II

It was eight o' clock when I left from the Gramnes residence, much later than I had originally wanted to leave, but my parents usually wake around nine. All is well until they discover I'm missing.

Stomach rumbling as I pass the Pokémart, I realize that I have not yet eaten this morning. I enter and am captivated by the wide assortment of products available. Shelves packed to the brim with tantalizing goodies and colorful Pokémon related items fill my vision and cloud my judgment of what I need and want. I pace the store isles and inspect each item until I lose my sense of time completely, and I end up purchasing a bag of blueberry bagels, a reusable waterbottle which I fill up at the Pokécenter, a Pokémon trainer's bag, and an array of Pokémon healing potions.

I head to the back of town and sit down under the canopy of a wall of trees. Beginning to eat my breakfast, I remove everything from my overnight bag and begin packing it into my new very expensive leather Trainer Bag—more of a backpack, really. Seeing as though I'm going to be away for a while, a Trainer Bag is essential because of its Pokéball technology in the main pouch, which basically fits anything that you can stuff though the lip of the bag. The three pockets on the front and both sides of the bag aren't manufactured with the same magic, but they're still just as useful. I begin clipping the five empty Pokéballs that Trenton's grandfather had given me periodically along the leather keychain hooked around the side, placing the Pokéball of my companion on the first slot.

I feel the faint warmth emanating from the sphere, letting me know that inside resides a living being with so much potential and power. The Pokémon I worked so hard for, saving up my money for years upon years because of my parent's reluctance to help me catch even a common Pokémon, sits in my fingertips, and it's all because the breeder sold her to me for discount because of abnormalities upon evolving. Even if her breeder thought she was flawed, she's perfect in every way to me, even if she's is a little small. Apparently no one wants a glaceon barely larger than an adult eevee, but I say bring it on.

Finishing up my bagel, I take a few sips of water before packing up my things and standing to leave the area. I begin towards the next town when a hand suddenly snakes around my mouth from behind and yanks me backwards into the forestry. I try to scream as I fall onto my tailbone, but the attacker muffles my voice by pulling my face into their chest and squeezing tightly enough to suffocate me. Releasing my mouth, I let out a second of an ear-splitting screech before they clamp their hands back over it. My eyes shakily wander to the face of the perpetrator, and when I make eye contact with him I feel the urge to punch him in the throat.

Trenton fucking Gramnes, grade-A douchébag and arrogant smartass, just blatantly sitting there with his finger over his lips like he has the right to tell me to shut up after giving me the scare of my life.

"Trenton, I'm gonna kick your—"

"Shh," He whispers urgently, cutting me off, "do you want to get sent back to summer school?"

Alright, now he has my attention. I shake my head, his hand never wavering from my mouth.

"You see that man in the blue shirt?" He stands, releasing me, and peers his head out from the cover of the tree trunk. "I was running errands in town when he asked me if I had seen a short teenage girl with mid-length blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles."

"You didn't tell him did you?" I question, not daring to look at the man in fear of him seeing me.

"If you'd let me finish, you'd know by now." He snarls, glancing back at me with annoyance. "The man dressed in black beside him is a bounty hunter, no doubt hired to track you. I told him I hadn't seen you, but other people in town won't say the same."

I begin to think about recent encounters when I remember one detail fearfully, oh god, the store clerk.

I peek out from behind the trunk to see my frantic father (wearing a blue shirt, of course) speaking with a confused old woman outside of her house.

"Lord almighty, that's my dad." The news causes Trenton to snap his eyes toward me and sigh.

"Stay here and don't do anything stupid." He commands, going toward his house through the dense foliage.

"Stupid?—" I begin asking, but he ignores me and disappears into the maze of the trees. I panic as I press my back up against the tree trunk in effort to minimize the chances of being seen. My courage suddenly dissipates as I realize that with one wrong move, my entire journey could be over before I even begin. I glance at my Pokétch to try to distract myself when I see eleven missed calls from Mom.

Oh, shit, I'm in for a beating.

I look away in terror and nearly piss myself when my guitar solo ringtone begins to blare. I fumble desperately with the buttons and manage to actually make matters worse by turning up the volume. Trenton returns with an unearthly frown, causing his eyebrows to knit together in anger and disappointment. He crouches down swiftly, presses one button, and the sound ceases altogether. Glancing up, I notice him wearing more trainer-like clothes and carrying a Trainer Backpack.

"Good lord." He whispers, pulling me up and guiding me hastily through the trees to an unknown destination. Looking back, I notice my father squinting towards the trees, but his image soon disappears as we retract further into the forest. We make several twists and turns before I see the light of day.

Route 205. We're on Route 205.

Trenton turns and looks me in the eyes. "Don't look back, just run as fast as you possibly can."

"But I don't know the way—"

He takes off, blasting down the dirt road like a rapidash. I don't stop to think about why he's helping me, I just rocket from my heels, propelling myself forward until I catch up to him. He glances at me and nods his head, as if silently telling me that we're speeding up.

A normal person wouldn't be able to keep up, but there's no time to think about what would happen to a normal person in this situation.

We pass trainers right and left but we have no time to listen to what they have to say, and we also can't afford for them to get a good look at us or what we're wearing. My legs move as if machines trained to do nothing but hustle hustle hustle.

We sprint all the way through the route and end up at the entrance to Eterna Forest. Trenton stops to look around and formulate a tactic.

"We'll be safe in Eterna Forest because its size, and we'll camp out in the dense parts for cover."

"Wait, what? We?" I question, suddenly realizing how rude and unappreciative I sound. Not that he doesn't deserve it. "You're not coming."

"Do you a really wanna piss of the best chance you have at actually making it anywhere in this region? Whatever you said to my grandfather made him want to help you, so it's out of the goodness of his heart that I'm here, not mine. It's in your best interest that I come with you."

"Seriously?" I sigh, knowing in the back of my mind that he's right.

"I don't want to be here any more than you want me here. He may not look like it, but my Grandfather is a brute."

A long pause accompanies my brain racking itself for ideas. "You're still not coming."

"Okay, I'll just leave and let you wander around the big, dark forest as you run from a bounty hunter and—"

"Fine!"

He stops walking for a moment only to give me a cold glare and spit venomous words in my direction. "Actually, I'd rather face my Grandfather than be a babysitter for you."

I ball my hands into fists and squeeze my eyes shut in desperation as he resumes his walk away from me. I bite my lip in effort to hold back the words I cannot believe are becoming sentences on my lips,

but I can't let my only chance fade.

"Wait, Trenton, please..." I choke, mentally cursing myself for what is about to come from my very own tongue. "You can leave whenever you want, just please—help me."

He turns, hands in his pockets, with his face cool and empty of emotion. He slowly—painfully—paces past me in a deafening silence and once again pauses. "On the one condition that you obey me without question."

As I look back, he's already disappearing into the darkness of the forest, and I ponder a moment on the sheer ambiance of his arrogance. I can't help but scoff as I follow after him, the realization sinking in that I'm going on a journey for who knows how long with that, who I am expected to wait on like a dog without actually agreeing to it, and it's all my fault that he's still here.

But I can't let my chance fade... It may be my only chance at proving my parents that I'm a capable human being. No matter how much I don't want his help, I can't do a thing but face the fact that I know nothing about being a Pokémon Trainer. I've always struggled with wanting to be independent, and it's so hard for me to admit it, but as a new Trainer alone in this world, I would be lost without his experience. In anything else, I'd be just fine supporting myself, but with Pokémon...?

It makes it seem really stupid for my dream to be winning the title of Champion.

But it makes me want it even more.

So I'm gonna put my personal problems with him aside, and just do what he says so that with each step I take, I'm another step closer to my goal—another step closer to demolishing my parent's notion that I'm stupid and unable to do anything but mindlessly run for the sake of winning.

Ironic, right?

As I enter the forest, I find myself alone between the towering trees. The sunlight peaks through small openings in the forest canopy and paints abstract shapes on the grassy soil below. Trenton, leaning on the trunk of a tree to my right, gets up and takes the lead. No emotion resides in his face, but I can tell just by his footsteps that he's so smug about the whole thing.

I roll my eyes from behind his back, glad that he can't see me cross my arms and pout. His high-and-mighty attitude pisses me off, and his silence only magnifies the crime.

He finds a prime spot and ventures into the foliage, peeling back thornbush branches and rotting leaves to a small opening behind the tall plants. With many cuts and scrapes, I emerge behind him into the cleaning only barely big enough for the two of us. He leans against another tree, rests his neck back, and closes his eyes.

"We'll travel by night, so rest up now." He asserts, beginning to dose off.

"Do we really have to camp out now? Do you have any idea what time it is?" I question, annoyance ticking off the charts as I wipe drops blood off of my legs and arms.

"Are you in any position to defy me?" I flicks one eye open, keeping the rest of his body still.

Okay, Kennedy. Stay calm. Don't yell. He's not worth getting worked up over. Ignore it.

I try my best to suppress it, but a small bit escapes in the form of a snooty frown. "Fine."

I sit up against a different tree across from him and begin to dose off. After all, I am tired.

I awaken, my body sprawled across the dirt and legs curled up to shield myself, and see Trenton's silhouette standing in front of me. From above a few stars twinkle brightly through the cracks in between the leaves, providing the only light in the darkness. Trenton clicks his tongue impatiently, snapping me out of my daze, and eyes me coldly as if expecting something from me.

"Let's go." He mumbles, stepping over me to exit through the thorny passageway.

"O—Okay..."

I rub my eyes and yawn to shake away the sleepiness, hurriedly gathering my things and brushing the dirt from my body. Noticing my cuts have formed scabs, I somehow manage to keep myself from getting stuck on any more thorns as I exit. In a matter of seconds, Trenton begins to weave in and out of curvy treeways, and I find myself losing sight of him because of the lack of light. As much as he repulses me, I reach for the hem of his shirt to reassure myself that I'm going in the right direction, and I assume he's okay with it by the way he doesn't react to me.

It takes no time at all for us to get out of the forest, but I know that without him I would have been beyond lost. It stands to show that no matter how miserable I am, I made the right choice.

But this was supposed to be an adventure of fun and relief, yet I'm stuck walking in the shadow of someone else.

After exiting the forest, we make an immediate left across a large patch of tall grass to a clearing behind the river. Trenton stops, crosses his arms, and narrows his eyes in my direction.

"Let me see your Pokémon." He states, a disapproving glare leading me to believe he doesn't care all that much. I fumble with my keychain and unclasp the pokéball on the end, the warmth emitting from it reassuring myself of her presence. "Well?"

I nod and press the button, watching the slim figure of a quadrupled mammal appear in a flash of icy blue, lighting-like mist. Long extremities below a crystalline crown flow like streamers on a windy day, and her ears twitch to acclimate to her new environment. I watch as Trenton's eyes widen slightly as he bends down beside her, but he soon masks his surprise as he usually does. He smiles sweetly as she rubs up against his legs, and the locked, steel doors in his eyes open up and soften as he looks at her.

When he smiles like that, he seems like a totally different person—someone I could actually get along with.

"Her name's Crystal. She doesn't like me." I sigh, but I can tell he ignores me by the way he's absorbed in petting her soft, luscious pelt.

"How did someone like you get a Pokémon like her?" He questions, looking up momentarily with a serious look in his charcoal eyes.

"Well since she's kinda small, the breeder sold her to me for—"

"Wait, you bought her?" He narrows his eyes, boring through me to my soul. "Well no wonder she doesn't respect you. If you want her to listen then you need to connect with her, let her know she can depend on you. She thinks you don't care and that you're unworthy of training her."

I croutch down beside her, but she jolts closer to Trenton in distaste. Reaching out to place a hand on her back, she arches it to keep me from touching her and growls softly.

"Here." Trenton grabs me by wrist and puts my hand near her muzzle, and she sniffs me indecisively but soon shifts her forehead into my hands. I smile as she allows me to pet her head, which is much softer than I ever thought it would be.

"Is she... trusting me?" I eye Trenton curiously, hope flashing brightly in my eyes. I notice a small dimple in his right cheek as he fondles with Crystal's ears that I never would have never noticed before if I didn't take the time to look. As soon as he looks at me his face hardens, and his eyes freeze; I suddenly wonder what the hell his problem is.

At the same time I wonder why he's locked himself away from human contact.

"Have you trained with her at all?" He ignores my question. It's not like I expected him to answer it, anyway.

"Well, she wouldn't listen so what was I supposed to do?" I pout, raising a brow in annoyance. "I tried to, but—"

"You can start by training with her, not trying to train her." Trenton says, glancing to his left. "You see that boardwalk over the river? How it loops around back to here? Four laps, run it."

"Wait what—"

"Crystal, four laps, please." He coos, kindly urging Crystal to obey. She takes a look at the distance and takes off running to begin. Our eyes meet, and he holds contact for a moment. "You're supposed to be running."

"But I—"

"Run!"

I reluctantly begin to jog around the circuit, looking back to glare at Trenton momentarily.

"What the hell are you doing? You're supposed to run ahead of her!" Trenton calls, and I roll my eyes and take a deep breath before picking up the pace. My legs exert a force so strong that I close the gap between Crystal and myself in no time at all. After all, it's just like track and field so I have no problem with running the laps. As I begin to pass Crystal, she speeds up with a devious grin on her face. I mirror her expression and push further into my stamina, blowing blast her with ease. I glance back to see her gaining on me, and fast.

I've never trained her once since I bought her, so how is she so damn fit?

We continue to stagger back and forth for the entire time, and before I realize it we make it to our last lap. I'm blasting off my heels faster than I've ever run in a meet, and I begin to tire. My breathing grows heavy and desperate, but I press on in effort to win over Crystal's respect. From behind she gallops forward, hitting the point directly beside me as we pass Trenton for the last time. I taper my speed down to a halt, turning back to see Trenton's mildly satisfied face.

"Still just as light on your feet as ever." He admits, raising a brow. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Well, school only let out a little while ago." I laugh, trying to shake off the shock that that was an actual compliment.

"But I'm more impressed with you, Crystal." And my shock goes right down the drain. He bends down beside the panting glaceon, giving her a pat on the back. "And you've never trained her?" He glances up at me, still petting Crystal.

I nod, and my surprise returns when I find a glint of happiness under all that stone in his cold eyes. "Mhm."

"Well, perhaps there's more to her than most may think." He says, standing upright, "Use it to your advantage. By nature, glaceon are usually slow, so faking your opponents out by acting slow in the beginning will urge them to let their guard down." He averts his eyes to Crystal. "And then she can get in some quick strikes."

"You're more knowledgable than I expected, Trenton. Just who are you?"

His doors in his eyes lock once more, and I wonder what I did wrong. "Your guide."

I sigh, knowing I'll never get any kind of insight into his past endeavors. "So how do I beat the gym?"

"Does she know any ice-type moves yet?"

"Well, I—"

He scoffs to cut me off, looking tenderly down to Crystal. "Do you know any ice-type moves, Crystal?"

Crystal yips and pounces her front legs on the ground, releasing a roar of icy-cold breath. Shards of ice and chunks of snow stick into the ground and freeze small areas around them.

"That's Icy Wind, a low class ice move, but it should be sufficient. What other moves do you know?"

A soft, white glow emanates from Crystal's frame and trails behind her in sharp angles as she springs forward, hind and forelegs moving in unison for maximum distance coverage in her stride. Her body is suspended mid-air for a moment in time with each leap, and her speed methodically increases with each step. She plows her shoulder into a nearby tree, whipping backwards in order to minimize the backlash of the blow. The trunk shakes and the leaves rattle as the power overtakes the tree.

I watch in awe as she demonstrates Quick Attack, Tackle, Tail Whip, and Sand Attack flawlessly and powerfully. I've never trained her a day in my life, so just who is she?

Just a misfit sold at discount? Or a glitch in the breeding system?