Hey readers! Please tell me what you think once you're done reading this! Read on! This is my first story, by the way, so quite a lot of creative juices are flowing.

White. That was the first thing she saw. Bright, pure white, with some duller white in the background. Was she dead? Fat chance. That was simply her light bulb with the aged ceiling in the background.

"If I was dead, though…" she trailed off, deciding mentally that she would murder her soul for deciding to die on this day of all days.

Now, our fourteen-year-old heroine was chipper than she usually was, so instead of her usual stoic expression, making its way onto her smooth face was a content smile.

She tried to remember why she was so happy, anyways. There was something going on today, something huge… then it clicked.

"OH EM GEEE! OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG!" Leaf screamed, scrambling out of her warm bed and then proceeding to cartwheel around the room. Her hormones were especially active today. Not that they weren't already over-excited, Leaf thought, staring down at her body, very like that of an eighteen year old. Why did she have to hit puberty so early…

That thought was pushed to the back of her mind as another one took over.

"I'M GETTING MY POKEMON TODAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!"

Taking half the time she usually did to do her morning activities, Leaf brushed her teeth, showered, and dried and brushed her waist-length chocolate hair. She couldn't wait to finally get out of this house.

Rushing out of the bathroom in a towel only, Leaf threw open her closet, trying to decide what to wear. She pored over her clothes for about ten minutes, then snapped her fingers in inspiration, grabbing the selected clothes and rushing back into her bathroom.

A few minutes later, Leaf walked out wearing a fitted blue tank top, a red pleated skirt reaching mid-thigh, blue leg warmers, red sneakers, her trusty black wristbands and to top it all off, her signature white hat with a red line around it and a PokéBall at the front.

"Not bad!" Leaf grinned at her reflection. That grin soon fell as she realized she was forgetting something very important. She scanned the room until her eyes rested on their victim. Snatching up her brown waist bag, she remembered once more what she had to do, her lips stretching once more, not into a grin, but an evil smirk.

ASH's POV

My smile increased, letting my tongue hang out as the huge thanksgiving chicken made its way over to me…

Almost there…

BANG! BANG! BANG!

I let out a hiss as the lights of my room were suddenly flicked on, and very bright lights, may I add. The banging continued, if not getting louder, as was the voice in my head begging me to unleash Pikachu on the intruder.

All in all, my mood was not what you'd call pleasant.

I cracked open my right eyelid to get a look at the infiltrator. All I caught was a glimpse of long brown hair and a white hat…

"LEAF! I WILL murder you!"

"Hah! I'd like to see you try!" was her retort as she jumped onto the bed. Err, not onto the bed… onto me. I shoved her away as hard as I could.

"OOF!" she grunted, only to spring back up onto me. "ASH! Get up get up get up get up get up get up get up!"

"Okay, what is so special that you had to wake me up at…" I checked the clock, "6 freaking AM!"

"Don't you remember, Reddie?" pouted Leaf.

"Obviously I don't. And I told you to not call me that."

She glared. And glared.

And GLARED.

"Ash, how could you forget today?" she whispered, her glare suddenly turning into a heartbroken expression.

Damn, I've made her sad! Good going, Reddie.

…Wait, what?!

"I haven't forgotten! I, uh, seem to have a blurry memory when I'm woken up with a frying pan…?" I sheepishly tried to explain.

"…okay." She sniffled. "Well, I'm so happy because I'm getting my Pokemon today!" she squealed, her expression yet again morphing into a grin.

"OH…right! Of course I knew!" I lied through my teeth. Leaf would see right through me.

But I must have been opaque because she just rolled off me and smiled deviously. "Great. Buckle up, big brother, there's still one more person we have to wake, with ESPECIALLY spiky hair…"

I shared her evil smirk as realization crawled upon me.

We both laughed evilly and said the name together.

"Gary."

GARY's POV

I turned on the tap and the toothpaste flowed down the drain, then proceeded to look myself in the mirror.

"Damn, I look like crap."

Spiky golden blonde hair protruded at awkward angles. Medium brown eyes, now red all around, were caked at the corners. A few wrinkles even dared to crawl onto my otherwise attractive face.

At least my mouth smelled fresh.

Why do I arise at such an early hour, you interrogate. Well, I was basically shocked out of bed – first being drenched by ice water and then having a specific raven-haired idiot unleash a specific electric type on me – and then roughly shoved into my bathroom by his hyperactive sister, who by the way is getting her starter today. And why would waking up at eight in the morning be such a terrible thing? Perhaps because I spent all night partying and flirting with hot chicks and then stumbling home, at five this morning, with lipstick marks on my collar.

So, yes, that's the reason for my current state.

I quickly had a shower, because if I didn't Leaf would do it for me. I put on my clothes, and not a moment too soon, because right as I finished brushing my hair, the door was crashed open.

Hold on… didn't I lock it?!

"GARY! Come on, you're wasting time! I want to get the cutest Pokémon there!" Leaf yelled.

Gosh, Leaf was so excited. When she was like this, absolutely no one could calm her down. She grabbed my arm – a rather toned, muscular one, ha-ha – and dragged me out of my neat room and down the stairs, yelling out a greeting to my mother who was still making breakfast.

"Hi, Leaf. Are you going to be staying with Gary for breakf—"

"NO, THANK YOU!" Leaf yelled, pushing me out the door and slamming it behind her.

Ash was waiting for us outside. "Gosh, what took you guys so long? I almost figured you guys decided to take a break and fu—OW!"

Leaf, who had thought her brother was wasting time, had started to drag him by the ear. HA-HA! Although her face was very red. Hm.

"Uh, Leaf? Why's your face so re—"

"GARY! Shut up and let's get a move on!" Leaf yelled.

Oh well. At least I tried.

Leaf led the way to grandpa's lab. She pushed the door open, and over a desk with three PokéBalls, my grandfather stood waiting.

"Ah, Leaf! I was waiting to see when you would arrive. I can tell you're very excited?" Leaf nodded eagerly. "Good! So now I'm going to release the Pokémon and you can have your pick. What say you?"

"Great! Let's get started," Leaf squealed.

I already knew all the Pokémon that would appear, because I had gotten my own Pokémon a year earlier, with Ash. We'd both finished our journeys around the same time, and I beat the Elite Four and became champion for a short time. That is, until Ash came about an hour later and barely won me, then became champion himself. To compensate my hard work, he offered to me the post of Viridian City Gym Leader, which I gladly accepted. But Leaf doesn't know this, and since then, the number of people entering the Indigo League reduced drastically, because I am crazy tough, if I may say so myself. My Pokémon are currently at a range of level 67-71, and Ash's are about level 69-72.

There was this girl that almost beat me though. Her name was Lora, I think? Or Layla? No… no, it was, um… Lyra! Yes! And later on a boy named Silver came and claimed to be her arch rival, and he and I were down to our last Pokémon until his fainted a split second before mine. A worthy challenger, he was.

Out of the first Poke Ball came a little green Pokémon, and its name tag read Bulbasaur. Next came a tiny blue turtle Pokémon, and I smiled at this one because it was my starter, a Squirtle. Lastly came a red lizard Pokémon, a Charmander, which immediately took a liking to Ash. He was familiar with it, because he had a Charizard.

Leaf's eyes widened when she saw Bulbasaur, and she started cooing and petting it.

"I choose this one, Professor Oak! Please!"

Grandpa chuckled quietly at Leaf's enthusiasm. "Of course."

Bulbasaur jumped into Leaf's arms, and she cuddled her happily. I felt funny seeing it, like warm sunlight was spreading throughout my whole body. Then I got an idea, I whispered something to gramps. He nodded. "I think it would be a good experience for her," he said. Alrighty then.

"Leaf, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

Leaf looked at me, a cute smile spreading across her face. Wait… where the hell did that come from?! "Okay! You okay with this, Flora?" she asked Bulbasaur, who jumped in delight. Ash agreed to referee.

"This will be a one-on-one match between Leaf Green and Gary Oak of Pallet Town! The first Pokémon to drop to zero, loses! Ready, set, go!"

I sent out the Squirtle and Leaf set down Flora.

"First move's yours, Leaf."

"Thanks, Gary! Um… Tackle?"

Bulbasaur launched forward and hit Squirtle. Squirtle screamed, then retreated into its shell, its defense rising.

"Squirtle, get close with rapid spin and use water gun!"

Squirtle obeyed and span off in a blur toward Flora. He sprayed her with some water, but she just shook it off.

"Grr, Squirtle use pound!" He obeyed, making Flora dizzy.

"Oh no! Flora, snap out of it and use Tackle!" Poor Flora, who by now wasn't looking so good, only wound up hitting herself.

"Alright Squirtle, finish this with Rapid Spin!"

Squirtle obeyed and shot off towards Flora, who was still hitting herself. Then he slammed into her, sending her flying through the air and knocking her out.

"HA! Take that, Leafy!"

"Aww," Leaf sniffed, running to help her Pokemon. Gramps gently took Flora and healed her, and in no time Flora was bouncing around again.

"Now, Leaf, there is something I need you to do for me. In viridian City, a parcel should be waiting for you in the mart. I need you to retrieve it and bring it back here, if you would," Grandpa said.

"No problem. Bye Gary. C'mon, Ash," she sulked, pulling Ash out of the door.

"And I woke up so early…" I grumbled. Gramps laughed.

LEAF's POV

"Aww, Leaf! Cheer up! It's your first battle ever, obviously it's not a must to win," Ash said, trying to cheer me up.

"Ash, please stop trying to cheer me up. Who fails on their first try? I was supposed to be lucky."

"Everyone! And hey, everyone knows that Gary's a huge jerk. Say, let's go get an ice cream! You'll feel better."

"Ash… no."

"Oh come on little sis. You know you want to! Just think. All that thick, creamy chocolate in your eager mouth…"

"Hmm…"

"And maybe train your Pokemon while eating that lovely ice cream…"

"Chocolate," I hallucinated, giving in.

"And you can go for seconds! It's all on me."

"OH FINE! Let's go. But let's get Professor Oak's package first," I said, stepping into the PokeMart.

The racks were lined with all sorts of Pokemon merchandise. This would be a good place to come to shop for Flora. Full Restores, Antidotes, Ethers and Full heals were streamed along the shelves, ending on the young market clerk who was winking at me.

Unfortunately, Ash saw him. And grabbed his collar.

"What the hell are you staring at, punk?" He asked menacingly.

"Whoa, dude, I'm sorry! I didn't know she was your girl, you two look alike so I thought she was your sister," The maniac blabbed frantically.

"She is."

"Oh, really? So that means she's single? Then what's your name, sugar?" The clerk inquired, his fearful demeanor gone.

Ash growled and shoved him against the wall. I had to put my hand on his arm to calm him down, and even then he still glared at the clerk.

"Well, listen, uh…" I read his name tag, "…Mark, I'm not here to flirt. We're here to collect a package meant for Professor Oak, so…"

"Hold on. THE Professor Oak? What makes you think I'll release his property to one horny teenage slut and a guy on his period?"

Some punches later, I exited the mart with the parcel in my arms.

"You know, Ash, you didn't have to beat him up. He was just a jerk."

"He hit on you when we both know you belong to Gary. And he said I was on my period, and called you a slut-"

"Hold up. What did you say?" I demanded.

"NOTHING! Now let's get that ice cream!"

We got the ice cream and walked back in silence. When we reached the lab it was about noon, and Gary had left.

"Here's your parcel, Professor Oak," I said, handing it to him.

"Ah, thanks, Leaf. Gary bolted off. Went back home to sleep."

I rolled my eyes. Hard.

"But MOOOOOOMMMMM!" I whined. "Why can't I just go?"

"It's too late to leave the house, Leaf! You wouldn't even have reached Pewter by nightfall."

"What? I could just lodge in Viridian."

"Err..." Was she hiding something? I'll have to ask her later. "They say that Viridian City people like kidnapping kids."

"But I'm not a kid anymore. And we agreed that I would start my journey today."

"NO, we agreed that you would get your first Pokemon today, and you would start travelling once you turn fifteen."

"WHAT?! But that's so far away! I'll have to wait TWO WEEKS?" I couldn't believe this was happening.

"Yes, Leaf. Look, I know you were looking forward to leaving and becoming a cooltrainer-"

"ACE trainer," I corrected.

"Yes, an Ace Trainer, but this is not that serious, okay? All teenagers go through this."

I felt like ripping my hair out. "OMG, mom! You freaking think this is a BLOODY PHASE."

"Watch your tone. Now off to bed with you, young lady."

"But-"

"NOW, Leaf!"

"Mom..."

"You better move it! NOW! And your cousin Darcy is coming visiting tomorrow to give you an early birthday present, because he's going to be leaving the country for uni..."

The world froze. The crickets stopped chirping, the birds stopped singing. All that remained moving was Mom's mouth.

Ash stopped eating and looked at me with cautious eyes.

Only he knew.

***Flashback***

"Leaf!" Darcy called from the guest room. "Could you please come help me look for something under my bed?" He was seventeen at the time.

This was my chance to escape! Maybe he wouldn't be able to do it today. "Find it yourself," eight-year-old me answered.

Unfortunately, Mom was in the hallway, and she heard me. "Leaf Midori Green! Go in there right now and help your cousin find what he's looking for!" She yelled.

I turned to stare at her, heartbroken tears filling my eyes. How could she? How could my own mother condemn me to my doom?

I would hate her forever for this.

Darcy came out and grabbed my arm. My skin started to crawl, both with disgust and with fear and knowing what would come next.

"You heard her, Flower," he said, dragging me into his room.

He closed the door and locked it behind him, then proceeded to slap me across my face. A strangled sob escaped my trembling lips as I fell on the mattress. Darcy clambered on top of me.

"So, Rose, you really thought you could escape from me?" A malicious laugh left his lips, making my blood curdle. "You are MINE. And you will never be able to stop me. I will always do this as long as you live, Leaf! Take care to remember that."

As he spoke, I noticed the key on the floor. I pushed Darcy off and ran for the key, grabbing it until Darcy pulled me by my neck. I bit down hard on his arm. This had gone on for too long, and I thought I could escape, but that was until I felt an excruciatingly painful senstion at the top of my head, and on my wrist. A warm wet liquid seeped through my long hair, from my wrist, and started to collect in a puddle on the floor.

"Try to escape and this will happen again. Only worse," He whispered in my ear. I looked up. He'd broken a beer bottle on my head. The last thing I saw before blacking out was Darcy going through the usual routine, taking off my clothes and ripping my underwear.

As he penetrated deeper and deeper, I blamed Mom for EVERYTHING.

***End of flashback***

Later that night, I lay sobbing in Ash's warm embrace while tracing the scar on my wrist.

"Ash, I HAVE to leave! I can't bear seeing him. What if he does it again?"

"Leaf, I wasn't old enough to protect you then. I'm so sorry, I wish I could have when you told me that night, but I swear if he touches you I'll rip him apart with my bare hands."

I looked up at my big brother with bloodshot eyes. I hadn't told him why I never told anyone. I think he assumed it was because no one would believe me anyway. Darcy was smart, nice and popular, so anyone I told would be skeptical. That wasn't it. Darcy had said something on the first day he raped me.

He threatened me with the death of my brother if I ever spilled to anyone.

So I kept shut. And it continued.

I was awakened by tapping at my window. Curious, I clambered out of bed and looked down to see Ash with some bags by his side.

"PSST! Leaf! Change and get down here quick!"

"Wha...?"

I showered, brushed my teeth and my hair, and checked the time. It read 12:47 a.m. I'd noticed that my makeup and clothes were packed (not that I even wore the makeup) as well as my shoes, bag and electronics. All that was with me were my PokeGear, personal belongings and Bulbasaur.

I tiptoed down the corridor, cringing at the sound my room door made, careful not to wake Mom up. Pushing open the front door and saw Ash with luggage packed and... Gary?

"Gary?! What are you doing here? Wait, what's going on?"

"Ash said you had to leave for an urgent reason, but he wouldn't tell me. Just get a move on, will you? My legs are killing me, Slowking."

I bit down on my lip while Ash slugged Gary in the stomach.

"Gary, listen. We've got to get Leaf out of here as soon as possible because something…um…tragic happened, OKAY? Come on."

We're leaving? This was amazing. So Darcy can't abuse me anymore. Cradling Bulbasaur in my arms, we sped off in Gary's car, onto a better future for me.