BL55: Hello everyone! I want to thank you right off the bat for clicking on my story and taking the time to read it. This is my first pokemon fanfic and I hope you enjoy! Now without further ado the disclaimer

Teresa: My creator does not own Pokemon. Pokemon is the property of Nintendo.

In the middle of a large battle arena stood two Pokémon. To the right stood a flygon and to the left his opponent a ludicolo. Both of them were breathing heavily from exertion and both of them were pretty scratched up. But she couldn't give up. The flygon's trainer gritted her teeth as she stood there watching her precious Pokémon. She couldn't give up. Not now. This was it! Everything was riding on this battle! She had to become champion! As she called to her flygon to attack she watched the battle play out. Her flygon lifted off into the air followed by ludicolo who started off with a fierce hydro pump. Dodging it easily her flygon rushed in with his claws outstretched and glowing red. Slashing, flygon missed. There had been only a split second opening but ludicolo hadn't missed it. Pulling back he struck flygon with an ice punch. It landed squarely in his chest. Sent flying he landed hard on his back. She waited for a moment to see if her partner would get back up, get back up and fight… But he didn't. Hanging her head she held out her partner's pokéball. Holding it out she said one word. "Return."

...

Sounds of laughter radiated through a small house in the small town of Berrygrove. The small house was packed full of people. There was a celebration going on. It was the 12th birthday of a little girl named Teresa often called Terry by her close friends. She was surrounded by all her friends and family. Together they sang happy birthday to her. "Happy 12th birthday Teresa! Make a wish!" Closing her eyes Teresa made a wish. She wished that she could help out her parents on their ranch for the rest of her life. Keeping the wish to herself she took a deep breath and blew out the candles. Blowing the smoke away she heard everyone behind her clap for her. Minutes later everyone had plates full of birthday cake and ice cream. Getting down from her chair at the table Teresa went to find her mom. Picking her out easily she tugged at her dress. "What is it birthday girl?" Pointing to the window she asked, "Can I go and play with everyone else?" Nodding her head her mother said, "Sure just take Rose with you." Nodding her head Teresa called out to Rose. Moments later the Linoone was by her side.

Rose was her mother's Pokémon from her days as a trainer. Her mother had started her journey rather late, she had been in her mid-teens by the time she started. Rose had been her first Pokémon. Early on she had found that being a trainer just wasn't for her. So she settled down in Berrygrove where she met her dad. After that the rest is history. Heading out the door Teresa ran after her friends. They were all headed to the beach a bit away. Running with Rose she caught up with them in minutes. "Hey guys wait up!" Throwing her sandals off, she ran towards the shore. She was thankful that she had overalls on and not some frilly dress. Down on the shore her friends were playing happily in the sand.

One of her friends spotted her and shouted, "Over here Teresa!" running over to join them she stopped. "Hey guys whatcha doing?" "Nothing much. We were about to go exploring. You wanna come?" Nodding her head vigorously she followed them as they ran off. "Hey guys we should go exploring in the woods", she said. As soon as she said that al her friends stopped. "B…buy we can't go in the woods", one girl said. "Yeah our parents won't let go there because we don't have Pokémon." A few of the others opted to go back to the beach now. Bah! They could chicken it out if they wanted to. But she was going. It was her birthday, plus she had Rose with her. She knew the Linoone would protect her. As the others walked away the only person left was Carter. He was her best friend. Of course he would go with her. Gesturing to him she said, "Come on Carter. It'll be me and you again." They walked for a moment before Carter spoke up. "I don't know Teresa. This doesn't sound like a good idea. I mean I know it's your birthday and all but…" waving it off, she continued towards the forest. "Don't worry Carter. We got Rose with us. She'll protect us." Running off she headed for the woods. She always wondered what they looked like. Her parents wouldn't let her go in there; they said that there were wild Pokémon in there that could attack her. But she had Rose so she would be fine. Looking over her shoulder she saw that Carter was still following her. Stopping at the entrance she read the sign that said, "Berrygrove woods" grabbing Carter's hand she dragged him with her. They wandered and wandered until they came to a particularly tall tree.

"This looks fun. We should climb it." Shaking his head he said, "No Teresa. We came far enough. We shouldn't be here in the first place. You can climb it. I'll be right down here." Sitting down he waited for her to make a move. "Fine. Stay down here then." Grabbing a small vine that had been hanging on the tree she pulled herself up. She had gotten a ways up when she heard a squawking sound. All of a sudden she was being charged by a swallow! Startled Teresa let go of the vine, falling to hard ground below. From there everything seemed to move in slow motion. The breath had been knocked out of her lungs so she couldn't scream. However she heard Carter who did scream. "Teresa!" as she lay there she saw as the swellow came closer and closer, its talons aimed at her face. The next moment she felt herself being dragged. Carter had picked her up and pulled her out of the way. As the swellow turned to attack she saw Rose rush between them and the wild Pokémon...

It was then that she woke up. Sitting up in bed Teresa felt sweat on her chest and back. Her back felt soaked and as she used her other hand to feel her bed that felt wet also. Then again what did you expect? It was always hot in Hoenn and they were in the middle of a heatwave. Getting up she grabbed the glass that was on her nightstand to the right of her bed. Throwing the thin sheet off her legs she headed for the kitchen. Leaving her door ajar she stopped at the top of the steps to take a moment to let her eyes adjust. She wished she hadn't left her glasses in her room. Without them her depth reception was off for a few moments, but it would go away soon enough. Grabbing the rail she headed down the steps, thankful that they didn't creek. The cold wood felt good on her bare feet as she headed for the kitchen.

Walking towards the refrigerator she pulled open the door wishing that she could keep her head in there. Pulling out a carton of fruit juice she unscrewed the cap and poured a bit in her glass. Setting the carton down she put the cap back on. Putting the carton back in the fridge she closed it behind her and went back upstairs. While walking up she took a sip of her juice. She had had that same dream again. That incident when she was 12 years old. She preferred to forget about that time. That had left the scars on her back. Reaching over her shoulder she felt for the soft scar tissue between her shoulder blades. It felt softer than the rest of her back and the marks were a pale pink against her dark skin. Three diagonal claw marks were all that was left from that day 3 years ago. Shaking her head she pushed that thought from her mind. She had a long day tomorrow. They had to go out and harvest this year's crop again. The beautiful orchard that her parents had just bursting with the blue orbs that were oran berries. She loved them. They were sweet, good for you, and you could eat them with just about anything. In fact the juice that she was drinking was made from the berries that her family grew. Closing her door behind her set her drink down on her night stand. Picking up her alarm clock she sighed. It was 4 in the morning. She would have to get up in about an hour. She hated it when she awoke at unseemly hours in the morning. It ruined her sleep for the rest of the night. Oh well. She was used to having some sleepless nights. Pulling the sheet back over her legs she turned towards the window and closed her eyes.

...

"Teresa. Teresa wake up. Teresa you have to wake up." Groaning the young girl pulled the pillow over her head. Huffing she tossed the pillow to the end of her bed. Feeling her mother pull the covers off her legs she flinched from the sudden cold. Getting up she looked at her mother. The two of them looked nothing alike. her olive skin and black hair versus her chestnut skin and blackish-brown hair. Her true parents died when she was very young and she and her current mother had been extremely close so she had been the one to adopt her. It didn't matter that they didn't look alike. She and her parents were as close as peas in a pod. They could tell each other anything. Getting up, she headed for her dresser across the room. Opening the drawer she pulled out her work clothes. Just a good, worn pair of overalls along with some boots. Changing she headed downstairs. Breakfast was already on the table by the time she got to the bottom of the steps. Homefries, toast, and sausage. As everyone was tired in the morning there was little need for talk. Pulling out her chair she sat down. Finishing her breakfast with a swig of orange juice she headed outside. The orchard stared her in the face then. Rows and rows of trees all bursting with fruit, the rewards of her family's labor. She loved harvest time. It was by far the easiest time of the season and her favorite. Grabbing a basket she used to belt on its side to buckle it to her waist. Heading out she walked towards the orchard. She relished the sight of the sun filtering through the green leaves of the trees, giving them a wonderful emerald sheen. Checking her basket she nodded her head, pleased at her progress. It was half full and it had only been a little while. She would stop after about 4 or 5 more baskets. They stopped at midday when the sun was at its highest. That way none of them would pass out due to the weather. Humming a song to herself she went on picking berries.

...

Taking the basket off her waist she dumped her load into the massive container on the side of her house. By the side of her house was a small barn they had remodeled so they could process and package the oran berries they grew. Later they would head to town and sell them. Berrygrove was a small community that focused on, what else? Growing berries. Each family more or less had a plot of land to look after. Some shared their land or gave it up to other families entirely if farming wasn't their thing. Her family was in charge of oran berries. Carter's family grew aspear berries. He had left on his journey 2 years ago. He decided to go to take on the challenge of the Johto league instead Hoenn first. He had sent a letter to his family a while ago saying that he was coming home in a few days. Turning she walked back toward the house. The sun had fallen below the horizon bathing the world in a silvery light from the moon. Teresa had never seen well in the dark but it was only a short distance from her house. She was about to open the door and walk inside when she felt hands grab her from behind.