You'll find a rainbow, rainbow, baby
Trust me, I know life is scary
But just put those colors on, girl
Come and play along with me tonight
You gotta learn to let go, put the past behind you
Trust me, I know, the ghosts will try to find you
But just put those colors on, girl
Come and paint the world with me tonight
Night, night, night, night, night
-Rainbow; by Kesha
"Janey, are you ready?"
"Almost!" Looking at herself in her mirror, Janey chewed on her bottom lip anxiously. It was an important day for her; it was Janey's Celebration! In the Origin Region, Janey's home region, Celebrations are thrown for those who are old enough to pick their own Pokémon, newly hatched from Eggs, from the Village Elders. The Origin Region was, in myth, the oldest region in all of the world. Stories are told among Origin's inhabitants saying that it came into being thanks to a man named Alexander and the power given to him by Arceus. Alexander had used the power Arceus granted him to stop a decade long war, and when the war finally ended, the humans and Pokémon followed Alexander into forming the Origin Region. Eventually, as the inhabitants grew, they split off into seventeen separate villages, each one living in an area common for certain Pokémon types. Janey lived in the Flora Village, where Grass-types were common.
The Village Elders were, essentially, the descendants of the people who established their villages.
The Elder in Flora Village was a sweet elderly woman named Dahlia, who was an old friend of Janey's grandmother, Rhiannon.
Janey had lived with her grandmother since she was little, after her parents went off to do a little soul searching. Janey's mother, Thalia, had originated from Thunder Village, where, obviously, Electric-type Pokémon were common. Janey's father, Alistair, was Rhiannon's son. Alistair was born and raised in Flora Village, and he had fallen in love with Thalia after getting to know her some. The only reason Thalia came to Flora Village was because she wanted to travel, to see what life was like outside of Thunder Village. She had already lived in Treetop Village and Terra Village, where Flying- and Rock-type Pokémon lived respectively. Then Thalia had made her way to Flora Village, where she'd eventually meet Alistair and everything that happened afterward was history.
A knock came from the other side of Janey's door. "Honey, if you don't hurry up I'll tell Dahlia you're not ready for your Celebration," Rhiannon called. "I don't think you'd want that."
Not even a second afterward, Janey opened her bedroom door to present herself to her grandmother. She was wearing the traditional attire all kids wore for their Celebration — for the girls, it was a long, emerald green sundress with long sleeves; Janey's red hair was styled up into a neat bun; around Janey's neck was a flower necklace.
A warm smile came on Rhiannon's face. "You look lovely," she said. "Are you all ready? You've got everything you need?"
"I think so," Janey said. "Are you sure I look OK?"
Giving her granddaughter a reassuring smile, Rhiannon nodded. "Of course you look OK," she replied. "You've been preparing for this day, I trust you have everything in order." With a single nod from Janey, Rhiannon put an arm over her granddaughter's shoulders. "Let's go," she said. "You've got a Pokémon to pick."
. . . .
Elder Dahlia had been in charge of Flora Village for decades. The role of Elder had been a responsibility in Dahlia's family ever since the village was formed. Dahlia took great pride in her home, being fair but stern with its inhabitants. Dahlia took each problem that arose seriously and displayed just as much seriousness towards the Celebrations. Celebrations were no joking matter; the children of the village are picking their Pokémon partner! The relationship between people and Pokémon are deep and unbreaking, in the eyes of not only the people of Flora Village, but also in every other village throughout the Origin Region.*
Dahlia made sure everything would remain in its proper place, that everyone would be satisfied at all times. She and her partner, Tropius, made sure that all the vegetation was at its finest, that all the nearby bodies of water were fresh, that everything would go smoothly. Having a community that was so integrated with Pokémon was nice. Flora Village had plenty of Pokémon who were willing to help out, whether they had human partners or were simply wild. The villagers had lived among the land for so many centuries that the wild Pokémon had grown accustomed to them; they helped each other out when it was needed. The friendships between human and Pokémon was what kept Origin functioning.
When news came that the granddaughter of Dahlia's old friend, Rhiannon, would have her Celebration soon, there was a sense of overwhelming excitement in the Elder. Rhiannon's family had been close to Dahlia's, so when Rhiannon's granddaughter was announced to be of age to pick her own Pokémon, it was a thrilling sensation, but Dahlia knew better than to make Janey feel more important than any other child who came of age. Elders having favorites was unfair to the other villagers, and it essentially led to problems. That was why Dahlia also tried to make sure her friendship to Rhiannon's family didn't get in the way of her duties.
When Rhiannon and Janey came into view, with Janey wearing the proper attire, a smile came across Dahlia's face. She'd known Janey since the day she was born, and it was heartwarming to see her grow up. Dahlia didn't have any children of her own, which, in a way, went against the traditions of Elders. Being in charge of a village was a family tradition, since the Elders descended from the people who started the separate villages. For Dahlia, she wanted her main focus to be her home; she knew that taking care of a child would be difficult, and she had to keep in mind that she'd have issues splitting her time between the village and her own kid. That was the main reason she chose to not keep up with tradition.
But seeing her friends approaching her, with Rhiannon beaming with pride and Janey looking anxious, Dahlia couldn't help but feel her heart swell. The entire village had been decorated for the occasion, with each villager waiting patiently to see which Pokémon Janey chose.
Once Janey was in front of Dahlia, Rhiannon gave her a hug and walked off to the side. "How are you tonight, Janey?" Dahlia asked.
With a nervous chuckle, Janey shrugged. "Scared, I guess," she murmured, shifting from foot to foot.
"That's understandable." Dahlia let out a chuckle of her own. "How's your grandmother's Tangrowth doing?"
"Very well," Janey exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. Tangrowth, having been a Tangela all those years ago, had been Rhiannon's pick at her Celebration. "I'd say he's excited to have another Pokémon in the house."
With a nod, Dahlia stood aside, presenting the baby Pokémon. "Janey, I present to you our newly hatched Pokémon," she said. "You will only pick one. Whichever Pokémon you choose, will be your partner for life. You may pick from Chikorita, Treecko, Shroomish, Oddish, and Exeggcute."
. . . .
Janey's head started spinning. The five Pokémon in front of her were newly hatched, unaccustomed to the world around them. All five of those Pokémon looked at her and she looked at them, feeling her emotions starting to spin inside her. Chikorita, Treecko, and Shroomish were pure Grass-types, while Oddish was a Grass/Poison-type and Exeggcute was a Grass/Psychic-type. It was Janey's responsibility to know any secondary typing of the Grass Pokémon in her village. In all honesty, Janey found herself conflicted between Exeggcute, Treecko, and Chikarita.
'You're only allowed one,' she thought. 'Whichever one I pick is my partner. We'll do whatever we want together. I just didn't imagine it'd be so hard.'
"This is harder than I thought," she said, letting out another nervous chuckle.
"Take your time," Dahlia responded.
Biting her bottom lip, Janey took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. Closing her eyes, she quickly pointed to a random direction, her index finger extended to show which Pokémon would be her partner. When she opened her eyes, a sigh escaped Janey's mouth and a small smile came to her lips. At the other end of her pointed finger was Treecko. The Wood Gecko Pokémon let out a pleased cry before jumping into Janey's arms. Instantly, Janey's arms wrapped around Treecko in a firm hug. A thrilled chuckle escaped the young girl's mouth as she and Treecko ended the hug, with Treecko happily placing itself on Janey's shoulder.
"You've chosen Treecko," Dahlia announced, stepping in front of Janey, "and so this Pokémon will be your partner."
A big smile came across Janey's face before it faltered a bit. "What about the others?" she asked.
Dahlia's brows shot up for a moment before she chuckled. "We have a couple other Celebrations after yours," she replied. "But today is about you, Janey." Looking at the other villagers, Dahlia gave a big smile. "Janey has chosen her partner Pokémon! Let the Celebration begin!"
. . . .
There was plenty of music that was playing, all the villagers were congratulating Janey on her choice, gushing at how adorable they thought Treecko was. Rhiannon was more than thrilled at her granddaughter's choice, given that Treecko was a rarity in the village, so were its evolutions. It looked as if Janey and Treecko were already starting to get along, the Wood Gecko Pokémon keeping itself latched onto Janey's shoulder, its eyes wide and excited. Janey looked absolutely glowing. Her face was flushed with all the attention she was getting, and she couldn't help but laugh and giggle at everything the villagers said to her.
"It's hard to believe how much she's grown," Dahlia said, coming up beside Rhiannon.
"I know," she sighed. "I just wish Janey's parents were here."
Dahlia snorting, rolling her eyes. "You know how Thalia was," she responded. "She was too much of a free spirit to have kids hold her down. And your son...as good as he was, he loved Thalia too much."
It was no lie. Alistair did love Thalia with all he had; so when Thalia suggested leaving Flora Village to do some traveling, Alistair wasted no time taking his Cacturne, his personal belongings, and going off to travel with her. The only thing they left behind was their daughter. Rhiannon took no time stepping up to take care of her granddaughter, hoping that her son and Thalia would come back one day for her. But they hadn't. Wherever Alistair and Thalia went, it seemed like they had no intentions of coming back any time soon.
"I just don't want to believe it," Rhiannon sighed. "I didn't think Alistair would do something like this, leaving a young daughter alone. Heaven only knows what would have happened if I hadn't stepped in."
"Maybe she would've been sent to Thunder Village," Dahlia said. "If Thalia had any relatives there, Janey would've been living with them."
A look swept across Rhiannon's face. She had no problems with Thunder Village, in fact, Flora Village — as well as all the other villages in the Origin Region — got their power from Thunder Village. All the communities in the Origin Region gave each other something of value to keep the region thriving. That was just the way things worked. It was just...Rhiannon didn't want to think about any outcome where her granddaughter would be sent away.
"The last thing I'd ever want is for Janey to be separated from me," Rhiannon exclaimed. "She's the only family I have right now."
Putting a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, Dahlia gave her a sympathetic look. "It's OK," she said quietly. "It wasn't smart for me to bring that up. Let's be happy; Janey's got her first Pokémon!"
Rhiannon kept her gaze on her granddaughter and Treecko, watching not only how Janey interacted with hew new Pokémon, but how they interacted with the other villagers. It brought a smile to Rhiannon's face. It felt like nothing could ruin that moment.
(A/N):
Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but hopefully it was somewhat decent for you guys. I've had this idea floating in my head for a while, and I don't really know whether or not it looks better written out or just staying in my head. If you've got ideas on how to improve this, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? I'd love to see some constructive criticism.*
Nothing in this fandom belongs to me. All I own are my OCs and the storyline.
If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, don't hesitate to let me know. PM me or leave a review.
This story will take place kind of outside the DP series. Brock and Dawn are still traveling with Ash, but this story won't directly cross into any DP series or episode. If that makes any sense.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anywho, let me know if you see anything that needs improvement, give ideas on OCs or subplots, this story has no direct influence into the DP series at all.
Thanks.
Sully