddled with her fingers, but eventually caved under the pressure and waddled over to the water. She shivered as her stumpy legs met the chilly morning sea, wading just close enough that the Buizel wouldn’t have trouble seeing her.

Taking a deep breath, the Audino closed her eyes, before flashing the Buizel with a soft blue-eyed stare, one hand up to its mouth in a pose of endearment before it blew a kiss.

Had Vera not woken up in dirt that day, she may have found it interesting how such a gesture proved so efficient between pokemon. Attract was a weird move, but effective, and it worked the same even in this case. In moments, the Buizel was infatuated.

Through pokemon language and a minor fake flirtatious gesture, Cheri ushered the Buizel over to the shore, taking the shoes with no expense save for the pokemon’s personal sense of dignity. It was apparent she cherished this in how quickly she scampered away from the wild pokemon, blushing furiously with a look of frustration as she went up to her trainer and pushed the shoes toward her.

Vera took them and awarded her with a pat on the head, a gesture that the Audino didn’t seem all that fond of but tolerated nonetheless. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Vera turned back to the stranger, passing the shoes forward. They were soaked but otherwise in perfect condition. “Here you go! So, Cheri’s ball is—“

In that second, a black blur swooped down, and Vera found her hands empty. Her head snapped to the direction it scurried off, catching sight of a little Emolga with the edges of the girl’s shoes in its mouth. With a mischievous glimmer in its eye, it flew and flew, eventually coming down to land on one of the posts lining the rickety wooden pier.

Vera, speechless, stared at it; seeming to be aware of what it had done, the Emolga gives the shoes a good shake, taunting them with its cute little eyes.

And that was the sound of Vera’s patience, snapping.

“You really wanna play it like that, you smug little rodent?” She hissed, unclasping her purse and pulling out a minimized ball. With a click of a button, it expanded to fit her palm perfectly. “You fucking asked for it.”

A red light burst from the ball, forming into the hulking figure of a Metagross. The pokemon emitted a series of digital growls, quickly taking in its surroundings and locking onto the nearest wild pokemon – the Emolga.

“Zen Headbutt.”

The Metagross beeped a confirmation before literally throwing itself headfirst into battle. There was chaos; pandemonium as the metallic monster chased and attacked the mischievous squirrel from the pier to the beach.

And during all this, Vera realized how rude she had been. “Oh,” she said, hand on her chest as a dune of sand burst forth in the background accompanied by a wild surge of electricity, “Forgot to introduce myself. It’s Vera, miss…?” She did her best to smile amiably. The Audino had basically melded with her leg now, shivering as the violence took place in the background.

Not long after, the Metagross would return to the humans, a pair of slightly-fried shoes in its possession. It looked proud to have completed its task and Vera returned it soon after. And again, she was returning the shoes, although they looked considerably less pristine this time.

Cheri continued to fidget, eyes trained on the girl as if expecting her to lash out for the destruction of her property.