Me: If any of you are wondering what's going on, and why I haven't uploaded any new chapters recently, then let me explain...
Jack: We've just moved into a new house! We moved from the country into the city, so the transition is going to be tricky, but we'll manage; and I'm quite excited to see what living five minutes from town will be like.
Me: *Sigh* Yes, thanks a lot for explaining it all for me, Jack; I really couldn't have done it without you.
Jack: Sorry; I'll try to keep the enthusiasm to a minimum.
Me: In any event, I haven't had a chance to write in quite some time, and when my schedule did free up, I discovered that I had absolutely no ideas for the next chapter; writer's block was making a comeback. However, I have had requests for a short story about Ivy's backstory, so that's what I'm going to do. Anyway, I've tried to keep the spoilers to an absolute minimum, and most of this information will make it's way into the main story, but this will contain a lot more detail; enjoy.
Four days; that's how long it had been since Jack Storm had left Eterna.
Ivy had watched him leave, following him for some distance from the shadows, but she hadn't worked up the courage to show herself; she didn't go with him, although a small part of her wanted to. Instead, she had just come back to the gym without really deciding anything. It wasn't that she didn't want to go with him, she was afraid that he wouldn't accept her.
For her entire life, Ivy had been bounced around from one trainer to another, each one getting rid of her almost as soon as they got her; the reason, she couldn't fight.
She was born in a Pokémon Center in Nuvema Town, in the Unova Region. She was the daughter of a trainer's Serperior and Whimsicott, both of them very powerful Pokémon. The trainer was hoping that Ivy would inherit her parents' strength, but he was sorely disappointed.
Most Pokémon are already fully aware and capable, not only of moving, but also defending themselves when they're born. Normally, Snivy are no exception to this. However, when Ivy was born, she didn't move a muscle; she didn't even open her eyes. It was hours before she started showing signs of life, and long before then she'd been rushed to the emergency ward. The scans said there wasn't anything wrong with her, but she wouldn't wake up no matter what they did.
When she did finally wake up and start moving, it wasn't much; she opened her eyes, and immediately started demanding food in the way only newborns can. However, she still didn't stand up or move around; she was more like a human baby than a Pokémon hatchling.
When, after two days, Ivy still wouldn't do much more than cry and eat, the trainer decided that he couldn't wait around; he took off, leaving Ivy in the care of Nurse Joy. It wasn't until she was around eight months old when Ivy started walking on her own, and in that time, Nurse Joy made sure she was well taken care of.
Eventually, Ivy's trainer returned to Nuvema Town, and was reunited with Ivy; he accepted her gladly, and they got along quite well. Ivy's mother and father were overjoyed to see her up and we'll, and Ivy felt the same way. And, after a brief stay in Nuvema, they all set off for new adventures.
However, as they traveler and trained, it became painfully obvious that Ivy was no normal Snivy; no matter how hard she trained, no matter how much encouragement her trainer and parents gave her, she couldn't get any stronger. Her only move was Tackle, and it barely left a dent in anything; her trainer began to get frustrated.
When, after a few weeks of training, Ivy still showed no signs of growing stronger, her trainer brought her back to the nearest Pokémon Centre; the Nurse Joy there gave Ivy a full scan, but it said that nothing was wrong with her.
Disappointed, and determined to gain something from Ivy, her trainer sold her to another trainer. But after a while, he realized that Ivy wasn't getting any stronger; so, he took her to Nurse Joy, but they couldn't find anything wrong. So, he sold her to another trainer, and the cycle began again.
For two years it went on, and in that time Ivy had become an urban legend; if a trainer came out of nowhere and offered you a Level 1 female Snivy, you refused, because it was probably the Cursed Snivy. However, after almost two years, the cycle was finally broken.
By luck, or by design, Ivy wound up in the hands of a seventeen year old trainer from Hoenn, by the name of Jonathan; blond hair, fair complexion, and the kindest blue eyes Ivy had ever seen. He was new to Unova, and so hadn't heard the legend of the Cursed Snivy. All he knew was that he'd never seen a more sad, hopeless-looking Pokémon than the one in front of him. So, even though he already had an experienced team of high-level Pokémon, he bought her without a second thought.
He was a kind trainer, and never demanded more from her than she could handle; his partner, a Sceptile, took her under its wing immediately, and taught her a lot about fighting in the forest. However, she still couldn't get any stronger, and Jonathan eventually noticed that something wasn't right; so, he took her to Nurse Joy, but she couldn't find anything wrong with Ivy.
As Jonathan was leaving the Pokémon Center, Ivy cradled in his arms, he bumped into another trainer. After exchanging apologies, the younger trainer noticed Ivy.
The kid took one look at Ivy, and said, "I see you've got the Cursed Snivy."
"Sorry, what?" Asked Jonathan.
The trainer looked at him oddly, then nodded in realization, "You're not from around here, are you?"
Jonathan shook his head, "No, I'm from Hoenn; I just got here a month ago."
"Well then, it's no wonder you haven't heard the legend."
"A legend?" Jonathan asked in frustration, "What legend?"
"The legend of a Snivy that never gets any stronger, no matter how much you train it; passed on from trainer to trainer, each one having to sell it to the next. If you're unlucky, or dumb enough to buy it, then there's nothing else you can do except pass it on."
Jonathan stared at the kid for a few seconds, then burst out laughing.
"Well, thanks for the advice," Jonathan said once he'd stopped laughing, "But I don't believe in legends and myths; if there's any such thing as a cursed Snivy, then I'm a Mankey's uncle."
"Alright," the boy said, walking away, "but it's said that if you keep the Cursed Snivy for too long, bad things will happen to you."
As soon as the boy was out of earshot, Jonathan gave Ivy a look of concern, "I don't believe for a second about curses and myths, but there is something wrong with you isn't there? You're not like other Snivy's, are you?"
She stared back at him, wishing she could deny everything, but she knew she owed him the truth. So, she nodded.
Jonathan didn't even blink, but he hugged her a little tighter to his chest, "Well then, let's see if we can break a curse."
Ivy really enjoyed her time with Jonathan; most of her previous trainers had been nice, but Jonathan was one step beyond that. He didn't care how much progress she made, he didn't force her to train; he was kind, compassionate, loving, all the things that had been lacking from Ivy's life for the longest time. The thought that he might find out about her and send her away, had tormented Ivy constantly.
However, despite her fears, Jonathan never even mentioned it; he never brought it up, but they both knew that Jonathan's new goal in life was to 'break the curse'. Weeks went by, and life continued much as normal; albeit, with a slightly more rigorous training regime. However, Ivy still didn't get any stronger.
Then, one day, Jonathan told his team that they were leaving Unova; they were traveling to Sinnoh. He didn't say why, he just packed everything up and got on a plane going across the sea.
As per airline rules, only Pokémon shorter than one meter could be out of their Pokéballs during flight; as such, Ivy got an exclusive view of the sea and sky from a thousand feet in the air. And when the plane finally touched down in Sinnoh, she was still overawed by the sight.
Once they were on the ground, Jonathan told his team why they came there.
"I'm looking for Gardenia of Eterna City; she's a Grass-Type expert. If anyone can help Ivy, she can."