And the next chappie is up. Once again, I hope for some reviews. This fic is going to start out like most of these stories do, but the storyline will change as it goes on. So please bear with me…
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Pokemon franchise.
CLAIMER: However, I do own my OCs.
Please enjoy, no flames, but I will accept constructive criticism.
Chapter 1: Starting
"The best proof of love is trust."
-Joyce Brothers
My eyelids slid open like curtains revealing a silver-blue stage. The moon reflected against my pale flesh, making me seem more like a ghost than usual. The scene replayed in my mind, but nothing came. What was its name? I wondered, feeling let down by the fact that I was unable to remember the name. I breathed an annoyed sigh and averted my gaze to the parchment that sat upon my lap. I was sitting on my bed, writing an essay to send with my papers to the Indigo League. Despite the promise we made all those years ago, my mother decided to let me enter the league at age fourteen. When becoming a trainer, one must sign papers and write an essay, then send it to those in charge of admitting new trainers. It was tedious work, but worth it in the end. Lucky for me, I was a talented writer; so a simple essay was easy work. My mechanical pencil began to scrawl letters onto the paper as inspiration struck. Hours of sitting on my bed, thinking of what to write and now I finally could continue. Please let it be good enough. I thought as I finished the essay nearly three hours later.
I slipped off of my bed and crossed the bedroom. It had changed drastically since then. It resembled the room of a tomboyish, teenage girl. Old toys were locked away in my closet, gathering dust after years of being untouched. My right hand grabbed the doorknob and swung the wooden door open, allowing me access to the hallway beyond. I carefully crept out of my room, down the wooden staircase, and into the living room. It was dark, except for one nightlight that allowed some light to flow. My eyes were already adjusted to the dark, so navigating the room to the front door would be easy enough. Even though I still wore my pajamas, I went outside and began making my way down the street. Moonlight lit my path, and soon I found myself at post office. I opened the dark blue mailbox and dropped my admittance papers and essay into it before turning and retreating to my beloved home once more…
Torture. That was only word that could describe what the next several weeks had been. Not even the school that my mother had enrolled me in compared to anxiousness that consumed me. I soon began expecting the worst, and wondered if I was even good enough to be a trainer. That was when it arrived. The letter that every ten through sixteen-year-old in Pallet had been waiting for. This was not that many considering how few people there were in the small town. I could count the amount of possible trainers on one hand. When my letter arrived, I sprinted out of the house and to the mailbox, snatched it out of the blue container, and sprinted back to my house. My legs carried my up the stairs, down the hallway, and into my bedroom. I collapsed to the floor, after having finished half a marathon, and gasped for precious oxygen. I was never good at running. I learned that in gym class a few years ago. I ripped the letter open, and began reading the words. I was expecting to be rejected. Wrong. No, instead I was accepted as one of the League's newest trainers. I cheered in excitement and did a little victory jig. As the end of the school year neared, I found myself making a list of things I would need. Soon, my suitcase and messenger bag were packed full of clothes, a sleeping bag, food, beverages, and anything else I thought or really did need.
When the awaited day had arrived, I found myself clumsily rolling out of bed after waking to the sound of a screaming alarm clock. I smacked the clock and knocked it off of my nightstand, while successfully falling off of the bed and to the floor, and onto my face. I sat there and groaned, wishing that I were a little more graceful before remembering why that accursed alarm clock had been set in the first place. I gathered myself and went to the bathroom after grabbing some extra clothes. The warm water of the shower was welcome, and I woke me up faster than breakfast would have. After a fast shower, I stepped out and in front of the mirror. I paused while drying myself off to examine my reflection. It looked so unfamiliar to me. My short, wet blonde hair stuck to my pale face; silver-blue irises gazed back at me. My bust was not so modest for a fourteen-year-old, so there people who often mistakened me for an upperclassmen. However, my childish facial features would tell them otherwise. I slipped on the needed undergarments, and then my outer outfit. A slipped on a long-sleeved, black form-fitting shirt; the ebony colored sleeves were so long that they covered half of my hands. A white, short-sleeved t-shirt with a sentence written in kanji on the front overlapped the black shirt. A pair of khaki pants covered my legs; black and white sneakers were my preferred footwear. I slipped on a dark brown belt; it was designed to hold six, small pokeballs. I quickly dried my hair and brushed it before packing all of the hair care products that I would need.
My legs carried me down the wooden stairs and into the living room. There, I dropped my bag and walked to the kitchen. The delicious smell of bacon told me that my mother was awake. I was right. She was standing in the kitchen, finishing up the last of the bacon on the stove. My mother had extremely short blonde hair; it was exactly like mine. Her skin was pale and easily burnt, like mine. But she had a more mature, and less excited and childlike facial features. Her irises were light brown, instead of being silver-blue. Also, unlike me, she had a modest bust. She was around forty-seven. Her name was Maria Isabella Vanielle. I had been named after her, seeing as my name was Isabella Delia Vanielle. My middle name came from her best friend, Delia Ketchum. Our last name was my mother's maiden name, and not my father's surname. My parents divorced sometime when I was eleven-years-old. My father had fallen on hard times, and began hanging around a crowd that my mother could not accept. She did not want me, or my sister, to be around alcoholics, and foul-mouthed adults. Our father had changed greatly, too. He developed a horrible temper, and was drunk almost all the time unless he was going to work. Then he was just annoyed. In the end, she became fed up with what he had become and divorced him. She decided that beer and his own desires were far more important than his family, and ended their relationship. My mother took custody of both Irina Christina Vanielle, and I and had our surname changed to her maiden name. What crushed me was when I heard that our father willingly gave up his rights to visit us, and without our mother even suggesting it. She would never go that far, and even she was shocked by this. Irina thought it was good; she lost interest in even looking or talking to our father. But I wanted to respect the fact that he was my parent and visit him sometimes. That idea was smashed when he gave up his rights, and therefore was not allowed to even see us. So I came to the conclusion that he had given up. He enjoyed his own life more than he loved us, and soon I came to resent the man. After the divorce, Erik Raine fled the Kanto region and moved across the country to the Sinnoh region. The last time I saw anything of him was on the news. He was elected as the newest member of the Elite Four of Sinnoh, and he focused mainly on fire-types. His first pokemon was actually a Growlithe, and by the time he challenged the Indigo League it was an Arcanine. I had my father's beautiful, silver-blue irises and energetic, youthful facial features. I inherited my paternal grandmother's, not-so-modest bust from his side of the gene pool.
I had developed my own personality, like most people, but I did share some inner traits with my parents. I was a very soft person, and disliked conflict, just like my mother. It was difficult for me to think of an insult that was not corny or just outright pathetic, and my peers would often tease me for it. I was also very quiet, and so a majority of my peers thought that I was mentally slow because I hardly said anything in class. I was the stereotypical, broad-minded pacifist girl. However, I had also inherited my father's temper. When angered, I could change into a completely different person. I would confuse others with insults that would hit home, and would reveal a wide vocabulary full of words that they have never even heard before. Pallet Town was small, so the people here had very limited minds. Reading was not very popular with the kids in the school I attended, so their vocabulary was very short. I enjoyed reading as a pastime. My grades were just C's and B's, with one or two A's. So I was an average student. Anyway, when my temper flared, I became a vicious viper. Unlike my father, though, I would not scream and holler like a small child. Instead, I would become very calm, and my words would reveal the anger that I felt towards whoever sparked it.
My older sister, Irina, was different from me in every way. She had long, light brown hair that was the same as our fathers. She inherited our mother's eyes, and her skin could actually tan. She had a modest bust, and was an inch or so shorter than me. She was around eighteen-years-old, and was somewhere else in the country. Irina moved away when she was fifteen to find and capture all of Eevee's different evolutionary forms. This ambition was given life when our father gave her an Eevee. She trained the pokemon with all of her heart until it was ready, and then used a Water Stone to evolve it into a Vaporeon. She left afterwards to pursue her goals. The last time I spoke with her over the phone, she had a Vaporeon, a Flareon, a Jolteon, and another Eevee. I was jealous that she could become a trainer before me, but that was to be expected since she was the older out of the two of us. At the time she was in the Johto region, trying to obtain an Espeon. She tried to get an Umbreon, but she had difficulty finding a Moon Shard. Now she was pulling her hair out of her skull (figuratively) in an attempt to find a Sun Shard. After obtaining both of those forms, she planned to travel to Sinnoh to get the last two.
"Good morning," Mom said. She turned to me and smiled.
I waved lightly, "Morning." I crossed the room and quickly prepared a bacon sandwich. I ate it quickly and brushed my teeth, then packed the rest of the bathroom supplies that I would need. Once I was ready, I ran downstairs and embraced my mother. She hugged me back, and I could tell that she did not want me to go. She was worried. I could not blame her; it was a mother's job to be concerned for her child. I smiled at her reassuringly, "I'll be fine, Mom."
"I know." She whispered. She kissed my cheek and watched as I pulled away and walked out the front door. I hesitated to take a quick look of the small town that I had been raised in. I was a little nervous about going to the big cities, but it excited me at the same time. I did not want to be a trainer so that could I become a Pokemon Master. No, I wanted something else. I was becoming a trainer so that I could visit faraway places, and see all kinds of different breeds and types. I was also searching for the Legendary Pokemon worldwide. This desire to find the legendary pokemon was sparked when I was little. I could clearly remember befriending a Mew, a rare psychic-type that was said to be extinct. But it disappeared one day. It happened when I met a strange man that was a pokemon collector. He noticed us playing in a nearby field, and asked me about the Mew. It fled after he told me that he would pay for it, and I have not seen it since. Only my mother, myself and one other person knew about the Mew, and I was heartbroken after it disappeared. I managed to find the name of the man; he was called Lawrence III, and was collecting rare pokemon. My next rare sighting happened when I was in a trip to the Orange Islands with my family. I was nine-years-old when we sailed on the ocean, enjoying the wonderful weather. That changed when I fell off of the boat and into the cold water below. My parents nearly had a heart attack; my mother quickly called forth her Seadra and ordered it to search for me. When it returned without me, she burst into tears and my father prepared to jump in after me. I could not remember much from when I was in the water. All I could remember was floating in the freezing liquid, wishing that my parents would save me. That was when a loud wail filled the waters, shocking me out of my lifeless stupor. I glanced toward the source of the noise, and to my surprise there was a strange, pure white creature swimming toward me. It had a blue stomach, and dark blue feathers. It reminded me of a birdlike creature. I grew fearful of it, but all of my emotion changed when it allowed me to hang onto its back. The creature brought me to the surface of the water, and I was reunited with my family.
After that trip, I checked the book we had of all known legendary pokemon. It fit the description of Lugia, the legendary bird of the ocean. Since then, I have had a desire to find every legendary and sketch a picture of it. Yes. I wanted to sketch a picture of all of the legendary pokemon. Not catch them, like most would try to do. I researched each of them, and learned that there was a reason that the four birds of legend should remain wild. Articuno, the ice bird, was supposed to keep track of the element of ice. Moltres, the fire bird, was to keep track of the element of fire. Zapdos, the thunder bird, was to keep the lightning element in tact. Last was Lugia, the water bird. It was Lugia's job to keep the others in line. Out of all legendaries, there was one that I wanted to see the most. Mew. I wanted to find the Mew that I had befriended years ago, and apologize for what that man had tried to do. I knew that the chances of finding Mew were extremely slim, but I wanted to try anyway. So there I was, walking through Pallet and towards the laboratory that was owned by a famous researcher: Professor Samuel Oak. He was a close family friend, and I knew him my entire life. He would baby-sit Irina and I were our parents were gone. When he was stuck with us, he would spend the night teaching us about pokemon and showing us the different types. He, along with my mother, were the only ones that encouraged my dream to find the legendary pokemon. He was the only other person to know about my Mew, and he was disappointed when it fled. Because of our family being close to his, that meant that I found myself in the presence of his grandchildren, Daisy and Gary. His grandson and I were close friends, along with Delia's son, Ash Ketchum. We were inseparable until the boys had a silly argument that ended with them becoming rivals. After that, Gary's negative traits began to come out. I slowly began losing interest in hanging out with him, and soon I found other friends.
The youngest Oak would begin his journey as a trainer on the same day as both Ash and me. I did remain friends with Ash in the end; he had more positive traits that made him a better person in my opinion. It did not take long for me to arrive at the Professor's lab. I opened the door without knocking, he did not care of I did that, and entered the laboratory. The lab was full of strange computers and shelves that were stuffed with pokemon books. I crossed the room and found Samuel Oak at his computer, looking something up. "Morning, Professor." I greeted with a light wave.
He turned to me and smiled, "Good morning, Bella," His right hand grabbed a bright red object and he walked up to me, "I already know why you're here, but I still need to check your ID."
I nodded and pulled out the card. There was a picture of me on it, and all of the information needed. I handed it to Oak. He took it and went to his computer. After a few seconds he handed both of the items I would need back to me. I looked at the red pokédex, knowing full well what it was. "This pokédex will give you all of the information needed on the pokemon that you will see on your journey. It also holds your ID, so be sure to keep track of it," I nodded. He turned away and approached a mechanical pedestal. The glass lifted, allowing me to see three pokeballs, "These are the starter pokemon that will be issued to you. The three main types are grass, water, and fire. You may choose any of them."
I grabbed the first pokeball and summoned whatever was inside. A light, blue/green pokemon appeared. Dark green spots added color to its flesh, and there was a healthy bright green bulb on its back. Sharp red eyes with white pupils glanced around the room. I held up the pokédex and researched some of the basic information on it. Bulbasaur, the grass and poison type. They are scarce in the wild, and usually found near fresh water and hidden places such as gardens. They are well-behaved pokemon, and are very loyal. They are easily raised, and are perfect for beginning trainers. Choosing a starter that I could raise was a good idea, but it would be too simple to raise a Bulbasaur in my opinion. Plus, it did not seem very interested in me. The grass-type looked up at me and scoffed. I recalled it and placed the pokeball on the pedestal.
"Bulbasaur is not your type?" Professor Oak asked.
I shook my head, "Not really," I grabbed another one, "but I'll try this one." I summoned the pokemon within. A vibrant blue turtle with a brown shell that had a yellow stomach appeared. A small tail protruded from its rear, and bright purple irises gazed up at me. It stared at me for a few seconds, and shook its head. For some odd reason, it carried itself with an arrogant air. It reminded me of someone else. I checked my pokédex. Squirtle, then water-type. They are scarce in the wild, but can be found in areas with fresh water. It is not regarded as one of the easiest or hardest to train, considering the temperament of its evolved forms and the Squirtle itself. It sounded like a good pokemon to start with, but the Squirtle looked like it would not accept me as a trainer easily. I recalled it into its pokeball and then went for the third one. If this one doesn't like me, then I'll choose Squirtle. I thought as I summoned it. A light orange lizard with a peach stomach appeared before me. It had bright, sky blue eyes and a flame burned at the tip of its tail. I held out the pokédex. Charmander, the fire-type. They are scarcely found in the wild. They stay near areas with very warm climates. They are the most mild-mannered of its evolved forms, and are often hard to train. I thought about it.
It would be difficult to train a Charmander. But the idea of having a fire-type intrigued me. The Charmander slowly stretched its neck out to me and sniffed my legs. I patiently waited to see the results of its analysis. After a few seconds, the Charmander's nose began to twitch. It reared its head back, and I watched in shock as fire burst from its mouth. "CRAP!!!" I cried as I dropped to floor to evade the Ember attack. It stopped and used one claw to rub at its nose. I stared at it in shock, "Uh…did it just sneeze?"
"Yes, I think it did." Professor Oak said as he stood up.
Charmander turned its attention back to me. It was thinking deeply. After a few seconds, the fire-type ran up to me and embraced me. "Char char!" it cried happily. It took me a second to register its action, and I returned the embrace. Figures that the pokemon that was hardest to raise would choose me. I thought. At least I'll have a challenge now. I knew which pokemon I planned to choose.
"So is it Charmander then?" Professor Oak asked.
I nodded and smiled up at him, "Yup." I stood up with the Charmander in my arms. I shook Professor Oak's hand and said a small 'thank-you'.
"So you did come," A male voice said. I turned to the owner and gazed at him with a passive expression. A fourteen-year-old Gary Oak was standing at the door with his arms on his hips. He wore his usual cocky grin. He had medium length, red-brown hair that was spiked up in an odd style. His skin was darker than mine, and he had black irises. He wore a baggy, long-sleeved blue shirt and jeans to match. A green and yellow, 'Yin-Yang' necklace hung around his neck, and a pair of dark brown boots covered his feet. He carried a brown sack, and wore a belt that was made to carry six pokeballs. "And here I thought that you were gonna chicken out." Gary said as he crossed the room and stopped in front of me. He looked at my Charmander and shook his head, as if he were disappointed. I must've gotten the pokemon that he wanted.
He reached for one the pokeballs and summoned Squirtle. The two looked at each other, and a silent conversation past. Just as I expected. The Squirtle chose Gary; I thought that the two of them would be perfect for each other. Arrogant, and overly confident. Professor Oak took his ID and transferred it to his pokédex. Gary recalled Squirtle and turned to me, "Well, good luck," he began, "a no-talent trainer like you is gonna need all the luck you can get."
I narrowed my eyes at the boy, "Sure. Whatever. Charmander and I gonna kick your butt when the League rolls around." I declared.
"Is that challenge?" Gary's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Yes." I admitted lamely.
He smirked, "Fine. I'll kick 'yer butt the next time we meet, got it?" I nodded, accepting his challenge openly.
"You kids," Professor Oak sighed, "should really learn to get along," We ignored him and continued to stare at each other. The man, who appeared to be in his early fifties, waited for us to do something. When we did not move for the next ten minutes, he began to get worried. "Gary? Bella? Hello?" He reached out to me and lightly shook my shoulder.
I blinked, "Wha…?"
"I win!" Gary cried triumphantly.
"Dangit." I muttered to myself. Professor Oak shook his head.
Gary turned away and began walking towards the exit, "Smell'ya later. I have better things to do." He left the lab. I said goodbye to Professor Oak, recalled Charmander, and left the lab too. There was a mob of people saying farewell to Gary. I walked past him and began making my way to Route One…
End of the first chapter. The next one should be up soon. If anyone would like to add some OCs, please tell me…