Ruby Episode 1: The Special Child

WARNING: Chapter contains underage gambling abuse.

A Typhlosion sprinted through the storm-struck forest, unaffected by the swampy ground. Behind her came the violent crashes of falling trees and the shrill cries of her pursuers. The rain had deepened into a torrential downpour that obscured her path, but the Typhlosion didn’t falter. She continued to run, her head low, her mane blazing. Her front paws cradled a Cyndaquil.

Cyndaquil felt suffocated. She could just about twist her body to see ahead, but all that yielded were blurry colours that zoomed past. Her body was freezing, which made her mother’s grip feel like daggers that pierced her sides. All she could do was shiver and huff as she was squeezed into her mother’s drenched fur, and wait desperately for whatever was happening to end.

A loud crash made her cringe hard. Several trees very close by had collapsed to the ground. She had no idea what was going on, other than that her mother was running and something was chasing them. Every instinct made her think she was going to die. And then her mother skidded to a stop.

Her mother turned around, allowing Cyndaquil to finally see what was chasing them, but she could barely make out more than their silhouettes. There was some kind of giant Ribombee that held a staff in its long, dangly arms. It was surrounded by a host of unfamiliar Pokémon that made wild noises and stomped the ground. They cornered Mother on the edge of a cliff.

“There’s nowhere else to run. Just put the child down and leave. We promise we’ll let you live,” the bug-type said in a posh tone. Lightning flashed somewhere in the distance, and a gush of wind made the fire types shiver. Cyndaquil whimpered as her Mother’s grip grew tighter than before. “Don’t make us have to take you as well. Just think about your odds.”

Typhlosion didn’t reply. She held her Cyndaquil in a stiff stance that looked ready to run again. The instant her attackers shifted toward her, she threw herself off the cliff. That was the last Cyndaquil saw of them before everything became a blur again.

She let out a frightful gasp as her body churned and her view spiralled out of control, while an even heavier wind ruffled her fur. Typhlosion’s grip became so tight that she felt like she might throw up from having to breathe damp fur for so long. And just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, there was a hard splash, and then every sound was replaced with muffled noise.

Cyndaquil opened her mouth to scream, but all she got was a painful gulp of water down her throat. All of a sudden, she was deep in a cold, murky river, but still cradled so tight that she couldn’t move. She squirmed, gurgled and snorted desperately as a powerful current pulled them against their will. Typhlosion took several bumps and crashes, but each one jolted Cyndaquil enough to open her mouth or sniffle, where a sharp pain coursed through her. Soon enough, her body was limp and her eyesight darkened as she gradually lost focus.

She didn’t know how long she was underwater for, but it was long enough that everything felt like a hazy, feverous dream. She didn’t even realise that she had been taken out of the water, but was still cradled by that overprotective grasp. Everything was blurry beyond recognition now, and she was so damp that water cascaded off her.  Desperate coughs and gasps were all she could manage. It felt like Typhlosion managed two more steps before they collapsed, and she was squashed into the swampy ground below.

Cyndaquil lay there in a whimpering, trembling trance. Her mother was heaped over her and half-buried her in a deep pool of mud. If she didn’t drown from the river, then she could drown here. It still rained, she was too weak to move the heavy body above her, and every part of her body hurt. It didn’t take long for her to faint.

Just before her consciousness faded completely, another silhouette popped up before her, this one totally unrecognisable due to how blurry and faded everything was. But the figure was huge and wide, and loomed over them.

“You poor child. Your mother has fallen down,” the figure said. Her voice was serene and heavenly. “If I didn’t show up, you might have died, too.”

…

“Argh get away!” Ruby gasped and sat up in a flash. Her breaths were frantic and her body was drenched in sweat, while her eyes struggled to adjust to the early morning light. The Cyndaquil sat there for a while to calm herself, but couldn’t get the scene out of her head. She was alone in a cosy room. No one was around, she wasn’t drowning, and the weather outside looked pleasant.

That one again, huh? She settled her breath. Ever since I made plans to get outta here, I can’t stop thinkin’ about it. Dang it. Well, it’s early enough to get on with stuff still, so no use complainin’.

She grunted and clutched her stomach. She realised her insides felt like they were on fire, and despite being a fire type Pokémon, that was the opposite of comfortable. Her stomach hurt so much that she couldn’t sit still to resist the pain. The only evidence anything was wrong was how swollen she looked. She was a rather chubby Cyndaquil in general, but right now, she looked like something might burst right out of her belly.

“D-damn it, this too!” she growled and dove for the fireplace. With a growl, then a cough, then a roar, she exhaled an enormous stream of fire directly into the fireplace. Her back flared to extreme heights while the flames quickly flooded the small enclosure, where they overflowed up the chimney in no time at all. Outside, a pillar of flame shot up into the sky as if the house was an erupting volcano, complete with a high-pitched kettle screech and a cloud of sooty smoke.

She exhaled these flames for upwards of a minute, too. During that time her belly deflated, not to a normal size, but to the roundness of a pudgy Pokémon her size. She was left puffing, panting, and shivering on all fours to not fall face flat.

“Stupid… thing. Argh. Okay Ruby. You can do this,” she whispered as she caught her breath again. Her head felt light thanks to all the heavy breaths, but at least now she just felt like a normal morning kid. Hungrier than a Munchlax, a throat drier than a desert, and a grogginess that said to get back in bed and never get up.

She stood on her hind legs and looked around. This house had nothing for her needs. Besides the fireplace, there was a small beanbag for a bed, two windows, and that was it. The walls and floor were whatever the natural stone of the village was. This is the last time I’m gonna see this dump. Good riddance.

She bolted out the door, kicked it closed behind her, and then looked to the masterpiece that was next door. She lived next to a well-made trio of domes in the shape and colour of a Pikachu, complete with a letterbox, paned windows, and a welcome mat. She knew indoors had more than the basic level of furniture, too. Before she approached, a Piplup came out and politely shut the door behind her.

“Ruby! I-I knew you were going to try and barge in here first thing,” Piplup cried. Her voice had a mature deepness, though to Ruby’s annoyance, its tone was calm.

“Oh hi Crystal. I actually wasn’t, but I was gonna knock,” Ruby said.

“I know you though! You never knock when you explode your flames like that,” Crystal said. She gasped and shook herself. “Sorry, we were just startled this time. It’s kind of early, but that was way more fire than we’re used to.”

“Wait, you saw that?” Ruby said.

“I’d be surprised if anybody in the village didn’t see it. You’ve been exploding like that kind of often lately, you know,” Crystal said, and scratched the back of her head. Ruby only just noticed the red scarf around her neck, as well as the sharp weapon strapped to her back.

“Well, whatever. You get the picture, it looks like,” she said. She turned her volume down. “Ready to hit the road? We’re getting’ outta here and we’re not comin’ back ‘till we’ve got cold, hard, revenge.”

“Well… revenge is your thing, Ruby.” Crystal turned away. She shook again and pointed a flipper at her. “Besides, you’re not ready. We couldn’t leave even if we wanted to.”

“The heck’re you talkin’ about? You just praised me for my Flamethrower, now you’re sayin’ I’m not ready to hit the road?” Ruby said. In that moment, her eyes opened wide, which made Crystal shift back a bit.

“For starters, you opened your eyes again,” she pointed out.

“You’re the only one in the village who isn’t scared of that. Why complain now?” Ruby said.

“If we’re going out into public, you have to look as normal a Cyndaquil as possible, otherwise everyone will stare at us. Suzie will find us in no time,” Crystal said.

Ruby turned away. She had to take a deep breath to hold back an outburst, but her heart weighed her down in embarrassment. She hated that Crystal was right about this, but the idea of trying to be ‘normal’ was what hurt her the most. Years of trying to fit in with the know-it-alls of the village taught her she could never be normal.

“And you know all about the Bestia laws. The Pokémon have accepted it here, but if we go out into the road, using your fire would make it seem like you’re using Bestia in public. Other Pokémon would be all over you for sure! You need a weapon,” Crystal continued. “And don’t tell me you can fight without a weapon or your fire, because I know you can’t.”

“Tsk, fine, whatever. Where the heck am I supposed to find a weapon? Unlike you, Suzie’s not gonna just give me one. And she’ll probably guess what we’re up to the moment me or you ask,” she said.

“Yeah, that’s true. I’m sure we can find something, though,” Crystal said, and walked behind her. “Let’s look around the village. If we look hard enough, I’m sure we can find the perfect weapon for you, Ruby.”

“Tch. Even if we find one, I’m probably not even gonna use it,” she mumbled. She turned to the scenery of the village. It is a good excuse to get something to eat, though. There’s an earthquake going on in my stomach.

Ruby took off with a sprint on all fours. She had been through Lillistep Village’s cosy paths far too many times to care about the sentimental views of leaving it all behind. It was a boring old bundle of tiny homes built on top of fields of yellow grass, surrounded completely by thick forest. There was the most basic Kecleon shop built into a home ever, the Kangaskhan nursery she lived next to, a river on one side of the village, and that was all.

The weather was always warm even when there were pathetic showers they called rains. The sky was always blue too, and there never seemed to be more than three Pokémon walking around outside at once. If there was, that meant there was a traveller, but those travellers never stayed for longer than a day. They’d never let her join them even when she begged.

But today, today was when things were supposed to look and feel different. Today was the day she planned to leave, find that Pokémon from her nightmares, and burn them until not even ashes were left. No matter where she looked, Lillistep was too boring to feel sad about leaving behind.

“Ruby, wait for me!” Crystal cried in the distance. Ruby skidded to a stop outside the Kecleon shop and gave the Piplup a cocky smile. “Geez, why do you have to rush everywhere? You know I can’t keep up with you.”

“But what’s the holdup? You’re gonna have to learn to keep up with me if you want me to be normal!” she giggled. She bounced on her hind legs while she waited for Crystal to catch up, but froze when a trio of new figures emerged from inside the shop.

Ruby had never seen this species before in her life. They were tall, humanesque figures clad from head to toe in dirty, metal armour. Horned helmets hid every feature of their faces, while bladed shoulder pads and spiky knees covered the rest. Even their five-fingered hands were made of stiff metal and were as sharp as a claw. One of these metal monsters held the cloth of the shop’s entryway open for its comrades to come through, and then the three of them marched off without paying her any mind.

“What are those?” Crystal asked, making Ruby jump.

“Took you long enough to catch up. Why don’t we find out?” she said, and dashed into the shop.

“Aww, please stop running,” Crystal panted.

“Kecleon, who were those big guys?” Ruby asked right away. The aged Kecleon behind the counter was startled enough to snap his tongue in the air.

“Gosh dang it Ruby, don’t scare me like that! At least knock before you enter,” he said. He coughed dryly and had to smack his chest.

“You don’t have a door. Kinda hard to knock first,” she smiled.

“Again with that old gag. Just don’t come in shouting like a Loudred! There’s only so much this old heart can take,” he said.

“Yeah, okay whatever. Who were those guys? And what were they here for?” she said.

“Those were knights, the species who protect the big cities and greater population of Heroica,” he replied.

“Knights?” Crystal whispered.

Kecleon folded his arms. “They appear to be recruiting strong Pokémon for some massive construction project over in the east. I doubt they would find any muscle willing to travel that far in our fair village, but I appreciate that those higher-class Pokémon remember us.”

“Huh. Well, whatever, that’s none of my business,” Ruby shrugged.

“Psst, Ruby. Mum always said that if we ever saw a knight, to make sure they didn’t see you and come home right away. We’ve got to go back and tell her,” Crystal said.

“Suzie doesn’t matter anymore, Crystal. We’re getting’ outta here today one way or another,” Ruby said. “Hey Kecleon! Gimme a weapon!”

“A weapon?” he gasped.

“Yeah! Somethin’ to fight feral Pokémon with!” she bounced with excitement.

“By my dead body! It’d be the death of us if we let a troublemaker like you run around with a weapon,” he shouted. “Besides, it’s illegal for unmatured Pokémon to use weapons. Either evolve first, or show that you’re an adult.”

“Aw man, what? Crystal you knew about this, didn’t you?” she cried. She turned to the Piplup and flared her back. Also, she’s wimpier than me and she’s LITERALLY carrying a weapon on her back right now. Can he not see that?

“I didn’t actually know it was law. But that does change things,” Crystal tilted her head to the side. “Leaving Lillistep is going to be a lot harder than I thought.”

“Ugh, forget it then. You always do this to me,” she growled and turned back to Kecleon. “Just gimme six apples and some water.”

“Wait, six?” Crystal leaned away.

“Three for breakfast now, and three for the road, heh,” she said. She took a huge chomp of one the moment they were handed to her.

“The way you eat, I’m sure that problem with your belly is more than just the fire thingy,” Crystal mumbled.

The comment made her look down at herself and blush. “Sh-shut up! I may look fat, but I’m still faster than you. Want me to prove it again?”

“Oh no, please don’t—” Crystal gasped, but was left with a flipper hung forward as Ruby dashed out on her anyway. “Sheesh. Why do you have to be like this?”

She didn’t run very far this time though, only to the centre of the village to look around. “O-kay. If I were a weapon, where would I find myself?”

But there was no one around. Not this early in the morning, anyway. She took a gulp of water and then slowly spun to scan the village. She grumbled in bother until she spotted the knights from earlier. From where she was now, it looked like they descended into the ground, to which she opened and rubbed her eyes. “Wait a minute, the knights! Of course. I’ll get one of ‘em to give me a weapon. If they travelled this far out, they must have one or two spare.”

“B-but we were told to stay away from them,” Crystal cried. Ruby hadn’t realised she had caught up.

“I just told you Crystal, Suzie doesn’t matter anymore. Those things probably aren’t even dangerous! We just have to ask ‘em to gimme a weapon,” she said.

“… And if they say no?” Crystal said with her head cocked to the side. Ruby got cross.

“Then I’ll take it from them. By force. I’ve got more than enough fire in this belly to scorch a big steel type like that,” she said.

“But Ruby, that’s stealing! And stealing is wrong,” Crystal cried.

Ruby turned around and growled. “Y’know, it’s replies like that make me kinda hate you.”

“Huh? Don’t say something mean like that,” Crystal slumped forward.

“It’s wrong for me to want to leave this stupid village. It’s wrong for me to wanna learn how to fight. It’s wrong for me to shoot fire, even though it hurts super bad when I don’t. And now it’s wrong for me to wanna steal something to do what I need to do,” she said. Crystal went quiet. “Well it never stopped that murderer from stealing my Mother’s life. I’m going to find that bastard no matter what it takes, and kill him for killing my Mother. I told you that already.”

“Ruby…” Crystal muttered.

“So if you’re gonna start getting all babyish and don’t wanna help me, then go back home and follow Suzie! I’m not waiting for you. You’re either in or you’re out,” she said.

Crystal shut her eyes and sighed deeply. When she opened them, she had a strange look on her face. It was almost like her beak had a determined frown, even though that was impossible. “I would be a pretty bad friend if didn’t keep you out of trouble. And, well…”

“Well?” Ruby raised an eyebrow.

Crystal played with her flippers for a bit and then shook herself. “Never mind, it’s nothing.”

Ruby sighed. “Look, I’m not gonna be Flamethrower happy and just set everythin’ on fire. I know you wanna stay outta trouble, so I’m not gonna willingly put you in it. When I say I’m gonna take a weapon from ‘em, I’d only do that if I absolutely had to. Worst comes to worst, I leave and just don’t battle until we find a weapon on the road or somethin’, ‘kay?”

“I’m sorry, Ruby. I know how much this means to you, but I just don’t like fighting,” Crystal said, facing the floor.

“Why don’t you gimme your weapon? I can just go on my own,” she said.

“What? N-no, I’m coming with you. I don’t want to leave you alone,” Crystal cried.

“Heh, that’s more like it. So let’s find those knights,” she said, and charged off.

“Oooh, I don’t like this,” Crystal moaned as she tripped after the Cyndaquil.

They ran up to the river and then jogged alongside it until they reached the top of the hill where the knights vanished. They both came to a complete stop with gasps and gawks. They overlooked a building bigger than the others in the village. This one was made of stone, yet painted a myriad of bright, neon colours from top to bottom. It wasn’t shaped like a dome either, but a cuboid. It even had a large board above the entrance that looked like shiny coins.

“Wait a minute, why haven’t I seen this before?” Ruby whispered.

“The Pay Day casino. It was hidden behind the hill and the river, so I guess you never saw it,” Crystal said. She gave Ruby a cheeky look. “Or maybe you did and you just don’t remember.”

“A flashy place like this? I think I’d remember,” Ruby cocked her head.

“You didn’t remember to wash this morning, did you?” Crystal said, still cheeky. Ruby sniffed herself and tried to hide a blush. “Don’t worry about it. Mum always said to avoid this place, too.”

“Suzie really said that? Man, she’s a weirdo. Look at this place! Who wouldn’t wanna go here? But this is where those guys went, so,” she said. She took off, once again leaving Crystal with a flipper hung forward.

She was excited about finding a new place for once, but it didn’t live up to her expectations. The casino was as large as one long, spacious hall with a few tables laid out here and there. There were a few groups of Pokémon at those tables, but not nearly enough to be called a party. None of them were interesting species to her, either.

“Aww man. Lillistep manages to make everything look boring,” she groaned as she scanned the room for the knights. The walls were covered with boards of information, paintings, and more décor that resembled coins. Grey coloured Meowth and smirking Purrloin seemed to be the common staff about the place, but every single one of them wore a strange, fur-tight cloth adorned with a pattern like Meowth coins.

“Hey!” a gruff call got her attention. Just the Pokémon she was looking for, one of three knights marched over. “This is no place for kids. I’m going to have to ask you to leave, I’m afraid.”

“That’s fine, I don’t wanna be here anyway. But I was lookin’ for you guys,” she said. She bounced on her hind legs. “Gimme a weapon! You guys musta come from far away, right? So you’ve got one for me!”

“A weapon? Not for a little kid like you,” the knight replied, and leaned back. His allies walked over.

“Aw c’mon, I’m desperate here! You guys have gotta have somethin’ I can use. I wanna travel and learn how to fight and stuff. Tell ‘em, Crystal,” she said, and glanced back. She had to double take as the Piplup wasn’t behind her. Wait what? Argh, Crystal you coward. So much for helping me.

“Sorry kid, that’s against the law. But I do understand your enthusiasm. What’s your name?” the knight asked. He tapped his spear on the floor.

Ruby was hesitant. “It’s Ruby.”

“Well then, Ruby. Have you heard about the monster of Misgeriom Woods?” the knight said. The other two knights seemed to brighten up behind him, and began muttering to each other.

“Ugh, that old story? About the monster in the forest that eats children? That’s just a scary old rumour to scare kids into never leaving,” she said. She gestured rolling her eyes with a twirl of her head. “I ain’t afraid of that. I’ve gotta get outta here one way or another, so I can’t let dumb old stories like that scare me.”

The knight was about to respond, but one of his comrades leaned in to whisper. Once they stood back, he stood straight and tapped his spear again. “I know this is sudden, but I have a question for you, Miss Ruby.”

“Huh? It’s funny being called Miss,” she rubbed her face.

“You wouldn’t happen to know a Kangaskhan called Suzie, would you?” he asked.

Huh? Wait, that doesn’t seem right. Do they know her? Suzie’s never said anything about the knights before. Wait, what Crystal said before, she thought, recalling Crystal’s warning from earlier. Combined with the fact that the Piplup didn’t come in with her, Ruby’s chest became heavy. This means they know who Suzie is, and they want something bad with her. But what? Suzie’s the last Pokémon I expect to be in trouble.

“Excuse me? Young miss, you’re being spoken to,” one of the knights said.

Hmm. Maybe if I tell ‘em, they’ll reward me with a weapon though. That must be why they’re talkin’ so smart, she thought, and nodded to herself. “She runs the nursery here. It’s the big building that looks like a Pikachu.”

“She’s really here?” the knight gasped and leaned back. He and his comrades exchanged glances and nods. “We must move quickly. Thank you, Miss Ruby.”

“Wa-wait, what about my weapon?” Ruby cried as they jogged out. With their height and long legs, she had no chance of catching up. “Aww man, cheapskates!”

“Forget them. Upstarts like them wouldn’t give you a single coin even if you licked their boots clean, let alone a weapon,” a gritty male voice got her attention. She turned to see a Charmeleon approaching her. His scales were a bit discoloured and marked with stains in places, and he had an unpleasant stench around him. However, he did have a weapon strapped to his back. “But they’re right about one thing. This ain’t no place for a kid. Get outta here before you slow the games down.”

“The games,” Ruby mumbled. She couldn’t take her eyes off the weapon. He noticed her and twisted to look back at it, and then held it out for her. It was an umbrella, but it looked unusually well refurbished and sturdy.

“I heard you earlier. You’re looking for a weapon, and this might do the trick,” he said. She bounced on her toes. “Well, this is a place that defines ‘lucky day’, so I might just give it to you. But I’m gonna have to ask you to do a few bits for me first.”

“That’s shady. Why would I trust a homeless bum?” she said. Charmeleon fell backwards.

“Yikes. The lil’ lady doesn’t hold back an inch. But everybody else is just gonna pull the illegal card on you, so it’s not like you have any other options,” he said. She tilted her head to the side. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to get you to do anything tough. If you can get me enough Gald that I won’t need the weapon anymore, it’s yours.”

“How could I get you Gald, though? I’m only carryin’ pocket money myself,” she said.

“Through the games, of course. It’s illegal for kids to play gambling games, but they say the young have a mystical aura of luck and focus about them that makes them ace at games of chance. Plus… I’ve seen you. Your eyes can open, can’t they?” he said with a sneaky smile.

Ruby shifted back and her chest became heavy again.

“Don’t worry, I promise I won’t hurt you or anything. I’m not forcing you, either. But I know enough about Pokémon with unusual traits. A Cyndaquil who can open their eyes ought to have way good focus,” he said, pointing a nail at her. “So, what do you say? Win me some Gald and the brella’s yours.”

“Show me that, first. If it’s just some lousy normal umbrella then—” she started to say, but he cut her off by opening it out in her face.

The umbrella’s canopy was covered with all sorts of brand logos and fancy writing, while the ribs and handle were as sturdy and shiny as a well-forged sword. But the canopy didn’t seem to be as thin as a normal umbrella. It was almost like a metal shield had been stuck on top of a metal pole, but Charmeleon was able to pull the umbrella down just like any other umbrella.

“It’s a specialised weapon of mine called a Parashelter. Light enough to be an actual umbrella and shield my poor tail from the rain, but strong enough to ward off the blade of a sword or a claw!” Charmeleon bragged, and waved the weapon around with enthusiasm. “Block attacks and shove your enemy back with the brella shield, and then give ‘em a mighty whack like it’s a baseball bat. This thing served me well on all my journeys.”

“Oh yeah. Then how comes you don’t want it anymore?” she said.

“It’s not that I don’t want it anymore, it’s that I don’t want to need it anymore. I’m too old to go gallivanting up and down mountains on adventures! So I want to settle down in a nice, big home in the big city. And to do that, I need lots of Gald,” he said.

I’m sure there are better ways to do that than risking it all on gambling, but if he really is gonna give me a weapon that awesome, then I should be nice to him and play along. All I have to do is win a few adult games. How hard can it be? she thought to herself. “Okay. What do you need me to do?”

“First of all, call me Smokes. Smokes the Charmeleon,” he bowed.

“Oh er, I’m Ruby. But I guess you already knew that,” she said. He surprised her by lifting her up, but he was unexpectedly delicate with his claws, delicate enough to make her blush a little. She hadn’t been held up like this for longer than she could properly remember. He somehow didn’t smell as bad here, either.

“We’ll start here. It’s a roulette wheel. All you have to do is guess where the ball is going to land by choosing a number and a colour. So go on, open those eyes and see how you feel,” Smokes said.

Ruby relaxed herself as she looked over the strange game. It was a rotating board with a ton of writing on it, but it spun so fast that most of the details were a blur. Three other Pokémon watched the board, while a Meowth watched her and Smokes, so it was as if they were being waited on to say something.

“Oh and don’t say the number out loud. Just whisper it,” Smokes said. The other Pokémon gave him funny looks of course, which took her out of that relaxation.

All that uncomfortable nervousness settled in big-time. How could she reveal that she was a freaky Cyndaquil in front of them all, especially when they were onto Smokes? Were they waiting for someone to tell her that she wasn’t old enough to be here?

No. None of that matters. C’mon Ruby. This is for the weapon. For revenge. Just do it. Her thoughts made her shudder. Even with that resolve, she felt like her heart was about to fall out of her behind. Her face tensed, and then her eyes opened, fully visible. Glistening, sea-blue eyes that she knew didn’t suit a Cyndaquil at all.

But only when she was brave enough to open her eyes like this could she actually see correctly. No longer was everything surrounded by blur. And when it came to things like the roulette board, it didn’t seem to spin so fast, either. She pictured it as a Forretress rotating at high speed. Where her Flamethrower would hit if she was to try and strike the bug hidden behind the shell would be where the ball would stop.

“There’s a lot of numbers so I dunno if I’m right, but the one with fourteen on it,” she whispered.

Smokes put her down, placed his coins on the table, and made his call. “Black Fourteen.”

Ruby tried to hop up to the table and see what was going on, but Smokes stopped her. At least the other Pokémon stopped staring. She heard a few light clack sounds and excited squeaks from the other Pokémon, and then a resounding gasp.

“Black fourteen!” the Purrloin staff called out.

I got it right? Ruby gasped.

“Goldeen! I doubled just like that,” Smokes cheered.

“Does that mean—” she gasped.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I had a measly thousand Gald. Got to win another round before the confidence strikes,” he said, and picked her up again.

“A thousand’s already richer than me,” she frowned and grumbled, but got to work. “On the left. Thirty-six, I think?”

He put her down, so it was back to relying on the sounds. “Black thirty-six. Putting all in again,” he called out.

Despite not being able to watch, Ruby’s heart continued to race, and she held her breath even after the board stopped rattling. “Black thirty-six!”

Another round of gasps, and Smokes threw his fists in the air. “Fuck yeah! I knew I struck gold.”

“Should we—” she said quietly.

“Not yet. Just one more will put me at eight-thousand Gald, more than enough to make it to the city and back. Just one more game, I swear it,” he gasped.

She sucked in a breath and played along until she saw all the other Pokémon muttering to each other. The staff had a concerned gaze on her too, and she gulped. Something about this made her ill, but if she only had to do it one more time, then that was alright, right? It even seemed like the Purrloin spun the board extra fast as if to throw her off.

But Ruby’s eyes could see it all. Or was it prediction? She didn’t know or care. That Forretress of a roulette board wasn’t going to throw her off. The higher speed almost helped, in a way. At that momentum, the ball only had one place it could land.

“It’s the number three,” she whispered.

“Red three,” Smokes said calmly.

Ruby had to clutch her chest this time. She felt like she could be sick. All was silent besides the rattles of the board, and that went on extra-long due to how fast it had been spun. And then when everything came to a stop, there was a few seconds of silence. Mutters then broke out, followed by a shaky announcement: “Red… R-red three.”

“Oh yeah baby, it’s a literal jackpot!” Smokes cheered.

“Sir,” the Purrloin said sternly.

“Nah it’s okay, I’ve had enough honey. Eight-thousand smackaroos, we’ll call it quits here,” he snickered as he scooped the chips off the table. He ran off without Ruby, to which she gasped and sprinted after him.

“Hey!” she shouted with a flared back as she gave chase.

“Oh yeah. They really don’t like you,” he said without looking at her. He slid the chips over the counter, and the staff behind it began to count coins. He was quickly handed a sack full of them.

“Forget that. Remember your promise?” she said.

“Huh? Oh yeah, right. The Parashelter,” he said, glancing back and forth between his oversized coin sack and the umbrella. He strapped both to his back and held a claw forward. “One more thing.”

“That wasn’t what you promised! You said you just needed the money, and I got you the money,” she cried. She growled and looked away. “Even with everyone lookin’ at me like the freak I am…”

“One more thing, I promise. It won’t even take long. Just, follow me,” he said, and nudged her forward.

“Nah-uh, I ain’t gonna be your slave. Gimme the brella!” she shouted.

“Shh, I promise it’ll all make sense! Just hear me out,” he said quickly. “Ya’see, plans like this need backup plans, y’know? Like a fallback in case something goes wrong.”

“You need me to win a different game?” she raised an eyebrow.

“I wish. I’m probably banned for life from this place for pulling the shit I just did. But now, that ain’t it. I promise you, gentleman’s promise. It won’t take long,” he pleaded with claws pressed together. Ruby grumbled.

“Fine. But this better be it,” she said, and walked out.

“It’s not far. This way,” he directed her back up the hill towards the river. They walked around the top of the hill that hid the casino from view, where the river looked to be at its deepest. From here, the river ran into the forest. “If something was to happen to this money, or it turned out I didn’t have enough, I wanted to have a backup of sellable treasure. And there just so happens to be a divine piece of treasure hidden in the riverbed.”

“Right here?” Ruby tilted her head.

“Yes, right here. You’ve just got to dig on the floor down there. But as you can see, the water gets pretty deep here. And being a Charmeleon and all, I stand not a chance,” he said.

I’ve never heard of treasure in this river of ours. Wouldn’t it get washed away or somethin’? She faced the river with a silent frown. It was quiet, but quite fast and looked cold. The water wasn’t exactly clean either, but it wasn’t so dirty it could make her sick.

“Do you trust me? I’m trusting you a lot with this secret, you know. We can’t tell anybody else,” Smokes said. He got on his knees and bowed to her. “Please! Just get to the bottom of the river and dig out that treasure. It’s a gold bracelet with a kind of like, angel wings or something on it? You won’t find anything else, so you can’t miss it.”

It’s not the fact that it’s water that’s a problem. This river’s nothing to me, she turned to the river again. She reluctantly walked over, took a deep breath, and then clutched the ground so that she could dip her head in. She had to open her eyes to get a proper look around thanks to the muddy colours, but at least it didn’t irritate her eyes or anything.

The water went way deeper than it looked on the outside, but at least the sides looked to be made up of ledges so that she could climb back out. But just as she was about to pull her head back to reply to Smokes, she felt the sharp pain of a kick to the backside, and she flipped over right into the middle of the river.

“What? Why did you?” she shouted. Her voice came out with a weird echo and a number of large bubbles, but that didn’t deter her in the slightest. She snapped her mouth shut and curled up to squeeze her nose as she descended to the depths of the river.

She used the kick as a push to get to work, if there really was a secret treasure hidden here. A dark cloud of dust spread around as she landed on the riverbed, and she looked up with a worried expression at the distant surface. She could see a small stream of bubbles leaking from her lips despite her efforts to hold her breath, but she felt fine for now. The nasty chill and muffled current kept her angsty, though.

Let’s just get this over with, she thought, and growled.

Going on all fours, she crawled her way across the floor to search for any suspicious spots. She didn’t expect the riverbed to be so slimy, but she slipped ahead and over the obvious mound of dirt she went for first. She managed to grab the mound, but the current and her momentum made her flip over it.

Wait, how? she thought. She had latched to something sharp that was just about sticking out of the mud. Holding her chest, she glanced at the surface again, and then back to whatever this sharp thing was. She wasn’t exactly hurting for oxygen just yet.

She made sure her hind legs were planted and got to work. The effort she had to put in made her growl as she dug her forelegs into the mud and ripped it aside to dig out and reveal whatever this thing was. Once she saw that golden gleam, she could help but yelp with widened eyes. She slapped her hands over her mouth instantly, but that little yelp had put water in her mouth. It took everything she had not to spit out that toxic taste, but the gesture made her chest tighten.

It was do or die, now. She clenched her eyes shut and jammed her forelegs as deep into the mud as they would go, and then pulled with all her might. As soon as she started, she could feel her chest strain and she heaved a bit. She didn’t have the air for this.

Damn it no, just come free already! she thought as she gave in and growled. She pooled the last of her strength to yank back, and with a gurgled cry, pulled the golden item so hard that she threw herself up with it.

Can’t, I can’t lose here! she cried in her head.

She repeated those words as she fought the current to get a hold of herself. She scrambled over to the walls quicker than she knew she could, where she leapt up them in careless jumps. One leap from her left leg, then one from her right, but then her left leg slipped hard on the muddy wall.

She had her eyes shut now. Her gurgles and the muffled water around her kept her panic high, so she went right back to her jumps. Left leg, then right, then left again, and then her right slipped, but she jumped with it despite the balance and the strain to keep holding her breath.

The instant she heard a loud splash, she opened wide and gasped, sounding drier than a Magikarp out of water. Thankfully she grasped the edge enough to keep herself out of the river, but she still had to sit there for a good minute to recover before she could move. She felt miserable and pathetic from this little experience. She knew she could beat that river, and yet here she was, nearly drowning herself in a simple treasure hunt.

“What the fuck?” Smokes cried.

Ruby growled and looked up. She had to shake herself off, and still the water dripped off her fur in little streams. She couldn’t see him beyond an obnoxious blur. She could tell he’d fallen backward and stared with comical gawk. “I got your stupid treasure.”

“You.. b-but how… I—” he choked when she revealed it. A pure gold armlet with a series of intriguing, round designs across its surface. The top had a large diamond with three spikes underneath it, almost like it depicted some kind of Pokémon with three horns. Despite being buried in the bottom of the mud, it was squeaky clean.

“It’s this, right?” she said, and shook herself again. It would take a while to get this water out of her, annoyingly.

“Uh, erm, right. Ahem.” Smokes got to his feet and corrected himself. “Well then? Hand it over.”

“You first! I don’t want any cheeky moves like kicking me again,” she said.

“Arf. Urgh, how did you even get out of that? You’re supposed to be dead, kid!” he raised his voice.

“Oh poor you. Turns out a little water ain’t enough to douse my flame,” she smiled cockily. “I train in this river. See how long I can hold my breath, fight the current and stuff. So I’m way stronger than a normal Cyndaquil.”

“Fuck off. Any fire type kid your age would get killed doing that!” Smokes said.

“That’s what I’m saying. I’m that strong,” she bragged.

“That’s impossible!” he snapped at her, and her eyes widened. “Fire types die submerged in water for that length of time, or at least they get crippled. That’s scientific fact! You mean to tell me you’re so much of a freak you regularly dive in for training?”

Fire types… die in water? Wait, if he kicked me in, then… he tried to kill me. He really tried to kill me? she gasped. She glanced back at the river, and then at the armlet. Her eyes opened again, and this time they gleamed with a fiery light as strong as the flare on her back. “Give me the umbrella. Now.”

“Grr, fuck it. Whatever. I’ll just knock you out and dump your body in the river. Probably should’ve done that in the first place,” he said, and held his weapon defensively.