Identity Crisis [Pokemon]

Leap of Faith

"They say jump, you say how high?"

-Rage Against the Machine

Somewhere in between excitedly running back and forth through my room with Wiz and standing on the balcony, I fell asleep. When I came to, the boat was moving now, slowly, but it was definitely moving. Wiz snored away peacefully on my chest. I raised my arm up to block the sun from my eyes. I know most trainers started their journeys happy, but I don't think any of them were in league with what I was feeling. I hadn't even fully started my adventure yet and I was already bouncing off of the walls like a ten year old.

I picked up Wiz and placed him in a makeshift bed I made out of some towels for him earlier to go and check if I could still see Unova. Much to my surprise, I couldn't. It was now nothing more than a spec in the distance. Now this is real. There's no turning back now.

I wondered if Fletcher had found my letter when he found that I was missing. I really hoped he did. Even more, I wondered what his reaction was to my absence. I hoped Lily was okay. Wilfred too- even if he had been pretty hostile towards me during my time in Unova. A wave of sadness swept over me. Don't think about them. Just don't... It's better that way...

I didn't have to force myself not to think about Unova because my stomach had rumbled loudly. I'd just walked twenty-something miles in eight hours and hadn't had anything to eat in over twelve hours. I really needed to invest in nutritional bars or breakfast bars when we touched down in Olivine City. Something small for when I was traveling long distances and there wasn't a city or a Center in the middle of nowhere.

I returned the sleeping Wiz back into his ball and headed out into the halls. The moment I opened my door, I was prompted to go back in and lock the door for the remainder of the trip. Kids, of all ages, were running around the halls like it were field day. It wasn't just four or five of them reeking havoc, there were around fourteen or fifteen of them. Their childish laughter reverberated off the walls making it sound a lot louder than it really was. I was surprised that no one was telling them to be quiet. "I may never have kids after this," I thought, pushing my way passed them, "Was I like that when I was little?" I hoped not.

Luckily, I made it out of there with very little injuries- one of the children had thrown a ball at my face when I had refused to play with them. Who would've guessed that a little kid could be so spiteful?

I headed straight for the cafeteria after that. I passed a few trainers on the way and found that battling was confined to the Battling Area. I made sure to stay as far away as possible from as I could. I wasn't ready to lose my second battle around a lot of people. Plus, with my luck, I was certain one of them had to have had a fire or flying type. I even managed to somehow convince myself that one of them even had a tyranitar.

"Hello again!" A squeaky voice said, knocking me out of my thoughts about how delicious my sandwich was. I glanced up from my sandwich to see the girl that had been stepping on my heels hours before.

"Why me?" I thought, looking back down at my food, "Maybe she'll go away if I ignore her... Arceus, please, please go away."

"Hey, mister!" She giggled, trying to grab my attention. She was around three feet tall and was skinny, but still had baby fat on her arms, legs, and cheeks. She was pale in complexion and had freckles all over her pudgy face. She had short curly blonde hair as well as vibrant blue eyes. She wore a red and white polka dot dress with white stockings and black buckle shoes. If I weren't so sure she was hell bent on making my trip a living nightmare, I would've thought she was cute.