I thank you for being willing to at least give my silly little story a try. It's something I have tried writing at least three times now, but this is the first time I've tried posting it anywhere other than on my own personal webspace. It's rated PG-13 partially as a precaution, because I'm not one to go into detail about bloody scenes, but Pokémon DO get hurt fighting each other. Sometimes badly. And sometimes the Pokémon can hurt people too. So, while I won't go out of my way to depict a gory battle, by the same token I won't hide reality behind a shiny-happy varnish or somesuch.
In any case, this is a story about self-discovery, growing up, coming to understand the world and make ones own way in it, and Pokémon, of course. A young girl sets out on the League challenge to find her own path in life, because the one her parents have chosen just doesn't work. Her name is Lizzie, and she sets out to find out about herself, and her Pokémon. Much like any other young trainer. I apologize for the rather poor summary, but I am really bad at doing summaries. Hopefully the story will speak for itself. Anyhow, that leaves me one more thing to do.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, I wouldn't be wasting my time with writing fanfictions. The franchise belongs to Nintendo, WB, GameFreak inc., Creatures inc. and their creator, Tajiri Satoshi. And probably quite a few other people I don't know about. I do however, own the original characters in this story, Lizzie and Cameron in particular, and their Pokémon's personalities. Take them without asking and I'll…do something. Something that's not nice. Rar.
That out of the way, let us begin the story.
Chapter 1: Everyone has to Start Somewhere
Snow fell gently, blanketing the sleeping city in a soft white coat. Even the weather was getting into the festive spirit, it seemed. With Christmas only a week away, and the snow just a gentle fall, it wasn't likely to bury the houses, just make everything white. It was a magical time, Christmas. Children were asleep, dreaming of that fast approaching day, of the presents and candy and laughter. Of time spent with family and friends exchanging what they had gotten for each other.
Well, most of them were, anyhow.
One light was on, and a young girl stared out at the snow, lost in thoughts decidedly un-merry. She was just a month over twelve, and her thoughts on Christmas were more that she wished it all would go away. Odd, that. She was somewhat short for her age, barely making four feet. She had the slim, athletic build of an active individual. Her hair was a dark blue-black, and fell nearly halfway down her back, her eyes a piercing emerald green. Her name was Elizabeth Ellen Gimble. But she usually preferred to be called Lizzie.
"…Bah humbug." She turned away from the window and grabbed up a brush, yanking it almost savagely through her hair. It was quickly pulled back into a ponytail, out of the way. "I hate Christmas."
She paused, considering her own words. Christmas was the magical time of the year, when wishes and dreams came true, and there was joy and friendship…Lizzie shook her head. The first assessment was better. "Bah humbug…I think." Mostly. If it really were all that magical, why wasn't her wish granted? Why couldn't she have her dreams come true? She flipped the light switch off, glaring out the window at the snow. Her parents never understood. They'd told her for over two years now that she could go soon. Next week, next month, after the holidays…always later, never now.
She stalked over to the window and yanked it open. The snow was still falling. She stared at the sky for several minutes, and sighed. No stars. "Star light, star bright…phooey!" She pulled back into her room, then paused. And leaned out again.
That tree was awfully close…maybe…
Liz grinned and shut the window. "Later…how about tomorrow?"
Lizzie paused outside the door, listening. "Elizabeth…if you don't get down here we're going to have breakfast without you..." Mom. There was a male voice that she couldn't make out, and a happy squeal. That meant her dad and her little sister were around too. She glanced down the road, almost tempted to not let them know…but then they'd have cops out hunting for her, or something worse.
She didn't want them thinking she'd gotten kidnapped or something. So, here she was. She shifted her grip on her squirming armful and freed one hand to knock on the door. Here goes…
She heard her mother muttering something else, and then the door swung open. She and her father stared at each other for a long moment. "I…" Lizzie swallowed. Everything she'd planned to say went fluttering away with the breeze.
"Who is it, dear?" Her mother approached, and her father shook off his bemusement.
"…Lizzie." He started to frown at her, obviously preparing to launch into one of those 'fatherly lectures.'
"How..?" Her mother peered around him as Bethany squeezed between the two of them, took one look at her sister, and squealed, reaching for the bundle of brown fur that Lizzie was clutching like a lifeline.
This broke the deadlock, and her mother and father spent a few moments shooing the six-year old back into the house. Lizzie skittered backwards, halting on the bottom step of the porch while they were occupied with her sister, and as soon as they turned their attention back to her, she blurted out, "I don't care what you say, but I'm not gonna wait any longer! It's been over two years…"
"Elizabeth Ellen Gimble!" Her mother cut her short, and she winced. "What are you doing, sneaking out of the house at got knows what hour of the night..!"
"Seven-thirty…"
"What?"
"This morning. Seven-thirty. Not last night." Lizzie stared down at her boots, wishing she'd not just said that. Stupid. She should have just left instead of trying to talk to them. Maybe sent them a note…
"That doesn't matter…what is that?!" Her mother had apparently only just taken stock of the brown bundle of Lizzie's.
It glared right back at her. "Eevee." Then it began to struggle, trying to get down.
"S'a Pokémon…" Lizzie backed up a pace, not meeting her parent's gaze.
"You know the rules, young lady…" This was from her father, as he folded his arms across his chest. Lizzie looked up, eyes blazing.
"Yeah, but what if I don't wanna be a lady?! What if I wanna go and run around wild and get dirty?!" She didn't give him a chance to continue. She backed away a few more steps, turning sideways as if to protect the Pokémon from them. For the first time, they noticed she had a backpack on. "I'm tired of waiting for it to be later! I'm going now! G'bye!" And she ran.
"Lizzie..!" Lizzie heard her mother's cry, but she didn't stop running. She pulled up outside of town though, to catch her breath.
"Eevee." Lizzie blinked, remembering the Pokémon abruptly. It, well, she was an Eevee, though a bit small for the average, being around nine inches total. Not unlike myself, she thought wryly. The eyes were nearly the same shade of dark chocolate brown as her fur, save for the thick ruff of pure white around her neck. Those brown eyes were staring up at her, an expression of irritated patience quite visible.
Lizzie sighed. So much for plans…not even her starting Pokémon liked her. Maybe I should have listened to Bonnor…
Lizzie glanced up and down the street, almost furtively, then took a deep breath and darted over to the front porch of a house. This house was much the same as her own in outward appearance, two-storied, brick and with a lived in feel. However, there was only one human resident at this house, and the yard was much larger. And she felt like she was more welcome here than at home.
This was the residence of a good friend of hers, Bonnor Durgan. He'd been a Pokémon Trainer, but he'd settled in town to become a Pokémon breeder. He'd also promised her a Pokémon to start with on her tenth birthday, whenever she started on her journey. He was the only one around her that encouraged her in her dreams. He was also the cause of it, though he didn't know that.
He had moved into the town six years ago, right about a month after her sister had been born. He came riding in on his Arcanine, Kindle, right past their house. His house was just a block and a half away from their own, and Lizzie had quickly become good friends with him. Her parents had been horrified. They had a few too many ideas about 'proper behavior for young ladies' and taking care of a bunch of animals was not one of them. Certainly it wasn't 'proper' to go cavorting about the countryside battling with a small pack of them.
Lizzie had been adamant though, and thus came the waiting game. She was pretty sure her parents believed – hoped, more accurately – that this was merely some phase she was going through. But it wasn't, and that was why she was here, standing on Bonnor's porch.
She shook her head and knocked on the door. Why bother worrying about it now? She was fixing the problem.
"Just a moment..!" Lizzie heard a faint scuffle, a sharp yip from something, then a yelp from Bonnor…then silence. She blinked. What..?
Bonnor pulled the door open and blinked at her. "G'morning…get in quick, please." He looked almost frazzled and Lizzie complied, blinking.
"…Bad time..?" She stared at her friend. He was usually a good deal neater; his auburn hair neatly brushed and pulled into a low ponytail, not hanging loose on his shoulders. His green-gray eyes betrayed his tiredness and faint irritation. He was probably in his mid-thirties, and had the strong, weathered build of one who worked outdoors a great deal, and worked hard. He shut the door, then set down a brown furball with exaggerated care. The sort of exaggerated care that someone uses when they wish they could throw whatever it was at something.
"Not exactly…what brings you here so early?" Bonnor turned back to Lizzie, to find himself talking to air. Lizzie had dropped down to get a better look at the Pokémon he'd been carrying. An Eevee.
"It's so cute!" She reached out to pet the Pokémon, but paused at the Pokémon turned a baleful gaze upon her. "Not friendly, though, I take it?"
Bonnor rolled his eyes. "She's rather put out because I just caught her last night. Trying to steal supper. My supper, that is." The Pokémon snorted, glancing up at Bonnor. "I don't know how she got in, though." He sighed. "But that's neither here nor there. What's up?"
"Wanted to get a Pokémon, like you promised on my birthday." Lizzie answered absently, leaving her hand where it was, an inch or two away from the Eevee. The Pokémon eyed it, then her, then back to the hand. Lizzie giggled. It was almost as if the Eevee was trying to fathom the girl's continued interest after she had clearly made it plain she wanted nothing to do with humans. "Hello there..."
"Ve." The Eevee sniffed, nose poking into the air haughtily. Bonnor shook his head as Lizzie giggled. Lizzie leaned closer, going to scratch the Pokémon under her chin.
"Hey…she bites…" Bonnor trailed of as the Eevee growled at the girl and moved away, and Liz ignored the comment to sidle close to the Pokémon again, trying the same thing, and getting the same result. "Well…anyhow. A Pokémon, you say? I've got a few that are good starters around. Kindle's pups, firstly, then there's a Bulbasaur and a couple of Totodiles…" He turned towards a computer on an oaken desk in the corner.
The entire house was furnished with warm polished wood, even down to wooden flooring. It gave the place a warm, cozy feel. There was a dark brown couch that wasn't wooden, but it's color blended well. Lizzie glanced up as he spoke of that, and frowned, glancing down at the Eevee in front of her while Bonnor muttered and pulled up several screens on the monitor. She considered a moment, then scooped up the Eevee and dropped into the couch, as the Pokémon stiffened in surprise. She dared..!
"What 'bout this one, Bonnor?" She set the Pokémon down on the couch before the Eevee had fully recovered from her surprise. The Pokémon immediately plopped down at the furthest edge of it, glaring at the human-child that had dared pick her up.
"What…that Eevee? Nah…she's too wild. She wouldn't listen to a beginning trainer…no offense intended…" He didn't turn from the monitor, scribbling down a few notes before standing. "I've got plenty of other…"
"Why not? You said she bites, but she hasn't bitten me. I think you're just paranoid." Lizzie interrupted him, scooting closer to the Eevee, who bared her teeth at the girl. "She's just doesn't like pokéballs, like you said. So naturally she's suspicious." Lizzie reached out again and rubbed a hand down the Eevee's back. The Pokémon muttered, but made no other protest. "See?"
"Liz…"
"Why not?" Lizzie glared at him. He blinked. "You promised me a choice of any Pokémon I wanted."
"Liz…if you want an Eevee, I've got a couple eggs a day or two from hatching. They'd be a much better…"
"Why does it matter?" Lizzie folded her arms. The Eevee watched, amused. This was prime entertainment.
"It…just…I mean…" Bonnor backed up a pace, flustered momentarily. Then he paused. "Lizzie…it's got nothing to do with mattering. It's just…"
"Fine." Lizzie stood and started for the door. The Pokémon watched her for a moment, then hopped off the couch and followed. "I'll just go then…" She glanced down at the Eevee that was sitting by her ankles, quietly. "She wants to go with me." So there, her expression said.
"She just wants to run out the door when you open it…" Bonnor shook his head, as Lizzie's expression didn't change. "On your head be it, then." He walked over to the desk, opening a drawer and pulling out a pair of items and came over to her. "Here." He held one out to her. "I just got word back last month, and since Stone Town is getting bigger, they agreed that it needed someone to hand out licenses."
Lizzie took the object, blinking at it. "I…" It was a PokéDex, one of the newer varieties. The pokéball design on the front was the clasp to flip the screen up. The case was red, the flip-up screen matte black. In the lower right-hand corner was a small, stylized 'PM' in white. Lizzie flipped it open, blinking. The interior had a numerical keypad and six other buttons below the keypad. On the top was the infrared scanner for recording Pokémon, and there was a pair of ports on the bottom, one for linking to a computer, obviously, the other she wasn't sure of. "Thank you!" She examined it curiously. "What…" She glanced over at Bonnor, and then blinked. "…are you doing?" She quickly revised the question, closing the PokéDex and dropping it into a pocket. Bonnor straightened, having clipped a collar around the evolution Pokémon, and a leash to that.
"Just trying to help…" He sighed, holding out the end of the leash to her. "If you're dead set on this Eevee, and knowing you, you won't force her into a pokéball…which wouldn't help relations anyway…at least keep this around until you're used to each other." The Eevee made her views on the object quite clear, for the cord was already in her mouth and she was chewing industriously, growling. "Promise?" He added quickly, as she opened her mouth to protest.
"I guess…" Lizzie sighed and accepted the leash, and before she or the Eevee could blink, the Pokémon had been scooped up and deposited in her arms.
Bonnor opened the door for her. "Good luck, Liz."
Lizzie stopped again and sighed, staring at the Eevee. They'd been traveling for at least an hour now. Or, at least, trying to travel. "So, if I put you down, you sit there, and if I try carrying you, you complain. Wonderful." The Pokémon eyed her, then started to chew on the leash. Again. "Is that the problem?" Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Jeez, just until we hit Fuchsia, okay?"
The Eevee shot her a look and tugged on the leash, growling. "Mrrvrr..." She shook her head, tugging hard, scrambling backwards. Lizzie watched the Pokémon for a moment, then reached for the Eevee again. The Pokémon dodged out of reach, shaking her head again.
"Tag now? Would you just please…never mind." Lizzie sat down in the middle of the road, crossing her arms and staring back the way they came. "We can just sit here for all I care anymore. Nothing ever goes right." She dug into her pocket and dug out the PokéDex, sighing. "Some Christmas."
She flipped the device open, and stared at it. "Didn't even remember to ask him how this worked." She eyed the buttons on the bottom, then the numerical keypad. "Huh." She pushed a few numbers randomly.
"Invalid number. Please enter an appropriate identification number." Lizzie jumped at the electronic voice of the PokéDex. She stared at it, then pressed '1.' And waited. She eyed the screen as nothing happened. She pushed '1' again, muttering, then again as still nothing happened.
"Number 111. Rhyhorn, the 'Spikes' Pokémon. This Pokémon is easily angered and charges anything it perceives as a threat. It will often forget quickly why it is charging however, and doesn't seem to be bothered by running into even a block of steel. It evolves into Rhydon." A picture of the rocky gray Pokémon appeared on the screen, along with average height and weight, the information that had just been spoken, and a line that read 'Seen: 0; Own: 0.'
Lizzie blinked. "Um." She eyed the screen. "So how would ya see Pokémon number one, then..?"
"Number 001. Bulbasaur, the 'Seed' Pokémon. This Pokémon is part plant, and part animal, leading scientists to…" Lizzie blinked as another picture appeared, this one of a greenish frog-like creature with a bulb on it's back and the 'Dex rattled off it's information.
"…Oh." It had voice activation too, apparently. Useful. She considered the device, and pointed it at the Eevee that was still gnawing on the leash. "And let's see if we can't…" It beeped.
"Number 133. Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. Its genetic pattern is unstable, allowing it to evolve into a variety of different types. It was originally believed that Eevee could only evolve through use of the three evolution stones, but recently two new evolutions have been discovered that do not require a stone at all. Little is known about the cause of these two evolutions. Some question the possibility of other evolutionary tracks for this Pokémon. Can evolve into Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Espeon or Umbreon." The picture appeared as well, naturally, and at the bottom, the line read 'Seen: 1; Own: 0.'
Lizzie stared at that. "Why doesn't it list Eevee as 'owned?'"
"Pokémon has not been registered in a pokéball."
"What if the Pokémon doesn't have a pokéball? What if they don't like pokéballs? What if I don't want to put her in one?" Lizzie frowned at the machine.
The Eevee stopped chewing on the leash and eyed the girl and her machine. "Too many parameters. Please rephrase the question."
Lizzie glared at the little computer, and stated the first question again with barely suppressed irritation. Stupid literal computers. "What if the Pokémon in question doesn't like pokéballs?"
"Pokémon not kept in a pokéball can only be registered by a qualified individual."
Lizzie shook her head. Not helping. "Like who?"
"Qualified individuals include any person who can issue a trainer a PokéDex, Pokémon League officials, and registered Pokécenter nurses."
Lizzie sighed and closed the PokéDex. "Thanks, Bonnor." She turned her attention back to the Eevee. "Phooey…let's get moving again. With how I told off my parents, I wouldn't be surprised if I end up listed as a runaway…even better." She scooped the Eevee up again and started walking. "You got a name?"
"Vee." The Pokémon squirmed, trying to get back down again.
"Ohyeah. Even if you did tell me, I wouldn't be able to tell…stupid. Me, not you, I mean…never mind. I'm just…sick and tired of everything going wrong…mebbe I shoulda just listened to Bonnor…you hate me, my parents hate me…everybody hates me."
"Eeveevee." The Pokémon struggled, growling, and snapped at one of her hands.
It was the last straw. "Fine!" Lizzie yanked the color off and dropped the Eevee abruptly. The Pokémon squeaked in surprise, stumbling slightly before catching her balance and staring at the human. "There! Happy?" Lizzie stared at the Eevee for a long moment as the Pokémon stared back. "Just…go then!" And Lizzie turned and fled.
Lizzie kicked at a clump of snow, sighing. "Stupid stupid stupid…" She kicked another clump of snow and glared at a tree. "Run away from home, ignore all the warnings from Bonnor about that Eevee, then just dump her on the side of the road like garbage. Stupid. She didn't deserve it. And I'm sure she's hating me now for it. So what do I do?" She pulled a green striped pokéball out of a pocket and glared at it. "Spend half my savings on getting onto the Safari Zone on Christmas Eve. That's smart."
But then, the other option being running back home and proving her parents right...no way. She dropped the ball back into a pocket and set off again. Now if only she could find a Pokémon. Three hours, and nothing. Not even a Caterpie. But then, a lot of bugs weren't seen much in the winter. Still…it felt almost too quiet.
The trees around here were absolutely huge, many being easily at least twice what she could circle with her arms. And most of them were deciduous oaks and birch, with the occasional maple or pine, so very few that she'd passed would she be able to climb into without help. The snow wasn't even a foot deep, though, so travel was easy, at least. Visibility was rather limited by all the trees, and all the paths twisted and turned seemingly randomly.
Lizzie paused to lean against a tree, staring at the one across from it. It was one of the ones that had branches low enough to be climbed quickly, a rather sturdy small oak tree, trying to figure out if it was the one she'd seen an hour ago. Did it really matter? She sighed and pushed away from the tree, and headed off into the trees again, rounding one of the particularly large ones, and skidding to a halt with a startled squeak.
She found herself standing not five feet from a pair of sharp looking horns, with a pair of beady black eyes beneath them, blinking somewhat bemusedly. It's gotta be at least as big as Kindle… Liz thought irreverently, as she and the Pokémon started at each other for several long seconds. "Ah…heh…"
"AAAAUR!" Lizzie yelped, and scrambled back a pace, scrambling around the tree as the bull lunged forward with a bellow. He thundered past her, tearing through the underbrush like paper.
"Tauros..!" No wonder it was so quiet around here. The bull Pokémon were notoriously short tempered, and she had apparently just ticked this one off. "Crud…" She whirled to search for the Tauros, hands digging into her pockets frantically. Where was he? She froze as she spotted the bull. He'd already turned to face her again.
"Aurrr…" He lowered his horns, pawing at the ground. Liz grimaced, hand closing on one of the Safari balls. She yanked it out and hurled it at him. The Pokémon bellowed and reared back, swinging his head around, knocking the ball aside with one of his horns. He snorted and charged, hooves tearing up the snow and dead leaves underneath.
"Double crud…" Lizzie darted away at a right angle, making for the one tree she'd passed a few minutes ago. She swung around, using the tree as a shield to buy her a few seconds to start climbing. The Tauros didn't stop his charge, ramming into the opposite side and nearly knocked her back out of the tree. As he pulled back, she used the time to scramble up a bit higher, out of reach of his horns.
She clung to the trunk as the bull bellowed and slammed into the tree again. "Stupid Tauros…" She let go with one hand and dug into a pocket. "Go away!" She fished another ball out and hurled it at the Pokémon. The bull snorted, dancing back to avoid the ball. Liz grimaced as he circled the tree, glaring up at her. It looked like he'd be perfectly happy to camp out under the tree and wait for her to climb down. "Great."
Minutes crawled like hours as she and the Tauros engaged in a staring contest of sorts. The bull broke eye contact every so often to ram the tree, and Liz did to scan the area for anything that she might be able to use to get herself out of the situation. Nearly an hour passed. Liz sighed and stared out into the forest, taking her attention off the Tauros and shifting her position to relieve cramping muscles. This was pointless.
*WHAM*
Liz squealed as the tree shuddered, and her grip slipped, nearly knocking her out of the tree. The Tauros, apparently sensing that she was off balance, slammed into the tree again, and again as she scrabbled for a better hold. "AUUR!" The fourth slam finally shook her loose, and she tumbled down with a shriek, landing, of all places, on the back of the Tauros. There was a moment of stunned silence between the pair, and then the Tauros took off, as Lizzie grabbed desperately at the thick ruff of fur to stay on.
Branches whipped past, lashing at her face and arms, trying to claw her off the bull. She buried her face in the thick mane, clinging determinedly, deciding that on him was a safer position than not on him at the moment. Any cuts or bruises she got from the branches and bushes were decidedly better than what he wanted to do.
The Tauros begged to differ however. He skidded to an abrupt halt, and bucked, tearing her grip – and quite a few hairs – loose, sending her flying. She squealed, crashing through a bush and plowing into something soft and rather furry. And warm. It squealed as she slammed into it, but broke the worst of her fall.
Not that it appreciated being a landing pad. Lizzie rolled off the stunned Pokémon, blinking at it as the Tauros bellowed and thundered in her direction. A Venonat. There was no way it would recover in time to avoid being trampled the oncoming hooves. She yanked out a third Safari ball and dropped it on the bug, diving out of the way just in time, as the bull thundered past.
The Venonat was converted into energy and sucked into the ball, which dropped to the ground, trembling for a moment before stilling. The 'captured' ping was lost in the roar of the enraged Tauros. Lizzie scrambled to her feet and grabbed the pokéball, searching for the bull.
He was already turned around and charging her again. She squawked in surprise, trying to dodge out of the way once more. She ducked the horns, but was shouldered aside by the rest of the Pokémon's bulk. She slammed into a tree and clung to it, the wind knocked out of her.
She heard the bull bellow again, but it sounded like it were at one remove, as the world spun around her. She closed her eyes, wincing. That bull was going to flatten her…but nothing happened.
She cracked one eye open warily to see the Tauros facing away from her completely, snorting. What..?
A brown blur shot out of a bush to the Tauros' left and leapt up to latch onto the bull's nose. He reared back with a roar of pain, and Liz realized absently that the previous cry had been much the same. Most of her attention was on the Pokémon clinging to the Tauros' nose, however.
"…Eevee?"