The front door practically slammed behind me as I stepped off the patio and into the road leading directly out of town. I checked my gear to make sure I had what I needed. Clothes on my body, my phone, and my Walkmon - I never left the house without a music player, and my more modern devices would last about an hour before dying on me. I also had a camping tent tightly rolled up in the backpack I had strapped to my back. It was a good thing I was fairly tall, because I might not have been able to bear the weight of all my supplies if I was any shorter. Maybe I was overpacking, but I'd never made a trip like this on foot before, so I wanted to be prepared. The tent would be the biggest weight to deal with, but I didn't know exactly how long it would take, and if I couldn't find anywhere else to sleep, it was better than being exposed to the elements. I wasn't going to suffer some Weedle crawling up my pants while I slept.

Oh, and I was bringing the Poké Ball containing the Ledyba of course. How could I forget that?

Since New Bark Town was so small, it didn't take long to exit the city. There was a relatively short wilderness area separating New Bark from the next town over, Cherrygrove City, though I always thought the "city" designation was a misnomer. It was a small town nestled in what amounted to a puddle of a bay, overshadowed by the preferable coastal geography of bigger cities like Olivine in the west. I checked the map on my phone for an estimated walking time from New Bark to Cherrygrove.

"Only two hours? That's not so far," I said to no one in particular. The Ledyba had been stashed away in its Poké Ball, and I intended for it to stay there most of the trip. I appreciated any technology that could allow me to keep a Pokémon comfortably detained and out of mind for as long as I desired. I was placid in knowing that I could spend the next few days alone, with my own thoughts, without a buzzing bug Pokémon as a constant irritant. I'd make haste to Azalea Town, return this "gift", and be on my merry way. I'd be passing through Violet City on my way, so maybe I'd take some time to visit the Ruins of Alph on the way there, or maybe on the way back. I was definitely curious to scope things out before it was closed to the public.

Route 29. This was it. My first time leaving crummy old New Bark since I'd gotten back from school. "Alright," I said after a deep breath, "let's go." I strolled away from town into the lightly wooded area ahead of me.

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I probably spent a decent half-hour just walking along at a fair pace. I had my Walkmon on and earphones in, and mostly tried to concentrate on staying on the barely-defined path and not stray into the tall grass that often bordered either side in patchy bunches. Although sandwiched between two towns, Johto's Route 29 was still decidedly rural, so I knew there'd be a handful of wild Pokémon to deal with if I accidentally strayed off the beaten path. I'd often ride my bike out there and play with my friends when I was younger. On rare occasions, we'd come face to face with an unfriendly Rattata or Sentret, and would have to toss rocks at it to get it to go away. If I was with a friend that had their own Pokémon, they were easier to get rid of.

I continued on as such, keeping my eyes focused on my surroundings and my ears pleasured by the sounds of some of my favorite music - mostly alternative. A lot of it was the kind of stuff that never got rereleased digitally, so I still had a lot of tapes I'd hung onto. The summer heat was a little uncomfortable, but I could mostly ignore it. Alone with my music, it was like taking a normal walk in the park. If I just paced myself, I could make it to Cherrygrove in two hours' time, no problem.

We don't live in an ideal world, though. I was just strolling along, minding my own business, when somebody happened to jump out at me from behind an overgrown patch of shrubbery beside the road.

He was a kid, so I wasn't too startled. It looked like he was shouting at me, trying to spook me, but I hadn't heard. Quickly pocketing my earphones but not looking away from the boy in front of me, I estimated he was about nine or ten.

"Didn't you hear me?" the kid whined, picking up a stick in the middle of the road and pointing it at me, as if it were a sword. "I said I challenge you! You have to battle me!"

And there went my half-hour streak of solitude. Summer was just starting, so I was actually pleasantly surprised it had taken as long as it did to run into some tyke trainer. It was prime season for all the kiddies to start up their gym challenges, after all.

I almost felt bad to break it to him. "Sorry kid, I'm not a trainer, so I can't battle you even if I wanted to."

The response I got was not what I expected. "Don't you lie to me!" he shouted commandingly, trying to sound tough. Apparently, he was pretending to be an authority figure or something, because I couldn't imagine what other reason he had for having an attitude like that. "I'm not stupid. I have a Pokédex! And it says you've got a Pokémon on you! So send it out and battle me, or I'm gonna fine you $1,000,000!"

I chuckled at the thought of that kid even knowing the meaning of a million dollars, but his naivety wasn't enough for me to pity him. "Sorry kid. I don't battle. Not a trainer, no matter what your fancy schmancy Pokédex thing says about me." I thought that was that, and I continued walking forward, veering off-road a little bit to get around the kid when he wouldn't budge. In my own confidence, I didn't even think to look backward before I was met with a wooden branch to the head.

"Ouch! What the heck!" I shouted, rubbing the back of my head. That was no small branch, and I could almost feel the splinters sinking into my scalp. I turned around to face the kid again.

"You're not going anywhere! I need to train my new Pokémon, and we need our first win for the day! You're not getting away without giving my Pokémon some experience!" Swatting his tree branch around, the kid made a move to thwack me again.

I was getting pretty angry, so I grabbed the other end of the stick with my own hand, trying to yank it from his grasp. I wasn't going to get bullied by some kid half my age. Or at least that's what I thought, until he jumped at me and kneed me in the shin.

"What the hell, man!" I was much taller than he was, so my reaction to block was too slow. Luckily, he only managed to graze me. But as soon as I had admonished him, he was already on top of me, trying to climb on my back like a hyperactive Aipom.

"Where's your Pokémon?" he interrogated. "Do you keep your Poké Balls in your backpack? I know you have one!" He actually started tearing into my bag. The kid was nuts.

The entitled little brat held tight as he continued to harass me, goading me to give him his battle. Trying to throw him off wasn't working. Kids just had way too much energy and stamina. I was already a little out of breath from the heat and all the walking, so embarrassing as it was, I eventually gave in.

"Fine, kid. If I battle you, will you leave me alone? I'm in a hurry. I've got someplace to be."

The kid jumped off of me and landed in a clumsy tripod stance on the dirt beside me. "Yes!" he hissed in excitement. "Now...Go! Hoppip!"

It was like he'd spent the last month perfecting the ideal ball-tossing stance. Out of his red-and-white Poké Ball came a short, roundish pink thing with two large leaves on its head. It looked pretty weak from what I could tell, more like a harmless garden weed than a creature suited for battle. Then again, I was quick to remember how I had underestimated its own nuisance of a trainer.

"Alright then," I muttered, backing away to make some distance. I'd agreed to it, so it looked like I didn't have much of a choice." Swearing at the brat under my breath, I looked up at him, procuring my grandfather's Poké Ball from my pocket. "Here goes nothing." Hopefully Gramps' little friend knew how to fight. I'd seen other people battle Pokémon countless times. How hard could it be?

I clumsily tossed the green ball, and sure enough, out came the Ledyba...and it was asleep.

"God dammit" was all I could think to, well, think.

My opponent was ecstatic. "Oh, a Ledyba! And it's asleep! This is perfect! I have the perfect chance to...wait." He stopped himself, pulling out his Pokédex. It looked like an older gadget, perhaps a hand-me-down. He spent the next minute or so in silence, eyes scanning the screen of the device.

"Hey, I thought you wanted a battle!" I called over to him impatiently.

"Shut up!" he yapped, which really only caused to irritate me further. "Okay! Got it!"

"Hm?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Your Ledyba is a Bug/Flying type, so it's weak to Flying-type attacks! And my Hoppip just so happens to be a Flying type! You're going down!"

Bug/Flying? Well yeah, I had known what type it was. Five minutes of web research had gotten me that much. I wasn't aware that Flying-type attacks were somehow stronger against Bug Pokémon, though. But it did make sense. Birds typically ate insects, right?

With this news having been presented to me, now I was worried that this seemingly harmless Hoppip was going to devastate my sleeping Ledyba with one of its Flying-type attacks. I didn't care about winning the battle, but I couldn't fail Gramps and let Ledyba get hurt. I really started to regret letting myself get hit by that branch.

"Hahahahahaha!" the kid chortled, as if he'd practiced that laugh a thousand times over. "You're in for it, buddy! I'm gonna stomp you so hard! Okay Hoppip! Use Splash!"

"Splash?" I thought to myself. "'Splash'? An odd name for a Flying attack if I'd ever heard one, not that I really had. Not 'Wing Blade' or 'Air Slicer'? 'Splash'?"

"Hoppiiiip!" My attention instantly fixated back to my opponent's Pokémon. The small Flying-type creature began hopping over to Ledyba, slowly. It seemed so lightweight, skipping like it was on the moon, as if the tiniest breeze was going to whisk it away any second. Still, I was actually sweating in nervous anticipation.

Anxiously, I shouted at my Pokémon. "Oh come on! Wake up, Ledyba! It's not even close to sunset! I know you're a morning person...er...Pokémon, but seriously, wake up!" But it was too late, as Hoppip bounded over to Ledyba, leaping high up with an approaching hop, and came falling down on top of it. I could hardly watch.

...But it did nothing. Ledyba wasn't even fazed. It just lied there, snoozing. And the Hoppip's attack didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever. Was it really just so lightweight that its jumping was harmless?

"Yeah! That's it!" the kid cheered. "Keep at it! Keep using Splash!" The Hoppip obeyed, and it kept jumping on top of Ledyba. But it still seemed to do nothing. "You're powerless to stop us!" the kid gloated maniacally. "It's only a matter of time now! I am the greatest!"

Perturbed, I figured I had a matter of time to check my phone. I web-searched the move 'Splash'. It did nothing. The move literally did nothing. But that kid sure did seem convinced that it did something. By that point, I was no longer scared. I was bored.

Impatiently, I called to the Ledyba again. "Hey! Ledyba! Wake up!"

And to my surprise, it did. "Ba?" It was the only sound it made as it opened its eyes and slowly stood itself up on all six legs, barely noticing the Hoppip bouncing on top of it, as if it was some sort of regular occurrence.

I did know some of Ledyba's attacks, simply because I had done the research, but guessing that this Ledyba was probably low in experience and probably hadn't learned many techniques, I told it to use the only attack I was confident it had to know. "Use Tackle!"

Suddenly, surprising me somewhat, the drowsy little insect seemed to obey. It sprung up and shook the Hoppip off of its back. Sure enough, the Pokémon was tossed into the air like a plastic bag, floating around in a daze a few feet off the ground. Ledyba opened its wings and flew up after it, ramming its body into its opponent's. The Hoppip called out in shock, but appeared mostly unharmed.

"Oh no you don't!" its trainer shouted in anger. "Use another Splash attack!"

Hoppip rose high into the air and began descending upon Ledyba again, but it fell like a feather, and I wasn't waiting all day for it to go on another bouncing spree. "Ledyba! Tackle, again!"

Ledyba flew up and tackled it again, knocking it farther away.

"No!" my opponent whined. "Hoppip! Use, uh...Splash?"

I was getting pretty bored by that point. "Tackle."

That's all it took to knock the Hoppip away and into a stray tree. Its head leaves actually got tangled in the tree's branches, but Ledyba's attack was enough to deplete its energy, it seemed, since it hung limply without trying to escape. It looked like we won. I was surprised. Was that how Pokémon battles went? Talk about boring. What exactly was the appeal again?

"No! Dangit!" the kid cried. His face was red, and he looked to be on the verge of a tantrum. He shot his angered glance at me, and shouted. "Fine! Looks like you win! You liar! You said you weren't even a trainer!" He ran over to his defeated Hoppip, prying it out of the tree branches and returning it to its Poké Ball. He walked over to me, sulking and pouting. "Alright. Here's your prize money. It's part of my allowance, but just take it". He offered me a fist-full of crumpled-up bills. "I just wanted to win a dang battle," he muttered, head held low, probably intending for me to hear.

I went from feeling a little smug over my victory to somewhat remorseful. I didn't want to crush that kid's dreams and take his money. I ruined his battle, and I didn't even want to win! I didn't care about winning. I cared about keeping Ledyba safe and getting the heck out of there.

Still, I thought, he sort of asked for it. Heck, he demanded it. So I guessed he was just getting what was coming to him. Trainers tended to suffer from delusions of grandeur, I reminded myself. It was probably a good thing I was showing him early on that success wasn't something that was guaranteed just because you wanted it badly enough.

"Alright then," I said, taking my prize money, thinking I could use it to buy a soda later. "Hey, look. Don't feel down. Everyone loses every now and then. Trust me. I know."

He didn't even look up at me. "Yeah, whatever. Now I have to go back home and heal Hoppip again."

"I really was being honest when I said I'm not a trainer," I continued. "You really shouldn't have challenged me. But it was all dumb luck that I won. No skill involved, really. If you keep training, I'm sure you'll start winning more battles." I was sort of lying, as I wasn't sure how long training actually took, or how much potential the kid actually had.

Heck, I didn't even know why I felt the need to be so encouraging of a hobby I really didn't appreciate. Maybe I was just too soft. Regardless, I wanted to get a move on, so I spoke up. "Here, take this." Since I felt so bad, I took off my backpack and fumbled around until I found a spare potion and handed it to the kid. My mom had given me a few for the trip, just in case something bad happened to the Ledyba, not that I expected any such thing to happen. I figured I could bother to spare one.

"Thanks, I guess," he quipped, still sulking. "But you know, if you really don't plan on battling, you really shouldn't be out here." I noticed I was standing in a patch of tall grass, and shuffled back onto the road.

"It's okay," I said, defending myself. "I don't plan to encounter too many Pokémon."

The boy looked at me like I was stupid. "It's not just the wild Pokémon you should watch out for," he flatly blurted out. And with that, he picked up the stick again and dragged it along the ground behind him as he headed down the road in the direction I'd come from. I watched him go until he was far off, then continued on my way to Cherrygrove, hoping there'd be no more roadblocks keeping me from my mission.

It would probably go without saying how pointless those hopes were.