A/N: Hey guys! So I had this idea after reading the wonderful "Love Remains the Same" by Cantarella of Odile (if you haven't read it and are a fan of Pokemon, GO CHECK IT OUT NOW! IT'S SO INCREDIBLY AMAZING, THAT IS AN ORDER, SOLDIER). I've had a Pokemon story in mind for awhile now (with my own character, of course) but haven't found the inspiration to tell it...until I saw Odile use the '100 themes' challenge from deviantart. Using the first variation myself, I've now got a story pretty well fleshed out in my mind. But here's the thing - I will be telling it in a series of scenes and monologues according to whichever numbered 'theme' I'm given. So it's very piecemeal, very chronologically out of order, that sort of thing. But those are, quite frankly, my favorites to write, because they really challenge the reader to put the pieces together, which means it keeps them engaged :D. So, here we go, number one, welcome to my own world of Pokemon - I warn you now it is DARK, it is REALITY-BASED (it's a world in which our world as we know it once existed, and 'Pokemon' is a far, distant era in the future) and it is... at times, confusing. But I hope you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it so far!
-Fallon
Variation #1: "Fall Apart"
1. Introduction
"You can call me Skinny."
Ash blinked at the name. Skinny?
She wasn't exactly skinny (curvy was more like it), and she wasn't exactly quirky-looking enough to merit the oddity of the name - in fact, if Ash were being honest with himself, he'd have to say she was downright beautiful, hardly weird enough for him to consider the name fitting.
"Uhh...and what's your last name?" He ventured.
"Hobbes."
"Skinny Hobbes?" Misty chortled beside him. "You mean, your initials are SH?"
"I don't care what your initials are!" Brock threw himself toward the leggy brunette, grasping her hand in his own, looking up at her with a face desperate enough to kill. "I'll make your initials my own, if you'll have me-"
"Brock, I think it's time for you to SHHHH," Misty dragged him away by the ear as he hollered in protest, which only made the trainer with the infectious smile laugh. Arceus, she was breathtaking.
"What's your name?" She asked, offering her hand. He gaped at it, stammering to remember his name.
"A-Ash...my name's Ash," He took his hand in hers, giving it a firm shake, relishing its warmth and her baby-soft skin. These were not the hands of a trainer...
"Nice to meet you Ash," She beamed at him, which made his breath catch in his throat, and his thoughts escape his mind.
"Pi, pika pi!" Pikachu protested at his feet. Skinny laughed, light and airy.
"Nice to meet you, too, Pikachu!" She squatted to offer Pikachu her hand just as she had Ash, and the cute-as-a-button Pokemon took it with a smile on his face and a spark in his cheeks.
"Chaaaa!"
Clearly, she had his approval, this girl who had appeared along the path as quickly as he'd rammed her off the edge, what with all his haste to reach the mountain's base by dusk. He was lucky Sceptile had launched such an instantaneous rescue (for her life and Ash's dignity) - Ash's reaction time hadn't been quick enough for him to give the order himself.
She glanced up at him with eyes too blue to be real, so light they resembled ice.
It was the beginning of the end.
