Chapter Two: Love Thy Neighbour

With white energy trailing behind her, Paige slammed into Mankey's stomach; it was not powerful, but was enough to knock him off balance and let her get away again.

"Man Man Man MAN!" The Mankey leapt back to his feet with an angry glare in his eye. Claws glowing white, he lunged. He jumped higher than Alaska had expected, and she gasped as he managed to grab hold of Paige.

"Pidge!" She screeched, and the two fell back the earth. They landed in a heap in the grass, disappearing amongst the green.

"Are you alright?" Alaska asked frightfully, wondering if her first battle was already over.

"Pidgey Eeey!" Paige stuck her head up, clearly battered but still ready to fight.

"Alright, let's not beat around the bush: hit him with Gust!" Alaska beamed proudly as Paige pushed herself back up, refusing to back down. With a loud chirp, she flapped her wings furiously and hit the stunned Mankey with a powerful gust of wind. The wild Pokémon couldn't stand up to the type advantage and tumbled over once again.

"Finish this with Steel Wing!" Alaska shouted. Paige's wings glowed silver and she swooped down instantly, but Mankey was not as weak as Alaska had thought: he leapt back up, his expression as angry as ever, and ran towards the incoming Pidgey with a raised fist. Paige swerved and avoided his attack, and clipped him with her shining wings. Mankey fell for a third time, and this time he seemed to be staying down.

I can use Gust again and probably end this, Alaska thought, but… he is sprightly and strong… I could use a Pokémon like him. "What do you think Paige, should I catch him?" Paige landed on right shoulder, looking judgingly down at the weakened Mankey. She looked uncertain, or perhaps jealous, but after a moment she gave a little nod.

"Alright then, here goes nothing!" Alaska pulled an empty PokeBall out of her pocket. She had waited years to do this, catch a Pokémon all on her own, and Alaska felt a powerful rush at crossing this accomplishment off her list already.

She threw the ball with all her might, and watched as the red and white capsule hit Mankey on the head. He did not protest as the ball turned him into red energy and sucked him inside. Alaska ran forwards as the ball fell into the grass: it shook once… twice… thrice… PING! Alaska froze for a second, uncertain if it had worked, if she caught her first Pokémon. But when there was no movement, she looked at Paige, at the Bird Pokémon beamed back at her.

"BOOYAH!" Alaska shouted, scooping the ball up. "Who just caught their first Pokémon? I did!" She whooped.

"Pidgeeeeeey!" Paige twittered excitedly. Alaska looked down at the ball like a kid in a candy store: her first capture, her second Pokémon, all on the first day of her journey. This is really happening, isn't it?

"Right, nickname… umm… oooh, this is tough, thinking on the spot… umm… Darwin? Do you like that?"

"Pidgey Pidge!" Paige agreed, and Alaska smiled.

"Darwin it is then. Welcome to the team, buddy. Let's get you both to the Pokémon Centre and heal you up – if we hurry, we might be able to catch Mum." Alaska stepped through the grass with Paige by her side, feeling like she had just run a mile. Her feet certainly ached, but Alaska walked through the pain, refusing to let anything ruin her day.

"Oh my goodness! Alaska, HI!"

Except maybe that. A shiver of disgust went down Alaska's spine as those five words echoed through the balley, and she knew instantly whose voice they belonged to.
Mitchell Melton

The Melton's had always been right next door to the Acevedo's. Mr Melton worked for Silph Co. in Saffron City, while Mrs Melton organised volunteer and charity work around Viridian. As Mr Melton spent most of the year in Saffron, whenever Mrs Melton had to go and organise a food drive or a school function, Mitchell would be home alone.
So, back before Alaska got her job at the PokeMart, her mother had suggested she do some babysitting. Alaska didn't mind at first: all the cool people on TV seemed to be doing it, so why not her?

But that was before the first night.

Mitchell was about as hyperactive as an Electrode on drugs. Alaska had brought board games, but Mitchell kept getting bored and began throwing the pieces at her. The next time, Mitchell broke all the DVD's and tried to blame it on her. Then a fun game of tag cost $5,000 when Mitchell knocked over a bunch of expensive vases and broke Mrs Melton's good china plates. Every time Alaska stepped foot in that house, Mitchell would somehow break something, smash something, stain something, burn something – he once flooded the entire upstairs.

It had gotten so bad Alaska had taken the underpaying job at the PokeMart just to escape him. Mrs Melton had tried and succeeded a few times when her funds were low to get her to go back, but it had been nearly a month since their last interaction, and Alaska had hoped with her journey she would be free of him for good.

And now here he was, running down the road towards her, waving and smiling happily. The ten-year-old looked the same as ever: light brown hair, a slightly elongated face, pasty white skin, oversized bag and mismatched clothing. He gave off the impression of a very unstable Raticate, and the way he looked now, he might as well be coming to re-join his species.

"I can't believe it's you!" Mitchell's squeaky voice exclaimed as he ran towards her. Alaska grimaced and looked at Paige for advice, but was stunned to find her gone. She turned and caught the Pidgey glancing at her from atop a nearby branch before looking inconspicuously away.

"Thanks for your support," Alaska hissed, and took a deep breath before turning to face him.

"Hello!" Mitchell jumped to a stop and raised a hand. Alaska forced a smile and gave him the high-five he wanted.

"Why are you here" She asked, not caring if she sounded rude. But Mitchell didn't notice, smiling stupidly and pointing at the league building.

"My mummy told me you were going on your journey, so I decided I would go on one as well!" He explained happily. Alaska's eyes bulged and her jaw dropped, but Mitchell had looked away and didn't notice. "My mum thought it would be a great idea, so we arranged everything, and now I'm travelling!"

"That's great… just great…" Alaska mumbled through clenched teeth, resisting the urge to jump in the stream.
"Have you already signed up?"

"Yep heading back to town now," Alaska explained. Mitchell frowned, but then his face quickly lit up.

"It shouldn't take more than a minute, right?" He asked, but continued before she could answer. "I'll rush over there, do everything, and meet you back here, and then we can start our journey together!" And before Alaska could reply, Mitchell ran off, waving to her as he went. Alaska watched him go feeling like he had just robbed her of something precious. She felt angry, sad and confused all at once, unable to conjure up anything to say. Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustling noise, and Alaska watched as Paige took off from the branch and frantically flew back to Viridian.

"You aren't leaving without me!" Alaska sprinted after her without a second thought. For a moment, she felt a pang of guilt for ditching Mitchell already, but she knew that if she spent more than a day on the road with him, she definitely would jump in the nearest stream – probably with a few stones in her bag, just to be sure.


Viridian was quiet by the time Alaska made it back. It was the perfect hour, between lunch and the end of school when everybody was at work and the streets were empty. Alaska savoured these moments of peace, a reminder of the town she remembered. Today though, she was in no mood for recollection: tired and panting, she collapsed onto a metal bench near the Pokémon Centre, where Paige sat perched waiting for her.

"Remind me… never to run… again!" Alaska groaned, clutching the stitch in her chest. "Pidgey Pidge Pidgey!" Paige looked perfectly relaxed, and Alaska glared at her as she retrieved her drink bottle from her bag and had a well-earned slug. She took the lid off so Paige could have a drink, and then sank back in the bench looking around what had been her home for thirteen years.

Alaska was torn about leaving this behind. She still struggled to recognise the city that lay before her. It had been decimated to such an extent that the memories of returning home, finding everything in ruins was what Alaska always recalled first when she looked to the past. It took a lot of effort to move past that, to forget about what was now and remember what had been before Rocket arrived.

Yet she had lived here her entire life. She had gone to school here, worked here, shopped here, eaten here; Viridian was a part of her. Setting out to cities and routes she had never been to was going to be a huge adjustment, especially when she still couldn't wrap her head around her own city.

Alaska simply sat for a few minutes, taking in the places she wanted to remember. The Pokémon Centre and Poké Mart stood next to each other in the road opposite her: the two had emerged as beacons from the rubble, quickly rebuilt and standing out as the first of their kind in the rejuvenated country. The former was the biggest this side of Kanto, with a bright orange roof and mirrored black windows standing out amongst the browns and greys of the town houses around it. The Poke Mart had been kept the same, sapphire blue roof and white brick outer walls, looking more like a cottage than anything else. It was half the reason Alaska had chosen to work there; it reminded her of what the city had been like, rather than what people wanted it to be.

"Pidge Pidge?" Paige chirped softly next to her, and Alaska realised her eyes had begun to well up.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" She replied flippantly, dabbing at her eyes. It was silly to get so emotional about this old place. But everywhere she looked, another memory was stirred up, and Alaska had to accept leaving this place behind would be harder than she thought.

Though I won't ever have to see that thing again, she added bitterly as her eyes settled on the shining head of the perpetually frozen Charizard in the distance. The sight of that was enough to dam her tears, and Alaska leapt to her feet.

"Let's go before Mitchell comes back." Alaska took off and began marching towards the Pokémon Centre, Paige following in hot pursuit. She suddenly wanted to leave the city, leave all the memories and devastation behind, go somewhere where she could turn a corner without having to look at their faces, without having to be reminded about –

"Oh fuck no."

The doors on the Pokémon Centre parted few metres ahead of her, and for the second time that hour, a shiver spread through Alaska's body. A group exited, three teenagers flanked by mostly black-clad adults that loomed over them, and one of them was the last person Alaska wanted to see. She turned to leave, but didn't realise just how loudly she had spoken.

"Oh Alaska, there you are! I was wondering when I might bump into you." Alaska froze, body tense, wondering if it was too late to run back to Mitchell. Yet there was no avoiding Chloe Carmichael once she was on the prowl, and the blonde suddenly appeared in front of her.

"You know, I was just thinking about you." Chloe spoke with a soft purr like a classic movie star, flashing Alaska an unnecessarily white smile. "I mean, you're heading off on your own, underdressed and lacking as always, and I'm going to be surrounded by people who actually want to be around me – just like old times, don't you think?"

"Oh, so you pay your friends at school to follow you as well? Well, that certainly explains a lot." Chloe's smile instantly thinned. As the other members of the reality show moved around them, Alaska felt her already brewing rage intensify, and more than ever she was glad to be leaving.

She and Chloe had never gotten along. If she was being honest, Alaska could not remember how their feud had started: she just knew that there had always been something between them. And over time, their mutual hate had simply festered. They were simply polar opposites, and it was only natural for them to butt heads.

It didn't help that Alaska would only have to turn around and see the Carmichael house looming behind the Pokémon Centre, a mansion rising from the rubble in a city suddenly too small for it. The signs of Carmichael wealth were everywhere in Viridian, and Chloe was a walking advertisement for how well her father had done. Alaska doubted the flowery dress and hot pink heels her foe was currently wearing came from the reality show, and the caked-on makeup and hair styled as though she was twice her age could easily have been her own doing.

"Have they handed you your first Pokémon yet?"

"Just this morning – it's all moving very fast, but of course, it's what I expected," Chloe replied, flicking her hair back. "They've even done all the registration for us already. Did you have to walk all the way to the League building to do it? That must have been such a pain, especially in those shoes," she added, smirking and casting her eyes done.

"A hell of a lot more comfortable than those. Are you going to be in them for the whole show, or will you change into something less comfortable for Mt Moon?" Chloe's eyes flashed with anger and she opened her mouth to reply, but a boy suddenly appeared between them.

"Um, hi," he said, raising his hand awkwardly at Alaska before looking at Chloe. "They need you back there, we're filming again soon." Alaska glanced over her shoulder and caught a thin lipped, black haired woman in a tight dress glowering at them from the middle of a camera crew, and she winked at her before turning back.

"I'll be there in a moment, Damian, I am just making sure Alaska here doesn't forget me on her journey."

"Whatever," Damian mumbled, raising an eyebrow as he looked back at Alaska. "Hey, I'm Damian Darme."

"Alaska," Alaska replied enthusiastically, limply shaking his extended hand. She didn't care how friendly he seemed: if he was going on this show, he had to be as spoilt and self- important as Chloe. He definitely looked the part: tall, tanned, wavy, sandy blonde hair, diamond-white teeth and blue eyes, he looked more like a surfer than a trainer. Alaska noticed that his shirt seemed to a size too small. Turning a thirteen year old into sex symbol; so it's going to be that sort of show…

"Aren't you going to introduce me as well?" A second boy appeared at Alaska's side, basically yelling in her ear. Flashing a cheesy grin, he thrust a hand into her face. "Lachlan Lynch, but everyone calls me Lochy."

"Wonderful." Alaska delicately shook his hand. She could see why he had been chosen: short, skinny, pale, red-brown hair and a face full of acne, this Lochy was clearly the comic relief of the group, the everyman the audience could relate to. Though Alaska could tell already he wouldn't win: his type never did, especially not when Blondie and Bitchface were striking a pose around him.

"My, my, aren't we diverse," Alaska quipped, gazing across their skin. "I see you're not trying to win the Sevii Islands audience then."

"Urgh, I don't want those savages watching me," Chloe scoffed. "Daddy said that once you leave the tourist areas, they all just live in huts and wallow in the –"

"Well, they're homes were destroyed, but it's not like you'd have sympathy for anyone with real problems," Alaska fumed, fists balling up. She wanted to throw something at Chloe, just do something to ruin the first day of her show, but she had more important things to worry about. "Well, as unpleasant as this has been, I really need to get on my way and –"

"Oh my god, guys, why doesn't she come to the Trainer House with us?" Lochy exclaimed, flapping his arms and grinning stupidly. "You should come – we're going there so they can test our skills before the show begins."

"I really should be going on my –"

"Come, it would be nice to test our skills on someone impartial," Damian chimed in. "We're all doing it."

"All of you?" Alaska said, pausing as she tried to turn around. The two boys nodded, and Alaska felt suddenly mischievous. She glanced at her rival, and the look of silent anger on Chloe's face sealed the deal.

"You know what, I can wait a little bit longer to leave," Alaska said, smiling back at them. "I'll heal my Pokémon and meet you there."

"Awesome!" Lochy exclaimed. He and Damian walked off, and a glaring Chloe followed in their shadow.

"I will destroy you," she hissed.

"Bring it on," Alaska replied, and she beamed widely at Paige: first day, first capture, and now time for their first proper battle – there was no stopping them now.