Fluffy Apprentice
Chapter One: Made For The Music
Aura, Psi Energy and Magic.
A human may be born with these, the luck of the draw may come into play, and inherited power is a common thing to spring up.
Magic users are the least known, because all those years ago it was connected to causing horrible events but recently they have been found... as the government officials would say... 'Coming out the woodworks'
At a certain age a child of magic subconsciously creates an egg which will hatch into a Pokémon perfect for them... yet this wasn't always a good thing, as Magic wielders fall into the dark if they are left alone... if their partner dies.
That is what happened to a man known as Tom Riddle, whose partner, an Ekans, died because his orphanage he was staying in didn't give him enough food to feed the small snake Pokémon.
Years later... he did something disgusting; he brought the snake back to life, but was lost to the evil magic of the ritual.
A few years later the Dark Lord Voldemort tried to rule over those with magic, using his Pitch Black Arbok as proof of his 'power'.
The war between magicians was harsh, long bloodlines were destroyed, fresh blood was killed by those of 'Pure Blood' because of Voldemort's words, about how they did not deserve partners.
Then one day... the war ended, a girl by the name of Bella (short for Belladonna) was seen as a saviour, as her strong magic caused her partner's egg to hatch into a Togepi which used Metronome to protect her partner.
Supposedly the Metronome reflected the instant killing spell, Avada Kedavra, back to Voldemort, which turned him to dust.
Yet the story wasn't true, in reality... it was Bella's sister, Bell. For you see her partner was special, it's egg was like an ocean, a ring of yellow spheres surrounding one singular red gem-like orb.
The egg reflected the spell, for the creature waiting to hatch was much more powerful than a measly mortal killer even before birth.
But only one story was told, Bella's. She was seen as a saviour by magic practitioners everywhere, she was spoiled, given enough presents to fill medium sized houses even after a couple birthdays.
But Bell? She was shoved to the side, her egg hadn't hatched even after five years of nurture, and she was taunted by Bella and her friends because of it. She wasn't given any presents; her fifth birthday was completely ignored even though it was on the same day as her twin sister.
Yet this year, her Eighth birthday, Bella's birthday... it was going to change.
[*Potter Mansion*]
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Cheered the crowd of people of varied ages, Bella and her partner Togetic squealed in joy and pounced at the pile of gifts lining the walls, which caused the crowd to chuckle at her 'excitement about such a special day'
They were uncaring about her easily visible greed.
Where was Bell?
She was in her room, an undecorated and blinding white, clutching her partner's egg with tears in her eyes.
'H-happy birthday Bell, Eight years old, three more years until Hogwarts Mage Trainer School begrudgingly takes you in, just like Bella says.' She thought sadly.
Suddenly the knob on her door started to shake, signalling someone wanted to get into the room.
'N-no Bella said she wouldn't do it this year, Mom and Dad... they made a huge party, invited everyone, it was in the papers.' Bell whimpered as she remembered all her previous birthdays, her sister coming in with her group of 'friends' to come and torment her about the fact no-one cared about her.
She climbed under the bed and placed a hand over her mouth to silence her hiccups of sadness, it was just in time as the door opened a few moments later.
"Huh, this isn't the bathroom, Mr Potter told me fifth door on the left... this is the fifth door on the left." The voice was melodic, and feminine in nature.
'D-dad forgot about my room again.' This happened before, but he said "Didn't know we had another guest room." Before he closed the door again.
"It's kinda spooky though, the room is so... dull, and the walkways are literally a place you can sleep in but this... I wouldn't want to sleep here."
'I understand, I d-don't want to sleep here either... but Bella tells Mom and then she notices me... and tells me to stay in my room and then forgets about me again.' As she thought this she shuffled slightly to start rubbing her partner's egg again.
Suddenly her eyes were filled with tears of pain; she had just stubbed her foot on the bed framing and didn't get the chance to silence her cry.
"Huh?" The sound of footsteps got closer to the bed, which caused Bell to shrink back to the end of the bed in an attempt to hide herself from whoever the woman was.
Her attempt was in vain, as the plain sheets drooping over to create a wall were shifted to the side and revealed to the girl a set of turquoise eyes.
"Oh hello there little one. What are you doing here?"
Bell was silent, hoping that the woman would leave her be.
"There is no need to be afraid of me dear, are you playing hide and seek? I just got here and didn't notice any of the other children playing so maybe you should come out from under there." The voice of the woman was soothing and the eyes that met Bell's were softer than her mother's from the little memories they had when she was younger.
"I-I'm not p-playing hide and seek... I'm hiding from my twin sister..." Bell had no idea why she was telling the woman such things.
"Oh... and who is your sister?" The woman asked.
"B-bella..."
"You mean the Bella this party is being held for? Well that is funny... I'm sure another Potter child would be just as famous as her sister."
"N-no, just like always the birthday is only for her." Bell hugged her partner's egg, tears in her eyes.
Silence was her reply.
"S-sorry... you wanted to go to the bathroom r-right... the bathroom is one more do-
"That isn't right." The woman cut her off.
"W-what..."
"You deserve to enjoy a special day like this just as much as your sister does."
"B-but no-one cares... t-they stopped on my f-fifth b-birthday."
The woman frowned, but quickly replaced it with a warm smile that Bell didn't see from her hiding spot.
"Well it looks like you have someone that cares, and that person is me. My name is Lisia. Happy Birthday Bell."
Bell felt tears coagulate around her eyes, even those simple words held more meaning than everything else in her world... except for her partner.
Suddenly the name the woman just said ran through her mind.
Bell finally crawled out from her hiding spot and matched the voice to a look.
Turquoise hair and eyes.
Immaculate style fit for a stage.
"You're L-lisia... Contest Idol..." Bell gasped.
"Oh so you know me? That makes this question so much easier to make. I was looking for a specific person... and I think I found them in you."
Lisia pulled out something from her fluffy bracelets, these things being a slip of paper and a pen.
"Would you like to be my apprentice?"
"B-but you only just met me... you've only j-just seen me!"
"So, some of the best trainers around become legends with Pokémon they had met mere seconds before they started. I think we can make a bond similar to that. The world will know your name... I think you and it deserves that."
Bell was flabbergasted; she felt nothing but positivity from this woman. She truly wanted her... she wasn't just looking to get on her sister's good side like others would try if they knew she existed properly.
"Y-yes... yes I will!" Lisia's bright smile grew even brighter at those words.
The girl that was standing in front of her did the same thing, the beaming features looking like they belonged.
One thing Lisia was certain about.
This little girl with Emerald eyes and black hair highlighted red...
She was going to go places.
The idol passed the paper, which was most certainly a form to make the apprenticeship official if the girl had looked correctly as she skimmed it, to the girl along with the pen.
Bell's signature was put at the bottom of the form as fast as one could say 'impossible!'
Lisia retrieved the objects from the girl and put them back in the ruffled bracelets before holding her arms out.
"Let's get out of here, I don't think your family will mind if we get out of this party early right?"
Bell giggled, something which hadn't come out of her mouth since she was just a little girl before... the event, and walked forwards. Lisia pulled the little witch into her arms, egg and all, before she left the dreary old room.
"W-wait... I need to g-get clo-
"We can buy some for you when we arrive at where we are going." Lisia said as she pat the child's head.
"You don't need to do that." Bell said to the woman who was holding her.
"Nonsense, now we have a boat to catch."
Somehow they managed to sneak past the partygoers with almost no trouble at all… after Lisia went to the bathroom of course.
[*A BOAT, Six hours later.*]
Bell gasped as the ocean lazily drifted past her from her point by the railings of the rather large sized ship nearing cruise levels
… it was the first time she had seen it in person and for some reason… it filled her with comfort.
"Great view, isn't it?" Bell turned to see Lisia, who appeared from behind her with a couple plates of some steaming spaghetti which she put on one of the nearby tables next to the blanketed egg which contained Bell's partner, "The sea is a close runner for my favourite things."
"W-whats your favourite?" Bell asked, causing the co-ordinator to grin.
"The sky of course! You think I wear the motifs just because of my partner?" The woman giggled out, "Now take one of these forks and get eating!"
The little girl looked at one of the plates in shock, no-one had invited her to eat before… well none that she remembered anyway.
She was just about to grab one of the brought forks when a gentle red glow came from the egg, which quickly turned blinding.
The both of them knew what it meant…
'I-it's finally happening…' Bell thought with tears of joy in her eyes.
Lisia's mind was utterly blank, but a gentle smile on her face showed that subconsciously she was happy for the girl.
When the light faded… Bell finally saw her partner truly for the first time.
It was small, light aqua and adorable. Around its closed eyes were yellow rings, both of which linked up to two others each. It's head was larger than it's body, which had two flipper arms and stubby legs. From it's head were two antennae which ended in orbs which glowed gently for a few moments.
It's eyes opened to reveal soulful black orbs, tinted with the same emerald Bell's own contained. When the two's gazes met both felt a link that was… hard to describe.
Like reuniting with a lost relative perhaps? No… it was more along the lines of if a part of your soul you never knew you lost came back to you.
"Mana?" The little Pokémon said as it held it's flipper arms up to Bell, who was quick to grab it and pull it into a hug that would have left Lisia feeling rather bad for ruining such a private moment.
If she wasn't awestruck by what Bell's partner was.
"Bell… your partner is a Manaphy. Known as the prince of the sea by some… you are most certainly destined for something special." Lisia whispered out.
Bell almost didn't hear it, the tears of joy and tinkling laughter which came from both her and her partner nearly drowning it out.
'Perhaps this one is a princess… no boy can have laughter as cute as that.' The idol thought to herself.
After some time both Pokémon and their partner calmed down, the Spaghetti being shared between them…
Lisia asked if the girl wanted a Pokeball to keep the Pokémon safe from thieves… but was surprised when Bell declined.
Apparently A bonded Pokémon gained an immunity to the capture devices when they were created… Magic worked in odd ways.
It took about another day before the boat went from Kanto, where the Potter family lived, to Hoenn, to be specific Slateport city, but this was only the beginning for Bell's new life.
[*Potter Mansion, Kanto*]
Bella felt as if something inside her shattered… like something suddenly went missing in her life.
She ignored it mostly, her large pile of birthday presents was a nice distraction.
But she couldn't avoid it forever, Togetic could also feel it through their bond and that proved something was indeed wrong… and it was something to do with the family.
So she searched the house that night, looking for the problem.
Nothing seemed to show up though, both her mom and dad slept soundly in their rooms and their own partners, James having a Sawsbuck and Lily being bonded to a Pyroar, were sleeping soundly too.
So she kept searching… and gasped when she realised what was wrong.
Her sister was gone.
Normally she wouldn't even care about where Bell was but something was seriously seriously wrong.
She ignored the stinging sensation that was filling her heart, something related to her sister wasn't anything to do with her.
Bell was worthless after all, even her mom and dad agreed.
Bleb bleb… new story bleb.
This one has been in the works for quite some time, I hit walls regularly but sometimes I find just the right grappling hook to climb over one of the many barricades that stop me from writing any of my half finished chapters.
Hopefully you don't mind, right guys?
Anyway…
I'm going to orbit
Cya