Vali's POV

I have to say, Trinity really knows how to have a good battle.

Before my very eyes, I watched as she went from doubting herself to being so tenacious to the point where she stopped fearing the possibility of losing and just went for it.

And now she has a sassy Ralts on her team. They go well together.

Our trek through Viridian Forest was surprisingly peaceful—no Beedrills attacked us, we didn't run into anymore tribes protected by powerful pokemon. Nothing.

What we did find was a bunch of bug catcher kids who were using Bug-type pokemon. They challenged us to a battle.

The two of them looked the exact same—both had a blue cap, green shirt, and blue shorts. Oh yeah, both were named Joey. The only difference was that both used a different pokemon.

"Metapod! Use Harden," Bug Catcher Joey #1 said.

Metapod, who was an insect-like pokemon that resembled a green chrysalis, stood still for a second, its body gaining a metallic shine. That was it. Harden only raised the defense of the user, making it more durable to attacks. But for weak pokemon like Metapod, it wouldn't really do much.

I sighed, "Ralts, use Disarming Voice."

"Ralts!" she said in a singsong voice, pink energy radiating from her. It slammed into the Metapod, taking it out in one turn. Harden was useful against physical attacks, but it was futile against special attacks like Disarming Voice.

"How did you win?" Bug Catcher Joey #1 asked as he returned Metapod into its pokeball.

"I'm shocked too," I said sarcastically, "it was a tough battle."

I watched Trinity fight Bug Catcher Joey #2, who was using a Kakuna, which was a yellow, insect cocoon-like pokemon that had eyes.

"Kakuna! Harden!" Joey #2 said.

"And, here we go again," I muttered.

Despite the snooze fest of a battle, Trinity looked as determined as ever.

"Alright, Ralts. Use Zen Headbutt!" she ordered.

"Ralts!" he said with fire. He leapt toward the Kakuna with a purple light above his head, bashing it with it.

Kakuna was knocked out instantly.

"What? Kakuna should have had the ultimate defense!" Bug Catcher Joey #2 said.

"Same as Metapod!" Bug Catcher Joey #1 agreed.

Then they looked at us with looks of defeat. "Just you wait! We'll come back stronger!" then they ran away.

I had a funny feeling we were never going to see them again.

"Well, that was something," I said with a deadpan.

"You got to give them credit for trying," Trinity said.

"True."

We returned both Ralts to their pokeball, continuing our journey across Viridian Forest. I was seriously getting tired of this. Being a pokemon trainer was just walking, walking, walking. I wish I had a pokemon to ride on or something. Hell, I would even take Cynthia's Garchomp. Anything!

Well, guess I just had to get used to this. Maybe I should look for a Flying-type pokemon?

Eventually, the sun was nothing but an afterthought as its ghostly reflection replaced it, casting never-ending darkness upon the world.

For some reason, I'd always felt an odd comfort whenever I was in the embrace of the shadows. I remember Cynthia once saying that our family has, for the most part, always had a connection with the shadows, whatever the hell that meant. She never elaborated. Still, I found it annoying that I shared so many traits with her. Why couldn't I look more like my dad?

Anyway, the moon's cool light was a sign that it was time to camp and wrap up our first day.

We found a secluded and safe-looking clearing, before setting up camp.

The two of us made a campfire with sticks and branches we made Pikachu and Eevee cut down. Then Pikachu used Thunder Shock to make a fire.

I was going to start to cook, but Trinity beat me to the punch. She whipped out cooking equipment and got to work without a word. I couldn't do anything but watch as she made food with such fluid movement that I would have thought that she was some master chef or something.

It wasn't clear as to what she was cooking until she was finished. The smell of the curry she made hugged my nose, the smell enough for me to die happy.

When she was done, Trinity let her hair, which she tied back, fall down. "Food's ready," Trinity said.

I forced myself to stop gaping. "Wow, that was fast."

She looked slightly embarrassed, "Yeah, I guess I just started to cook without saying anything."

"But it looks good," I said while my stomach grumbled.

Trinity laughed, "Then go ahead and eat." She passed me a bowl of curry.

I instantly dug in. When I took the first bite, it felt as if my taste buds ascended to heaven. Whoa, this was good! It even rivaled my dad's cooking—and he cooked like a god.

"Seriously, slow down," Trinity said with a small chuckle. In contrast, she was taking small, delicate bites, like a small pokemon.

When I slowed down, I said: "Sorry, this is just so good! Where did you learn how to cook this well?"

Trinity had a proud smile on her face. "Well, my dad is an ex-Gym Leader that became a chef. He taught me everything he knows."

"An ex-Gym Leader? Why did he stop?"

She had a thoughtful look. "I guess he was just tired? I don't know. But all I know is that being a chef is much more enjoyable to him than being a Gym Leader. A new Gym Leader was appointed shortly after. My dad then opened a restaurant, which was how he met my mom."

"Who's your mom?" I asked.

"Do you know about the trainer Lorelei?" Trinity asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, of course. She's one of the Elite Four—" the answer hit me. "Huh?! She's your mom?"

"Yup." Trinity said.

The Elite Four were powerful Pokemon Trainers who were, besides the Champion, the strongest in their respective regions. In order to even get a chance at challenging the Champion, you needed to beat all Elite Four members. Lorelei is the first of the Elite Four in Kanto.

"Does she, like, spend time with you and your family?" I said without thinking, asking the million PokeDollar question.

She looked at me with a questioning glance. "Of course she does. Every second she's not training with her pokemon or assuming her role as an Elite Four member, she's spending it with us—which is most of the time." She raised one eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

I solemnly stopped myself from taking the bite that was about to go into my mouth, then set my bowl down. "Nothing, just curious." I lied. I guess I felt a little bit jealous that Trinity had such a good family. The only person I could call my kin was my dad. My mom almost didn't exist. Even other people with super-important mothers still spent time with said mothers. I wish I could relate.

"Are you alright?" Trinity asked me, her expression slightly worried.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm all good," I tried to put on my usual confident smile, hiding the pain I was feeling.

No, I wasn't mad at Trinity—not at all.

She nodded understandably. "You're not—but I'll give you space anyway."

I sighed with relief. "When we were talking to Gardevoir, what did she mean when she said that your Ralts felt like you?"

Trinity pursed her lips, but didn't refuse to answer. "Well... ever since I was ten, pokemon get scared of me when I come near them. I discovered my misfortune when I first went to Professor Oak's lab to get my first pokemon." She sighed. "He was excited, too. When he gave me the choice of choosing Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur, I chose Charmander. But when it came out of the ball, it took one look at me, and then squirmed away to hide from me. We tried again with Squirtle and Bulbasaur, but no dice."

Her voice cracked slightly, but she recomposed herself. "Professor Oak said something like 'Don't worry, maybe it was just a fluke' or something of the sorts. I was down, but I believed him. Then, flash forward five years later, no pokemon had wanted me as their trainer—all ran away from me. I was starting to doubt myself. I thought that maybe I just wasn't worthy to become a Pokemon Trainer, despite the fact that it was all I've wanted to do."

When she finished, her eyes sunk to the ground.

"Pikachu..." Pikachu, who was on her shoulder, said with a comforting tone.

"And that's what you will do," I said at last.

"Eevee!" Eevee, who was on my shoulder, agreed.

Trinity looked at me, her eyes lighting up slightly.

"It may be a lot to process, but you are a Pokemon Trainer—and there are pokemon that want to be with you—" I motioned to Pikachu and Ralts's pokeball "—they are proof of that."

I chuckled. "Besides, I should be the one saying that I'm not worthy to be a Pokemon Trainer—not when I'd kicked them all away in the past. There is a very big reason for my dislike towards pokemon."

Trinity nodded, 'I still wonder as to why."

"Maybe I'll tell you someday." I sighed. "But what I'm saying is that despite the fact that I had the blessing of being able to get along with pokemon, I chose to blame them for everything—when in reality it was because of one specific person."

I smiled at her reassuringly. "So, don't worry so much now. Things are different. If there are two pokemon that don't run away from you, then what's stopping others from also staying close to you?"

She thought about that for a moment, before a smile slowly spread across her face. "That's right, there is no need to worry. No matter what, I'll assemble the ultimate team," she resolved.

"Exactly. You're my rival, so it won't do if call it quits now."

"You're right."

We shared a smile, feeling better about ourselves.

"You know," Trinity started to say, "you're not as bad as I thought. They should at least try to get to know you and give you a chance instead of judging you so hastily."

I shrugged, "I don't really care about that. Besides, they had a good reason to dislike me; the feeling was mutual. I pushed the ones who tried away. So, it isn't surprising that they don't like me."

"You've been playing the lone wolf this entire time?" Trinity asked with a hint of sympathy.

"Pretty much," I admitted. "Reflecting on it now, I wish I gave them a chance. I was very petty, I'll admit."

"But you aren't alone, you know. You have a super awesome traveling companion that's also the future Champion," Trinity assured with a wry smile.

I laughed softly, "Yeah, sure are." Discarding the sarcasm, I sincerely said: "But I'll keep that in mind."

We were surrounded by a quiet but competitive air as we finished eating our food in silence. Afterwards, Trinity taught me how to make pokemon food by mixing the base (which are kibbles that are crunchy and very tasty for pokemon) with different types of berries that we chopped up into pieces.

I think that we—and by we, I mean Trinity—did a good job, because the pokemon devoured the food like starving Poochyena.

"Eevee!" Eevee cried in pleasure as she stuffed her face with food.

"Pika, Pika!" Pikachu said with an equal amounts of intensity.

"Ralts!" both Ralts exclaimed as they ate. But unlike the other two pokemon, they ate in a slow and methodical manner, savoring the delicious food.

Trinity and I smiled as we watched them enjoy their dinner.

When we finished eating, the two of us took a slow stroll toward the nearest river to wash the cooking equipment. It got super dark when we got back to camp.

Both Ralts were sleeping side-by-side, while Eevee and Pikachu were snuggling against each other in a very adorable manner.

Chuckling, we set down our sleeping bags and laid down in them. We watched the stars for the moment, none of us speaking.

Before our very eyes, two shooting stars flew across the sky, painting the night with a stream of blissful radiance, a brilliant trail following the two stars, leaving behind a hazy current of light.

Trinity broke the silence. "So much has happened in one day, huh?"

"Way too much," I agreed. "Makes me wonder what adventures are in store for us when we open our eyes then next morning."

"Hopefully we don't have too many misadventures."

"Agreed."

My eyelids became heavy, and before I knew it, the long day took a toll on me. I fell asleep instantly.

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The two fledgling trainers had a chat about their pasts, displaying sympathy and kindness toward one another as they show signs of being good friends. With them being so close to Pewter City, who knows what will happen next?

Also, we were given a hint of what may come in the future. One of Vali's odd characteristics were revealed.

And so, the journey continues.