Hello everyone and welcome to my new story. This will probably be my new priority, but I may still update A Series of One Shots if I think of a good pairing. This idea came to me while I was re-watching the Pokemon Generations series.

Nintendo reserves all rights to Pokemon, I do not own any characters or locations used in this story.


Beep… Beep… Beep…

Ela's alarm sounded loudly in her room. She awoke with a jump, the sound of the alarm scaring her awake like it usually did. She reached out an arm from under her blankets and shut it off. Most days she would press the snooze button and enjoy a few extra minutes of sleep, but today was different. Today she would begin her journey as a pokemon trainer.

Ela was not like most new trainers since she was in her early twenties, but her desire to be a trainer has been there since she was young. Ela was still living at home with her mother and grandparents in Oreburgh City. Her mother was an executive at Jubilife TV, and her father was a coal miner. Since they were always working, she was responsible for looking after her grandparents.

Every morning Ela would have to prepare breakfast for the three of them, but after that she was usually free to do her own thing. She invested a lot of her free time into helping out around the city. Since most families saw the men of the household leave for the mines early and return late, there was a lot to be done in the city.

Today Ela was going to visit Roark at the gym. Since he was in charge of the mining operations, her father was good friends with him. She would often sit in and watch Roark battle other trainers, longing for the day she would be in their position. Today though, Roark was going to bring her to Jubilife City to meet with the man responsible for distributing pokemon to new trainers.

Ela got out of bed and headed for the shower. She undressed and turned on the faucet, feeling the warm water run through her hair and down her body. She felt her mind drift as the shower went on.

Ela was standing in a large stadium, people filling the stands. Across from her stood the champion of the Sinnoh Region, Cynthia. She watched Cynthia reach to her side and draw a pokeball. She tossed it into the air and out came her garchomp. Ela nodded, easily anticipating the move, and went to summon her pokemon. As she tossed the ball into the air she was snapped back to reality by a knock on the bathroom door.

"Ela honey, I'm off to work," She heard her mother say, "Good luck today, and please call me later letting me know how it goes."

"Okay mom, have a good day at work," Ela replied. Wishing that her daydream could have lasted just a bit longer.

Ela finished and shut off the water. She exited the shower and reached for her towel. She quickly dried off and put on her usual attire: A t-shirt and shorts. She sighed at the process of brushing out her long teal hair that would follow shortly.

Ela finished getting ready and headed downstairs to start breakfast. Her grandfather was already sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper. She smiled at him as she made her way into the kitchen. She turned on the stove and began to prepare their favorite meal of pancakes. As she cooked Ela could hear the TV on in the living room, she assumed her grandma was watching the morning news like she usually did. As Ela continued her cooking, the broadcaster said something that caught her attention.

"Today marks the fifty-year anniversary of the tragic events that took place in the chateau located in Eterna forest. Authorities were not able to figure out what exactly occurred that night, never giving an answer to how the daughter and butler of the chateau's owner died. The investigation was closed years ago, but there are still those who hope that one day the truth is revealed. We now go live to our news correspondent Ted McMillen who is at the chateau…"

Before Ela could hear any more, her grandpa came into the kitchen.

"It sure smells good Ela," He said, a smile resting on his wrinkly face, "You have always been the best cook. I hope you'll drop by and cook for us every once and a while after you leave."

Ela laughed at this, "Of course grandpa, you know I love cooking for you guys," She replied while smiling back at him. "In fact, it's almost done, do you mind telling grandma?"

"Of course dear," He said as he walked off to the living room.

Ela turned off the stove and piled the pancakes onto their plates. She carried them out to the table and set them at their usual spots. Her grandparents followed shortly after and joined Ela at the table.

As they ate, Ela found herself thinking more about what she heard on the news. She had heard about the chateau before, but never really knew much about it. Seeing that her grandparents were alive during the time of the deaths, she decided to ask them.

"So grandma, what was that on the news about the chateau?" Ela asked, hoping she could get some more information.

"Oh that, it's a sad story," Her grandma replied, "Your grandfather and I actually lived in Eterna City when that happened. We had just moved here from the Hoenn region, and even knew the owner of the chateau."

"Yeah, Mister Devereux was a good guy, but was quite the eccentric fellow," Her grandpa continued, "I think in all the years we knew him we were only in his house once or twice for fundraising galas."

"Well what do you two think happened to his daughter and butler?" Ela asked, now hooked on the conversation.

"As much as I would love to know, I have not even the slightest idea. Like your grandpa said, he kept everything that happened in that house, well, in the house. Although when something this massive happens you can't help but catch wind of a few rumors…" Her grandma told them.

"Heh, a lot of them are a load of BS, but I can't help but feel a few of them sound almost too detailed," Ela's grandfather picked up the story again. "For example, the quickest spreading one at the time it happened was that Mr. Devereux was drinking and called his daughter downstairs. He then struck her across the face, which at that point their butler Charon intervened. Enraged, Mr. Devereux summoned one of his fire-type pokemon and ordered it to attack the butler. Its attack missed and instead hit his daughter, setting her dress ablaze. Realizing what he had done, he grabbed the nearest liquid he could find to try and put out the flames that were slowly engulfing his daughter…"

"It was the wine he was wasted off of… His daughter's screams slowly ceased, she was dead. Enraged that he had lost the only person in his life he loved, he took the bottle and slashed the butler's throat. He fled the chateau the same night, never heard from again…" Her grandma concluded.

"Of course this is only a tall tale, no one can know for sure what happened," Her grandpa stated.

"So what happened to the chateau?" Ela asked.

"Well, since the Devereux family left, it has been uninhabited," Her grandpa replied, "Not sure why though, it was a nice place."

Satisfied with what her grandparents told her, Ela moved on from the topic. They talked about her goals as a trainer for the remainder of their meal. After they were finished, Ela collected their plates and put them in the dishwasher. She checked her poketch and saw that it was almost time for her to head out.

She gave each of her grandparents a kiss on the cheek before leaving for the gym.


As Ela walked to the gym, she took in the city. This was the last time she would be walking the streets as a normal everyday person. Tomorrow, she would return a trainer.

The gym was only a few blocks from her house, so her walk didn't last long. She reached the doors, took a deep breath, and entered the building.

Inside she was greeted with an attitude by the receptionist who told her Roark was still finishing up his challenges for the day. Since he was closing the gym early, he had to fit in all the challengers in the morning. Ela entered the arena and took her usual seat behind Roark.

"Cranidos, use rock tomb!" Roark yelled. His cranidos obeying immediately.

"Quick pachirisu, dodge it!" The challenger cried, but it wasn't fast enough. The pokemon was quickly engulfed in the barrage of rocks that piled on top of it.

Roark chuckled, knowing that he had won the battle.

"The challenger's pachirisu is unable to battle, Roark is the winner," The referee said. The challenging trainer nodded dejectedly, and recalled his pokemon before leaving the gym.

"Great job Roark," Ela said as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Ha, thanks," Roark replied, "It was tougher than most, him and that pachirisu knew what they were doing, but it wasn't a challenge for cranidos here," he continued, patting his trustworthy partner on the head. "I think he was the last one for the day, so let me go freshen up and then we should be good to go."

Ela nodded and followed Roark back into the lobby. He told her to wait there while he headed upstairs to his apartment to get ready. Ela took a seat in the chair furthest from the receptionist and opened up her poketch, trying to seem occupied so the receptionist Chrissy wouldn't try to talk to her.

Her and Chrissy never really got along. Chrissy disapproved of someone who was not a trainer being able to come and go whenever they pleased since a gym was supposed to be a place where trainers came to grow stronger. Ela thought this was ridiculous, and never hesitated to call her out on her gripes. If Roark allowed her to come into the gym, then there was nothing wrong with it.

Ela was browsing the Jubilife TV page to see if her mother had published anything new today, but all she found was something about a child who was trapped in a nightmare in Canalave City. Casually skimming the article, she saw that scientists were unable to give a reason why it was happening.

As Ela finished reading, Roark stepped out of the elevator doors. He had changed out of his mining attire that he prefered to battle in and was now wearing much more casual clothing.

"Ready to go?" He asked Ela. She quickly shoved her poketch back into her pocket and nodded. "Chrissy, you remember what to tell anyone who is looking for me right?"

Chrissy looked up from the issue of Pokemon and Me she was reading, "Of course Roark," She replied unenthusiastically, "That you are away on personal business and will return tomorrow."

Roark nodded in approval, and with one last spiteful look at Ela, Chrissy returned to reading her magazine.

"Alright, let's hit the road," Roark said, "The trip shouldn't take too long."

And with that he and Ela left the gym.


Ela walked in silence with Roark for a while, unsure of what to talk about. She had never been with him when he wasn't battling unless her family invited him over for dinner. She wanted to talk about something, but just couldn't bring herself to start a pointless conversation. Then it hit her.

"So what made you decide to be a gym leader?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"Well you know my father is the leader over in Canalave City right?" He asked. His question met with a nod from Ela.

"Well I trained under him for a while when he was the leader in Oreburgh, but when the Canalave gym needed a leader, the league asked him to be the new leader there, and he requested I take his spot in Oreburgh," He explained. "The rest is history I guess," He chuckled.

"Oh wow," Ela replied, "Why did the league chose him over any of the other leaders?"

"Well since most of the mining exports are shipped out of Canalave, his background as a miner made him more than eligible to take over the shipping ports," Roark explained further, "Combine that with the fact that he was also a gym leader, he was the first name the league thought of."

"Do you ever miss him?" Ela asked.

"Yeah it sucks not having him around anymore, but we still talk almost every day. We also see each other once a month at the meetings for the league," He replied, "But being on my own has perks as well, so I'm pretty happy."

These words were reassuring to Ela. She was scared to be out on her own, but she knew that her pokemon would be there to help her through it.

"So what are your goals as a trainer?" Roark asked her. His question catching her off guard.

"Um, I guess to defeat the league," Ela replied feebly. Truth be told; She had no idea what her goal was.

"Well, if that's the case, then I guess I'll be battling against you soon," Roark laughed, "I expect you to beat me easily since you've seen me battle a million times."

Ela giggled at his comment. She wished she was able to have more conversations like this with Roark. Being able to talk to him as a normal person rather than a gym leader proved to me much more enjoyable.

"Well, we're almost there," Roark told her, "I'll see you to where the professor is staying, but after that I have some of my own business to tend to."

Ela was saddened to hear this. She wanted Roark to be there when she chose her starter and embarked on her journey.


Ela saw the skyline of the largest city in the region painting the late afternoon sky in front of them. It never failed to take her breath away. She had been to the city many times before, coming along with her mom a lot when she was younger.

They entered the gates to the city, and were soon surrounded by the fast-paced bustle of the city goers.

"The professor is staying in a hotel just up this road, I'll let you into the building before I go," Roark told her.

As he said, they arrived at their destination and he told the man standing out front who he was and what their business was. The man opened the door and invited them into the lobby. Roark said his goodbyes and wished Ela luck, before turning and heading further down the street. Ela sighed, she was alone once again.

Ela walked into the hotel. The lobby was much larger than she expected from a building that was crammed onto a side street. The room had white walls with a deep red carpet. Ela took a deep breath and approached the receptionist.

"I'm here to meet with the professor," Ela said nervously.

"Ah, you must be Ela," The receptionist responded cheerfully, "He is on the sixth floor room 621. If you have any difficulties finding the room please do not hesitate to ask for assistance."

Ela thanked her and headed to the elevators. She pressed the button to call one and waited anxiously. She was living her last few moments as another face in the crowd, ready to be a trainer. The elevator beeped and the doors slid open. The car was empty thankfully. Ela pressed the button for the sixth floor and felt herself begin to move upward.

When the elevator stopped on the sixth floor, the doors slid open once more and she found herself in a long hallway with the same finish as the lobby. She looked to her left and saw that the room she was looking for would be that way. She walked quickly down the hall and knocked on the door to the room she was told the professor was in.

It swung open a few minutes later, but Ela was not greeted by the professor. Instead, it was a girl who seemed to be a few years younger than Ela. She had dark blue hair and wore a white beanie that covered most of her head.

"Hello," She said politely, "You must be Ela. Come in"

Ela did as instructed and followed the girl into the room.

"Oh I should probably introduce myself," The girl said, "My name is Dawn, I'm one of the professor's assistants."

"Is the professor here?" Ela asked her.

"Unfortunately he had to leave on an emergency call to Eterna City. Something about a gangster organization causing trouble. The gym leader Gardenia requested his help, but don't worry. Your journey will not be delayed too long."

"What do you mean?" Ela asked, "Am I not getting my pokemon today?"

"Unfortunately, no," Dawn replied, "However, he told me that if you are willing to meet him in Eterna City while he is there he would give you your pokemon. You are also free to wait here until he returns, but I'm not sure when that may be."

Ela was devastated. She had been looking forward to this for such a long time, and as soon as she gets to the point where she was supposed to get her pokemon she gets the rug pulled out from under her. Yes she loved living at home, but she was sick of waiting for the chance to finally be able to fulfill her dream.

"How far is it to Eterna City from here?" She asked Dawn.

"Well on foot it is probably around a day's walk. It's not that it's far away, but you have to navigate through Eterna Forest, which without a guide can prove to be one of the hardest tasks for even the best trainer."

"Well what do you recommend?" Ela asked.

"I could try to find you a guide who knows the forest. If I can then I say you leave tomorrow morning, but if not I advise against trying to go through without a pokemon," Dawn responded.

Ela wanted to get to Eterna City, so she was really hoping that Dawn would be able to find a guide for her. She wanted to ask Dawn to guide her through, but she has done more than enough to help her. Ela decided to wait until the morning to see if Dawn would find her a guide before making a decision.

"Can I stay here overnight?" Ela asked, "Just to see if you can find a guide for me?"

"Of course," Dawn replied happily, "I'll make some calls tonight to some of the people the professor knows that live around the forest and see if any of them will help you, but until then make yourself at home."

With that, Dawn went into what Ela assumed was her room and shut the door. "What an interesting girl" Ela thought to herself as she took off her bag and set it down on the table. She then plopped down onto the couch and called her family to tell them what was happening.


The rest of the night was uneventful. Dawn came out of her room for a bit and they talked about the various things Dawn has seen while studying under the professor, but eventually their conversation died down and they went to bed.

Ela awoke the early the next morning. She got out of bed and saw that Dawn was already awake.

"I got some good news for you," She said with her usual happy tone, "I was able to find someone who is willing to be your guide."

"That's great!" Ela replied, ecstatic, "Do you know them?"

"I've never met her myself, but she was listed as a certified guide on the league's database, so I decided to contact her. Her name is Maggie. She told me that you can just give her a call when you are close to the forest," Dawn explained while writing her number on a piece of paper.

"How hard is it to get to the forest from here?" Ela asked, full of newfound energy.

"It isn't too far," Dawn told her, "You just head north along route 204 into Floaroma Town, then a little further north on route 205. It's a very pretty walk, full of flowers. You also shouldn't have to worry about too many wild pokemon. That area is heavily traveled due to its beauty, so a lot of the pokemon stay pretty hidden."

"Thank you so much Dawn," Ela said.

"Don't worry about it," She laughed, "It's my job to help trainers, or well in your case a soon-to-be trainer. Do you want me to walk you to route 204?"

"If you'd like," Ela replied.

Ela had a bit further to walk in the city this time then with Roark. Her and Dawn had a casual conversation about the most recent season of Sinnoh's Contest Champions and how Dawn wanted to compete one day. As much as Ela loved talking to her new friend, they reached the edge of the city and exchanged their goodbyes.

Ela pulled out a map of the region that Dawn had given her and looked over her upcoming trip.

She saw that Floaroma Town was relatively close to Jubilife and figured that she would get there in time to eat lunch. After that, she would head for the forest.


Ela made quick work of her trip to Floaroma Town, and the name was certainly fitting. She was hit with the fragrance of the flowers that grew in and around the small town almost instantly. Not wanting to waste any time, Ela found the first cafe she could see and ordered a quick meal.

As she waited for her food, Ela decided to do some research on the Eterna Forest. Even if she had a guide, she wanted to be best prepared in case something went wrong. She browsed new articles about people who traveled in the forest until she found one that caught her attention. The headline read How I was Nearly Driven Insane from The Eterna Forest. Wanting to read more, Ela selected the article.

"It was about two years ago that I got trapped in the Eterna Forest. I was still a young trainer at the time on their way to Eterna City for my next gym badge, but I never made it. The Eterna Forest is a maze of trees, with hardly two feet of space around you if you're lucky. It's easy to lose track of where you are, and even easier to lose sanity. I spent nearly three days searching for an exit to the forest… And that was with the help of my pokemon, but to no avail. Finally, a woman named Maggie found me while escorting another trainer through the forest and offered to help me out. With the little bit of sense I had left in me, I took her offer and was lead to the way I came in. Relieved that I was finally out, I took off to loop around through Oreburgh City. I haven't set foot anywhere near that forest since those few days. The only advice I can give is hire a guide, and hope you don't have to stay the night."

Ela concluded the article and shuddered, hoping she would not meet the same fate. She noticed that a woman named Maggie helped the guy out of the forest, and wondered if that was the same person she would be going with. Before she could think about it any more, the waiter brought her food to her table and she began to eat.

Her meal was delicious. It managed to capture the taste of the town with a blend of berries and flowers. Ela wish she could order more, but she was on a tight schedule. She made it a point to remember the name of the cafe, then paid for her meal and left once again.

Dawn was right about the walk, it really was gorgeous. Route 205 was lined with beautifully colored assortments of flowers and berry trees and to her left a stream babbled along slowly. If this was what being a trainer was like, Ela was even more excited for it.

Ela spent the rest of her walk admiring the scenery. The time passed quickly and before she knew it, she had arrived at the forest.

In front of her stood a large gate, serving as the entrance to the fenced-off boundaries of the forest. Ela then realized that she should probably call Maggie. She dialed the number that was given to her and waited. It rang a few times before she heard the voice of a young-sounding female on the other side.

"Hello?" Maggie answered.

"Hi, It's Ela," She replied, "I was told you were going to help me through the Eterna Forest?"

"Oh yeah," Maggie giggled, "I'll be right there. I live pretty close to the entrance."

Maggie then hung up. Dawn had said she was trustworthy, and she did save that other guy from the forest, but Ela couldn't help but feel that something was off about Maggie. Ruling these thoughts out as paranoia, she sat down on a fallen tree and waited for Maggie.


Maggie arrived about fifteen minutes later. As Ela assumed, she was a young girl; a lot younger than she originally thought. She was wearing a gray dress and had gold ribbons in her hair. Ela wanted to say something about how young she was, but decided against it because she was her only hope of making it through the forest. Ela looked at the sky and figured they had about four hours until the sun set.

"Shall we go?" Maggie asked her as she opened the gate.

"Sure," Ela replied curtly.

"Alrighty then. Follow me and always stay two steps behind me," Maggie instructed, "Any more and you may lose me."

Ela did as she was told, and they entered the forest.

It was easy to see why so many people got lost in the forest. The trees were so close together, and the foliage was so dense that the sun was almost completely blocked off. Ela had no idea how guides were able to learn the path through it, and seeing how they haven't said anything since they entered the forest, Ela decided to ask.

"So how do you guides learn your way through the forest?" Ela questioned.

"My dad showed me," Maggie replied, "We would come through all the time, so I guess it's just memory."

"Have you lived in the area long? I can't help but notice you're a bit younger than I thought."

"Hehe," Maggie giggled, "I get that a lot, but yeah I've lived here my entire life. I've been helping people for a long time too."

That was the end of their conversation. Maggie wasn't much for talking. Her and Ela continued on in silence for some time until Maggie broke the quiet.

"Hold on a second," She told Ela. Not knowing what was going on, Ela listened.

"What's up," She asked Maggie, growing nervous.

"I think there are some wild pokemon up ahead, I heard their cry a while back, but I just heard it again and it was much closer," Maggie explained.

Ela was confused, she never heard either cry that Maggie was talking about, but figuring she just missed it she didn't question her.

"I think we should wait here for a bit," Maggie told her, her voice now serious.

Sensing that something was going on, Ela wanted to unleash the barrage of questions she had, but she did not want to offend Maggie and get stranded in the forest alone. So she instead sat on the ground and waited.

They waited for quite some time in absolute silence.

"I'm going to go ahead and check if it's clear," Maggie said, "Wait here, I'll be back shortly."

It was at that point that Ela had had it with Maggie's gettup.

"Hold on now," Ela said angrily, "I'm done with all this mysterious shit. I'm already scared enough as it is, but now you're here making up shit about wild pokemon that I haven't heard once. Why are you doing this? Is this some kind of sick pleasure trip for you or something?"

Maggie turned to Ela with hurt in her eyes. She said nothing as she walked away into the darkness.


It took a moment for Ela to process what she had just said. She quickly stood up and called out for Maggie, but there was no response. Panicking, Ela took off in the direction Maggie had walked off towards. She ran for a few minutes before she realized that she was lost and alone.

Ela paused for a moment and tried to compose herself. She had went with Maggie for a while, so the exit to Eterna City shouldn't be too far away. She knew night was quickly approaching, and did not want to be stuck in the forest without any pokemon or survival supplies. Ela decided that her best approach was to find a clearing that gave her an idea of where the sun was, and using that she would head east to Eterna City.

Luckily she found what she was looking for sooner than she expected. Ela saw the sun was close to setting, figuring it was around seven. She turned the opposite direction of the sun and began walking.

Ela walked for what seemed like an eternity. The forest had grown completely dark and she was using the flashlight on her poketch to find her way. Ela was starting to lose hope completely. She was going to die.

But then Ela saw it. She was in a large clearing now and in front of her stood a large building. It appeared to be an old mansion. Ela recognized it immediately, the Devereux Chateau she had just seen in the news. Without hesitation Ela headed for the building, seeing it as a sanctuary from the forest behind her.

Little did she know, it was quite the opposite.