Darkness looms in everyone's shadows; it is just a matter of whether one's self acknowledges its presence or not. It consumes one's soul if looked upon, yet if it goes ignored it only makes one stronger.
Every human being has a shadow, but what is hidden within them differs for each person. Some conceal hate for one another in their shadow, while others hide their pain. Some mask their regrets, grief, and sadness in their shadows, while others seal their past within it. And then there are those who mask their true evil nature within their shadows in order to go unnoticed by those who live in the light.
Demons walk amongst us every waking day, hiding within their shadows. They take us for fools, thinking that we cannot see what truly lies in their tainted hearts. They can smile innocently all they want and try to make us out to be fools, but their eyes are a dead giveaway. Hatred consumes one's soul just as much as blood lust and revenge. It consumes, and the only way to defeat it is to let it go unacknowledged.
It can be unlocked unintentionally. Some may see something tragic or scarring, and the evil inside of them might just come into play. Some have tempers that consume their rational thoughts, while others may get so frustrated that they just snap.
The only way to fight darkness is with light. However, darkness consumes any shred of hope, rendering it unstoppable. Fight the evil that is darkness; stop it from overtaking the light. Stop those who are evil from smothering kind souls until they are left empty inside. Fight the darkness and pull the light out to shine high above with the stars. That is the true meaning of the word vatonage: to give life to the light that has been concealed in darkness...
"KATE!"
The book snapped shut as the girl pushed off from the ground and skidded her desk chair backwards across the grain of her carpet. She stood up from her desk, gingerly grasping the rather large hardcover book within her frail arms. She briskly stepped out of her bedroom to glance down the staircase.
"Yes, Mom?"
Faye Hitomi, the girl's mother, stood at the very bottom of the stair steps. She smiled up at her daughter, ushering her to follow. "It's almost time for you to leave soon. Finish packing your bag so you don't miss your boat!"
Faye had curly, light brown hair a similar shade to Kate's, and vibrant green eyes that flickered with her happiness, but it was the woman's smile that really made you realize the two were mother and daughter. They both gave off the same cheerful, positive glow.
The girl simply nodded in response, motioning to return to her room. Her name was Kate Hitomi, an eighteen-year-old with cropped, dusty-brown hair tied up in two pigtails with straight across bangs that barely covered her thin eyebrows. Her sky-kissed blue eyes glimmered when catching the light that poured in through her windows, which accented her fair skin very well. She stepped over to the suitcase lying atop of her bed without eliciting a single sound, placing the book on the very top of her folded clothes and personal items before zipping it up.
Aside from the necessary essentials, Kate had only packed two school uniforms, her phone, and at least twenty paperbacks. She never bothered with makeup or any other things such as that, so there really was no need to pack such items.
Kate's passion was to read. She loved reading, both for pleasure and education. She was never much of a talker, but if the subject was books, you would have a tough time getting her to shut up. She was an introvert whose ideal day consisted of lounging on Summerland's beach with a good book for hours. She easily went through five novels a week of any genre. She enjoyed reading adventures the most, however. Despite her introverted nature, Kate desired the adventurous life the characters in her books lived, and that was precisely why she had filled out an application to attend Almia's Ranger School: the best Pokemon Ranger Academy in the world.
It had been her dream to attend Almia's Ranger School for as long as she could remember. Living in Summerland had its perks; sure, it was a popular vacation spot and all, but it also provided young girls like Kate with the opportunity to grow up around Pokemon Rangers.
Ever since she was six, she had visited Summerland's Ranger Base to shadow Rangers and simply watch what they would do.
Of course, this drew some attention to her.
The Summerland Rangers had found it odd that a girl so small and so young desired to be just like them when she was older, but regardless, they welcomed her with open arms whenever she came to visit. What little girl this age already knew that she wanted to become a protector of the Pokemon and people when she grew up...? She was definitely odd, they had to give her credit for that...but it was an admirable kind of odd.
She was a curious one, too. She would ask Cameron, Summerland's Base Leader, all sorts of questions about his life as a Ranger...which was fairly uneventful, given that he operated in the one Fiore city with the lowest crime rate. However, Kate always found all of his stories absolutely fascinating, regardless of how simple it may have been.
...such as finding an old lady's lost Skitty stuck in a tree.
Now, years later, she was all grown up, and today was finally the day that her life-long dream would come true.
Kate picked up her suitcase and straightened her posture, flicking off the lights before walking out of her room for what felt like would be the last time. Almia's Ranger School was not only in a different region than where she lived, but it was also a boarding school, meaning she would have to be away from her family as she attended her dream school. She would manage, although she would probably miss her little brother Adam the most.
Kate lifted her suitcase with her skinny arms as she walked down the stairs, careful not to ding the bottom of the suitcase on the steps. She quickly found her grinning mother waiting for her not even two feet away from the bottom of the staircase.
"Ooh, this is so exciting!" Faye clapped her hands together with anticipation, grinning happily. "My little baby, all grown up and going to school... It feels like yesterday you were only just the same age as Adam!" She wiped at the tears that threatened to prick at her eyes, trying not to be the blubbering, over-emotional mother she knew that she was.
Kate could only crack a small grin at her mother's unsurprising emotional state, shaking her head. "Where is everyone, anyways? I want to say good-bye before I leave for the boat."
Faye placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder and began leading her towards the front door. "They're already waiting by the docks to see you off! Let's go!"
Kate pushed open the front door and threw herself into the thick, humid and sweaty atmosphere that was Summerland. The entire city was built up on interconnecting piers halfway submerged in ocean water. Her little house was closer to the beach behind Summerland which connected with the Olive Jungle, which put her a little further away from the docks that were on the other side of town. Kate and her mother calmly walked across the pier straight ahead, taking in the gentle sound of boats rocking at the docks and Wingulls flying overhead.
It wasn't long before a little five-year-old boy came into view, and he grinned goofily at the sight of Kate and Faye. "Big sister! You're here!"
Kate couldn't help but chuckle quietly as the little boy with shaggy black hair tackled her legs into a big hug, and she had to bend over to reciprocate the hug properly.
Kate's father, who was standing beside a boat a few feet behind Kate and Adam elicited a small laugh, shaking his head at his young son. "Adam, don't knock your sister into the ocean before she leaves for school."
Adam looked behind his sister to see that they were standing rather close to the edge of the docks, only a few inches away from ocean water. "Oops... Sorry." A nervous bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as he realized his carelessness.
Kate simply smiled and ruffled her brother's hair gently. "I think I'm going to miss you the most."
Adam was a sweet kid, and Kate couldn't be happier with her younger sibling. He had blue eyes that matched her own, which they both inherited from their father, Norman Hitomi. Kate got her mother's looks (with the exception of her eyes), while Adam got their father's. He was a foot shorter than Kate, who was only five feet tall. She was rather short and scrawny for her age, which caused a lot of people to wrongfully underestimate her. She read books and increased her knowledge on a daily basis to make up for it.
Kate walked hand-in-hand with her brother over to her father, who had just been joined by her mother right next to the boat. She gave them a quick hug before looking over at the ocean. "I guess I should get going now..."
Adam tried to contain the urge to get watery eyes and sniffle. "Aww..."
Kate smiled sympathetically and knelt down to his height, placing a hand on his shoulder in the same motherly fashion that her mother always did to her. "Hey now, don't get all sad on me. You know that I am going to write you a letter at least once every week, right?"
The sadness quickly melted away from Adam's face when he heard his sister say that. "Okay, good! You better!" He tightly hugged her, not wanting to let go.
Faye and Norman Hitomi simply smiled at their two kids, nearly brought to tears by their closeness. Sure, they would miss their daughter while she was gone, but they knew this would be hardest for Adam in the end, even if she was going to write him a letter every week.
Kate turned to face the boat and began to board, then paused halfway. She glanced back at her family with a warm smile on her face, waving good-bye. "Wish me luck."
Hello, it's the author, Serena, here! Welcome to one of my favorite stories of all time to write: Pokemon Ranger, Shadows of Almia! I love this game with all my heart, and my love for Kate and Keith has yet to burn out. I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I do. It certainly isn't my first, and it won't be my last, either.
Full disclosure, I am a full-time college student, so I hope you can bear with me in terms of updates. I truly do the best that I can.
This story will end somewhere around 60 chapters, assuming that I don't change any of my outline, so I hope you all are ready for a wild vatonageshipping ride! To wrap this up, I won't be writing frequent author's notes unless there's something I need to say or announce. You won't need to be bored with my blabbing for much longer!
I don't own pokemon, the game, or the characters, but I do own any and all original characters/plot additions in this story separate from the in-game plot.
I hope that you all read, review, and enjoy this story!