Escape

by Emolgaa

Winona had to plan her death. Of course, she wasn't going to actually die; she just needed to trick everyone into thinking that she was dead. That was the hardest part. Next, she would have to escape.

I know, I know! I keep writing new stories, I'm sorry! But I really enjoy coming up with new ideas, so I hope you guys enjoy this!

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There was a lot of planning to be done.

First, Winona had to plan her death. Of course, she wasn't going to actually die; she just needed to trick everyone into thinking that she was dead. That was the hardest part.

Next, she would have to escape the world. This one was pretty simple, actually. Teleporting to a different dimension was not as hard as you'd think it would be.

And once all of that was done, she'd have a nice life, away from the place she hated.

-][-

Abusive parents. No friends. A school with many bullies. Definitely a life that Winona did not want. Naturally, she's tried to escape it. She didn't hate herself, so committing suicide was a stupid decision. And the bad part was that there wasn't any better choice.

Still, Winona never did it. Not that she was scared–she never was–but if she try jumping off a building or something of the sort, there would be that small possibility that she'd survive–and subsequently end up in jail. So she continued on with life, acting as if she was fine although she never was.

She continued going to school, where she was constantly teased and bullied because of her strange lavender coloured hair. Winona had always found this fact amusing, however; being called and idiot because of the colour of her hair? She would pull through the horrifying six hours of school.

Winona always enjoyed going back home. Even better when both her parents were not in the house. She would grab her GameBoy Advance, plop on the sofa, and play the newest Pokémon game–Pokémon Sapphire. Despite being poor, her uncle had always given her small presents from time to time. Recently, he had handed her the latest GameBoy design and a copy of the new Pokémon game, before he headed to war in another country. Months later, a letter came in, informing Winona's family that he had died in the war. Winona had been the only person who cried.

Winona did like playing Pokémon a lot; it was a time when she could sit back and not stress about the things she hated in life. There was one night in particular, though, where everything started to change. The first problem, Winona noticed, was that the Gym Leader in Fortree City, Walter, was missing in her game. That's unusual, Winona decided. There's a problem with my game. She proceeded to talk to the citizens in Fortree. Strangely enough each of them said the same thing to her player: "Walter has passed away. We are looking for a new Fortree City gym leader! Would you like to be the Fortree leader?" And with each question came an option: 'Yes' or 'No'.

At first, Winona wondered if this was normal. She figured something was definitely wrong. Finally, after continuously selecting 'No', she clicked on the 'Yes' selection. Nothing happened. After a moment, the GameBoy screen went blank. Had Winona broken her game? She wanted to curl up and weep, for the game and the device was the best thing she had–except she couldn't move. Frozen in place, her eyes began to droop as time passed. Eventually, Winona fell asleep.

-][-

When she awoke, Winona noticed she was in a bed she never remembered sleeping in. She wasn't in a hospital, she knew that. The walls weren't white at all; they were made out of wood, and the lighting was dim.

"Ah, you're awake!"

A lady walked into the room. She had a gentle smiled on her face.

"Where am I?" Winona questioned. "I don't remember anything."

"You're in Fortree City, dear. You passed out after walking into my house." The lady smiled again. "I'm Arie, by the way."

"Oh, so..Fortree City?" Winona tried her best to conceal her shock and act normal. She was in the Pokémon World?

"Yes, dear. And your Pokémon were quite worried." Arie pointed to the table beside the bed, where five pokeballs sat.

"My…my Pokémon." The lavender haired girl's brow furrowed. She had Pokémon? "Well, I have to take my leave now. Thank you for taking care of me while I was out."

Winona bowed to Arie, in gratitude, and headed out of the small house, pokeballs in hand. How had she gotten to the Pokémon world? She remembered Walter passing on, the citizens asking if she was the leader, and selecting 'yes'…and nothing on beyond that. Could it have been that her decision had teleported her into a different universe?

"Hey, you!" The moment Winona stepped out of the house, someone called out to her. "Aren't you the new gym leader?"

Winona stepped back from the young boy. The look on his face…he wanted to challenge her. She wasn't ready. "No," Winona said nervously. "I'm afraid you must be mistaken."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Winona felt the same feeling, as before–she couldn't move. Fortree City disappeared from her view, white replacing everything.

-][-

Winona peeled her eyes open wearily. She was back in her living room, now. She had trouble deciding whether her trip to Fortree City was a dream, or not. She figured it wasn't.

Winona grabbed her GameBoy–not daring to turn it back on–and ran up to her room. She sat herself in front of her desk, staring at the small device in her palm. It struck her that the game was definitely no ordinary game. In her game, Fortree City needed a new gym leader–if she chose yes, then she was the leader, and she would get into the game and serve the role of a gym leader. And the moment she denied the fact, the game would send her back.

Winona pondered her new discovery. She could try to escape into the world of Pokémon–provided she didn't accidentally teleport herself back. She pulled out a blank sheet of paper from a drawer.

"Time to start planning." Winona smiled, feeling excited for the first time in years.

-][-

By the next week, Winona had finished assembling out her plan:

Plan to leave

Walk in front of a car with GameBoy

Wait for the car to hit

Just before car hits, press 'Yes' to be the Fortree gym leader

Get teleported to the Pokémon world

There were a few risks to this–worst-case scenario, she hit the button too late and got killed. Winona hoped it wouldn't happen. And of course, the biggest problem would be accidentally denying her leadership status and teleporting back into this world, appearing where ever she left off–in the middle of the road–and probably getting knocked down by a car. Which would cause extreme confusion to many: Winona, who had been killed in a car accident, gets killed again in a car accident in the same place. That would be very unfortunate.

Next Monday, Winona decided. When I turn fourteen, on my birthday, I'll go.

And so, the next Monday, Winona was in her school uniform, GameBoy in hand, ready to cross the road. She held the device tightly, her palm sweating. It was finally time; she wasn't scared, of course. She was nervous, and she had learnt before that there was a difference between being scared and being nervous. Being scared meant that she didn't want to do it. But she was more than willing to do so.

The road was empty, now. Winona waited for a while. She would have been late for school, if she were going to go. But she wasn't.

Finally, the lavender haired teen heard the familiar sound of a car approaching. She stood by the road, waiting patiently for it to come into sight. When it did, eventually, Winona stepped out onto the road. She knew that even if the driver tried to stop, it would be too late. She would still get hit.

The car came closer. Winona heard the screech of the tires against the road–the driver was attempting to brake. She looked down at her GameBoy. It was time now. The car–a red Toyota–was only one meter away by then.

Almost time now…Winona anticipated. Her hand was shaking. Wait for it…

The crimson coloured car–why would anyone want a car that colour?–came into contact with Winona, and she jammed her finger into the 'A' button, selecting the 'Yes' option like she had weeks ago. Then, she felt the same weightlessness as she had before, only this time she willingly drifted off.

-][-

This time, when Winona came to, she was fully aware of what had previously happened. She was in the same room as she was in the last time she had visited the Pokémon world, with the same dim lighting and the same five pokeballs on the bedside table. She smiled a genuine smile, knowing that her plan had worked and now she was really the Fortree City gym leader.

The door opened, and a familiar person walked in.

"Arie!" Winona grinned, sitting up.

Arie smiled back. "Winona, you're awake! You passed out when we were having a chat."

The new gym leader laughed sheepishly, playing along. "I'm sorry! I must have been really tired. What were we talking about?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. You were just telling me about how nervous you were about being the gym leader."

"Right!" Winona got up, grabbing her pokeballs. "Well, I have to go now. Thank you for taking care of me!"

"It's no problem, really." Arie patted Winona on the back. "Do your best as the new leader!"

"Bye!" Winona called, walking out of the house. Only now she took in the scenery of Fortree City. It was truly a beautiful town; the tree houses fitting in well with the many trees that surrounded the area. She walked along the bridges that connected each tree house, until she reached a house labeled "Winona's House". Winona hadn't known it was there, really: it was instinct that brought her here.

She opened the door and stepped into the house. It had rather sparse décor; just the way Winona had her room like back at home. No, not home. This was home now. She was finally free, finally fourteen and finally without abusive parents and a terrible school.

I'm the gym leader now, Winona remembered with a shock. I'm a flying type gym leader. I need flying type Pokémon.

She headed down to her gym–located on the ground in the midst of the tree houses–and told her gym trainers to close the gym down for they day. After that, she went to the next route, Route 120, and released her team from their pokeballs. She had expected her team from her Sapphire game, really–so it was quite a big shock when a Swablu, Skarmory, Swellow, Tropius and Masquerain came out instead. A flying type team, Winona realised. This is my gym team.

-][-

It was evening that day when she found the boy.

Hidden in a dark alley, he was unconscious. He looked about Winona's age, with pale skin and turquoise hair, and a plain T-shirt and pants. He wasn't dead, Winona decided, after checking that he was breathing; he was just knocked out. She called out her Skamory, placing the boy gingerly on its back. Winona sat on the back of her Tropius, flying back to her house in Fortree. She carried the boy into her living room–he was not heavy at all–and lay him on the sofa.

Winona touched her hand to his forehead. He was at room temperature, thankfully. Still, Fortree City was quite windy today, so it was relatively cold, and Winona brought over a blanket and sprawled it over the boy's body.

She smiled gently at the sight of the boy sleeping; she may not know him, yet he looked so peaceful when he was asleep. Not that she knew how he looked when he was awake, anyway.

Several hours passed, and the boy showed no signs of waking. Winona was starting to worry, now–what if he was dead? She sighed in relief, though, when she saw him twitch in his sleep, snoring lightly. She left to her own room, wondering about the day's events and how happy she realised she was. The lavender haired teenager picked out a book, The Secrets of Bird Pokémon, and returned to the living room to read it.

When night approached, and Winona was in the kitchen, pulling out two cups of Cup Noodles, the boy finally awoke.

"You're awake!" Winona smiled, walking into the living room, trying to appear as friendly as Arie had been.

The boy frowned. "Who are you? Where am I?"

Winona laughed; of course he'd be confused. "I'm Winona," she introduced. "You're in my house, in Fortree City. And you are?"

"I-I'm Wallace. How did I even get here?" Wallace still had the same puzzled expression.

"Well, I found you unconscious in an alley earlier this evening," the Fortree leader explained. "So I brought you here."

"Wait, you're Winona? The new gym leader?" Wallace had completely ignored the last comment Winona had made. "I was on my way to Fortree to find you!"

"Where are you from?" Winona inquired. She had only been gym leader a short time –she didn't think many would know about her status yet.

"Sootopolis City," the turquoise haired boy replied quickly. "And you're the gym leader? You don't look much older than me!"

"Wh-What?!" Winona stepped back. "Just because I'm not an adult doesn't mean I can't be the gym leader!" she protested. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Fifteen!"

"O-Oh. I turned fourteen, today.."

Wallace laughed. "Seriously? I'm older than you!"

Winona hmphed, folding her arms defiantly. "You got a problem with that? Wanna challenge me?"

The fifteen-year-old's smug face immediately contorted into worry. "N-No! I'm no good at battling, really. And you're probably gym leader for a reason."

"Oh?" Winona smirked, amused by his reaction. "Then why were you looking for me?"

"I wanted advice," Wallace admitted. "I'm not really good at battling, so I wanted to seek out gym leaders' help. And I thought…I thought that since you're a new gym leader, you could teach me some strategies or something. But since you're only fourteen…no offense, of course," he added quickly.

"Why don't we have a battle anyway?" Winona suggested. "Then I can see your skills and perhaps you would learn something from my way of battling."

"But–" Wallace paused. "Actually, that's a good idea. I'll do it."

"Great!" The Fortree leader smiled. "We'll have the battle in the gym."

-][-

"It's pretty cool here," Wallace commented, looking around the battlefield.

"Thank you." Winona did like the gym, although she had been inside only twice. "We had just recently renovated."

Did she just renovate the gym? Winona honestly had no idea, but it came out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"One on one?"

"Sure," Wallace grinned, calling out his Pokémon. "Go, Elizabeth!"

He threw his pokeball up, and a Luvdisc materialised on the field.

"Swablu, come and fight!" Winona called, tossing the ball and the small bird Pokémon appeared. "You may make the first move."

"Okay! Elizabeth, Sweet Kiss!" the turquoise haired teen commanded.

His Luvdisc winked, miming a kissing action to Winona's Swablu, making it fall confused.

"Nice try for the confusion," Winona laughed, "but it won't last long! Have a Persim Berry, Swablu!"

The Fortree leader handed her Pokémon a small, pink berry, which munched on it happily, curing its confusion status.

"My turn." She grinned. "Swablu, use your Dragon Rush!"

Winona's Swablu glowed a dark blue, chirping angrily as it flew up and dove straight onto Wallace's Luvdisc.

"What? I didn't know Swablu could learn that!" Wallace exclaimed.

"It can't!" Winona explained, giggling. "My grandfather bred this specially for me, so it has special moves!"

"That's pretty cool." The Sootopolitan stuck out his hand, as if posing, and commanded, "Now, Elizabeth, Rain Dance!"

His Luvdisc summoned a rain cloud, and water splattered down on the battlefield around the two Pokémon.

"I've never seen it rain indoors, honestly," Winona admitted, admiring the amount of grace in Wallace and his Pokémon's movement. "Hyper Voice!"

"Counter that with Water Pulse!"

Both attacks collided, causing a miniature explosion.

"Your Luvdisc is weak," Winona noted.

Wallace smirked. "So is your Swablu."

"Oh yeah? Let's finish this with Steel Wing!"

"Hah!" Wallace laughed. "It's raining, and Elizabeth's ability is Swift Swim! Your Swablu can't outspeed it…"

The Cotton Bird Pokémon struck Wallace's Luvdisc, knocking it out of the match.

"But…how?" Wallace stared at the Fortree leader. "There was no way your Swablu was faster than my Elizabeth in the rain!"

Winona shook her head, smiling. "I figured out why you're not too good at battling. When you think you have the upper hand, you start getting overconfident and forget about what the opponent is doing. Didn't you notice? Swablu's ability is Cloud Nine! All weather-related effects don't affect Pokémon on the battlefield!"

"But that's not possible!" the turquoise haired trainer protested. "Isn't the ability of all Swablu and Altaria Natural Cure? It can't be Cloud Nine!"

"Oh yes, it is!" Winona insisted. She honestly had no idea where all of this came from–whether it was true, or a lie. She hardly even remembered this wasn't her world. "It's called a Hidden Ability; apparently, it's extremely rare. My grandfather moved to the Unova region a long time ago. He bred this special Swablu for me, with Egg Moves and its Hidden Ability."

"You're so lucky," Wallace said, maybe sounding a bit more wistful than he had intended. He wondered, "Hm, maybe Luvdisc has a Hidden Ability?"

Winona shrugged. "Maybe." She called back her Swablu, as did Wallace with his Luvdisc. "Care to find out?"

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Wow. That was almost 300 words..literally the longest chapter I have ever written! I really hope you guys enjoyed this so far, as much as I enjoyed writing and planning it. Please leave a review, thanks!