Silver Shards

Book 1: Gold

Region: Kanto Region


Ayre's Room, Gold Residence, Outskirts of Littleroot

The sunlight filtered through the room. A girl with fiery copper hair that flowed in waves down to her shoulders sat at a computer, fingers dancing over the keyboard as she worked on her essay. Leaning over, she checked the time. The neon green lights pulsed with the digits: 6:02. An Espeon purred gently as it stalked into the room and gracefully leaped into her lap. Absentmindedly, she ran her hand through its silken lavender fur, listening contendedly to its soft mews. It was her mother's pet Espeon, her one cherished companion. Her dad had an Umbreon, and the two fit together as well as their owners.

"Ayre, you awake?" slurred Mr. Gold.

"Yeah, dad," she called back. Ayre was definitely odd-looking, wearing a button-downed shirt which she kept tucked in her jeans. Complete with her tilted glasses and braces, she was the definition of a nerd.

"Why aren't you making breakfast?" he roared angrily. She could feel the vibrations of his heavy footsteps pounding on the stairs.

"I made pancakes..." She trailed off, afraid of saying something that she'd later regret. Despite the wall separating them, she could smell the heavy fumes of smoke and alcohol. Sighing, she turned back to the computer and resumed typing. After a while, she lost track of time, barely noticing the sunlight filtering in through her dark blue curtains, turning them a paler shade. Ayre checked the time again. 7:12. Quickly, she dashed downstairs, attempted to brush her tangled hair, and flew out the door.

The well-trodden dirt path led her through a dense forest, where Rattata and Pidgeys ran wild. Often, when the whether was sunny, she'd sit under the shade of a tall cedar and sketch the Pokemon she saw while singing softly. The singing seemed to encourage other Pokemon, and recently, she'd been seeing more than just the usual. There were a few Pikachu as well, now, and a few Butterfree and Beedrill.

Today was no different. She still had around 15 minutes left before school actaully started, and it was only a two minute sprint from here. Cautiously, she set down her backpack between two large, gnarly roots of a giant oak.

Route 1

She lay down on the soft, springy grass which was wet with the morning dew. Slender, delicate fingers broke off a blade of grass and she began blowing into it. At first, it created a loud squeal, but it soon developed into a slow melody. The tune was sad and sweet, and a few Pidgeys perching unsurely on a slim branch fluttered down.

Ayre wished every day could be like this, carefree and light, without having to worry about your "image" or anything. Indefinitely, she preferred the company of Pokemon over that of humans. They didn't care whether you messed up and embarrased yourself in class today, and they don't care that you aren't popular. They'll listen to your problems and, unlike people, would merely blink at your confessions.

These weren't the unintelligent creatures that people payed no heed for unless it was to reach their own goal, they were the unselfish, understanding, and compassionate beings that deserved to rule the world more than humans.

Ayre could see that the light was getting brighter. In one practiced, graceful movement, she was on her feet, shifting her backpack so it was more comfortable. No one would want to be late for Graduation Day, the principal, Mr. Herndon, would definitely make the rest of that day a living nightmare for them. Curse whoever thought of those stupid, uncomfortable backpacks, and curse whoever made the law that all children had to attend school.

Littleroot Academy, Littleroot

As she entered the building, the first wave of students trickled into the halls of the pristine white Littleroot Academy. A few guys slapped highfives in greeting, and, as usual, hurried away as she passed. Some of the passing girls snickered, then melted as the guys slung their arms around their shoulders.

She looked away.

Her first class was on the first floor, luckily, and she grabbed her books, slammed her locker shut, and hurried towards it. Others weren't as lucky and they tried to jostle their way through the tight crowd. Ayre tried to make herself smaller to avoid head on collisions that usually resulted in an extremely embarrasing moment for her. The keyword in that sentence is tried. Sadly, life doesn't work the way you want it to, and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground rubbing her head. The girls all gathered around the other person who was sitting on the ground, wincing as well.

"I'm so sorry!" she gasped. The person looked up, and she cringed internally as she saw who it was. None other than the king of the academy, Darion James. Girls surrounded him cooing and fussing over him. He shut them up with a dazzling white smile. Then, he looked at Ayre.

"I haven't seen you around," he offered, trying to start a conversation. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Duh, no one knows me, she thought, but smiled weakly.

"Um, yeah." He looked her over carefully, then backed away into his group of friends and said,

"Well, thanks for knocking me over, but I'll be going now." Then, he left, along with everyone else. Ayre looked down, determined not to embarrass herself further by crying. She picked up her books again, ignoring the jeers and unoriginal taunts from the remaining students and walked to class.

---

Graduation Day passed ... uneventfully. Kids lined up for their certificates, went to their designated classrooms for a party, and then gathered in the gymnasium to receive their Pokemon. Pokeballs opened up, and some faces dropped, some glowed with happiness. The choices and possibilities were endless; Pidgey, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Caterpie, Pikachu.

"I - I have my own Pokemon," Ayre stammered quietly when it was her turn. The aide nodded and she hurried away quickly, ducking her head.

"Hey freak," called someone.

"Yeah, weirdo, what Pokemon did you get?" sneered another kid, also known as her brother. Standing beside him was his proud, glistening red lizard which he aptly named 'Flame'. What creativity people had these days. The other person who had called out to her was the insanely popular Daria Sylvesky. A timid-looking Bulbasaur cowered with fright at her side. Ayre almost laughed at the duo; they were complete opposites.

Silently, she released her Pokemon, which was the only daughter of her mother's Espeon and her father's Umbreon. She'd hatched it by herself from an egg, and felt extremely accomplished after her feat. After all, it was actually quite hard for one to hatch an Eevee from an egg without help. Ayre adored the Eevee, and her parents had been surprised when she walked into their room one day holding a glowing, cracking egg.

Every day since then, she had worked on raising its stats and teaching it attacks from TMs bought from her parent's store in Celadon. The final result was quite admirable for a child who had a phobia of one for the first eight years of her life.

Training eons were like a tradition in their family. Her grandmother and grandfather raised a Vaporeon and a Jolteon. Her cousins had Flareons and Eevees. It was some sort of unspoken, unwritten ritual, but it was there.

"What's that thing?" snorted Daria, rolling her eyes in disgust.

"Have you been listening at all in class, or have you just been thinking about the next color to paint your nails? It's an Eevee, genius," Ayre retorted angrily. Daria's face colored red with embarrassment as the watching crowd laughed. Before Daria could retaliate, she stalked away, still fuming at her remark. She'd called her precious Pokemon a thing. A thing. How demeaning to think of her as an object.

After the Pokedexes and Pokeballs were distributed evenly, she grabbed her backpack, stuffed everything inside messily, and ran towards her favorite spot under the towering oak.

---

Gold Residence, Outskirts of Littleroot

"Bye!" she called brightly to her parents. The dawn of a new day and the dawn of a new life.

A wave euphoria spread through her body, warming her to the tips of her toes. No more having to deal with the three jerks, also known as her older brothers. No more restricting parents. She felt like nothing could touch her; flippant, light, and free.

They looked up from what they were going and waved and nodded good bye. Stiffly, Mr. Gold placed a Pokeball in her hand, probably some mutated Pokemon from his lab that they deemed 'untrainable'. Hah, pathetic. They just didn't know how to train them.

Her mother looked like she had tears in her eyes. Then, suddenly, the freedom high was gone, replaced with pure hatred and loathing for her twin brother, Justin. He smirked at her through the blondish-red bangs that fell in front of his icy blue eyes.

"Well?" he mocked. "Shall we?" Ayre nodded, pulling out her Pokeball. They had both been looking forward to this day, the day they would verse one another in a one-on-one battle.

"Trinity!"

"Flame, go." Ayre's Pokeball opened to reveal her Eevee, who purred sweetly upon entrance. Flame looked around curiously, waving his flame-tipped tail back and forth as he inspected his surroundings.

"Flame, Tackle," commanded Justin coolly, his expression one of nonchalance. The lizard obeyed, charging forward before slamming into Trinity.

"Counter with Quick Attack, then Bite," called Ayre. The Pokemon raced at a blinding speed towards Flame before pushing it backwards a bit and biting down on its paw. He squealed in pain.

"Ember," ordered Justin. The Charmander quickly obeyed, and, at point blank range, fired a tiny volley of small flames, scorching the Eevee's fur.

"Now Tackle again, Flame." Justin was getting excited, sensing an easy win. As Trinity tried to recover, he rammed into her again, sending her flying backwards into a tree. She landed with a thud. Ayre sighed in defeat as Justin recalled his Pokemon and did the same.

"You tried your best," she whispered as she held Trinity's Pokeball. Justin laughed from behind and waved to her as he slowly jogged away.

"See ya later, loser." What a loving sibling.

---

Route 1

Ayre's POV

The bad thing about starting out in Littleroot was that you were stuck with catching either a Pidgey or a Rattata as your second and third Pokemon, both which are completely useless. Plus, all the Pidgey ranged from level 2 to level 5, and the Rattata even worse, being around level 2 to level 4. To add the icing on the cake, the grass was tall, wet, and just plain irritating if you have to walk through it.

Trinity and I had battled their way through seven Pidgey, one at level 5 which I caught, and at least twelve Rattata, catching the strongest one one level 4. I spent the rest of the morning meandering around, talking to random people and leveling up my Pokemon. Route 1 really sucked if you were trying to level up Pokemon, because once your Pokemon went past level 10, there was really no use in hanging around any longer. The wild Pokemon didn't prove to be much of a challange anymore, and it was a complete waste of time to keep fighting wild Pokemon there.

Plus, the Trainers there were either major idiots, or just naive little children who used catchphrases like 'I raised my Pokemon really well!' or 'My Pokemon are undefeated!'.

Two issues with that: one, the fact that they're hanging around the easiest route doesn't exactly boost what others think of you, and two, if you're going to boast about your skills, please actually have decent Pokemon besides freaking Rattata, Pidgey, and Caterpie.

For the seventh time that day (yes, I've been counting), I ran my Pokedex over my Pokemon, scanning every tiny detail. I already had the most important details memorized and could recite them flawlessly.

Aero, a male Pidgey at level 10, whose attacks are Sand Attack, Tackle, and Gust.

Thorn, a male Rattata at level 9, whose attacks are Tackle, Tail Whip, and Quick Attack.

Finally, Trinity, a female Eevee at level 14, whose attacks are Tackle, Tail Whip, Helping Hand and Sand Attack, all of which were virtually useless. No offense or anything, but Eevee are definitely not worth your time unless you can evolve them quickly. Let's face it, their attacks all suck besides Bite, which is only learned at level 29, and Take Down, learned at level 41. And, their stats were extremely low, somewhat equivalent to Spearow, but probably higher. Slowly, I pulled out the Pokeball that my father had given me.

Did I want to see what was inside? The answer to that was a definite yes. Hesitantly, I released the Pokemon. Instantly, I regretted it. The mystery Pokemon appeared with a savage snarl. The Pokemon looked like the result if you bred a Vulpix with a Pidgeotto or Pidgeot, and then added in some mutant genes.

Weird. That was the first word that came to mind. Weird, but not ugly. Actually, it was kinda pretty in a strange sort of way. The body was a scintillating silver color, shaped like a fox, except it had only two paws and its face was extremely vulpine and delicate. The feathers tucked behind its ears gave it an angelic look. Intricate wings unfurled from its back, constantly changing shades of blue. It had many tails that looked like a longer version of a Vulpix's, curling gently at the tips, but fanned out like an Articuno. Designs wove around its wings and tails, simple but divine.

The Pokemon gave another vicious snarl but still managed to pull of sounding like flowing music. Only when it lifted its head to gaze piercingly at me did I notice its eyes. They were hypnotizing, compelling, and alluring. The ever-changing, flashing red eyes seemed as if they could see right through you. They sparkled intelligently, flashing violet for a second as it advanced.

"It's okay," I whispered soothingly. It blinked, eyes becoming dark blue orbs, and it seemed unsure of whether to attack. Even I surprised myself with my gentle, calming tone. But something inside broke when I saw its scars, and I knew it had been abused.

What's your story? I thought softly. The Pokemon looked startled, trying to hide it with a mask of annoyance.

Don't have one, I heard it say gruffly in my mind. Reeling, I stared at it.

You - you can hear me? The Pokemon shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing. Cocky little...

Duh. Yep, definitely cocky. This was new. I talk with Pokemon through my mind. Or maybe it wasn't. Faintly, I could recall something ... something of my childhood. There was a lady, not Mrs. Gold, but a younger one, with reddish hair. I could make out a little girl, grinning hugely as she hugged and petted a tiger-canine Pokemon. Growlithe, that was it!

Somehow, I knew that the child in the scene was me. That must mean I could talk to Pokemon before as well. But what had closed me up? I know I'd tried several times before to communicate with them, just to hear a tiny bit of their thoughts, but no success. Why now?

Are you a she? came the Pokemon's inquiry, breaking my train of thoughts. I almost laughed.

Haven't you ever seen a human before? The Pokemon wrinkled its nose.

Yeah, but they all look the same to me, white, ugly idiots. I rolled my eyes. So I was an ugly white idiot now?

What are you? the Pokemon suddenly whispered softly. I'd never heard its voice so confused, so unsure, and it got me thinking, too. What was I? Abruptly, I barked out a laugh. Listen to me: What am I? The Pokemon looked confused.

I'm completely sick and tired of calling you 'it' or 'the Pokemon', so what should I call you? The reply was sharp and as quick as a whip, as if it was a reflexive instinct.

My Pokemon name is hard to pronounce in your language, but it translates roughly as ... Melody. I am a she.

What are you? I asked.

I'm ... not sure. Normally, though, I'm called a freak, Melody mocked bitterly. Now where have I heard that before? Hm... let me think. Melody retracted her wings, pulling them tightly to her body so that she somewhat resembled a Vulpix. The wings instantly changed color to match her body's shade.

Melody... I started slowly, eyes tracing over the heavy scars that she'd tried to conceal using her wings.

Where did you get those scars? Melody stiffened visibly. Her eyes flashed angrily, burning red, and snarled. I think that it meant for me not to ask her that again, but I couldn't be sure, I mean Pokemon always snarl at people for no apparent reason, right? She seemed to calm down a bit, because her eyes slowly changed to that mesmerizing dark blue shade.

Are you afraid? I said it as gently and quietly as possible.

No, what would I be afraid of? She gave another bitter chuckle.

Twenty times stronger, smarter, and faster than any Pokemon could ever be. And yet her voice betrayed her, brimming with tortured secrets that seemed to haunt her. Harsh, unrelenting agony twisted her last few words into a faint snarl. They were hateful, icy, but most of all, forced. Strangled, twisted words that screamed torment. Then, she sighed, her tails flexing as she wrapped them around her thin frame.

I am.


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