Fire Burning
Chapter 1: Hello, goodbye
Strong afternoon sunlight shimmered across the small town of Pallet, complimenting the serenity of the peaceful town. The pidgey sang their songs beneath the clear, blue sky as they perched themselves on the roofs of the friendly, laid back townsfolk's houses.
It was the perfect day for Pyra to finally come home. Despite the burs that clung to her backpack and the sunburns that decorated her pale skin, she was still smiling. She hadn't seen her mother nor her twin sister, Leaf, in ages. Living with their cousin, Bebe, in Sinnoh had been fun in all, but she felt that it was time to come home.
She had considered journeying in Sinnoh, but it just didn't feel right, it wasn't home. Besides, she wanted her mother to be there to fuss over her and demand that she call her every day. Pyra snickered to herself, her mother's fretful-nature had been one of the reasons she had gone to live with her easy-going cousin. Bebe had let Pyra do basically anything she wanted. Bebe had no problem when Pyra dyed her formally brown hair blonde and started wearing colored contacts to cover up her brown eyes, something her mother wouldn't have ever let Pyra do. She'd never given her a curfew, never set boundaries with her, nothing. As long as she didn't have parties over at their small apartment in Hearthome City, Bebe didn't care, why, she could even come home wasted and she would probably shrug it off. Pyra had learned the hard way with plenty of things that most parents would at least warn their children about. But Bebe wasn't a parent, if anything, she was more like a roommate.
A light breeze blew some of her blonde locks in her viridian-colored contacts, which she promptly swept away. Humming lightly to herself, she pulled her yellow hat down on her head, as the wind had loosened it. Her hands gripped the straps of her tawny backpack, her fingers sinking into the small imprints that had formed from all the times she'd rubbed at the straps. It'd become a habit of hers, as had shifting her empty pokéball belt around her waist while she walked. Pyra had always been a person who always had to have some sort of fidget-trinket to play with, and she had never liked the idea of carrying stress balls around or wearing bracelets, so she'd constantly fiddle around with her backpack and belt.
Pyra smiled as she remembered how excited Leaf and their mother was to hear that she was finally coming home after four years of living with Bebe. Her mother of course was ecstatic that her daughter was coming home and promised to make Pyra's favorite meal that evening. Leaf was also excited, even more so actually, promising her sister to show her around Pallet. She gave a content sigh at the thought of laying in her own bed rather than Bebe's sofa-bed. Pyra couldn't help but wonder if her bedding was the same as it was when she had been twelve, charmander-printed. Charmander had always been one of her favorite Pokémon while Leaf had adored bulbasaur, hoping for it to be her first Pokémon. She always thought it was ironic that she loved fire types and her name was Pyra, a spinoff of the stem-word pyro, and that Leaf loved grass types, and her name was… Leaf. It was like their parents were psychic.
The blonde looked down at the pokétch, ready to flip through the apps until she found where she'd written her family's address. She was a tad embarrassed that she didn't remember what house she'd grown up in, but it'd be bad if she went knocking at the wrong house. She stifled a gasp of surprise when she found that her pokétch was dead. She cursed under her breath at herself for playing games on it on the plane ride to Viridian City. Knowing not much could be done with it, Pyra began to search for her sister's house manually, as she'd seen names written on the mailboxes.
Pyra quickly took notice of how well the small town was taken care of, it was a pleasant surprise coming from such a big city; although Hearthome was a nicer big city, it still harbored its fair share of graffiti.
Pyra glanced at one of the houses as the front door opened. A boy that looked to be her age strode confidently out the front door, his spiked up brown hair swaying in the slight breeze. Her heart sped up, realizing that he could know Leaf. He quickly noticed Pyra's staring and tossed her a wink as he walked away from the house and further up the neighborhood. She choked back a blush as she blinked, watching him stupidly before breaking into a run.
"Wait!"
The boy turned towards her, wearing a smirk. "Well, well, well, who's this?" He asked smugly.
Pyra ignored his question, something she'd become rather skilled at. "Um, would you happen to know Leaf Green?"
His smirk turned to a frown. "Leafy? What would anyone want with her? She's boring as hell."
She glared at him, "she's- you know what? I'll find her house on my own."
The boy shrugged, tucking his hands into his pockets and continuing up the street. He didn't stick around, which Pyra was grateful for. She didn't even know him and she already hated him.
"You looking for Leaf?" Another voice asked from behind.
Pyra nearly leapt out of her skin as she whirled around to see another boy her age. He had hair the color of soot with crimson eyes and wore a rather blank expression.
"Yes…?" Pyra asked, eyeing him carefully.
"Leaf lives right over here." The boy said simply, silently beckoning for the blonde to follow him.
She gave a curt nod and followed him up the street, passing by several smaller houses before stopping at one of the bigger houses.
"She should be in there." He said, leaving Pyra alone in front of the Green household.
"Thanks." Pyra replied, although she doubted he heard her.
Her green orbs flickered to the door. Leaf said that their mother had left the door unlocked, so Pyra gripped the handle and opened the door with ease.
"Hello?" Pyra asked, her voice echoing throughout the house.
Pyra's face was quickly taken hostage by a grin as Viola, her mother's vulpix, came running down the stairs, yipping happily. The girl immidately got down on her knees, hugging the soft fire-type as Viola showered her in licks.
"Pyra!" The voice of Leaf cried, promptly followed by the sound of shoe on wood.
"Leaf!" Pyra yelled back, quickly got to her feet and wrapping her arms around Leaf's torso; she did the same. Pyra couldn't help but frown when she saw that Leaf had outgrown her by about an inch or so.
"When did you get taller than me?" Pyra asked, her eyes flooding with mock jealousy.
Pyra knew she was short, but she hadn't always been. She personally liked to blame Leaf since she had shared the womb with her, claiming that she'd taken all of her nutrients away and stunted her growth. Pyra of course knew that her theory was way off, and had linked her slightly stunted growth to all the coffee she had with Bebe. She started to drink a lot of the beverage just days after she had arrived in Sinnoh, quickly going from one cup in the morning to several throughout the day.
Leaf waved her off, "don't act surprised. I was had an inch on you when I last saw you too."
"Yeah, yeah I know." Pyra huffed, grimacing when she remembered when she realized that she hadn't grown in a year.
Pyra looked around for their mother, expecting her to come by any second now. "Where's mom?" She asked.
"Oh, well you know how Pallet doesn't have a Pokémart? Well they don't have a grocer either, and she needed split-peas for the soup so she left. She usually takes three hours or so, and she left around an hour ago since we weren't expecting you so early… but at least that gives us time for me to show you around town." Leaf said cheerfully, giving Viola a quick pat before opening the door.
"Sounds good." Pyra nodded, tossing her sullied backpack beside the door and slipping past the door.
The familiar warm autumn breeze greeted Pyra and Leaf. Leaf quickly started to walk back down the street, a broad smile stretched across her facial features; she even had a bouncy skip to her step, a rare thing for the typically quiet and reserved girl to do. Pyra smirked, "someone missed me."
Leaf frowned at Pyra for a brief moment, "well you've been gone for four years! You didn't even come home for Christmas or our birthday or anything, it's only natural that I'm excited."
Pyra felt a slight pang of guilt form in the pit of her stomach. She admitted that she thought about coming home once or twice in the first year and a half, but her stubborn streak kept her from doing so or admitting it.
She cleared her throat, eager to push past the topic. "So you said you had some nice neighbors, where are they?" Pyra asked, recalling the boy who'd helped her find Leaf's house.
Leaf brightened, "yeah, I've got to introduce you to Daisy and Red! Red lives closest, so I'll take you to his house first."
Pyra's smirk returned to her face, "'him'? Leaf I didn't know-"
"Don't finish that sentence." Leaf interrupted, giving Pyra a light glare.
The blonde shrugged, an innocent look sprawled across her features, "I don't know what your problem is, I was just going to say that I didn't know you hung around boys. And I don't see any shame in it, back in Hearthome I spent a lot of time with these two guys, Haze and Blake."
Leaf gave a small huff, crossing her arms as she slowed her skip to a normal-looking walk. "Well you never told me about who you were friends with in Hearthome."
Pyra rolled her eyes, "you sound like mom, you know that?"
"What so are you going to leave again? Because last time-"
"I'm not leaving again, Leaf! I literally just got back to Kanto earlier today, what makes you think I'm just going to jump right back on another plane to Sinnoh!" Pyra snapped.
Leaf merely stared at her sister. "I was joking, Pyra."
Pyra forced the blood rushing to her cheeks down, not willing to show her embarrassment. "I know… I was too?"
It was Leaf's turn to roll her eyes, "right. Anyway, Red lives-"
"Leaf… are you trying to get me a stalker?" A voice asked jokingly.
The two turned around to see the same boy that had helped Pyra find her mother's and Leaf's house earlier.
The boy strode over to Leaf, lightly cuffing her arm. "You can't just go around giving random people my address," he said, lowering his voice as his crimson orbs met Pyra's green.
Pyra couldn't help but laugh, "says the guy who told me where Leaf lived."
Leaf stepped back from the boy whom Pyra presumed to be Red, her face wearing a look of mock horror. "You told her where I lived? Traitor!"
Red smiled at her before directing his attention back at Pyra, the brightness that his smile held dimming a little. "So who's that?"
"That's Pyra, my sister." Leaf said, resting an elbow on Pyra's shoulder and leaning on her.
Pyra roughly shoved Leaf off, watching proudly as she stumbled back a little. "Yup."
Leaf quickly caught her balance, pulling her white hat back down and tucking a few loose strands of her straight brown hair behind her ears. Once recomposed, she spoke again. "Pyra, that's Red, but it seems like you've already met him."
She nodded, "yeah, my pokétch died on the way over so I couldn't look up the address, and I tried asking this other guy, but… well that doesn't matter. After wandering around for a few more seconds, Red asked if I was looking for you, I told him yes, then he took me home without another word."
"Another guy?" Leaf asked curiously, "what'd he look like?"
Pyra noticed that even Red had taken up some sort of interest in Leaf's question. "He had brown, spiked up hair-"
Leaf sighed, "Gary. His name's Gary, and he's a complete asshole so don't waste your time talking to him."
"Yeah, I sort of got that. As soon as I mentioned you, he asked why I'd want to see you and called you boring." Pyra said, her gaze drifting back in the direction that she'd seen him last.
"Figures." Leaf grumbled, folding her arms neatly in front of her chest.
Pyra's gaze flickered to Red to see his reaction, but his previously happy expression had been wiped from his face and replaced with a blank, unreadable look. It was a little unsettling to say the least.
"So… you said you had another friend? Petunia or something?" Pyra asked.
Leaf perked up again, "It's Daisy, actually, but you're right about needing to meet her." She turned to Red. "You want to come along?"
Red shook his head, "can't. Gary wanted to talk to me up by the lab."
Pyra gave a slight sigh of relief, as the boy seemed nice, but a little off in her eyes.
"Well how about Pyra and I come with you? He probably just wants to brag about something for a minute, then after that we can go to visit Daisy." Leaf suggested, a light twinkle of suspicion glittering in her deep brown orbs.
Red merely shrugged, "if you want to you can."
"Alright, Pyra would you mind?" Leaf asked.
Pyra gave a slow nod, wiping her face clean of any irritation; Pyra had been gone for ages, if Leaf wanted to toddle after Red for a while, then she wasn't going to be the one to get in the way. "Why not? If Red's talking about Professor Oak's lab then I say we go. I wanted to see it anyway." That last bit hadn't been a lie, Pyra dreamt of meeting the renowned professor for years now. Sure, she'd met him once or twice when she was younger, but it wouldn't compare to meeting him at her current age of sixteen.
On that note, Red led the two back up the street past the Green household and towards Professor Oak's lab.
XXX
"I'm surprised that he wasn't waiting outside the lab." Leaf commented as the three stepped through the doors of the lab.
Pyra blinked, "would he usually?"
"Trust me, Gary would never pass up a chance to brag about his 'excellence'. The guy lives for it." Leaf muttered, tugging at her skirt. Pyra smiled at her actions, comparing them to her own with her backpack straps as she absentmindedly began fooling around with her belt.
"Leaf? Red? Are you two here?" A voice whom Pyra quickly recognized as Professor Oak's asked.
"Yes, Professor." Both replied simultaneously, with Leaf stepping up to Red's side.
"I'm here too." Pyra muttered under her breath, careful so no one but herself would hear her as she made her way to Leaf's right.
Her heart sped up with excitement when she caught sight of the esteemed professor. "Hello, Professor." She greeted somewhat shyly.
Professor Oak gave a curious smile, "Leaf, Red, who's this?"
"Professor, this is my sister, Pyra. She just came back from Sinnoh." Leaf explained.
"So that's your name? No wonder you're Leafy's sister with that name." A familiar voice said smugly.
"Gary." Professor Oak said, his tone harboring a slight warning to it.
The boy strode up to Professor Oak's side, a smirk worn proudly on his face. "Well it's true. Same goes with Fire, just because he goes by Red doesn't make his name any less strange."
The three teenagers glared at Gary until Professor Oak broke the tension. "Leaf, Red, Pyra. I don't know if Gary told you or not, but I've decided to give him a Pokémon, and I planned on giving the other two to Leaf and Red… but I can get one for Pyra as well."
Leaf and Pyra exchanged excited glances, while Red gave a slight smile.
"Thank you, Professor." Pyra said quickly, followed by Leaf's and Red's thanks.
Gary rolled his eyes at the three as the Pokémon Professor spoke once more, "Pyra, Leaf. You may go first, then for the boys, I have a fourth Pokémon available for a starter Pokémon." Professor Oak nodded at the long metal table behind him and Gary.
Pyra and Leaf stumbled forward, earning a smirk from Gary and an unreadable look from Red. Both flushed a little in embarrassment, but carried on until they got to the table.
"Which one do you want?" Pyra asked, already knowing her sister's answer.
Leaf scoffed and gave Pyra's shoulder a light shove, "you know which one I want."
"I know, I know." She grinned, watching as Leaf gripped Bulbasaur's pokéball off the table.
Leaf backed away from the table with the sphere in hand, a wide grin etched into her features. Pyra smiled as she picked her personal favorite, charmander, off the table. "I pick Charmander." She announced proudly as she joined Leaf.
Red slowly began to make his way over to the table only for Gary to beat him there, swiping the last pokéball off the table. "Looks like you get the pidgey or rattata." Gary smirked, holding Squirtle's pokéball up high.
The boy looked to Professor Oak, who pulled another pokéball from his lab coat, placing it in Red's hand. "It's a pikachu, an electric type." He informed as Red examined the red and white ball in his hand.
"Thank you, professor." Red said shortly.
The professor nodded, watching as the new trainers began to release their Pokémon into the lab.
Leaf gazed at her bulbasaur with adoration, rubbing its bulb as it purred, leaning into her touch. "I'm calling you Lilac." She smiled, moving from her bulb to behind her ear, earning louder purrs from the grass starter.
"That's a dumb name." Gary muttered as he observed his squirtle.
"Well what are you naming yours?" Leaf asked, a defensive look replacing her former beam.
"Nicknaming your Pokémon is pointless, so I'm not naming mine." Gary replied curtly.
"Every trainer has a way of showing their Pokémon that they care, Gary. Leaf just shows hers through nicknaming." Red said quietly, stroking Pikachu as it perched itself on his shoulder. Pikachu gave a content cry, its red cheeks sparking in contentment.
Pyra nodded her agreement as she watched her charmander, "yep. That's why I'm naming Charmander Draco."
Before Gary could retort, Professor Oak spoke again to break the argument before it escalated.
"How about you four battle? It would be good to try it out around the lab before you go out into the tall grass." Professor Oak suggested, gesturing towards the doors of the lab.
"Sounds good, Gramps," Gary said, glancing at Pyra, "I'll battle Pyra."
Pyra grimaced, realizing that he'd have the advantage with a squirtle with her using Draco, however, she wasn't one to back down to people. "Sure, let's go." She said confidently, with Draco waving his tail-flame around to match her attitude.
XXX
"Squirtle, tackle!" Gary commanded, his eyes glittering with arrogance as he called the first attack.
"Squirt!" Squirtle cried, running at Draco headfirst.
"Step to the side then scratch!" Pyra called, watching as Draco stumbled awkwardly to the side, grazing the side of Squirtle's head with his sharp claws.
Squirtle let out a cry of pain as his trainer called out another task, "tackle again!"
Pyra froze up as the water type slammed into Draco, throwing him a few feet away. A dust cloud covered the fire type, with only his tail flame being visible through the debris. Her breath hitched in her throat, not knowing what to do now.
"Hit it again!" Gary said confidently as Squirtle rammed into Draco again, sending the charmander hurtling into the wall of the lab.
"Draco?" Pyra asked quietly, her whole body shaking when she didn't see the fire type get up.
Red approached Draco, glancing at Pyra's Pokémon before shooting Pyra an apologetic glance. Pyra had lost.
