Chapter 1

It was an early summer's day in Diamond City. Being just south of the Kalos region, I awoke to discover that I had sweated right through my sheets. I groggily rolled over and looked at my clock. I almost passed out when I saw the temperature. At just 8:06 A.M, it was already 103 degrees! I groaned, thinking about how much hotter it was going to get. I saw a pidgey fly past the window, and I thought there were actually drops of sweat falling from its wings, but it passed so quickly that I didn't get a good enough look to confirm this. It's just the heat, I told myself. Get a glass of lemonade, put some ice in it, you'll feel better. I rolled out of my bed, and, slipping out of my sweaty sheets, slowly walked to the kitchen. "Mom, dad, I'm up!" I yelled. Bu there was no answer. I searched the kitchen, and I soon came across a note my parents had left on the counter.

Dear Steven,

We had an emergency alert from the Pokemon ranger station. Nothing very serious, but we probably won't be back for a couple days. There's plenty of food in the fridge, and the car keys are on the table.

Love,

Mom and dad.

My parents were rangers at a nearby Pokemon preserve, and often did this, so I wasn't worried. I was, however, bored. The silence of the house seemed to suck the livelihood right out of me. In fact, it seemed a little TOO silent. I couldn't hear the rustling of the trees outside. The car passing the kitchen made no sound. Then, I realized what was happening. I jumped up, and grabbed the pokeball sitting on the table. It contained a Hypno for use in these exact situations. I threw it onto the floor, and Hypno emerged. Immediately, he shuddered. I heard a voice in my head as he communicated telepathically. "It's a Haunter, isn't it?" he thought. "I think so," I said. "Hold on, I think... Yes, it's behind the house." I followed Hypno out the back door, making sure I didn't lock myself out. Halfway around the side of the house, we stopped. I stood beside Hypno, looking around carefully. Suddenly, his frantic voice echoed in my head. "Get behind me, NOW!" I jumped behind Hypno just in time. A Haunter burst out from inside a hedge, and immediately lunged towards us, teeth bared. Before I could get the instructions out of my mouth, Hypno, thankfully able to read my thoughts, unleashed a brutal Psybeam, causing the Haunter to explode in a flash of purple light. A tenth of a second later, the words finally spilled out of my mouth. "HAUNTER USE PSYBE- oh." I realized the danger was gone, and I trailed off. Hypno turned to me. " That haunter would have killed you instantly had I not stopped it, be thankful I can read your mind."

"Yeah, thanks for that, Hypno." I said, shaken from the recent jumpscare. The noise of the outside world was beginning to return. I heard a Fletchling singing in the distance, and a car horn from the streets of the nearby city. My mind began to feel more free and light. "Are there any more?" I asked. "Not that I can feel," thought Hypno. "Oh, I just remembered, there's a new episode of Supernatural on TV in 3 minutes, mind if I have the TV for an hour?"

"No, you can do that," I said. We walked back inside the house, and Hypno sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. I walked into the kitchen and made myself breakfast. Afterwards, I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and then put on my trainer belt and grabbed my bag. "Bye, Hypno," I said, getting the car keys off the table. "Bye," thought Hypno. I got into my car, and turned the key.

It didn't start.

"Shit, did I leave the lights on again?" I tried again. No luck. "Hypno, could you you give me a push?" I thought. Half a second later, the car began moving. "Thanks," I thought. The engine sputtered to life, and I was off.

I decided to go to the nearby meadow to catch pokemon. It was a ten-minute drive, and I made the trip twice a week. Pulling into a space, I grabbed my bag out of the trunk and walked to a large open area at the center of the meadow. The small, yellow flowers blew gently in the breeze, and a faraway Fearow called out to an unseen companion. I crouched down and began looking for pokemon footprints. The ground was damp, so luck was on my side. I searched the immediate area, but all I could find was a couple of Pichu footprints. Once or twice I thought I saw something, but it just turned out to be an oddly shaped leaf. After an hour, I was starting to fatigue from the intense heat.

I looked down.

The entirety of everything within fifty feet was covered in my shoeprints. I groaned. If I missed anything, I sure wasn't going to find it now.

I picked up my right foot to walk back to my car.

I stopped.

Right under my shoe was a blob of sticky , purple fluid. What was it? I picked up a bit on my finger, and looked at it closely. It sparkled in the sunlight. Sniffing it, I noticed that it smelled like lavender. How odd. I took out my pokedex, and held the spectrometer lens close to the drop of fluid on my finger. It emitted a short pulse from its laser, stinging my hand as the fluid evaporated. "Maybe that wasn't the best idea," I muttered, squeezing my burnt finger. The pokedex analyzed the vapor, ans a few seconds later the chemical scan appeared on the screen. I looked over it, and discovered that the fluid was...

Kirlia tears?

I stared at the pokedex, confused. What would a crying Kirlia be doing out here? I closed the 'dex, and looked around for more evidence. Despite all the shoe prints, I saw another purple drop about ten feet away. Could the Kirlia have passed by while I was looking for footprints? Following the trail of drops, I walked towards the forest. The drops became less and less viscous, showing that they were newer. Then, I heard a faint moan of sadness. I walked towards it. The drops were practically a solid line now, and as I peeked around a tree, I saw what had been making the sound. A small Kirlia sat leaning against a tree trunk, sobbing miserably into her hands. I cautiously inched closer and closer, making sure I didn't step on any sticks. Soon, I was standing right next to her. I was surprised that the psychic pokemon didn't notice me. She must have been so sad that she wasn't able to use her psychic powers. I was unsure what to do, so I sat down next to her. After about a minute, I finally mustered up the courage to speak. "What's wrong?" I asked. The Kirlia started, and looked at me with a fearful look in her tear-filled eyes. "It's okay," I said. "I won't hurt you. I just want to help. What's wrong?" Kirlia bowed her head and began to speak telepathically to me. "My parents are dead!" I gasped. "How, what happened?" I said. "Team Rocket killed them to get their heart casings!" I sat there, speechless. How could anyone kill a Kirlia's parents right in front of her? Even for Team Rocket, this was too far. "Oh, my God! That's awful!" I yelled. "They told me that I would die cold and alone with no care or love!" she sobbed. This set me off like a keg of gunpowder. I stood up and pointed at her. "No, you won't!" I yelled. "I'm going to take you in, and I will raise you myself. I don't care how long it takes, but you will evolve, and you will become so powerful that you will be able to take on Team Rocket and win!" She stared at me, taken aback. "Give me your hand," I said. She held her arm out. I took her strangely shaped hand in mine and helped her up. Immediately, she grabbed me and pulled me into a crushing hug. Her head rested against my stomach, soaking my shirt with her tears. "Thank you, thank you so much!" she thought to me. "I will come with you, if you help me get stronger."

"I'll do my best," I said.