I remember that afternoon. I remember sitting in my father's lap watching the competition. Mom was on the farther side of the arena, but we couldn't afford better seats, even though they both worked part time at various places. But you know what I remember the most? The lights. Not just the cameras and the big screens, but the circular balls of light. They floated around the arena flashing an array of colors. I reached out to touch one and they all popped in a firework fashion.

"What a stunning performance, and victory, to Misses Anna J Shinobi!" The speakers screamed making me cover my ears. I closed my eyes and let out a whine. My small hands were pretty small and were pretty useless at covering my ears. I felt warm hands cover over mine and looked up to see Jay., my dad. He had warm green eyes and black hair combed to they right. That's all I can remember about his face.

I looked up at the big screen. Though my ears were now properly covered, I found it quite easy to hear. But I don't remember the sounds, I remember the blurry picture. She had light blonde hair and hazel eyes that shone bright. My memory of mom is pretty blurry, but I know I would recognize her if I saw her.

That was over five years ago, right before I started trainer academy. My mom had left after that competition, never saying goodbye. Dad was devastated. At the age of twenty five he was forced to retire from his pokemon journey early and start a job at a pokeshop in Lavender Town. He was miserable , but he knew it was best for me. He had kept around his team for a few months, but he slowly let them go and continue their journeys. Some were easy to leave, others left in tears or were practically forced to leave by Dad.

Today, only one pokemon remains with us, one sandslash named Anderson, or Andy for short. Jason and Andy have been best friends since forever. Dad had tried to get Andy to leave, to use his talents as a gym pokemon in Viridian., but he refused to leave. Dad even forced him out of the house because he refused to join a trainer to challenge the Vermilion Gym. That night I woke up to find Dad carrying his unconscious body inside. I found him the next morning asleep in an armchair with Andy on his lap. The two of them had been together since the beginning with Andy as a substitute starter, similar to one I am going to receive.

After that he stopped trying to force him out. That was four years ago. now we live semi-happily in a two person apartment with Dad and Andy on one bed and me on the other. Andy was rarely ever in his pokeball mainly because Dad never forced his pokemon to be. He always believed that pokemon should be allowed to roam free and that they make great traveling partners. He encouraged me to always have at least one pokemon out with me while at my journey, even though my teachers said that it may be dangerous.

My teachers are terrible. They completely disagree without everything my Dad has ever taught me and have no respect for him or me. They have all of these dumb ideologies and rules. 'Don't feed the starly Shinobi", 'You can't take the bidoof on a walk Shinobi', 'Shinobi you may not let the ekans out of its cage!'. They never allow me to actually have FUN with the pokemon or to let them have any freedom or enjoyment. It's sickening. I'v protested with Dad about it, but he doesn't have time after work to go to meetings about it or know other people who would do it. So I've been forced to live with the unfair rules of the school, or more importantly the pokemon had to deal with the school.

The only bright side of the school is the chance to make myself a better trainer and I receive a substitute starter of my choice. I'm allowed to receive said pokemon because of the absence of my mother and my Dad being great friends with the guidance counselor. Either way I receive the pokemon of my choice after graduation, which was yesterday. So today I get to go to the academy and receive a substitute starter. And by today I mean five minutes from now and I have no car to take me down their since my dad forgot me or bike to ride down their because mine has a flat.

I threw on my backpack and ran down the hall toward the elevator. I spammed the button and after a few seconds said screw it and hit the stairs. It was only a few stories up and its not like I'm lazy or anything. I ran down two flights of stairs and only most tripped on my untied, white shoes. I ran out the door and took off to my left went down a couple blocks took a left and continued my way through the streets.

After about ten minutes, only getting partly lost, I came across the front gates to the academy. The academy was a relatively small building with very large lots outside, since most of the day was spent outside. The grass was worn down for the most part and the building was a boring tan-ish color with a green roof. The gates were solid black attached to brick walls that surrounded the entire academy.

Usually the lots were empty, minus students, fields, and a few picnic tables, but today there were tents and cages out with various pokemon in them. As I walked through the gates, it became easier to see a large amount of students walking around to the different tents. There were pokemon of all different types, regions, sizes and personalities, but I already knew where I was going. I walked into a small tent that had no other students in it. Inside were a couple small cages and glass containers filled with sneasel and duskulls. As I walked toward the back of the small tent, a familiar lady greeted me.

She was dressed in a color very similar to that of the school and had on light blue jeans. Her brown hair was tied up under a matching hat and she had a black pearl necklace loosely hanging around her neck. "How are you doing Mikey?"

"Great Miss K, how are you?"

"I'm fine and had just helped a few sneasels from Cary Street. Poor souls were abandoned in a gutter!"

"That's disgusting! I'm so glad that you were able to help them." I took a short pause before I asked her. "Where's you know who?"

She grinned. "I was wondering how long it would take you to ask. She's in that corner."

I smiled and thanked her before walking over there.

A year ago I had been walking down the street late at night. It was in the middle of December and had snowed last night. I had just left the bowling alley down the street from the hotel and called Dad to tell him I was on the way. But as I walked under the full moon, I could hear cries coming from the alley to my left. I slowed my walking and peered into it. I was always told to stay on the sidewalks where it's safe, but today... I couldn't just ignore it. As I took a few steps into the alley I could make out a small figure crying and shaking in the snow. She was covered in snow and the red and black of her was barely visible in the snow. I picked her up and my arms and ran down the streets of town. I took out my phone and told Jason, I called him by is full name, to get the car ready and I'll meet him outside.

After I got in with the small whitish-black creature I took off my jacket and wrapped it up She was shivering and had her eyes tightly shut. i brought her close to my chest and started whispering that she would be okay. Five minutes later, Dad got out an took her out of my arms. He sprinted inside and I got out behind him, chasing them down. I could see her eyes staring out from over his shoulder. Her brilliant blue eyes peeked out at me, panic rising as they went further and further away.

I met them in the hospital room a couple minutes later. She was wrapped in a heating mat. Dad was asleep on the chair against the window and a nurse had left them both warm meals on the table. I sat down in the chair beside the hospital bed. I was later getting to the hospital room because I had to give a report for the nurse to give to the officers. I took a sandwich off the table and took a bite. After I took a bite, I saw movement on the bed. Her eyes were open and her nose was wiggling.

I couldn't see it earlier, but she dark grey fur with red fur on the top of her head and on her paws. She looked starving and, judging by the thinness of her stomach, I'm sure she was. She stood up and walked over to me hesitantly as I still had my half a sandwich. "Hey, don't worry. Here's a bite for you."

I took the other half a sandwich and handed it to her. She grabbed it in her jaw and gobbled it down in a few bites. I giggled and she smiled slightly before her stomach growled again. "Alright, alright, I'll get you some more food. Just hang on a minute okay."

I stood up and went to leave the room, being careful not to wake Dad up, but as I went to go she hopped down from the hospital bed. As her feet hit the floor her hind left leg gave out. "Hey, take it easy! Here, let me carry you." I picked her furry, bony body and carried her out the door. I walked only a few steps into the hall before running into a nurse.

She had long, blue hair and aquamarine nurse's clothes. Her skin was a dark-ish color that reminded me of caramel. "Excuse me, what are you doing with the patient?"

"She seemed hungry so I was going to go get her some food, but when I went to leave she tried to follow me."

She took a step forward and outstretched her arm. "Here let me take her to the-" Just then she jumped out of my arms and ran away down the hall, limbs back in full swing. I stood a second before chasing after her down the hall. "Hey! Get back here!"

I ran around a sharp bend and came across her lying in the middle of the floor staring out the window. I walked over to her and she hissed at me. I took a step back and stared out the window. It was a beautiful sight to see. The moon was huge and there were various shadows of drifblim passing over, there shadows passing over us.

"Zo zorua ru." She walked over to me and rubbed up against my leg.

I sighed. "Oh, so you're calm now?" She yawned and brought her paws up to my legs. I picked her up and she leaned her head against my chest. I felt a piece of paper scratch against my neck. I picked around her next until I found a paper tag that read ZORI. "Zori, huh? You sure are a handful."

I took her back to the hospital room and that nurse was waiting for me. Zori, now a little bit more calm, was placed back on her bed and was rewired to her monitoring devices. The nurse left for a minute and came back with a warm tray of PokeChow. She left a few minutes later. I checked the clock on my X-Transceiver (X-Trans). I walked over to Jason and shook him awake, much to his disapproval. We left the hospital a few minutes later, but the moon was much smaller.

Zori was taken out of the hospital a week later, and I visited her everyday at the Pokemon Shelter. Miss K, had put in a special request to have Zori put on hold and into the Substitute Starter Program for me.

"Zoru a rua!" I was brought out of the past by Zori's cries. I smiled and picked her up out of her cage. She was much thicker now, not fat, but no longer anorexic. Her leg was much stronger and all of her injuries were healed long ago, though she still hated the cold. Her paper and plastic tag was cut off and replaced with black color with red letters that red ZORI and already had my trainer ID number etched into it. I picked her pokeball off of the ground next to her cage and she licked me in my face. I put her down and she ran off out of the tent.

"Uhhh! Zori! Get back here!" I smiled as I ran out of the tent after her. "Bye Miss K!"

I saw her turn a corner around another tent and when I came around I ran straight into someone and knocked them to the ground. "Hey watch it!" She was my age, obviously since she was getting a starter, and had blood red hair that covered half her face. She had milky white skin and had on jean shorts and a white T-shirt. "C'mon man what are ya doing running around like that!"

I blushed slightly and helped her up. "S-sorry I was chasing after my partner. Did she run by here?"

"You mean that fox-thing? Yeah she ran under me a second ago and nearly tripped me. Like trainer like pokemon I guess." She pointed to where Zori ran and then stopped off into a tent beside me.

I ran around another tent where she pointed and ran into someone, again. She had blood red hair that cover half her face and- wait a second. "Zori stop that!" I picked the girl up and she transformed into the grinning, lovable fox. "Now what are you doing running around like that? And why are you disguising like people? Do you know how rude that is?" She just giggled and bit me, not enough to hurt, but enough to make me drop her.

She landed perfectly and started rubbing up against my leg affectionately. "Uh-huh. Nice try foxy, but that's not going to make up for it." She pouted and started walking away from me. "No you don't." I picked her up and put her in my bag, her small head poking out of the black clothe. "You're staying with me Zori."

Just then my X-Trans buzzed and Dad had left me a voicemail. " Hey! Just thought I'd wish you good luck on your first day! I know you're ready for this and I'd like to apologize that I couldn't be there to see you off. Judging by your uncanny sense of time, I figured you'd be leaving pretty soon, so I won't keep you. Bye!"

"Huh, perfect timing!" I put my hand down and started walking toward the exit. As I got over there, I saw the girl I knocked over earlier. I walked up over to her and her group to apologize when one of them pointed at me.

"Is that the guy? Black shorts, hair, and grey shirt?" said the guy she was talking to. He had purple hair and a yellow sun visor. He had a matching yellow hoodie and black shorts. She turned around and nodded

"Yeah, that's him." She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out to me, making sure I heard them. "HEY YOU, COME OVER HERE!" I walked up to the group, walking a little bit further from the exit. "What's your name?"

"Mike Shinobi. Sorry about earlier, Zori here loves to make problems." I turned my back so they could see her more clearly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Names April. Either way I think we have business to deal with." She took out a pokeball. "How about a friendly battle? Nothin' serious."

I grinned a little bit too much and probably looked insane. "Sure, just a little fun."