It was warm that morning, despite it being the middle of winter. No snow was on the ground of Phenac City, and the water that ran through the town wasn't frozen. One might be wondering how this is possible. It is the middle of the winter, but Phenac City was located in the Orre region, which was mostly a desert.
Life in Orre was bland. Due to most of the region being a large desert, wild Pokemon were hard to come by. Orre didn't have a Pokemon League like most other regions, and was looked over because of it's placement, as Johto and Kanto were located to the far east. The region was mostly populated by old folks, small families, and criminals. Roxie was included in the small family portion of the population.
Roxanne Leeblossom, a seventeen-year-old girl who went by the nickname "Roxie", lived in Phenac City with her mother, Kotomi, and her grandparents, Muriel and Eustace. Roxie had an older brother named Austin, but he lived with his wife in Agate Village. Roxie lived a normal life. In Orre, Pokemon Trainer School lasted until you were sixteen, instead of age ten since Orre lacked the Pokemon League. After Trainer School, you would have nothing to do but battle other trainers. Roxie took a step up and started working under Justy at the Phenac Pre-Gym. There she would take care of Pokemon, battle trainers who wanted to take on the Pre-Gym, and would work on new gear.
Roxie owned a single Jigglypuff, who was well behaved. She was a peaceful Jigglypuff, and she was nice to everyone she met. She helped Roxie out at her job and battled with her. Her Jigglypuff also was the one of three Pokemon that lived in Roxie's household. Her grandfather owned a large Arcanine that served more as a lap dog than a battling monster, and her grandmother owned a loyal Glaceon. Her grandparents were happily married and never fought. Kotomi, Roxie's mother, was also very peaceful, and had a small shop where she sold homemade clothing items.
So Roxie was pretty normal. Normal job. Normal Pokemon. Normal family. Normal life. Until that morning. Roxie awoke to the sound of running water, which flowed throughout the entire town. Roxie slept on a bunk-bed, but the bottom bunk was converted into a couch. She stretched and crawled down the ladder on her bed. Jigglypuff was fast asleep on the couch, cuddled up with Roxie's plush toys. Roxie smirked and then turned on a small TV on her desk. The volume was low to avoid waking up Jigglypuff and the rest of her family. Next to the TV was Roxie's laptop, which was opened to a social networking site. A message was flashing on the screen, so Roxie sat down to read it.
"Hey Roxie!" the message read. It was from Roxie's friend in the Sinnoh region, Valerie. She had met her when she visited Sinnoh to attend her father's funeral. Valerie lived next to Roxie's grandparents on her father's side of the family, and the girls just hit it off. They met when they were only seven years old, but stayed connected and have been friends ever since. Roxie replied to her friend, asking how she was. She guessed that Valerie wouldn't reply, since it was six in the morning. The news was flashing on the TV, so the blond began started to listen.
"And today marks ten years since Cipher was first defeated!" the news reporter said. "We will be interviewing Rui Takanaka, one half of the duo that stopped Cipher, later today. We will also be catching up with Michael Woodard, the hero of the second wave of Cipher attacks that occurred five years ago. We would be interviewing Wes, but his whereabouts have been unknown since he defeated Cipher."
Roxie got bored of the news. It was nothing she hadn't heard before. Cipher and Snagem were always the talk of the region, even though both teams were disbanded. Cipher still had a strong following, but it was kept underground. Roxie was away at her father's funeral when Cipher first attacked, which didn't affect her. But she was home during the second attack. During that attack, the entire city of Phenac were kidnapped and stuck in the basement of the Pre-Gym. Roxie was one of those people. Michael, luckily, saved them, and then Roxie returned to her normal life.
She got into the shower and readied herself for the day. When she got back to her room, Jigglypuff was awake and loafing around. Roxie patted her on the head, then got dressed. Since the weather was so hot, Roxie decided to wear a pink t-shirt and a pair of short shorts her mother wouldn't approve of, since it ended inches after it started. She checked her computer, showing no new messages. She turned her TV off and picked Jigglypuff up in her arms. Then she walked out into the living room.
The living room was a decently sized room, with a TV, coffee table, and two couches adjacent to each other. The living room was connected to an open kitchen with a small dinning table. Roxie's room was accessible through a door in the kitchen. Two other doors were found in the living room. One was the room of her grandparents, while the other door lead to her mother's room. A third door near the front door lead to a bathroom. It was a small house, but the Leeblossom's found it perfect.
Roxie set Jigglypuff on the kitchen counter, then she plugged the coffee maker into the outlet. As she did this, a door opened and Arcanine walked into the living room. Eustace, her grandfather, followed the fire-type Pokemon.
"G'morning, Roxie." Eustace said walking into the kitchen. Roxie smiled.
"Morning, Grandpa." she said. "I was just getting ready to make a cup of coffee to wake me up. Want one?"
"If you don't mind." Eustace patted Roxie on the back, then he sat down with Arcanine. He turned the TV and the same new channel Roxie was watching was on. "Ten years already?" he said to himself. Arcanine sat on the floor in an over sized dog bed, since he was such a big Pokemon.
"Yeah, the news is doing a whole news special on it." Roxie said from the kitchen. "They interviewing the Rui girl today."
"Who?"
"Austin's neighbor, I think." Roxie started to pour coffee into four mugs. "She has red hair, lives in Agate, was one of the heroes of the first attack. She was at Austin and Frankie's wedding." Roxie continued. She glanced over to a shelf in the living room that had many pictures. One was a boy with black hair in a suit, a ginger haired girl in a wedding dress, Roxie, and Kotomi. The boy was Roxie's brother, Austin, and the girl was his wife, Frankie. Roxie looked back at the coffee mugs and picked two up. She started walking to the living room, and Jigglypuff jumped off the counter to follow her.
She handed Eustace a mug, then she sat down next to him. Jigglypuff jumped up into Roxie's lap and cuddled up with her. Roxie smiled and patted Jigglypuff's head. Eustace and Roxie continued to drink their coffee and watch the news for awhile. After they finished their coffee, they simply placed the mugs on the coffee table to avoid getting up. About ten minutes later, Kotomi walked into the living room.
"Good morning, you two!" she said.
"Hey, Mom," Roxie said. "There's coffee on the counter for you. There's one for grandma too." Kotomi smiled.
"Thank you, honey." Kotomi said walking into the kitchen. "I'm sure I heard water running in your grandmother's room, so she should be out shortly."
Roxie nodded and then stood up, picking Jigglypuff up as she did. She grabbed her coffee mug and her grandfather's, then she set them in the sink to wash later. She walked into her room and saw that there was still no reply from Valerie. She set Jigglypuff on the couch and sighed.
"She takes forever to reply." she muttered. Jigglypuff snuggled up with Roxie, and hugged her, causing Roxie to form a small smile. "Thanks, Jiggs. You're always trying to make me feel better." Jigglypuff smiled and tried to hug Roxie tighter. Roxie stared out the window into the vast desert. Nothing but dead plants for miles. She sighed again. She was tired of Orre. Nothing exciting happened here. Roxie wanted to go see the world, like her brother did before settling down. She wanted to meet new people, encounter new Pokemon, and explore the world. Nothing exciting happened here.
"I hate this place."
As Roxie finished her words, the ground started to shake. She screamed and held onto her fairy-type Pokemon as items on her shelves fell and shattered as they hit the ground. The quake lasted for about a minute, then stopped abruptly. Kotomi rushed into Roxie's room as soon as it stopped, and grabbed onto her to hold her close.
"Roxie, are you ok?" she asked. "Are you hurt? Did anything break? How's Jigglypuff?" Roxie squirmed as she tried to break free of her mother's grip.
"I'm ok, Mom..." she said. "I'm fine." Kotomi released her grip and looked out the window. Roxie did the same. Off in the distance, they saw a group of people wearing suits. Metal suits. Roxie realized who the people were right away. Their suits were the same as the people who forced the entire town of Phenac into the basement of the Pre-Gym.
Cipher.
Roxie grabbed her mother's hand and pulled her into the living room, Jigglypuff bouncing in behind them. Roxie's grandmother, Muriel, was now in the kitchen and washing the coffee mugs, Glaceon at her feet.
"Are you two alright?" she asked. Roxie and Kotomi nodded.
"Roxie, honey, why did you pull me out here?" Kotomi asked. Roxie pointed at the TV.
"Those men! They're Cipher!"
"Cipher's disbanded!" Eustace yelled.
"I know what I saw, Grandpa!" Roxie yelled. She ran over and shut the blinds to every window. "Quick, what's Mayor Trest's number?"
"It should be in the phone book, sweetie." Kotomi said, slightly worried. Eustace stood up and walked over to the door, his Arcanine following.
"You call the Mayor. I'll be checking around outside." Eustace said, then he walked outside.
Roxie called the Mayor and told him of what she saw. He told her to meet him outside his house, so she set off with Jigglypuff. As she neared the Mayor's house, she saw her grandfather speaking with the Mayor. Arcanine was loafing around next to them. A crowd was gathering outside and they started to direct their attention to the Mayor.
"Now, Eustace, I'm sure your granddaughter is just seeing things." Mayor Trest said. "Cipher has been locked up for ages."
"I know what I saw!" Roxie yelled while running up to him. "They were wearing those metallic suits!"
"Miss Leeblossom, that is impossible. All Cipher members have ether been locked up or fled the region."
"That doesn't mean they can't come back!" Roxie crossed her arms. A metallic clank was heard from behind Trest. The Mayor turned around to see an array of six young males in multicolored armor.
"Hello, Mayor Trest." the green colored suit spoke. "May we have a word with you?"
The Mayor was shocked, while Roxie had stuck her nose in the air with a smirk.
"Told you so." she teased. A gulp was heard from the Mayor.
"Hello, Hexagon Brothers." he forced. "Weren't you sentenced for 50 years?"
"We were." the green suit spoke. "There was a bail paid and they released us. Glad to know you still remember old Greesix and his brothers."
"Ok, Mayor, get in the office." the brown suit said, then revealed that he was holding a PokeBall. The Mayor gulped and followed orders. The brown armored peon and the other brothers disappeared into the office. Eustace grabbed onto Roxie's arm and dragged her home, Arcanine and Jigglypuff following.
"Roxanne Jade Leeblossom, you do not gloat when we have criminals around!" Eustace barked at his granddaughter. She crossed her arms.
"I said I told you so. Big deal."
"It is a big deal, Roxie!" Kotomi said. "Those people are not safe."
"Does it matter now?" Roxie asked. "They're going to kidnap us again and leave us to die." The room became silent, expect for Arcanine's heavy breathing.
"I have an idea." Muriel pipped up. "Roxie, you need to get out."
"Mother, I'm not kicking out my daughter for such nonsense!" Kotomi cried.
"No, deary. I mean she should run off before they do take us hostage." Muriel smiled. "You're still young and can probably run a good distance. You should head to Agate Village and get Austin."
"That's not a bad idea..." Eustace muttered. "Then she could use Austin for help. I keep forgetting that he beat the Indigo Plateau a couple years back. I'm gettin' too old."
Roxie sprang up from her seat with no objection. Finally, something exciting. She ran into her room and quickly packed a bag, completely ignoring that her friend had messaged her back. She ran back into the living room and scooped Jigglypuff into her arms. Muriel handed her a small lunchbox.
"I packed you a lunch, and there's enough money to buy more." she said. Kotomi ran up and hugged Roxie.
"Don't get lost, call me when it gets to nighttime, and please stay clear of Pyrite Town." Kotomi told her. Roxie nodded and turned for the door.
"Be careful now, dear." Eustace said. Roxie opened the door and stepped outside.
It was like a ghost town in Phenac City. Everyone was hiding inside due to the Cipher threat that arose minutes ago. Roxie dashed down the center of the town, making way for the exit. She reached the town's fountain when two of the Hexagon Brothers, Yellosix and Purpsix, departed from the Mayor's home. Next to them were two large Pokemon, Manectric and Swalot. They were starting to evacuate everyone, as they did five years ago. Yellosix looked up and noticed a blond hair girl sprinting towards the exit.
"Manectric!" he called. "Don't let her get away!" The Electric-type Pokemon pounced from its spot and started chasing Roxie. Roxie turned around and threw Jigglypuff at the Pokemon.
"Jigglypuff, use Pound!" she yelled, and Jigglypuff did as she commanded. She smacked into the Manectric, and then pounced back to Roxie. The two took off again, the Manectric still after them.
They were reaching the exit. The only way out into the vast desert. As they reached it, the Manectric hopped over them, blocking their way. Roxie took and step back. Just what she wanted. To be forced back into this boring town.
"Jigglypuff, use Rollout!" Roxie commanded while tossing her Pokemon. Jigglypuff hovered in the air for a moment before ramming into the Manectric several times.
Of course! The move Rollout was a Ground-type move, which meant it was super effective against the Electric-type. The Manectric was startled and hurt. Roxie ran by it, grabbing Jigglypuff and leaving the city. She continued to sprint until she needed to breathe. Phenac City was now barely visible, and the Manectric was no longer after the two. It was about time Roxie had some excitement in her life. If only it didn't involve Cipher of all people. She sighed, and set Jigglypuff on the ground. The two set off in the direction where she thought Agate Village was. This was only the beginning of her long journey.