『 A Yellow Gem and Lots of Fluff. 』
Citrine is a girl that can't feel pain, and has survived thus far with the help of the Pokemon around her and her surrogate guardian Wallene and Riley in Rustboro. Being the younger sister of a world-famous Berry...
Gleaming blue globules burped from Lotad's mouth, spindling toward the little Geodude from a distance. Pelting across the rock Pokemon, the Geodude failed to dodge it.
Whismur scrambled ahead on its tiny feet, hopping in the semblance of a bunny as it rammed its head into the other Geodude, causing it to step back in a flinch.
"Rock Throw!" Roxanne commanded.
Rough pebbles rose from the ground, tearing forward in a rapid shower. Lotad and Whismur were rammed by the rocks, losing balance and direction in the continuous wave. Lotad stood confused, but Whismur had its face on the ground like it just gave up.
"Lotty, Absorb!"
"Geodude, Tackle!"
The fierce boulder charged right into the Lotad before it could attack, knocking it out.
And just like that-- the battle was over.
Biting down on her lip, a pout rising, Citrine took a deep breath. Then, with hard force, she bowed low, "thanks for the battle!" she raised her tone.
The sudden noise made even Roxanne flinch, "no need to be so grateful, it was only a battle!" she fretted to ease the girl.
"No, I'm just an amateur, so I'm grateful I get the opportunity!" Citrine insisted.
It seemed Citrine didn't have any Potions on hand, but her bag was packed with lots of Berries. Roxanne took to spraying Lotad with a burst of medicine while Citrine decided to start up a fire for lunch.
Lotad winced, the disinfectant stinging it as it woke up and looked up with its wide, hard leaf, standing straight on its little stubby feet.
It looked past its oversized head, tilted aside to get a better look of Roxanne-- then seemed to suddenly realize, this isn't my owner!!
Roxanne had never seen a Lotad actually jump in surprise before, but this one leaped, squeaked, and scrambled away whimpering little cries. Then it crashed headfirst into a wall.
"Lotty?!" Citrine freaked out, witnessing the scene from a distance.
She left the fire to the Geodude, and rushed over to pick up the little Pokemon. It seemed overjoyed to see her again, and clung on tearfully.
"Sorry about that, Miss Roxanne," she muttered with a sigh, cradling the little Kappa in her arms as she approached the older girl, "my Lotad's a little timid."
Whismur bolted up like the dead-- I mean, the live-- and looked around.
It ascertained that the enemies were gone, and bounced back up, murmuring softly as it crawled toward Citrine's leg.
"Oh, you were faking it! I knew it!" she reprimanded, crouching down.
Geodude came by, curious. The two Pokemon locked eyes, Whismur hiding behind its Trainer's feet and Geodude inching closer to it, the two engaged in some sort of silent conversation.
Then Geodude poked Whismur in the ear.
And Whismur immediately used Uproar, in a sort of irritated shriek.
Geodude was ready to fight back, but Roxanne scrambled to pick it up, soothing it and returning it to its Poke Ball quickly.
"Whismy, heel, HEEL!" Citrine had a bit more trouble, because an Uproar was hard to settle down from. The little thing was struggling out of her arms, like a little ball of squishy thing threatening to destroy that Poke Ball in Roxanne's hands.
Roxanne covered her ears from the unbearable volume, and somehow, she felt like she was getting indiscriminately insulted by this Pokemon that couldn't even speak her language.
It took another while for the infuriated plush toy to settle down, and it was left to munch on a Cheri Berry in the corner while lunch was cooking.
"Whismy's a naughty one," Citrine couldn't help but laugh bashfully at that, "he can fight when he wants to, but he's quick to give up once things take a turn. Lotty is a little more eager, but she's scared of everything once the battle's over!"
Roxanne was highly amused, watching the pot of Berry Stew boil over the fire, "your Pokemon are really expressive," she observed, "they're... rather open with you."
And Citrine wholeheartedly agreed.
"Well, I've really always let them do all they've wanted," she gave her own hypothesis, "Miss Roxanne, your Geodude were trained to fight and be strong in the wild. They're obedient and genuinely adore you, so I guess 'discipline' does build character."
Lotad bumped its wide beak against the girl's ankle, then lowered its head.
Citrine retrieved a bottle of water from her backpack, and twisted it open, taking a few large gulps before emptying it over the Pokemon's large lily pad.
It seemed Whismur wanted some too, trotting over and tugging at the girl's knees.
The scene made Roxanne feel a sort of beauty in their chemistry. It was intimate like a family, yet respectable, free and understanding, like best friends.
Citrine didn't raise those Pokemon to be strong. She had them for companionship, and she asked for nothing more.
"Why do you want to travel?" Roxanne decided to ask, curiosity taking over her.
The girl turned to Roxanne, and smiled so confidently, "I'm going to complete my brother's research!"
There was when Roxanne's interest peaked.
"Brother?"
Citrine removed the pot from the fire, putting it out quickly and glamouring at the finished food. "my brother's a Berry Collector, his name is... uh, Quartz!"
Roxanne froze. "Quartz?" her mouth hung agape in disbelief, "Quartz Kernel? The author of the latest Official Berry Encyclopedia at the sheer age of sixteen?"
"You're his younger sister?" Roxanne felt the entire bag of berries and notorious book thievery now made sense, "wait, you don't have a copy of the book yourself?"
Citrine shook her head, taking a bowl and scooping the Berry Stew to serve, "he said it wasn't complete. His Hoenn journey was rushed, so he had plenty he didn't finish investigating. My job is to start over and apparently write a whole new, better version of the book, and call it 'The Complete Official Berry Encyclopedia', apparently."
"I can't believe Riley kept this information from my knowledge!" Roxanne gasped, taking the bowl with gratitude, "I am an avid admirer of his work!"
"He includes every possible information, which is cool," Citrine couldn't help but agree, "how did he even find out how long it'd take for an Oran Berry to grow, in different soil? He even lists out what Pokeblocks could come out of it in different combinations!"
"His commitment is commendable in every degree," Roxanne insisted. "However, why would he leave his research to you?"
Citrine chuckled at that, "well, that's... a long story."
