I took a few tentative steps through the route, hiding in some shrubbery and waiting for the people this world had decided would be my friends. Shauna, the one Shinobi and I hated the most, was the first to walk by, followed by Tierno, who had decided to ignore food for a little while, with Trevor close behind, almost melting into Tierno's back. Serena decided to be observant and noticed my hiding spot in the bushes, grabbing my by my jacket and pulling me out.
"Okay, Jack. I'm not gonna pretend like I know anything about you or the way you raise your Pokemon. All I'm asking is that you let Shauna handle Vix the way she wants." She told me sternly, with me being a little thrown off by what she had called Shauna's Pokemon.
"Fine. I'll just watch as Shauna ruins the lives of her Pokemon." Serena was about to make an outburst, but I interrupted her before she had the chance. "Why are you using Vix's proper name?" She sighed at me, before giving a small smile.
"I know that you can talk to Pokemon. After all, so can I." She threw her own Pokemon out, Chespin. "That's how I know that this little guy's name is Paladin." I looked over at Shinobi, who nodded in agreement.
"Hello there. You must be the one my trainer calls Jack." The Chespin stated.
"Yeah. Nice to, uh, meet you, Paladin. So, Serena. If you can understand Pokemon too, why are you so adamant about letting Shauna train Vix like that?" I asked with a hint of anger in my voice. She returned Paladin to his Pokeball and looked at the ground.
"I know that what she's doing to Vix isn't exactly fair, but she's just a kid, Jack. It's not our place to criticize, even if we disagree with what she's doing." She stage-whispered to me, before walking away. She turned back to face me. "I hope we can be friends, Jack. You seem nice." She smiled weakly before turning back and fleeing the scene.
Whilst training Shinobi and Cinder against some of the wild Pokemon in the area, and against one stupid kid and his Zigzagoon, I had some time to think about my relationship with my Pokemon. While it was true that I didn't like Pokemon, and that I wasn't taking the League Challenge of my own volition, I felt some sort of connection with my Pokemon. I couldn't describe it. I had long since realised I genuinely cared for Cinder despite my general disdain for Pokemon. My feelings revolving around Shinobi were ... something else entirely. She moved with a certain grace, her voice was calming, and despite that, she could still take care of herself. We seemed to have the same negative view of each others species, and yet both found exceptions. In that way, we were both like each other, and you know what they say - you're always attracted to those similar to-
"No! Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts!" I slapped my cheek, grateful that both Cinder and Shinobi were in their Pokeballs when I shouted at my incredulous thoughts. However, after reviewing my own thought patterns, I realised that if I was having these thoughts at all, then my feelings must have been genuine. Granted, I wasn't gonna bring this up to her, but it was nice to think about. Hugging her, kissing her, telling her how much I loved her, putting her on her back and ... I realised at that point that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to think about it after all. Once my deviant and illegal thoughts had gone, it was night-time and I was far, far away from Aquacorde. I sighed, realising that I was sleeping rough that night. I pulled a small tent from my bag and hammered in the pegs, pitching the tent, and with the return of my horrible thoughts, pitching a second tent somewhere else entirely. Once the tarp was down and my sleeping bag and pillow were out, the other tent was gone and I considered it safe to grab my two Pokeballs out of my bag and send Cinder and Shinobi out.
"Okay, you two." I told them, getting down on one knee to talk to them properly. "I'm gonna let you two work out the sleeping arrangements between yourselves. I'm off to fix dinner." I stepped back into the tent and emptied my bag. I had brought some beans, spam, a few kinds of fish that I didn't want to begin to consider the source of, and a large bag of chocolates. Those were important. More important than any sort of fruit or vegetables, it seemed, as my mother had packed none of either the previous night. It wasn't like I would be able to work any sort of confectionary magic, anyway, as all I had were some bowls, plates, a knife, some forks and a camping stove. However, there were some sweet berries in the bottom of the bag, which I was eternally grateful for, as they were each quite large and would fill up the girls nicely. Speaking of the girls, while waiting for my dinner to cook on the crappy little stove, I could hear that their conversation had drifted away from the sleeping arrangements and had arrived at Cinder speculating that Shinobi harboured feelings for me.
"Be honest with me, Shinobi. You love him, don't you?" Cinder teased, making me double-take.
"N-n-n-n-"
"No? You don't? Because it seems that you do."
"I don't! Honest!" She whispered, although it wasn't enough to stop me from hearing everything. "Cinder, why are you looking at me like that? I'm serious! Those thoughts would be wrong!" She objected, trying to get Cinder to believe her.
"Wrong, but not necessarily false." From the shadows cast on the tent, I could see Shinobi recoil in horror. "I know your secret. Don't worry. I won't tell." She said, Shinobi sighing with relief.
"I don't know why I feel these feelings, Cinder. I mean, I know why I like to be around him. He's kind, he looks after us, and unlike those other humans, his , erm ... 'friends', he actually knows what he's doing. The fact that he's one of those humans who can understand us probably helps. However, I don't know how those feelings of 'like' have transformed into feelings of 'love'." She explained, occasionally looking at the tent to see if I was listening in on her. "I need your help, Cinder." She pleaded.
"Well, I can't make you fall in love with someone else, I can make sure that you have some more confidence in case you ever work up the courage to explain to him how you feel. Normally, Jack doesn't actually like Pokemon, but-"
"How is that moral support?" She yelled, quickly covering her mouth and looking back at the tent.
"Let me finish. But, he feels something different about you and I. He's told me that he sees me as a friend, not a Pokemon. However, he told me during our private conversation that he liked you too, but in a different way." Shinobi perked up. "A way he can't explain. Take that as you will. In my opinion, I think that means he loves you back. Just know, if you ever need someone to talk to, share your feelings with, or need help when you confess how you feel about him, I'll be there." She said, wrapping a wing around her.
"Thanks, Cinder. I know we haven't known each other long, but I think that we're gonna be good friends." She told her in a low voice. "I'm not gonna tell him how I feel yet. Maybe I'll wait until I evolve. Maybe I won't tell him at all - I'm still not sure if I want to stay as a trained Pokemon or not. I might end up asking him if I can be released into the wild." She sighed and sat down, wallowing in her thoughts.
Thinking it was safe, and the food being done, I poked my head out of the tent and yelled to the girls that it was dinnertime. They walked into the tent and set down, eyes lighting up upon seeing the Pecha berries.
"Eat as many as you want, girls." I told them with a smile, looking on as they tore the bag open and grabbed one each, eating them with extreme gusto. Meanwhile, I was indulging in a dish of spam and beans. Not the most extravagant of dishes, but it would have to do until I could get to a shop in the next town. All I knew is that I was going to have to rush to Santalune City the next day. I polished off the salty and not-at-all healthy dish within time,wishing I hadn't even touched them and opened the bag of chocolates. when I offered them some, they were more than happy to accept the confectionary. I didn't blame them. Who would turn down free food? We enjoyed an entertaining night of swapping scary stories and daring each other to do stupid things, culminating in them managing to convince me to eat one of their Pecha berries. I stupidly accepted the dare, thinking that someone must have laced my dinner in all kinds of alcohol, and grabbed one of them, stuffing it into my mouth I instantly regretted every life biting into it.
I ran outside the tent and threw up my dinner, and possibly every other meal I had eaten since the age of 9, into a nearby bush, listening to the girls laughing their asses off. I joined in on their laughter after realising I had vomited on a sleeping Zigzagoon, which ran off to Arceus-knows-where. I got back into the tent after wiping the rest of it from my mouth and rubbing my hand into as many scented flowers as possible. The laughter quickly died down when I brought up the sleeping arrangements.
"So, where are you two sleeping?" I asked, flattening out my sleeping bag.
"Well," Cinder started. "I was gonna sleep on the tarp and rest my head on the pillow."
"Fair enough." I turned to face Shinobi. "Where are you gonna sleep?"
"I'll tell you once you're in your sleeping bag." I gave her a funny look, but nodded anyway. "Turn away, you two." I said, starting to slip out of my clothes. Cinder gave an immature grin but turned away regardless. Shinobi, however, seemed to be determined to turn around and get a look at me getting undressed. I knew she was doing it, and I knew why she was doing it. It didn't matter to me. I already knew how she felt about me. The only problem was that she didn't know that. Luckily, I was able to avoid asking any awkward questions and told the girls that it was safe once I had gotten into my sleeping bag and had the pillow under my head. Cinder collapsed onto the ground and put her head onto the pillow.
"Okay, Shinobi, I did what you asked. So, where are you going to be sleeping tonight?" I asked her. She answered with her actions, jumping onto me and curling up on my lap. "Well, okay then. Goodnight, Cinder." She chirped in response, drifting off to sleep. "Goodnight, Shinobi."
"Goodnight, Jack." She whispered, smiling and falling asleep. I soon followed suit.