Flame

"Hey mom. Ella here. Where are you? I've been calling you for two days and you haven't called me back. Is everything okay?"

Beep.

Sleep deprivation was starting to take a toll on her. She dragged her feet across the Pokemon Center's brightly lit corridor towards a broad, white door. The neon pink "CAFETERIA" sign stung her eyes.

I think I need to actually start training Ralts. The gym leader will start battling trainers again once the Ghanere Festival is over. I should challenge him as soon as possible. The longer I wait, the longer I'll have to stay here.

Why is everything so bright and sunny? I should have just gone towards Diya City. I should have known about the stupid festival. I brought this upon myself. Why did I think a city full of joy would do me good?

She edged her way slowly into the cafeteria line, grabbing a plate of rice and a bowl of gravy. The gravy was hot, thick and brown. An array of vegetables slowly floated around in it. She saw a glimpse of her reflection in the gravy. Ralts tugged at her pajamas.

"What is it buddy?"

Ralts stared at her intently. His small, fingerless hand pointed towards his mouth. She lowered the bowl of gravy to him, but before she realized she had Pokemon food lying around, Ralts had already slurped it all up.

Wow you must have been hungry.

She put back the plate of rice, not feeling hungry anymore. She paid for the gravy Ralts had just eaten.

"Oh what a precious little one," the elderly cashier said, cooing at Ralts. "How long have you had him?"

"A little more than a week, I guess," Ella responded. Do I sound casual enough?

"So what are your plans for him? Training, coordinating, healing? Anything else? Who knows what you youngsters are coming up with these days?"

"I guess training?"

"If you aren't sure, or even if you are, I really think you should go to the festival today," the lady beamed. "We've worked so hard on it. I'm sure there's something for everyone."

She leaned in slowly and whispered, "Between you and me, the food there is going to be way better than anything you can get in this cafeteria. Do come to my stall, it'll be a brown board that says Diya Delights."

"Are you from Diya?"

"I grew up there, but my family is from Ghanere. My name is Diane. My dad was a baker here, but circumstances forced him to relocate. I-"

The guy next to Ella coughed impatiently. He had been waiting there for five minutes with his tray of food.

Embarrassed, Diane said, "I'll be with you in a minute sir. Sorry sweetheart, I didn't catch your name?"

"Ella."

"Oh lovely name. Ella dear, do come to the festival. It would mean the world to me."

I literally just met you, Ella sighed. She forced a small smile and said, "Sure can't wait to try the food."

She walked away pushing back her short brown hair, as if it went even an inch beyond her shoulders.

Oh.

She forgot she did not have long hair anymore. Ralts cuddled up to her leg. This was one of the first displays of affection Ella had gotten from the small Pokemon. She was not sure how to respond, so she just picked him up and headed towards her room.

"So what moves do you know?" she asked.

Ralts did not reply. Ella did not ask anything beyond that. When they finally got back to her room, Ella put him on her bed and plopped down herself. She started picking up her stuff.

PokeGear, check. Food, check. Pokeballs, check.

Her hand patted the bed, looking for something too small to see.

Fuck, where is it?

Ralts held out a cloud shaped pin. It was rose gold and metallic. She took it from him and stuck it to her black backpack, a bit flustered. She was so tired, her mind could not process anything in that moment. She felt the softest touch on her arm, and within seconds she had fallen asleep.


When Ella woke up, the clock struck 4 p.m.

She stretched her arms out and scratched the back of her head. Soft, golden light filtered through the windows and made the ash white room look warmer, almost more welcoming. She surprisingly felt well-rested.

Ralts was lying on the bed himself. She picked him up and asked, "Do you want to go to the festival?"

He gave a slow nod. Ella sighed.

She looked in her bag for something to wear. She contemplated actually dressing up. Once she had looked through her limited supply of clothes, she decided dressing up was not something she was prepared for yet. She threw on a navy blue jumper, blue jeans and a small, cross-body bag. With that, they left for the festival.

By 4:30 p.m., the sky was pink and gold. It complemented the festival's decor.

Fairy lights were wrapped around tall trees. There were balloon arches comprised of pastel pink and peach balloons. Paper flowers hung from the stalls, most of which were made of hardwood. Children ran around with cotton candy of all colors possible. Humans and Pokemon walked around the freely, eating all sorts of food. There were 4 training rings towards the center of the field, where Pokémon battled it out as their trainers cheered them on.

Come one, come all! Festival Pokemon Contest! The most beautiful ribbon can be YOURS! Register GFPC Stall by 3 pm.

GHANERE FESTIVAL POKEMON CONTEST STARTS AT 5 PM SHARP! Ghanere Marquee

Ella stared at the signs, confused. Where's the marquee?

Her thoughts were cut short when her eyes fell towards her right. A mustard-colored marquee with an orange ribbon on it, stood tall and proud in the horizon, surrounded by a hoard of people. Had she not noticed it before?

She considered going to watch the contest. Maybe it would help her decide what she wanted.

Even though Ralts was pretty light, her arms had started to hurt. She reached into her pocket for his Pokeball, but Ralts stopped her.

"I can't carry you forever, Ralts."

He shook his head and let out a soft coo. Ella felt fear in his tiny noise.

Are you afraid of being alone too?

A Skitty ran past them, being closely chased by a short boy.

"Skitty! Come on its time! Don't do this to meeeee!" he cried.

Ralph jumped out of Ella's arms and floated in the direction of the chase.

"Where are you going!?" she yelled. She had to catch him before he got lost.

Ralts caught up to the Skitty and gently tapped her shoulder. Within seconds, Skitty fell asleep.

"No! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" the boy shouted, as he caught up and fell onto his knees.

Ella stood behind the boy. He looked devastated. When he looked back at her, his devastation turned to anger.

"Is this Pokemon yours?" he asked harshly. "Because if it is, do you not know how to tame it? Seriously what are you even doing here? Do you not know how absolutely ridiculous it is that-that thing put my Skitty to sleep? We had to enter the contest and I don't have enough time to-."

"Oh shut up Ian," an unknown voice said calmly.

A tall, dark-haired boy emerged from the back. His hands were in his pocket, his bangs half-covered his face. His lips were curled into a smile that had no amusement in it.

"Let it go," he continued without a hint of anger. "Skitty didn't want to do it anyways. This is your fault. Now leave the girl alone. In fact, you know what? Apologize to her."

His presence made Ian awkward. He picked up his Skitty and backed away a little, his head looking at the ground. Ella watched as he tried to form words. They were not coming out as easy as they had before the guy had appeared. He stuttered an apology seconds before running away and disappearing into the massive crowd.

What just happened? Ella thought. She caught the dark-haired boy looking at her. She met his gaze.

He extended a hand. She took it.

"Chris."

"Ella."

"What's a pretty girl like you doing here alone?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you want to ditch this and go someplace else?" he said coolly.

The question struck her as odd. For the first time, she looked right into his eyes. His mouth was feigning nonchalance but his eyes were bursting at the seams with hunger. Had they seen her hunger too?

She did not realize she was biting her lip until she saw his eyes dart towards her mouth. Slowly, almost reluctantly, she responded.

"No, thank you. I want to-to watch the contest."

Silence.

He nodded his head and gave her a lopsided smile, "That's fine too."

How was she supposed to feel about this? Ralts jumped into her arms, and she held him close. Chris followed them quietly.

It was an odd sight. Two strangers quietly walking through the crowd, barely acknowledging each other. The crowd was happy; excited; energetic. They were all going in the same direction.

When the marquee burst into flames right in front of her, Ella did not register it immediately. As an invisible force flung her backwards, the last thing she heard amidst the screams was a whisper.

Everything faded to black.


Hi everyone,

I know this is a really slow start, but promise it gets better. Please review this, and tell me if you want more. I am open to criticism and advice, as well as suggestions about where I should go with the plot. Pokemon battling/coordinating with start in the next chapters. I just really wanted to set a base on how the main character is as a person.

Love,

Rosewood Thorns