Sunyshore was the city that never slept.

The bright lights of the city could be seen from miles away, leading tired trainers to food and beds. These lights had gotten significantly brighter over the last ten years, as more and more buildings popped up in the city. The economy of Sunyshore had soared and so had the population. While generally, this was a good thing (especially considering there were several cities in the region that were in the beginning stages of failing), it did bring a new set of negatives along with it- problems that Sunyshore hadn't had to face before the war.

She could see some of those problems hanging out just ahead of her (really, it was her fault for leaving most of her things- including a house key- with him). They hadn't spotted her yet, but there was no doubt that they would soon, and it wouldn't be good when they did. They were undoubtedly hanging out by the ID scanner and "welcome to Sunyshore" sign to catch unaware trainers trying not to fall asleep or desperately lost tourists, smirking at each other with cigarettes on their lips and cheap beer cans in their hands. Right outside the city was the only place they could really get away with such behavior, after all- once you were inside the city gates, there were eyes on you at all times.

The brunette was almost unidentifiable in the dark, especially in a black leather motorcycle jacket and black jeans. In fact, in all black, she too almost looked like some sort of delinquent sneaking around in the dark outside of the city limits. Really, she wasn't trying to get into trouble- it was just so much more convenient to be traveling at this hour, when all the newbies were asleep in their beds (though there weren't really that many newbies around Sunyshore to begin with) and she didn't have to deal with poor, misinformed kids asking her to battle.

"Hey baby, why don't you come over here?" And finally, she had caught their attention. One hand clutched her trainer ID, the laminated plastic cutting into her hand. There was no way to avoid the men, as the ID scanners were the only means of getting the city gates open after ten. Her right hand clutched a pokéball at her belt. It didn't matter whose it was, as any of her team was more than capable of taking care of a bunch of half-drunk nitwits. She really doubted she would need them anyways, as these idiots really didn't look capable of hurting even the tiniest wurmple, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Oh hell yeah, come have some fun with us, babe," another one called out. She rolled her eyes and tightened her grip on her ID. She was almost to the ID scanner, which meant she was almost inside the city limits where she could grab a room in one of the many hotels off the beach, since the Pokemon Center had closed much earlier. Hopefully she could just get through with no incident.

"Why aren't you answering us?" the first gruff voice asked persistently. "What, you too good for us?"

"Don't push it," she responded curtly, finally reaching the sought-after ID scanner and swiping her card through.

"Oooh, a trainer. Whaddaya got, a nice pikachu, maybe a buneary?" he snickered, grabbing her wrist. Oh yes, this one was most persistent.

She opened her mouth to try and give the guy fair warning, but she was stopped before she could begin. "I'd let her go right now if I were you," a third male voice cut in coldly. "And I mean right now."

The hand on her wrist snapped away quickly. "Sorry man, I didn't realize she was with you."

She glared first at the man who had grabbed her, and then at the young man who had interrupted, his deep blue eyes appearing almost black in the dark. "I'm sorry, did you think I needed help?" she asked, irate.

A light passed over her face and the first man's eyes widened. "Oh shit… Shit, I'm sorry. I wouldn't have… I mean, if I knew you were you-"

"Forget about it," she said shortly.

"Come on, the gate's going to lock again in a minute," the blue-eyed young man said, grabbing the handle and holding it open for her. "Let's just go."

She followed him through the gate and into Sunyshore, a sour look still on her face. "I don't need you fighting my battles for me, got it?" she asked pointedly as they began to walk towards the tourist area by the beach, where most hotels in Sunyshore were located.

"Got it," he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Geez, I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd get so pissed."

"Just remember who's in charge here," she said. "Now come on. It's late."

The next morning was rainy.

Far away, in Twinleaf Town, the rain had begun very suddenly, combining with the unusual summer heat to make for what her mother referred to as a triple H kind of day: hot, humid and hazy.

The cozy little town was nearly empty, though even on the nicest days, Twinleaf wasn't nearly as busy as it once had been. Of course, the small southwestern town had never been what one would consider bustling, but after the great Frontier Brain and his family had left permanently for an apartment closer to the Battle Frontier and their neighbors had shortly followed suit, the town had seemed to quiet down even more. Not even the new inhabitants of the homes left behind, each with small children, could liven up Twinleaf.

A tall, willowy girl with blonde frizzy hair charged out the door of a small house with a red door. Her eyes quickly widened as she realized how hard the rain was coming down. She swore to herself as she turned around to go back inside. "Shit… I swear, it was just sunny out five minutes ago. Marky, don't go- no, shit, Marky, get back in your pokéball!"

He hadn't gotten the memo. "Marky, get back in here, you're gonna get- oh you're already wet." A beat. "Don't get mad at me. I tried to tell you but you didn't listen."

That was the first attempt.

The second attempt went a little something like this:

It is bright and sunny out. Most of the puddles from yesterday's rain have already dried up. An impatient young man with blue-black hair and a seemingly permanent frown stands outside tapping his foot, having already knocked three times. "Quinn, come on!"

After a few minutes, the front door opens to reveal an extremely annoyed magmar. The look on his face tells the young man all he needs to know. "She's not ready, is she?" he asks, eyebrow cocked.

The magmar shakes his head and moves to let the young man through the doorway.

The young man steps into the living room, where the contents of a large backpack are spilled out across the hardwood floor. A young woman sits surrounded by the piles of items, her sunshine-colored ringlets out of control. She looks up at the young man with a pout, clearly dismayed at his expression. Her big brown eyes are like those of a scolded growlithe. "I was ready to go yesterday."

Thus begins the journey of Quinn Petunia Pointer.

Author's Note (5/12/13): Hello all, and welcome to the humble prologue of my newest story! Please keep in mind if you've read my other multi-chapter stories (The City and The Ghost and Set Yourself On Fire) that this IS the same universe inhabited by those characters, though 10 years after the events of Set Yourself On Fire (though there will be no spoilers for the end of the story). The characters of those stories may briefly pop up, but this is not another story in that series and you definitely do not need to read them before you read this one- just know that this is not the Sinnoh of the games. :)

I will also be accepting a limited number of OC's, as my preference for this story is to not use a ton of canon characters. If you are interested in submitting an OC, please PM me and I will send you the form, as I do not want submissions in the reviews (and I would ideally like to give you a few extra details about the story).

I am so excited for this story- it has been a long time since I first started plotting it, so it's really exciting for me to finally get to write it.

Thank you, as always, to my wonderful beta Noteleks, and a special thank you to you readers! You are so greatly appreciated, and I would love to know what you think thus far.

I will be striving hard to update this story every Sunday. Chapter 1 is already done and has been sent to my beta, so you'll definitely be getting an update soon.

See you next week!
~DAT