4.

I stood in an empty parking lot behind a fast food restaurant and invited him out,

"I've decided you need a name", He didn't look as nervous today as before but he still kept his distance. I took that as a good sign and didn't act like anything was wrong, "And you should know a little bit about me too."

I sat on the concrete and smiled at him. He tilted his head and sat down opposite me, "I've legally been a trainer since I was ten, that was three years ago", I held up three fingers, "I've officially been a trainer since two weeks ago though. My uncle, he um... Thought I should try it, you know? It's supposed to be a good experience, builds character and all that."

He only blinked at me. Was he understanding any of this? He was young and was born in the wild, maybe he hadn't had enough experience with humans to understand us yet. I continued anyways,

"I actually always wanted to be a graphic designer, but things got a little difficult at home so um...", I started rolling a pebble under my shoe, "I'm sorry if I scared you, that was a terrible first impression. I'll be a good trainer if you let me."

Looking up at him I realized that he indeed did not seem to be understanding any of this. I sighed and just scratched my head, "I'm going to call you Hollow."

I pulled out some jerky and tossed him a piece. He got up and came forwards for it. It was such a small piece and he was so hungry right then that once he'd snapped it up he just sniffed around and begged for more. I broke off and threw him another piece and he jumped for it. Eventually this developed into a bit of a game, I would throw it and he would catch and slowly he started opening up to me. I smiled and cheered for him as he nearly did a flip for a piece that was particularly high above him. I was making him run away from me rather than slink closer for each piece, but it was working better at bringing him closer to me in other ways. By mid day I'd managed to give him a soft scratch on his head. He'd yelped and run off a bit when he'd realized how close I'd gotten that first time. When I tried to approach him again though he didn't run. I scratched him softly behind the ears and whispered little encouragements to him as his tail began to wag.

I decided not to push my luck and force him into a battle just yet, we were only starting to get along after all and I didn't want to ruin this. Instead I had him walk beside me, getting used to my scent and presence since I figured I would be a constant in his life from then on. I avoided the busy parts of the town, instead walking around in the quieter side streets. I talked to him about nothing in particular. I taught him basic's like yes and no, using heavy emphasis to indicate when he was doing something wrong and when it was ok to do something.

We stopped at every intersection (a strong "NO" from me to let him know that going on was bad), even when there were no cars. I got him to run with me, to walk with a moments notice. He caught on fairly quickly which I was grateful for. He was smart then, just didn't know the language to well. By evening I decided to see if I could teach him basic attack commands. Once I taught him to howl he figured out what I was aiming for and the rest was smooth sailing. He was now tackling and kicking up sand like the best of them.

We played tag in the park and started wrestling when he'd managed to latch onto the heels of my pants, yanking on me and growling as his tail whipped back and forth. We did have to cut it short when he gave me a good nip on the arm, my yell startling him. He'd run back away from me with his tail between his legs and ears laid back and for a moment it looked like the entire day was lost. I looked up at him and smiled to show him everything was alright, his tail began to wag again and he trotted over.

We got back to the Centre a little later than I intended so we ended up sleeping on the floor that night. I kept Hollow out with me and hoped my little bit of trust wasn't going to backfire, the thought of waking up to him gone scared me more than anything. His warm little body was a comforting weight against my stomach as he curled up to sleep. I scratched his head gently as I stared at the dark ceiling. I needed him, and now that he had nobody else in the world he needed me too.

xXx

"Fifty bucks says I win!" The little boy declared, pointing a finger to the air. He was so puffed up at that moment that I couldn't help but laugh a little. He wasn't very pleased.

"Are you even old enough to be a trainer? What are you doing running around betting money like that."

"I'm ten!" He stamped his foot in defiance, "Your not that much older than me!"

"Yeah yeah, lets do this", This was going to be easy.

"Go, Beanie!" A bellsprout swayed into existence giving a little "Bell!" as its battle cry.

"Go, Hollow!"

Hollow looked around and quickly seemed to realize what was happening. He threw his head back and howled long and hard capturing the attention of a few nearby trainers. The bellsprout continued swaying in place, tilting its head to the side momentarily as if asking its trainer if it should do anything. Once Hollow's howl died down the battle began,

"Beanie, Vine Whip!"

"Hollow, Sand-Attack!"

The bellsprout danced forward raising one of its roots; it swung it forward in a motion very similar to a sideways kick. Hollow spun around on his front paws and kicked up sand and dirt in bellsprouts direction. Bellsprouts vines swept his paws out from under him and he crashed down onto the ground.

"Get up get up get up!"

"Whip him again!"

Hollow struggled to his feet and made an awkward run towards me as one of his back legs was caught up by the bellsprout. It wrapped the vine around and reeled him in trying to get a better hit in.

"Hollow-!"

He turned around and bit at the vine, growling loudly. Bellsprout immediately let go and tried to pull away, but its root was caught.

"Beanie, wrap him!" The boy was starting to panic along with his pokemon now, Hollow had a good grip on the little sprout. It weighed next to nothing and he suddenly found it easier to just whip his head back and forth, dragging the poor thing along the ground rather than fight it with anything I had to offer. He started running in circles wagging his tail as Beanies large yellow head bounced painfully along the ground. The boy pulled out its pokeball and tried to return it but Hollow wasn't keeping still long enough for him to get a lock on his pokemon.

"Hollow, STOP!"

He came to a halt and blinked up at me as Beanies trainer quickly recalled his battered pokemon. When he felt the vine dissolve from his mouth he looked around in confusion. The boy threw his money to the ground and ran for the Pokemon Centre. Hollow chased after him barking before I got his attention and made him quiet down. I picked up the money and did a quick count before pocketing it.

"Well, that's a good start. Good job boy!"

Hollow barked, tong lolling out and tail beating against the ground where he sat. He seemed very proud of himself. I grinned and bent down to pet him on the head.

"C'mon, lets go find some more pokemon to beat up!"

We battled twice more before Hollow grew to tired to continue. The second had been with a caterpie and the third a rattata, both battles of which simply came down to who was heavier rather than experience (though neither of them seemed to have much of that either). Hollow weighed considerably more than the caterpie, and though the string shot managed to slow him down it still wasn't enough to stop a tripping tackle headfirst into the caterpillar, knocking it out cold. Rattata, I suspected, might actually have been a part of his diet so he went into that snarling and snapping. Once that battle had ended he'd leaned against my shins and literally fell asleep where he sat so I had no choice but to recall him. As disappointed as I was I couldn't really complain, he'd earned me a little over a hundred dollars and that was fine with me. I thought happily of how I was going to upgrade my plastic water bottles to tins, get a new bag, pick up a blanket...

As I sat there daydreaming I focused on the battles that were taking place around me. We were all just on the outside of town, a few travelling trainers and a bunch of the local kids. Since battling was prohibited inside all towns and cities it was common to see these crowds: kids and teens who were still living at home who wanted to prove their skill and the real trainers who were just milking them of their cash or taking on real challenges to show off among their own. I avoided all of the latter since they seemed well beyond Hollow's level. I studied the pair of trainers closest to me, it was always easy to spot the ones who did it for a living. Like myself they looked like they'd spent days, maybe weeks sleeping out in the open and living off the land. Their clothes were usually worn and frayed around the edges, their skin a little darker from the sun and always they were of an older crowd since few parents would actually let their ten year olds loose into the world. I realized I might actually be one of the youngest here. There was also something about the way they held themselves, a confidence or weariness that I just couldn't quite place my finger on...

I watched as a nidorina charged a sandshrew, easily tossing it into the air with an upward thrust of its head. The sandshrew struggled to get to its feet but was clearly to injured to continue battling. Instead it was withdrawn and replaced with a growlithe.

Maybe I should add a second member to my team.

I contemplated what it would be like to have another pokemon like Hollow on my side. More pokemon meant more battles. I wouldn't have to stop when Hollow got tired, I'd just switch. The more I thought about that the more I liked the idea. I would hold off on the tins and bag, what I had was still working after all. I'd get a new pokeball. I thought carefully then added blanket to that list. Preferably one of those ones that were waterproof on one side, it got cold some nights out there. I got up, stretched, then headed back into the main part of town looking for the PokeMart.

I was in and out quickly, my money tin a little lighter than it had been the night before. I'd managed to spend all of todays earnings and a bit more in my little shopping spree. I suddenly didn't feel as stressed for cash and felt that I deserved a little something for all the trouble of the past week. Ripping off the packaging I fastened a trainer belt around my waist and clicked my two pokeballs into the grips. I swung my hips around as hard as I could, making sure it would hold on tight. Satisfied with that I headed to the laundromat. Changing into my pj's (which I rarely used), I tossed everything I owned into the machine and tried my best not to look awkward. I got a couple little snickers but I did my best not to notice as I waited for my clothes to be done. I headed back to the Centre once that was done, took a quick shower then revelled in the feeling of clean. I was feeling better than I had in days.

I sat in the common room looking through one of the trainer manuals they had lying around, my poochyena sleeping peacefully next to me with a stomach full of jerky. The manual was a little out of date but effectively listed most of the pokemon found in this part of the country along with a brief summary about their natures and specialities.

Suddenly someone dropped down next to me and put his feet up on the coffee table.

"You know those dried meats aren't the best thing for your pokemon, they're full of salt. In fact their not very good for you either, I hope your packing more than that for the road."

I looked over in surprise and recognized him as the kid with the charizard from the night before. He was fiddling with some sort of device.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember asking you..."

He gave me a sideways look and I fell silent,

"I've been training for years, trust me when I say I know these things will come back to haunt you", He smiled and I looked away suddenly embarrassed for my rudeness.

"Sorry."

"No problem", He swept his dark brown bangs out of his eyes then continued tinkering with the thing in his hands, "So that's your first pokemon huh?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" I placed a hand on Hollow's back and he made a strange little whine as he wiggled in closer to me still fast asleep.

"I saw you battling earlier and he was the only one you ever used. You two are pretty good, keep this up and you might actually have a shot at the League one day", He grinned at me and I couldn't help but smile back at his encouragement.

"You really think I've got a shot at something like that?"

"Well sure! You need to be optimistic to make it in this world otherwise you'll just beat yourself into a corner."

The device suddenly gave a loud and long beep before fizzling out into static. The boy swore.

Hollow and been woken up by the sound and looked around himself sleepily while I slowly uncovered my ears,

"What is that?"

"It's a pokedex. I dropped it into a puddle a little while ago and now its stopped working", He sighed, "Man, these things are expensive! I really don't want to have to buy another one..."

Suddenly the screen flickered out and he threw his hands up in defeat. Hollow had gotten up and padded over my lap to sniff at the pokedex.

"Hollow, don't-!"

"It's cool. I really do think its beyond repair", he draped one arm across the back of our sofa behind me and reached with his other hand to let Hollow sniff at him for a moment before petting him.

"So what is it that you named him? Hollow?"

"Yeah", I was suddenly very conscious of the arm behind me.

"That's an odd name. How'd you come up with that?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "It just popped into my head and sort of fit so I went with it."

"Huh."

"Yup."

We sat in silence for a time. He drifted off into his own thoughts and I read up on some trainer tips and facts. I decided I rather liked this book and wondered if anyone would notice if it went missing. It was old and a little roughed up so it was clear it had been here for some time.

As time passed I found it harder to focus on the words in my new book however. Looking around I realized I wasn't the only one drifting. Hollow had fallen back asleep, this time curled up in my lap. The Charizard Boy (as I'd nicknamed him) got to his feet, stretched then bid good night. He'd rented one of the Centre rooms and wouldn't be sleeping out here like so many of us.

I thought jealously of the comfortable bed he must be sleeping in. He was clearly leagues ahead of the other trainers here, owning a fully evolved pokemon like Charizard I could only imagine what else he had locked away on his belt.