This story is dedicated to all my real life Pokemaniac friends!

I don't own Pokemon, Nintendo does. I don't own Nintendo (however much I wish!)


It all began on a quiet, almost sluggish Monday morning in the sleepy little town of Saralli. It was a well-hidden town, on a small island to the southeast of the Kanto region. The island tended to be tropically warm all throughout the year – no one born on the island could ever remember it snowing. It was difficult to get to the mainland, and thus, it was difficult for new trainers to go on their customary travels of the world.

The solution? A series of schools for new trainers strung over the island, where battles could be arranged easily and support given. And the most prestigious of these was Saralli Caira High. As the widely agreed best school on the island, they had the largest grounds, most modern interiors and, perhaps most importantly for new trainers, the widest selection of new Pokèmon.

Most trainers only got a choice from the twelve standard starter Pokèmon, but here, they had a wide selection of their very first companions…if they could pass the entrance exam…

However, for those that had passed, this day would be one they'd never forget…

In a darkened room, one such girl lay curled in a nest of a duvet, her wildly wavy brown hair fanning out across the pillow. A loud caw sounded outside the window, yet still she slept, dreaming deeply of her partner to be…

A canine form scratched repeatedly at the girl's door, but she made no reply but to turn over in her slumber. The pet Growlithe opened the door, and spotting his mistress' weak spot, nudged her exposed, dangling arm. She woke immediately.

"Tani!" she shouted.

Why a fire-type should have such a cold nose was beyond her…

Tani wagged her short tail, happily glancing up at the human angrily glaring at her. The girl seemed to understand that there was some deeper meaning behind this rather than Tani's usual wake up prank.

"Huh…oh, wait, I start Saralli Caira today, don't I?" she realised with a sudden jolt of understanding.

Tani barked in agreement, nodding her head.

The girl bolted out of bed, quickly throwing clothes out of her wardrobe in an attempt to find something to wear. Saralli Caira had no uniform, so students had free reign over their appearance.

One pair of jeans and a baggy black t-shirt later, the young girl was downstairs, eating cereal at a record speed.

"Arianrhod," her mother started disapprovingly.

Arianrhod only stopped for a second to glare at her mother before shovelling cereal in again.

"Aria, I had Tani wake you up with plenty of time to spare – you aren't going to be late if you eat breakfast like any civilised human being…"

On any normal day, Aria might have responded that it was somewhat hypocritical of her mother to comment, as she never ate herself. However, she felt far too excited and full of nerves to start that again…

Her mother kept hiding things from her. Trivial things really, but important in their tiny way. Like, as far as Aria knew, her mother didn't sleep, and certainly didn't eat. But perhaps most important to her – she hardly ever saw her father. The problem was, Arianrhod didn't even know why she rarely saw her father. As far as she knew, her mother and father loved each other and wouldn't even contemplate separation, but she only ever saw him once a month, at most…

The only things Aria knew for certain was her mother's name, Nia Jones, and the fact that she had an affinity for fire-type Pokèmon. Tani was just one of quite a few – Nia also had a Houndoom, Rapidash and Flareon.

As Aria finished her breakfast, yet another mystery stuck her head around Nia's shoulder. She was a small, knee-high, pale lilac dragon, unlike any Pokèmon that Aria had ever heard of. A couple of times, she got the sense it was talking to her mum, from the small nods and smiles Nia sometimes gave for no apparent reason.

This was one of those times, which was quickly masked by Nia saying, "So, plant, looking forward to school?"

Nia often mixed foreign words in her speech, but Aria, used to this, at least, didn't mind. Because her mum and dad - when he was around - had spoken this language to her when she was little, she felt she could speak it well.

Aria frowned at being called a child, but nodded all the same. Then, with a lot of courage, she asked, "Mum…where's Dad?"

Nia's face fell. "He'll be here when you get back home, promise."

"But, where is he now?"

Nia sighed. "I'll tell you when you get home – it'll give you something to look forward to."

"But…"

"Come on, Aria. It'd take too long to explain, and you don't want to be late on your first day, do you?"

Aria looked at the clock and almost had a heart attack. "I could have sworn it's only been a few minutes! I've got to go – bye Mum! ...And don't think I'll forget this!"

Once Nia's daughter was safely out the door, the small dragon gave a semblance of a chuckle. While Aria had been distracted by talking, he'd put the clock forward to make her think she was late…

Nia gave the small dragon an absent-minded pat on the head. "Seren, she's grown up so fast… It's about time she knew everything…"


By the way, the 'foreign language' is Welsh and Nia is an OC that I've used in other fandoms, but I will explain everything in this 'fic, so you don't have to read my other fanfics (however, if you feel like making me very happy, go ahead!)

Please review - even if it's only one word!