The New Kid in Town

It was a usual morning in Treasure Town. Pokémon bustling about, different Exploration Teams grouped together discussing their daily mission. The summer warmth, however, did contrast a bit with the dark clouds covering the sky. The gloomy gray sky didn't seem to bother anyone, especially not Cristy. The young Eevee smiled broadly, stretching her arms above her head. "Ah, a real nice day today!" The girl shouted to no one in particular.
"R-really? It seems kinda c-cloudy..." a quiet voice said. Cristy looked over her shoulder, the fluffy white fur around her shirt collar tickling her chin. Exiting Wigglytuff's Guild tent was her partner Vince. The Shinx glanced up at the sky. "Yeah, that's the best part!" Cristy exclaimed, pivoting on her heels to face the boy.
"It's nice and warm, but there's no sun to get in your eyes!" She said, her long brown ears twitching in the breeze.
Vince looked at the excited Eevee, "Well I l-like the sun..." he mumbled.
Cristy grinned, "I can see that." She chirped. Reaching out, she cupped the Shinx's face with both of her hands. "You got that sun kissed plainsman look going on." The Eevee said, examining her partner's tan face. Vince blushed heavily, his emerald eyes darting to the left. His black tail curling around his leg as he bit his lip nervously. Cristy had to fight back a squeal as she smiled at her adorable teammate. After gently slapping his cheeks, Cristy turned and skipped down the stairs leading to Treasure Town. Vince gathered up his briefly lost confidence and followed after the Eevee. Cristy stood at the base of the stone staircase, slowly walking forward once Vince reached her side. Once the duo entered town, their attention was caught by a large crowd of Pokémon in the center of town. They stood in a circle, cheering at whatever was inside their ring. Cristy approached the Kecleon Shop. The Kecleon brothers that owned the store were also fixated on the events in the square.
"What's going on over there?" Cristy asked. The brothers turned to face Cristy in unison.
"Oh Cristy and Vince! Apparently there's a fight happening in the town square." The green clad Kecleon explained.
"A fight!?" Vince said, his voice laced with concern.
"Oh no, it's not like that. It's a friendly gamble fight." The other purple Kecleon said. Cristy raised an eyebrow, "Let's check it out Vince." She said, jogging towards the crowd.
"Everyone back up!" Someone shouted. The group simultaneously took backed away several feet. Cristy grabbed Vince's wrist as she pushed her way to the front of the crowd. She finally got herself a good view of the ring, and she observed the situation.
Two Pokémon stood across from each other. Cristy recognized the male Snivy with a green sleeveless vest as Finn, a very rude Guild Member. The other Pokémon was a stranger. Judging by the blue paddle like tail and purple antennae sticking out the side of her head, she appeared to be a Wooper. She was much smaller and thinner than her opponent, dressed in a old white tank top and burlap pants that were clearly too big for her. Short cut, bright sky blue hair stuck out from underneath a camouflage bandana wrapped around her head.
"You sure you wanna do this kid?" Finn smirked. "I wouldn't feel good taking money from a baby."
"Neither would I, but here I am." The Wooper grinned back. Cristy could hear the crowd murmuring 'oooooh!'
Finn glared at the girl. "Fine then, I'll just go first." He said before two vines emerged from his shoulders. With one swift movement, Finn shot his Vine Whip forward towards the Wooper. His opponent retaliated by holding up her arms, causing the vines to wrap around them. Cristy was surprised at this sudden and rather stupid move, now she was vulnerable. Finn grinned, knowing he had sealed this victory.
Suddenly, the girl grabbed a vine in each hand. Lifting her arms above her head, and snapping them down with surprising strength. The sudden whiplash caused Finn's vines to smack him in the face. He instinctively retracted the whips to rub his face as the Wooper rushed forward. A ball of mud formed in her hand, and sweeping her arm out in front of her, she summoned five more. While Finn was distracted by his bruised face, she launched all six Mud Shots at him. A cloud of dust surrounded the Snivy, as the girl stood on guard. Suddenly, a storm of Razor Leaves shot out from the dust. The Wooper fell to her back by the sudden super effective attack. Finn leaped out of the dust, the leaf on the end of his tail glowing. The girl was still recovering from the previous attack as Finn descended upon her with a Leaf Blade attack. The Wooper regained her senses and flipped backwards onto her feet just before Finn collided with the ground. Another dust cloud formed around the Snivy. Angrily, he whipped his vines around to clear the dust. Once he did, Wooper charged right at him. Before Finn could react, she fired a Mud Shot at point blank. Finn stumbled back, wiping the mud off. He regained vision only to see his opponent standing right in from of him, fist glowing with a Slam attack. The Wooper swiftly clocked Finn in the gut, then the face, and finished it off with a tail slap. The Snivy fell, raising his hands in a sign of surrender.
The entire audience cheered loudly for the victor, even Vince clapped for the girl. Finn groaned, trying to stand. The Wooper walked over and offered out a hand.
"Great Fighting!" She said with a warm smile. Finn scowled, picking himself up.
"Yeah yeah, here's your money." He growled, digging some coins out of his pocket and handing them to the Wooper. She looked at the coins for a moment, then jogged over to the crowd. The audience stepped out of her way as she approached the Kecleon store. Then she ran back to Finn with a big blue Oran Berry in her hand.
"Here. I'm not gonna leave ya all bruised up." She said.
Cristy cocked her head to the side. Sure this gesture was kind, but wasn't she also covered in cuts from the Razor Leaf attack?
Finn stared at the Berry before glaring at the Wooper. "I don't need your consolation." He muttered before walking away.
The Wooper looked after him, then shrugged before taking a bite from the Berry. "Hey!" She shouted, looking at the crowd. "Name's Winnie. Anyone else wanna fight?"
Several other Pokémon walked up to her with challenges, and the crowd started up conversations.
Cristy stared at Winnie, very curious about this impressive little Wooper.
"She w-was pretty g-good." Vince said from beside her. Cristy didn't respond; instead she walked up to the group of fighters.
"Excuse me, Winnie?" Cristy asked once she reached the girl.
"Hm?" She said, looking up at the Eevee.
Cristy was surprised by how small Winnie really was. Her round head seemed too big for her body; however, maybe that was because the rest of her body was frighteningly thin and bony. Her hair and skin looked as filthy as the clothes she wore. Her voice slightly raspy. And most concerning, her nose, knuckles, feet, and the front of her bandana were all stained red. Cristy forgot what she wanted to say and instead started to worry about this strange girl.
"First of all, I'm Cristy, second, I think it would be better if you take your fights down to the beach. It's not exactly safe to battle in the middle of town." Cristy said.
Winnie blinked with her big blue eyes. "Oh! Right that makes sense. Don't wanna hurt nobody!" She chuckled, turning towards the beach.
Cristy placed a hand on Winnie's shoulder. "Also, is it ok if I ask you a few questions before you go?"
Winnie puffed out her cheeks in thought. "Alright, if ya want." She said, looking at the crowd around her. "I'll be right back guys!" She shouted. The crowd groaned, but respectively dispersed.
"Alright, follow me and we can talk in private." Cristy said as she walked towards the town entrance. "Vince, go stock up. I'll be right back." She whispered to Vince as she passed. He nodded and made his way to Kecleon's shop. Cristy looked back to see if Winnie was following her. She was, but her demeanor had changed. Winnie walked a good arms length behind Cristy, her eyes vigilant. Her body was tense like a spring behind held down, ready to leap at the slightest movement. The two exited the town and Cristy turned to face the small Pokémon.
"So whaddya want Cristy?" Winnie asked, crossing her arms.
"I'm just curious why someone like you is here." Cristy replied.
Winnie raised an eyebrow, "I'm just traveling. Lookin' to join an Exploration Team." She said, her smile slowly returning.
"Really? Aren't you a little young?" Cristy asked.
Winnie puffed out her cheeks. "I'm not that young! I'm just short and flat!" She huffed.
"Ah, that explains why you're such a capable fighter." Cristy said. "Who trained you?"
"Nobody." Winnie replied. "I taught myself."
Cristy's eyes widened. "Wow, I just assumed from your technique that maybe your parents taught you or something." She said. "You have great reflexes for someone self taught."
Winnie's face became grim at the mention of parents. "Yeah... thanks." She mumbled, looking down.
Cristy felt a pang of guilt go through her heart. She definitely hit a nerve. "Sorry for all the questions..." she said. "Hey, I'm on an Exploration Team here at Wigglytuff's Guild. I can put in a good word for ya if you wanna join." Cristy said, crouching down to Winnie's eye level.
Winnie's eyes widened. "Really!?" She squealed, a big smile spreading across her face.
"Mmhmm. I'll tell them I met this awesome chick who wants to join a team." Cristy said, patting her head.
Winnie giggled and threw her arms around Cristy. "Thank you thank you thank you! You're the best Cristy!" She said, squeezing the Eevee.
Cristy hugged the girl back, her smile fading once she felt her thin frame.
"I gotta go. I'll see if I can convince the Guild to let you in." Cristy said standing up.
"Thank you again Cristy. I'll see ya later ok? It's nice to have someone to talk to." Winnie said as she ran towards the beach. She looked back and waved excitedly before disappearing into the cove.
Cristy waved back, thinking of ways she could help this strange girl. It was in the Eevee's nature to want to help others, but Winnie caused her heart to melt. Maybe it was her surprising strength? Her cuteness? Or the fact that she kept a smile on her face when she's clearly in terrible condition.
"What are you gawking at?" A low voice snapped Cristy back to reality. She turned to see her other teammate that worked with Vince and her. He was a tall, sharply dressed Butterfree. His face showed clear annoyance at his teammate, but it was always like that.
"Oh nothing Lance. Just thinking." Cristy said.
"Well, did you just leave Vince alone to stare into space?" Lance scowled. "He's barely capable of doing anything when he's with someone; I'd hate to see what happens when you leave him alone."
Cristy rolled her eyes at Lance's complaining. It was amazing how far he'd go to act like he doesn't care about people. "Now now, I know you're worried about your boyfriend but there's no need to be hostile." She smirked as Lance's face reddened. He hid his face under the yellow scarf around his neck and muttered rather unpleasant things under his breath. Cristy held back a giggle as she walked back towards town. "C'mon, he's probably getting worried." She said to Lance, who followed her to Kecleon's Shop. Vince stood outside the store. He smiled seeing his teammates and waved as the three grouped up.

Several hours later, Winnie was walking up from the beach. She shook the sand out of her clothes and hair as she sat behind a rock.
"W-wait Cristy! Are you sure about this!?" A voice caught Winnie's attention, and she peeked out from behind her rock. Standing in the crossroads, she saw Cristy with two other Pokémon. A Shinx and a Butterfree
"Yes I'm sure Vince. This Water Float thing clearly means a lot to Marill and Azurill. So as good friends, we're gonna go to the Amp Plains and find it!" Cristy said walking down the path with the bored looking Butterfree.
"B-but..." the Shinx stuttered, visibly shaking as he followed the others.
"Amp Plains...?" Winnie said to herself. "Isn't that the place with that territorial tribe of Luxray?" The Wooper stood up and trailed after the Shinx. "Wait... that Shinx... he looks just like the Amp Plains Shinxs!" She said under her breath, ducking into the underbrush. "He must be a spy! Or he's leading them into a trap!" Winnie muttered.
"I gotta go make sure Cristy doesn't get hurt." She said, staying hidden so Cristy wouldn't send her back to town.
Vince's ears twitched as he looked towards the brush on the side of the road. A moment of silence passed before he continued on with his team towards Amp Plains. Unaware a secret fourth member was following them, but that's not the only secret to be revealed on this expedition.