Rosy Red

Summary: Two girls striving to be the best Rangers they can be cross paths and find they're part of some strange conspiracy started by the only one they're taught to fear. Mix all that with legendaries, new technology and a possible love interest and you get… Rosy Red.

Rated: G+ for minor fantasy violence and minor language.

Author's Note: Yeah, I kinda assumed that each City/Town has a different uniform. XD (: Enjoy. REVIEW REVEIW REVEIW PLEASE PLEASE!

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with the creators of Pokémon nor will I ever be. *sob*

Ch. 01: An Escape

Rojo

Warm wind went past my ear like a breath, my hair flying. It was going to be tangled, I knew. The call from my mother reminded me I needed to finish packing. Sighing, I sat up, my eyes sweeping over the entirety of the garden. Joe was on the other side of the tree, whistling. I grabbed Ralts, who was sleeping on a patch of dirt beside me and brushed the dirt off of him. I shaded my eyes as we went into the sunlight, a frown coming to my face. The door to the moving truck was closed; but why? I slid open the back door and walked into our house, glaring at the bare walls. My parents stood in the center, holding a few papers stapled together.

"Hi, Father, Mama," I murmured, taking Ralts up to my old room. I grabbed an empty box and folded the flaps, taping them together. I piled books from my bookshelf into it, taping another box together and pushing more books into that one and the trinkets and bookends that were also on it into it. When I was finished with the other remaining things in my room, I called for one of the movers to come and take away the bookshelf and my bed. They came and took my bed apart and took everything downstairs, including the remaining boxes. I sighed, sitting on the floor. I looked at my closet; it still had two outfits in it. One was the Ranger uniform I designed and made when I began Ranger school. The other was a change of clothes in case it was needed. I took the uniform off of the hanger, slipping off my clothes and putting it on. It was a one-piece suit type thing with a really short jacket, baggy sleeves to the elbow and a red ribbon just above my elbow to keep it from getting in the way that had a clasp and a few thin chains hanging from it and a belt that went around my waist. I put on the hat that went with it-a hole on either side for the buns that were usually in that position-and did my hair, but instead of twisting it around into a bun I twirled the red scrunchie around each one, making pigtails. Nodding into the mirror, I grabbed a few golden bangles and slipped them around my wrists and a thicker bold red bracelet. Slipping my Pokémon belt on top of the other one, I pulled on my knee-high socks and a pair of dark brown hiking boots that only reached my ankles. A stolen school Styler was sitting in the corner of the closet; I grabbed that and a notepad from the closet down the hall that had yet to be unpacked. I wrote a small goodbye letter, telling my parents and sister I'd contact them soon. I grabbed the backpack out of the corner I'd packed a week before, when everything hadn't been packed up, full of different things I would need and left the paper on the counter. As I snuck out the back towards the garden-Mama and Father were out front, talking to a realtor-I spotted Lila, my sister, talking to Joe. I smiled softly, missing everyone already.

And with that, I snuck away.

"Ugh," I muttered, my hand slapping to my forehead. Things were not going my way. For one, I forgot a map from home, so I had to buy one from a local guy selling newspapers, magazines and the like. But as I was about to receive my map (which was a little overpriced, in my opinion), some guy came and stole my wallet. After that, I chased after him, but only found my actual wallet-which only had around two thousand Poké left. This angered me more than anything else, because I had taken a bit more of the currency from my parents when I left and now it was almost all gone. I only had enough to last for a few days-if that. After that fiesta, I tried to catch a little Cyndaquil. Let's just say I'm still picking burnt bits of my hair away from the rest.

"Hey!" called a soft voice behind me. I turned around to see a girl around my age wearing a similar uniform. I panicked, thinking she was one of the Rangers I had seen in school, busting me for stealing one of the Stylers. I simply kept walking and tried to ignore her, which was difficult considering she wouldn't shut up.

"Um, what's the problem?" I asked quietly, hoping she wasn't there for what I thought she was.

"I think you designed a really cute uniform!" she said happily. "I'm jealous; I have to wear the normal Jubilife uniform. They won't let me wear anything different!" I gaped.

"Oh… Uh, how'd you know I designed it?" I asked carefully.

"Oh! Because I've researched all the Ranger uniforms hoping they'd let me wear one from another region or at least another city… Sadly, they didn't even consider it! Isn't that a bummer?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I murmured, making sure my Styler was well-hidden in my pocket.

"Hey, are you traveling? I haven't seen you here before," she asked, a finger to her chin, deep in thought. "If you are… Lemme ask Leader! Maybe he'll let me come with you!" I gaped again.

"Ah, yeah, I'm travelling…" Dang! Why'd I say that?

"So can I come with? Please? Please?" she pleaded, clasping her hands together and widening her eyes and sticking out her lip to create the Puppy Dog Effect.

"I don't even know your name!" I shouted, earning some stares. I sighed. "Look, I'm travelling for a reason, and I dunno if I can do it with-"

"My name is Wilhelmina! You can call me Mina for short! Now you know my name! And I'll stay out of your way, I promise!" She whimpered, earning a stare from me. I put a hand to my forehead, glancing at the pink-haired girl discreetly. She smiled widely, knowing she'd earned an answer from me. "I'll ask Leader!" she said excitedly.

Boy is this going to be a long journey.

It was getting easier to deal with Mina's constant babbling; thankfully I had brought a pack of earplugs. She and her little Mime Jr. were great-if you liked going deaf. The earplugs, as I said before, are still available to me, thankfully.

We had made good time, nearly reaching Hearthome two days later after going through an excruciatingly dark and thin path through Mount Coronet. I explained to her many times that I didn't want to go across Sinnoh; I wanted to go to another region, preferably far away. But Ray seemed to be deaf herself, as she never listens to a thing I say. This often annoyed me.

"Hey, you said your name was Clarabelle right? Clara is so much cuter! It sounds like Clefairy!" Mina squealed.

"My name is Rojo," I muttered angrily, glaring at the happy girl. She simply smiled.

We trudged along for a while longer until Ray asked, "Don't you have a partner Pokémon?"

"Yeah." I pulled out Ralts' Pokéball and tossed it into the air, catching it again as red light emerged and formed into my partner.

"Ralts!" he chirped, wiggling around on the forest floor and rubbing his face against a tree.

"He's a bit of a baby," I murmured, smiling at the small creature. My hands curled around him, lifting the Pokémon to my arms. "Still can't go on without me."

"Then why is he your partner instead of another Pokémon, who's perhaps… smarter, or stronger?" the curious girl asked. I scoffed.

"His Psychic is killer," I growled, glaring at the pink-haired Ranger.

"Oh yeah! Ralts is a psychic-type, right?" she asked.

"Yep!" I said proudly.

"Oh? What got you all happy and jolly?" Mina asked teasingly. I frowned.

"Shut up."

"Does this mean we're best friends now? I knew you liked me!"

"I do not like you!" I yelled, causing the fragile girl to jump. "You automatically assume we're friends but we're nothing of the sort! In fact we're nothing but strangers to each other!" I gripped Ralts tighter, causing him to chirp loudly. Ray shied away, shaking.

"I thought-"

"You thought wrong," I said coldly. Okay, so maybe I was going a bit far with this but my temper was indeed short. I sent her another glare and began walking away.

"But what about-"

"What about what?" I continued walking, not noticing Mina collapse on the ground, shaking harder than before.

I sighed. I had nearly reached Lake Valor. I drew my knees to my chest, resting my chin on them. I had heard that sometimes someone would see a Pokémon hovering over the water and wanted to check it out for myself. I, of course, wouldn't do much about it, since I wanted to keep a low profile so my family didn't find me. It's not like I didn't want to see them; it's that I didn't want to go back home. So I'd become a Ranger myself. I recalled the video-chat I had with Mama earlier.

"You have to come home!" she exclaimed, tears hanging in her eyes.

"What home?" I asked sadly. "I want to travel, to become a Ranger. Face it Mama; I'm thirteen. I should be comfortably settled into Floroama Town's Ranger center."

"You failed that test, Clarabelle-"

"Rojo," I corrected.

"Your name is Clarabelle. Stop making silly nicknames for yourself that don't even make sense."

"Mama? When is sissy coming home?" I heard a soft, tired voice coming from somewhere.

"Soon, Lila. Soon."

And with that, she shut the camera off, leaving the screen blank.

A rueful smile crossed my lips. I should have at least said goodbye properly… But if I had done that, they wouldn't have let me go at all. I wonder if they moved yet… Probably. It's not like they care for me much anyway. If they did they would have told Miss White how great a Ranger I was and not to kick me out.

I wonder how Mina's been doing. I yelled at her and then left her all alone. She is younger than me after all; I should have at least stayed to comfort her. But I'm too stubborn. And maybe I always will be.