Who Said Pokemon Can't Be Trainers Too?

Chapter Five.

I grabbed my bag as we walked out of the house. I pulled the strap over my head and looked at the sky. It looked like it was about to rain. Either that or it's just extremely early, which I know it's not. I sighed and looked over to Hope as she hopped up onto my bag. 

"Ready?" She asked. I nodded. "Then let's get rolling!" She cheered. I smiled and began to walk. Part of me almost dreaded walking into Aquacorde. I'd bet P721 that that fat hiker is still standing there beside that bridge. We walked into Aquacorde town and down the stairs and sure enough, there he was. You'd think he'd be thinner since he's a hiker? But...how...maybe it's genetics that for some bizarre reason, anyone who declares themselves as a "Hiker" suddenly becomes overweight and has this...creepy look on their face. I wonder if I'm the only one to think of their faces like that... I looked up from my aimless pondering and the hiker was walking towards us, chuckling. 

"Well well well. What do we have here? You actually got yourself a Pokemon, huh?" He asked, still chuckling. "Well color me surprised." 

"Can it, hiker." I snapped. Hope, sensing that I don't like this guy, began to growl softly at him. He laughed. 

"How? How did a Pokemon get to obtain themselves another Pokemon? It just seems illogical to me and well the rest of the fricken world!" He said, still laughing. 

"Hope. Ember." I said silently. Hope looked up at me, surprised. 

"You want me to use Ember against a human?" She asked. I smirked evilly. 

"Just trust me." I whispered. Hope then turned to the Hiker and shot small flames at him. He then screamed in surprise when his clothes lit fire. 

"WHAT IN TARNATION!?" He shouted. Everyone in Aquacorde turned to see what was going on. "SHE LIT ME ON FIRE! SHE USED EMBER ON ME!"

"I'm sorry. I guess it's just as bizarre for a human to be in a Pokemon's place as it is vice versa." I said calmly. "Think about that next time you have a Pokemon battle." I walked past the man cloaked in flames. 

"SCREW YOU PETP!" He shouted at me as he jumped into the river. I stopped. PETP? What does that mean? And why do I have a feeling it's an ironic insult of some sort?

"Chastity? Are you ok?" Asked Hope. I looked down at her and she seemed worried. I smiled softly. 

"Don't worry Hope. I'm fine." I said, petting her head. She smiled back at me. 

"Ok." She said, curling up into a ball on the bag. I continued to walk until I came across the guy standing in front of the Santalune Forest. I nudged Hope. 

"You ready for our first real Pokemon battle?" I asked. She nodded. I walked up to the guy and tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to face me. 

"What the-"

"When two trainers' eyes meet that means that they have to have a Pokemon battle, right?" I asked. 

"Yeah but you're just a-"

"Pokemon trainer who wants to battle!" I said, cutting him off. His eyes lit up. 

"Alright! Show me what you've got!" He said, pulling out one of his Pokeballs. 

I smiled and ran over to the other side of the path. "Go Zigzagoon!" He called out as he threw his Pokeball high into the air. It opened and in a flash of white light, a level 5 Zigzagoon appeared on the ground. I thrust my right arm forward. 

"Hope, I choose you!" I called. Hope hopped off my bag and onto the ground. 

"OK!" She cheered. The trainer smiled.

"Zigzagoon, use tackle!" He called. 

"Hope, dodge and use Ember!" I called. The Zigzagoon ran forward and pounced towards Hope. She hopped out of the way and spewed small flames at him, hitting him. "Alright! Good job Hope!" I cheered. 

"Zigzagoon, growl!" the opposing trainer called. 

"Hope, Ember again!" I called. The Zigzagoon turned to Hope and growled at her. I wonder what that was supposed to accomplish... Hope spewed some more small flames at the Zigzagoon, causing him to faint. "Yeah! Critical hit!" I cheered. Hope hopped up and down and came back to me. The trainer sighed and called back his Zigzagoon. 

"Alright. You won. Congrats. Here's your money." He said, handing me P275. I took it from him and smiled. 

"Thank you." I said. "What's your name?" 

"Austin. Youngster Austin." He replied. 

"Nice having a battle with you Austin. I'm Chastity." I said with a smile. 

"So what's your deal?" He asked. 

"Well, I'm just a Gardevoir who wanted to be a trainer and is determined to fulfill that dream." I replied. 

"Oh that's pretty cool." Said Austin. "Well, good luck to you. Here's what I reccomend you don't do. Stand in one spot for days on end waiting for days on end for someone to walk by." We chuckled. 

"Oh yeah? Then why do you do it?" I asked. 

"You can meet some pretty interesting people. You never know, you might end up battling the guy who saves the world or the next Champion." He explained. I giggled. 

"Yeah. That must be cool. Well, good luck with your standing." I said, starting to walk away. 

"Good luck with being a legit trainer." Said Austin, waving us goodbye. I smiled as we walked into the woods. 

"That was fun, huh Hope?" I said. 

"It was only four attacks but yeah!" She cheered. "It was loads of fun and I can't wait to do it again!"

"Yeah!" I cheered, stepping into the tall grass.  We walked through the tall grass and I felt something brush up against my leg. I looked down and a Pikachu stared back up at me. "Hello." I said. He blinked. I reached into my bag. "I'm going to be a Pokemon master," I pulled a Premier ball out of my bag. "you wanna join me?" He blinked and reached up. I held the ball in front of him. He pressed the button and went into the ball. The ball shook once, twice, three times and click. 

"Well that was easy." Said Hope. I nodded and put the ball on my belt with Hope's, walking towards the exit. 

"Yeah." I said. "Come on. We're almost to Santalune City." Hope nodded. 

"And to Viola's gym." said Hope. A woman was waiting for me at the exit. 

"Excuse me, but are you the Gardevoir who wants to be the next Kalos Champion?" She asked. I stared at her. 

"Uh, yeah. Why?" I asked. 

"I'm a reporter from the Pokemon news and we've heard alot about you. I'd like to ask you a few questions." She said, thrusting her microphone in my face. I glared at her and pushed her mic away. 

"I'm sorry, but I really don't want to be interviewed." I said, walking out of the woods without a word.