Chapter 1

The Beginning May Be The Turning Point

"Ember," I call out in a loud, full of pride voice, "Use Flamethrower!" My arm whipped forward and pointed out towards the trees.

Ember did as directed and pulled back her head to gain the energy needed to unleash thick, ribbon-like flames. Her paws were planted firmly on the soft green grass and I was confident that this would be her best attack yet.

Sure enough, flames long and bright blew out of her mouth and dissipated into midair.

A smile formed on my lips with satisfaction pumping in my blood. Even throughout those 10 seconds, my muscles had tensed up so much and a shiver was able to traverse down my spine. This time, I could honestly say that being tense and shivering at the sight of flames wasn't due to fear.

However I knew better than to fear Ember's flames, I mean she was just a small Vulpix who meant no harm. Not to mention she had been the house pet for about 3 years now, so trust had also played a part in this new sensation.

Ember twisted her head back to look at me for approval. Like the happy-go-lucky girl I was, I jumped up and down laughing like a maniac put on happy gas. Sure, it wasn't the most mature nor attractive thing to do, but I was in the moment.

She smiled back and turned to jump up at down with me as we celebrated even the smallest of achievements. It didn't really matter anyways because we were isolated from the rest of people who lurked throughout Viridian Forest.

I let out a small chuckle and scooped up Ember, holding her close to my chest. Her warmth reminisced from her hard work in training and I couldn't help but smile more. Holding her brought back vivid memories of when we first got her.

About three years ago, I remembered always coming home from school to a weak and sick Vulpix crying out for help. Many people would pass by her, hoping she would one day leave but nothing happened.

Ember would sit under the same tree when it would rain, shivering and whimpering for help. The poor thing was sightless as well; her eyes were sealed shut by crust formed from pink eye. Scrawny, dirty, and helpless poor Ember got worse in the next few days and still, no one decided to help her.

I couldn't stand it any longer, so one day after school, I decided to sneak her into the house while my mom was at work. She shivered in my hands as I placed her in the sink and gave her a nice long bath. After that, I ran to the Pokemon Center to make sure she had all the vaccines needed to meet the criteria of being healthy.

Everything was great until my mom came home to see me with the germ infested Vulpix that lingered Veridian city.

"SKY, this is unacceptable!" my mother had yelled in utter distraught. Her deep midnight eyes were glued on me while her hands would clench and unclench with frustration, "why in the world would you bring in this filthy creature into my house?!"

I still held Ember close to me as I spoke; she showed no reaction to my mother's words.

"Ember is not a filthy creature!" I defended, only raising my voice a tad bit so I wouldn't startle her.

My mother's eyes widened at my response. Her arms slipped into one another as she furrowed her eyebrows at me. "Did you just call it…? Ember…?"

I nod hesitantly, holding Ember slightly tighter as my muscles slightly tensed up in intimidation. "Actually… Ember is a she and-!"

"SKY BLUE, you know what happens when you name a pokemon! You become attached to it." Her voice was cold and sharp like a knife slicing through the thin air.

My hands placed Ember onto the ground lightly and she scampered to my leg to hide from my mom. Her thick fluffy tail brushed against the bare skin of my leg like a paint brush against a canvas

"Is that a bad thing?" I say in a voice just as bitter, my sweaty palms clenching in frustration. "This is my first pokemon, every other kid my age is already out and about traveling and training while I'm stuck at home with you." My voice turns lower and more concise as my mom's reaction changed drastically.

Her eyebrows rise and her arms slowly loosen and hang by her sides. "Sky…" her voice cracks and the lump in her throat disappear into the tears that slide down her soft cheeks. "I was only trying to be a good mother… ever since your dad died-"

Before she could finish her sentence, I give her a huge hug, tears filling up my eyes giving off a burning sensation. Her over protectiveness was now understood, but I felt that with Ember by my side, it was a sign that I wasn't going to stay young forever. We wept over the loss of my father for another few minutes before making Ember feel at ease at our house.

Yesterday was the day when she was finally able to let me go and live my life as a pokemon trainer. It was a bittersweet farewell, but I knew that she was happy for me and I could finally live the life I wanted to live.

Ember leaps out of my arms and turns her head to look at me with a huge smile on her face. Her calling urges me to continue on with our training and I do just that.

I suck in some air and fill up my lungs with all the pride and joy I was able to muster up. Putting up my sky blue hood I whip my arm forward and call out "EMBER, use Flamethrower!"

One of her back paws took a step back and she whipped her head back proudly unleashing multiple heavy set ribbons of flames towards the set of trees that formed a wall right in front of us. The flames gave off a radiant light and the heat surrounded Ember.

A second later, the flames disappeared in midair and the whole forest fell silent.

That's when I heard a Thump!

It was muffled, probably due to the fact that it could have come from a few trees away. Not much longer later, the sound of buzzing stirred throughout the forest's air.

The faint sound of fast flapping wings stirred into the mixture of confusion and angry Beedrills popped up from the vast columns of trees.

Both Ember and I let out shrieks of terror as their eyes met ours. Looking through the small gaps between the trees, I saw a poor kukuna on fire. By now, the golden color had disappeared and the comb became black, thin and brittle.

Death, all I could see was death.

I held Ember tight and the two of us closed our eyes, unable to bear what was going to happen next. Their wing flapping and buzzing got louder and it began to pound in my head.

"Charizard use Flamethrower!" a new voice, a familiar voice broke out in the middle of nowhere.

I look to see a familiar face, a face I hadn't seen in years. The guy looked back at me and we made eye contact. While his Charizard was killing off the crowd of Beedrills, I was able to study him.

His choppy dark hair reached past his ears and frames his face lightly. His piercing red eyes took my breath away and I knew right away who he was. If that didn't hit me in the face about who he was, his jeans and red and white unzipped jacket did.

I knew he could hear me because a smile grew on his flawless lips when I whispered
"Red?"