What's So Great About Being A Trainer Anyways?

Chapter 24 - ...?

I sighed. I guess it can't be helped. I walked up and handed more money through the window, then walked off.

A few seconds later I heard the same voice as before behind me. "Thank you!"

I turned around, and there she was, holding a cone just like me. Her face was even more bright red than before.

"No problem," I said, then waved and continued on.

Well there is one more thing that I want to see before I leave.

I walked once again to the pier, and once I was sure that no one was looking, I slipped through a manhole and into the sewers. I had heard that the sewers in Castelia were simply enormous and filled with poison type pokemon, so I had to check it out for myself.

The stench was almost overpowering, but I kept going. I walked through the web of underground tunnels, marvelling at the fact that an incredibly heavy city was built just above this. There were little signs of deterioration on the walls and ground, and if it wasn't for the greenish brown water, you would have thought that it was amazing. Of course, the smell kind of ruins everything.

I heard a splash behind me, and I readied a pokeball to catch whatever it was. When I spun around, however, I found that it was just the same girl. Is she... following me?

She was splashing around, staying afloat but unable to get to land.

She's a bit of a handful. I walked over the the side and extended my hand. "Come on, I'll pull you in."

Her face was pure relief and embarrassment as I clasped her hand and tugged her to shore. She was covered in the nasty water and miscellaneous goop.

"Um, I have to go clean up now." She ran off, but stayed as close to the wall as possible this time.

If she is following me, then how do I prove it? I decided that I would go outside of the city to some remote place and see if she also showed up. If she did, then there was no mistaking it.

By the sound of it, though, it seemed like I had a little time to kill before she would latch onto my trail again.

I decided to go for a walk in Central Plaza. It was smack dab in the middle of the city, so it was kind of hard to miss. It was also by far the greenest place in the city, as it was a natural oasis filled with trees, water, and smaller varieties of plants.

There were people of all sorts doing all sorts of things here. Couples holding hands in the shade of trees, street dancers entertaining the passerby, and the occasional child climbing a tree against their parent's wishes were all here. It was a lively yet calming place, and its unique atmosphere was the kind that just let a person recharge.

I went up to the large fountain in the middle of the park and sat down on the cement ring that encircled it. The sounds of talking and bird pokemon singing filled the air, and only the touch of the warm cement on my hands reminded me that this wasn't how things were supposed to be.

Castelia was built up in the southern center of Unova, and completely swallowed up the nature around it. They even seemed to be in the process of expanding into the surrounding land routes around the city. It was kind of sad, actually, but I also understood that people tend to multiply and need places to expand to.

I let the sense of relaxation sink in before deciding to move on. Sure, it was nice here and all, but something in me told to me to keep moving, searching for the thing that was missing.

I left the city and walked to Route 4, a desert route. The arid land and desert dust blew in my face to my never ending annoyance. This wasn't quite remote enough to test my theory though. Instead of travelling along the paved route, I left the path and headed to the highest vantage point that I could find.

It was not much more than an elevated rock really, perhaps a short plateau. Safe from sand getting in my face up here, I sat down and let out my pokemon for lunch. I laid out bowls of food for them, then pulled out a sandwich and some rice balls. A Casteliacone for snack? Yeah right, that was hardly filling at all!

Eventually, Aaron walked over to me and tugged on my sleeve.

"What is it?" I asked.

He pointed to my right.

I looked over and sure enough, the same girl as before was standing there, silent and nervous. "How did you find me?" I asked.

"Well, you don't normally see a Gyarados in the desert..."

"So that confirms that you've been following me," I said with a smirk. She had fallen right into my trap.

She looked at the ground, not responding to that.

"Why are you following me?"

She looked back up. "I wanted to ask you a question."

"A question? Why didn't you just ask me that the first time I saw you?"

She cringed. "It was too embarrassing..."

"So you followed me more and got into even more embarrassing situations?"

She covered her face. "I didn't mean to do it like that I was just too nervous to ask you if I could travel with you!"

"Huh?" She wants to travel with me?

"See! It's too embarrassing..."

"I think what's worse is that you just indirectly asked me it anyways."

She jumped and tried running off.

"Come back here," I said with a sigh. I pulled out one of my snacks and held it out to here. "Take this and come sit down for a moment."

She took the snack and followed my instructions.

"What's your name?"

"Ira."

"How old are you?"

"21."

21? She doesn't look or act that old. "Why do you want to travel with me?"

She paused. "I can't tell you yet."

"Alright, next question then. What experience do you have with pokemon and travelling in the wilderness?"

"Just a little. I went on a brief journey as a kid, but I decided that I wasn't cut out for it and instead decided to go to school and get a job in business."

"What changed your mind?"

She struggled with this question too. "I don't know."

"Fair enough. Do you have any pokemon with you?"

"Just my Skitty."

She clearly wasn't prepared in the slightest, but she reminded me of me from when I left my home in Hoenn. I was a little creeped out by her actions today, but at the same time I sympathized with her and didn't want to turn her down. Really, I had no reason to turn her down either. In the back of my mind I knew that I needed another human companion, especially someone who I had no history with. "Alright, fine. You can come with me."

"Really?!" Her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Sure, but only if you can answer this question."

It was a question that I had asked myself time and time again, but only recently had found the answer to, and it was a question that I wanted to instill in her mind too, for she would surely have to figure out the answer for herself eventually.

"What's so great about being a trainer anyways?"

A/N: The end?

Na, what's so great about endings anyways?

Join us soon with "What's So Great About Second Love Anyways?"!