Pallet Town was a small quiet place. Farm fields sprawled across the plain, an azure sea stretched as far as the eye can see... A warm breeze flowed through the forest, whispering news to its curious inhabitants… It was a beautiful place. However, there was a side that the 'friendly' place concealed behind a beautiful pallet.

This is a story that most of the townspeople would rather forget. It isn't a pretty story, but neither is the world. This is story of the Ketchums.

It was a cold October night. Normally, the 7 years old girl loves autumn nights; the fine crisp that hangs in the air, the silence, during which you can hear the grass rustle… However, these predicaments cannot be considered normal. Laelynn Ketchum coughed lightly. This was the fourth month they'd been on the street.

One day, some strange man told them that their parents were dead in a car accident. Neither her, nor her brother believed it at first. But then, Professor Oak confirmed it. And they both knew that the Professor would never lie. So, they were sent to some building called an 'orphanage'. However, they were kicked out of it a few months ago, landing the siblings on the street. They ate whatever the nice lady across the street gave them. Laelynn closed her eyes. Grief flooded her, as exhaustion and hunger caught up with her. She wanted her mommy back. That wasn't fair! Mommy promised to take them to the forest, she really did. Why did they have to disappear like that?

Next to her, Ash Ketchum signed. His sister looked like she was ready to cry again. Ash still didn't believe that their parents died, as time passed, they didn't return. Then, as his sister started losing hope that their parents were still alive, she started to fall into a depression. She wouldn't eat for months; she simply sat, staring at the window with an empty look. That's when they found them; the Pichu and Cleffa.

Ash found them at an alley behind the orphanage before they were booted out. The little ones were heavily beaten up and their skin almost hanged on their bones. So, they immediately brought the pair to Miss Bienfaisant, a kind old lady who lives across the street. As soon as she saw the state in which the poor Pokemon were, she immediately spent half of her savings to get them the medicines. With that, and the training that Leaf's mother gave them during her occasional visits, they were able to get the Pokemon back in shape in no time.

Now, the two little Pokemon lay next to them, sleeping soundly. Ash signed again, looking at the mischievous little Pichu. Well, mischievous when he had the energy; the little mouse barely got anything to eat, just like the rest of them. The boy frowned lightly; the little mouse reminded him of himself, before this nightmare has begun. Back, when their parents were still there, ready to give them a bit of time. He signed. Their parents told them of the great lands that lay beyond the horizons; the great wonders and the beauty of nature, the marvels of mankind… He dreamt of visiting those lands; he dreamt of the people, the Pokemon; he dreamt of becoming the very best, becoming a Pokemon Master… Ash closed his eyes. Sometimes, he envied the Flying types; they were the children of the skies, bound not by the ground, but the great winds. Unlike them, pitiful humans, ground bound not just by gravity, but also by responsibilities, the money, the public opinion… Sometimes, just sometimes, Ash would think, about how life would have been had his parents not left them; would they still be a happy family, or would poverty cause a rift between them? Sometimes, he dared dream, if he was not bound by anything, and he would pursue his dreams and ideals like a winged Pegasus… But, then he looked at his slumbering sister. He couldn't help but smile, banishing the thoughts from his head with a shake.

He had to be strong for his sister. He couldn't afford to crack down, not now. However, the sensation of someone touching him snapped Ash out of his thoughts; turning his head, he saw his little sister snuggle up to him, keeping herself close to his warmth. Ash smiled softly, running his hands through her hair; this was his precious little sister, and he promised that he would always be there for her.

Thunder struck, as a downpour started, furiously pounding the piece of wood they used for a roof. But the siblings merely moved closer, using each other for warmth and moral support. They would make it if they were together. Probably.

Probably.

As morning came, the rainclouds began to part, as the drumming of the downpour eventually became a light patting sound. Sunlight descended upon the town. Ash blinked in annoyance. He sometimes wished that he could just fall asleep forever. No, he had to be strong for his sister. So, carefully standing up and making sure Laelynn wouldn't wake up, Ash tiptoed to the crate behind them. Their supplies were quickly dwindling; they would have to cut down on their meals if they wanted to make it through the next month.

After all, Miss Bienfaisant was a poor woman; she had already burned through most of her money, trying to get them some food. So, after making some quick calculations, Ash grabbed some bread and cheese and set them on a plate, before boiling an egg. But that alone wouldn't do. So the rave haired boy grabbed a rusty looking pan and poured water in, boiling it. Glancing to the side, he saw that Pichu began to stir awake. So Ash grabbed a handful of spinach- the cheapest vegetable Miss Bienfaisant could get them, and cooked them through. The boy signed. He couldn't remember the last time he had had a decent meal. His stomach gurgled, almost agreeing with him.

But, with both Pokemon awake, Ash grabbed a half empty can of Pokechow and set them down for the Pokemon. Upon smelling food, both Pichu and Cleffa rushed to the can, devouring the food. Ash shook his head; they'd told the Pokemon to leave, since the siblings couldn't feed them; however, the stubborn Pokemon refused to leave. While it was touching, Ash was now growing increasingly worried about their health. Their skin hung like a piece of cloth, concealing their bones. Ash looked at the sun. Yep, at that angle, it meant that it was approximately 7:30 am. While he wanted to let Laelynn sleep in a little, they had an appointment with the doctor.

Problem was, his dear little sister started coughing a lot the last few weeks. She even had regular fevers a few months ago, though that seems to have passed. But she still had occasional nasty bouts of coughing. Ash closed his eyes for a moment. She was all he had left in the world; he didn't know what he would do without her. Laelynn coughed in her sleep, instinctively moving closer to Ash. Then Ash smiled softly. Their mother said that as long as you were kind to others and behaved well, everything would end well for them. There was no reason to worry, none at all.

"Well, young man, it seems that your sister is fine, aside from malnutrition. She just needs to get eat properly and get warm." Ash felt hope soar in his chest, happiness threatened to overwhelm him. "However, if things continue as they are, she might not make it past winter." There, Ash's heart sank. Ever since their parents died, there were strange rumors surrounding the Ketchum kids; the superstitious townspeople believed Gary, who joked that they were cursed, and refused to even let them come close. Eventually, even Leaf's mother started avoiding them, despite being best friends with their mother.

Miss Bienfaisant was the only one who supported the kids. However, he knew that the kind old lady simply didn't have the funds; some why, the government stopped paying pensions completely, meaning that the old lady could barely support herself. In the whole of Pallet, there was only one family that could take them. That was the Oak family. They would have gone there, had it not been for Gary. The boy just simply wouldn't let them live this down, that was for sure. But this was a question between his sister and his pride. It wasn't even a question! Ash tiredly shook his head; he was in for a long day.

Ash walked across the street. His heart sank when he saw the parents carefully shoo their kids away from him. But he would take it for his sister. He had to; there was no other choice.

"Well, well. What do we have here, a downtown rat or a cursed hobo? " Ash felt a lump rise in his throat as he saw a sneering Gary and his posse of children.

"Hey, guys, look! What, Ash, where are your mommy and daddy now, huh?" Gary laughed wickedly. He and a group of other boys surrounded Ash and beaten him up. With Gary's foot on his throat, Ash couldn't do anything but look at everyone with pure rage. Suddenly, he heard a sound.

"Let my brother go, you jerks!" Laelynn stood shakily, trembling as she spoke. She was afraid, she really was; but she couldn't just stand there, watching her brother get beat up.

Gary shared a look with the rest of his group and burst in laughter. Lifting his foot from Ash's throat, to which the boy responded by taking a huge gulp of air, the chestnut haired boy walked to the girl, amusement clear in his eyes.

"Or else what, huh?" Gary walked right up to the girl, grinning menacingly. Before doing what he never should have done; he slapped the girl, and then he shoved her down. As she started crying, he dusted his hands, muttering a satisfied "Crybaby", before leaving. However, that caused Ash to scream with pure rage and hatred. Some kind of red aura surrounded the boy, as he slowly stood up and looked at Gary. And the look promised nothing but a world of pain.

To be perfectly honest, Gary was slightly scared of the boy, no, monster that stood before him. But Gary just hid it like he always did; he hid it behind a wall of rudeness and bravado. "So, the rat stood up again. Boys?" As Gary snapped his fingers, the rest of the boys he brought with him snapped out of it and charged at the boy.

However, Ash merely held out his hands in a strangling motion, before sharply moving his arms to the side. Gary stood wide eyed as the boys were sent flying. What was this monster? When he looked into Ash's eyes, he saw nothing but rage and hatred. Gary gulped.

Ash woke up a few hours later with no recollection of what happened. Since that day on, every one avoided the boy like a plague. And both Leaf's mom and Professor Oak started avoiding him as well.

"Gary." Ash simply nodded curtly, before continuing to walk.

Gary didn't like being ignored. But he held back on punching the boy; what if the same thing happened again? Instead, Gary decided to hold back to words. "What, came crawling back after a few months?" Gary knew he hit a nerve when he saw Ash frown. That gave him the courage to continue.

"So, loser, where's your sister? Let me guess, she's crying back at the dump, is she?" That finally caused Ash to pause. But he simply looked at Gary. He didn't even try to mask the pain and exhaustion in his eyes. That's when Gary got in the details as well. The boy's clothes were ragged and half torn; his eyes had black circles underlining him, and his skin was yellow-ish. And, was it just his imagination, or did Ash lose a LOT of weight? Gary stood in shock, unable to comprehend what happened. How in the world could someone get to that condition?

Professor Oak was writing the annual report on the health of the Pokemon of the trainers he sponsored. The old man shook his head slightly; he wished that Leaf would be here. The girl asked to study under him, and so far, the results were splendid! The girl practically devoured the knowledge in books. Heck, she was able to fully comprehend high school material despite her age. He also found her an interesting conversation holder. However, the girl fell sick a few days ago, and she has yet to recover.

The old man raised his eyebrows when someone knocked at his door. A massive downpour started about ten minutes ago, so everyone would be inside. The Professor reluctantly went to the door; he wanted to finish his report. But, as he when he opened the door, he could only stare in shock. In front of him stood the Ketchum boy, the one who beat up 7 boys, including his grandson without provocation. He still remembered when he was informed that his grandson was in a critical situation. And here, he saw that very same MONSTER, standing at his door.

Ash opened his mouth, but before he could even utter a sound, the professor shakily shoved him off the porch, before grabbing a wrench and waving it threateningly.

"Out!" The Professor practically creamed, his face contorted in fear.

Ash barely stood up; he barely had any strength left, however thoughts of his sister filled him with strength. Turning at the professor, he held his hands in a universal 'surrender' sign, and opened his mouth to speak. However, the professor once again boomed.

"Out! Go away, demon!" The professor was visibly shaking as he flung the wrench at the boy. He merely signed in relief as the he saw the boy run away.

Meanwhile, Laelynn curled up in her and Ash's little 'home'. She shivered; she was cold, so cold… She wondered how her brother was. He was strong. He would come back.

Sensing something tickling her arm, she saw Cleffa. The little fairy hugged her, trying to keep her warm. Laelynn smiled; she was deeply touched by her friend's concern. Then she saw the fairy look at the clouds. With nothing to do, Laelynn proceeded to talk to her Pokemon.

"You know, Cleffa, my Mom used to tell me that raindrops are the tears shed when someone dies." Laelynn smiled softly, thinking of those days. "She said that Arceus willed to be so that the tears, filled with sadness would cleanse the Earth of everything bad." The Cleffa looked at the sky in a whole different way; the little fairy's own turned into a curious gaze, as the little creature stared at the clouds.

Suddenly, Laelynn laughed, her voice resounding like crystal, until she broke into another bout of coughing. The pink fairy looked at her human friend with worry. Laelynn continued nonetheless, smiling at the memories. "And my father would huff and say that rain was made of water 'particulars' (misspell on purpose), 'conceded' around dust, or something like that." Now, it was the Cleffa's turn to laugh. Laelynn shared a smile with her best friend; that was so silly, right?

The two spent the day talking to each other about different things, until Ash returned. Her brother was soaked to the bone. And, without anyone to cook, they all went to bed without dinner. Laelynn spent the night looking at her brother in worry, despite him constantly reassuring her that he was fine. However, as her brother turned to the side, she saw the back of his shirt torn, with a rather gruesome cut. She then found herself unable to sleep.

Arceus stood in the Hall Of Origin, watching the world through the dimensional mirror he'd made. Suddenly, he felt something tug at his mind, pulling him to the physical world. The urge was overwhelming; he hadn't felt this in eons, not since Sir Aaron stood in the castle, looking upon the two great armies about to clash. Resigning to his fate, Arceus closed his eyes and focused his powers, searching through the mind of the people who could potentially send him a distress signal of this strength.

Time passed on, as autumn faded in early winter. As the snow started falling, things went downhill for the Ketchum kids. Miss Bienfaisant died in a fire. And, what's worse, Ash and Laelynn were the only ones who came to the kind old lady's funeral, even though they hadn't been invited. It seemed like that the whole town had forgotten about the kind and trusting woman; after all, the whole town gathered and celebrated when Gary, Leaf and some kid named Ritchie got their starters early. And, as if things couldn't get any worse, the Miss Bienfaisant's death meant that some rich family was able to buy the land. The newcomers immediately kicked the siblings out of their little 'hut', chasing them away.

And with the cold weather front coming, Ash highly doubted they could survive the winter. Laelynn was growing weaker by the day. She could barely speak, let alone, move, forcing Ash give her his food. Pichu and Cleffa were also growing weaker; Ash knew they wouldn't make it through the cold season at this rate.

"Ash… Will everything be alright?" Ash felt his heart skip a bit as bit as he heard his sister rasp. He wanted to know that himself; he had kept reassuring himself that everything would be fine, but it wasn't! He looked into her round blue eyes. They reminded him of the ocean; pure, deep… Her eyes were filled with innocent naivety; but Ash also saw a specter of hope.

Ash looked away; he couldn't bear to see his sister in this state. He would give everything to help her, but his everything was never good enough. Then, determination filled him. He would go to the Oak family again. So, he answered her with a kiss to a forehead. "Yes, dear, everything will be alright."

Despite the fact that it was early winter, there was a blizzard nonetheless. Snow pelted Ash, as he strode through the rapidly piling up snow, doing his best to shield his precious little sister from the snow. He could feel her slipping away. "Hang on, Laelynn, hang on…" Ash's voice was filled with despair as he ran to the lab. He was cold, oh so cold… He could almost feel his parents calling him… No, Ash shook his head. He had to concentrate. So, our young hero continued to wade through the snow.

Leaf looked out of the window. Winter has always seemed enchanting to her. The snowflakes danced through the night sky, covering tree branches and the ground. She couldn't quite put her hand on it, but it all seemed… magical. The very word "magical" seemed foreign to her; Leaf considered herself a woman of science, one that would be able to find logical answers to all questions. And yet… Wait, who's there? "Professor, come here please."

Professor Oak was watching the annual Piplup hockey game. Watching the little penguins slide around the ice while moving the putty with Bubblebeams has always amused Oak. So, he grumpily stood up. "What is it?"

However, when he got to the window professor Oak gasped. There was a small figure lying on the snow, clutching a torn-up cloak. "Leaf, go and make some soup." Without waiting to see if she went to do it or not, Oak grabbed his coat and ran out, flinching as the strong wind hit his face.

Ash crawled forward, making sure that Laelynn was comfortable enough. Speaking of whom, his sister's breath grew shorter, and her temperature was abnormally high. He gritted his teeth in determination. Just a bit more… Pichu and Cleffa were weak as well; they were barely awake. Yes, he could see the lab. Just a little bit more…

Ash saw the door open, light flashing out from the door. Never before has he felt so much relief; he was here at last. Ecstatic about getting there, he shook Laelynn awake. "Come on, sis, wake up. We're here, wake up!" Laelynn just simply mumbled "10 more minutes" tiredly. Ash smiled nonetheless. His sister would be saved. Then, he saw the professor come out. He looked up, crawling further to the door.

Professor Oak stepped further out. The blizzard got stronger, to the point where it was hard to see. Wait, was it just him, or did the figure crawl all the way here? The professor looked down. He saw a tall boy in horribly ragged clothes; the boy's skin was deathly pale, which could probably be attributed to him being outside in the cold for so long. Wait, the boy also seemed to carry a small girl, a Pichu and a Cleffa!

"Come on," Oak started, but then he saw the boy's eyes. There was something in them, something that Oak couldn't quite put his fingers on. But, more importantly, Oak knew those eyes quite well. This boy was Ash Ketchum. Oak felt a small pang of guilt when saw the state in which the boy was; after all, his former students trusted him to make their children happy, not leave them on the streets to starve to death- Oak has just realized how skinny the siblings were. But then, memories of the MONSTER that sent his grandson and several other boys to the hospital came back, and Oak soon found himself torn apart.

They were his students' children!

The boy was dangerous!

But they were children nonetheless…

But what about Leaf? At that, the professor's blood froze. His precious student has almost become a daughter to him, and seeing her get hurt was the last thing he wanted. So, Oak came up with the ultimate decision.

He slammed the door shut.

No… Ash felt as if someone has stabbed his chest; this was his last hope, hope that everything would be alright. And it was taken in but a single action. Life can be so cruel... Ash burst into tears. His sister would die! All because he couldn't find some shelter! Ash slammed his fist on the ground in frustration. It wasn't fair! How come someone like Gary had a home and a loving family, while poor Laelynn was dying out in the cold?

Ash closed his eyes. At least, they would meet their parents again.

"Leaf, tell me what's wrong?" Oak was being driven crazy. Half an hour ago, when he came back in, she met him with a stare. Since then, she'd been giving him a cold shoulder every time he approached her. Sure, she still helped him with the lab, but nothing was as it used to be.

This time however, Leaf did respond. She looked at her mentor with an accusing look. Leaf was usually a sweet and caring girl, so seeing her like this actually unnerved Oak more than he'd like to admit. That, and the knowledge that he'd left two children out in the cold didn't sit very well with him. They'd survive, right? Right, they had to.

Pichu woke up, finding himself staring at a huge building that looked like one of those 'windmills'. This is it! The lab Ash had talked about! Soon they would be out of the cold! So, the small mouse jumped excitedly, pointing at the building. However, in return, Ash just signed.

"The old man slammed the door in front of us. That's it. We won't make it through the winter." Pichu was shocked by his friend's look. The eyes were dull, so dull and lifeless that the mouse found himself asking, if this was the same boy that he befriended. Deciding that he'd had enough of it, Pichu decided to take matters into his own hands. The electric mouse jumped up, slapping his friend several times using his tail, all the while furiously repeating his name.

Ash was slightly perplexed at what the mouse tried to say. The Pichu now proceeded to wildly gesticulate, even as he was jumping up and down. Then something clicked itself, like the elements of a puzzle coming together.

"You're saying that it's not like me to give up?" At that, Pichu squealed in delight, rubbing his cheek against Ash's. There was his friend!

Ash merely smiled, patting the mouse on the head. Pichu was right. He couldn't give up hope yet; if not for his sake, then for Laelynn's. So, filled with newfound certainty, Ash raised himself, picked his sister up and headed to the abandoned lumbermill. As long as they were together, they would make it through winter. Probably.

Probably…

Alright guys, the first chapter is up! Like usual, review, and tell me where I screwed up. But in all honesty, people, please review; I'm still a novice writer, so I need some pointers. Oh, and please check out my other story, The Knight Of Absurd. Of course, the choice is yours; it's fully up to you if you do it or not. But I would greatly appreciate if you guys visited my other story and told me, what do I need to improve about it. And, just a heads up; it's not yet another cheesy romance.