Chapter 20: First Steps

Ark and Sylph had been walking for a few hours now, well Ark was walking, while Sylph was happily sat on his shoulders taking in the sights. Other than the forest, Ark and Sylph had never actually left Pallet town thus all of the new sights were mesmerising for the two.

"I wonder how far ahead the other trainers are, we took quite long didn't we Sylph"

-Nnn-

Sylph nodded her head as she looked at the expansive fields surrounding them.

-Very green-

Ark chuckled at Sylphs simplistic description of their surroundings. Right now Sylph is roughly able to speak at the age of a 10 year old child. However, she prefers not to speak long sentences and often chooses to use gestures to communicate.

"Yes it is very green, but beautiful nonetheless. Maybe you're just a bit too young to appreciate it yet"

In response to Arks comment, Sylph started hitting the top of his head and lightly pulling on it. Laughing at the cute reaction of his little partner, he took her from the top of his head and held her in his arms.

"Calm down Sylph, we still have a long journey ahead, I would rather have hair for it otherwise one of my goals may be much harder"

Sylph eventually settled down and made Ark carry her in his arms while they walked. While they were not in a rush, Ark preferred to get as much distance covered before they camped out for the night. Judging by the anime, Ash should meet Misty today and spend the night at the Pokemon city in Viridian city. Therefore, Ark wanted to catch up at the very least, he had a few reasons for doing so however his main reason was that he wanted to see whether anything had changed with the fate. Well that was one of the reasons at least.

"Right Sylph, I am going to start running a bit so hold on tight and try not to squirm around too much"

Ark cradled Sylph into his chest and put his arm around her head to shield her from the winds. Sylph buried her head and lightly sniffed before the tensions from her body faded away. It almost seemed as though it was a reward. Ark smiled wryly at her behaviour before thinking about how rough training her might turn out to be. He had refrained from training her until he actually caught her since he wanted to just spend his first few years in relative relaxation.

Once Sylph was comfortable, Ark started to run. He was not exerting much strength as he ran since he did not want to make it uncomfortable for Sylph however to someone watching from afar it may seem like a frantic lunatic running along a dirt path.

"Sylph I've decided! Starting tomorrow, we are going to start your training tomorrow."

Sylph stayed silent, she didn't move or reply. Ark was confused, she should have heard him. Even though they were going fast, the wind was not nearly strong enough to completely block out his voice. Just to check, Ark slowed down and repeated what he said before.

Silence...

No reply at all. Ark started to worry, so he adjusted Sylph in his arms so, he could see her face, only to find a small pout on her face.

Finally, it all clicked. She was ignoring him. Sylph was trying to avoid the topic by pretending to not hear him and when that didn't work she took a more direct approach of making Ark feel guilty.

He shook his head with a small smile on his face. Lifting his little partner above his head, he spoke.

"Come on, there's no way we can go on a journey without us training, especially if we want to compete in the league, ok?"

Ark looked at his partner as she shook her head to the side in disagreement. He sighed seeing how stubborn she was being, despite not even giving it a try. However he knew that with his future goals, he would need to have the best Pokemon he could.

"I see, if that's the case Sylph then I will have to take you back."

Ark turned around and started heading back to Pallet. He knew that Sylph would want to travel with him. Unfortunately, if she did not want to train then she would only end up being hurt or left behind by the rest of his team. Thus, he decided to give her a chance to head back home to stay with his Mother.

"This way Sylph you can stay at home with Mother and wait for me to return"

Sylphs body shook, the panic in her aura was evident. She looked up at Ark and started to frantically shake her head with tears threatening to flow from beneath her beautiful green hair.

Ark felt like his heart was being gauged out as he saw his partner more upset than even the time she was being attacked by the miasma. Steeling himself, Ark put Sylph down on the floor and sat on his knees.

"Sylph. I need to get strong for my dream. I need strength to protect myself, you and the others who I care and will come to care for. Therefore I need you to get strong with me, so Sylph if you dont want to get strong with me, then I will take you back home. Think carefully."

Sylph stared at Ark as he patiently waited for her. She wanted to leap into his arms then and there, but she knew how big this decision was. Wiping the wetness from around her eyes, she walked over to Ark and hugged him. Ark spread his arms out and hugged her back but remained silent.

Minutes passed as the two remained silent. Not a single one of them moved. Ark patiently waited for a response while Sylph was finding the resolve to make a decision. Originally she wanted to go on a journey just to be with Ark however, she had tried to forget the effort and hardships she may have to go through to realise her trainers dream. Obviously she wanted to help Ark realise his dreams as she would then be able to spend her life with Ark as well.

Finally, making a decision, Sylph separated from Ark and stared at him from under her thick hair. Even though he could not clearly see her eyes, he knew that there was a solid conviction contained with Sylphs actions.

-Sylph will train. Sylph will get strong but Ark need to spoil Sylph every day!-

Hearing Sylphs resolution, Ark nearly fell backwards. He was happy that she was going to train for him, but he did not know what to think about her putting a condition on it. He smiled wryly and scooped the little madam into his arms before turning towards the direction of Viridian City.

"Fine, you win. I will spoil you everyday, but when new Pokemon come we will have to tone it down a bit or some may get jealous"

Sylph pouted slightly but let it go for today. She knew that Ark would never deny spoiling her.

Shaking his head, Ark started to run again.

"We are even later now, so I will be speeding up a lot. Let's go!"

Though it was a bumpy first step, Ark and Sylph managed to take a step towards their first adventure.