It was the evening before Chira was set to leave, and she had just got back from saying goodbye to her pokemon friends in the forest. She had promised her dad to make it quick, only getting to go at all due to the fact she could actually communicate with them. Her immediate family were the only ones who knew she could, and they had found out when she started talking to trainer's pokemon in their own language on a vacation. Chira now knew what a unique gift it was, and she told no one. Her best friend was the only one outside of her family that knew, but her parents didn't know about that. They had forbidden her telling anyone. She had just felt so bad about it though, and her best friend loved to keep secrets. Chira trusted her unquestionably.

She put Cami in the pen, and pulled out her pokedex. She hadn't let go of it since receiving it. "Can you believe it, Cami? I have my trainer's license! And we're leaving tomorrow for our journey! I can't wait!" She leaned against Cami. "Maybe we'll get to enter competitions and go against masters. Maybe we'll find rare and unique pokemon." She looked up at the stars just starting to come out. "But whatever happens, we don't catch any who don't want to come with us, agreed?"

Cami snorted. "Agreed. Now you better get inside. We both need our sleep for tomorrow. And don't forget to pack apples and your mother's granola."

Chira grunted. "Pig."

"Speaking of your mother," Cami said, choosing to ignore that last remark. "She's in the window waiting for you to go in."

"Yeah, you're right. Goodnight. Can you believe we're leaving tomorrow?" Cami entered the barn, headed for her stall. Chira would have been sleeping out in the barn with her, but her parents had forbidden her. She bounced up the steps, wondering how ever she was going to fall asleep when she was so wound up.

She entered the house and immediately headed for the kitchen. "Hey, Mom. Cami wants some of your granola packed. Do you have any made that we could take?"

"Of course," her mother grabbed a bag out of the cupboard. Chira frowned. She seemed kind of distracted.

"What's up, Mom? Your not getting all depressed on me, are you?"

She shook her head. "No, no. Just… Could you wait for your father? He'll be in shortly. He wanted to talk to you before you left."

"Sure." Chira grabbed a sucker out of a basket, settling herself on a stool at the counter. "So, do you think I have a chance at becoming as famous as Ash Ketchum?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Of course!" her mother quickly responded. "Are you doubting yourself?"

Chira blushed. "No… I was just… Sorry." She ended with a mumble.
Her mother cupped her chin in her hand. "Chira, just do your best, and you will shine brighter than anyone else, do you here me?"

She nodded. "Thanks, Mom."

Her father came in at that moment, carrying a small lockbox she had seen in their room many times. He set it on the table and came over to hug her. "I love you, Chira. Don't ever forget that. And your mother loves you too."

"Whoa," she said. "Don't everyone get all emotional on me. I'll keep in touch, I promise. I'll even ring you as soon as I reach my first pokecenter. Don't worry about me."

Her father stepped back, and her mother came to stand next to him. "Chira," he began. "We have something to tell you." His voice cracked, and her mother took it up.

"We haven't been entirely truthful with you all these years. You see," she paused, then plunged forward. "You aren't really our child. You were adopted."

Chira looked from one to the other. "You're kidding, right? I mean, I know I don't look like either one of you, but recessive genes!"
Her father was shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Chira, but…"

Her mother was opening the lockbox. She pulled out two pieces of paper and handed them to Chira. "We found you on our doorstep when you were three years old. These came with you." Chira took them and blinked back tears.

One was a note written in a very sloppy form. The other was a picture of a man and a woman standing in front of a building with a baby in their arms, and a dragonite behind them. The man had a belt with six pokeballs on it. "I can't believe it…" Chira said. They looked familiar, and Chira immediately knew it was because she saw them whenever she looked in a mirror. The resemblance was uncanny. Even if they didn't look that much alike, she knew the woman was at least her mother. She fingered her hair, knowing if she didn't have the dye in, it would be the exact same color as the woman's, and her eyes…

"So it's true," Chira finally managed to choke. There was no mistaking it. These were her parents. "Why didn't you tell me before now?" she asked, turning pain filled eyes upon them.

"We didn't know how," her mother replied, looking away. "I guess we hoped that if we didn't, we wouldn't have to. We should have known better."

"Now that you are leaving on your trainer's journey," her father told her. "We knew we had to tell you. It would have hurt too much for you to have found out some other way."

Chira swallowed. "Thank-you for telling me. And don't worry, no matter what, you will always be my parents. But… Will it hurt you if I look for my birth parents while on my journey?"

"Of course not, Honey. And you will always be our little girl." Her parents hugged her. She knew it would take a little while to get over her parents' betrayal, but she also knew she eventually would. Might as well leave on good terms when who knew what might happen between now and the next time they saw each other.

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sniff, sniff so sad, and yet so sweet. sniff smart kid. Why can't I be that smart? Oh, well, emotional kick over. Well, how was that surprise? Now the fun begin. rubs hands together and laughs evilly Stay tune for more surprises after the break.