Still There

I suppose I'm just a trainer.

You know, nothing special. People see me, but they don't recognize me like those few trainers that I know. I'm just ... there. I'm like a leaf on a tree. There are plenty of them out there. Some hide in the thickets of the other leaves, some stand out, some fall off, and some just wait for their end. Yeah, I guess we could all be described as leaves.

I think I'm a leaf that hides in the back while Brendan and May are the ones in the front or, better yet, on the top of the tree. But that's just my opinion. I don't see why you care to listen in the first place.

But it's funny really how your opinion about yourself collides with someone else's opinion. You end up having this big argument if you're special or not that can last for hours on end. Yes, to me, I'm still a leaf in the background but to others, I'm much more than that. Sure, I may not be noticed by big shots like Brendan or May anymore but I have helped them turn into who they are today after all, right? Someone once told me that everyone affects someone else no matter how big or small they are. My question is would anyone care if I were gone?

After all, I'm just a leaf blown in the wind. After all, I'm just.

There.

- - -

Wally Wood, an eighteen year-old teenager, got his bag ready for his next journey to another region. Already traveled through the Hoenn, Orange, and Kanto regions, the green-haired trainer decided to tackle the Johto region before finding a place to settle down and start a new life.

Wally looked around the busy streets of Petalburg City, a dark green bag slung over his shoulder. The wind blew across his cheek and ruffled his hair, causing the leaves in the trees to sway and the shutters on windows to open and close violently.

"It's great to be home," he said to himself, a small smirk on his face. "But I better go catch that ferry at Slateport before it leaves without me ... again." He looked at his watch to check the time. "I guess I have a few more minutes to resupply on Pokeballs before I leave." The boy – almost man – trainer walked down the dirt path and stopped in front of the Pokemon Mart. He looked through the window and saw the latest game in the Pokemon Series. The green-haired trainer raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Pokemon ... Orange?"

"Wally!" a high-pitched voice called from behind him. "Hey!"

Wally turned around and saw a young, ten year old girl with long black hair underneath a dark green bandanna and sparkling green eyes to match run towards him. "Jade?" he asked, unsure. After all, he hadn't seen the girl for about a year or two.

The girl jumped up and hugged Wally, almost knocking him down. "Yeah! It's me, Wally!" Jade cried as she let go of Wally. She smiled and enlarged a Pokeball. "Look what I have!" she remarked. "I just got a Pokemon today! And guess what it is?"

"APichu?" Wally guessed, remembering Jade's obsession with the Pikachu line when she was little.

"No, silly!" Jade laughed. "Pichus are cute and all, but I got something better!" She threw the Pokeball in the air. "Go Pokeball!" The ball blasted open in a blaze of white light, and a small Pokemon appeared on the floor. After a few seconds, the light faded and the Pokemon became clear.

"You got a Ralts?" the green-haired inquired, surprised.

"Of course!" Jade smiled, returning her Ralts to her Pokeball. "She's so cool, Wally. She reminds me of your Gardevoir! Gardevoirs are so beautiful!" She sighed happily. "And they're really strong too! But the main reason I got a Ralts is because you had one too, Wally!"

"But why?" Wally questioned, confused. "Why would you want to follow in my footsteps?"

Jade laughed, her childlike innocence still in her. "Because you're ... um, I don't know. You're just ... there?" She rubbed the back of her head and giggled again. "What I mean is you've helped so much in your eighteen years of being a trainer, yet you don't try to go in the spotlight or push the ones in the spotlight out of the way, saying that you deserved it more. Nope, you are just there. It does sound like a bad thing, yeah, but it's not."

Wally nodded, kinda unsure of the ten year-old's so-called wisdom. "Right, Jade," he said, laughing a bit. He brought up another topic. "So are you going to start your journey today?"

Jade nodded, readjusting the bandanna on her head. "Yeah, I can't wait to leave!" She noticed the backpack slung over Wally's shoulder. "Oh! Are you going to travel this region again too?"

Wally shook his head. "Nope, heading over to Slateport to catch the ferry to Johto. Looking for a place to settle down seeing as I'm getting old."

"You're not that old, gramps," the young trainer teased.

"Haha, funny."

"Anyway, I guess this is good-bye then," Jade said sadly, lowering her head. "I doubt we'll see each other again."

Wally shook his head. "Nah, we'll see each other again." He placed his hands behind his head. "After all, it's probably written in destiny."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "You still believe in that destiny mumbo-jumbo?" she asked, surprised. "I gave all that up when I turned eight! Its all a bunch of lies, how our lives were planned out before we were born."

"Ha, you speak like you're so mature, little Jade, yet you have no clue what you're saying." Wally laughed and gave Jade a noogie, causing a scowl to appear on the young girl's face. "I told you, we start off with a destiny, yet we don't have to follow it all the time. It's just like a plan. Sometimes you find better plans, and sometimes you don't, but you end up taking it anyway. So maybe you are right, Jade, maybe destiny is a whole bunch of crud. Maybe destiny is made up of choices. Our own choices that is. "

"Oh," Jade stated quietly. "So what you're saying is that destiny doesn't control us but we control it?"

"Exactly ... sorta." Wally shrugged.

"So." Jade placed her hands behind her back. "I guess this is good-bye. I was about to leave when I saw you standing here." Jade lowered her head again and looked at the ground. "I'm gonna miss you, Wally," she said quietly.

"Hey," Wally said kindly. "I'm still gonna be here. I'm not dead, you know." He laughed. "We'll see each other again whether it be on our journeys, on the T.V. or anywhere else!"

"Destiny again, huh?" Jade asked.

"Nah, just guessing." Wally shrugged. He looked at the time again. "Say, you said you were going to leave now if you didn't see me now, right?"

"Yeah."

Wally smirked. "Then how about I go with you to Rustboro? I am, after all, going that way anyway!"

Jade squealed and beamed. "Awesome, Wally! Let's go!" She began to run down the dirt path to the outskirts of the city.

Wally shook his head and caught up to the girl. After reaching the outskirts of the city, the two began to walk at a regular pace.

"Hey, Wally?" Jade piped up after a few silent minutes of walking. "Remember when I was five or six or something, and you told me that destiny could have many forks in the road?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well you never told me why trainers would leave forks in the road!"

"Ugh, Jade."

- - -

I have learned several lessons from when I was a thirteen year-old when I was a sickly, young trainer 'til now, a twenty-one year old, late to Brendan and May's wedding reception. I don't know why I'm writing at this very moment instead of flying over to Mossdeep for the reception, but I suppose I have a few minutes to kill to rehearse my speech and yada yada like that. So listen to me, and perhaps what I say will give you an entirely new outlook on life.

For starters, never let limitations hold you back. I sure didn't when my illness held me back from my dreams and look at me now! Tall, proud, and ...

Alone talking to YOU of all people.

Fun.

Nah, I'm just kidding again. Couldn't help but get in one more joke in before I end this. But back to the main topic, yes, limitations. Don't let them hold you back. It is better to try things and possibly fail then not try them at all and wonder what would have happened. I could have lived all my life wondering what it would be like to be a trainer if I didn't fight my limitations.

Number two: Know the difference between friendship and love. And when you do figure it out, keep the friendship, go for the love. Does that make any sense at all? No? Well ... tough! But I'll try to explain it better. Love can be disguised. It can be true, it can be fake, it can be brotherly, sisterly, or just friend ... erly. Honestly, I need a new word-of-the-day calendar! Is it friendly? Whatever. But yes, know the difference. I failed when I was younger when I thought I was in love with May. But as it turns out, I just loved her like a sister. After all, I'm not the one married to her, now am I?

While we're on the friendship and love topic, also keep in mind that love and friendship are both important but it's up to you to pick which one is more important.

Next lesson is be a legend: Support your local library! The fuck? Ugh, stupid pop-up ads taking over my freakin' writing. But yes, be a legend, and you can support your local library too, whatever. Try something new everyday, learn something new everyday, see something new everyday. You don't have to be a legend in the end but you should go for it all the same.

Third, we're all here for a reason. Some of us, like me, think we're just here to live our lives. But, in other people's eyes, we're much more than that. Don't ever think your nothing special. Because the truth is ...

You are. No matter how corny that sounds.

Because think about it. You affect at least one person's life. What happens if you're gone? Would their life be any different? Or would it be the same?

Hell yeah it would be different!

And lastly, destiny. Like Jade said when I was eighteen – though it scares me how I remember it – destiny is all mumbo-jumbo, for it does not control you, but you control it.

Perhaps, I will publish my words of wisdom in a book one day. But maybe I'll keep this to myself ... and to you of course!

After all, I find it better for others to figure out things for themselves.