The sun shone brightly in the middle of the sky, granting the mid-autumn day unusual warmth. The leaves on the trees were beginning to turn from a lush green to burnished bronze, and soon they would fall in a rain of fiery color. In the sky, two sleek forms shot through the air, one leaving a sparkling trail as it flew.
The trees parted, and the huge bulk of Fallacy Manor could be clearly seen from the view of the two humans on the backs of the flying Pokemon. The door of the mansion opened and a teenage boy came running out, a silver Ninetales hot on his heels.
"It's Cougar!" exclaimed Tessa from the back of her shining Charizard.
"I had him come by so he could see me finish the big painting and hear your story." explained Kara as she signaled for her Salamence to descend.
The two dragon-like pokemon landed in front of the house, and Cougar ran up to meet them.
"Tessa, Kara! I haven't seen you two for such a long time!"
"I know!" said Tessa, "But we all travel around so much it's hard to talk!"
"Well, let's get inside so my sister can finish that big painting she's been talking so much about!"
"I want to hear Tessa's story first, so I can get a feel for the character." said Kara.
Tessa smiled and waved her hand in dismissal.
"Nah, how about you just meet him for yourself? I'm sure he'll want to get out of the Poke'ball after that long flight!"
"You mean you have him with you!?" asked Kara in disbelief.
"Of course!" answered Tessa, "couldn't you see him when we battled? He was the last one I sent out."
"There was so much rain I could barely see my own Pokemon!"
Tessa shrugged, taking out a small ultra ball from her pack. She pushed the button on the front of the sphere and tossed it into the air, shielding her eyes from the burst of glitter that emanated from the creature that had emerged.
There was a gasp from both Kara and Cougar, the only sound as the blue Pokemon gazed at its surroundings curiously. Tessa grinned at her friends, amused by the shocked look on their faces.
"Do you know what that is?" asked Kara disbelievingly.
"Of course I do!" said Tessa as she tried to keep from laughing out loud, "He's a Mew."
"But not just any Mew," said Cougar, "It's a shining Mew!"
"Why are they staring at me?" asked the mew, turning to Tessa so he could be understood.
"They're just surprised," answered the trainer, "Don't worry, they'll get over it."
"I certainly hope so!" said the shining Pokemon, "It's beginning to get unnerving."
"Come on everyone, snap out of it and let's get to the painting and story!" said Tessa, flicking small pebbles at her friends to get them out of their daze.
"Hey!" yelped Kara as a pebble smacked her in the forehead, "Oh, sorry! Don't you guys want to look around a bit before we settle down for the story? I could show you my training grounds!"
"Sure" said Tessa, shrugging.
"I haven't seen the training grounds for a while. I'm in!" agreed Cougar.
The group walked around to the back of the mansion, the Pokemon trailing behind them curiously. Kara opened the locked gate with a key on her backpack, and soon they had entered the beginner course. Sandbags leaned against the house, many of which were ripped and torn with use. A few Pokemon were training on the rock course, but those were the only ones in sight.
"I had all my customers take their Pokemon before I left for the competition, so the few that are here are the ones I didn't take with me to battle." explained Kara.
"Maybe a few of ours would like to train here while we go inside?" suggested Cougar.
"That's a great idea, Cougar," agreed Kara, "I'm sure my Pokemon could use some company while they train."
The trainers took all their Pokemon out and released them at the same time. The flash of red light was intense, but faded quickly. Soon, there were sixteen new Pokemon on the field.
"Hey Cougar, you finally got a water Pokemon!" exclaimed Tessa, looking admirably at the Golduck standing beside his Dugtrio.
"Yeah, I figured I'd need a water type to finish the Orange League."
"Well, he certainly looks strong!"
"Tessa!" squeaked a voice from behind the Golduck.
"Huh?" was all Tessa had time to say before a red and yellow form streaked towards her. She was bowled over by the force of the creature leaping on her in its over exuberant joy.
"Hope!" laughed Tessa, "Calm down before you cripple me!"
"Sorry Tessa!" said the shiny Vibrava, calming down enough to let the trainer stand.
"It's good to see you again, Hope!" said Tessa, hugging the small Pokemon, "The last time I saw you, you were still a Trapinch!"
"I grew!" laughed Hope.
Tessa watched as the Pokemon dispersed to train, and as Hope flew off to play in the broken sandbags. She proudly watched her Pokemon break rocks easily, but frowned at one white form.
"Dis!" she called sternly.
The Absol looked up hesitantly from the rock he was working at cracking.
"Dis," sighed Tessa, "You know you aren't supposed to be training so soon after those injuries!"
"Sorry, Tessa. I'll just sit over here near the sandbags..."
"No, you won't," said Tessa, "You're coming in to hear the story and watch the painting."
"Come on, you guys!" called Kara, "We have to get started, or you won't be able to get into the story!"
"Let's go, my friend," sighed Tessa, "I think you'll enjoy my storytelling, however terrible my skills are."
Kara finished the last brush stroke and sighed, both joyful and sad that the painting was finally finished. Tessa, who had finished her tale long before, looked on quietly while stroking the fur on her Absol's head. Cougar was at the window, looking out into the dim light of evening reflectively, as if still absorbed in the story.
Sundrop came in through the open door, looking tired but happy. She saw the painting, and stopped short; she had missed the last stroke. The golden Mightyena whimpered sadly.
Kara looked over at the noise, surprised at the Pokemon's obvious displeasure with something. She considered, and suddenly understood.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Sundrop!" she said earnestly, "I forgot to call you in! I still have to sign my name, though, so it's not completely finished..."
The Mightyena nodded and barked, coming closer so she could better see the last step. With a gentle flourish of the soft-hair brush, Kara had put her signature on the beautiful scene. Everyone looked at the stunning image, speechless. Finally, Kara nodded and stood, finalizing the moment.
"That's that." she said, "This is definitely one of my best works, so I'll hang it up in the main hall after it dries."
"It's getting late, maybe we should call the Pokemon in…" suggested Cougar as he looked outside again.
"They'll be fine, it's a warm night," said Tessa, her voice hoarse from talking.
"Still, I'll keep the door open in case they want to come in," said Kara, "For now, Cougar can sleep on the couch, and I'll give you the guest room."
"Thank you, I need a rest," said Tessa, beginning to rise from her seat; she suddenly noticed a white form sneaking out the door.
"Get back here, Dis, you're staying with me. It's too cold outside for you while your recovering."
The Absol slunk back into the room guiltily and followed his trainer up the stairs. Kara and Cougar watched them go silently.
"That was an eye opening story, wasn't it?" said Cougar after a while.
"Yeah," said Kara, "I had no idea that it had gotten that bad..."
Sundrop nuzzled Kara's hand, understanding. She had listened to the entire story from Sky himself while the humans had been inside, and she knew what the trainers were talking about.
"At least I have you, Sundrop," said Kara, "and you weren't sold to some horrible trainer before me."
Sundrop suddenly remembered the day she was captured, and shuddered at the thought. She knew what usually happened to shiny pokemon; the Mew's tale had opened her eyes to the cruel side of human nature.
After a long silence, they all rose to go to bed.
"Goodbye Tessa!" yelled Kara as the black Charizard rose from the earth, taking the trainer with it.
"Have a safe trip!" finished Cougar, waving.
Tessa smiled down at them, waving her hand slightly. The Charizard circled once, and then headed off into the south. Sundrop and Sparkle barked happily and chased after it until they got to the edge of the yard, where they stopped to rest.
"I have to gather up my pokemon and go, too," said Cougar after Tessa had been lost from sight, "I'm going to a challenge up in the Fallarbor region; it'll be starting in a few days, and I want to be there early."
"You have to go already? Geez, the people in this family don't stay long, do they?" said Kara, smiling sadly.
"Come off it, sis; you know I have to go."
"Well, you're always welcome here if your in the area."
The two siblings walked to the training area to gather the pokemon, their two shiny's trotting close behind. This was like events always happened at their house, for no one stayed longer than a few days except for Kara, who was the caretaker and master of the manor.
Cougar left before noon, biking north at incredible speed with the aid of his mach bike. Kara was again left alone with the pokemon. She sighed.
"Come on, Sundrop, how about a little training practice? Maybe I'll paint you for my next picture when we're done!" she said.
Sundrop barked excitedly, for she had never been painted before. She would delight in seeing herself immortalized forever in a beautiful landscape.
"I knew you'd like the idea!" laughed Kara, patting the Mightyena's soft fur.
Suddenly, she heard the faint ring of a doorbell. Kara rushed to the front of the house to catch whomever it was before they gave up. She came to the door, breathless and plagued by an overenthusiastic pokemon.
"Sundrop, calm down. You'll get your-"
She stopped in the middle of her sentence as she opened the door, speechless and surprised. The visitor smiled nervously and waved his hand.
"Hi..."