(((Author's Notes: This is based on a really long story in a role-playing board. Meant to be a simple freeform that turned out to be a lot longer than it was meant to be. ;;; Oh. Those speech in " >" is speech in that version of Poketalk. Jemilie can't understand Poketalk like plain English; some can speak in English. Hope that clears everything.))

((All characters belong to me. Nintendo's credit goes to the weird and wonderful creatures known as Pokemon.)))

Chapter 1

Set the Stage of Tragedy

There are times when I wonder what the purpose of existence is. Is it really worth it, to withstand all this pain to see the end of life? Would happiness, however short and subtle, make it all worthwhile? What happens when one meets death? Is it pleasant? Painful? Is it as we see it, dreaming forever in eternal sleep? I wouldn't have minded it, if I only knew what was beyond life. But my need to live outweighs my desire for death. Its confusing…I see no reason to continue this feeble existence. Yet, I feel there will be no peace for me until I fulfill my role here in this world. I just wish I knew what it is that I must do…

Jemilie closed the leather-bound book, leaning back upon the rough bark with a drained sigh. She allowed Aura, her recent addition to her team, to dispel her concerns with her melodic song, by an enchanting voice that intoxicated the air with such peaceful bliss. Such a beautiful song…it had no words, just a caressing, soft voice that rose and fell gently, casting an image of false peace over the merciless battlefield that was Route 1. The area was anything but peaceful; if one would not allow himself to be captivated with such natural beauty –of the crystalline river, the emerald grass, and the sweet, still air- then he could see that it was nothing more than a Pokemon trainer free-for-all. The residents of the routes were nothing more than fair game to those aspiring trainers that, day after day, leave the small quiet town nearby to antagonize them for their own personal means. That was how life went about this region, she realized long ago. Such a primitive mentality of living where Pokemon were objects of sport, their powers harnessed by the greedy human to grant them the power to fulfill their wildest desires. It was how history always went: not really learning from what was done, just repeating their mistakes in different ways. Improvement, liberation, equality…nothing more than mere rhetoric.

She opened her eyes, realizing the song, as pretty as it was, wasn't really doing much to make her feel better. Her eyes fell to her side, where her fire-type companion had been wrestling with the strange Pokemon Egg for the last hour or so. She saw his form sprawled atop it, his mouth biting down on its rigid surface without vigor, tiny fangs clicking upon it in meager effort.

"No, no, Garuda Ra. Don't break the egg." She paused, blinking slowly. "Hwajeh."

The Charmander glanced up, its sapphire blue eyes meeting the emerald green ones of his trainer. Licking off the saliva splattered over his lips, he obediently rolled off the round object with a silent thud to the grass.

Dammit…he's so much like him. Her gaze remained wary, anguished feelings gripping at her heart. The small Charmander was so indifferent to a human child…so much that she couldn't help but feel like a mother to him. It was the same way back at the university, where she took in her care hundreds of students, both human and Pokemon alike. They were so many of them, all troublesome and required such a huge effort to look after, but she loved them all regardless. However, it wasn't comparable to the feelings she held to a single child, one she truly felt was her own. She frowned a bit, knowing that the small child beside her would not remain that way for very long. Would he end up like her last, one she had raised by herself since birth, only to have left her upon reaching adulthood? She understood his reasons for leaving her. She knew it was her fault he did. Though she felt like a mother to him, she didn't act like one. That was the mistake she made in his upbringing. It couldn't be helped, and no amount of explaination would've convinced him that her reasons were different from what he believed. She had no choice but to let him go, let him live and see for himself what he needed to know.

She took the speckled egg in her hands, bringing it to her face for a closer analysis. It was a Pokemon egg, no doubt, left behind in her PC by another trainer. It was strange and yet disappointing those other random trainers would leave her their Pokemon rather than release them back into the wild. The fact that one of her boxes was already full with unnecessary monsters didn't delight her. Though, rather than follow through with her previous plan to sell them, she decided to keep them there for her studies. She found to have been in possession with quite an interesting lot; they would contribute greatly to the necessary data she planned to collect.

"The thickness and make up of the shell, its temperature…it must be a fire Pokemon's egg," she muttered, turning it about in her hands. "It would require a thick shell to insulate the heat like this." She nestled the small thing onto the grass, into the Charmander's arms. "Keep it warm, Hwajeh."

As if on cue, the Swablu ceased its merry song, floating gently down to the group relaxed below it. It settled its body atop the egg, spreading its tiny talons over it, but at most only accomplishing to conceal half the egg within its small form. The girl watched with amusement and interest, then slipped a different notebook out of her bag, one with a label that read 'Research Notes' on its front. She scribbled a few words inside it before closing it abruptly. Staring up at the moderate midnoon, she gave an interested hum.

"It looks like such a fine day. Perhaps a walk is in order."

To be continued

(((Short, yes. . don't worry, it gets longer)))