"Time to compare which one of us has the most Pokemon!" Bianca smiled. The fresh, morning mildew had already evaporated and Tepig and I were already exhausted. So far, the day has been pretty successful. We battled many Pokemon and Tepig even learned a new move known as ember!

We all compared used capsules, and all three of us had two Pokemon. Bianca smiled and said, "So we all won? Ha, nice! Well, I'm off to go do some shopping for Snivy and my new Pokemon, Lillipup!" She ran off, very excited.

"I'm going to rest up my Pokemon, how about you, Hilda?" Cheren asked.

"Same, I'll go with you." I nodded.

So we entered the town known as Accumula Town. It had a great view due to all of its hills. Cheren and I healed up our Pokemon, which was quicker than expected. After we finished, we exited the building and saw a crowd of people.

"What's this?" Cheren asked a local townsperson.

"I don't know, a bunch of people in medieval clothes just assembled us here." The local said.

Cheren and I squeezed through the crowd until we were in the first row. Suddenly, the crowd of medieval people opened up, and a powerful looking man with green hair stepped forward.

"My name is Ghetis." His loud, commanding voice boomed. "I am representing Team Plasma. Today is the day Pokemon liberation will begin!"

Cheren and I exchanged WTF glances.

"Many of you believe Pokemon and humans should live together and see each other as equals, but this is entirely wrong. They are just subjects to our abuse, we treat them as slaves, and this dates back to our ancestral times in the Kanto! Pokemon are entirely different from humans, we must learn from them! What is our duty to these creatures?"

A few people murmured "Liberation?"

Ghetis nodded and started pacing back and forth, "Yes, liberation. Once we do this, then we will be equals! Consider my thoughts as I conclude my speech."

Team Plasma then formed a crowd around Ghetis, as if to protect him from assassination. The locals began to argue with each other.

"What should we do?"

"Liberation?"

"How is that possible?"

Slowly, the crowd parted, leaving Cheren and I alone. Then, we noticed a kid about our age that stayed behind. His long, green hair was tied into a low ponytail underneath his black cap, which covered his eyes.

"Your… Pokemon…" The mysterious boy approached us, eyeing my bag carefully. "Can you hear them?"

"Whoa, what?" I asked. Cheren raised an eyebrow towards him and asked, "Hey, leave her alone."

The green haired boy crossed his arms. "What a shame… Allow me to introduce myself, I am N."

"N? That's too weird, are you bad at creating aliases?" Cheren questioned.

N ignored him and addressed me. "I want to hear your Pokemon." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball. "If only you could hear them."

"Hey, what are you-" Cheren jumped in front of me in a protective stance; his Oshawott was already at his side. I interrupted him and said, "No Cheren, this is my fight."

"Hilda…" He feebly tried to stop me, but he knew I was too headstrong to listen.

"Alright N, you asked for this." I reached into my bag and pulled out a Pokeball. It was the newly captured Pokemon I got on Route 1. "I choose you, Lillipup!"

A puppy Pokemon erupted from the capsule device, crying out her name cutely. This provoked N to release his Pokemon, and so he did. Out of his Pokeball stood a devious, purple cat. "Purrloin!" It meowed mischievously.

"Purrloin, use sand-attack!" N commanded. His Pokemon ran up to Lillipup and smacking sand into her face. She whined in pain, and then I cried out "Hang in there, Lillipup! Use bite!"

She obeyed, but since sand-attack impaired her accuracy, she ran blindly after Purrloin. The cat Pokemon chuckled, and N commanded, "Purrloin, use fury swipes!"

"Purrloin!" The cat Pokemon exclaimed as he swiped Lillipup on the nose with his long, sharp claws. Lillipup jumped away from him and shook the sand out of her face.

"It's okay Lillipup, hit 'em with tackle!" I commanded as she barreled towards Purrloin. BAM! Lillipup ran into him headfirst, sending him tumbling back to N.

"Interesting, I want to hear more of your Pokemon. Don't you hear her speak? Purrloin, use scratch!" N yelled this so fast, it sounded like another language. I didn't notice he gave his Purrloin a command until it jumped back on all fours and ran towards my Lillipup.

"Lillipup, use bite!" I commanded. Both Pokemon ran into each other, Purrloin scraping Lillipup's pelt, but she landed a bite on Purrloin's neck. I stared in awe, because for some reason, the bite barely made Purrloin flinch.

"Purrloin is a dark-type Pokemon, therefore dark-type moves do not do that much damage." Cheren pointed out, Oshawott gripping his ankle as they watched the intense fight.

I nodded and noticed N's Purrloin wasn't looking so good, and yet, N seemed somewhat glad. "Alright Lillipup, finish him off with tackle!"

Lillipup started barreling towards Purrloin again, but he didn't react. He was so tired he didn't even try to swipe at Lillipup. She collided with him again, and he stumbled past N and almost hit a building. N looked appalled, but not that his Pokemon fainted… but at me.

He returned Purrloin back into his Pokeball. N gave me a questionable look. "How did your Pokemon do that? She spoke as if she loved you. It wasn't like anything I have ever heard of!"

"Yeah well-" before Cheren could continue, N just walked off. "What an odd kid. Whatever, I won't let it get to me. Pokemon and trainers are here to help each other out! Anyways, I want to go up ahead to Striaton City to battle my first gym leader!"

"Sounds great." I said, still distracted by what N had said. "We should find Bianca though!"

Cheren sighed and mumbled, "Shoot me if she's still shopping…"

"OH HEY GUYS!" The flighty girl squealed. Cheren and I decided to check the Pokecenter where a small shop is located within it. She smiled, her Snivy and Lillipup close by her side with the same enthusiasm.

"C'mon Bianca, let's head out, I want to reach Striaton City before nightfall!" Cheren ushered her out the door. We began walking towards Route 2 while I filled in Bianca on the Team Plasma incident.

"What? Pokemon liberation?" Her eyes went wide. "No! I'll miss my little babies way too much!"

"Speaking of which, we should let our Pokemon out of their Pokeballs." Cheren said to me. I nodded and released my Lillipup and Tepig while Cheren released his Purrloin and Oshawott. Tepig squealed in delight, chasing around Lillipup in the afternoon sun.

"And that N guy? Maybe he has a crush on you!" Bianca winked.

"Him? No way, he's crazy." I sighed. I noticed my Lillipup's ears perked up. I listened closely, trying to ignore Bianca and Cheren's bickering over god-knows-what. I whirled around to approach the footsteps and I realized…

"Hey, you wanna fight?" The approaching footsteps turned out to be a boy, a few years younger than me. I nodded and smiled, my first real trainer battle. I thought.

"Alright, here I come! Go, Patrat!" The boy yelled, releasing the scout Pokemon. I heard the bickering cease as Cheren and Bianca took out their Pokedexes to analyze it. I followed their lead.

"Patrat," The monotone Pokedex voice began, "a normal-type Pokemon. It uses food stored in its check pouches so it can keep watch for days. They use their tails to communicate with others."

"Alright, let's go, Tepig!" I shouted as my fire-type Pokemon ran from my side and into the battle.

"Tepig, use ember!" I commanded. He shot out a small flame from his mouth, hitting Patrat dead on.

"Hang in there, Patrat!" The boy cried. Patrat tried to shake it off as the boy commanded her to use tackle.

Patrat barreled towards Tepig, but the scout Pokemon's attack missed. "Tepig," I smiled at my faithful companion, "hit her with ember again!"

He nodded and expelled another small flame. This was Patrat's final blow and she fainted. The trainer returned her back into the capsule device and said to me, "You're a great trainer, but someday, I'll beat you!"

"Hopefully someday not too soon!" I laughed. "What was your name, again?"

"Jimmy, and yours?"

"Hilda. This was a great first battle!" I smiled. He was such a good sport, even though his Patrat was totaled, he still accepted his defeat as a lesson. He ran off towards Accumula Town, probably healing up his Pokemon before he continues on his journey.

The three of us continued down Route 2, fighting our fair share of wild Pokemon and trainers. I even caught a Purrloin on the way to Striaton City! Bianca was a few feet ahead of Cheren and I as we chatted about Pokemon stats. Suddenly, she stopped short, causing Cheren to bump into her.

"Hey what's your-" He was cut short he realized she was gritting her teeth and balling up her hands into fists.

She suddenly looked up and pointed at me, shouting, "Hilda, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle! All this fighting in Route 2 has inspired me to take you, head on!"

I smiled, "I like the way you think. Alright Purrloin, I choose you!" I released my newly captured Pokemon from her capsule.

"Purrloin!" It meowed defensivly. Bianca then released her Lillipup, which barked cutely, trying to be intimidating.

"Lillipup, use tackle!" Bianca cried out as I commanded my Purrloin to use scratch.

Lillipup collided with Purrloin, but my feline Pokemon landed a scratch on Bianca's Pokemon before it stumbled back over to me.

"It's okay Purrloin, you got this! Hit her with fury swipes!" I pointed at Bianca's Pokemon, and Purrloin charged.

"Lillipup, show her who's boss! Use tackle!" Bianca commanded. Lillipup barreled towards Purrloin once again, but this time, it was different. My dark-type Pokemon didn't get the opportunity to land an attack on the puppy Pokemon. Instead, Bianca's Lillipup smacked into Purrloin with such force, she was sent flying. She landed at my feet, meekly meowing before she fainted.

I stroked her gently as I returned her back into her capsule. "Play time is over, get her, Tepig!" My firey Pokemon grunted and charged into the battle.

"Lillipup, use tackle!" Bianca shouted as her normal type Pokemon barreled towards mine again.

I waited. Tepig looked back at me, waiting for me to give him a command. I still waited. It wasn't until Lillipup was a few inches away when I shouted, "Now Tepig, hit her with ember!"

Tepig released the strongest ember I've ever seen. The flame caused Lillipup to retreat back to Bianca, limping. She returned her Lillipup in her Pokeball, wordlessly sending Snivy onto the battle field.

I smiled with anticipation and commanded, "Tepig, you got this! Use ember!"

"Don't let her win! I believe in you! Use vine whip!" Bianca cried out. Tepig ran towards him, releasing another ember. This time, it was different. It was the same ember Tepig had created so many times before, but it inflicted so much damage on Snivy, causing him to automatically faint.

"What was that?" I was happy we won, but had Tepig grown that much stronger from one fight?

"Snivy is weak against fire types." Cheren expressed his knowledge. "All Pokemon have types they are strong against, and types they are weak against. Since Snivy is a grass type Pokemon, he is weak against fire. This is why he fainted on the first move."

"So it is always a one-hit K.O when the Pokemon of your weakness attacks you?" I questioned.

He shook his head, "Not necessarily. Tepig is just more experienced than Snivy, and it also helped that his ember was a critical hit."

Bianca looked upset as she returned her fainted Pokemon. She had always been a sore loser.

"Hey," I tried comforting her. "You did great! With a little practice, you'll be the best!"

"You really think so?"

"I know so." I smiled as she embraced me in a hug.

"Thank you, Hilda!"

"This is very touching," Cheren started, "but can we get to Striaton City now… Please?"

We both nodded as we all entered thee big city, the sun setting behind us, casting an orange glow across the sky.