Not much happened in the region of Ailateh. At least, not recently. It wasn't boring, exactly. The tranquil valleys in the east, snow tipped mountains in the north and the sunny southern islands attracted Pokémon from all over the world, and made this and its history made it quite a famous area for holidays. However, its popularity with Pokémon Trainers had been in a steady decline ever since the death of the eighth Gym Leader.

Most asked why they couldn't just appoint a new Gym Leader, and this probably would have been acceptable in any other region. But in the Ailateh region, it had always been tradition for Pokémon Gyms to be passed down through families. It just so happened that this particular Gym Leader's only living relatives were his two grandsons, who were both much too young to take over the Gym.

That's fine, everyone thought. All they had to do was wait for one of them to grow up. They would go on their journey once they reached the age of ten, as all trainers did, and when they were strong enough they could take their grandfather's place. Simple.

But it wasn't simple. When he reached the right age, many people thought that Feliciano Vargas would jump at the chance to get his own Pokémon and follow in his grandfather's footsteps. Except… well, just looking at the boy brought some pretty obvious problem to light. He was a weak pacifist and was scared too easily. The only result gained from making Feliciano confront a Pokémon was him fleeing before anything even happened. He loved eating, sleeping and painting above all else, and he was pretty much unambitious. It seemed like he had absolutely no desire to take over his grandfather's Gym.

That's fine, everyone thought. They could put off the journey for a year or so. Feliciano would surely begin dreaming of adventure and becoming a great Trainer eventually, just like all kids his age. They just had to wait…

This year, however, soon turned into another year… and another… and another… By the time Feliciano was sixteen, he still had no plans to leave his home.

At this point, everyone had given up. Although the Vargas family was famous for its strong Trainers in the past, Feliciano must have been the exception. The Pokémon Gym now lay abandoned and neglected from lack of use. It was practically hazardous to enter due to rotting and fallen floorboards, and it had become a haven for Ghost type Pokémon over the past few years, especially Ghastly.

Trainers grew uninterested with Ailateh. After all, they couldn't fight the Elite Four of that region without all eight Gym Badges. That didn't mean it was devoid of Trainers, of course. The abundant amount of Pokémon was still quite appealing, and they could always battle with each other. The remaining Gym Leaders were still around, but the practically non-existent battles had made them all extremely relaxed, maybe even lazy.

It was on his eighteenth birthday, about a year after he had accidently caught his own Pokémon, that Feliciano finally realised he had to do something. No one was sure what had caused this change, not even Feliciano himself. It was as if the Gym had been calling to him, beckoning him to become a real Trainer and make his late grandfather proud.

He was now staring at the dilapidated building, his face forming an oddly serious expression. It had been a few months since his decision and it was now finally time. His eight year late journey would begin in the morning.

But, of course, he wouldn't be leaving alone. A little while ago, a loud and energetic Pokémon Ranger named Alfred had arrived at the small town. He and Feliciano became fast friends, and when the latter explained his dream of becoming the next eighth Gym Leader Alfred eagerly declared he would help him. They would travel together, a relief to those who were worried about Feliciano.

With a deep breath and the sun setting in the west, Feliciano neared the looming Gym.

The old door groaned in protest as he tried to push it open, releasing a cloud of dust when it finally gave in and let him inside. Feliciano frowned at the gloom. He could remember the building being full of life when his grandfather owned it, but now it was deathly silent. Even the Pokémon were oddly quiet. Feliciano couldn't help but feel a little sad as he examined his surroundings.

"That's why I'm here, though," Feliciano said to no one. "I'm going to become a strong trainer and make Grandpa proud. Then I'll be able to fix this place up and make it just like how it was when I was little."

Feliciano smiled to himself, clasping his hands together and swaying on the balls of his feet. But then he paused, remembering his reason for entering this desolate building, and slipped a hand into the bag hanging from his shoulder. A Poké Ball was pulled out and he tossed it into the air.

After the expected flash of light faded, a confused looking Ralts was revealed. She looked around the surrounding area, then up at her trainer, and then turned back to the old Gym.

"Okay, Ralts!" Feliciano said cheerfully. "As you know, we leave tomorrow. But I was thinking this morning, and I realised we haven't really had any experience with battling." He pouted. "That's no good! We're probably going to have to fight lots and lots of trainers after tomorrow, so I thought it'd be good if we started practicing. I know that a lot of Ghastly live here, and I also know Psychic types attacks are strong against Ghost types! …But I guess it's the same in reverse too, huh? Um, like I was saying, if we do a little battling now, we'll be much more prepared with any trainers want to fight us! What do you think?"

The noise Ralts made sounded more annoyed than anything. She shuffled past Feliciano, towards the door, only stopping to tug on the boy's trousers.

"I-I know it's getting late, but it's around this time that the Ghost Pokémon come out! Well… actually, I guess they usually come out much later than this, but it'd be really dark and scary and Alfred wouldn't want to come with me 'cause he's scared of Ghost types…" Feliciano went down to his knees and scooped the small Pokémon into his arms. "Listen," he said, now standing again, "I promise you we can go to bed straight after this. I'll even make you some pasta if you want."

With this said, Ralts seemed a little more content. She snuggled into Feliciano's shirt.

"Yay~," Feliciano sang, practically skipping further into the Gym. However, the creaks and groans of the building and the distant cries of various Pokémon eventually dropped his good mood, and he skidded to a halt with a shiver. He suddenly remembered what all the grown-ups had always told him about this Gym, about the floorboards being weak and able to collapse at any moment, that a lot of the Pokémon were territorial and could attack easily, how there had been rumours of shady people lurking around…

"Ve… Okay, m-maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

And then he screamed. Although lightly, something had bumped into his back.

Feliciano immediately spun around, clutching Ralts to his chest. He relaxed, however, when he saw what it was. A Ghastly floated in front of him, obviously very happy with the reaction it caused.

"Oh, y-you scared me…" Feliciano sighed. At least it was just a Ghastly. They were known for just pranking people. Its evolutionary forms were usually considered more malicious though.

Wait a minute… This is what he wanted!

"Quick, Ralts!" Feliciano placed his Pokémon on the ground, who grumbled in response. He tried to shift into a more battle ready stance. "Use, um, u-use Confusion!"

Although obviously reluctant, Ralts complied with his order. The Ghastly was thrown back by the telekinetic attack and hit the ground.

"Good!" Feliciano cheered. For the briefest of moments, he forgot about giving any other commands to his Pokémon. That was all it took.

The Ghastly glared up at Ralts and her trainer. As it floated back to its original height, a dark ball slowly formed in front of it.

Ralts didn't have time to dodge when this ball was fired at her. She went flying and collided with Feliciano, who fell back due to the sheer force of the impact.

He groaned and attempted to sit up. Ralts was sprawled out on his chest, bruised but trying desperately to get up too.

Only one hit? Feliciano hugged the smaller Pokémon. "It's okay, Ralts, you don't have to fight anymore. I knew this was a bad idea… But, i-it's okay! The whole reason we're leaving tomorrow is to get stronger, right? You'll be winning loads of battles in no time!"

He had completely forgotten about the Ghastly and paled slightly when he eventually looked up. More and more of the Ghost type Pokémon were appearing, acting as reinforcements to their injured friend. It seemed like every Ghastly in the building had materialised in front of the Trainer, and even one or two Haunter had emerged. Oh, and they all looked very angry.

"Oh, I-I-!" Felicano shuffled back, holding the injured Ralts a little tighter as they neared. "Um, I was, I mean, I didn't-!" He whimpered. "H-h-help!"

Something leaped in front of him, and then a blinding light filled the room. Feliciano shielded his eyes, but he could hear the sound of the Ghastly crying out in alarm.

He peered from behind his fingers when the light died down enough and felt his mouth fall open. A majestic and proud looking Luxray stood in front of him, staring at Feliciano with some kind of bored expression.

Footsteps sounded from behind the Electric type Pokémon.

"Are you all right?" someone asked. The voice sounded gruff and had an accent Feliciano couldn't place.

"Oh!" Feliciano stood, sparing his Ralts a quick concerned look. "Yes, I-I'm fine!" He tried to get a better look at his saviour, but it was too dark to see properly and he was still partially blinded by the Luxray's attack. All he could tell was that the man standing behind the Pokémon seemed rather large and muscular. "Th-thank you so much! We were really in trouble there!"

For the next few seconds, there was only silence as the stranger regarded Feliciano.

"…Why are you here?" the man asked suddenly. His tone suddenly seemed colder.

"I…" Ralts squirmed in his arms. Feliciano tried to smile. "Well, I kind of own this Gym, so technically I should be the one, um… asking… you…" He trailed off. Even if he had saved him, Feliciano didn't like the way the man was staring at him.

Ralts gave a weak cry.

"Oh, Ralts! I-I've got to take you home." Feliciano looked to the stranger apologetically. "Um, I've got to go; my Ralts is really hurt… Um, thanks again! See you around!" He darted past the man, briefly taking in the details of blond hair and blue eyes. Even after he escaped the building he did not stop.

Who was that man? Feliciano was grateful, sure, but he had seemed kind of scary…

All he knew was that he wasn't going to stop running until he made it home.

-Chapter end.

So, this is the first chapter of this Pokemon Trainer Hetalia AU! XD This was more of a jokey idea at first, but then I mentioned it to two of my friends and they both loved the idea, and I was discussing it a lot with one of them and they really wanted me to write it… So now I have another story to work on XD I hope you're happy, Emma XD

The main characters in this fic will be Feliciano, Ludwig, Alfred and Arthur :) I'm not sure if there's going to be pairings or if it'll just be some kind of bromance, but you can probably tell what pairings there would be from those characters, huh? XD

Just so you all know, Alfred is a Pokémon Ranger in this fic :) I'm actually surprised I haven't seen more Pokemon/Hetalia crossover fics like that, really o_O It seems like such an Alfred job to have XD

Well, I hope this is okay :) Please review and tell me what you think ^_^