So, I won't say much on the first chapter. It may seem a bit slow, but it's supposed to be peaceful. ^-^ The rest of the story will be anything but! Enjoy the moment of calm while you can!
The Pictures on the WallIt was a good picture. It had good composition and focus, and was printed on high-quality paper. But that wasn't the reason so many people might give their right hand for it.
I smiled at the large photograph on the wall. It had been taken four years ago, not long after I'd started my Pokémon journey. I looked younger in the picture than I did now, at 14 years old. I think my appearance changed more than the rest of me. I was a taller and stronger, and I think a bit more mature, though Ben might disagree.
My eyes shifted to the other figure in the photograph: the reason the picture was so valuable. It was Mew. Not that I'd told anyone else about my encounters with Mew. Only Ben and I knew about her. As I'd once discovered, it could be dangerous to let others know that I had once been friends with Mew.
It was the first picture in a series. The one after it starred Zapdos, Aricuno, and Moltres. The three of them appeared to be standing in the midst of a battle that had ended only moments before. Ben had taken this picture too, though I have no idea how he found the time to do so considering the circumstances.
If it hadn't been for the three legendary birds, Mew wouldn't have escaped from Team Rocket. I still wondered what had happened to all of them. I hadn't seen any of them in three years.
The next picture in the series was actually taken before the one with Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. I knew more about Ho-Oh now that I did when I took his picture, but I still didn't know much We'd seen Ho-oh for only a few moments. It was sort of an accident when we'd stumbled across him while he was asleep. That was when I'd taken the picture.
Ho-oh. The peacekeeper between humans and Pokémon. So few people had ever seen him…
I heard soft footsteps on the carpet and turned to find Ben walking up to me. He raised a hand in greeting and I smiled.
As always, Ben towered over me in height. He'd been my closest friend for as long as I could remember. By now, he practically classified as my brother.
"Ya thinking about her again? "Ben asked, nodding to Mew's picture.
I gave a small nod. "Yeah. We haven't seen her since she escaped."
"I hope she recovered okay," Ben muttered.
"She did."
"How do you know?"
I shrugged. "The dream."
I'd only told Ben about my dreams last year. I still didn't understand them myself, though I was pretty confident that they were linked with the same weak psychic powers that let me hear Pokémon thoughts.
I'd only had the dream a handful of times, usually right before I met Pokémon such as Mew or the legendary birds. I'd had it again last year just before I saw Lugia. Those dreams… they placed me on top of a hill that was surrounded by flat land in all directions. The colors were muted with varying shades of gray and brown, like an old photograph. But I had color. And so did Mew. She would visit me on that hilltop in my dreams. So would the other legendaries that I'd met, but except for Mew, the birds kept their distance.
I'd had that dream again last night. At the bottom of my hill ,there were many colorless, motionless statues, and as usual, no matter how much I focused, I couldn't get a clear view of them. It was almost like a haze was obscuring their details. And this time, one of the Pokémon statues had been closer to me than the others, but it was the blurriest of all. I could tell that it appeared vaguely human shaped.
"Anyway," I said after a brief lapse into silence, "in my dreams, Mew is always happy, so I know she's OK."
"Well, that's good at least."
I nodded. "Yeah."
I took one last glance around the living room. All our little trinkets we'd collected during our journey were lined up on the shelves. There were carvings of Corlsola horn and even swords made from the feathers of Skarmory among them.
"Yeah. Come one. Let's go and check up on the Pokémon."
Ben and I stepped outside to let the morning sun warm us. Avalon, as always, was beautiful. Bright green grass filled the field around the house, and the lake off to out left sparkled in the light. The trees of the distant forest shuffled in a breeze, and the faint layer of snow on the mountain's peak blended with the clouds.
It was a blessing to be allowed to live here.
As Ben and I walked towards the field, Polaris, my Ponyta, raised her head and trotted over to greet us.
I patted her head. Polaris was my first Pokémon, and pretty tough for a Ponyta. She was my favorite.
"Come on, Ben," I said pulling myself onto Polaris's back. "Get your Tauros and let's go for a ride."