Chapter Two

"Alright, Victini! Let's go!" I smile as I watch it bounce around happily.

Cheren pulls out his Pokédex. Bianca immediately peers over his shoulder.

"Victini, the victory Pokémon. It creates an unlimited supply of energy inside its body, which it shares with those who touch it."

Cheren sighs and pockets his Pokédex. "Water gun."

I smirk. Alright, Victini, let's use agility to dodge and then use confusion. It chirps in acknowledgement. Just as Oshawott's attack was about to hit, Victini disappeared. I notice Cheren's eyes widen slightly. I make sure not to look at Victini when it reappears; that might give away its position. We don't want that to happen since its in Oshawott and Cheren's blind spot.

Victini wastes no time in using confusion. After using that attack, it uses agility again and appears in front of me. Upon looking closer at Oshawott, I realize that he is confused. Great job, Victini! Let's finish it off with incinerate.

Cheren's calling out commands to his Pokémon, but the poor thing is so confused that it keeps hurting itself. That must be so frustrating. But why doesn't he just use a Persim berry? Oh, wait. He's just starting out on his journey so of course he wouldn't have any. That's a total duh, Aimee.

Oshawott seems to have snapped out of its confusion, but it's too late. Even though Cheren told it to dodge, the water Pokémon wasn't fast enough. Incinerate hit it square on, knocking Oshawott out.

"Winner is Aimee!" White calls from the edge of the field.

"You forgot to say—"

"Oh, whoops. Oshawott is unable to battle, yadda, yadda, yadda, I don't care 'cause this won't be the job I'll be doing."

I laugh a little bit. "Okay, Victini, return." I walk over to the boy. "Nice battle. I hope we can do this again." I hold my hand out again, hoping he'll shake it. I'm not really expecting him to, so it comes as no surprise when he just starts walking towards the next town.

"What's up his butt?" I mumble to myself.

I start following Cheren to the next town when I hear Bianca's voice. "Shouldn't we set up camp? It's starting to get dark."

I glance at the sky. "I think we're good. The next town isn't too much farther." The reason why I said that is because the sky isn't really getting dark. The sun has just begun its decent, so I believe we have plenty of time.

When I see Cheren again, I had just arrived in Accumula Town. He sees the three of us and waves us over.

"What's going on?" White asks him.

"I don't know."

I glance around, noticing someone missing. "Hey, guys? Where'd Bianca go?"

White points at the Pokémon Center. "Her Pokémon were exhausted so she decided to let them rest.

I'm about to respond when I hear his voice. I almost freeze, but then a thought runs through my head: What if he can see me? I immediately hide behind Cheren. He's strong, right? So, if he comes over he'll be able to take him on… hopefully… I put my back to the crowd. I begin thinking of ways to make myself less recognizable. I could cut my hair. It's not much, but I could give myself bangs, maybe put in a few layers. And then the worst thought comes. Straightening my hair. My hair is slightly curly and I love it. But it was the only thing that would drastically change my look.

I have to do it. Even though I may not like it, I have to.

When I look over my shoulder, I notice Team Plasma packing up. Once they leave, Cheren asks, "That's not true, is it?"

"Tch. Of course not. It's just a load of bull," I say.

"Hey, who's the dude with the green hair? He hasn't been talking about the rally. He's just standing there."

I look at White and follow her gaze. He looks a lot like… I stop that thought and turn my back again.

"What's your name?"

I peek over my shoulder to see who spoke. It was the green haired guy.

"That's not polite. You should introduce yourself before asking for another's name."

If I wasn't this frightened, I probably would've said something like, "Ha! Score: White, one. You, zero."

"I'm sorry. My name is N."

"And I'm White."

"What's your friend's name?"

"Cheren?"

"No, the girl."

"Oh, she's Ai—"

"Aiko," I say. If he's in any way related to Master, I wouldn't want him knowing my real name. When he challenges White to a battle, I start shaking.

Cheren must've felt me shaking; he asks, "Are you okay?"

I don't respond. Actually, it's more like I can't. My shaking gets so bad that I can't support myself, so I fall to my knees. I stare at my shaking hands. It hasn't been this bad since the castle.

I see two hands grab my own. Fear taking over me, I pull them back and look at the person's face. Cheren…

"Let's get you inside."

He helps me up and steadies me as we walk to the Pokémon Center.

"Do you have any rooms left?"

"Of course! Follow me."

Cheren sets me on the bed and sits in the chair next to it. When he sees that I'm not getting any calmer, he tells me, "You're safe here. Just take deep breaths."

When I start taking deep breaths, they're a bit shaky, but soon I start getting calmer and the shaking slows to a stop. I whisper, "Thank you."

He just nods and tells me to sleep. I take his advice and lay down. Unfortunately, I don't have a peaceful sleep. It just had to be filled with nightmares from my times at the castle.