Pokemon Ranch

By Bryanna and Danielle

A/N: Bryanna: Konnichi wa, minna! This is Bryanna and Danielle speaking! We decided to do a pokemon story together, and then we decided to put it up on ...Well, that was stating the obvious. Anyway, I hope you like it!

Danielle: Right. -pushes Bryanna out of the screen- Well, pokemon is not ours. The charactors are ours, but the actual idea of pokemon is not. Or is it... o.O

Bryanna: -pushes back into the screen- Hey! No pushing me out of the screen! It's my account and half my story!

Danielle: -give little shove that knocks Bryanna, surprised, out of the screen again- I can, and I will!

Jae: Stop it or you'll get it!

Bryanna & Danielle: Um... Haha... -sweat drops and becomes imediatley "little angels"-

Rae: -Cheerfully- Before they start destroying everything, let's get on with the story!

Chapter One: Some Birthday

Jaelyn pushed through the brambles, gently pulling the branches aside to make a path into the fort she and her sister, Raechael, built together. "Hey…" she said softly, walking to the middle, hunching over to miss banging her head on the fragile ceiling and having everything collapse around her. "How're you doing?" she asked with the same, soft, gentle voice when she got to the center of the fort.

She bent over and folded a blanket back to reveal a pokemon. It had long gashes that seemed to be healing, but also appeared to hurt horribly, as when she placed a gentle finger on it, the pokemon cried out in its sleep and squirm slightly to the side. "You're looking better…." The pokemon opened one eye, then the other and sat up slowly.

Jaelyn smiled slightly and pulled out a potion from a pocket in her pants and slowly squirted it on him so that it wasn't much of a surprise. After the potion was gone, she knelt on one knee, her arms on the other, and watched the Treeko with growing love. It had only been a week since she had found him, and yet she was already attached to him….

-Flashback-

Jaelyn was going on one of her many roams through the nearby woods, contemplating many things. The sun shone through the canopy, illuminating and warming the growth underneath. She heard a rustle from nearby bushes, and, turning sharply, saw a Treeko burst through, chased by an Absol. The Treeko sprinted across the path, the Absol closely following.

Jaelyn stood there for a while and counted the ten before dashing off in the direction they had gone. Branches snagged her black shirt and baggy, camo-pants as she ran, following the trail of broken twigs, bent leaves and grass, and loud rustles. Her sweater, which was tied around her waist, flopped up and down. She rounded a tree and they came into view. The Treeko seemed to have slowed and tired, for the Absol was definitely catching up.

For one horrible moment, the Absol caught up, scratching and biting the Treeko. Then the Treeko broke free and they both started the chase again, with Jaelyn trying to follow.

They broke out of the dense forest, onto clear land with a few bushes here and there. The edge loomed closer and closer, but the Treeko didn't seem to notice. He kept looking back at the Absol, trying to see how close it was. Jaelyn skidded to a halt and gasped, realizing he wasn't going to stop, though the Absol slowed down. "Watch out!" she cried, but the Treeko kept going, and Jaelyn watched in horror as he fell off the cliff with a "TREEEEEKo…."

Suddenly a burning rage filled her, though she didn't know why, and she turned to the Absol and glared at its triumphant look. "You stupid thing!" she yelled at it, advancing on the pokemon, who turned to her. "Why did you do that?! He was an innocent pokemon! Go to –" She didn't get to finish what she was saying, for a trainer emerged from the dense forest, grinning and running up to the Absol.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you, Lee!" He leaned down to pat the Absol, then straightened to look at Jaelyn with a critical eye. "And who're you? You're trying to steal him, are you?" he asked harshly.

She glared at him, at his brown hair, his blue eyes, his brown, tight clothing, before replying, "I wouldn't touch that except to beat it. Now if you'll excuse me…." Leaving the trainer to think of an angry reply, she jogged to the edge and looked down. She could just barely see the bottom. She took a deep breath and willed the dizziness that had entered her head away, ignoring the trainer, who was ranting about something or other. She knelt, turned on her knees and hung onto the edge as she lowered herself down. She scrabbled at the edge, rocks falling away, before she found a suitable foothold, thus starting the long climb down. At the bottom, she paused to catch her breath and looked around. No Treeko. But there were long lines in the dirt as if something had dragged itself somewhere else.

Carefully and quietly she followed the trail to a medium sized bush. She peered underneath, moving the twigs and leaves away to reveal a passed out Treeko, who didn't appear to be breathing. Jaelyn felt like her heart stopped. Why, though? Why was she so worried about a pokemon she didn't know anything about? She shook her head. Not now. Now was time to save something. She gently grabbed hold of his waist and slowly dragged him out.

First she checked to see if he was breathing. She heaved a sigh of relief to find that he was, in fact, breathing, even though it was slight. She tugged her sweater off, and though it was warm out, put it on. She then picked the Treeko up and put it in her hood, hoping he wouldn't fall out. Then she started the long climb back up, sweat dripping down her forehead.

As her head poked above the edge of the cliff, she was discouraged to find that the trainer and Absol were still there. She went a little farther up, then found that she couldn't get up onto the flat surface. "Well, if all you're going to do is stand around and be obnoxious, mind helping me here?" she spat, clawing at the ground and trying to stop herself from falling.

Shrugging, he walked over, crouched, and reached one hand down. She grasped it with relief and annoyance. What took him so long to realize she needed help? With his help, she pulled herself up onto what she labeled safety. "Thanks," she said, trying to catch her breath.

"No problem," he replied. No problem? No problem?! Oh, sure, 'No problem, you loosened the cap first, I just opened it.' 'No problem, it was easy to get that nail in.' 'No problem I just saved your life.' Oh, yes, 'No problem' was right. She felt a fresh wave of annoyance when he said this, and she quickly got up.

"Wait. What's your name? Mine's Andy. Short for Andrew," he said.

She considered whether she should tell him the truth or not, seeing as he might be a rival of hers later on. Shrugging and deciding it was okay, she said roughly, "Jaelyn." And walked away.

She walked without looking back until she got to the path, where she reached back and gently too the Treeko out. He was still breathing. Cradling him, she walked slowly and tried to keep him steady to ease the pain a bit.

-End Flashback-

After that, she had brought blankets outside and made a nest for him, used some of her dad's potions and brought him some food and water regularly.

She looked at him and smiled again. "It's my birthday today. I'm turning twelve. And I better be heading back. My family will be wondering where I am. I'll come back later, okay?" She patted his head, got up and walked away while he started to eat the food and drink the water she had brought.

She contemplated what she would do if her mother and father found out she had a pokemon. They thought she was too young to have one. She sighed, and realized she was coming to the yard. She brightened, anticipating a great cake. (Her mother made the best cakes.)

"Happy birthday, Jae!" Raechael said, smiling at her younger sister and wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they met just outside of the barn. "Where've you been? I've been waiting for you cake and presents for /ages/! Mom and Dad said I wasn't allowed to blow out your candles and open your presents for you—we had to wait for you."

Jaelyn smiled.

"Sorry about that. I was just walking around." She replied.

"Again, huh? Geesh, you're more like me than I thought. Alright, it's time for presents!" Rae cheered. "C'mon! I'm /hungry/!"

"You're hungry for presents?"

Laughing, the sisters ran the rest of the way to the house and burst through the front door.

"I found her! Can we eat now? Please?!" Rae begged their parents.

"Not yet, Rae. We need to sing, and then Jae needs to blow out her candles and /then/ we can eat. Just be patient." Kaylee, their mother, said, smiling in amusement.

"Aw! But I'm /hungry/! I /can't/ be patient when I'm hungry! I've /tried/!" Rae complained. Jae laughed.

"Alright, whiner, I'll cut my cake /now/, just to shut you up." She said, lightly smacking her sister.

"Yay!"

Two hours later, Jae was packing up her new presents—twelve pokeballs, three potions, a revive, pokemon food, human food, a pair of clothes, a pokeNav and a star pendant—into the new, durable and water-proof bag her sister had gotten her, and Rae was on her third piece of chocolate-chip-covered chocolate cake.

"Alright, you two. Now that the cake's been eaten and the presents opened, it's time to tell you the rest of the news. And this is for both of you." Kaylee said. She glanced at her husband, Kira.

"Girls, we've decided that you're mature enough to be on your own. We think it's about time you started on your own paths. Rae, we've unfairly kept you here longer than you should have been. Both your mother and I went off on our own when we were eleven, and we believe it's about time for the two of you to do the same." Kira said.

The sisters stared in disbelief between each parent and each other.

"You're kicking us out of our own home?" Rae asked flatly, disbelieving.

"Well, not exactly. Your things will still be here, and you can come visit. We just think it's time you made your way in the real world. You're both old enough and mature enough to make your own mark on the world." Kaylee said.

Raechael and Jaelyn stared at each other, their eyes wide. Kaylee chuckled softly, glancing at her husband.

"Look, honey. They're so happy they're speechless." She said.

-Scene change-

"Okay, for being so smart, our parents are sure stupid. 'Look, honey, they're so happy they're speechless.' Oh, please! We're not /happy/! We're /desperate/! What if we don't /want/ to leave? I mean, I'm excited, but I'd like to have a CHOICE as to whether or not I leave my own home!" Rae exclaimed angrily, throwing her durable, waterproof, bright red bag on her bed. She began searching through her drawers and under her bed, looking for the things she'd want to bring with her on the trip. "I mean, it's our own home! We /live/ here! But they're kicking us out! It's not fair!"

The sisters were silent for a minute as they both started packing up their things.

"What do you think we'll need?" Rae asked finally. "Food, clothes and sleeping bag, obviously. Then… pokeballs, potions, revives… pokemon food… Emmy, of course…. Money…. We'll have to set up accounts on the National PC so we can capture more than six pokemon…. I suppose we should bring stationary and stuff to write to Mom and Dad…. Can you think of anything else? …Jae? Are you okay? You haven't said anything since the announcement."

"Does this mean… I can get my own pokemon now?" Jae asked softly. Raechael blinked, then smiled.

"Yep. You get to have your own pokemon now. Any idea what you want it to be?" She asked. Jae glanced at her.

"A Treeko." She said firmly, her voice soft.

"That's a good choice. It's a good pokemon. It's hard to find, though. So, I mean, unless you have a whole stash of them or something, it's not likely you'll be able to get that as your first pokemon. We can look, though."

Jae giggled a little. "Come with me." Raechael followed her out of the house and towards the fort. "Y'know, I've been thinking. Mom said that she and her sister were out on their own when they were eleven. I'm twelve, and they haven't even let me feed the Ponytas without help."

"…So?"

"I just think it's odd, that's all. Here we are. You might want to enter quietly. I'm not sure how he'll react to strangers…." She pushed through the bracken and into the open place and said quietly, "Hello. I told you I'd come back. And I've brought someone to meet you." The Treeko looked up, then bounded into Jae's arms. "See? This is the Treeko I want to have as my first pokemon. I haven't thought of a name, yet, though…."

"Wow! That's really cool. When did you find it?" Rae asked softly, not wanting to scare the pokemon. "Hey there. You're a cute creature, aren't you? Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

Treeko cautiously leaned towards Rae to sniff her, and Jae smiled. "I found him about a week ago." She patted the Treeko, who had scrambled up onto her shoulder.

"And you've hidden it from the three of us this whole time? Geesh, and here I was thinking you weren't subtle at all! I guess that would be me though, ne? Well, it doesn't matter now. Mom and Dad won't care anymore. Well, I guess we should probably go now, before Mom and Dad really /do/ kick us out of the house. Are you ready? We'll come back soon enough." Rae said.

Carrying Treeko, Jae walked close behind Rae as they headed back to their house to finish packing.

Once they were done, they waved goodbye to their parents and their pokemon and set off onto their journey.

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A/N: Bryanna: Well, that's it for this chappie! The next one should be up soon. We'll try to get it up within two weeks. Hope you enjoyed it!

Danielle: Yeah, even though it's already done, we want you to have a little suspense. Not really, 'cause there's not much "suspense" in this fic.

Bryanna: Hey, guess what? We'll give a cyber cookie to whoever can figure out which character belongs to who! See ya next chapter!