Sapphire Heart

Prologue:

The clock struck two o'clock. Jewel turned from her computer and glanced out her window. A pidgey flew past her and she smiled slightly. There was a knock at her door. "Come in," she said.

A middle-aged man with glasses came into her room, holding a tray of food. "Hello, Jewel. How are you today?" He asked with a smile. Jewel didn't reply and turned back around to her computer. Her father set her food down on the stand next to her bed. "What are you working on?" He asked as he looked over her shoulder at the computer.

"Math," She replied in a monotone voice. She knew her father didn't really care. "I started learning trigonometry last week."

"I'm so proud of you," he said. "My little Jewel is so smart. One day you'll thank me."

"Thank you for what? Not letting me out of this house? Yes. One day, I'm sure I will thank you for isolating me from a normal life," Jewel replied in a monotone voice, while still on the computer.

"Now you don't mean that. Do you think you would be this smart if you had gone to a normal school with other children? The world is a mean cruel place. You needn't be out there in the middle of the chaos," He said as he walked towards her door. "And remember, no emails or chat rooms, you understand?"

Jewel nodded as he left her room and she heard him lock her door behind him. She sighed and minimized the window she was in and pulled up solitaire. She loved her father, but she found it difficult not to be angry with him. He had kept her locked up in her room since she was five years old. She was not happy with her life and the only fun she ever had was when she would secretly talk to people over email. She stayed on the computer the rest of the afternoon and got off at about five o'clock, once she realized how hungry she was. She walked over and sat down on her bed. She picked up the cold ham and cheese sandwich and ate it quietly. Ever since her mom had died when she was five, her dad had changed. He started working on weird projects in the basement and started locking Jewel in her room. That was seven years ago. She was twelve now. She finished her sandwich and washed it down with some soda her father had also brought. She lay down on her bed, and pulled her covers over most of her. She looked over at her pikachu plush doll that sat next to her pillow. Her mother had given her that doll before she had died. Tears swelled up in her blue eyes. She rolled over, and pressed her face against her pillow. Her long strawberry blond hair fell against the pillow, next to her face, as she cried herself to sleep.

Jewel shot awake. She looked over at her clock. It was three in the morning. She sat up and pain surged through her again. She felt terribly sick. She screamed in agony. She felt like she was dying. "What's wrong with me?" She thought. "What's happening to me?" She heard footsteps and looked over to see her father standing next to her bed.

He set his hand against her cheek. "Don't worry Jewel. Everything will be alright," he whispered. Jewel closed her eyes as she passed out.

Chapter One:

Russell burst into the kitchen. "Today's the day!" He yelled joyously. His mother smiled and set his breakfast on the table in front. He sat down with a huge smile on his face. "I can't wait to go see Professor Oak!" Russell was about five foot three and was thirteen-years-old. He had bright green eyes and brown hair.

His little sister, Tina, sat next to him. She had short brown hair and blue eyes and was wearing a yellow sundress. "You know that Spike's already had a lot of training from that boarding school he went to. He'll surely beat you," she teased.

Russell took a bite of one of his pancakes. "So? Just because he went to school doesn't mean he'll beat me," he replied. He then took another bite of his pancake and chugged his orange juice.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave," his mom giggled as she handed him his backpack.

Russell smiled. "Sorry Mom. I'm just so exited. I've been waiting for Spike to get back from that stupid boarding school for three years. There's no way I waiting any longer for this."

Tina pushed back her chair and hopped onto the floor and ran over and hugged her brother. "I'll miss you Russell," she said. Russell patted her on the head and smiled.

"Have you already decided on which Pokemon you want?" His Mom asked. "Did Professor Oak tell you what you could choose from?"

"Sure did. I get the choice between Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, just like everyone else," he replied.

Tina looked up at him with a devilish grin. "I heard that kids that go to Pokemon schools sometimes get different options."

Russell thought for a second. "Oh well. That's okay I guess," he said as he headed for the door. As he turned the knob, he glanced back at his family. He looked at them dearly. He would miss them, but he knew he'd be back soon to visit. "See you guys later," he said as the door closed behind him. His mom smiled and hugged Tina as she watched him leave.

Russell could not contain his excitement any longer as he broke into a sprint up the hill towards the lab. The day he had dreamed of was finally happening. He reached the door and stopped to catch his breath. The door opened and in the doorway stood another thirteen-year-old boy. He was about five foot four inches and had long black hair and yellow eyes. "Late as usually," he snickered.

Russell grinned. "I'm not late Spike, you're just early." The two boys stood there for a moment. They're eyes met in a bold yet friendly rivalry that they had had since they were young. Russell held his hand out and Spike shook it firmly. "Nice to see ya again."

"Same," Spike answered as the two boys walked inside. Spike shut the door as Professor Oak walked up to them with a smile.

"Well are you boys ready to start your journey?" he asked. Both Russell and Spike nodded. "Then follow me," he said as he turned around and walked towards the back of his lab. Russell's heart beat faster with each step into the lab. He couldn't believe this was finally happening. Professor Oak stopped next to his desk and turned around. "Now, the time has come where you will have to choose which Pokemon you want." He pointed to three pokeballs. They each had a small sticker on the top of them. One had a leaf on it, one a flame and one a water droplet. Professor Oak looked at Russell. "You go first, Russell," he said stepping back from the pokeballs. Russell gulped and walked over to the table. He had thought long and hard about the one he wanted, so he knew which one he would choose. He picked up the pokeball with the flame on it and held it firmly in his grasp. "So you want Charmander?" the Professor asked.

Russell nodded. "Yes," he replied to choked to say anything else.

"Now Spike," Professor Oak said turning to the other boy, "Do you still plan on choosing the one you registered from the school?"

Spike looked over at Russell who had already glanced at him and then looked back over at the Professor. "Yes sir," he replied.

"Well in that case…" Oak mumbled and he reached into his pocket. "Here he is," he finished as he pulled out a pokeball and handed to him. Spike nodded in gratitude and smiled. Russell could tell that Spike was just as excited about this as he was. Spike just wasn't one to be too emotional about things.

"Well, you can't leave on your journey without these," he said as he handed the boys two upgraded pokedexes. "They are already upgraded to all the Pokemon even the ones not in Kanto." The boys took the devices and packed them in their backpacks. "Why don't you meet your new friends?" Professor Oak suggested.

Both the boys threw their pokeballs in the air. A Charmander appeared before Russell. He sat on the ground and looked around the lab. Russell bent down and placed a hand on the Charmander's head. "Hey there Buddy. What's up?"

"Char!" He replied happily as he looked at his new trainer. Russell smiled and looked over at Spike who held in his hands an Eevee.

Jewel opened her eyes slowly. She felt like she was in a dream. Terrible visions had come to her in her sleep. She blinked. "Where am I?" she thought. She looked around and all she could she was crystal blue. She then saw a Magikarp swim underneath her. As she realized that she was submerged under water, she tried to cover her mouth with her hands immediately. Then she slowly removed her "once were" hands. She looked down at them and saw two blue paws. She swam up to the surface and burst out of the water. The clear blue sky stood above her as she climbed onto the riverbank. She turned around and looked at her reflection, but what she saw in the water was not what she was expecting. Before her stood the reflection of a Vaporeon. Jewel sat for a moment, shocked by her odd appearance. "How had this happened?" She thought. "Thismust be a dream. It must."

There was a rustle in the bushes and Jewel turned around. A small pink Pokemon shot out from the trees and dove underneath the water. Jewel watched wide-eyed as she saw it swim around and then out of sight. "But that was a-" her thought was interrupted by a growl and she turned around again. A Mightyena stepped out of the woods. It looked at her and growled again. Jewel heard a human voice, a voice instructing the Mightyena to catch her, to not let her escape. Jewel turned tail and ran. Her heart thumped heavily in her chest as the dark Pokemon closed in on her. It caught up to her and knocked her off balance onto the ground. Jewel rolled over against the dirt. The Mightyena stood over her and pressed its paw onto her stomach so she couldn't move.

Suddenly there was a flame that shot out of nowhere and struck the Mightyena, who turned to face his new opponent. Russell stood there with his Charmander. "Leave it alone!" Russell shouted to the Mightyena. The dark Pokemon stepped off the Vaporeon and bared its fangs at Charmander and then shot away after it's trainer.

Jewel lay on the ground trembling. Russell squatted down next to the Vaporeon and slowly reached his hand out to pet her. "Poor thing, it's really scared," Russell muttered.

Jewel looked up at him. He had saved her. He must be a nice person, she thought. Nonetheless she was scared and confused. She opened her mouth to speak. "Va-" she stopped. That's right. She was a Pokemon. Suddenly an extreme fatigue came over her and she fell out of conciseness.

Russell picked her up. "Come on Charmander, we have to take her to a Pokemon center. There's one in Viridian City. We have to hurry."

End Chapter One