The moving truck rattled over some bumps in the road. Inside, it was cramped and dim, boxes piled all around. Wally sat cross-legged on a folded blanket between a couple of crates. Across from him, Ralts rested on a pile of sweaters, quiet but watching everything.
Wally held a small disc in his hands-a Technical Machine. It glowed faintly, the plastic casing cool under his fingers.
"You curious, huh?" he said with a small smile, turning the disc over. "This is called a TM. It teaches Pokémon new moves right away. This one's for Rock Smash. Uncle gave it to me before we left."
Ralts blinked slowly, eyes locked on the disc. She leaned forward a little, tense and interested. Wally caught the movement.
"You wanna try it?"
The little psychic Pokémon gave the tiniest nod, her horn glowing softly. Wally could almost feel her wish to get stronger, to have more to fight with.
His smile softened. "I wish you could. But Rock Smash's a Fighting-type move." He crouched beside her, voice gentle. "Some Pokémon can learn moves that aren't their type, but you're a female Ralts, so you can't learn Fighting moves like Rock Smash."
He glanced at her, patient. "If you were a male, you could grow into Gallade, who's Fighting-Psychic and can learn moves like that. But since you're a female, you'll evolve into Gardevoir. She's more into Psychic and Fairy moves, so Rock Smash wouldn't really fit."
Ralts didn't move, but Wally saw a little shift, her head dipped just a bit, her horn dimmed to a quiet red. Not angry or upset. Just… silent.
"I get it," Wally said softly, putting the TM back in its case. "It sucks. You want to get stronger faster."
He reached out and ran a hand gently over her cool, soft hair.
"But you're going to evolve into a Gardevoir someday. She's powerful in her own way, graceful, strong, and beautiful." His voice dropped to a whisper. "We'll find moves that suit you better. Moves that feel right."
Ralts didn't say anything, but her horn shimmered softly, like a candle flickering back to life. She leaned a little into his hand.
The truck jolted around a corner, knocking over a box that spilled some books. Neither of them even flinched.
Wally kept his hand on her head as the truck rolled on. Through the vent, green hills peeked in the distance. Verdanturf Town.
"New place," he whispered. "New start. We'll figure it out. You and me."
And Ralts, in her quiet way, simply stayed beside him.
...
The moving truck gave a final lurch before it stopped.
Wally pushed the doors open, sunlight flooding into the darkened compartment. A poetic sign for the new beginning, surely.
Ralts hopped down beside him, blinking up at the open sky.
Wally stepped out into the light. The breeze immediately touched his cheeks, cooler and gentler than the sticky air back in Petalburg.
A voice called out, bright and familiar. "Wally!"
He turned just in time to catch his mother in a wide-armed hug. She wrapped around him with surprising strength for someone so light.
"You made it safely!" she said, her voice rich with relief. "Oh, sweetie, you must be tired. You look a little pale. Are you okay?"
"I… yeah," Wally said with a shy nod. "It's quiet here. The air's nice."
His mother stepped back to brush some hair out of his eyes. "Verdanturf's the best, you'll see. Much better than the Fortree house we have. You'll breathe easier here. Everyone's kind, and the pace is slower. It's a perfect place to rest."
Wally gave a small, grateful smile and turned his eyes to the house, modest, one story, its windows open to the sunlight.
On the porch, his grandfather dozed in a rocking chair, hands folded over his stomach, mouth slightly ajar. The wind moved through the chimes above him, but he didn't stir.
"Grandpa hasn't moved since breakfast," his mom said with a light laugh. "I swear he's part of the furniture now."
Another voice chimed in from behind the door. "Is that Wally?"
A girl with pigtails and a dress decorated in pink bows skipped into view, her arms full of dolls. "Wally!" she squealed, bouncing toward him.
"Hey, Lily," Wally said, bending slightly as his little sister threw her arms around his waist. She caught sight of the pale shape hiding behind his leg.
"Ooooh, is that your Pokémon?" she asked, eyes going round. "What is it? Can I pet it?"
Before Wally could answer, Lily crouched and extended a small hand toward Ralts, who eyed her with a black stare.
Ralts tilted her head, horn flickering slightly. Then, without a sound, she stepped away and turned her back, slipping behind Wally's leg again.
Lily frowned. "Huh? She doesn't like me?"
Wally knelt beside her, giving her an apologetic look. "She's… just shy, that's all. It's not you."
Their mother stepped forward, watching the interaction with a smile. "So that's Ralts?" she asked. "She's beautiful. Look at that glow, she's special, isn't she?"
Wally nodded, brushing his hand along Ralts's head gently. The Pokémon leaned ever so slightly into the touch.
"You two already seem so close," his mom said, her voice softening. "She'll be good for you. And you'll be good for her."
Wally's eyes drifted down to Ralts. Her horn shimmered faintly. There was something… different about her. Not just her coloring, rare as it was, but the way she held herself. Observing more than reacting. Distant, but not cold. She reminded him of someone watching the world from behind glass. Like him.
"Do you want to give her a nickname?" his mom asked, smiling. "It's the first step to becoming a true Trainer."
Wally opened his mouth, then paused. His hand lingered in Ralts's hair.
He glanced down. "Do you want a name?" he asked quietly.
Ralts turned to look at him, meeting his eyes. For a moment, something passed between them, quick and clear. She shook her head once, gently.
Wally gave a soft chuckle and nodded. "No nickname, then. She likes just being Ralts, no more, no less."
His mom seemed slightly surprised, but then she nodded. "That's fine. Every Pokémon's different. I suppose she already knows who she is."
"Yeah," Wally said under his breath, looking down at her. "She really does."
...
Wally stood in a quiet clearing just beyond the garden path behind their new home. Ralts stood across from him, her tiny body still, posture poised and alert.
"Okay," Wally said, brushing green strands of hair from his forehead. "Let's start with what you've got."
He pulled out the Pokédex from his bag, which he had received upon passing his Pokémon Trainer license exam. He switched to the most recent entry and read aloud.
"Your current move set: Growl, Double Team, and Confusion. The last one's our key offensive move, for now."
Ralts tilted her head, her horn gleaming faintly in the sunlight. Her gaze fixed on Wally's hands as he held the pokedex close to his chest.
"I've been thinking," he continued. "Psychic energy's tricky. It's not like punching or kicking. It's like... thought becoming force. You have to focus everything, emotion, direction, clarity. You don't just launch power. You aim with your mind."
"Let's start with Confusion. Aim for that tree stump over there."
She nodded and stepped forward, lifting her arms slightly. Her horn began to glow faintly, pale blue light gathering at its tip. Then, with a soft flicker, the energy darted forward in a thin beam and struck the stump. A few leaves fluttered loose, but the stump didn't budge.
Wally rubbed his chin. "That was good form, but I think you're holding back. Let's focus on precision. Not just firing the energy, but visualizing the target."
He walked to the stump and placed a small, flat rock on top.
"Try again. This time, not just the stump, the rock."
Ralts nodded again. Her horn lit up, slightly brighter this time. The air shimmered faintly around her, and the psychic pulse flew faster, cleaner. It struck the rock dead center, sending it tumbling to the ground with a satisfying thud.
Wally grinned. "Much better!"
They repeated the exercise several times, Wally adjusting her position, giving quick feedback, and Ralts responding with quiet intensity. Each attempt grew more focused. Not always stronger, but sharper. More efficient.
"You know," Wally said as they paused to catch their breath, "Uncle said training's not about brute force. He said it's like learning to breathe underwater, slow, steady, controlled. You don't panic. You just trust."
Ralts tilted her head again.
"We're gonna get there. One move at a time."
He glanced down into his bag, rummaging for a moment before pulling out a small, shimmering object nestled in a velvet pouch.
He closed the notebook gently and placed it down on the grass.
From his pocket, he pulled out a small, glimmering object. A Rare Candy, nestled in a tiny velvet pouch.
Ralts stared at the candy, then at Wally, her crimson eyes blinking slowly.
He extended it toward her. "You've earned it. It's supposed to help a Pokémon grow stronger instantly. Level them up. But it's more than that, it's like... a marker. A milestone. For when you've really earned it."
He looked at her. "And I think today's that day. Our first training."
Ralts looked up at him, her horn tilting ever so slightly forward. Wally offered the Rare Candy in his palm.
"Go on."
She took it silently and bit into it with a curious, careful motion. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the air changed. A faint shimmer danced around her form, like ripples in still water, and her eyes flared with sudden clarity.
Wally blinked. "Wait… that was it? You leveled up?"
And then, suddenly, Ralts vanished.
The empty space where she stood shimmered, and then, a breath later, she reappeared behind Wally, the light flickering briefly around her horn.
"…Teleport," he whispered, awe blooming in his voice. "You just learned Teleport!"
Ralts tilted her head, as if testing the air, and then nodded once.
Wally laughed. "You did it!"
He dropped back into the grass, beaming at the sky.
"That's our first real step. The first of many."
Ralts sat beside him once more, silent as always, but a little closer this time.
...
Vedanturf Town, Hoenn Region.
Ralts.
From Ralts' view, the world was jagged.
It didn't remember a nest, or parents, or even the first time it saw the sky. It remembered cold and noise. It remembered other Ralts looking away when its horn glowed too brightly, when its body shimmered the wrong color.
Shiny. That was what the humans called it. Rare. Special. Different.
In the wild, being different meant being alone. Different meant danger. Only with strength can one be safe. Not different, not special.
But Wally had called it something else: beautiful.
He didn't ask Ralts to be like others. He let it sit in silence. He spoke like a person trying not to spook a bird. Gentle. Careful.
In him, Ralts saw weakness. And then strength. The kind of strength that grew in shadow and never asked to be noticed. The kind that looked it in the eye without flinching.
So it followed.
It trained.
...
Thanks for reading~