Chapter 1 - An Attempt to Prove Them Wrong

Krystal - now eleven - sat in the office of her psychologist, a woman by the name of Jeanne. Krystal had been seeing her for six years now, so it made sense for them to be on a first-name basis.

"I'm a whole year behind the other trainers!" Krystal complained. "Normal kids start their journey at 10. I'm eleven, and I'm still spending my days in this office."

"We've gone over this, Krystal," said Jeanne. "You aren't ready. Yes, you're comfortable talking and being yourself around me, but remember how I couldn't even get you to look at me at first? It took so long to open up to me, imagine being around many people you haven't met before? Think of all the stress, all the anxiety you would feel. For years, you haven't been around anybody but me, your mother, and a few close family friends. You have a disorder, you can't just take it lightly. Imagine being around many strangers, many many people you had never seen before. Now imagine some of these people, a couple at a time, approaching you, trying to make contact with you, judging you. Think about that, and tell me you wouldn't have an anxiety attack."

Truth be told, Krystal was already filling with anxiety just thinking about it. But she took a deep breath and replied "I would have the pokemon to help me."

"Oh, not this again," Jeanne sighed. "You talk about these pokemon as if they were real people."

"They do exist," Krystal defended. "I didn't make them up."

"I know the story..." Jeanne said, rubbing her hand on her head in exasperation. "The day before you started therapy with me six years ago, you met eight eevees in a cave. You play with them every day after we finish our sessions, and since the time when you met them, they've all evolved into different forms but one."

"There's more to the story than that," said Krystal said. "They all have distinct personalities."

"Of course they do," Jeanne rolled her eyes.

"They do!" said Krystal. "One evolved into a glaceon, he's their leader. He's the most level-headed, and the others know to turn to him when judgement is needed. Well, everyone except Leafeon. Leafeon is more on the defiant side, he doesn't take orders well."

"Because that's the perfect kind of person to hang around a psych patient," Jeanne mumbled sarcastically to herself.

"Jolteon is fun and energetic, and he enjoys a good pokemon battle. Vaporeon is very elegant, and she's a bit of a diva. Umbreon is really shy, he's a lot like myself," Krystal explained. "Espeon isn't so much shy as much as she is reserved; she prefers to keep to herself. There's really only two words to describe Flareon - she's fluffy and loud, not afraid to voice her opinion to the others. Eevee is still just an eevee, but he doesn't mind. He's smaller than normal eevees, but the size of his heart makes up for it!"

Krystal's eyes sparkled as she talked about her pokemon friends, but Jeanne wasn't convinced. She never was. "Krystal, they're just pokemon. They don't have the capacity to think that much or develop personality types."

"That's not true!" said Krystal. "If you would just meet them, you would understand."

"I don't have to meet them to know the facts," Jeanne replied.

"You're 'facts' don't know anything about them!" Krystal shouted.

"Now, there is no need to raise our voices," cautioned Jeanne.

"Six years ago, on the night before our first session, I made a prayer - to God and everything. I asked him to bring me something to comfort me, something that I could care for and protect. It's not coincidence that I met my pokemon friends the very next day. It's because of them that I know what I have to do with my life," Krystal said defiantly. "I have to become a Pokemon Ranger so that I can help pokemon the way they help me. But I can't do it if I'm not allowed to leave."

"Those are big aspirations for someone of your condition," Jeanne commented. "For starters, there is no such thing as god. Secondly, as much as you think your pokemon helping you, they are just wild beasts, and they won't be with you forever. You have to develop the ability to do things without them. You're mother and I simply cannot permit you leaving before we're absolutely sure you can handle it on your own. Now, our session is over for today. I have another patient waiting. I'll see you next time.'

Krystal left the office, as discouraged as usual. Why couldn't Jeanne understand? She was confident that she could handle it as long as the pokemon were nearby to comfort her. The same thought crossed her mind that she always thought of after her sessions - why couldn't she just run away and start her pokemon journey anyway? It was a simple question. For a typical trainer, it would also be a simple answer. Krystal had thought of doing it many times, but the anxiety always stopped her. She just couldn't go through with it. She even had a small backpack all packed and ready for a journey, but when it came down to it, the fear caused her to stay.

Today, though, she was more fed up with Jeanne than usual. As soon as she got home, she grabbed the pre-packed bag and went up to the nearby pokemon cave that was home to her friends. "Come on," she gestured. "We're finally going."

End of Chapter 1

A/N: Nope, no Sylveon yet. When I first came up with this story, Sylveon didn't exist yet. But I will have one come into play later, don't you worry.

Also, originally, canon-character Paul was supposed to play a role in this story. However, I've decided it would be more fun to develop my own OC for that part. (Many years ago, when I first created Krystal, she was one of many bad Pokemon mary-sues I had. Her specific purpose was to be Misty's cousin and Paul's love interest. I had set her aside because she wasn't any good, but now that I've better developed her and her storyline, I can work on her story. The only canon-character in this story would've been Paul, so I thought, "If everyone else is an OC, why shouldn't his part be an OC?" I will update the prologue with the new characters once I finish designing them.)