Chapter One: New Town New Start
Through the window, the world flew by. The various green shades of the trees and blue shades of the water blended together in a blur; tinted icy blue by the reflection of my hair in the glass. I reached up my hand and pressed my fingers, crowned by sapphire nails, against the window. Before my eyes, the scene changed. All I could see now was the vast blue ocean and the reflection of my face. My icy blue eyes against the sparkling aqua water created a dazzling image, like my eyes were two ice burgs in the sea, and an illusion that they were the water's eyes.
A tap on my shoulder pulled me away from my window gazing and I turned to face my mother. A woman in her early 40's, my mother looked like she was only twenty. Her silky black hair was wrapped up in a bun and a few stray strands hung in her face. She always wore long khaki pants and a T-shirt and normally had a notebook in one hand and a pen behind her ear.
"Frost, I know your still made, but you'll like Breeze Town. The so-called town my mother was talking about was more like a cluster of half a dozen houses. There was no true Mart, and no Pokémon Center. Located in a region that isn't even listed on half the world maps. Of course, thanks to Mother's research job, I was dragged against my will, away from my friends, into that joke of a place.
My mom was a Pokémon Researcher, and had been since she was twenty. All the time, she would go out in the field and study wild Pokémon, with the hopes of discovering new ones. That's why she was so interested in the * region. It had been discovered a while ago, but few people went to investigate, even fewer came back with findings, and there were virtually no new Pokémon discovered.
"If no new Pokémon have been discovered, then why are we flying all the way over there?" I had asked in a last attempt to bring my mother to her senses before we boarded the plane destined for the middle of nowhere. My mother had merely winked at me and said, "The others, Frost, just don't know where to look."
As much as I admire my mother and her research skills, (after all she was the one to discover Totodiles, Flygons, Sunkerns, Espeons, and many other Pokémon. I thought she was to out of her league on this one, though.
"Frost!" my mother continued, pulling me from my memories and back to the present. "The plane is landing soon and Professor Palm will be ready to meet us as soon as we land, so try you put on a smile instead of that scowl".
I turned away from her and started fiddling with the chain around my neck and the peculiar stone at the end of it. I was still mad at her for forcing me to come, and I always twiddled with my necklace. My father had given me that stone when I was thirteen, the day before he disappeared. It was blue with a black swirl cloud, and sometimes the colors would change randomly. It was quite mysterious. Seeing I wasn't going to respond, my mother sighed and turned away, leaving my to my stone examination until the plane landed.
"Ah, you must be Mrs. Hill!" I glanced over to where my mother was standing to see the man who had just spoken. He was a tall man with wild, hazel colored hair that stuck out in all directions. His skin was tan, and he was lean and fit. He wore glasses, as is a common stereotype for most professors, but his seemed more like something you would wear to the beach. "Hello, Prof. Palm" my mother returned the greeting "It's good to meet you in person. This is my daughter, Frost." My mom gestured towards me, and the professor followed her hand motion.
Professor Palm scanned me for a moment. I was fifteen. Icy-blue hair hung down far past my shoulder, about to the length of my elbow. I had streaks of black scattered though my hair as well. Mr. Palm seemed most stunned by my eyes, as most people are. They are icy blue and seem to nearly glisten in the light. The stone around my neck had changed from blue to a stunning, emerald green. I wore a black shirt with neon paint splattered all over it. My baggy black jeans had a chain attached to them, just like the one around my neck that held the stone. I had set down the luggage at my feet and my arms were folded across my chest. I had already scanned my surroundings and was now giving my mother an ice-cold glare. The little town was even worse then I had hypothesized.
"Well nice to meet you too" Palm had finished his evaluation and held out his hand to me. I didn't move. My mother was evidently angered that I wouldn't shake the man's hand, but she wasn't going to start a scene right there. Instead she covered up my rude attitude.
"Professor Palm, would you mind showing us to the house we will be staying in? Frost and I have to bring our belongings inside, then we can head straight to your lab and get to work." Nodding in agreement, Professor Palm lead the way to our new home as we trailed behind carrying all of our things.
After we hauled all the suitcases and boxes in the house, my mother followed the professor to his lab. I wasn't about to tag along like a clingy little eight year old. "Blitz," I called as I tossed a Pokeball into the air "come on out!" With a flash of light, my most trusted partner appeared at my side.
Blitz was a growlithe, and probably the most powerful growlithe in the world. His orange fur was brighter then fire and his eyes blazed with strength. When I was ten, my mother discovered the first Arcanine, and found an arcanine egg. The egg was placed in the lab, but at the time, acranines were thought to be legendary. They were so big and mighty and strong. Everyone was interested in the egg, word of it spread over the region like wild fire. I snuck into the lab one day to see the egg, and thieves were there! They didn't notice the quiet little girl that had just entered the lab, they were to focused on the egg. They took it away and raced to their getaway car. I bolted after them and hopped in the back, still unnoticed. They reached their headquarters and ran in to get their boss. The moment they were out of side, I bursts from underneath the big cover I had been hiding under. I grabbed the egg that they had conveniently left in the car, then I ran as fast as I could into the woods.
Men in black uniforms with a big red R had run through the woods shouting when I hid. I stayed silent and hugged the egg. A single tear of fear had brushed down my nine-year-old face, but I quickly whipped the tear away. I never cried. I exiled the fear from my mind, then shimmed my way up a tree with one hand while my other hand clutched the orange ad black egg. When the men passed the tree and continued searching through the woods for the egg-robber, I slid back down and dashed in the other direction. Never in my life had I run so fast, nor had I head my heartbeat so quickly, or felt such an adrenaline rush. Men chased me, but somehow, my child brain outsmarted theirs. I swung tree branches back at them, weaved through trees, hopped stones across a river, and leapt from one side of a ledge to another, while still holding the egg.
My mad rush had paid off, I somehow managed to leave every single one of the villains in the dust, and as I collapsed on the floor, panting and struggling for breath, I was rewarded for my hard work. The egg started glowing and before my eyes, it hatched. I was the first person to see the new growlithe, and that very same growlithe became my first Pokémon, Blitz.
"Growl" Blitz barked, letting me know he was ready to explore our new home. "Sorry buddy, memories." I pet his head as I pulled myself back to the present once more. I had been trapped by memories since I boarded the plane, but perhaps that was just because the past was better then the present at the moment.
"Lets go explore" I decided. Blitz wagged his tail in agreement and I shoved two waters and a snack in my backpack, then the two of us darted out the door.
We walked through the small little town that was now my home. Our house, along with the three other houses in the town, was gathered around the lab and I guessed that they were all the homes of workers. I had little to no hope that there were any other kids in the town, and I was pretty much antisocial towards adults, so Blitz and I headed for the trees. "Lets find a training course" I decided. Since the day he was born, Blitz and I had been training. I had other Pokémon too, of course, but I left them at my old home. My friends needed them more then I did. As long as Blitz was with me, I could take on whomever I came across. Besides, I didn't think many trainers would be around here, but I was wrong.
As soon as Blitz and I found a place to train and were about to begin, we heard a noise in the bushes. "Flamethrower" I whispered. My Pokémon agreed with a nod, took a step forward, and released a giant burst of fire from his mouth, charring the bush to a crisp and revealing whoever was behind it.
"MANECTRICCC" The Pokémon that was behind the bush let out a battle cry and sparks flew everywhere. It had a very angry look in its eye. "Run" I screamed to Blitz, seeing that Manectric was not very pleased about the flamethrower stunt. Blitz and I tore of through the trees, angry Pokémon hot on our heels, lightning bolts lit up the whole forest. I glanced back to see if we were still being chased. It was a stupid move because I was unaware of the giant tree root right in front of me. I tripped like the klutz I am and tumbled forward, Blitz ran into me and we both rolled down a hill, unable to stop.
"Ompth" I exclaimed at the two of us finally slowed to a stop at the bottom of my head. I blinked my eyes open and there was a Poochyena staring right at my face. "Err hi there" I said to the little grey Pokémon. "Hi" came a girl's voice in reply. My eyes went wide and I jumped to my feet and whirled around. Standing in front of me was a teenage girl about my age. Next to her was the Manectric that had just chased us. He was calmer now; perhaps even a little amused after watching Blitz and I roll down the hill.
"Sorry" the girl apologized as she looked over at me. She had short black hair with red types at the end. Cargo pants, fastened with a neon black and yellow belt, hugged her waist. "Manectric didn't mean to scare you." There was a hint of amusement behind her eyes, just like her Pokemon. "We weren't scared, were we Blitz" Blitz barked in agreement, but the girl rolled her eyes "Sure, and you were running for your lives and tumbling down a hill for fun" "We were exercising Manectric for you, he looked like he could use a good run, your welcome!" I replied, folding my arms across my chest in stubbornness.
Manectric let out a snort and Blitz growled at him. "You're the one that needs training" The girl decided. I raised my eyebrows "Is that a challenge?" I clenched my firsts and stood next to my growlithe, both of us were ready for a battle. "Maybe it is" The girl replied. "You ganna use your Matectric, or Poocheana?" I asked as I looked from one of her Pokémon to the other. She grinned "Neither" A Pokeball was thrown up in the air. After a beam of read light from the ball, a Pokémon with a blue back and yellow belly appeared, He took one look at Blitz, then exclaimed "Lava" and two flames appeared on his back. "A Quilava" I noted "Fire against fire." The girl nodded, and out two Pokémon took on their fighting stance. Both of us backed away from our Pokémon, knowing things were about to heat up.
"Blitz, flamethrower" I ordered. My Pokémon began to heat up and then fire exploded from his jaws like water from a hose. "Fire Spin, Sparks" The girl ordered and her quilava leapt into the air and began spinning rapidly. The flamethrower was send all around her Pokémon, but the fire spin blocked most of the damage. I braced myself for qualava's attack, but the girl didn't give a command right after fire spin as I thought she would have. After a brief pause, I gave Blitz another command "Blitz head to the trees" I ordered, then instead of watching my Pokémon, I moved my attention to the girl. "Follow him" she ordered. I could see the gears turning around in her head. Something told me she was a fairly new trainer but had the potential to be great. She had probably done something different with Pokémon before taking the road of a trainer.
"Blitz knock down that tall pine tree with slam" I ordered. Blitz didn't even pause to review how strange my command seemed, he trusted me and my strange ways, so he simply slammed the tree and it fell down with a thud right where I predicted it would. "Now race over it at full speed." I screamed out the command. "Follow" the girl decided. I smirked an evil smirk. She was doing right as I hoped and I would teach her a valuable lesson about battling. She was new in the art, and for some reason I wanted to help make her great. Though of course, I'd never say it out loud. I loved helping people, but if people knew that the scary blue haired girl was really a softie, my whole reputation would be ruined.
Blitz hopped of the log and whirled to face the quilava who was about half way to the other side. "Fire blast it" I screamed. The girl's eyes widened, she had realized what I was up to, but it was already to late. The log was charred in an instant and qualava fell into the quicksand below. I had been planning to fetch the stuck Pokémon out with a stick, but before I could blink the girl rushed forward.
She was faster then a Dodou and her black and red hair streamed behind her as she ran. Without hesitation, the girl leapt over the pit of quicksand and snatched Quilava as she flew through the air. She landed in a crouching position; one had on the ground for balance while the other clutched her Pokémon. Instantly I knew she must have been a Ranger because only rangers can pull of a stunt like that.
"Nice save" I complemented. My arms were folded across my chest and I was leaning back on one foot, glancing over at the girl. "Ranger feet" I called. It was meant as a compliment, but it sounded like an insult, as most my comments do. She turned and looked back at me, her eyes locked on to mine "Nice dirty trick" she replied. I smirked, deciding to take the response as a compliment. "I try" I said, my eyes narrow. After brushing the stray strands of hair from my face, I patted my thigh, Blitz's cue to come back. "Got a name" I asked. "I got one" she replied and the response made my smirk grow wider. I liked her attitude and I could see us as friends.
"Glad ya got one" I called back and began to walk away. "Kendo" she answered even though I asked no further questions. "Kendo the ranger" I repeated "Well I'm Frost" I whirled around faster then a hipmontop could. "Nice ta meetcha" I said, purposefully thrusting my hand out so Kendo nearly fell over backwards. She blinked for a moment, then shook my hand. "So ya just gotta growlithe?" she asked. I nodded "This is Blitz, I actually just moved here and he's the only one I brought with me. What about you? Are those three your only ones?" Kendo nodded "Poochyena, Manectric, and Sparks." Swinging the small pack of my shoulder, I pulled out some of the pokefood I had packed for Blitz and I gave each of Kendo's Pokémon a bit. Then I gave half of my own sandwich to kendo and sat on a log to eat. "So you live here?" I asked her.
"Just moved here from the Thurdra region. I was a ranger for a while, but decided to be a trainer a little bit ago." I nodded. "I'm new here too, I was hoping you could show me around, but I guess I'll just have to find my own way around." I said. "I'm still trying to find my way too," She admitted. "but I'm sure we will get used to it eventually, maps always help." I laughed, happy to be able to relax in the woods and eat with a new friend. Of course, my cheerful moment didn't last long. Suddenly Blitz, who always leaned against my leg, went tense. I could fell the muscles tighten in his body so I looked down. Sure enough his ears were perked and his eyes were fixed in the woods. The branches moved and a deep growl erupted from his throat. I glanced at the stone around my neck and sure enough it was no longer blue. I forgot what color it was, but that honestly didn't matter to me.
"Run! Now!" I shouted as I snatched my bag up from the floor. I grabbed Kendo by the wrist and hauled her to her feet before I turned and fled through the trees. Blitz was hot on my heels, literally because he panted puffs of fire, already heating up in case he had to fight. Kendo followed us with her Pokémon, though she was clearly clueless as to what was going on. "Into the town, quick" I said, weaving through the trees. Blitz sped in front of me and navigated us back home. I kept turning back to see if our pursuer was closing in. Typically I stay true to my name and keep my cool in most situations, but this was an exception.
The six of us finally burst out of the maze of trees and into the town. I never had, nor ever would be happier to see the pathetic cluster of homes in my life. Still, I didn't stop running till I had blasted through the door of my own home and slammed it shut behind me.
"What the heck was chasing us!" Kendo's red eyes blazed wildly as she stared at me, waiting for an answer. If I gave it to her, she would have thought I was nuts, so instead I just shrugged. "Something scared Blitz, and when something scares him, its best to leave." My answer was half way true, whatever could scare Blitz would certainly be bad to meet, but he wasn't the scared one. He would have done anything to protect me, and that's why I wouldn't let him fight.
"It scared Blitz?" Kendo was evidently not amused. She gave me an annoyed look and for a moment I thought she was going to hit me for being such an idiot. Heck, I wanted to slap myself for sounding so ridiculous. I felt like a complete chicken, a loser, but still no one could know what I was really afraid of. Only Blitz and I knew what was after me, and we still didn't know the whole story, nor did we want to.
"Well now that was fun" Sarcasm filled Kendo's voice as she returned her Pokémon to their balls and then opened the door to my house and stepped outside. I returned Blitz, to his displeasure, and followed her out. "So you live around here?" I asked, trying to change the subject. In response she pointed to a reddish brown house at the other side of town. "Oh wow, I didn't think any other kids lived here" "Well I do" she replied. I could tell she was annoyed, and she had a right to be. When your new friend runs for her life through the woods with no warning at all, you deserve an explanation. "Look Kendo, I'm sorry about all that." She just nodded, walked into her house, and closed the door behind her. I kicked the dirt with my shoe, shoved my hands in my jean pockets, then trudged off to my own home.