Take a moment, remind yourself
To take a moment and find yourself
Take a moment and ask yourself
If this is how we fall apart
But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay
I've got nothing, got nothing, got nothing, got nothing to fear
I'm here, I'm here, I'm here
-Here Comes A Thought; written by Rebecca Sugar for STEVEN UNIVERSE
It was over a hundred years ago when the fighting between the Annular Kingdom and the newly-formed Sinnoh region had ended. It was sudden, the fighting's end. No one had really expected it to happen. In the final battlefield, where the two opposing sides were about to clash, the humans and Pokémon that were about to collide came to a stop — a young woman and a strange Pokémon stood in the center. For the Annular Kingdom, they recognized the young woman as their princess, Selina Duchannes, the eldest daughter of King Xander and Queen Rosario.
For the Annular Kingdom, when the war started coming to the kingdom's capital, the royal family had to be moved to a safe location. While there, Xander and Rosario would still be able to take charge of the kingdom and command their forces. In so many of Annular's cities and towns, the citizens had to evacuate. So much land had been destroyed because of the fighting; any Pokémon who lived in the destroyed land refused to return, no plant-life would grow. The once beautiful landscape of the Annular Kingdom was being destroyed from Sinnoh's Pokémon forces. Poison-types and Fire-types, eliminating the towns and cities, burning down and killing off plant-life that was once a resource for people and Pokémon living in the kingdom.
Unfortunately, the landscape was not the only thing that had been destroyed from the fighting. Countless people and Pokémon had been killed because of the fighting, citizens and soldiers alike. Not just on Annular's side, either. Sinnoh had seen its fair share of losses.
The fighting between the regions, it lasted for fifty years, long before Selina's birth. She had to grow up in harsh conditions, where she had to worry if the enemy would find her and her family and take them out. It horrified her, having to think like that. Her parents tried protecting her and her younger sister, Jaime, to the best of their abilities, but it wasn't enough. Having generals and soldiers, frightened people and Pokémon, coming in and out of the safe home the royal family lived in exposed the young kids to so many things. Some of the soldiers used the safe home to heal the wounds of their soldiers and warrior Pokémon; and the things Selina and Jaime saw...no amount of reassurance could ease the images out of their heads.
By the time Selina reached young adulthood, she had reached her limit in regards to the fighting. She couldn't take it anymore. Without notifying her parents or Jaime, Selina left the safe home. With nothing but the clothes on her back, and a staff she'd brought to help with the journey, Selina Duchannes made her way to where she heard legend of a pink Pokémon, one who had been noted as a Crescent Moon Pokémon, resided. This Pokémon was said to be powerful, it was supposed to help with bringing peace among humans and Pokémon alike. The Crescent Moon Pokémon lived in a cave called the Eye of the Moon Cave — rumored that, in the center of the cave, there was an opening that took the shape of an eye, where the moon, at its highest point during the night, shone through and illuminated the inside of the cave.
Selina traveled to the cave, taking a total of three days from where her family sought refuge. Kind refugees had provided her food and water, giving her little tokens of appreciation. Selina would add those tokens to her staff, seeing them as something to give her luck on her journey.
Once she reached the Eye of the Moon Cave, she felt a sense of unease settle over her. What if the Pokémon wasn't inside? She would've traveled all that way for nothing. What if the Pokémon refused to help? How could she deal with that? But the real question was: did the Pokémon really live in there? The Crescent Moon Pokémon's supposed living in the cave was rumored, so it would be awful if it didn't really live there.
When she ventured into the cave, Selina heard scurrying across the ground. She heard dripping of water from the ceiling. The air was chilly and damp. The cave itself wasn't exactly dark; there was enough light on the inside for Selina to see, but she was still being careful nonetheless. She also had to be careful of wild Pokémon. Since Selina didn't have actual Pokémon of her own, she wouldn't be able to defend herself if one decided to challenge her. She managed to make it as far as she did without worrying about wild Pokémon...but that didn't mean one wouldn't want a battle.
The further into the cave Selina went, the chillier the air became. Goosebumps rose on Selina's skin, a constant shiver running up her spine. The cave became a bit darker, but she could still see in front of her.
Swallowing thickly, Selina held her staff tighter, hoping that she'd be able to calm herself down with it.
A soft sound not even a couple feet in front of Selina caught her attention. Hurrying to where she heard the noise, Selina's eyes widened slightly when she saw the Pokémon she was looking for. It was nestled on a smooth piece of rock, the rock surrounded by a small pool of water. The Pokémon was various degrees of pinks, yellows, and blues, parts of itself curved over, looking like a crescent moon. When it felt Selina's presence, it lifted its head to look at her.
Taking a shaky breath, Selina bowed respectfully. "Please," she exclaimed. "I need your help. My kingdom is at war, and so much of our land has been destroyed. I understand that you're able to bring a sense of calm to people and Pokémon, and I hope to have your help in bringing that calm back to my land." Peeking up, she saw the Pokémon was still there, looking at Selina curiously. "So many people and Pokémon here no longer have homes," she went on, bowing her head again, "I can understand if you don't want to help, but..."
Before she could continue, she felt something nudge her. Stiffening for a moment, Selina slowly raised her head. The Pokémon was levitating close to her, nudging the princess' auburn hair. It was looking at her kindly.
"You'll help?" Selina whispered, scared that speaking any higher would scare the Pokémon off. A single nod was the only answer she needed.
And, with the Crescent Pokémon's help, Princess Selina Duchannes was able to singlehandedly...
0-0-0-0
"...stop the war between the Annular Kingdom and the Sinnoh region," Queen Katharine Duchannes said, looking down at her daughter, Nadine. The story of Selina Duchannes was Nadine's favorite bedtime story. For as long as Nadine could remember, the story of Selina had been something Nadine was told every night; and she loved hearing it. The Courageous Princess of Annular, that was what Selina's official title afterwards. The people of Annular and the people of Sinnoh had stopped their fighting on the day of an annular eclipse, where the moon was in the center of the sun, and the pink Pokémon who accompanied Selina in stopping the war was none other than the Legendary Cresselia. Where Cresselia went after the reign of Selina is unknown, but it's said that she stays nearby.
"Do you think I could be like Selina when I grow up?" Nadine asked, her brown eyes wide with wonder. Nadine's Pachirisu was nestled next to the young princess' head. Pachirisu had been a rescued Pokémon; a Trainer had failed to capture it, so instead of trying to heal Pachirisu's wounds, they left the small Pokémon severely injured in the underbrush near the palace. When Nadine saw Pachirisu, barely hanging on, she freaked out. Needless to say, her parents were less than pleased that she brought an injured wild Pokémon inside the palace, but were willing to allow Nadine to nurse the Electric Squirrel Pokémon back to health. Once Pachirisu had regained her full health, she chose to stay by Nadine's side. After that, the two were inseparable.
"Of course you can be like Selina," Katharine said, brushing some of Nadine's red hair away from her young daughter's face. "Just remember, you're a descendant of Selina. Some of her courage is inside you."
Nadine's face lit up. Whenever she was told about being a descendant of Selina Duchannes, it brought a sense of joy and excitement. She was related to the most influential princess in Annular history. Who could say that?
"I can already tell you've got some of Selina's courage," Katharine continued. "You were able to nurse this Pachirisu back to health by yourself. That took a lot of courage and dedication. Now you've got a friend for life."
"Pachirisu's my best friend," Nadine confirmed. At hearing her name, Pachirisu lifted her head from the pillow Nadine rested her head, looking between mother and daughter exhaustedly before nuzzling Nadine's hair.
"But remember this," Katharine went on, utter seriousness taking over her tone, "while you can be the most courageous, like Selina, I want you to also be just as courageous as Nadine can be."
"What do you mean?"
"You're only as strong as you allow yourself to be, and if you're only living up to what others want you to live by, or comparing yourself to someone else, then how strong do you think you really are?" Nadine's eyes lowered at that. "You can find it in you to have some of Selina's courageousness, but try to find your own as well."
0-0-0-0
Nadine had her mother's words ringing in her head for years to come. Being the strongest she could possibly be, she would do that to the best of her ability. By the time Nadine's twelfth birthday had come around, she was, in her own opinion, on the road to becoming the next strongest princess Annular had to offer. She'd do anything in her power to ensure that her citizens and the Pokémon in the kingdom were as happy and as safe as could be.
On the other hand, Nadine's parents found her determination to be the greatest endearing. She had expressed on multiple occasions on how she and Pachirisu, and even a Girafarig she befriended in the palace gardens, would defend the people from dangers and hostile forces.
But what Nadine wasn't expecting, at all, was there to be the possible threat of an oncoming war...with the one region Annular hadn't experienced problems with in decades. Sinnoh.
(A/N):
A sloppy first chapter, I know. I tried thinking of something that was interesting, but I was pulling up nothing. Hopefully some of you guys who're possibly interested in this story would give some constructive criticism where you think it's necessary.
The POKEMON franchise isn't mine.
I don't know if I mentioned it in this chapter, but I got the idea of the kingdom's name — Annular Kingdom — from an annular eclipse, where the moon's in front of the sun. I'll be sure to go into more background on all of that in future chapters, OK?
Like I said, leave constructive criticism where you think it's necessary.
Thanks.
Jasper