The jolting stopped, suddenly, and Kerensa was thrown into a pile of half-empty cardboard boxes. Inside one, she heard something delicate shatter.
"Oops…" she muttered, picking herself up and brushing her long, black hair out of her eyes. The doors of the truck creaked open and light flooded in.
"Kerensa?" a voice asked; cautiously.
"Here" she muttered "Not the most comfortable ride I've ever had…"
Her older brother stepped into the truck; dark brown eyes (a family trait) looked her up and down for a moment.
"Your own fault for choosing to stay with me until the last truck of our stuff set off. You could have gone with mum in the first one." He chuckled.
"Yeah well, whatever. Are we there or did we break down again?" she sighed
"We're here; mum's waiting for us, come on!"
--
Kerensa jumped down from the back of the mover's truck; looking around their new home. Littleroot town was a small, quiet place. A few dozen houses and a couple of shops were all that it had to offer, but it was a lovely little place. Kerensa had thought she'd be bored there, when told about it before they moved, but her mother had assured her that the nearby Petalberg city had cinemas and whatever else her old city home had been near.
She decided she'd like it.
..But what about her family? Would they be there to keep her company? They had moved here because their father had a job, managing the Internet Boxes that trainers could keep their pokemon in. He and a friend had initially designed this system, but now the company belonged to his friend and Kerensa's dad had been content to keep his manager's position.
Her mum had decided to find a job somewhere in Littleroot, or nearby, to keep an eye on the house, so she'd be around. Kerensa loved her mum, but she knew she'd get bored of hanging around in their house.
She had three brothers. One of them, Rohan, was her twin and he'd gone down here before her. He, like her, was fifteen, so he'd probably be at home most of the time anyway.
Then there were her two oldest brothers. Kiran was the middle child; twenty years of age. He could be bad-tempered and obnoxious, but they all loved him really and he was alright. He had become a pokemon trainer at sixteen and gone off on his journey, but had recently settled for a job in Petalberg City, nearby, so he would be around, she supposed.
Finally, there was her eldest brother. Twenty-two year-old Dan had become a trainer, seen the world, and come home. He had been living at their home in Kanto for almost a year, looking for a job, and he had finally found one in Hoenn; a freelance Detective, or Bounty Hunter. Thinking about him, and his career, Kerensa almost laughed. He was not the sort of guy you'd expect to find in that line of work. He was the gentlest man she knew, and if it hadn't been for his successful trainer's journey around the world, she wouldn't have thought him incapable of doing it.
She was snapped out of her daydreaming when she walked into Dan's back. He had stopped in front of a whitewashed cottage, on the edge of town. A stream gurgled behind it and the trees were bent over with age. The place had a serene beauty and she finally knew why her mother had chosen the country over the city.
There was her mother now: She sat in a deckchair on the veranda' smiling and drinking from a mug.
"How was your journey?"
"Fine" Dan replied, ascending the stairs "Not too bumpy for me."
"Good, good…" their mum said. She had brown hair, which was tied into a bun, and wore a long, summer dress. Kerensa knew that she was the only one in her family who did not have dark brown hair: hers was jet-black. The others had all inherited their mother's brown hair, although Dan's was very dark, you couldn't tell unless you looked closely.
"Mum, where's dad?" Kerensa queried. Their father had gone on ahead of all of them to secure his new office.
"He's working, and he's got a room in Fallarbour town. He'll come down this weekend."
"Fair enough; what about Rohan and Kiran?" she asked. There was a sudden, uncomfortable silence, which meant that her eldest brother and her mother both knew something she didn't. Something she wouldn't like.
"Kiran's gone to Petalberg, to work in the Gym." Her mum said, avoiding disclosing the whereabouts of her twin. Dan shifted, nervously adjusting the cuffs of his long, grey, fabric greatcoat.
"He's not dead is he?" Kerensa asked, with a hint of playful hopelessness in her voice. Dan smiled, nervously.
"Well, we know the two of you were going to start your pokemon journey at the same time…" he began. Kerensa's face darkened and her hands clenched into fists. She knew what was coming next.
"…But he met Dad's old friend, Professor Greton, who lives here." Her mum went on. "anyway, Greton gave him a Pokemon and he started to train it and-"
"HOW COULD YOU!" She screamed. "You're SO unbelievable! You let him start before me!"
Dan cowered before his little sister's tantrum.
"It was mum who let him! She only told me on the phone!" he whined, sounding like a twelve year old.
"Now Kerensa…" her mum tried to calm her down "We didn't let him start his journey, we just let him get his Pokemon early. He's still around here; training it outside town, probably."
She cooled down, but was still angry.
"Now he's got a head start on me; he'll gloat about his 'power' all the time, you know what he's like." She growled.
"You don't have to listen to him" Dan smiled "Besides; we got a present to make it up to you…"
"Oh, trying to bribe me won't work…." She sulked "…what is it?"
"…new Pokenav?"
"I love you mum…"
--
The trio entered the house. It wasn't big, but it was pretty tall, with around five floors. Kerensa's room was on the top one, and she quickly set up her stuff there. She then wandered downstairs to find her mum and Dan both watching TV.
"What's on?" asked Kerensa. Her mum turned to her.
"It's the news. I was just watching when there was a newsflash."
"Oh, what now?" she sighed "Natural disaster?"
"Nope" her mum looked worried "a young trainer got himself in over his head nearby"
Kerensa got that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Is it Rohan?" she asked, nervously. Even though she was furious with her twin for getting a head start, she didn't want him to get hurt.
"We don't know. The helicopter camera view is obstructed by the trees."
Kerensa suddenly stopped and listened. The sound of rotors became audible, faintly.
"I hear the news helicopter!" she exclaimed "It must be nearby!"
Dan got to his feet.
"I'd better go save him then, whoever he is."
He strode out, quickly, and they heard his footfalls heading across the wooden bridge, to the forest outside the town.
"That forest is like a maze. What if he gets lost…?" Kerensa asked. Her brother wasn't known for his sense of direction. Her mum stood up.
"I'll go and find Professor Greton; his office is in the town. Perhaps he can help."
Her mum, too, left the house in a hurry. Kerensa was left twiddling her thumbs, and glancing at the shaky camera shots on TV. They occasionally showed a teenage boy of Rohan's height and build fleeing through trees and making random turns. A pack of doglike Poochena's chased him, angrily barking and snapping at his heels.
Then something happened. The screen of the television flickered, and went dark. At first, Kerensa thought it must be a power cut, but then a pair or eyes appeared on set. They were deep crimson and slitted like a cat's, and they held madness, hate and rage. Kerensa let out a cry as the thing on the TV spoke, in a hushed; angry voice:
"Look upon me and be afraid, human. Two will die, and then I will be the death of you all."
"W…what?" she stammered. The set hissed with static and went blank. Kerensa sat in silence for almost a minute. There was the sound of the door handle turning and she cried out again, half-expecting the creature to be there, but it was just her mum. In tow was a balding man with a long nose and green eyes. He wore a coat and hat, on top of casual summer wear.
"Hey Kerensa!" he smiled "It's been a while!"
"Hello Professor." She calmed down a little. The professor sat down beside both her and her mother, and placed a bag on the table.
"Now I've got to be honest; Dan's probably dealing with that hoarde of Poocheana as we speak. However, I've got three poke-balls here. I know you probably want to think about what pokemon you start with, but there's no time. You can choose your starter now and go and help, or you can stay here and start later."
The choice was obvious.
"I'll help. What are they?"
Each poke-ball had a precious stone set into it. One held a small ruby, one a sapphire, and one an emerald. The Professor released each pokemon in turn.
"Mudkip" he declared. The pokemon with the sapphire-topped pokeball opened and a small, blue, froglike creature emerged from it. It had curious, sad-looking eyes, a fin atop its head and orange whiskers on its cheeks. A second fin was its tail, and it had small legs that made it look clumsy on land. He then recalled it and opened the emerald poke-ball.
"Treecko" It was a gecko-like pokemon, with large eyes and a thick, green tail that helped it balance on its hind legs. Finally, he let out the pokemon with the ruby poke-ball.
"Torchic" he smiled. It was a chubby, cute-looking bird with a hooked beak and small; angry eyes. It had orange, downy feathers, and stubby wings. There was a tuft of red feathers atop its head and it stood on two, chicken-like feet.
Kerensa was torn, but knew there was little time to think. She thought about Torchic, but knew her brother had probably taken one when he'd chosen (he loved fire pokemon). Treecko had looked strong and determined, but she wasn't sure she could handle such a headstrong starter.
She picked Mudkip and took the sapphire-topped pokeball.
"A good choice: strong and dependable, yet young and willing to learn." The professor declared.
"What will you do?" Kerensa asked the two adults.
"I'll wait for the police, and give them a report on what's happened" Greton said.
"I'll take Bindi, and head into the woods, too." Her mother decided. Bindi was the family pet; an aging, black-furred Delicatty. She could handle herself in a fight, and had beaten off burglars more than once back in their family home in Kanto.
Wordlessly, Kerensa left the house and ran into the woods.