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 7 - 


As he walked along, Chris noticed the Ralts had dozed off with its chin on top of his head. Not surprising considering
all of the stress it had been through the day before, combined with the stress it put itself through earlier. He let
out a chuckle as he moved forward, looking around at the plants and random Pokemon traveling about. Thinking about the
Ralts, he found another trainer popping up into his mind he had heard stories about. Apparently there was a young kid
who went all over the world with a Pokemon who was never put in a Pokeball either, and compared the trainer to himself,
now that he had a small Ralts drooling on top of his head. He wondered if... Maybe he would travel the world and be
recognized like that, if he would be able to have word spread about him. Nothing was impossible right? and he smirked
as he suddenly stumbled over a bunch of small Pidgey, trying to avoid hurting any of them as they fluttered all over
under his feet from the sudden startle. Ralts was woken from all of the sudden movement and gripped his head tightly,
shouting as he finally gained proper footing again and sighed in relief, patting the Ralts on the head and letting it
know he just stumbled over a few Pokemon in the road. Ralts let out a sigh and rested its chin on his head again, patting
his head softly like a drum as it seemed to sing a random song quietly. He looked up towards it, and with a smile let
the Pokemon do as it pleased.


Eventually, he finally came up to someone else heading in the opposite direction. The two waved at each other, and the
traveler asked Chris if he was a trainer too. He nodded and laughed nervously, saying he was in... A way... But had yet
to gain any real experience in being a trainer, telling the traveler of how he had just left his village and taken in
the Ralts on top of him, left behind by a trainer for being blind. The traveler walked up and leaned his face towards
the ralts, squinting his eyes at it, and tipped his hat to Chris. It was a mighty fine undertaking, tending to a Pokemon
like that. But he could tell the Ralts still had potential, and offered to give Chris a quick lesson in battling. The
traveler was an old man, taveling with a cane and oddly reminding Chris of his grandfathers Alakazam. He told the traveler
it might not be much of a battle, but he shook his head and told Chris his words were nonsense. The two put down their
gear and stood across from one another, with the old traveler taking out a Pokeball and giving it a toss, releasing his
Pangoro.


The small Ralts looked around confused, wondering what was going on, and Chris suddenly picked it up off his shoulders,
sitting it on the ground. It paniced for a moment, reaching up to him, but Chris told it they were going to have a quick
battle, and to turn around to face their opponent. He faced it in the proper direction, and the small Ralts did as he
told, standing straight, although shuddering out of a slight fear of the situation. The old traveler chuckled, and
called out to the Ralts, making it jump back as it made a noise in response. He told the small Pokemon it had nothing
to fear, that he could see potential in it, and simply wanted to teach it how to use its other senses to make up for
the one it had missing. It nodded nervously in response, seeming to look around, and Chris called out to let it know
he was still right behind it. The old trainer made his Pangoro go up and pat the Ralts on the head, carefully shaking
its tiny hand, yet still incidently making it lift up and down from the ground as it spoke to the Ralts, grinning and
backing away towards the old man. With the introductions out of the way, the old man told Ralts to prepare itself,
to focus on its sense of hearing, touch, and smell. Since it had psychic type capabilities, they would allow the 
Pokemon to master its remaining sense fairly quickly, but only if it was dedicated to doing so and had the will to
succeed.


Ralts faced towards the old man, and nodded, seeming to take on a... Slightly clumsy looking fighting stance with its
tiny hands up. The massive Pangoro blinked at the Ralts and its eyes lit up as it snickered, covering its mouth, due to
how cute the small creature looked as it attempted to be tough. The old traveler bonked it on the back of the head with
his staff, and the Pangoro looked back, nodding and telling him sorry through grunts. Chris squat down and rubbed Ralts
on the head, telling it not to let its shyness and fear get to it. This was a battle to help train it, not to hurt each
other purposely, so it just needed to focus and give it all it got. Ralts faced back at him and nodded, then faced back
towards Pangoro. Suddenly, it stomped down its foot and took a running stance, getting ready to charge. The old man
called out to Chris, and told him fighting with Ralts would be extremely different than fighting with normal Pokemon, as
not only would he have to call out which attack for it to use at the best times, but it would have to guide it and help
it keep focus on its proper senses until it got the hang of using them on its own. And suddenly, he ordered Pangoro to
use its body slam.


Nodding, it lunged forward, grunting as its feet crushed the ground with every step, and the Ralts began to panic, flailing
its arms as it shouted. Chris ordered Ralts to focus, and it suddenly froze, shuddering as it put its hands back up.
He told Ralts to feel the ground with its feet, sense where its enemies footsteps were coming from, and then... Just
at the right time... DODGE!!!


The small Ralts suddenly placed a foot forward to sense the Pangoro and immediately jumped as far as it could, making
the enourmous Pokemon stumble past it into a tree. It growled as the old man clapped his hands, telling the Ralts well
done as the Pangoro charged once again, attempting yet another body slam. This time it went for an aerial slam, jumping
up high and causing the Ralts to pat its foot around it confused, unable to feel Pangoro's movements. Chris told Ralts
it was in the air, and to focus its hearing. As the Pangoro suddenly came crashing down, the Ralts jolted and faced up,
hearing it falling through the wind as it growled. Its body trembled nervously, hearing something so huge coming down
from above, but Chris told Ralts to get ready. It nodded and took on a defensive stance. Hold it... Hold it... Hooolld
iiiit... DODGE!!!


Ralts lept away as fast and far as it could, landing on the ground just past the Pangoro's massive body as it landed on
its hands and knees, just in case the Ralts hadn't moved in time. The giant Pokemon looked around rapidly then underneath
it in concern, unable to find the Ralts, and as the smoke cleared it came into view, wobbling as it stood back up and
looking around confused. It... Actually did it...? and the Pangoro looked at it, blinking surprised as well. It stood
up and grinned, clapping its paws, and Ralts rubbed the back of its head, seeming to blush slightly as Chris crossed
his arms and smirked. Not bad... Not bad at all...


The two battled together for quite a while, helping train Ralts to learn all about blind defenses, and even taught it
a little offense as well! By the time they had finished, they discovered Ralts had several typical bilities, being
Confusion and Psychic, along with Magic Leaf. It was a bit of a comedic battle as well, due to Ralts repeatedly using
its abilities to play with Pangoro and tease him, making him hover in the air and such, tickling him while the large
Pokemon was under its control. Chris stood shaking his head, sweating a bit as he smiled nervously. It was good though
that Ralts seemed to be over its fears for the time being, actually enjoying the fight even if in a childish way. The
two trainers eventually sat down together to watch the two, with Chris randomly shouting out an order to Ralts as to
what to sense and when, how to react to this and that, and the old man nodded constantly. The kid wasn't half bad...
And he was training a blind Pokemon like a pro in ways... Very... Interesting... Was the lad sure he had never trained
a Pokemon before?


Chris laughed and shook his head, but went on to explain his time in the elders village not that far off behind them
and how he interacted with the people and Pokemon alike. He learned a lot of things from both sides of the community
there, and he... Guessed some of that helped to make training Pokemon seem natural to him in ways... And with the Ralts
being blind, it made him feel a sense of... Need... Of... Maybe purpose... and he shrugged, watching the two battle
once again. The old traveler smiled, watching as well, simply saying he had as much potential as his Ralts.


Finally, the Pangoro landed on its back with a loud thud, panting and spent of nearly all energy. While it was supposed
to be a training battle, it felt more like playtime, and the aged Pokemon simply couldn't keep up with the Ralts anymore.
The old traveler sighed, guessing that was it for their meeting then, and returned Pangoro into its Pokeball as it smiled
at Ralts and gave it a thumbs up, seeming to tell it well done as it grunted. Ralts let out a sound resembling laughter
as it rubbed its head and looked around, trying to figure out where its owner was. Chris called out to it, tapping his
foot on the ground, and the Ralts jolted, quickly turning and heading towards him. It really was one impressive Pokemon...
and as the old traveler stood up against his cane, he told Chris he had a few parting gifts for him.


As the Ralts walked up, lifting its head as if to look at Chris, it reached up its hands, hopping up and down, making
the two chuckle as he picked it up, setting it on his shoulder. The old traveler looked at the Ralts and told it he had
a few things to teach it that would help its master along the way, but as the Ralts nodded excitedly, Chris raised his
hand and shook his head, confusing the old traveler for a moment. He... Didn't want it to learn helpful techniques?
Chris responded telling the old man that wasn't the problem. Rather, saying he was Ralts master. Looking at the Ralts
who suddenly faced him seeming just as confused, Chris smiled and said instead of its master, instead of its trainer even,
he was its friend, figuring that sounded a lot better than both. Ralts mouth slightly opened silently, and it slowly closed
again as it seemed to fidget its tiny fingers shyly, the tiniest blush on its face.


The old trainer laughed loudly and gave Chris a pat on the shoulder. He was a good man indeed... And deserved what he
had to teach all the more because of it. He told Chris he was once a renowned move tutor years ago before deciding to
travel on one more grand stroll through the region, and was going to teach the Ralts some very special moves. Taking
out some rare TM's for Ralts, he used them on the Pokemon to teach it fire punch, icy wind, and signal beam. He told
Chris that they would come in handy, both in battle, and through his travels. If they ever separated, the ralts could
use signal beam to reveal where it was at any time, and whenever they were in the hottest climates, or just traveling
on a scortching day, icy wind would be a refreshing relief. Fire punch also had many uses, from camp fires, to lighting
up dark locations... With the right amount of creativity, a simple move could be used for any and everything to press
onwards during an adventure!


Chris blinked at the old traveler, amazed at his generosity, and thanked him, shaking his hand and bowing down, the
Ralts copying Chris by bowing as well on his shoulder. Laughing once again, the old traveler gave him a wave and told
him he'd be glad to stop by the village he had come from. If people were as delightful as him there, he couldn't wait
to arrive. With a smile and a nod, the two waved farewell to one another, and with some actual experience as a trainer
under his belt, Chris continued onward with a smirk as the Ralts smiled from ear to ear as well, having met a nice old
Pangoro who taught it ways to fight and make its... Friend... Proud of it! and Ralts face towards Chris, wishing it could
see him as it stood behind his head and started patting it like a drum once again, singing another happy sounding song
that made Chris laugh as he strolled.


This was turning out to be a great start to a long road ahead he thought, glancing back at his rucksack and giving his
grandfathers ashes within a thumbs up, feeling deep down in his heart the old man was giving him a thumbs up right back.