I had a simple life. I lived alone in my house in Littleroot town. My parents were always away working in other regions, so I knew how to cook, clean, make house payments with the money they sent me, care for the yard, and everything. They called me daily, sent me cool gifts, and from time to time video chatted with me. They were always happy to see me and I was happy to see them, but there was a hole in my heart I could never fill.

I was lonely. I wasn't able to get my first pokemon when I had turned ten. On my tenth birthday, my parents agreed I was old enough to live alone in the Hoenn region. They gave me everything I needed to survive and left to work. They cared a lot, I know that. But my dream was to become a pokemon trainer. I always wanted to become one, but taking care of the house had been all that I lived for. I knew nothing else.

My name is Sapphire. I'm sixteen years old. My hair is brown and my eyes are purple. I have no real life achievements except the various skills I have about living alone. I know a lot about pokemon by the games I play when there's nothing else to do and I already have enough schooling to land me a job somewhere nice, if I ever thought about it. But to be honest, I had no idea what to do. My future was completely blank.

I sat down at the table and started sipping at the tea I made. Mom had made it for me countless times when I was a child, but I haven't been able to taste the richness like I had when I was young. I tied my hair back and sat at the table, alone as I always was.

A knock came at the door. That's weird. I don't usually get guests. I stood up and walked over to it. It was raining cats and dogs outside, who would want to visit me at this time? I unlocked the door, and right away, it opened itself. A man walked in, turned and shut the door. He was soaked to the bone in rainwater, it was like he had just taken a dive in a pool of water. I thought he was invading my house so I started to back away, but the man and I met eyes.

His eyes were a dazzling silver. It was like I was looking into a mirror. There was pain in them, so much pain that I feared that some of the rain on him was tears. He opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden weight consumed him. He fell forward into my arms. He was a lighter than I expected, but he was still heavy enough to bring me to my knees.

"U-um, sir?" I asked. But he had fainted. I started to lift him, but he was too heavy. Even though he was passed out, he was shivering. His skin was stone-cold to my touch. He was going to freeze if something wasn't done quickly.

I panicked for a second. Then, remembering there was no one else here to help, I lie him down on the floor and ran upstairs. My knees were like jelly. Who was he? Why was he here? So many questions that needed an answer but would have to wait. He needed help.

I yanked all the blankets off my bed along with some towels from the bathroom and ran downstairs with them in my arms. They had been grabbed in such a hurry they nearly tripped me. Halfway down the stairs, I tossed them and watched them fall. I couldn't let myself get hurt. Not now, not here, when someone was in desperate need of my help.

The man was still shivering. His silver hair looked like melting ice under all the water. His teeth chattered and his eyes were squeezed shut. Was he in pain? That would have to wait. I grabbed him by the shoulders and held him upright. I threw a towel over his head and worked on drying his silver hair. Thankfully it was short enough to be dried in a minute or two. Then I moved to his clothes.

Oh, Arceus, there was no way I could dry those. Panicking, I unbuttoned his shirt and threw it in the sink. I did the same with his undershirt, but the pants? Yeah, those were just going to have to stay on. That would be too awkward. Besides, he was slowly beginning to calm his shivering. I wrapped the towels around his legs, squeezing them enough so they got as dry as possible, and then worked on moving him. He was lying in a puddle of water so that had to be fixed. There was a carpet in the living room. not only that, but a fireplace. It would be hard, but if I could get him over there, he'd warm up even faster.

I hooked my arms under his and managed to drag him to the fireplace. I quickly switched on the electrical fire and inched him closer. His breathing was irregular but the shivering had stopped completely. I got the last dry towel and dries off his chest. When that was done, I held him upright by the shoulders and covered him with a blanket. When I laid him down by the fire, his breathing turned normal. His eyes relaxed and he curled up into a ball.

I know it was stupid of me to think it at the time, but he was cute. His face was clear of any blemishes or acne and his hair was glossy even after being in the rain. There was no trace of fat on him, just slender muscles and perfect skin. He also had uncanningly beautiful facial features: thick eyelashes and silver eyebrows, smooth skin and pink lips.

I was tired tired after that, all I remember is climbing onto the couch then falling into a peaceful slumber.

The storm passed directly over Littleroot town, leaving the town nearly flooded. The sun was back the next morning, brighter than ever. The sun blinded me into waking up the next morning. Had I been too tired to draw the curtains before I fell asleep? I must've, because they were open wide when I woke up.

What? The man was gone. He wasn't lying in the mess of blankets I had made. In fact, there wasn't a mess. The blankets had been folded, the towels hung over the fireplace to dry, and the room smelt of… syrup?

I sat up in the couch and rubbed my eyes. Then I swung my feet over the side of the bed and stood up. There was definitely some food cooking. The sweet smell of pecha berries was in the air. That, and some sort of meat. Whatever it was, it smelt amazing. My stomach was rumbling at the thought of eating after forgetting to have dinner the night before.

I walked into the kitchen and nearly jumped out of my socks. The man I had saved the night before was there. He was in his clothes, which had somehow been dried and ironed, and he was casually flipping over a pancake he had just drizzled with pecha berries. He heard me enter the room and turned.

"Oh, you're awake." He didn't sound surprised. He greeted me with a kind smile and a tilt of the head. "We can talk over breakfast. I used some of your ingredients, the store hadn't opened yet."

"Y-yeah." I looked at the calendar. "It's Sunday. They won't be open today."

"I forgot about that. I'll pay you back later, then." He turned back to the stove and shut it off. Using a spatula, he moved the pecha pancake on top of the other two he had made before. There were two plates, one with plain pancakes, the other with the berries. "Do you like syrup?"

"U-um, yeah." He started drizzling the plain pancakes with syrup. When he was done, he walked towards the table and set them in front of me. Then he set another plate next to that, a plate of bacon. I blinked in confusion. He saw and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I've got some explaining to do." He sat down, placed his pecha pancakes in front of him, and started smearing it with butter. As soon as he was done, he started cutting it into bite-sized pieces. I was puzzled about the whole ordeal, but not as much as I was hungry. I started on the pancakes.

Wow. This guy could cook. It was soft and flavorful like every pancake should be. The syrup had been warmed helped the food melt in my mouth. The bacon was even better. It wasn't crunchy and hard but soft and chewy, bursting with juice. I finished it quickly.

"Quite the appetite," he commented. "Sorry for the rude entrance last night. I'm Steven." I twitched.

"Steven Stone?" I whispered. "The Champion?"

"That would be me, yes." He took a sip of some moomoo milk. Then, "What's your name?"

"Sapphire," I replied, bowing my head. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Stone."

"No need for formalities," he said sweetly. "Call me Steven. Mr. Stone is my father." He offered me some of the orange juice in a cup he had poured for me. I took it and sipped it. "I'd like to explain my situation, if you don't mind."

"No, go right ahead." I was curious about him. He was the Hoenn Champion, and he had somehow just wandered into my house on the verge of death. There was no way I was going to miss out on his story.

"I travel around the region a lot helping the local police force," he started. "It's usually fairly easy work. My pokemon can help me in some tight situations. I was in the middle of battling a criminal when the rain started to pour. He got away while I tried to find my way through the rain and darkness and I had no choice but to come to your house." He paused. "I hope you aren't offended by anything done last night."

"I couldn't really be offended by anything," I conceded. "You were in need of help. I wouldn't ignore anyone in need." I met his eyes.

Something in the air seemed to change. When our eyes met, his widened slightly. I felt my heart beat hard in my chest, like a burst of adrenaline had suddenly been triggered. His face turned red and just like that, mine did, too. We both looked away. For a few minutes we didn't have the nerve to talk. I put my hand on my chest. This feeling... I had never felt it before. But I liked it. It felt good.

"Who do you live with?" Steven suddenly asked. I looked from him then directly to the rest of the food on the table.

"My parents," I said too quickly. I forced myself to calm down and take a deep breath. "They aren't home a lot. I'm lucky if I see them twice a year."

"So you're alone." He tapped his fingers against the table. "Do you have a pokemon of your own, by any chance?"

"No. I've wanted one, but I never really got around to it." I looked about the room. "I can't really leave here. My parents need someone to take care of the house." He didn't say anything to that. "But enough about me. Are you feeling well?" He smiled faintly.

"Much better thanks to you." There was a pause. "You saved my that, do you?"

"I do," I answered. "But it's no big deal. I did what anyone else would've."

"I'd like to repay you."

"What?" I held up my hands. "No, no. It's nothing, really. I don't need to-"

"I can take you away from here." I stopped talking when he said that. "You don't see it, but I do. You hate it here. You want to be a trainer. You want to see the world. I can have it arranged that someone looks after your house. My friend, Professor Birch, can give you a pokemon. Would you like that?" I stared at him. The expression on my face was completely surprised. Steven stood up and walked over to my side of the table. He held out his hand to me, silver eyes soft. "Come with me, Sapphire. Let me show you this world."

I don't know what I was thinking. I had been born and raised in this house. There were so many happy memories. This was my home. But I wanted to leave it so bad. So I took his hand. And we began our adventure.