***PLEASE READ*** The girl is named Rue Maple instead of May. This storyline goes by the game (Emerald), so the main character looks like May, but her personality is whatever I make her out to be. I added the first four chapters so that you could read and see if you like it. I will continue writing if even one person is interested. Please read and review!
"Oomf!" Rue was slammed into another box as the truck rounded a corner. Caroline insisted she ride in the back of the moving truck to make sure her ornaments were safe. Why couldn't they just tie this stuff down?
Rue weakly slumped to the dusty floor of the truck, leaning back against a dresser. A bit of sunlight seeped through the bottom of the back door, that minimal amount of sight for her surroundings. It was unbearably hot.
Johto had been her home for as long as she could remember, and she was being ripped away from there. She felt angry again. I should have run away. Rue was more than old enough to start her own adventure.
She had been planning to run away from her home in Johto; at least she had knowledge of that region. She knew nothing about Hoenn. Almost all of her secret preparations had been made to leave, too. It was last week when her stepmother and father, Caroline and Norman, had sat her down and broke the news to her. Rue raged at the impeccable timing.
"What?" Rue stood up in disbelief, narrowing her eyes. "Why, why did you wait this long to tell me?" She almost shouted.
"Your father found the perfect job in Hoenn, he's going to be a gym leader! You should be excited, Rue. Life is going to be much better for us now!" Caroline explained sternly.
"You mean YOUR life is going to be much better now! You didn't even stop to think how I might feel about this. Johto is my home!" She hung her head.
"Quit being so ridiculous, Rue. I thought you might have more of an open mind about this. This is something you're going have to accept. I know that you'll grow to love it." Caroline added.
"NO! I hate this! What made you think I would be okay with leaving the only place I've ever known? I won't go!"
"I'm sorry."
Norman left for Hoenn that day, to make preparations in his gym and move some things into their house while her stepmother stayed behind to finalize everything else. For the next week, Caroline kept a close eye on her in case she tried anything.
She had nothing to worry about, Rue thought to herself. She didn't want to admit it, but she had been fearful of going ahead with the same plans of running away. It was a serious decision to stay behind in an entirely different region. She didn't want her parents to worry even more about her.
But why do I even care what they think? She argued internally.
She decided to run away in Hoenn. After all, the same goal was to become Champion. Things would work out in time, she figured.
It was several hours later when the moving truck finally came to a bumping halt. The back door was slid open, suddenly disorienting her with the bright afternoon sunlight. "Finally!" Rue collapsed to the grass, stretching with relief. As she stood up, the front door opened and Caroline stepped outside.
"Well, we're here! It must be tiring riding with our things in the moving truck..." Caroline added, acting falsely sympathetic in front of the moving guy.
You didn't seem to care a few hours ago when you demanded I sit back there and look after your knick knacks.. Rue silently seethed, but she was sure that Caroline wouldn't appreciate her thought.
"Well, this is Littleroot Town! This is our new home!" Her stepmother happily rambled on, unnoticing.
Rue looked around. What a dinky dump. What is this, population: eight people? There were only four houses, and a building that looked like a lab. Yeah, what an improvement. Caroline must have seen her uncertainty.
"It has a… rustic charm, but it seems to be an easy place to live," she seemed hopeful. "Come and see inside!"
Rue followed in after her stepmother and came face to face with whitewashed walls, piled boxes, and the scent of lemon cleaner on damp wood floors. She slid her shoes off at the door and walked further inside. Caroline's pink rug and their dining room table were already set up. Several vigoroth (she remembered the moving guy had called them that) were busy setting everything up, although one appeared to be loafing around watching the TV.
"The mover's pokemon do all of the work of moving and cleaning up after. How convenient!"
Rue glanced back at the vigoroth who was goofing off. "Yeah, they really are handy..."
Caroline stopped, suddenly entranced by a layer of dust on their table. "Oh, I almost forgot! Rue, your room is the one upstairs at the end! They set it up already, you should go check it out! And set your clock too." She rushed, already tackling the table with a bottle of cleaner and a dirty rag.
Rue made her way upstairs to a hallway. She went to the last door and opened it, stepping in to the same plain white walls and wood floor. Her plush green rug lay in the middle of the room, the bed was cleanly made with fresh linen, and her desk sat in the far corner with a PC. Rue walked over and curiously picked up one of the books that sat on it, with a note on top:
'Rue, I thought you might like this book. It has a lot of information about Hoenn and the different areas. This region is much more diverse in climates than Johto, so there are many different kinds of pokemon. It's very fascinating! I also got you a map, so you can take a look at that too. I hung it on your wall. I'll be at the gym, so you won't see me until tomorrow probably. We're making preparations there, and I'm finding more trainers to face challengers. I promise things won't be so busy once it settles down.'
She set the note down and flipped through the guide. There were different pictures of pokemon, and photographs of various areas in the region. She smiled, and picked up the other book. It was thinner than the guide, hardcover, and covered in a soft cream-colored leather. It had two mysterious flying pokemon silhouettes indented on the front, who appeared to be circling each other. Inside were blank pages with light grey dotted lines. Glued in, the book also had a long, celadon-colored ribbon for a bookmark protruding a few pages ahead. Another note was stuck in it:
'The other book I got you is a diary. I know it seems like a strange gift, but I think you can use it to write about the things you experience. The two pokemon on the front are called Latios and Latias. They are the Eon duo of Hoenn, and also serve as guardians. They can fly faster than a jet, and have the ability to shape-shift... I also hear they are highly intelligent, and can even understand human speech! They are amazing pokemon, Rue. They rarely appear, but will sometimes open their hearts to a trainer with a truly compassionate spirit. Rue, I believe that you will meet amazing pokemon like this one day. You are such a fantastic person, and you're growing up into such a beautiful young woman. It makes me sad to see you grow up, but I'm also more proud than you'll ever know. I know I'll challenge you in my gym one day.'
Love, Dad.
Rue set the book down, and wiped her eyes. She spotted a matching celadon pen sitting beside it. Rue walked over to her clock and set it for 2:24 PM, just as her stepmother poked her head in the doorway.
"Ah.. I'm sure you like your new room, don't you?"
"It's great, Caroline…"
"They finished moving downstairs, why don't you come on down?"
"Sure, I'll be a minute," Rue replied, but Caroline had already left. She opened her drawers and changed from her day clothes into her 'trainer outfit'; a one piece, sleeveless red outfit with a skirt bottom, and slipped on black spandex shorts underneath. She parted her hair in two, placed a green bandana over it, and clipped a matching green bag around her waist.
Rue admired herself in the mirror (I really do look like a real trainer!). "Oh! I almost forgot!" She rushed over to the PC and withdrew her potion, slipping it with the books into her bag, and also decided to add her sketchbook and charcoal pencils.
Going exploring today, and leaving tomorrow! She anxiously thought. Rue noticed the poster hanging up. "Thanks for the map, Dad," she took it down from the wall and slipped it in her pack as well. She had a feeling it was no coincidence that her father gave her a diary and left her a map. She packed a few other essentials before going downstairs.
"Caroline, I'm going exploring. Is that alright?" Caroline looked up from her book she was lounging on the sofa with.
"That's fine, I guess. Also, one of dad's friends lives in town, Prof. Birch. His family lives right next door, why don't you go introduce yourself? They wanted to meet you."
Rue sighed, "Sure.." and started off toward the next house. Nice place! She noticed the weeping willow in front of the two story house, which happened to be her favorite tree. After making a mental note to sketch it later, she stopped in front of their door and knocked.
"Come in!" a woman called, so she stepped inside. The lady put down a dish she was cleaning and curiously walked up to her. "Oh, hello.. Are you Rue?"
"Yes, I came to meet my new neighbors." She smiled.
"Well hi, it's nice to meet you! My name is Anne. We have a son the same age as you… you're sixteen, right?" Rue nodded, "he was excited about making a new friend. It's a small town, so there are no other kids his age around here. He's upstairs, I think, why don't you go meet him? First door on the right."
Rue walked up the stairs and stepped inside his room. This room looked pretty similar to hers, with a few pokemon league posters strewn on the walls. They clearly shared the same ambition. A boy with a white bean hat was sitting at the desk, focused on a notebook of some sort. She walked a few hesitant steps closer before he looked up.
"Hey, you must be Rue! …I didn't know you're a girl."
Rue blushed red. "Oh, are you disappointed?" she looked away.
The boy's eyes widened, so he rushed, "Oh, no, not at all! I'd just heard from Dad that the new gym leader has a kid, so I assumed you were a guy for some reason.. Anyway, my name is Brendan!" He quickly held out his palm, and Rue shook hands with the embarrassed boy. He glanced at her curiously, "Hey wait… Don't you have a pokemon?"
"No, I don't…" She glanced to the side, visibly disappointed.
"What? Of all people, I thought that you would have a pokemon. Well… why haven't you got one yet?" He stammered.
It was strange to her how easily she could trust him. "Caroline, my stepmother, won't let me have a pokemon. I haven't even been on a journey yet because she won't let me. When I was ten years old, I wanted to leave in Johto, but she refused. She thinks I'm weak and helpless, and I'm not… Dad always goes along with what she says."
Brendan glanced up from the floor. "Wow Rue, I'm sorry.." he paused, "I haven't been allowed to leave either for different reasons. My dad likes to have me around for research, and I guess I kind of like it, but I don't know if it's really what I want to do. Two weeks ago Dad said he'd let me leave… I guess it's some sort of formality." He smiled, "or they're just making sure I'm prepared."
"Really? I'm leaving tomorrow, Brendan," He looked surprised. "Yeah, I know it's crazy," she said quickly, "I have to leave though, and Caroline can't know. I just don't know how to get a pokemon."
Brendan smiled at her, "Rue, why don't I just catch you one?"
Rue jumped up in surprise, nearly knocking over a stack of books. "What? Really? That would be so awesome Brendan, thank—"
He abruptly slapped his forehead. "AHHH, I forgot, I'm supposed to help my dad catch some wild pokemon… I'll help you tomorrow before you leave, how about that?" She grinned as he nearly tripped to grab his stuff, "Alrighty then, that's a promise! Just meet me behind my house by the garden hose early tomorrow morning around 5 AM.. Caroline will still be asleep won't she?" Rue nodded. "Okay perfect, I'll see you later Rue!" Brendan yelled as he ran out the door.
"What a total guy!"she rolled her eyes, laughing. Well, at least I can go exploring around here a bit, she thought as she walked outside. The sky was clear and everything had cooled down. It was nice to be somewhere besides the frigid and windy Newbark Town, as this region seemed to be much warmer than Johto.
It must be about late afternoon by now, I should probably get going. She strolled past the houses toward the small path that led to route 1o1. Dense pine trees blocked her path as she ducked over and under her way through.
"Damn shoes… I'll never make any real headway with these," she muttered, continuing on her way. Rue breathed inward, the scent of damp pine sap and rich oxygen invigorated her. She rounded a corner and was met with tall grass that went to her hips.
I better walk around, she decided. Rue was making progress, sketching various scenery in her book, when she heard a man shout. She stuffed everything into her bag and ignored the stabbing pains in her feet as she ran headway toward the noise.