same time
Cerulean City
Arielle teleported home, excited. The gym was quite busy, with a line of trainers trying to get badges before the holidays, for the gym would be closed from Christmas Eve to the day after New Years. Every trainer stared at the girl, who went in front of the line outside the gym.
"Hey!" the trainer nearest the door said, pushing her aside. "No cutting!"
"This is my home!" Arielle said. "I have to get inside!" She then pointed to her feet, which were still clad in flip-flops and a pink pair of toe socks.
The boy rolled his eyes. He did not believe her, since he had never seen her in his life. The boy had never been to the performances, not one to watch a bunch of Pokémon and two beautiful women in a giant pool.
"Get back in line!" the girl behind him yelled. "You have to wait like everyone else!"
Luckily Arielle was always prepared for the holiday rush. She went into her back pocket, where she kept her Gym Leader's license. No one would tell her go get back in line if she were a Gym Leader. In fact, she would be treated very well if she had her license on her.
But her ID was not there. The only thing that was there was spare change from lunch.
Oh no… she thought, going though both of her back pockets. It was not there. Then the girl remembered that it was on her dresser. It was bad luck for the girl, who was still standing in the snow.
"Uh… Just let me in, this is my home, honest!" Arielle said, begging the boy. She then moved her feet around to keep them warmer. They were getting cold fast.
"No! Wait in line like the rest of us!" the boy yelled, pushing Arielle into a snow pile near the door. A tear went down her face.
"Let me in!" she yelled, tears freely running down her face. "I'm cold!"
It was all the boy needed to walk to the side and let the girl into the warm gym. Arielle smiled. Tears always seemed to get her what she wanted.
Inside, it was mayhem. Ten trainers were sitting in the stands, cheering on the challenger. Misty was standing on one platform, while a girl with black pigtails was standing on the opposite one. The match was already underway, with a Seel going up against a pretty Bellossom. The white seal Pokémon floated in the water, sharp horn pointed towards the green Pokémon with flowers on its head. The green flower Pokémon was not intimidated by the looks of the Seel.
Mom's gonna lose this one, Arielle thought to herself. Bellossom has the type advantage. But who knows?
Ignoring the match, Arielle walked on to the downstairs area. If she disturbed her mother in a middle of a match, she would get quite angry. The woman needed her concentration. And if she was already in a bad mood, it would be a disaster.
Downstairs, Greg was in his room. It was completely dark, except for the faint glow of the computer screen. Greg was typing at amazing speeds, speeds that Arielle wished she could type at. The girl was fast, but not as fast as her computer-loving brother.
"Hey Greg, guess what?" Arielle said, grin still on her face.
"That I'm going to pound your head in for bothering me?" Greg yelled, staring at the girl in the doorway.
"No, I got in!"
The boy then ignored the fact that his private space had been intruded. It was good news, instead of her babble. Smiling, the boy gave a thumbs-up to Arielle.
"I knew you'd make it in if you tried. Now make sure you don't get fired and make lots of money," Greg said. "Oh, and next time… KNOCK!!!" he added, glaring at his sister.
Apologizing, the girl then closed his bedroom door and went on to her sister's bedroom.
The girl's bedroom door was open a crack. Arielle could see Ashley putting on her snow boots when she peeked into the crack. The girl then invited Arielle to open her door and talk to her.
Ashley's room was plain. The walls were a faint blue color, with nothing hanging on them. There was an old dresser against one wall, and the bed with a blue quilt was on the perpendicular wall. Everything else was in the closet that was tied closed. The doors were broken and wouldn't shut.
Arielle sat on the girl's bed and watched her put on her left boot.
"Hey Arielle," Ashley said. "Did you make it?"
"Yah!" Arielle replied, smiling.
"Make any friends in the process?" Ashley asked. Arielle had no friends, since she stayed in the gym all day and they were home schooled.
"I talked to someone during lunch… Does that count?" Arielle asked in return, still watching Ashley put on her boot. Now she was tying up the long brown laces.
"Sure, why not?" Ashley said. "Well, that's good. I have to make Pokémon Center runs, and the snow is knee-high. How did you get though in flip-flops?" she asked, staring at the girl's feet.
"Teleporting."
Ashley stared at Arielle with envy. Arielle was the only one in the house that was psychic, and it boggled Arielle's other siblings. No one on their mother's side of the family had been psychic, and they didn't know anything about their father, let alone his side of the family.
" At least there isn't a storm out," Ashley said, glad tone in her voice. "Then I would force you to do them instead." Still envious, Ashley then stuck her tongue out at Arielle and left.
Next stop on Arielle's list of things to do was her room. Her pet Skitty was sleeping on the end of her bed. Smiling, Arielle then took off her flip-flops and exchanged them for warm slippers that covered all of her feet. After that, she put on a coat, for the heater wasn't working very well. The girl was quite chilly. Then, she made sure that her license was on her dresser and went back up to gym area to watch matches.
Arielle had been right; the Bellossom was dominating the match upstairs. There was only one Pokémon left, and it was a Goldeen.
The trainer yelled out a command to the Pokémon. Out of nowhere, light pink petals appeared. They swirled gracefully around the flower Pokémon, and then they started floating towards the Goldeen in the water. The petals went faster, at deadly speeds, until they hit the Goldeen. Severely hurt, the Goldeen then flipped over, eyes turning into x's. It no longer had the energy to fight.
Not very upset that it was down, the gym leader returned it into its red and white pokéball.
With speed the trainer ran up to her Bellossom. The girl picked the light Pokémon up and hugged it.
"We did it Bell! We beat her!" she yelled, now holding the Pokémon up in the air.
Next she stopped holding it up and rushed to the gym leader. She was reaching into a box, where many Cascade Badges were. Next, she took one and put it in the girl's palm. The girl looked very excited to have gotten a badge. There was a big smile on her face.
"You did a good job," Misty said. "Good luck, and happy holidays!" she said, smiling.
"Okay, you too!" the girl replied, putting the small blue badge into her coat pocket.
As soon as the girl was away from the gym area, Ashley came in. The girl took the three pokéballs her mother gave her and started the walk to the Pokécenter.
Arielle smiled. Her mother was in a good mood today, since her smile didn't seem forced. She was quite happy today. That meant that she would not yell at her if she talked to her.
"Hi Mom!" Arielle said, walking down into the gym area. The woman smiled and sat down, bringing her thick brown coat closer to her.
"How did it go? Did you get in?" Misty asked.
"Yah, I did," Arielle said, smiling. "I think I may even have a friend! She was really nice, but she kept bragging," she continued, thinking about how Nayana bragged. IT was quite annoying.
"That's good news," Misty replied. She seemed much happier now than she did before Arielle came down, and that made Arielle happy. The last thing she wanted was her mother to get angry.
"Having fun?" Arielle asked, wanting to make conversation while her mother was still in a good mood.
"Is going against trainer after trainer day after day fun?" she replied. "After doing it for years, no. I loved it when I first became a gym leader though. I rarely battled until I was able to become a Gym Leader. I love Pokémon training."
"Pokémon Training is never fun," Arielle mumbled, looking to the water to avoid her mother. Arielle knew that her mother was not very pleased about her not liking to train. Her mother loved to train Pokémon, even if running a gym was boring.
"I think so, and so do your siblings. Your ancestors trained too, and they never found being with Pokémon dull," misty said. "You're the family oddball, not liking it."
Arielle got up. Ashley had done a quick run, and the Pokémon were back. The brown-haired girl then walked down into the gym area, and Arielle started walking away.
"Oh well," she said. "Well, I guess you have to battle now. Have fun."
Her mother giggled as the girl went back to her room.
Viridian City
Meanwhile, Nayana had gone home. There was a note on the apartment door.
"Gone to get food. Be back soon. Don't eat anything. I'm making dinner as soon as I get back. - Dad"
Nayana felt sick to her stomach just thinking about her father cook. He wasn't good at cooking anything but bachelor food (which was what they ate the most, other than fast food). Nayana was the one that usually cooked dinners. They weren't any good compared to her grandma or her father's friend Brock, but they were much better than her father's horrifying cooking.
"Haha, he'll never know if I sneak in a cookie or two," Nayana said, reaching into her coat pocket. A package of cookies from a bakery was there from the day before. Then Nayana noticed a PS on the note.
"P.S. I know you have cookies. Don't you dare eat them! Put them on the counter or ELSE!"
"Damn, Dad knows too much," Nayana said, pulling out her keys. Soon the girl was inside, and she put the cookies on the counter like instructed to.
The TV was on the Pokémon Trainer's Channel. Wanting to keep herself entertained, Nayana sat down on the white couch and started watching. It was about how to have Pokémon prepared for anything in a battle. Nayana yawned; it was really basic stuff. She then wondered why her father had even kept it on this channel. He was a Pokémon Master, and knew the basics like the back of his hand.
"And remember folks, feed your Pokémon Pokémon Food made just for them!" the man in a suit said. "Stop by your local breeder's shop to figure out what your Pokémon need."
"Booooring…" Nayana said, concentrating on the remote. Quickly it flew into her outstretched hand, and she changed the channel.
Ash came home to see her daughter watching mindless Pokémon cartoons.
"Hey Dad. You're going to poison me again?" Nayana asked. "Haven't you learned by now that I hate your food? I can cook better than you!"
Staring, the man then put the paper bags with food in it on the kitchen counter.
"Fine then, you cook your own dinner," he replied, putting a gallon of milk away. "I wanted to give you a break, since I knew you'd be exhausted, but if you say so--"
Nayana sighed. Her father did have a point. She was quite tired from the tryouts.
"Fine, cook then. But don't blame me if I puke all over the carpet."
"Hey, I've been taking lessons. Remember last time I cooked something? Wasn't it decent?" he said, now pulling out a package of ground beef.
Nayana rolled her eyes. "It was meatloaf, and it was horrendous! Like meatloaf isn't bad enough without you ruining it!"
"You're exaggerating," Ash insisted. "It was actually good for my cooking."
"Pika!" Pikachu said in obvious disagreement. The Pokémon was behind Ash's leg, and was staring at what he was making. He had stolen some from Nayana's plate that night and had puked on the carpet, several times. It took the rest of the night to get it out.
"See, even Pikachu agrees with me! I win!" Nayana said, big grin on her face. Sighing and shaking his head again, the man went into one of the brown paper bags and grabbed a box. Tonight Ash was going to attempt to make a hamburger and noodle dish.
In about forty-five minutes, dinner was ready. Reluctantly Nayana went to the table, where her father had put down a plate to her. The dish looked nothing like the cover. It was gray sauce, noodles and only a few pieces of meat. Ash had burnt almost all of them, leaving only a few that could actually be used. Nayana felt a sudden urge to sing funeral music as she started at her plate.
"Nice going Dad," Nayana said sarcastically, sitting down. The man glared at her, spooning some out for himself.
Slowly the teenager picked up her fork and put some noodles on it. Plugging her nose, Nayana put the noodles into her mouth. To her surprise, it was quite edible. It was actually good.
"Oh my god Dad made something good," Nayana mumbled. "This is a sign! The world's coming to an end!" she yelled, putting some more noodles onto her fork.
"Oh shut up and keep eating," he replied, putting some noodles onto his fork. One of the things he did not like was when people taunted him.
Soon dinner was done. Nayana was still surprised that her father had pulled off something decent. The teenager then went to the counter, where her cookies lay. She took them out of the wrapper and started to devour them.
"Hey, you're gonna choke yourself if you eat them that fast," Ash said, looking at his daughter.
"Yah right. You do it all the time, and I haven't seen you choke yet!" Nayana said once her mouth was empty. The man sighed, since his daughter had a good point.
The night went by quickly. After cake (a celebration of Nayana getting her job), they played Scrabble, where Ash was severely beaten by his daughter. The man had a decent vocabulary, but he couldn't play Scrabble to save his life. Nayana didn't gloat; she knew better not to, since she had before and had gotten in trouble for it.
After that, Nayana popped in a movie, and Ash, Nayana and Pikachu watched it. By then, it was 10:30, and the man went to bed. That left Nayana out watching cheesy cable movies until she passed out on the couch.
Saffron City
In a lonely apartment was Lance. He lived alone, and he loved it that way. His apartment was a mess, with movies, clothes and trash in random piles. Since there was no one to complain about the mess, he never cleaned it up. It wasn't worth his time. Lance only made sure it didn't smell, since that got on his nerves.
The man sat down on the beaten-up couch and turned on the TV. There was nothing on for his interests, since he hadn't paid the cable bill. He had been too lazy to, and he was feeling the consequences of it.
The man was quite lonely in his apartment, although he wasn't going to admit it. He never liked company at all, even his co-workers. Lance was a solitary man, and he felt that he needed no one to keep him happy. Yet he felt that he was missing something. While trying to fill the gap, he had bought movies, gone many places and tried many things, always alone when doing so. He had trained to the max, since he had nothing else better to do. Yet it was still there: a void that could never be filled. Many had suggested that he get some real friends, but Lance wasn't going to get any. No one ever liked him, the mean little boy from the orphanage. Why would they want to be friends with him?
Soon the man lied down on the couch. He was thinking about the people he had seen today. A few actually sparked his interest. Nayana was quite tough; he made a mental note to take the girl on someday. Lance loved a challenge, and the girl looked extraordinarily like the woman he wanted to get revenge against. The woman had sent him to the orphanage. Lance had no family, and he at least wanted to know where he had come from.
There was also Arielle. There was something that sparked his interest. She seemed like a friendly girl, and the man was surprised to see he actually liked it. He made a note to talk to her again. Maybe then he'd find out if she were even worth his time. A few had sparked his interest like Arielle, but they turned out to be losers. He was sure that she was most likely one too.
But only time would tell if he was right or wrong.
Soon the man fell asleep, TV still on.