Grumbling, a pale hand claps down on the ringing alarm clock. A black head pokes out of the blue covers. Red eyes blink groggily as the young girl yawns, sleep tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Standing up, she makes her way towards the bathroom, untangling her unruly bed hair with her fingers. Wincing as she pulls on a particularly bad knot, she undresses and ducks into the shower. Twisting the knobs, a blast of cold water hits her. Shrieking, she jumps out of the shower now fully awake. Shaking her head, the small girl shivers slightly. Before the young girl got back in, she adjusted the temperature to her liking and got back under. She finishes after a few minutes washing the last soap spuds out of her hair. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her body but just as she gets ready to dry her hair her mother calls up the stairs
"Amber! Zeek just called! He wants to know if you're nearly ready!" the girl winces as she called to her.
"I just got out of the shower Mum! Tell him I'll be ready in about 10 minutes!" she ignores her mother's next comment as she starts to dry her hair. Fluffing it up slightly, she stares in the mirror studying her face. Deep, black hair, deep burgundy eyes and pale skin. She wasn't an albino in every context but her mother was.
"Amber?" she jumps at the voice. It was Zeek her best friend. Wasn't he on the phone to her mother only a few moments ago?
"One minute Zeek," she says softly "I'm just getting dressed." She drops the towel onto the tiled floor, walking out onto her carpeted floor. She picks out a sky blue shirt and a white skirt along with a smoky grey scarf. She slips silver/white sneakers onto her feet and white and light grey gloves without fingers. Amber picks her bag up, heading to her door and opening it. Her friend Zeek was waiting outside the door. He laughs lightly at her
"Nice outfit," he tells her, gesturing to it. She rolls her eyes. She didn't normally wear skirts but she felt like wearing one today.
"Oh, you're one to talk?" he had blonde hair and green eyes and was wearing a white and orange striped long sleeved shirt, a green scarf, jeans and sneakers. He had a satchel bag over his shoulder.
"What?" Zeek looks at her in confusion. "What's wrong with how I dress?" Amber just smiles innocently
"Nothing, nothing, let's go." Amber heads downstairs with Zeek following her, still confused. Her mother was downstairs, standing over the newspaper which was on the table. Her pale hair swishes as she smiles at her daughter and friend.
"So you ready for your adventure?" Amber nods, suddenly feeling excited and nervous at the same time. Her mother smiles gently, her Raichu squeaking cheerfully. Amber scratches the mouse's ear plucking a bagel from the table.
"I'll be back after I get my Pokémon," she calls to her mother as she leaves with Zeek, biting into the bagel.
"Alright, have fun!" she calls back, a worried look on her face. Touching her arm that was covered by her sleeve she thinks 'Please don't pick a fire type...'
~*~
The two friends enter the lab after the assistant, looking at all the lab equipment in awe. Amber spots the professor looking into a microscope and he doesn't look up as his assistant talks to him. Finally the assistant yells into his ear
"Professor Elm!" the professor jumps, staring at him.
"Ah what is it Ronald?" He doesn't apparently notice Amber and Zeek. Ronald rolls his eyes, stepping back and pointing at the two ten year olds. The professor blinks at them in confusion before Ronald whispers in his ear.
"Ah! I'm so sorry! I forgot you were coming to pick your Pokémon today!" he shouts, rushing around the lab. The two kids watch him as he looks for the Pokémon.
"Professor, you have two special Pokémon for these two because of the fact there are five children in Newbark town," Ronald tells him tiredly, like he had told him many times "and the other three came and picked up the three normal starters this morning." The professor stops' running around like a chicken with its head cut off and watches as Ronald pulls out two pokéballs from his pocket. He gives them to the professor "you hadn't given them a check up with Nurse Joy yesterday so I went to Cherry Cove and did it for you."
"Thank you," Elm says, laughing. Turning to Amber and Zeek he places the pokéballs flat in his hands, the one with a fire emblem in his left, the one with a purple dot in the right
"In my right hand is a Ghastly-" but before he told them what was in the second ball, Zeek snatches the Ghastly's ball from his right hand.
"I'll have Ghastly!" Professor Elm sighs at the hasty boy. He looks at Amber apologetically
"I'm sorry you don't mind?" Amber smiles, used to the boys' antics.
"It's fine professor, I was going to let Zeek have the Ghastly anyway because I know he likes ghosts." She explains, taking the leftover ball. "What's in this one?" she asks, rolling it in her fingers.
"It's a Growlithe," he tells her, adjusting his glasses. She nods, slipping it into her pocket. What Amber doesn't realise and her mother didn't tell her was that her mother had a fear-or even a phobia perhaps-of fire type Pokémon and this would result into an unpleasant surprise for Amber when she goes home. Elm hands them a Pokédex each the five spare pokéballs. "Take care both of you. Look after your Pokémon and you'll have great adventures."
"We will Professor!" Zeek exclaims excitedly, Amber nodding with him.
"Oh! One more thing!" he dashed over to his desk, snatching something from it before holding a collar out to Amber who looks at in curiosity as she takes it and handing what looked like a tongue piercing to Zeek.
"Just give that to your Ghastly," he tells him briefly "he'll know how to put it in. they're translators, to better understand your first Pokémon. If you want one for each of your team, you'll have to pay expensively for them. Now good luck and shoo. Have work to do." The two look at each other in confusion as the assistant rolls his eyes at the professor who goes back to work. They leave, still confused but Zeek looking as if he was about to burst. Amber rolls her eyes
"Oh just do it already! You're making me feel nervous." Zeek grins widely before jumping up and punching he air, yelling
"I finally got a Pokémon!" Amber laughs, shaking her head as her friend ran around ahead of her, releasing his Ghastly and they both run-er, float in Ghastly's case-towards Zeek's house. Amber pushes the door of her house open, calling her mother
"Mum! I got my Pokémon! Come see!" Her mother pops out from the lounge, the news on the TV.
"What did you get dear?" The lady asks, dreading her daughter's response. Amber takes out Growlithe's ball, the puppy forming in the hall way. Amber clamps her hands over her ears when her mother shrieks loudly, dashing up the staircase
"Get that thing out of my house now!" She yells at her daughter "I will not have that thing in my house!" Amber frowns as her mother locks her room's door cowering in it.
"Mum, what's wrong?" She calls up to her, walking up the stairs with Growlithe. She didn't realise her mother was attacked when she was starting out herself by an Arcanine.
"Get that Growlithe out of my house now! Change it for something else or never come back here again!" Amber stiffens eyes wide. She couldn't replace Growlithe! Fire types were her favourite Pokémon, especially Growlithe! Tears streak down her face
"Mum, please…" she twists the knob on the door to her mothers' room but it doesn't budge "why are you scared of Growlithe? She hasn't done anything to you." She hears her mother sob hysterically
"Just...go away! If you don't give that...that thing back to Professor Elm, don't you ever come back!" Amber feels anger and sadness well up inside her.
"Mum! What's your problem?" she yells angrily, tears in her eyes "why are you so scared of her?" Her mother sighs heavily, tears travelling down her face. She takes a deep breath her body shuddering.
"Amber... I'm sorry….but unless you take that Growlithe back, you're no longer my daughter. "Amber feels her body seize up, her tears dripping off her chin.
"Mommy…" the childish word escapes from her mouth unconsciously. Her mother shudders again, tears rolling down her face as she hears the word. But she ignores her.
"Get out!" She shrieks one last time hearing Amber cry out in anger and sadness before she runs down the stairs, tears blurring her vision. She slams the door after her, dashing out of Newbark town. She slows down as she reaches a small pond near the town. Sniffling, Amber throws herself down at the pond's edge burying her face in her arms. Growlithe pops out of her ball whining softly. Amber sniffs, burying her face in the puppy's fur.
"What am I going to do Growlithe?" She whispers, her voice sounding thick "I had no idea that mum would be so scared of you." Growlithe whimpers, rubbing against her cheek. Amber giggles, wiping away her tears "Thanks girl. Maybe I should give you a name." The puppy yaps, wagging her tail with her tongue hanging out. Amber laughs. "Ok, from now on your called Opal. It's my favourite stones or one of them anyway." Opal barks then goes silent, ears pricked. She sniffs the air making her way towards a bush. An angry Pidgey bursts out, pecking her. Yelping, Opal jumps back, growling.
"Opal! Use Bite!" She commands, watching the puppy lunge forward and closes her mouth over the birds' wing. "Now start spinning him around!" Opal starts spinning on the spot with the Pidgey's wing still in her mouth. The Pidgey cries out, trying to get free of his opponents' grasp. Finally, after a minute of spinning, Opal got dizzy and flung the Pidgey against a tree. He struggles to get up, cawing weakly. "Go pokéball!" the red and white ball sucks the bird in, it wiggling three times then going 'ping' to show the Pidgey was captured. Opal fetches it for her, Amber pulling a face as she takes it off her. "Eww! I didn't ask for you to it girl!" she giggles as she wipes it off. As she places it on her belt she remembers the translator. "Hey, I forgot! The translator!" Opal stares at her as she rummages in her bag and pulls the collar out. Opal gives it a sniff as it's placed around her neck.
"What is this supposed to do?" she barks softly. Amber laughs as Opal looks shocked.
"You just answered your own question." Opal glances at her then frowns
"So Opal huh? Why did you pick that, apart from it being a favourite stone?"Amber smiles gently
"My dad got me this necklace ages ago," she pulls a necklace out, an oval shaped stone shining in the sun " just before he died. It was the last thing I have to remember him by." Opal sits there, staring at the necklace in wonder. Amber shakes her head "well no more dwelling on the past. We better get going or we'll be way behind Zeek and the others." Opal yips softly as Amber heaves herself up to a standing position and she trots next to Amber, Amber placing a hand over her newly caught Pidgey.
A/N: I know, I know. A lot of uncompleted works but the ideas are just coming to me so just wait. I am updating 'The Running Ranger' and 'New Dawn' soon but the chapters for them aren't quite ready. A few more sentences and up they go! :3