Chapter 2: A New Home

"Hey little guy" I said, announcing my presence. Reacting to my voice, the Ralts dove behind a cardboard box, hiding itself from my view. Obviously it wasn't used to humans was my initial assumption. I pulled my backpack off, digging through it until I found my pokeblock case. I popped a dry pokeblock out into my hand. The letter indicated that this Ralts was a modest nature, and if my memory serves me correctly, modest pokemon enjoy dry pokeblocks the most. Hoping I was right, I slowly moved to crouch outside of the cardboard box that Ralts was currently occupying. Holding out my hand, I informed it I meant no harm with a simple smile, waiting patiently as Ralts decided whether it was more scared or hungry. After a few seconds ticked by the latter won, and it slowly approached the pokeblock in my hand. Although it seemed afraid, it gobbled down the pokeblock in two bites, and after finishing, it seemed to warm up to me a bit more. Obviously hungry, I pulled out another for Ralts, advising it to slow down some as I handed the candy away, not wanting it to get a stomach ache. Nodding, the Ralts ate slower, nibbling at the pokeblock here and there, enjoying its meal.

As Ralts ate, I took a moment to examine it with my eyes. My heart sank at what I saw. My initial assumption was incorrect. In fact, it was the complete opposite. It's not that Ralts had too little experience with humans, but too much. Cuts and bruises became more evident the longer I looked, showing obvious abuse from the previous owner. Then, as if I wasn't upset already, the Ralts turned around for a moment, looking down the alleyway. On its back, I saw what looked to be a burn mark. Cautiously leaning in, careful to not spook the Ralts, I examined it. It wasn't just a burn mark, I realized. Someone branded this pokemon, some cruel person found it necessary to burn their emblem into Ralts' back. Mortified, I tried to recognize the emblem. Although I didn't know the owner, the image was quite clear, a mountain with a jagged top, with cracks running through it.

I sat there for a moment, trying to figure out how someone could be so heartless towards this Ralts. Knowing I made the right choice in freeing Ralts, I tried communicating with it once again. "Hey there buddy" I said in a hushed voice, trying to avoid scaring it "would you like it if we traveled together? I'll make sure to take care of you, and make sure you're eating properly. Would you like that?" Ralts stared at me, processing everything I just told it. After a moment of silence, it nodded its head, still showing uncertainty, though it seems to want to trust someone. Smiling ear to ear, I then asked Ralts what it wanted to be named. "How does Charlie sound?" I asked. To my surprise, Ralts made a motion with its arms, as if to form an X. "Hmm… Fair enough. How about Richard?" again, Ralts showed its displeasure with the name. With a sigh of exasperation, Ralts paused a moment, and then swept some dirt into the cardboard box. Leaning forward, it reached down, forming a symbol in the dirt. " ". After a moment looking at the crude drawing, I realized what Ralts meant. 'He' was in fact a 'She'. Chuckling a bit, I apologized, obviously annoying her that I couldn't tell the gender. Must be a pokemon thing, since I could never tell the gender by only looking at her.

"Well, let's see. What should we call you then?" I pondered out loud, trying to think of a name appropriate for my new partner. "How about Bailey?" I asked, unsure of the reaction to expect. The name, however, got an instant burst of excitement from Ralts, as she jumped up and down to show her enthusiasm. "Heh, Bailey it is. Glad to have you on board Bailey. So, first thing's first, we need to get out of here. My parents won't be looking for us until tomorrow at the earliest, so we have a pretty good head start." I informed her. She nodded in understanding, and without needing to be asked, pushed the button on the pokeball herself, allowing her to return to the peacefulness of the pokeball, for now at least. Heading back towards my bike, I decided to head to Dewford town. Although difficult to reach, I should be safe there, for a while at least.

Then a new question came to me. What should I do with my bike? It'd be nice to have it, though it seemed quite silly to bring it with me to an island mostly covered in sand. Then an Idea came to mind. What if I sold it? It was a pretty nice bike, and it was rarely used. I could probably get a nice chunk of money for it, surely enough to buy a boat ticket to Dewford. A long time ago, some guy named Mr. Briney would ferry people back and forth, but he passed away years ago. Nowadays you have to pay 10,000 pokedollars for a ticket, which slowed down the traffic and tourism for Dewford. Some more experienced trainers would use their pokemon to ferry them to Dewford, but those same trainers were the ones who could easily afford a ticket. It was a no-win situation for new trainers needing to get to the island.

Later that evening, I left the local pawn shop. The owner was a kind old man, always giving fair prices to people. He offered me 20,000 pokedollars for my bike, which was slightly more than I expected, so I was pretty happy. Money safely stored in my pocket, I made my way towards the docks. The woman in the ticket booth moved me along quickly, and after I bought my ticket, I ran on board, making it on for the last trip of the day. Departing moments later, I sat in one of the lounge chairs on the back deck, enjoying the view of the sun painting the sky a crimson red as it sank below the horizon. As my eyelids got heavier and heavier, I pondered one more time about the meaning of the emblem that was branded on the back of Ralts. Who could do that to an innocent pokemon? I prayed that I would never have to find out.

I awoke the next morning to the sounds of the captain over the speakers announcing we would be arriving at Dewford in 5 minutes. Grabbing my things, I made my way to the exit, hoping to beat the crowd, if there was one. As the minutes ticked by, I glanced at the pokeball now attached to my belt. All of this felt like one weird dream, and I could wake up any minute. But I didn't wake up, and this wasn't a dream. The boat arrived at Dewford, and before the boat even finished docking, I hopped off onto the dock, making my way to the small town. As I was getting off of the dock, a man in a red cloak brushed past me, causing me to lose my balance and almost fall in the water. Expecting an apology, I looked his way, but the only thing I received was a sneer and him telling me to watch myself before I get hurt. What a nice person, I thought to myself sarcastically.

Barely 8am, I made my way towards the general store. Thankfully I had half my money from selling my bike left, as the prices here were higher than Slateport, most likely because of the lack of cash flow ever since the introduction of the ferry. Spending several minutes looking through the store and grabbing what I would need, I made my way towards the counter. A tent and sleeping bag, some dry pokeblocks, two potions in case of emergencies, and some food for myself. The total came to 8,800 pokedollars. After paying, I went towards the location I had planned to stay at, seeing it hidden away on the map but hopefully still accessible. I went in the direction of Dewford cave, but instead of entering it, I went to the shoreline, following it around the side of the tunnel, until I made my way to the hidden location. Although the pathway leading here was only two feet wide at best, this little section of land was a good ten foot square. Setting my supplies down against the rock wall, I set up the tent in the corner, and then placed my sleeping bag inside. The blue of my tent contrasted greatly with the brown stone behind it. After that was all set up, I went and grabbed a large piece of driftwood, setting it near the tent to be used as a makeshift bench. Sitting on it, I decided now would be a good time to let Ralts out, as I'm sure she'll want to see where we'll be staying for the time being.

Throwing the pokeball to release her, she introduced herself to the world with a happy cry, as if to say good morning to anyone that could hear her. "Glad to see you're having a good morning" I told her, smiling to show my own enthusiasm for the day. But of course, as soon as Ralts and I were calming down, something had to stir us up again. I shifted my head to see what moved in the corner of my eye, only to see a Zubat, obviously having taken too long to reenter the cave; it was now disoriented from the morning sun, and looking to cause some trouble. Before I could do anything, Ralts called out, as if challenging the Zubat. "Oh great, my first pokemon battle… Couldn't this wait?" I asked aloud, directed at no one in particular.

Authors Note: I've decided to put a quote at the end of every chapter, something that I find appropriate for the current events in the chapter. If you like the idea (or if you don't like it) let me know, i'd love to hear from you.

"You said you have a dream... that dream... Make it come true! Make your wonderful dream a reality, and it will become your truth! If anyone can, its you!" ~N