Just a few notes first. This story is going to take place in the Hoenn region. The storyline and main characters are my own. There will be characters used from the game-verse, e.g. gym leaders, Professor Birch, et cetera.
That is all.
Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Flames danced in the sky above Oldale Town and the crowd below watched in amazement. Each part of the fire lasted only seconds before going out and being replaced by fresher, more vibrant, flames. A second burst of flame met with the first, causing the fire in the sky to become even larger. Within seconds there was a third volley of flames from yet another source. Now the flame where each met was streaked through with colours ranging from vibrant blues and whites to the regular oranges and reds of fire.

People from both Littleroot and Oldale had gathered to watch the troupe of performers that had entered the area. The troupe returned every year, and each time they returned the show just seemed to get even better. Children were crowded to the front as close as they were allowed to go, and even the adults were trying to get close to the front.

"Enough. Torkoal, Fire Spin," a male voice called, too quiet for the gathered crowd to hear.

The fire in the sky stopped abruptly, the three pokémon that had been responsible for it moved to stand closer together. The small crowd was watching with wide eyes, waiting for what was going to happen next. Only one person in the crowd remained unsurprised when all three were engulfed by flames that circled into the sky like a mini-tornado.

As the flames died down once more, the silhouette that could be seen through the flames was entirely different. The three that had been there before were gone, but something else was there. As the smoke and fire cleared, an elegant Ninetails came into view. She'd been carefully cleaned before the show began so her golden-white pelt seemed to shine in the bright sunlight.

"Fire Blast." There was yet another quiet command, unheard by the crowd.

The Ninetails stood up slowly, her red eyes piercing the awed crowd below. Without warning, the air around the Ninetails seemed to ignite, becoming a blazing inferno that appeared to explode out from it. The crowd remained untouched, and within seconds the blaze was gone as was the Ninetails.

While the gathered crowd rose to their feet and cheered, one person broke away from the group. It was a young girl, and she was heading around behind the stage. She had plenty of work to do now, and if she didn't get to it she would definitely get in trouble.

"Jade, hurry up already," a young woman snapped, turning to face the approaching girl. "I'd like to get to Petalburg in decent time." The woman turned around, her perfectly curled blonde hair bouncing lightly as she walked away with her Kirlia at her side.

The girl, Jade, watched the older woman walk away, glaring daggers at her back. Of the entire group, Bree was her least favourite. Just because Jade was the only one younger than Bree she was allowed to tell her what to do. It was really starting to wear on Jade's nerves. At least when the others told her what to do they were usually nice about it.

Jade could hear her mother, Lynnette, on stage now. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen," she was saying, "We hope you enjoyed the show. We must be on our way now, but if anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to join us backstage. Also, our next show will be in Petalburg City in two days for those that might care to catch a full performance."

Before she could get caught not working, Jade hurried over to where her mother left her Poké Balls and picked out the one that she needed. By the time her mother was exiting the stage Jade was already hurrying over to the wagon. She opened it, averting her gaze until the light died down. Standing beside her now was an odd creature. The front half of it was yellow with brown spots and the rest of it was brown with yellow spots, not to mention the two heads. He nudged her lightly with his nose, his intelligent gaze on her face.

"You know what to do," Jade told the Girafarig, a smile crossing her face for a moment.

He did know, and within minutes Jade was doing up the last buckle on his harness. This was the routine after every show; it was her job to attach her mother's Girafarig to the lead wagon while everyone else started taking apart the small platform. It had been this way for five years, though the troupe had been together many years longer than that, she just hadn't been old enough to really help back then.

Jade's thoughts drifted while she attached the harnessed Girafarig to the wagon. She had travelled with the troupe since she was a small child, her mother being the leader she basically had to. When she was older, she'd probably end up having her own little show, though she had no idea what that would be. The idea of anything different . . . well, she just couldn't imagine not being with the troupe. She even remembered when Bree had joined the group, back then she'd been nice and had gotten along with Jade. Now, at the age of 20, Bree was completely full of herself and really wasn't all that nice anymore.

Jade turned her thoughts away from the past, focussing once more on the present. With the Girafarig strapped up to the wagon, she headed over to help take everything apart. Bree was mostly useless when it came to taking everything down, only her Flygon proved to be useful as he removed the curtain from the back. Aidan was distracted, talking to a couple of the children that had come back to see his fire pokémon. Nearby Aidan's wife was trying to keep their two-year old daughter from getting in trouble. The only other person helping was Jade's own mother, who had her psychic pokémon pulling the stage apart.

Most of the crowd was already gone, save for a few that were watching them take everything down. There hadn't been many people to begin with, but considering the size of Oldale and Littleroot it was a bigger turnout than they'd expected. Of course, it was still better that they'd sent the other half of the troupe ahead. With the rest the show was even longer and it wasn't worth it to perform in such small venues. There was still the chance that these people could travel to Petalburg if they wanted to see the full show anyway, so it made up for it.

Jade's hand slid into her coat pocket, easily finding what she was looking for. She pulled the Poké Ball out and opened it. The only pokémon that was actually hers appeared beside her in a flash of light. Her Skitty, Crescent, tilted her head up, clearly pleased at being out of her Poké Ball.

Music that Jade recognized from many performances alerted her to the presence of Brea's Flygon, his flapping wings were the source of the music. He soared overhead just as Jade and Crescent looked up, dropping the curtain on them. Crescent cried out in surprise as the curtain covered them and struggled to get out from under it.

"Bree," Jade muttered angrily, pulling the thin material over her head until the last of it fell to the ground beside her and she could see the sky once more. Crescent was still under the material, crying out pitifully as she moved around in circles trying to find a way out. Jade reached over and pulled the material off of her Skitty, forcing thoughts of revenge out of her mind. The little cat-like creature tumbled out from under the curtain, unable to get her short legs under her for a moment.

It was easy to spot Bree with the way her green dress was shimmering in the sunlight she stood out. She looked away as soon as Jade looked over, trying to hide her smirk. It was hard to ignore that look, and it soured Jade's mood considerably, but there was nothing she could do to get back at Bree without getting in trouble. Unlike Bree, Jade actually got in trouble if she misbehaved because her mother, as the troupe's leader, couldn't have her daughter doing anything bad.

Still fuming, Jade started folding up the curtain while Crescent raced off after a leaf caught in the wind. The last of the spectators were finally leaving, allowing the group to finish up with everything.

Footsteps crunched over the ground behind her, approaching quickly. Jade finished the last fold and turned around to face her mother. Her age was beginning to catch up with her, lines slowly becoming noticeable on her face and the grey hair mixed in with the brown. Standing in front of her mother, Jade was several inches taller (of which she was grateful).

"I need you to run to the store in this town and fetch some drinks, I can finish up here." As she spoke to Jade, she also signalled to her Alakazam who had followed her over. The psychic pokémon used his Teleport to move the curtain which was most likely now in the wagon with everything else. "We're going to leave right now, but you'll be able to catch up I'm sure."

Jade nodded, but it didn't matter, her mother had already turned and was walking away with the Alakazam. It was always all business with her until they were away from the towns and cities. Everyone in the troupe was like that, seeming to each be an entirely different person as soon as they entered a town or city to perform. They liked to call it 'being in character', but in Jade's opinion it was just creepy.

She fished around in her pocket for a moment, checking that she had enough money to get everyone drinks. Once she was sure she had enough, she headed down the worn down road to the store. It was a short walk, the town being so small, and soon she had the drinks and was leaving the store.

The troupe was making good time; the sides of the wagon were just visible through the trees. By the time she found Crescent, they would already be well on their way to Petalburg. She didn't mind that much, as she knew the way to Petalburg anyway, and not being around Bree was a bonus.

Finding Crescent wasn't her favourite job, as the little Skitty could be almost anywhere by now. She remembered the last time her Skitty had run off, chasing after whatever had caught her attention that time. She'd eventually found her in someone's house. The silly little thing had climbed in through the window and given the people that lived there a good scare. Even if she didn't find her, she'd show up eventually after realizing that everyone was gone.

Jade's eyes scanned the area around her, hoping to find her quickly. She kept watching for some sign that Crescent was near as she walked down the road. Finally she spotted the little pokémon near where Route 101 started, which was not the way they needed to go.

She had almost reached Crescent when she bumped into someone. Whoever it was had been running and not watching where they were going. Both of them tumbled to the ground, the other person cursing as they hit the ground.

"Sorry!" the person exclaimed, scrambling to get up. They reached a hand down, offering to help her up.

It's the least they can do after knocking me down so rudely, she decided as she took the offered hand. With the person's help, she got to her feet and stepped back. Her gaze flicked to the person's face, curious as to who had bumped into her.

It was a boy (big surprise, who else would be so careless as to run into people, she thought) and he looked about the same age as herself. He was several inches taller than herself she noticed, slightly annoyed about that. His cheeks were bright red with embarrassment and he had his green eyes fixed on the ground at their feet. His hair, a light brown, was cut short and shot through with bits of lighter brown.

"I told you to wait for me," a new voice yelled. There was a girl racing through the grass that covered Route 101, the look on her face was one of rage. Jade was glad that the girl was clearly addressing the boy and not her; she looked like she was ready to kill someone. "Did you run into her?" the girl added when she was closer, still sounding furious.

Jade looked down at herself, noticing the dust that was now on her black pants. She began wiping it off, listening to the two as she did.

"It was an accident," the boy replied defensively, "And it's not my fault you're so slow."

"It wouldn't have happened if you'd just waited for me like I told you to," the girl snapped back, stopping beside them.

"Whatever," the boy muttered, clearly seeing that he wouldn't win the argument.

When she was sure that she had gotten rid of as much dust as she could, Jade straightened up. Her gaze moved immediately to the girl, her original annoyance at being knocked over was replaced by curiosity about the two that stood before her.

The girl was shorter than the boy, but both had a similar build as if they were built for running. Their faces had a similar shape, too, each with soft features and green eyes. The most noticeable difference was the girl's hair, which was bleach blonde. After looking at them, Jade assumed they had to be brother and sister. Her suspicions were confirmed a moment later when the girl introduced herself.

"I'm Elizabeth Michaels, by the way, and this is my brother, Blake Michaels." The girl forced a smile to her face.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jade Marr," Jade replied, finding the whole situation to be awkward after what had just happened. The boy was still bright red and refused to look at either of them.

"Um, you wouldn't happen to know if that troupe of performers is still around, would you?" Elizabeth added hopefully, clearly feeling just as awkward as Jade.

"Actually, I'm the only one still here, the rest already left." Jade felt bad seeing the disappointment in Elizabeth's eyes, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Elizabeth seemed to realize something, judging by the look on her face. "Wait, you're part of that group?" she asked, studying Jade closely.

"Well, I'm not a performer if that's what you mean. My mom is the troupe leader, I just help set up and take things down." Jade fidgeted and looked away, feeling uncomfortable at Elizabeth's scrutiny.

"Oh," was all Elizabeth said in reply, finally looking away. She turned to her brother, which gave Jade a moment to look around to see if Crescent was still nearby.

When she spotted the small pink and tan pokémon, she whistled loudly. Crescent's head shot up, leaving whatever she had been about to try eating. She turned and raced towards Jade, moving as fast as her little legs could carry her.

Realizing she had a chance to make her escape, Jade turned back to the two siblings. Crescent stood beside her, her little tail puffed out dangerously as she regarded the two strangers.

"I should probably get going now," Jade explained apologetically and added, "The performance here wasn't the full show. If you two want we're performing the full show in Petalburg in two days."

"Alright, thanks," Elizabeth replied absentmindedly, her gaze on Crescent who was now growling. It was a funny sight, such a small and cute creature trying to look dangerous.

Jade turned away, Crescent following behind. The two siblings turned to each other and started talking, but Jade was already too far away to hear them.

Oh look, a pair of trainers has appeared!

Thank you very much for reading Chapter 1 of my story! Reviews are always greatly appreciated. Constructive criticism is welcome as I'd love to be able to improve my writing.

As a side note, I'm not actually sure when I started this story, but I know it was over a year ago. Besides some editing to fix sections of this chapter and the second, it is basically the same as it was before. This chapter and the second were also both posted here previously, but I removed them. If, on the off chance you kind of remember this, that is why.
Looking back, I'm not actually sure why I chose a Skitty for Jade...

Or, if you choose not to continue reading, I'd love to know why!