Prologue
To whom it may concern,
When I was a little girl, I dreamed of seeing the world and training the strongest Pokémon. I would watch television every night and stare at the screen with wide eyes, praying for the day that I could leave home. It is a rite of passage in our country, as you may or may not very well know, and it was one for which I felt ready for a long time.
My mother assured me that I could leave home when I turned sixteen, and she always kept her promises. On my sixteenth birthday, she gave me a bag and some running shoes and sent me off on my very own adventure. The local professor in my town gave me a rare Pokémon, a Torchic with which I was entrusted, and it became my duty to raise and care for that tiny creature.
Why do we do this? Why does our country insist that we teenagers leave home and roam the world without anyone to tell us where to go or who to talk to or who to trust? To bring us back? To make it so we always return when we realize that there are some things that we can never hope to handle? To teach us a lesson?
Well, what was the lesson? I left home… I raised that Torchic into the strongest Blaziken in all of Hoenn. Did I learn things by being on my own for over a year? Yes, of course. It was impossible to be sent off all alone and not learn things—about myself, about the world. But some of those things hurt. Lessons weren't always easy.
But I made a name of myself, put on a façade of a heroine. When after I pretended to be something I wasn't for so long, I started to acquire some of those qualities, and not the better ones. I became like Icarus, letting myself get too close to the sun because I thought I could. Eventually, after flying across the sun for too long, my wings melted, and I fell back down.
Now, you may be wondering—or perhaps not—why I decided to leave this letter behind. While contemplating what I wanted to write in this letter, I also wondered the same thing. Why bother leaving a letter if I expected no response? Well, letter-writing is a lost art form. Everyone needs to write a letter every now and again, and everyone needs to opportunity to read one. But that is not the main purpose of this letter.
My journey was not what I expected, and I was let down by myself. I did everything I ever wanted—I traveled the world, trained Pokémon… but things are not always what they seem when viewed at face value. I left home and lost myself among the crowd, and I became someone I've never been. I'm not tough. I'm not brave.
I have not, as you can see, addressed this letter to anyone in particular. I am asking you—whoever you are—not to share the contents of this letter with anyone else. These words are for you and you only. However, if you choose to share this with someone else, I cannot and will not stop you. Just know that a guilty conscience can be a heavy burden.
I have left behind a series of letters behind for you, this being the first. Should you choose to embark on this journey I have planned for you, you will be led across this country to a variety of places. Each letter contains a clue that leads you to the next letter, with some letters requiring you to participate in certain activities custom to that region. It is my hope that you choose to find the rest of the letters. I want you to have a better adventure than I ever had.
Now, you may also wonder why I wish for you to keep this a secret. If you are the first to find this, then perhaps you are the first to realize that I am gone. Others may have already begun the search for me. Whatever the case, you will be the only one with proof that I have left this place. This is evidence that the police will surely confiscate. If you want to play my game, you are much better off playing it alone.
And if you choose not to play my game, know that giving this letter over to the police will do nothing. It's too late for that.
I hope you make a good decision. Note that I did not say the "right" decision, as I know that not giving this letter to the police would be a poor one. Still, there is something to be said for adventure. When you are done with the itinerary I have planned for you, you will no longer be the same person—but if that person still chooses to go to the police at the end, I will hold no qualms.
Now, at the conclusion of each of my letters, I promised a clue. This will hopefully lead you in the right direction to finding the next letter. These clues are not intended to trick you or lead you astray; instead, they are meant to guide you on a strategic course throughout our land. However, I want to test your mind, as well. Is this not the point of a journey?
Clue #1: The beginning of life is said to be the easiest because you cannot remember it. In the far reaches of this place, deep within the shadows, I left a letter where disaster ceased.
This is all the information I give to you. Please prepare yourself for this journey, as it will not be an easy one. Should you not have time, make time. This will be well worth your while, after all, and how many people can say that they were sent on an adventure by me, the chosen Icarus of our land?
Go now: "To whom it may concern"—if you are concerned at all—good luck.
Best regards,
Ex-Champion May
Author's Note: Steven Stone is actually the narrator of this fic, not May; this chapter is the only exception (all the letters, of course, will be written first-person from May's perspective). The chapters will be much longer than this one, as well.
Edit: I have edited and revised all of the chapters. The plot remains completely the same; I just fixed some grammatical errors and a couple of other things. If you notice anything off, please let me know.
