Hey everyone, so this is sort of reboot of an old plot idea I'd started on a different account and deleted. Completely different characters...and mostly different plot, but same premise.

It follows four main characters, so there will be a good deal of POV switching. Warnings for cursing and mild violence - M for the chance that there might be some scenes of a sexual nature later on, but that's an emphasis on the might cause I'm not 100% sure where I'm going with this right now.

I hope y'all enjoy, and I hope to hear back from you!

Chapter One - Telephobia

The automatic door gave a cheerful ding as she stepped into the pokemon center, and she couldn't help but wonder what she was doing here. Here, she supposed, was better than home - boring, but better. Violet city had never been a place she'd considered interesting. Her father went there on business from time to time, it was home to a perfectly mediocre gym on the circuit, and two cousins she had met once and didn't particularly care to meet again. Not exactly on the top of her list of travel destinations.

"What can I do for you today?" Nurse Joy asked with a somewhat vacant smile.

"I'd like a room please."

"I'll need to see your trainer card." Nurse Joy held out a hand as she pulled out the one legal ID she had - and surprisingly the only one she'd never actually used before.

"Zoe Black," Nurse Joy said slowly, typing her name into the computer, "You're in room twenty, I hope you have a nice stay."

"Thanks." She hiked her backpack up higher, and turned towards the elevators. For only having two floors it took forever for the thing to come down, and took even longer going back up. It was dirty, and dingy, and regrettably her own decision. Zoe ran a hand through her hair, she still hadn't gotten used to the length, it was almost shorter than her brother's.

She knew she was being horribly cliche right now - poor little rich girl going through her rebellious stage. Her mother would freak. The whole quitting school thing might be the top of the list, but the haircut might come soon after. She didn't have to worry about that right now though, Mom was visiting family in Unova and Dad was working like he always was - some business trip up to Ecruteak.

The only people who even knew she was gone were her little brother, Georgie, and the maid.

The elevator finally jolted to a stop, and opened to the sound of children screaming. This was why her parents hadn't wanted her training… she stopped short as a couple ten year olds sprinted by. It was like summer camp...summer camp without counselors - yet six years later here she was. She did her best not to curl her lip in distaste, a bunch of ten year olds weren't necessarily the best educated on personal hygiene.

Now if she could just figure out how to open her room. She jiggled the handle starting to get frustrated, Nurse Joy hadn't given her a key, why the hell was it locked?

"Stupid, fucking, door," she muttered under her breath, yanking on it one last time.

"Your card," a voice said from behind her, "You have to scan your trainer card to get in."

Zoe blinked, he was hot...really hot - shaggy brown hair, and strong jawline, and definitely in possession of a bar of soap. Not just hot, but she knew him: Jaime West. What the hell was he doing in a dump like this? Cheating scandal or no, he was rich enough to get a real hotel. Well...so was she.

"Right," she said shortly, fumbling her card until the lock clicked, and quickly ducking into her room. This was a horrible decision. With a groan she dumped her bag on the floor, and fell into bed, not even bothering to turn on the lights.

Zoe had never really been a trainer, but she had pokemon, they'd battled in class all the time...or when they were cutting class. Sighing, she ran her fingers over the pokeballs on her belt. Umbreon, Growlithe, and the third ball that she wasn't familiar with yet. The bribe.

Passing that one over she pulled Umbreon's ball from her belt, and let him out.

"Bree," he chirped, yellow markings glowing faintly in the dark room. She pulled her best friend into her arms, buried her nose in his fur, and tried to ignore the lump in her throat as he nuzzled her cheek. This had all been a mistake.

"Come on Bubbles!" Annie yelled, "Dodge it!" Her fists clenched as she watched with her heart in her throat. Her buizel was doing his best, but Falkner's Pidgeotto was fast...really fast. The bird swooped down, and Bubbles held back a wince as it's beak made contact with his shoulder. Annie couldn't help but to wince too - she'd had Bubbles since she was three. She was fourteen now, that was eleven years with her buizel, and she hated to see him in pain.

"Bubbles use quick attack!" She called out as the Pidgeotto gracefully spun about to come around again. The little buizel took off running, he was dinged up, but she could tell he wanted to win this as badly as she did. This was their first gym battle, their first real gym battle - she'd been waiting for this for years.

Pidgeotto was picking up speed as it dove towards Bubbles, "Pidgeotto, wing attack!" Falkner ordered. It was going fast, almost too fast - an idea struck her.

"Bubbles catch it off balance!" She didn't have to say much more, Bubbles was her oldest friend, he'd understand. The buizel darted around and leapt into the air, catching Pidgeotto in the side. The pair tumbled to the ground, Pidgeotto's wings kicking up dust on the gym floor - the bird wasn't getting back up.

"And the match goes to Annie Wilson!" The ref called, and she squealed, sprinting out onto the floor and scooping Bubbles up into her arms.

"We did it! We did it, we did it, we did it!" She was laughing and Bubbles was squeaking happily, and she couldn't believe they'd actually done it. She was going to have to call her parents the moment she got back to the Pokemon Center. There weren't words to express how grateful she was that they let her go out on her own, she knew they were doing better here in Johto than they had been in Sinnoh, but they certainly didn't have the money to support her through this. Definitely didn't have the money to buy her Rita.

She wondered if they'd ask if she'd used her new chikorita in the battle, she'd laugh, and tell them that would've been silly. Rita was a grass type, they didn't do well against flying types. Everyone knew that, well everyone but her parents, they weren't really pokemon people. They were restaurant people.

"Congratulations," Falkner said warmly, "You've got a talent."

"Thank you," she beamed, accepting her badge and her prize money. Annie hadn't smiled this much in years, and she smiled a lot.

Bubbles frisked about her feet as they walked out of the gym, he was in good shape for just coming out of their toughest battle yet, but he was kind of dirty. She'd have to brush him when they were back at the Pokemon Center, but first she'd call home. Her mom would be so happy, and her dad would be proud, and she'd wire some of the prize money over so they wouldn't have to worry about paying the girl they'd hired when Annie left.

"Don't worry Bubbles, I'll get something special for you too," she said, "Some of those treats you like, the fancy ones."

It was a beautiful day in Violet City, the sun was shining, and the air smelled sweet with spring flowers. Maybe she'd buy those treats for her pokemon, and some lunch for herself and she'd go have a picnic at the park - it was far too nice out to be cooped up inside.

Annie frowned as she turned the corner, what looked like a bunch of paparazzi were hanging around outside the Pokemon Center. That was odd, she'd been there this morning, and it was mostly just a bunch of new trainers struggling to heat up ramen (she'd helped them with that, she worked in a noodle shop after all). A news crew was there too, and as she passed she listened curiously.

"Reports are that Jaime West will be challenging Violet City Gym Leader, Falkner, later this week." The reporter was one she recognized, a woman from one of Johto's major news networks, JBN, "With the scandal in the Hoenn league so fresh in everyone's minds, many are skeptical that the former champion will be playing a fair game."

Jaime West? What on earth was he doing here? He was a champion...or at least he had been...why would he be challenging Falkner? She shook her head, it wasn't her business. Though maybe she'd try to get a photo if she could - her little sister, Mega, had the biggest crush on him and would be so pissed if Annie didn't try to meet him.

The steady hum of reporters disappeared as the door slid closed behind her.

"C'mon, Bubbles, let's call home," she said, hurrying over to the phones. She couldn't wait to see her parent's faces. Maybe soon she'd make it all the way back to Olivine and she'd hug her mom, and her Dad would ruffle her hair like he always used to when she was little.

She dialed the number she knew by heart, and waited anxiously for them to pick up. Once, twice, three times, she counted them all the way up to eight when the line went over to voice mail. Odd, she thought, The restaurant should be open, why aren't they answering? She decided to put it out of her mind, she'd try again after her picnic.

Jaime did his best not to growl out of frustration, and his Raichu looked up in concern.

He patted her reassuringly on the head, and glanced at the four other pokeballs on the desk. He felt bad for not letting the others out, but they were too big for the room and there was no way in hell he was throwing himself to the hungry press until he absolutely had to.

It wasn't like he needed to train anyway, Falkner was the first match on the circuit, it wouldn't take much to beat him. Raichu would make quick work of the pidgey and pidgeotto, and he'd be on to the next gym.

It was bullshit, all of it was bullshit, but he'd show them.

There was a knock on the door, and he sat up, trying to pull his grimace into a smile, "Mr. West?" Nurse Joy's cheerful voice came from the hall, and he vaguely had to wonder when people had started calling him mister. He was only eighteen, and there wasn't a person in the world he'd admit it to, but he missed Slateport. He missed home.

He jumped up, answering the door as politely as he could manage, "Can I help you?"

"You have a call waiting on you downstairs," she said, smiled, and walked away. He wouldn't admit this either, but he missed his friends...wished he wasn't going this trip alone, but he wasn't exactly on good terms with them anymore.

Raichu followed him downstairs, sticking close to his leg. She'd been like this since he'd left Ever Grande - she'd always been the most sensitive of his pokemon, he was pretty sure she could read his mood better than his own parents. He loved her for that. Giving her a scratch behind the ear as he sat, he reluctantly picked up the phone.

"Jaime," he knew his father's voice all too well, booming and friendly even when the words weren't, "How's Johto been treating you?"

"It's been good, Dad."

"Them paps leaving you alone?" He asked, "Don't need them distracting you, need to

be your best Jaime. No more disappointments."

"I know, Dad." He'd always found the best way of dealing with Robert West was just to keep responses as short as possible.

"You're going to play this Falkner clean and fair you hear me? No more of this funny business." He smiled like it was a joke. Jaime bit his tongue, there was no point in arguing with him. Just smile and nod, and let him believe he was always in the right, never at fault.

"I will, Dad."

"There's a good boy!" His dad grinned, "The match being televised?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Good, good," Robert West quiet for a moment, "Don't make it look like it's too easy for you. I didn't raise my son to be a cocky prick, you hear me?"

"I hear you."

"Good."

Charlie Young would rather not leave his dorm today, there weren't any classes, and Goldenrod City's skyscrapers were streaked with rain. He had a warm cup of coffee, his laptop was fully charged, and if he ever got bored of reading the news he always had his pokemon.

"Shu, shu." His shuppet, Poppet, kept bumping up against the window trying to follow the raindrops as they rolled down the glass. His houndoom, Dorian, was sprawled across his bed snoring softly. The RA would have a fit if he knew a fire type was sleeping in one of the beds (there had been a very bad incident involving a slugma fifty years ago, and it'd been against the rules ever since), but Charlie didn't have the heart to kick Dorian out. He would just give him those big eyes and whine, and Charlie would give up and sleep on the floor...again.

He smiled softly, and clicked over to the next article. It wasn't as nice a subject as sleepy pokemon, but the seventeen missing persons….his smile faded as he read the headline. The seven in seventeen had been replaced with an eight, there'd been another disappearance, some woman from Olivine. The rest of the article didn't give much information he didn't already know….which wasn't much in the first place.

Seventeen - no, eighteen - people gone without a trace over the last month, the police were stumped, the Johto Region Investigation Bureau close to having a scandal on their hands. No rhyme, no reason, no pattern; old, young, any race, any class - just eighteen people who never came home.

His concentration broke as his door opened, and James poked his head in, "Hey, Charlie, we're going to go battle some, you want to come?"

His legs were protesting just at the thought of getting up, "Enh, maybe later."

"C'mon man!" James grinned, "Jessica's gonna be there."

Charlie bit his lip...Jessica, "Fine, I'll be down in ten."

"You better be."

It took a moment to recall Poppet and Dorian, and pull on a pair of pants that didn't have "Mathlete" printed down the leg. He was almost out the door when his pokegear started to ring.

"Hey, Mom, what's -"

"Charlie," his heart froze at the sound of her voice, as if it were about to break, "Charlie, baby, you need to come home."

Zoe couldn't believe she'd been so stupid, running away from home over what? Her Dad's long work hours? He'd always worked late, he'd never shown up to a piano recital, only came to birthday parties every other year. It wasn't like he'd been acting any different than he had been all her life.

The only thing that had changed was his relationship to her mother. Yet she had to go and make a fuss about it, she had to scream knowing he'd scream back, knowing Georgie would cry, knowing she'd make a scene out of it. She'd been stupid, and now she'd dropped out of school, and she had no idea what she was going to do.

Still, she wasn't going back - she didn't think she could bear the stares and whispers of walking back into class. She couldn't deal with their maid, Maria's, unsurprised face when she showed back up and begged for a real dinner. Or Georgie when he...she shook her head, she would miss Georgie.

She groaned, and tried to ignore the ache in her legs. She'd never walked that far in her life, she was a city girl, she had trains and cabs - no need for a forty mile hike. No need for camping other than the few family vacations her parents had been able to piece together.

She'd loved those camping trips. Her father's Charizard would help her toast marshmallows, and her dad would take her up on flights with him. She could still remember the way the mountains looked from way up there, and how her father held her and told her the names of the biggest peaks.

He was always doing that when she was little, when he didn't work as much, telling her stories. Her favorite had been the story of Suicune, Raiku, and Entei; but she'd loved them all - Ho-Oh and Lugia, Dialga and Palkia, Arceus.

Zoe loved pokemon when she was little, obsessively so; playing pokemon master, and reading guidebooks and strategies whenever she had free time. Her Dad would help her with it, he'd been an amazing trainer in his youth. She still remembered the type match ups, how to create a balanced team, where to find which pokemon - but for the life of her she couldn't remember when she'd stopped caring, when the books gathered dust, and her pokemon became a hobby not an ambition.

Where the hell was she supposed to start?

Absentmindedly running a hand over Umbreon's back, Zoe rolled over, and stared at the wall. She supposed she should start training - but where the hell was she supposed to start? She thought she'd heard some the kids talking about battling in the park, maybe she'd head there.

"C'mon," she mumbled, dragging herself back to her feet, and Umbreon followed. The hallway stilled smelled like B.O and feet, the elevator was still painfully slow, and nurse joy still had that vapidly cheerful smile.

"Miss Black," she said, "Don't you just have perfect timing, there's a call waiting for you, a woman named Maria."

Zoe blinked, why was Maria calling? She headed over to the phones, sat down, and picked up the receiver.

"Zoe," Maria sounded worried, which left her oddly relieved...at least someone cared that she was gone, "Have you heard from your father?"

"No…" Zoe frowned, "I thought I asked you not to tell him where I was going."

"Of course I told him," she said almost absentmindedly, "but are you sure? No phone calls, texts? Nothing?"

"No Maria, he hasn't," Zoe said, feeling her mood start to sour again, "Why?"

"Zoe," Maria said as if she were giving condolences, she could feel her heart starting to freeze, "No one has heard from your father in days. He's just...gone."

The sun was going down when Annie started back towards the Pokemon Center, her buneary, Nia, hopping along ahead of her. She'd be on her way to Azalea town soon, but first she needed to get a hold of her parents. She hadn't stopped running her hands over the shiny new badge pinned to the inside of her hoodie.

The Pokemon Center was surprisingly quiet, one older girl with short cropped hair looked like she was about to kick the elevators. Her lower lip was starting to tremble, and Annie wondered if she should go talk to her, but then the doors open and the girl was gone.

Instead she went to sit at the phone, dialed the number, and waited and waited and waited; and repeat. Still no answer. Annie frowned, trying not to feel disheartened. Maybe she'd gotten her dates mixed up, Mega's birthday was on the twelfth, maybe they were out at dinner or something.

With nothing else to do, she curled up on the couch with Nia, and settled in to watch JBN news. She'd prefer cartoons or something, but the clicker had been jammed since she got here.

The center she'd stayed in on her way through Goldenrod had been great, there had been at least two hundred channels on the TV, and way over half of them she hadn't even heard of. She hoped the center in Azalea would be like that, she wouldn't mind watching some of those soap operas again. Donny Dorado was hot.

The news on the other hand, was pretty boring.

Fluff story, fluff story, some kid who got swarmed by spearow near New Bark, bank robberies and other senseless crime - and then Olivine. She perked up at the view of the harbor, wondering if she could pick out her dad's shop.

"We're coming to you live from Olivine City," the news caster said, yelling over the whir of the helicopter, "Where police are once again mystified over the latest disappearance, a restaurateur named Ella Wilson."

Annie wasn't sure she'd heard right.

"The mother of two was last seen in downtown Olivine," an all too familiar photo was posted in the corner of the screen, one of a woman with Annie's auburn hair and Mega's soft brown eyes, "wearing a light blue sundress. If you have any information concerning her where abouts, please call -"

Annie had stopped listening, blankly watching the picturesque Olivine coast fly by, "Mom?"

"Charlie!" His mother threw her arms around his neck, it always surprised him how short she was now. She smelled the same though, like vanilla and peaches. It was moments like this that he missed home, that he almost wished he'd never gone to college, that he'd just become a priest like his dad had always wanted him to. He had missed them.

"How is he?" Charlie asked, pulling back to look at her. She'd been crying.

"You know how your father's health has been." She was avoiding things again.

"Mom," Charlie pressed, trying to ignore the churning in his stomach. He'd been holding it together on the train up to Ecruteak, but he didn't think he could handle waiting to know anymore.

"It was a stroke, Charlie, your father had a stroke." Her voice broke, and Charlie pulled her into another hug. Miles Young was nearly twenty years older than his wife, Melinda, and it was starting to show. At seventy years old the Bell Tower priest's health was beginning to fail.

"Can I see him?" Charlie asked, feeling terrifyingly calm.

"Of course, baby, of course...just know he's not all that right in his mind right now. This has been hard on him," his mother was fretting now. She did that a lot.

It was incredibly quiet in his father's room, dim light spilling in through the window, the air heavy with flowers. Charlie had always looked a lot like his father, same black skin, same long fingers and broad shoulders, his mother often said they had the same smile. His eyes were his mother's, dark green, but everything else was Miles.

His father looked smaller now, sinking into too fluffy pillows and papery skin. He'd aged a lot in the past few months.

"Dad," Charlie started, wondering if he could hear him, and then realizing he didn't quite know what to say.

Miles groaned, and Charlie felt like he waited forever for some sort of sign that his father was still there.

"Dad?"

"They're gone," Miles muttered, "Gone, gone, gone, gone."

Charlie tried not to feel bitter, Mom had said he wasn't all there.

"They're gone, Charlie." Had his eyes been open this whole time? "The gods are gone, but we're still here."

Well that was the first chapter, I'm working on finishing up highschool right now (just a couple more weeks to graduation) but I'll try to have regular updates once summer comes.

See y'all soon!