Prologue: Never say goodbye

The rising sun has always been a beautiful sight in the little town of Ramon. As it reached a certain height its brilliant reds and oranges refracted perfectly off the small prism crystals that hung from the roofs of the homes, filling the morning streets with a rainbow of light that would brighten the mornings of its residents when they stepped outside, ready to take on the day. On cue with the crystals shine the doors of the humble village pokemon opened, children rushing from their homes to dance together in the rainbows. This happened every bright morning, and it filled the hearts of the young and old alike with happiness.

Everything was right with the world. Well, all for a single pokemon that stayed in his bed and groaned at the laughter coming from outside. Cursing he smashed his pillow against the back of his head, trying to block the sounds and return to the aggravated slumber he'd been pulled from moments before. Before he could drift off against however his room door swung open, giving the light and sounds a larger opening to crash into his eyes and eardrums. "Axeeeel, it's time to wake up!" The soft female voice was like a knife that dug its way into the fire types ear, a half hiss half groan escaping his mouth. The sound was coming from his mother, the sweet smiling audino making her way to his bed and poking the obviously annoyed lump. "You can't stay in bed forever you know." "I can surely try." His mother's tan cheeks puffed up at his statement, her small hands grabbing hold of his blanket, a pull fully revealing him to the world.

"Ug! Okay fine I'm up I'm uuuup!" It took much effort for him to sit up in his current groggy state but he managed to do it, his eyes still closed for the moment. Seeing him cooperate brought a big smile to the audino's face, and he hated when she looked at him with it, because he knew he couldn't say no while staring directly into her eyes. Unfortunately, when his eyes finally did open he found himself looking right into her sparkling ones, regret filling his body as he let out a sigh of defeat. "Go ahead and get ready. Your bus comes in twenty minutes and I want you wide awake when it gets here!" With that she left his room, humming as she skipped. Moments later he could hear her dancing with the other villagers, a smile breaking through his bad mood. She surely didn't act her age, which gave the town a sort of eternal youth, and as much as he complained he loved his home and everyone around it.

After a quick shower and teeth brushing he moved to the kitchen, a large breakfast filling his stomach with sweetness. While he washed the dishes his attention was pulled away by the bags near the door, along with his hoverboard. His mom was nice enough to neatly pack his things and put them there for him, which he was grateful for, but scoffed at the neatly packed bags. Today he would be leaving his hometown and moving to a larger city to attend a proper high school, which wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't so far from home that he wouldn't be able to return for quite some time. Not to mention he'd be going alone, his mother needed in the town. As much as he didn't want to leave he wanted to grow, and a small part of him knew that he wouldn't be able to spread his metaphorical wings while cramped in the little town he was born in. As the time for his departure grew close he grabbed his bags and headed for the bus station just outside of town, clenching his bus ticket in his paw. As he waited he suddenly heard his mother's voice, his eyes widening as he turned to see her walking up with most the children and adults of the village behind her. "What's…all this?" "I wanted to see you off, and I guess everyone else had the same idea." Axel could feel tears beginning to well up in his eyes. The whole village had come to see him off, and the smiles on all their faces filled his chest with emotions that he didn't want, but had no choice but to accept. He quickly pulled the audino into a heartfelt embrace, his soft sobs quieted by rubs to his back. "G-Goodbye mom, I'll miss you so much…" "Oh Axel, what have I told you over and over?" Confused he pulled back from the hug slightly, looking into her eyes with his puffy ones. "Never say goodbye, because saying goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting~." Hearing her say that only made him want to cry more, but he was distracted from it by the sound of tires coming to a screeching halt behind him. The but had finally arrived, and its doors parted to reveal a blaziken with a crafty grin behind the wheel. "All aboard!" he said, his voice loud but friendly as he gestured for the quilava to make his way on so they could go. With a final kiss on the cheek from his mother he climbed the steps and took the empty seat at the very front, his friends and family waving and shouting to him. He waved back of course, smiling now more than ever. He was really leaving, and he wouldn't see his home again for a very long time, but at this point he accepted life for what it was and decided to roll with it. He watched out the window as his home grew smaller and smaller before disappearing completely over the horizon, and he settled down in his seat, grabbing his headphones from his bag and connecting it to his iPod. As the top song in his playlist began to pound against his eardrums he looked to the window once more, watching as the familiar trees faded into road, and he chuckled.

"I have the strangest feeling that my life…is going to get a whole lot more interesting from this point on, and I honestly can't wait."