I confess: I'm one of those Pokémon fans who make up their own personality for a player character (who is essentially a blank slate), including names and history and stuff and I tend to stick that into the game-universe half of the time. And if I had to pair up people with one of my versions of Hilda from BW, one of the choices would be Austin, a trainer you get to ride with on the Rondez-View Ferris wheel in the postgame during the summer who is known to have issues with riding it. And SummerHopeShipping artwork tends to be hilarious and cute at the same time to me…
Disclaimer: I don't own the Pokémon series. I only own this fic.
Summary: It was nice to meet someone else who was trying hard to conquer their fears, and even better to meet someone who didn't laugh at his.
X-X-X
Ace trainers like him were supposed to look cool 24/7, and Austin felt like he was cool enough to do just that. Well, he could be cool enough if he didn't have one thing stopping him: a phobia. A fear of heights, to be precise. Who wouldn't be afraid of being several feet off the ground, so high up that a fall could kill you in a messy way? But it was still irrational for an ace Pokémon trainer to be worried about falls, he thought. Especially when the way to the Unova Pokémon League was filled with high, twisting paths through the mountains to the north. So Austin made a resolution: for the sake of making it into the hall of fame like his parents and sister before him, he would get over his fear the summer before he challenged the Elite Four and the league champ.
When his effort to have his Swoobat fly him around ended in them getting scratches and bruises due to his flailing and panicking, Austin decided that he would try a safer method. The Ferris wheel at Nimbasa City should've done the trick. The only downside was that it was mandatory to ride with other people. Eight times Austin rode on the Ferris wheel, and each of those eight times, he broke down. The first couple of times, he screamed bloody murder and then fainted. A few rides after that had him only fainting—progress in his eyes, at least. The most recent rides had him throwing up when he dared to look out the window for once. Each ride ended with people dragging him out of the gondola, likely thinking very little of him. It all made Austin feel like no progress was made.
On his ninth day, he wound up riding with a girl a few years younger than him named White. The ride with her turned out like most of his trips on the Ferris wheel had: with him panicking and hyperventilating the moment he looked out the window. And just like all the previous times, he found himself relying on the person he was riding with for help. That White girl wound up dragging his half-conscious body over to a bench when the ride was done, giving him water to drink and making sure he didn't fall over throwing up.
"Acrophobia?" She asked suddenly after Austin collapsed onto a bench and buried his face into his hands. He peeked in-between his fingers to stare at the brunette girl. "Uh… You're afraid of heights, aren't you?" Austin paused for a few seconds, wondering if he should answer or not when he realized the cat was already out of the bag, so he nodded. "If you don't mind my asking, why go on a Ferris wheel if you know you're going to throw up?"
"It's…the easiest way to get over my…fear." The word sounded unnatural on his tongue. So vile! An ace trainer should only fear defeat, not being high up from the ground!
"Oh, so exposure therapy." White sat down next to him, looking wistful. "I can understand. I'm doing something similar."
"Huh? Y-you're afraid of heights, too?"
"No… If you promise not to laugh, I'll tell you." Austin nodded. "I'm afraid of…Pokémon. Even something as harmless as a Magikarp makes me wanna faint…" The ace trainer stared in confusion. "I'm traveling to get over my fear of them, catching all the Pokémon I can so I can get used to them. To be honest, I wouldn't have made it this far without people constantly pushing me to do things…but you're taking on your fear without someone at your side. I'm impressed and…kind of jealous."
Austin felt his cheeks heat up and sat up straight. "Uh, really?! Thanks! But in comparison, your fear has gotta be a lot harder to get over than mine…" All he was doing was sitting on a Ferris wheel. This girl, though, was traveling to different places and exposing herself to several different kinds of danger.
"Maybe, but the fact that you can just dive in on your own like that is admirable. It makes you look all cool and stuff," White said with a smile.
Austin's blush grew darker and he gulped. "You…you think I'm cool?" He quickly regained his cool, though he continued to blush. "Well, it wouldn't do for an ace trainer to freeze up when they're a couple of feet off the ground!"
"No, it wouldn't." They sat in silence, her staring out into space in thought and him staring at her. "…Well, see ya. It was nice meeting you."
Austin watched as White got up and began to leave. "W-wait a minute!" She looked over her shoulder at him and shot a questioning look. The ace trainer began to blush and scratched his head. "Um… If you've got the time, m-maybe you could ride with me again tomorrow?"
"Actually, I'm not gonna be in Nimbasa for long."
"O-oh…" He wasn't sure why he felt disappointed. It may have been because he liked knowing there was someone out there like him: someone who was trying to overcome their fears and didn't mock him for his own. But it made sense, though. It wouldn't do to keep her from overcoming her own fears and attending to her own business.
White smiled brightly at him. "But I'm sure you'll be able to get over your fears soon! Much quicker than me!"
And then she left, waving goodbye, and Austin found himself willing to ride for a second time that day, feeling more confidence as well as a fuzzy feeling in the middle of his chest.