Ai and Spike worked together to search the village up and down, scouring for any Pokemon they might be able to convince (or, failing that, battle) into coming with them. They combed through shrubs near the village square and called out to whoever might be hiding, but this mostly got them looks from other people going about their day to day business than any attention from wild Pokemon in the area. Ai sighed, eventually slumping back onto one of the public benches when she’d just about had enough. “No luck, Spike. Probably should have expected it to be harder to find wild Pokemon in town. Think we should just cut our losses and try our luck out on the road?” she asked, and the Cacnea sighed.


< Well…maybe we should. I dunno, maybe we were hoping for too much… > He sounded so disappointed it broke Ai’s heart. They couldn’t give up yet! Her eyes scanned the area from the bench a few more times, but just as she was considering calling it quits once more something bright and pink caught her eye that she hadn’t seen the last few times they’d surveyed the area. There, poking her tiny head out of a small bush in the corner of the plaza, was a Cleffa. Ai’s grip on her camera tightened as she stared the Pokemon down, Spike looking up at her with a puzzled expression. < …Ai? Did you hear me? > She abruptly stood up, both Spike and the Cleffa startling at the sudden action. The Cleffa’s gaze met Ai’s for just a moment before she quickly ducked back into the shrub.


“Ooooooohhhhhh!! They’re going to get away, Spike! Come on!!” With that Ai kept one hand on the camera and scooped up her pal, holding him tight against her side as she took off across the square in the direction the Cleffa had been. Spike flailed his arms uselessly, not able to see where they were going from the angle he’d been tucked against his trainer at.


< Ai!! Where are we going!? Who’s going to get away? > he cried, and she just squished him closer as she finished her short sprint to the bush. Of course, the Cleffa was nowhere to be seen. She glanced around, knowing it couldn’t have gotten too far yet, and was relieved to see it toddling through the bigger shrubs just behind the smaller ones.


“Wait! Please!! We just want to talk!!” Ai called out, carefully clutching her camera to her other side as she lept down into the bushes.


< Oh..! I didn’t expect you to come this far, > the Cleffa said, nerves clear in her expression as Ai righted herself into a crouch and set Spike down, < you two looked like you were having fun over there and I didn’t want to disturb you. I was actually kinda jealous. > Jealous? Just from watching them talk? Spike had gotten a bit dizzy from all the jostling around, but he finally got a good look at the Cleffa and a big smile broke out on his face as he approached her.


< Don’t be jealous! If you want a friend, all you have to do is ask! > Spike replied excitedly, and the Cleffa could only hold his gaze for a moment before slowly glancing away. Ai wondered if she was shy.


< O-Oh, well, you can’t really be friends so fast, can you? I mean, we don’t even know each other… >


< Tell us something about yourself then! That’s the first step to becoming friends, isn’t it? >


Cleffa glanced back up at Spike again, gaze drifting over to Ai as well. She nodded, and Cleffa sighed a little as she once again wasn’t able to hold either of their gazes for very long and shuffled in place a little.


< W-Well, it was my friend’s birthday last week and we had a fun party? >


“That’s something we know about your friend now, but what about you?” Cleffa looked up at Ai again before once more turning away.

< I guess that’s true. Well, what do you want to know? >


Ai shrugged. “Something. Anything, it can just be a little thing. Friends don’t exactly spill their life stories to each other when they first meet, right? Like, what’s your favorite color? Mine’s green,” she noted, gesturing to her green shirt and down at Spike. Spike nodded a little as well.


< Mine’s blue! It reminds me of nice, cool water, > Spike added, and Cleffa smiled a little.


< Mine’s p-purple, > she said, and Spike beamed. Ai was pleased to see this seemed to be going well, but if they wanted to make any progress at all she was going to have to speed this up a bit.


“Now that we’ve become such good friends, how would you like to come along with Spike and me? We’ll be travelling all over the place, doing all kinds of stuff. What do you say?” Cleffa looked a little startled that she’d gone right for the kill, and the Pokemon pondered the thought for a moment.


< Well, I shouldn’t go with you just because you guys know my favorite color now. I think you should work for it a bit more, > she hummed, a playful glint overtaking her timid eyes.


“Work for it? What do you mean?” Ai asked, but before she’d even finished speaking the Cleffa turned and hit Spike with a Pound attack. Spike stumbled back slightly and Ai nodded understandingly; she should have figured they wouldn’t make it out of this encounter without a fight of some sort. That was what wild Pokemon did, right? This would be good practice for the road that lay ahead for them. She only hoped it might be the three of them by the end of it.


“You gonna take that lying down, Spike? You ready?” she called to him, and the Cacnea nodded enthusiastically before taking up a battle stance of his own. “Let’s use Absorb!” Ai figured it’d be a good idea to try and replenish whatever energy the Cleffa had slapped out of Spike, and once he finished draining the energy from Cleffa there was a noticeable difference in both of them. She wondered just what the difference in their strength was if one Absorb was already making Cleffa look a little tired.


Though she looked more tired, there was still that sparkle in the Cleffa’s eyes. She seemed to be having fun; and so did Spike, for that matter. This felt less like a real battle and more like a friendly tussle. Maybe their words had gotten through to the Cleffa. She seemed to be having just as much fun as Spike was, at least. She hopped in for another Pound attack, landing Spike back where he’d been a few moments ago.


“Keep it up, Spike! Absorb again!” Once more Spike drained energy from the Cleffa, but this time she looked a lot more exhausted than before.


< Not…bad… > she panted, obviously on her last legs now. Ai smiled a little at that, reaching into her bag to retrieve an empty Pokeball.


“Not bad yourself,” she agreed, tossing the ball at Cleffa. As it soared through the air Ai quickly readied her camera, tracking its motion until it got close. The moment the ball smacked into Cleffa’s side Ai let the shutter fly freely, trying to capture as many moments of Cleffa transforming into red light and disappearing into the ball on film as she could. She and Spike watched the ball shake back and forth with interest, hoping that had been enough to convince Cleffa to join them. Maybe they should have put a little more pizazz into it, but Ai didn’t really want to hurt her in the first place.

When the Pokeball finally came to a rest, Ai's smile widened considerably as she walked over and leaned down to scoop up the Pokeball. She couldn't believe that had actually worked! In all honestly that was the first Pokemon she'd ever caught properly; Spike was kind of an exception to that rule. They'd met under extenuating circumstances and their friendship had been forged with necessity and desperation at first. It had been far different than this time, where they'd had time to try and talk things out first and then had a playful battle afterward. It had been shockingly...fun? She could see why this whole trainer thing was something people took joy in. She hadn't really understood it fully before, but now she understood the appeal. Then again, they hadn't had a proper battle yet either. Maybe doing gym battles to get closer to the gym leaders wasn't such a bad thought after all.

"Can you believe it? We actually managed to catch her," she said, and Spike nodded enthusiastically. 

< Now we've got a new traveling companion, too! I think things'll be a bit more exciting now with the three of us,> he hummed, glancing up at the Cleffa's Pokeball with curiosity. < Have you thought of a name for her yet? >

"A name..." Truth be told in the heat of the moment, a name had been the last thing on her mind. She didn't even know if the capture would be successful so why would she have thought of a name in the process? Well, she supposed she had time to ponder it now. She remembered reading a bunch of low-tier newspaper articles about how Clefairy and all of their evolutions were aliens of some kind; maybe she should give her an alien-sounding name. Something with a Z in it would suffice, wouldn't it? She played with consonants and vowels in her mouth, mumbling quietly enough Spike couldn't hear her. After a few minutes of this he nudged her leg. < Ai...? >

"Oh. Oh! Sorry, Spike. I was just thinking about it. What do you think of Mezi? Sounds pretty out of this world, right?" Spike seemed to consider this for a moment.

< I guess so. Does this have something to do about those Clefairy articles you were reading the other day? > He gave her a knowing glance as she quickly dropped her gaze down and to the side. 

"N-Not at all," she muttered, shooting him a look when he laughed a little. "Don't give me that look! What do you say to seeing what else we can find before we take off? See if we can find maybe another friend, or someone to practice battling against?" She would need all the practice she could get, and Spike had hardly taken any damage in that fight. He seemed like he would still be raring to go.

< What kind of question is that? Let's look right away! > 

And without further ado, the duo set off once more to hunt down another wild Pokemon. Still ignoring the strange looks people in town were giving them, they once more dashed about town and climbed through assorted shrubberies to try and find another Pokemon.

In order to try and cover more ground faster, Ai and Spike split up in their search this time. It was agreed upon that they’d meet up near the Palkia and Dialga statues in a few minutes, and if one of them was taking too long they’d head off in search of the other in case they’d found someone, or a fight was imminent. It was through this arrangement that Spike found himself alone, shuffling through some plant life on the outskirts of the village. He’d seen several wild Pidove and Starly, even a Taillow! As he’d tried to approach or call out to them though, they’d all simply taken flight and left him to his own devices once again. Boy, all this running around was making him thirsty right about now. What he wouldn't give for a nice, cold drink of water.


< Seems like you’re having some tough luck there, > A voice from behind him came, and Spike spun around to find himself face to face with a Snubbull. She had a sort of intimidating air about her which made him take a couple of steps back, yet at the same time he’d found himself oddly Charmed by the way she’d spoken to him. It looked like he wouldn't be getting that drink anytime soon, but he minded it a little less now.


< Oh! Well, you know how it is. Not everybody likes to be approached by some outside weirdo, > Spike laughed, shrugging a little bit, < Everybody knows everybody in these small towns, right? And it’s not a bad thing to be cautious. > The Snubbull couldn’t help but wonder why he wasn’t following his own advice about being cautious. Oh well, that just meant she’d be able to have more fun with him.


< You’re especially creepy-looking, > she noted, tone more openly mocking than she’d first addressed him with. Spike frowned as she continued. < Haven’t seen any Pokemon like you around here before, even though everybody stops through here. No wonder everyone else is avoiding you! Lucky for you, freaks intrigue me. >


< That’s not exactly something you should be saying if you want to get on someone’s good side, > he replied, and she only laughed.


< What, like you weren’t scared of me when you turned around earlier? > Maybe just a little. She did have an intimidating, kind of scary presence about her in general. But it’s not like he’d have said it out loud! Shoot, with the look she was giving him, he knew he’d been quiet too long. She laughed again, holding something out to him. An Oran berry? < Either way, I guess you’re right. Take this, as a token of my apology. I hope you won’t think less of me. You’re not that weird. >


He took the berry tentatively, but when she smiled at him as he settled down again he could feel his guard relax again.


< Thank you very much! > He grinned, though he didn’t eat it just yet. He figured he would hold onto it for a little while yet.


< Y’know, I saw you running around with a human earlier. Do you belong to her? > Well that question took him by surprise.


< Well, it’s not like I’m her property, but she’s my trainer. She’s my friend! > Snubbull gave him another odd look.


< Friend? With someone who looks like you? > she snorted, and Spike tried to shake off the comment again.


< She’s never had a problem with Pokemon that look a little scary. She kind of likes them, actually, > he noted, and Snubbull shook her head.


< Yeah, right. Everybody’s fickle, judges a book by its cover. Pokemon and human alike. > With that, she swiped the berry she’d given him and popped it into her mouth. He frowned again, really not sure what she was getting at. One moment she was acting nice, and the next she was being a huge jerk! Was she speaking from experience?


“N-Not everybody,” came a voice from behind, and both Pokemon turned to see Ai approaching. She’d been letting things play out for a bit, but she almost thought the Snubbull was going to go in for an attack before she stepped in. She was surprised to see how unnecessarily cruel the Pokemon was being; she’d met plenty of Snubbull in her lifetime. Stars adored them because generally, they were real sweethearts and easy to spoil. Even her mom had had one a long time ago. She’d admittedly had a fondness for them ever since. Princess had been one of the sweetest Pokemon she’d ever met, a far cry from the jaded Snubbull before her now.


< And the loyal human arrives right on time! > the Snubbull sneered, < What now, we’re going to fight? You going to force me into one of your little traps now and keep me trapped there forever? >


“No, I don’t really want to fight you. I thought Snubbull were usually pretty friendly and didn’t really like fighting. Do you?” The Snubbull’s silence and inaction at the matter answered the question for her. “I don’t know what the locals or the Pokemon who live around here have been telling you, but you’re not some scary monster.”


< Aren’t I? No matter what I did nobody wanted to play with me. I wasn’t trying to, but I always wind up scaring them all away just by looking at them. I can’t help that this was the face I was born with! Nobody wants me. > The Snubbull looked a little wistful, and Ai realized that maybe she was just lonely, and maybe she’d been mean to Spike because she’d just wanted the initiative in dismissing him before he could dismiss her. That was something Ai could relate to.


With famous parents, people had once expected so much out of her. They’d expected her to take the stage, be a singer, an actor, a musician, something other than the disappointment she was. They’d expected her to blossom into a young beauty like her mother had been, but she was still an awkward bud that refused to open even at her current age of nineteen. Even if she had managed to be good at something, she never would have made it in show biz. No matter how talented the actor, it didn’t matter if their looks didn’t match up with the industry’s standard. And hers definitely didn’t.


“What if I said that I do? That I think you’re cute, and that I want you to come with us?” she asked, and Snubbull just looked stunned. Like she’d never heard those words before in her life. It hit far too close to home.


< W-Well, I’d say that you’re lying just to whisk me away, > she said, trying to act like her composure hadn’t been broken for a moment. Ai stepped closer, kneeling down so that she was closer to eye level with her.


“Believe what you want, but it’s true. I think you’re cute. Adorable. And even if I was lying, would staying get you anywhere? I’m not stupid; you’re obviously miserable here. Would coming along really be much worse?" A deep breath. "…I know how you feel. Nobody wants to be alone.” These were the things she sometimes cried to Spike about late at night when the house was empty or everyone else had gone to bed. It felt like she was picking at a scab for a wound that hadn’t healed in front of a stranger, and she felt exposed. She fished a Pokeball out of her bag before setting it on the ground before Snubbull, whose expression was unreadable now. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide. I won’t force you.”


It was to her great surprise that the Snubbull looked her in the eyes for a few moments, seemingly trying to search for something, before trotting forward a few steps. She closed the gap between herself and the Pokeball, and after giving Ai one more hard look she kicked the button and disappeared inside.