Looking for a Pokémon to capture was harder than he thought. He had some of the local trainers help him, but none of them had any luck helping him catch a Pokémon. Most of the poochyena in the area ran away before he could capture them. After half hour of searching, he decided that he needed to borrow a Pokémon from his mother. He thought that if she let him take Chansey , he would be able to catch a Pokémon easier. Just as he was heading home, he heard what sounded like a group of Pokémon talking amongst themselves. He moved aside the shrubbery that obstructed his view of them. They appeared to be small, alien-like Pokémon with what appeared to be horns on their heads. They looked as if they were wearing green caps, and their eyes were jewel red. They had gathered in a circle and were speaking softly to eachother. Ray opened up his Pokédex and it informed him of the Pokémon he was observing.
"Ralts, the feeling Pokemon," it said, "Ralts senses the emotions of people using the horns on its head. This Pokémon rarely appears before people, but when it does, it draws closer if it senses that person has a positive disposition. If its trainer is happy, it grows cheerful and joyous in the same way, and likewise, hides if it senses hostility."
"That's pretty cool; now let's see if I can—huh?" Ray thought to himself. The sound of the Pokédex had alerted the Ralts' of his presence. They stared off in his direction. Ray then noticed that the Ralts in the center of the group was blue instead of green. He thought it was sick, and tried to approach them. He showed himself, causing them all to take a step back. It seemed that they were just as nervous as he was. He remembered what his Pokédex said before, and tried to calm himself. He tripped over a stone embedded in the ground, causing the most of the group to flee. The blue Ralts from the center tripped however, and Ray had landed hard on the ground beside it. He groaned in a bit of pain, and caught his breath quickly to avoid startling the remaining Ralts, who also calmed itself. "Hey, are you—ugh…are you ok?" he said softly, "you're not sick are you?" The Ralts tilted its head curiously and pushed on his shoulder. He rolled himself on to his belly, his bag of beef jerky slipping out through the side pocket of his backpack. "Oh, my jerky!" he exclaimed. As he was about to slide it back into his backpack, he noticed the curious Ralts staring up at him as he rose to his knees. He felt a little strange, as if he were being studied by the Ralts beside him. Ray got up after a moment and told the Ralts that he was off to capture a Pokémon to become a real trainer. Just before leaving it, he set a piece of beef jerky onto the ground and waved it good-bye.
He walked up route 102 casually, his knee a bit bruised from his fall earlier. He thought for sure that his mother would lend him Chansey for a little while. He began to run excitedly as the city came into view. Once there, he walked around the main road toward the Pokémon center. As he entered, he found his mother treating the wounds of her Pokémon, Chansey. She apparently slipped off of a step stool and hit her head on the counter top. "Mom, what happened to Chansey?" Ray asked curiously. "Oh my," she replied, "She hit her head pretty hard. But she will be ok, I'm sure." Ray snapped his fingers in disdain. He knew Chansey wouldn't want to battle a wild Pokémon in that condition. "Mom?" he asked, "Do you have a Pokémon I can borrow?" "I'm afraid not, she replied, I need Chansey here at the center."
Ray was at a loss. He didn't know how he would catch a Pokémon without weakening it first, and had no Pokémon to help him catch one to begin with. He leaned over the counter and put his head down. He sighed heavily, planning his next move. The Pokemon center doors slid open behind him, and a lone Pokémon wandered in. It sidled up beside Ray, chewing a tough piece of beef jerky. It stared up at him curiously. Chansey looked around the counter, and greeted the small Pokémon beside Ray's leg. "Chan-sey! Chan-sey!" she yelled out. Nurse Joy looked around, and eyed the small Pokémon beside her son's foot as well, and giggled a bit. "Ray, it looks like you have a visitor!" she said somewhat surprised. Ray looked over his shoulder, but saw no one there. He looked all around the room, until he felt a playful tug on his pant-leg. To his surprise, it was the Ralts from before. He lifted it and set it on the counter. "Did you follow me all the way here, Ralts?" he asked it, somewhat amused with it. It nodded playfully and growled at him. "Hey mom, can you check out this Ralts and tell me if it's sick?" he asked, "It isn't supposed to be blue." His mom nodded, and Chansey took it in for examination. After a half hour of waiting, Ralts came out of the examination room just fine. It seemed content, almost thankful that it was examined for abnormalities. Its jewel red eyes met Ray's, and they shared a smile. "Well Ray, it is just fine, and it is in perfect health," said Nurse Joy. "It is also female, and gentle natured." "Wait just a sec, how are you sure it's female?" he asked somewhat surprised. His Mother explained to him that Pokémon can understand eachother through speech. Chansey had simply asked it its gender, and then gave Nurse Joy the symbol for female. They shared a laugh, but Nurse Joy broke the laughter suddenly, with an excited look on her face. She told Ray to stay put, and made her way to the storage room in the Pokémon center. After Rummaging through a few old boxes, she came across a small machine. Hurrying to the counter, she presented it to Ralts.
"Mom, what is that old thing?" Ray asked. "It's a Technical Machine or TM for short," she replied. "It is an old Version of TM30, Teleport. Since Ralts is a psychic-type Pokemon, I'm sure she can learn teleport with this machine." "So…," Ray replied, "TM's teach Pokémon new moves. How does it do that?"
Nurse Joy took Ralts' tiny hand, and placed it on the center of the disk-like machine. The borders spun, and spun, and eventually, a sort of sparkle emerged from it onto Ralts. Then, it stopped suddenly, appearing worn down even further. It almost looked completely broken.
"Teleport will let Ralts return you guys to any place you've visited before," said Nurse Joy almost tearfully, "…Please Ray, Use it to come home every now and then. Use it to keep yourselves safe…" Ray nodded, and looked to Ralts. They nodded, and shared a laugh before finally leaving the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy watched her son head off toward route 104. Ralts refused to sit in a Pokéball, which was fine by Ray because he enjoyed the company. With his dream fulfilled, he set out of Petalburg City with his new friend Ralts. They stopped at the beach en route, and watched the waves as Ray planned ahead. Where to go first? How would they get there? And would it be too difficult? With Ralts by his side, he felt new confidence.
Without looking back, he headed north toward the woods.
