This is the journey of a man named Chris, who had dreams shared by many, yet lived experiences known by so few... 
There are many people in the world of Pokemon, who come in just as many varieties as these strange creatures. And you 
are about to discover, perhaps, one you may just consider the rarest of all...


Chapter 8 - Buneary In Need!


Moving forward, Chris and Ralts enjoyed what the forest had to offer, picking berries now and then to snack on as they
traveled. He taught the Ralts how to use its sense of smell to tell good food from bad, able to distinguish good berries
and such from bad, and the Ralts smiled and let out sounds of laughter whenever Chris gave it praise for telling the
difference correctly, rubbing its head and teaching it how to give a high five. He never thought being a Pokemon trainer
could be so... Different... Than what he expected. He knew all about the battles and how people bonded with their Pokemon
as they traveled, but actually getting to spend time with your own Pokemon was a whole different thing... It really
touched you deep down.


He finally walked up to the entrance of their first town, and headed in to explore. He had been here a few times before,
doing errands for the elders, but he never really took the time to look around. They came up to a huge fountain sitting
in the middle of one of the towns main plaza's, and sat down for a rest. Chris put Ralts on the edge of the fountain next
to him as he took off his rucksack, rummaging through it and taking out an old map he brought along. It revealed where
all of the gym's in the region were, as well as the best sightseeing locations too for anyone wanting to take the long
way to where they were headed. Glancing over the best paths to take, the Ralts turned its head, seeming to look around
as it listened to the sounds of the fountain. It slowly leaned over, reaching down and touching the water as it let out
more sounds of laughter, and as Chris asked Ralts if it wanted to stay in the town for a night or two, he suddenly heard
a loud splash, making him jolt as he heard the Ralts shouting loudly and flailing in the water. He quickly turned and
scooped it out, craddling Ralts and wiping the water off its face as it shouted and cried. Sweating slightly, he laughed
nervously as he gently bounced Ralts in his arms, saying it was alright.


Looking around, he saw the crowd watching him with bright eyed looks, many of the women swooning over the Ralts while
some of the seniors came up to pet it. Feeling so many people touching it, the Ralts clung to Chris as it shuddered,
but after some reassurance, Chris let Ralts sit on his lap as people came up to show it affection, its fear slowly
turning into joy as it found itself spoiled by the villagers. Some offerred it snacks, watching it nibble happily and
let out random burps. Chris didn't know if it was a good idea to have half a town spoiling the Ralts... But in the end
he guessed it did the Pokemon some good, being shown so much affection, even though some of the people had Pokemon of
their own that started showing looks of jealousy and frustration... Eventually the Ralts plopped onto its back on his
lap with a deep breath and a sigh, now stuffed with treats and exhausted from the attention. The villagers told Chris
how lucky he was as they left, waving with many having to calm their Pokemon by petting them as well as they went.


Shaking his head with a smirk, he chuckled at Ralts as it rubbed its stomach, groaning as it burped yet again. This made
Chris laugh, causing Ralts to puff out its cheeks angrily. He rubbed its head, telling Ralts sorry as he picked it up
in his arm again, flinging his rucksack back over his shoulder. Traveling through the town, he found a Pokemon center
and one of the towns inn's side by side! Now that's a stroke of luck, he thought as he went into the center to get some
medicine for Ralts stomach. Setting his Ralts on the counter, the nurse wecomed Chris and the Pokemon, asking what they
needed. After a moment, she brought out some medicine and tried to feed it to Ralts, but as it smelled the medication
it quickly jumped away, falling off the counter. Chris caught it luckily and laughed nervously, apologizing as he told
the nurse about the Ralts condition. She gave her apology and said it would likely take the medication if he gave it,
all things considered, so she handed it over to Chris who, after a little convincing, finally got Ralts to take it,
causing it to shudder and hold out its tongue, letting out a loud blech like noise. Chris and the nurse laughed together
and he gave her his thanks, nodding his head to the nurse as he left.


Now that wasn't so terrible, was it? he asked Ralts, the Pokemon crossing its arms and scowling in silence. Its stomach
did feel better though... So Ralts gave him a nod as he headed next door, but as he entered the inn, another trainer
stormed out, pulling a small Buneary by the ear behind him, the Pokemon shouting and trying to pull away in pain. As 
Chris turned to talk to the trainer, the entrance suddenly shut in his face, and he let out a sigh as he shook his head.
Honestly... How could people like that be so close to his grandfathers village...? Deciding to let it go for the time
being, he went up to the receptionist and requested a room, making use of the ATM machine near the front desk to get
more cash from his grandfathers account. He remembered his request for a card, and thought it would be for the best to
pick one up while they were here. Having been given a key, he went to his room on the second floor and placed his rucksack
in a corner, taking out his grandfathers Pokeball and setting it on the stand next to his bed as he set Ralts on the
blankets. As it felt the soft sheets, it suddenly jolted and started jumping on it, laughing as it bounced up and down
all over the mattress. Chris shook his head with a sigh, telling Ralts there was an old saying about Mankey's jumping
on a bed and hurting themselves, but Ralts blew a rasberry and continued jumping.


His eyebrow twitching, Chris opened his blinds, only to notice he had been given a room with a balcony! Surprised, he
slid open the glass door and stepped out, taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh as the breeze blew past. Looking
around, he watched the Pokemon playing on rooftops and flying through the sky, as the watched people going about their
business below. Some of their talk caught his attention however... As several groups were talking about a trainer who
was seen treating his Pokemon badly. Considering it was likely the same trainer as before, Chris shook his head with a
sigh. If it were his grandfather, that trainer wouldn't have been able to train another day in his life, treating his
Pokemon that way... But he wasn't really the fighting type himself, so from him it would just turn out to be a lecture
the trainer wouldn't even pay attention to. As he turned to the Ralts, asking the Pokemon if it thought he was weak due
to this, he suddenly saw Ralts in the air and thud onto the floor, cutting his sentence off half way through as he smacked
himself on the forehead and groaned, Ralts now sitting up on the floor and rubbing its face making crying sounds.


He walked up to it and squat down, scowling at Ralts. He warned it about jumping on the bed... That's what happens when
someone doesn't listen to common sense. Ralts scowled, facing up at Chris with teary eyes, and he shook his head with a
sigh, picking it up and sitting it back on the bed, this time asking if it learned its lesson. Ralts crossed its arms
and faced away from him, seeming to scowl for a moment, until it slumped down embarrassed and nodded. He smiled and
rubbed its head, telling Ralts it was a fast learner then, and lifted it up onto his shoulder. They had to go see about
the card he needed so he could use his money without having to go through so much, and he set off from the inn, locking
his door behind him and heading back out onto the streets. Finding an occassional map of the town, he slowly made his
way to the bank, regretting more and more not bothering to actually memorize the town from his previous visits. Not
that he cared too much though, as it gave him the chance to get to know the people better, and even have a few battles
with the rookie trainers of the area. Ralts was quickly learning how to make the most of its senses, and in turn this
caught the eye of several people within the town! Word about a trainer with a blind Ralts spread fairly quickly, and
there were many intrigued as to how well it was trained for battle. The only problem was... Ralts still had a tendancy
of turning a battle into playtime, teasing other trainers Pokemon with its psychic abilities. While this made many laugh,
Chris couldn't help but feel just a little bit... Embarrassed deep down...


They eventually reached the bank, and Chris was able to leave happily with card in hand. No more using numbers on a
piece of paper! It was just a quick swipe and done! He jumped into the air, thrusting the card above him and causing
the Ralts to cling to him nervously, giving him a bop on the head for suddenly jumping around and scowling. Chris
just laughed more in response, telling Ralts sorry as he looked over his new bank card. With a grin on his face, he
headed for the market, telling Ralts it was in for a great dinner as he gathered ingredients, causing the Pokemon to
groan and shake its head, still full from the snacks it was given earlier. He told Ralts it wasn't his fault it let
other people spoil its dinner, and told the Pokemon to take that into consideration next time, as it was going to miss
out on a great feast!


Once finished, Chris left and headed back for the inn, looking in his bags with sparkling eyes. It was going to be his
first real dinner as a Pokemon trainer, and he couldn't wait to celebrate it properly! However... Once he reached the
inn, he saw the trainer from before attempting to battle another trainer with his Buneary. Unfortunately, it didn't
look like it wanted to battle, simply standing in place holding itself and trying to cover its ears. The opponent was
watching as the trainer yelled at the Pokemon, and after a moment, decided not to have the battle after all, feeling
uncomfortable with how the situation was turning out. The opponent backed away slowly, and left, taking his Pokemon
with him as they all looked back with concerned while the trainer continued yelling at the small Buneary.


Chris shook his head with an irritated scowl and walked up to the two, asking why the trainer had to have such an attitude
towards his own Pokemon. Unfortunately, his words fell on deaf ears as the trainer glanced at him and grinned, asking
if Chris was looking for a battle too. Although he shook his head and said no, the trainer smacked the Buneary on the
back of the head and said it had another chance to redeem itself, not to waste it and to actually do something useful.
It shouted in pain in response, suddenly tucking itself into a ball and hiding in its fur. Ralts was starting to panic,
hiding behind Chris's head and clinging to it tightly as it shuddered. It didn't like hearing a human yelling and
beating on another Pokemon, especially after what it had been through as well, and it whimpered behind his head. Chris
walked up to the trainer as he pulled his leg back, getting ready to kick the Buneary like a ball, and just as he swung
his foot forward as hard as he could, Chris suddenly smashed the trainers shin with his own shin, halting his movements
in an instant just before his foot came into contact with the terrified Pokemon, shivering inside its fur.


The trainers face seemed as if to twist up inside itself, his eyes bulging and welling up with tears. After a second,
he suddenly fell back with a scream, clinging to his leg tightly as he rolled from side to side. Looking down at him,
Chris crossed his arms and gave the trainer a lecture, reminding him that Pokemon are people as much as humans, and are
meant to be treated like family, not tools. There isn't a Pokemon in the world that would grow under such treatment, and
if it did, it definitely wouldn't be for the better. It was someone like this trainer that reminded Chris of the news
he heard revolving illegal experimenting that went on a long time ago, where people abused Pokemon so badly they turned
into dark creatures without a heart. They were powerful, but for all the wrong reasons, and he asked the trainer if that
was the kind of person he really wanted to be, willing to abuse Pokemon until they turned into monsters. Looking up at
Chris, he told him... Who cares if it makes a Pokemon unbeatable?


Shaking his head, Chris looked at the Buneary and squat down, petting it and talking to it softly. It slowly popped its
eyes out of its fur, looking up at Chris with tears streaming from its eyes as he looked at its cuts and bruises, some
parts of it swollen from abuse. Looking back at the trainer as he stood with a limp thanks to his injured leg, Chris
suddenly ordered Ralts to use its psychic to hold the trainer in place, setting the Pokemon on the ground as it obeyed
and lifted the trainer into the air. As he started to shout and scare Ralts, Chris walked up and shoved one of his ears
of corn into his mouth, making the trainer gag as Chris told Ralts to wait where it was. Picking up the Buneary, he
took it into the Pokemon Center, returning a few minutes later with some of the towns officers who happened to be inside
at the time getting supplies for their Pokemon as well. As they went up to the trainer, Chris told Ralts as he picked it 
up to release the trainer. Gathering his groceries and facing the inn, the trainer snarled at Chris as the officers
shoved him past, telling him he had no right to tell people how to train Pokemon.


Chris shook his head, yet told him he agreed. The officers paused and looked at each other confused as he turned
to face the abusive trainer. However, he did have the right to tell people how to treat others and Pokemon humanely,
especially since Pokemon were just as much people as they were. If all he wanted to do was set out to be a trainer with
no intention of actually caring for his own Pokemon, he had no right to be a trainer at all. If you don't like your
Pokemon, all you have to do is release it in its own habitat or hand it over to one of the centers instead of beating
it around like a limp leg, even though he ironically actually had one now... Chris smirked as the trainer grit his teeth,
and with a nod from the officers, they took the trainer off. Watching them leave, Chris suddenly heard applause coming
from the inn's balconies and from the center next door. Looking back, he saw the people walking out of the center and
leaning out of the inn from above. Rubbing the back of his head, he laughed nervously as Ralts paniced, covering its ears.
He waved at the small groups and went into the inn, heading to his room as he scratched his nose shyly. Geez... All he
did was give a little lecture... But he smiled nonetheless, feeling pride in himself as he set his groceries on the
table and sat Ralts on the bed again, reminding it not to jump as it flopped down, sitting still this time with a nod.


Chris turned and went into the kitchen area of his room, setting everything up to cook a well deserved meal as the sun
slowly began to set over the balcony, making Ralts sigh happily as it laid back and soaked in the warm evening rays. It
faced its master and smiled, thinking of what he did for the Buneary, picturing the day in its mind although it couldn't
making it wish all the more that it could. Chris however, at the back of his mind, kept thinking about the Buneary...
Unfortunately, it would likely still be returned to its trainer after the officers were done with him. He just hoped
his words stuck in the trainers mind and did some good for the sake of his Pokemon... He couldn't just take someones
Pokemon from them altogether, it wasn't his right even if he knew the owner was in the wrong. The law would do what
needed to be done... And if his words didn't work, maybe the intimidation from the officers would...


...Maybe...